SL - REAL H2O V2
Real H2O v2 – a product worth buying? Obviously Mr. Sandon Lyon is a talented man with remarkable accurateness and a relentless pursuit of perfection when it comes to enhancements of our beloved FS2004. His „Real Sky Pro“ deserved acknowledegement. Now his latest work, Real H2O, aims at the best possible looks in our virtual aquatic environment. A difficult task. People, who are interested in this product, certainly know what I mean. For long years I tried my best to mix my own liquid optimum for FS2004 – like probably most of us did. As a result, there was a combination of payware and freeware, painstakingly built up over nearly seven years. Well done in it’s own right, but still not fully satisfying. Honestly, I don’t say, that REAL H2O ends our - at least my – unrealistic yearning for the „perfect water“. FS2004 is a love for life, but it’s got it’s limitations. Sadly I have to admit, that there simply won’t ever be „perfect“ water in FS2004. It’s as simple as that. Therefore, Real H2o is not the much longed-for breakthrough. But REAL H20 indeed ends further longing for more. That’s a real compliment. Starting REAL H20 (v1) for the first time – after deep thinking … for the price of the product seems to be rather high in my eyes – I was nearly disappointed, as I noticed only three texture sets, that did not differentiate between ocean and inland water Step by step I was then convinced by a solid product. And Mr. Lyon proved a continuous development of his product in an exemplary manner: very soon he released the second version of Real H2O – with free upgrade. Now we have a satisfying choice of texture sets (even for inland water) and a great variety of surface motions plus a superb set of sky textures in combination with realistic sun. Mind you, I mean realistic. There’re no comic style coulours. The interface is self-explanatory and fail-safe. But it would be a great idea to integrate some kind of backup-feature concerning the user’s textures BEFORE first use of REAL H2O. In case of someone dislikes the new textures, he would surely be glad to restore his old assortment by a simple click. Problems? A minor issue: in the vicinity of coastlines or on lakes I sometimes noticed disturbing effects: the water looks marbled. I suppose these errors result from my use of UTE or some other addons affecting the landclass and waterclass files. I contacted Mr. Lyon via email – and received very quick and kind response. He’s working on it. And I’ve no doubt he will succeed. His support is excellent. Personally, I like Mr. Lyons textures very much. Real H2O v2 offers us a convincing environment. Especially, if you prefer to fly VFR. Solely his water environment (i.e. the set of reflective lighting for the water surface )comes with a little bit too much blue reflection, especially for regions like the North Sea or even typical european inland water). Indeed I‘ d like to choose from different files for water environment . Real H2O automatically installs its own reflection set every time you choose some Real H2O base textures. Mr. Lyon meticulously tested this reflection set for convincing results. Though – as I’m eager to tweak – I’d be glad to have some choice even with regard to water reflection. Conclusion: Can I recommend this product? Yes. It is an enrichment of our favourite sim.