Captain Sim 727

[Guest johns]

Not being the brightest of individuals I am totally confused about the 727. I have looked at the screenshots etc and the 727 looks very good and I am tempted to buy.However after reading the messages on the forum I ask myself 1. is it worth the money 2. Can I now download it and install now without any problems 3. Do I risk losing my money or risk becoming involved in some fraud. The messages of the forum are very mixed. Johns

[Misha_K 0]

I have it and I think it's one of the finest addons ever. The people whining on the forums are some who preordered long ago when the thing was announced to be released in mid November and din't have the patience to deal wit the delay wit hthe releas and are now bickering about every little thing. CaptainSim has been very responsive in addressing comments and issues. What's available now is spectacular. There are three little patches already available that fix most of the issues, a final patch addressing some remaining issues with the flight dynamics is in the works. I for my part am very happy with the aircraft. Misha

[Guest ScottPilot]

How are the frame rates with the 727? I have bought most of the Dream Fleet aircraft (which I like) but the frame rates could be better.Scott :-)

[Hornit 3]

Here are some things to think about.A. Capatain Sim's 727 is THE best 727-100 and -200 available bar none. The model is in one word exceptional.B. The 727 panel provided and virtual cockpit set new standards IMHO.C. It is a high polygon model and even the fastest systems will see some frame rate hit with this add-on. There is no free lunch. I have an athlon 1,4 ghz with 512mb DDR, GF4Ti 4200 128mb ram, and a soundblaster live. I get around 15-18fps with reflections on. If I turn off the reflections, I get in the mid twenties (fps capped at 25)The textures are very nice without reflections so it is an option. I do not run with settings maxed. I have about 40% traffic, and autogen on dense along with scene complexity. I also use FS Sky world with clouds at about 60% and visibility at 20 miles. Its an acceptable and enjoyable add-on, well worth the cash.Hornit

[Guest]

I like it but framerates do take a hit, as mentioned by other responders to your message. I use it on a Dell 300 PII with an 8 mb ATI card. To get flyable frame rates I turn scenery complexity to normal or sparse and turn off aircraft shadows. I stop every process except Explorer and ActiveSky Wx when starting FS2002. I also defragmented my drive and that seems to have help framerates alot. I get anywhere from 8 to 12 fps with the CS727, which for me is acceptable.Some people have complained loudly about the activation process, where you pay for the software, download and install it, and then have to activate it with a one-time registration over a live internet connection. I've reinstalled the product a couple of times now and you have to go through the activation process each time the software is reinstalled. It doesn't mean you have to pay for it each time you reinstall it, you just request a new activation code and then re-register it when reinstalling. I share the feelings of others that software activation, in principle, is particulary irksome. However, I didn't have a problem with Captain Sim 727 so it really wasn't a big deal for me personally.The airplane is really nice and the flight model has certainly improved since the first 'technical release'. Notably fuel consumption rates have been corrected (In the technical release the engines consumed fuel at such a miserly rate that flights of 10-15 hours duration were possible). Vertical hold has been fixed, too (in the technical release it was impossible to set the autopilot to a steady +500 fpm climb). By the way the panel night lighting I think is exceptional.For me there are still some very minor issues, however. I still find it difficult to manipulate some of the switch bitmaps in the overhead and second officer 2-D panels. There are still some logic errors in the systems coding. The flight and engine instruments are so perfectly scaled that it's hard to read the numbers on the dials. (FlightOne Iron Knuckles got around this by having a detailed pop-up of the primary flight display and engine instruments which for me was a very nice feature.) It would be nice to have some documentation of procedures of the second officer panel, too, to be able to set cabin pressurization accurately, configure bus settings correctly, and so on.I have the standard edition. If I were purchasing it now I would get the full edition with the sounds and extras, which add a lot to the experience for me personally. The package is a bit on the expensive side but I think a worthy investment considering you get a nice range of liveries, a high quality visual exterior model, a high quality interior 2-D panels and virtual cockpit, nice sounds.

[Guest]

I had big concerns about the anti-piracy question, which they answered to my satisfaction very quickly in their forum. I have decided to buy the plane, but I'm going to wait a week or two for them to fix some of the small problems that folks have identified.It is clear this is a small company whose talent is design, not PR or marketing. But I think they are learning. Their planes are top notch, if the reviews of the Mig and the Albatross are any indication.

[pbenoit 0]

My $.021. there is more craziness surrounding this software than I have ever seen. Some people, a VERY vocal minority, are having a field day BASHING Capt Sim.2. Yes, the activation process is a bit silly, and you do have to be PATIENT, but piracy is a very REAL concern, and these guys do this for a living. Consider running a small store and having your products STOLEN all of the time. 3. If you are looking for a very detailed, accurately portrayed 727 with "all the goodies" ... VC if you like, very detailed and functional 2d cockpit, nicely done documentation, excellent aircraft ... this is certainly IT.4. issues? sure ... what new software dosen;t have issues ... CS is on patch 3 .. a good effort I would say.5. Runs fine for me on a PIII866/512mb ram gforce2mx400/64mb running W2000 PRO. 6. this is a VERY VERY VERY complex piece of software, anyone who has ever written code for a commercial product will tell you that. These guys have done a very awesome job and DESERVE your support I think.