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?

[Husar]

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

Definitely not!

It's a low end or midrange video card of the 8000 series if I'm not mistaken, you'd need a GTX or maybe two or three to run with full graphics settings though the game is mostly CPU limited from what I heard, but it still eats quite a lot of performance.

And Odin, I think there are now weapons in Microsoft Flight Simulator, you can have military planes, but you cannot shoot at anything as far as I know.

[Odin]

And Odin, I think there are now weapons in Microsoft Flight Simulator, you can have military planes, but you cannot shoot at anything as far as I know.

But i like to blow things up

Seriously, from the limited data I got online its a fairly open platform isnt it? Surely someone else other then me must desire a combat flight sim campaign game?

[Whacker]

Odin, I recently got that same itch.

The original Lock On - Modern Air Combat game does NOT include Starforce. The expansion, Flaming Cliffs, is what has Starforce.

Patch it up to 1.02 and you don't even need the CD. Fair warning, it's got some bugs, the code isn't wonderful, but it's the best modern military sim that we've got.

[Csargo]

bang bang pow pow

abandon ship abandon ship

blarg! I R DEADZ

[Beirut]

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

Far as I know, nothing will. There are guys running FSX with quad-core CPUs, twin 768 MB 8800GTS cards, and 4GB RAM under Vista and they still can't get "100% performance".

The new FSX:Acceleration expansion pack (well worth the $30) gives you a gorgeous F-18, a P-51 racer, and an EH101 helicopter, along with some excellent new scenery, but no weapons. Captain Sim, an add-on developer - they made the expansion pack F-18 - has another private add-on that gives the F-18 weapons on the pylons and some special effects, as well as a twin-seat version of the F-18, but I'm sure you can't shoot anything.

Mmmmm... CF-18.

[Lorenzo_H]

Definitely not!

It's a low end or midrange video card of the 8000 series if I'm not mistaken, you'd need a GTX or maybe two or three to run with full graphics settings though the game is mostly CPU limited from what I heard, but it still eats quite a lot of performance.

And Odin, I think there are now weapons in Microsoft Flight Simulator, you can have military planes, but you cannot shoot at anything as far as I know.

What about the 8600M GS?

[Husar]

What about the 8600M GS?

Should be a midrange card, that one may be able to produce some nice graphics but nothing close to highest, Beirut can probably tell you more as I don't have FSX, I just follow it's development now and then.

[Beirut]

An 8600GS will run FSX. It's just a question of how far you expect to run.

There is no system I know of that will run FSX maxed with all options at 100%. Rigs that will tear through HL2 or Bioshock with triple digit FPS will die a horrid slide show death with FSX at full. So expect to make compromises with that card. With any card.

It's worthwhile to note that a system that will run FSX "well" will run FS2004 like a rocket. And FS2004 offers some fantastic flying that FSX cannot approach on today's hardware. You can reasonably expect 10X the performance with FS2004 as with FSX in similar situations. Also, there are graphics available in FS2004 that are stunning!

Here are a few FS2004 pics. (Mind you, this is definitely not default textures. This is custom scenery with custom environmental add-ons. Look to spend $100 - $200 to get the FS2004 "silver bullet" that will give you max graphics. On the other hand, there is a ton of excellent freeware that will do nicely as well.)





These are from the new FSX:Acceleration expansion pack. The F-18 and Edwards AFB. (My FSX also has about $150 worth of texture enhancements, so there's no free ride anywhere.)

[TosaInu]

Far as I know, nothing will. There are guys running FSX with quad-core CPUs, twin 768 MB 8800GTS cards, and 4GB RAM under Vista and they still can't get "100% performance".

Up till this moment, quad-core CPU perform less than dual core CPU's in games. Vista is another performance hit. There are better drivers now, so it's only ~10% less than XP. SLI doesn't always perform well either.

Is FSX optimised for any of these? Are 64 bit OS supported?

Is it Microsofts FSX?

Minimum System Requirements
Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista
Processor: 1.0 Ghz
RAM: Windows XP SP2 - 256MB, Windows Vista – 512MB
Hard Drive: 14GB
Video Card: 32MB DirectX 9 compatible
Other: DX9 hardware compatibility and audio board with speakers and/or headphones
Online/Multiplayer Requirements: 56.6 kbps or better for online play

cough.

[Husar]

Tosa, it's got low minimum requirements but it has very adjustable sliders and stuff which can bring any current PC to a crawl when put to maximum.

I'm not sure about Vista being 10% slower than XP, didn't Benchmark it but it doesn't feel like that and from the tests I have seen it isn't true either.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

An 8600GS will run FSX. It's just a question of how far you expect to run.

There is no system I know of that will run FSX maxed with all options at 100%. Rigs that will tear through HL2 or Bioshock with triple digit FPS will die a horrid slide show death with FSX at full. So expect to make compromises with that card. With any card.

It's worthwhile to note that a system that will run FSX "well" will run FS2004 like a rocket. And FS2004 offers some fantastic flying that FSX cannot approach on today's hardware. You can reasonably expect 10X the performance with FS2004 as with FSX in similar situations. Also, there are graphics available in FS2004 that are stunning!

Here are a few FS2004 pics. (Mind you, this is definitely not default textures. This is custom scenery with custom environmental add-ons. Look to spend $100 - $200 to get the FS2004 "silver bullet" that will give you max graphics. On the other hand, there is a ton of excellent freeware that will do nicely as well.)





These are from the new FSX:Acceleration expansion pack. The F-18 and Edwards AFB. (My FSX also has about $150 worth of texture enhancements, so there's no free ride anywhere.)

Dear God, Wonderful Graphics!!

[TosaInu]

Tosa, it's got low minimum requirements but it has very adjustable sliders and stuff which can bring any current PC to a crawl when put to maximum.

Yes, those are low specs. A 1 ghz min spec for a game like this and 256 RAM!

I'm not sure about Vista being 10% slower than XP, didn't Benchmark it but it doesn't feel like that and from the tests I have seen it isn't true either.

In general for games or for FSX?

[Beirut]

Up till this moment, quad-core CPU perform less than dual core CPU's in games. Vista is another performance hit. There are better drivers now, so it's only ~10% less than XP. SLI doesn't always perform well either.

Is FSX optimised for any of these? Are 64 bit OS supported?

Service Pack 1 gave dual-core support, not sure about SLI. I don't think the 64 bit OS is supported, but I could be wrong.

Is it Microsofts FSX?

Yep. The Acceleration expansion pack is from MS as well.

Minimum System Requirements
Processor: 1.0 Ghz
RAM: Windows XP SP2 - 256MB, Windows Vista – 512MB
Video Card: 32MB DirectX 9 compatible

cough.

You'll sooner have 100 lovelies from The Babe Thread show up at your door Sunday morning than run FSX with those specs.

Dear God, Wonderful Graphics!!

Indeed. There is some exquisite eye-candy in FS2004 & FSX. I'll see if I can get you a really nice FSX "environmental" shot.

[Beirut]

For KingWarman888. A few quick FSX shots. One sure thing about FSX, the winter flying is great!

[Husar]

In general for games or for FSX?

In general, not sure about FSX.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Odin, I recently got that same itch.

The original Lock On - Modern Air Combat game does NOT include Starforce. The expansion, Flaming Cliffs, is what has Starforce.

Patch it up to 1.02 and you don't even need the CD. Fair warning, it's got some bugs, the code isn't wonderful, but it's the best modern military sim that we've got.

I've never tried Lock On, but I hope to soon. I can vouch for Wings Over Europe, however. While it is a little simplistic for a hardcore simmer, the modding structure is very open, and tweaks, scenarios, total conversions (I haven't seen too many of these in the rest of the flight sim world), and amazingly well done user-made terrain, all makes it worth it.

[TosaInu]

In general.

That's great. When did you start using Vista?

[Husar]

That's great. When did you start using Vista?

Around April or so when I got my new HDD. I still have a dual-boot with XP but I gradually stopped using that. Except lately to get some picturess off my dad's old camera which doesn't have any Vista 64 drivers.
That's one thing I'd make sure before fully switching to Vista, that everything you need is at least compatible or has a driver for Vista.

[Lorenzo_H]

I would be surprised if Vista is slower than XP, with Dx10 and everything new about it.

[Odin]

I've never tried Lock On, but I hope to soon. I can vouch for Wings Over Europe, however. While it is a little simplistic for a hardcore simmer, the modding structure is very open, and tweaks, scenarios, total conversions (I haven't seen too many of these in the rest of the flight sim world), and amazingly well done user-made terrain, all makes it worth it.

Thanks for the tips (you too Whacker) a closer look at Wings over europe revealed a dev called thrid wire. They have a WWI combat sim which looks like fun, still I cant seem to find a WWII flight combat sim with a campaign game thats current.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Wings Over Europe is an alternate history Cold War sim, with historically accurate planes and weaponry. It takes place over Germany, though the Bering Strait, Libya, France, and the Middle East have all been made by users, and they are fairly nice.

AFAIK, there is both a WWI mod and WWII mod for Wings Over Europe. I haven't tried either, but if the rest of the mods I have is anything to go by, they'll be excellent as well. Most of the simmers on the download forum review them very highly.