Opinions on Flight One's Cessna 421C Package

[Guest]

Anyone have this add-on, if so both good and bad opinions are wanted.Also I was reading with much curiosity the Flight One Meridian thread, it looks as if that too may be a keeper.I find that I have more fun with FS using add-ons more in the general aviation category than from my pile of airliners. My current favorites are FSD

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Buy! Buy! Buy!I have the 421C and I love it. From the cabin or cockpit, it is the essence of simming. One of the few GMAX aircraft to offer virtual cockpit, cabin and wing views, it is still my primary aircraft for all but the longest hops. I can't praise it enough....In the light bizjet category, Abacus used to offer an Eclipse. Although there is only one Eclipse flying, I thought it was one of the best light bizjets ever released for FS2002. Sadly, it was pulled from sale recently.Chuck Dome has recently released a freeware Citation Mustang designed with FSDS 2.... Take a look at www.fsjets.com....Regards,John

[CharlieZ 0]

I recently purchased the Cessna 421 package from Flight One. I have a pentium III 800E chip and am unable to enjoy this aircraft because it lowers my frame rates to such an extent that all my scenery becomes blurry, even the default buildings. As soon as I change to another aircraft, all my scenery becomes sharp and in focus again. I don't know if I should sell it, or put it on the shelf till I upgrade my computer nrxt year.

[Guest SoarPics]

I love the 421, but alas took it off my hard drive recently.It and my computer simply would not play together nicely. I suffered some of the goofiest system crashes and aberations while flying the 421. And I'll point out that NO OTHER FS add-on has done these things on my computer. I've had almost no problems with all other add-ons (save for the occasional glitch that often comes with a new product but is quickly resolved by the creators of the product). I have the patch and the add-on textures to make it more FPS friendly (have you tried the DXT3 textures, CharlieZ. They do make it easier on your computer, and I couldn't really see any visual quality difference).I'll consider the Meridian when it is released, but I'll probably devote more time and energy to getting the 421 to work on my computer before spending any more money.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

"I have a pentium III 800E chip and am unable to enjoy this aircraft because it lowers my frame rates to such an extent that all my scenery becomes blurry"I have a P3/800. A tip to enjoy the aircraft--turn off reflections while flying it. My second tip--I converted the aircraft textures to a smaller non-reflective, DXT-1 format by using DXTBMP and clearing the alpha channel (The only bmp I did not do this on was the prop bitmap). This converts the textures to something even smaller than DXT-3. Now I have no framerate hit at all while flying the aircraft with these two tweaks--the more significant one being the turning off of reflections. The benefit of the bmp conversion was sharper textures. There is a big relationship between the texture size of the aircraft, and the ability of FS to maintain sharp textures on the ground.In cockpit view, I run at 25fps with the 421 and Autogen off, 20-22 fps with Autogen normal, and 15-17 fps with autogen maxed. Subtract 2-3 fps for the external views in each scenario. But if I turn reflections on, then it is a fps killer. I think the A/C (along with the DF Cardinal) is one of those that looks great with or without reflections.-John

[kerosene31 349]

I just recently ordered the 421 and am very happy with it. I have not experienced any problems with it. The flight model is excellent and has that great "feel" that so many other planes lack. The panel is great and the visual model is excellent as well. The documentation is well done. I haven't had any of the performance problems the others stated, but my system is pretty powerful:P4 2.26512 mb ramgeforce 4 ti 4600

[Guest]

Hmmm