Tradeoffs among types of scene detail for simulating low-altitude flight

The effects of three types of flight simulator visual scene detail on detection of altitude change were evaluated. Results showed that the density of vertical objects in scenes and the presence of complex texture on terrain surfaces both had a positive, but somewhat independent, effect on performance. The level of detail of individual objects had no effect on performance. The present results indicate that a broad conceptualization of simulator visual scene content along the lines of global scene detail is inadequate. Adding polygons to scenes by increasing object density was effective, whereas adding polygons by increasing individual object detail was not. Adding texture to scenes by mapping texture globally on terrain surfaces was effective whereas mapping texture onto individual objects was not. The relative independence of texture and object density further indicates that the presence of one type of failure may not compensate for the lack of another