Computer Pilot Magazine let down

[Guest over and out]

Just a comment here. I subscribe to Computer Pilot Magazine. I have been very disapointed in their so-called reviews for FSX. They have been hyping FSX since the demo came out,to the release before xmas and now, even though there have been so many people out there that can not run the program even on newer machines. I emailed them a few times but they didnt respond. If you look on Amazon for example, FSX only got 2.5 stars in the reviews.So Computer Pilot Magazine in my opinion is not a very good source for information,unlike this and other forums. They seam to have forgotten FS9, and they don't realize that FS9 is here to stay for a while.Anyhow, just venting here.

[GHarrall 494]

Funny you should mention this as I just read a review of FSX in my copy of 'Airliner World'The lady who wrote it (sorry, can't remember her name) seems to have leafed through the MS FSX 'glossy marketing brochure' and based her 'review' on it.It actually states that FSX is more efficient and better performing than FS9, even on lower spec PC's.I mean come on, this isn't even CLOSE to being the truth.There are lot's of other strange statements in the review as well. Not worth the paper it's printed on I'm afraid.Glenn

[Guest JTEK99]

Funny, but I beg to differ.Whilst the last issues have (a) a good deal of advertising by developers for *many* FSX-compatible and -upcoming products and (:( a rather positive review of FSX, there have also been articles on how some users aren't going to be upgrading wholeheartedly soon. Most notably is an article by Francois Dumas, I believe, who talks about the heavy overhead of FSX, the need to tweak a lot, and the unavailability of hardware to take advantage of the new engine.To its credit, I think ComputerPilot magazine really serves the community well. Many of its articles are "version-free" in the sense that, regardless of which of the more 'current' versions you're using (e.g., FS2000, FS2002, FS2004 or FSX), the articles remain helpful as well as useful. Round Robins, real-life pilot vignettes and how they apply to flightsimming, air traffic control, Mike Ray's excellent series on interacting with commercial transports... again, all are not version-specific.When I first started subscribing to ComputerPilot, I'd look at some of the articles and note that the screenshots from some were clearly NOT FS2004 (and maybe not even FS2002). But I realized that the screenies were relevant to the article only for illustrating a point and that -- yes, Martha -- there are quite a *large* number of simmers out there who don't have the latest flightsim engine at their disposal. There are still hundreds of thousands of flightsimmers using FS2K and even more using FS2K2. Hard to believe for those of who are refresh-monkeys on the flightsim forums, but it's true. Given this, ComputerPilot is king; a majority of the articles work for ALL simmers.Why, there are even articles for X-Plane flyers in quite a number of issues (sacrilege!) and a good series some months back comes to mind on power-flying in Falcon4.ComputerPilot is certainly MicrosoftFS-centric, but I'd definitely say they play quite fair with just about everything and there's something in each issue for any level of flightsimmer. I look forward to it every month and at about US$3.25 per issue (if you subscribe), it's a total bargain.Take a look at the issue with the 'big' FSX review again; you'll read quite a rebuttal within those pages as well. And if you're concerned that there are a few "extra" articles highlighting this, that or the other in FSX, well.... for god's sake. It's a brand new flightsim engine and there's lots to discuss. ComputerPilot would be remiss if it didn't provide coverage. Logic here, as in all things, goes a long way. :)

[Guest over and out]

I subcribe also, as I mentioned. But I think their treatment of FSX has been misleading. I agree that they have a variety of items in their magazine and I have liked it for a long time. I have just been let down by their FSX reviews. And frankly, this is a giant-big deal. Like MSFS 2004, the FSX will be the Foundation of the flightsim world. And for Computer Pilot to just gloss over the serious issue of performance for people who have great computers has really been a diservice to their readers.One reason we subscribe, and pay for these types of magazines is for some level of objective reviewing so that we can make educated decisions about our hobby. I realize that they are going to slant towards their sponsors, but they need to be a little bit more honest.

[Guest Ozzie]

Heres something else you might like to considerhttp://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

[Guest ThrottleUp]

I do not like this magazine either, I mean hats off for producing a sim-only publication but somehow it doesnt agree with me.I find the reviews of simming in the real-world magazines (Aircraft Illustrated etc) much more interesting and informative.

[Guest over and out]

I'll have to look into other magazines also, any good reqs?

[StamPilot 4]

I like PC Pilot most of all, you can try it.

[Guest blaster331]

Greetings All,I had subscribed to CP for years but I now find much more accurate info right here on Avsim and always get the news way ahead of any magazine.There are many brillant people contributing here on this forum.Just my thoughtsBest regardsAndrewDamascus pa

[crosswind 825]

Descent magazine....however their mailing schedule is full of it. I could never get a magazine on time. I would get October's issue in November and so forth. so after a year of paying for a late service magazine, I canceled my subscriptionK_W

[NWarty 0]

The PC Pilot review gave FSX 5 out of 5 stars and a "PC Pilot Classic" sticker...

[Guest ThrottleUp]

-----------------------------------------------The PC Pilot review gave FSX 5 out of 5 stars and a "PC Pilot Classic" sticker...-----------------------------------------------http://www.thisboardrocks.com/forum/images...es/handbang.gif

[NWarty 0]

My thoughts exactly Nevin ;) I know they have to make a profit, but COME ON.

[Guest ThrottleUp]

Hee hee, not surprisingly its forums like this (and many others), simmer blogs and the reviews in RW-magazines that give the better reviews!As for FSX Im waiting for prices to stabilize on those new Cre 2 Duo gaming monsters before I buy and also waiting for all the 3rd party tweaks that will transform the sim for the better.Its gonna be REAL hard to leave FS9 behind!

[Guest over and out]

I used to subscribe to PC Pilot but the cost of nearly $50 was a little steep, so I switched to Computer Pilot. But I did enjoy PC Pilot more. Perhaps I'll switch back. I didnt read their review of FSX but if they gave it a 5 out of 5, they must be getting payola also from Microsoft!I, like others here, are finding that the forums like this one is where the good info is.I wonder if the magazines are paying attention to the poor reviews in the forums of FSX?oh, well.