Mixed feelings about this map

[lwalter]

As soon as this map got available, I bought it and flew for a few hours over the French coast and inland to get some impression.

 

I read several posts mentioning that it was an awesome map. My personal opinion is more mixed, especially as I tend to compare it to the other maps I have: Caucasus, NTTR, Persian Gulf and Normandy.

 

This is my personal first impression and it doesn't reflect what others may think of this map. It may also change after more flying across this map.

 

First, the really good aspects:

- the countryside, the cliffs, the beaches

- the overall layout of the harbors. For example, I immediately recognized Fécamp harbor, which I visited a few years ago

- seeing the Dover cliffs while flying over the French coast is just so well done

- the landmark buildings (although too few in my opinion)

 

The not so good:

It looks a lot like the Normandy map. No, i was not expecting desert or canyons... I mean I was expecting it to be better visually, more detailed, etc... To my eyes, there's not that much difference. Countryside is countryside, but the towns are the real let down for me. I'm not expecting each and every house to be modelled, but at least the main buildings of each town: typical churches, town halls, main squares, etc... As of now, except for a very few famous landmarks, all towns seems like just a bunch of random houses. When looking at Persian Gulf (and some picture of future Syria map), it's definitely not as good.

 

Maybe my graphic settings are not high enough to fully enjoy this map.

Textures and terrain textures are High, water is High, visib range is low, clutter/grass is 1000, tree visibility 80%. Other maps like PG look already great with these settings. Would increasing visib range and clutter grass change my perception of this map?