Other – Give IAD another realism pass (stand categories + stuck vehicles)
What is your suggestion?
Give IAD another realism pass. It used to be my favorite airport in the game (and it’s a great airport in real life), and the rework the devs did made it a lot more realistic. But as the game-wide remaster picks up pace, I can’t help feeling IAD may now have become the least realistic airport in the game. Three things stand out:
- Add Category C stands at the international terminal. Right now it has none, even though in reality plenty of Category C international flights park there.
- Open up United’s dedicated terminal to more aircraft categories. Right now it only accepts Category C, which is nothing like the real thing, where everything from United’s regional jets up to large aircraft like the 777-300ER uses that terminal.
- Fix the ground vehicles stuck inside building models. Even after the rework, quite a few of them are still clipped into buildings, and as far as I can tell this hasn’t been fixed.
How would it work in the game?
None of this needs new UI or mechanics; it’s mostly an adjustment to the existing map and stand data:
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International terminal: convert or add a few stands so they accept Category C aircraft alongside the larger stands already there, so Category C international flights can be assigned to that terminal.
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United terminal: make the stand sizes a mix, with some for regional jets, most for Category C, and a few that can take widebodies like the 777-300ER, so United’s regional and widebody flights can actually park there.
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Vehicle bug: check the vehicle paths and spawn points around the affected buildings so they stop ending up inside the models.
From the player’s side, nothing changes except that flights get parked where they would park in real life.
Why is this a good idea?
Realism, mainly. IAD is a major real-world hub with a very distinctive terminal setup, and right now the stand categories at both terminals are almost the reverse of how it works in real life. The remastered airports have set a high bar (LHR, for example, is less efficient than IAD but already very true to life), and it would be great to see IAD brought up to that standard.
It also matters for how much people play it. IAD is extremely efficient, and I’m a United frequent flyer myself in real life, but I’ve barely played it this year and have been spending my time at LHR instead. I doubt I’m the only one. I still keep hoping IAD can get closer to the real thing, so if anyone knows whether the devs have something like this planned, I’d love to hear it, and I’m curious what everyone else thinks too.