Microsoft Flight Sim X

[Whacker]

Paging Beruit and other flight sim nuts.

So I'm thinking about buying MSFSX, and am looking at expansion possibilities. What are some good sites where one can get free planes and scenery to download?

[Beirut]

Did someone mention flightsims?

There are lots of sites, but the best is probably Avsim.com. Good forums and thousands of add-ons.

If you do get it, the first thing you'll want to do is get the SP1 patch and download a few of the auto-gen tweaks. Both are required if you want good performance.

Remeber, even with the patch and the tweaks, FSX is still a bear to run. What are your system specs?

[Whacker]

There are lots of sites, but the best is probably Avsim.com.

Reviewed and approved. Gold star for Beirut!

If you do get it, the first thing you'll want to do is get the SP1 patch and download a few of the auto-gen tweaks. Both are required if you want good performance.

Erm, I've heard that SP2 is coming out soon, as well as an expansion. Any news on if the xp is worth it?

Also, what does the auto-gen thing do? Generate landscape and features?

Remeber, even with the patch and the tweaks, FSX is still a bear to run. What are your system specs?

Behold the beast:

QX6700 oc'd to 3.2ghz
2ghz Corsair RAM @ DDR1139
eVGA 8800GTX @ 600mhz/2000mhz DAC/RAM

and my Cougar Hotas, hopefully soon to be joined by some CH Products USB rudder pedals.

[Husar]

Erm, I've heard that SP2 is coming out soon, as well as an expansion. Any news on if the xp is worth it?

You can check this forum thread for screenshots from beta testers if you want.

[Beirut]

Erm, I've heard that SP2 is coming out soon, as well as an expansion. Any news on if the xp is worth it?

Unless I'm mistaken, SP2 is coming out before Christmas. It will have more performance fixes. The expansion pack that's out today is FSX-Acceleration. It includes SP1, three new aircraft, and new scenery (including Edwards Air Force Base, which should be excellent!), and about 30 new missions.

The new aircraft are the P-51, an EH-101 helicopter, and best of all, an F-18 (designed by CaptainSim, they make gorgeous planes) and a carrier for takeoffs and landings. That's going to be the shizzle!

Also, what does the auto-gen thing do? Generate landscape and features?

The auto-gen generates trees and buildings. There are tweaks that reduce the texture size of the trees as well as the diversity of species. This helps with the FPS. One building tweak actually reduces the textures and diversity of the roofs and this really helps the FPS. Odd but true. There are also config-file tweaks that let you adjust the max number of building and trees. I lowered the buildings and upped the trees (as well as using a tree improvement file) because I like the bush flying.

Behold the beast:

QX6700 oc'd to 3.2ghz
2ghz Corsair RAM @ DDR1139
eVGA 8800GTX @ 600mhz/2000mhz DAC/RAM

You're cooking, baby! I've got an E6700/2GB RAM/8800GTS 640MG and I can get FSX to run very nicely with total Hagen-Dazs eye-candy, so you should see the same. You won't get major airports with full AI flights, that's impossible for now, but you will get graphics that will blow you away.

and my Cougar Hotas, hopefully soon to be joined by some CH Products USB rudder pedals.

Very nice. I always wanted a Cougar HOTAS. What are you using it for now?

I'm thinking of getting the new Saitek yoke setup. Looks like a lot of fun.
http://saitek.com/uk/prod/yoke.htm

[Odin]

I'm glad I happened on this thread, if you would induldge me for a minute... I was looking around for a flight sim/ campaign game and I keep stumbling accross the microsoft flight sim for the PC. I understand what it is, but I cant seem to whittle down through the hundreds of hits on yahoo if there is an actual -war game- out there with it.

I guess thats my question, its a great flight sim, but are there any WWII or other military campaign add ons to it that are decent?

Thanks,

Odin

[Lorenzo_H]

How good is the Nvidia 8400 M GS 128mb? Would it run MSFX on full?