“Home to the highest mountains in the world”, as Orbx puts it, the Himalayas are a zone of the world that became very popular among flight simulation enthusiasts from early stages, especially because of Lukla Airport and, of course, the Everest.
Due to its altitude and aggressive weather conditions, it presents one of the ultimate challenges for any helicopter pilot, but also a lot of opportunities to simulate several types of missions: from VIP transport, search and rescue, medical evacuation, camp supply runs, it’s filled with opportunities. But also dangers, so beware!
This region is already pretty good in Microsoft Flight Simulator, but Orbx decided to step it up a bit more (no pun intended – well, maybe just a little) and release a high-resolution mesh that will deliver 10m resolution – and claim quite a bit of your disk space in the process as well. Orbx says that it’s “by far” the “largest in terms of coverage area with an installation size of just over 20GB”.
The Himalaya Mesh (and yes, Himalaya, singular, as Orbx explains the word “is derived from the Sanskrit words of snow abode”) is a 100% self-contained product that does not affect the default mesh or any other files.
Orbx also says that the scenery has “virtually no noticeable performance impact, each LOD is consistent without any blurring and minimal LOD morphing when flying over the mountainous terrain of the Himalayan ranges.”
Official features list
- Derived from 3 sources with 10m resolution
- Minimal performance impact
- Compiled to reduce LOD morphing
- Self-contained product
AS Himalaya Mesh will be available on Orbx’s website on November 16th, 2021.
