In the present experiments I sought to identify the properties of visual scenes relevant for simulating low-altitude flight. The approach was first to identify the relevant properties of real-world scenes. The stimuli were videotape segments or still photographs of real-world scenes exhibiting a variety of scene properties. Ratings of similarity between stimulus pairs were submitted to multidimensional scaling analyses. Results using videotape segments provided consistent evidence for two relevant scene properties: variation in terrain shape and variation in object size or spacing. Results using still photographs were less interpretable, supporting the argument that motion information is important. Results suggest that designers of flight simulator visual scenes should focus specifically on rendering elements of terrain shape and objects in scenes.
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