Seasoned developer Flightbeam Studios provided the flight simulator community an update on their website regarding the progress of their upcoming update to their KDEN MSFS scenery.
Denver International Airport (KDEN/DEN) is the largest airport by land area in the Western Hemisphere and serves as the international gateway for the Denver metropolitan area. Opened in 1995, KDEN replaced the formerly aging and congested Stapleton International Airport. Growing to one of the top busiest airports in the world, KDEN is a hub for Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Denver Air Connection, Southern Airways Express, and, most notably, United Airlines. In recent years, the airport has undergone a series of renovation and expansion projects to meet the increasing passenger demand.
In the news post, developer Mir explained that because of the extent of the expansion projects at the actual KDEN airport, Flightbeam will be breaking up the MSFS updates into 2 or 3 separate updates. Each terminal building will receive a substantial visual upgrade with new 4k textures, PBR updates, exterior modeling upgrades, new Gen-5 jetways at each gate, and more. In addition to the visual upgrades, the airline codes for each gate will be updated for more realistic A.I. traffic parkings.
The first update will include the expansion completed at United’s Concourse B. However, the east side of Concourse B will not be included since the actual project is still under construction. In the photo previews, we can see the fruits of Flightbeam’s labor with the highly detailed static passengers, new jetways, and the inclusion of the real-life Concourse B observation deck. Flightbeam has affirmed that these updates will be free for existing customers and that the Concourse B update is “coming soon”; however, no official release date has been provided.
Regarding KDEN P3D users, Flightbeam has suggested that a KDEN update is unlikely because of the potential for significant performance issues. However, the developer is waiting to see if any changes will be made to P3D before making an official decision. In addition to the KDEN updates, Flightbeam has had KSFO, KMSP, and KPHX in the pipeline for MSFS for some time. In the comments of the KDEN update, Mir stated that these projects are still moving forward and that it is “likely” we will get a spring update on those projects.
FSElite will continue to monitor all of Flightbeam’s upcoming projects and share any future updates.
