View Full Version : (More) Microsoft Flight Sim stuff
A few things.
Anyone else out there waiting for, or have, FSX? I'm hoping to have it tomorrow. Supposed to be a real bear to run. With all settings at max, this thing will bring a top end gaming rig to its knees. Systems that will get 40+FPS in FEAR at max res will putter out single digits in maxed out FSX from the sounds of it.
Also, because I'm not that bright, I just spent $35 on some add-on scenery for FS2004, but it really is gorgeous. Small scale, only a few hundred square miles at most, but the airport detail is phenomenal. Landing at these airports is great, as you approach the runway the level of detail grows right up until touchdown when you see grass and runway textures and cars and trucks driving nearby. Excellent immersion. (I'll post some more screens later.)
FZ02 Portland.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/horsesass/c-130portland.jpg
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/horsesass/fz02.jpg
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/horsesass/FZ02G.jpg
Edit - Check out this guy's video of a custom plane flight over the custom Portland scenery with the TrackIR viewing system. Really great.
http://jeff.lumacs.net/Do-27FlyinRoundPortland.wmv
I played and enjoyed the FSX demo only so far, but won't buy it now, I have to set some priorities.
Also check out this (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2237947353453839215) video, the guy also has a website (http://www.rc-cam.com/).
I think that's imply amazing and something I dreamt of quite a few times(ok, my dreams involved more stuff being blown up, but still... ~;) )
:2thumbsup:
I was asked about flightsicks in a PM so I'll link to the flightstick thread here for easy access.
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=60727
Evil_Maniac From Mars
10-09-2006, 02:09
Thanks a bunch Beirut. :2thumbsup:
Just got FSX. Loaded up nicely, took about half an hour to install off of two DVDs. Total installed size is 13Gigs with almost 50,000 folders. What a hephalump of a program. ~:eek:
So far, I'm still figuring out the best settings. FPS is low in most cases and the terrain detail isn't great. But it's all in there, it's just a case of getting at it and getting decent FPS at the same time. Tips and tweaks are starting to hit the flightsim boards.
On the plus side, the sim is huge and will keep you very busy over the months and years while new hardware and add-ons come out. There are lots of different planes, really nice cockpits, and lots of stuff to do. When DX10 video cards come out and with a serious CPU, this thing will be incredible.
For now, I don't recommend it to anyone but the hardcore flyers willing to work at it and wait for better performance. Doesn't matter how good you think your system is, FSX will bring it to its knees and make it beg for mercy. This thing is CPU hungry, video card starving and a memory hog. My poor little AMD64-3000/1024RAM/7800GS is huffing and puffing to get this thing airborne.
More reports later... I have to go to work. :bigcry:
A tumbleweed blown by a cold wind rolls silently across the thread.
Just to update, days after being pre-released by some stores, there are several tweak files available that are working wonders for people's FPS. One of the tweaks reduces the variety of trees, another reduces the variety of building roof textures, things like this. My FPS shot up a good 50% and more. Much more of the sim is available now, so to speak. Areas that were unflyable due to slideshow FPS are now looking good and flight well.
With the tweak files installed and the graphics set high, some of the scenery is really outstanding. Once FSX hits it general release day, OCT. 17, I'm sure many more tweak files will hit the forums and make the sim more accessible to people other than the hardcore.
A quick screen. More later.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/horsesass/fsx.jpg
Kekvit Irae
10-16-2006, 09:52
C-130 = luv
C-130 = luv
All of a sudden I'm finding you startlingly attractive. ~:smoking:
Does it have Linzhi Airport (http://www.naverus.com/documents/NAVERUS_WMP.wmv)?
In a local comp mag Ive seen a pic of a ground control radar display. Could somebody please post a link to anywhere on the net (FSX reviews) where I could see/download a same kind of pic?
I haven't see that pic, but it sounds like the tower control operator station in the multiplayer setup.
Kekvit Irae
10-19-2006, 01:59
All of a sudden I'm finding you startlingly attractive. ~:smoking:
:loveg:
I live next to an Air Force Base (the primary one in the south, by the way, with the Air War College), so I see plenty of C-130s fly overhead (plus the occasional F-22 and the rare A-10)
:loveg:
I live next to an Air Force Base (the primary one in the south, by the way, with the Air War College), so I see plenty of C-130s fly overhead (plus the occasional F-22 and the rare A-10)
Well I live next to an Air Canada pilot and I watch him drive to work several times a week.
(Hmm, I'd rather see the F-22s really.)
Samurai Waki
10-19-2006, 18:45
The F-22 was test piloted at Edwards AFB, rather cool looking plane, but because of the colour scheme almost Impossible to See once it hit 500 Feet. It doesn't generally leave a smoke trail, is very quick on maneuvers, and generally operates at around 3500-12000 Feet Anyways. And you can't get close to them, those Hangars were always being guarded by about 20 M-4 Carrying Soldiers around the clock.
Oh and its kind of peculiar that the RAH-66 was cancelled two years ago, yet everytime I go there (about once every 3 or 4 months) I see at least a couple of them in the Restricted Zone at the Far end of the Tarmac.
Evil_Maniac From Mars
10-22-2006, 20:32
Does anyone here know how good a Logitech Force 3D Pro joystick is? I'm really just looking for a decent joystick that'll get the job done with flight sims, nothing too fancy. Will this be suitable?
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.logitech.com/lang/images/0/8162.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/large_view/US/EN,crid%3D2221,contentid%3D10714,sh%3D1&h=450&w=675&sz=26&hl=en&sig2=Zn_mKjQj9mWEye5QsJ2MJA&start=6&tbnid=Sv_vyyzXcoD4YM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=138&ei=P8Y7ReyPK6ag6gGRxvTWDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3DForce%2B3D%2BPro%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D
I'm sure it's fine. Logitech makes decent stuff and it's not ver expensive. If I could find one, I'd prefer a Saitek Evo Force Feedback, but I'm biased towards Saitek gear.
For now, though, I'm just trying to keep my MS FFB2 alive as long as possible.
Evil_Maniac From Mars
10-25-2006, 01:50
Well, I picked up a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, and I quite like it. Very responsive, and it's comfortable to use.
Well, I picked up a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, and I quite like it. Very responsive, and it's comfortable to use.
Excellent! Wa'cha flying?
Evil_Maniac From Mars
10-26-2006, 21:34
Making the rounds through the German aircraft in Combat Flight Simulator Three. The Fw 190 and it's variations are most responsive to me, I feel, and the Horten Ho 229 is an excellent aircraft as well.
These are all in quick flight and other missions by the way, I haven't started a campaign yet, though I will tonight.
:gathering: "Hey look, it's that flightsim thread again. What a shmoo!"
Anyway, this is cool. At least to me it is. I just bought a three-year membership to a site that sells terrain mesh enhancements for FS2004.
What, pray tell, is a terrain mesh enhancement? Well, the terrain mesh is the grid that the terrain textures are placed upon that make up the ground you fly over (and into). Think of it as a connect-the-dots picture. If you're only allowed to draw three or four dots on a page, it's pretty hard to make a nice picture of a mountain. But if you can place a hundred dots on the page, then you can have a real picture.
The default mesh level of detail (LOD) in FS2004 can be over a thousand meters, meaning a thousand meters between each dot on the picture. The mesh enhancements can reduce this to as low as 9 meters. That's lots more points to define a 3D image.
So it makes terrain that used to look like this...
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/horsesass/fs9defaultmesh.jpg
Look like this...
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/horsesass/Maule.jpg
Is it worth a hundred bucks to have the whole planet increased in detail like that. Yep! :yes: Us flyers love our geography and for the price of the mesh you get a wonderfully accurate representation of the world. Really great stuff.
The kicker is the size of all this. The full download is over 20GB, bringing my FS2004 folder to over 45GB in size. I also get mesh of the whole planet for FSX, which is already huge, and it's easy to see FSX getting to 100GB+ in the near future. I don't know of any other game that even comes close to that.
Lorenzo_H
05-14-2007, 08:53
I have it.
You need a really good computer to make it look like those screenshots.
FesterShinetop
05-14-2007, 11:44
Ah, the Maule! One of the best (free) addons for FS!! And one of my favorite planes:
http://home.planet.nl/~bruin504/fs9/maule5.jpg
Pic is from FS2004... I am afraid my PC will explode if I install (and run) FS10... :dizzy2: :laugh4:
I have it.
You have the FS Genesis msh as well? Excellent.
You need a really good computer to make it look like those screenshots.
My rig is ok, AMD64-3000/2GB RAM/7800GS, not cutting edge by any means, but it flies well.
What you really need to make it look that good is cash.
Ground Environment Pro (textures) - $50
Flight Environment (skies) - $30
Ultimate Terrain (accurate terrain) - $40 per area (Canada/USA/Europe)
Genesis mesh (accurate elevation) - $15 (per region, or $100 for all)
That's not to mention the payware planes and airports. One company, Aerosoft, offers a super high detail set of packages that covers all of Germany with accurate terrain, cities, and airports. If you buy the whole set, it's several hundred dollars.
Ah, the Maule! One of the best (free) addons for FS!! And one of my favorite planes:
http://home.planet.nl/~bruin504/fs9/maule5.jpg
Pic is from FS2004... I am afraid my PC will explode if I install (and run) FS10... :dizzy2: :laugh4:
Yep, I love that Maule.
Nice pic. Are those cusom sky colours?
FesterShinetop
05-14-2007, 11:56
Nice pic. Are those cusom sky colours?
Yes. I know there are addons that extend the skies in some ways, tried some but I always loved the default skies and clouds the best.
I wonder what FS10 will look like when the first real DX10 cards are out... saw some artist impressions (I think it was on the official site) about what it would look like with DX10 cards compared to (the current) DX9 cards... looked absolutely amazing... for what I have seen uptil now from FS10 it still looks very much like FS9... especially an FS9 with all the extra's and addons added to it.
And finally when I can run FS9 in all it's glory, they release FS10... :furious3: :laugh4:
edyzmedieval
05-14-2007, 17:09
How good and hard is FS10? ~:)
Kekvit Irae
05-14-2007, 17:35
I have it.
You need a really good computer to make it look like those screenshots.
What sort of super-computer would one need to reliably use that?
How good and hard is FS10? ~:)
There is a demo version (http://www.gamershell.com/download_14950.shtml), so you can see for yourself if you want. ~;)
What you really need to make it look that good is cash.
Ground Environment Pro (textures) - $50
Flight Environment (skies) - $30
Ultimate Terrain (accurate terrain) - $40 per area (Canada/USA/Europe)
Genesis mesh (accurate elevation) - $15 (per region, or $100 for all)
That's not to mention the payware planes and airports. One company, Aerosoft, offers a super high detail set of packages that covers all of Germany with accurate terrain, cities, and airports. If you buy the whole set, it's several hundred dollars.
This a the big put off for me, since I've always loved the flight simulator games but this just looks like a money hole.
~:mecry:
How much have you spent on the game in total?
How good and hard is FS10? ~:)
How good? Tough to answer. The bush terrain is really nice. The snowy mountains are great. Night flights over highways with moving traffic are neat. The water is great. The airports are terrible. Most of the land textures are lousy.
And then, of course, there's the performance. FSX is, without a doubt, the biggest system-sucking pig on the market. You might get 50FPS in FEAR with all sliders to the right, but you'll be lucky if you get out of the single digits in FSX with the sliders at medium. Turn on the AI flights and ground vehicles at the airport and try to land at a big city. :laugh4: You're doomed.
On the other hand, if you use the tweak files, stay away from the cities, and kill the AI traffic, the bush flying is really great. The water is fantastic, the default planes are really nice, and the default weather is pretty good. And you can get decent FPS.
What sort of super-computer would one need to reliably use that?
My rig (AMD64-3000/2GB RAM/7800GS) runs FS2004 very well with all sliders maxed. I can lock in at 25FPS in almost all situations and that's enough for a great flight.
FS2004 is a very CPU dependant sim. Much harder on the calculations than on the graphics part.
How much have you spent on the game in total?
Oh my...
First off, the sim cost about $80 when I bought it. After that... north of $750 in add-on scenery, environmental upgrades, and airplanes.
It's a hobby to me. I love planes and geography. And I don't drink in bars or smoke, so that saves me billions right there.
edyzmedieval
05-15-2007, 07:26
There is a demo version (http://www.gamershell.com/download_14950.shtml), so you can see for yourself if you want. ~;)
Thanks! ~:)
How good? Tough to answer. The bush terrain is really nice. The snowy mountains are great. Night flights over highways with moving traffic are neat. The water is great. The airports are terrible. Most of the land textures are lousy.
And then, of course, there's the performance. FSX is, without a doubt, the biggest system-sucking pig on the market. You might get 50FPS in FEAR with all sliders to the right, but you'll be lucky if you get out of the single digits in FSX with the sliders at medium. Turn on the AI flights and ground vehicles at the airport and try to land at a big city. :laugh4: You're doomed.
On the other hand, if you use the tweak files, stay away from the cities, and kill the AI traffic, the bush flying is really great. The water is fantastic, the default planes are really nice, and the default weather is pretty good. And you can get decent FPS.
Bye bye FSX for now. With 512 RAM right now, It wont even load. :sweatdrop:
MS just released a 208 meg patch for FSX last night. The patch is called SP1.
The reports are streaming into the flightsim forums. So far the concensus is that many/most people are seeing a 20% to 30% increase in frame rates ( a huge amount in the flightsim world). Some people are seeing 50% and more. I'm getting better FPS, and some of the ground textures look better, but I'm also getting some graphics corruption, not sure why. I'm sure I can work that out with the settings or drivers.
Good news, anyway. With the patch, a few tweaks, and the new Active Sky graphics programs about to be released, this thing is starting to look very flyable.
edyzmedieval
01-02-2008, 01:24
Time to bump this old thread and mention that MS released a 80MB patch some time ago for FSX, getting the fps a bit higher and fixed some bugs.
Happy New Year to all you hardcores.
Vladimir
01-03-2008, 18:00
Do do we need to buy a separate computer just for this sim?
Do do we need to buy a separate computer just for this sim?
Said it before, I'll say it again - there is no other game out there that will kill a high end rig with the ease and joy of FSX.
On the other hand, there is also no other program out there with this level of depth or sophistication. Most "serious" FSX-ers have installs running around 50GB. Once the FlightTerrainX scenery comes out, it will probably jump to over 100GB. Heck, just full coverage of Germany with the Aerosoft scenery runs 60GB+.
Within a year we'll be seeing FSX installs running at 200GB+.
Cool. ~:smoking:
* Check this out. $400 for the full package covering the whole planet.
http://www.flightterrain.com/gallery.html
edyzmedieval
01-03-2008, 21:58
X-Plane, the thing that rivals FSX, the full install with the photorealistic scenery is 70GB. If you add all the stuff that's out there, and it's really worth it, to immerse you even more, it can easily get you past 100GB, that's for sure.
FSX Standard edition has it's scenery folder with the size of 10.3GB.
@Beirut
The thing to buy is Flight Environment X. Once I get a good computer that can run FSX at least on high with good fps, my cash will go for that Flight Environment. It's stunningly accurate and beautiful. Plus, I think I'll buy some extra airplanes such as that RealAir SF260, which looks incredible.
If Flight Environment X is a bit too expensive, try adding this:
X Graphics Package
Active Sky X
Ground Environment
They aren't as good as FEX, but they do their job pretty good.
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