Sweet Spot

[Guest Aviator4life]

Hi all, and let me start out wishing you and yours Happy Holidays and only good things in the coming new year! :( I would very much appreciate it if some of you would be willing to share any advice you might have, regarding which FSX addons I should purchase, based upon my system specs and my typical use of FSX. Yes, I have used the search engine here at AVSIM and elsewhere, am hoping to get some advice more closely tailored to the factors related to my situation/setup.Primarily, my use of FSX is for flights in GA aircraft at less than 10,000' MSL. Simulating bush flights in Alaska is at the top of the list followed by the more typical kind of realworld, GA, VFR and IFR hops. I have been known to make relatively "low and slow" world tours via flight simulation and am interested in doing that as well at some point with FSX. I've been using Active Sky 6.5 with Active Sky Graphics and Ground Environment Pro in/with FS9.1. I do hold a realworld, non-current PP ticket (not a boast in any way, just a point of information to let you know that I do know what the world looks like from 5,000' AGL).My system specs are as follows:OS: Dual boot CPU w/Vista Ultimate, 64bit, SP1; XP Home, 32bit, SP3; each OS on it's own 150Gb x 10,000rpm, Raptor hard-drive (FSX Deluxe with Acceleration expansion pack installed on the Vista drive, FS9.1 on the XP Home drive) Antec 900 case w/ 850W Antec TRUEPOWER Quattro Power SupplyMoBo: EVGA Nvidia 780iProcessor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.0GHzRAM: 4 Gb Corsair DDR2 XMS2 DHX @ 800MHz (4-4-4-12)Video: EVGA GeForce Nvidia 9800GX2 w/1Gb total Video memory, x2 GPU's (NOT two 9800GX2's in SLI)Audio: Onboard Realtek Hi Def AudioDisplay: 22" Samsung SyncMaster 226cw w/native resolution of 1680x1050Controls: Ch Products Pro Pedals (USB) and Flight Sim Yoke PC (USB) for fixed-wing aircraft and an MSFF2 Sidewinder joystick (USB) for rotary-wing aircraft.Based on all of the information above and your personal experience, what in your opinion would be the wisest use of my "buck" to achieve a happy medium between performance (to wit reasonable framerates)and "eye candy"? I do realize that ultimately I will have to do some tweaking in order to maximize things relative to performance and "eye candy". I have read many reviews available both here at AVSIM and elsewhere on the net about the available products, but is there any advice you might share with me, on how to find the FSX scenery add-on "sweet spot", given my system specs, my typical use of FSX, and your personal experience with the available add-ons in mind?I am currently considering purchasing the following products:A global terrain mesh: either FS Global 2008 or FS Genesis World (to improve scenery on a "low and slow" world tour?).The following landclass and texture replacement programs: UTX for USA/Alaska-Canada, GEX enhanced for USA/Alaska-Canada, and REX (primarily for clouds and hopefully an improved weather engine when the devs get it sorted out).With my best regards, take care all,Dave :(

[Geofa 108]

Hi all, and let me start out wishing you and yours Happy Holidays and only good things in the coming new year! :( I would very much appreciate it if some of you would be willing to share any advice you might have, regarding which FSX addons I should purchase, based upon my system specs and my typical use of FSX. Yes, I have used the search engine here at AVSIM and elsewhere, am hoping to get some advice more closely tailored to the factors related to my situation/setup.Primarily, my use of FSX is for flights in GA aircraft at less than 10,000' MSL. Simulating bush flights in Alaska is at the top of the list followed by the more typical kind of realworld, GA, VFR and IFR hops. I have been known to make relatively "low and slow" world tours via flight simulation and am interested in doing that as well at some point with FSX. I've been using Active Sky 6.5 with Active Sky Graphics and Ground Environment Pro in/with FS9.1. I do hold a realworld, non-current PP ticket (not a boast in any way, just a point of information to let you know that I do know what the world looks like from 5,000' AGL).My system specs are as follows:OS: Dual boot CPU w/Vista Ultimate, 64bit, SP1; XP Home, 32bit, SP3; each OS on it's own 150Gb x 10,000rpm, Raptor hard-drive (FSX Deluxe with Acceleration expansion pack installed on the Vista drive, FS9.1 on the XP Home drive) Antec 900 case w/ 850W Antec TRUEPOWER Quattro Power SupplyMoBo: EVGA Nvidia 780iProcessor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.0GHzRAM: 4 Gb Corsair DDR2 XMS2 DHX @ 800MHz (4-4-4-12)Video: EVGA GeForce Nvidia 9800GX2 w/1Gb total Video memory, x2 GPU's (NOT two 9800GX2's in SLI)Audio: Onboard Realtek Hi Def AudioDisplay: 22" Samsung SyncMaster 226cw w/native resolution of 1680x1050Controls: Ch Products Pro Pedals (USB) and Flight Sim Yoke PC (USB) for fixed-wing aircraft and an MSFF2 Sidewinder joystick (USB) for rotary-wing aircraft.Based on all of the information above and your personal experience, what in your opinion would be the wisest use of my "buck" to achieve a happy medium between performance (to wit reasonable framerates)and "eye candy"? I do realize that ultimately I will have to do some tweaking in order to maximize things relative to performance and "eye candy". I have read many reviews available both here at AVSIM and elsewhere on the net about the available products, but is there any advice you might share with me, on how to find the FSX scenery add-on "sweet spot", given my system specs, my typical use of FSX, and your personal experience with the available add-ons in mind?I am currently considering purchasing the following products:A global terrain mesh: either FS Global 2008 or FS Genesis World (to improve scenery on a "low and slow" world tour?).The following landclass and texture replacement programs: UTX for USA/Alaska-Canada, GEX enhanced for USA/Alaska-Canada, and REX (primarily for clouds and hopefully an improved weather engine when the devs get it sorted out).With my best regards, take care all,Dave :(

Hi Dave-Nice to have another rw pilot here-also not to boast but there seem to be quite a few frequenting this board which to me says a lot about the sim, and like myself I hope the sim drives many who are presently sim only pilots get pushed to the rw-they are both great experiences and complementary!I personally had the terrain mesh took it off-it causes problems with a lot of airports displaying correctly. Doesn't mean it isn't great-I just figured the fsx is good enough.I have also tried different landclass only textures but have come back to the default. However, GEX and UTX are must haves imho. Not only do they both make the world look more real, the increased car traffic that will populate your roads from UTX with little or no fps hit adds greatly to a living world.I have all the cloud products and do like REX. There are problems with the weather part right now-but if you install the textures only you again get a much, much greater reality in clouds and especially water.As for aircraft (GA which is what I use) although I have purchased many the ones I pretty much only use are the Real Air Marchetti, the Eaglesoft Twin Commanche, the Eaglesoft Cirrus's,and the Dreamfleet Dakota. They just look, perform, and almost smell like the real thing! :( Although I have purchased some high end aircraft I just don't find them fun to deal with. I have just purchased the Flight One Mustang however, and it is close enough to Ga to interest me and I find it just incredible and perhaps my new favorite.Mytraffic enables me to turn GA traffic up quite a bit with hardly any fps hit.I'd also recommend as I am on some other rw flight boards-creating your own aircraft with FS Panel Studio, and some of the rw gauges from Reality Xp including the wonderful Garmin Waas enabled gps. There is nothing better for training (or reliving past experiences) than looking at a cockpit that resembles what you have flown.As for your specs I'll let an expert answer that-but it appears your system is as good if not better than mine. I crank all the resolution stuff to the max-turn all the video settings way up on the card driver outside the sim,turn down autogen houses manually in the config file but leave the scenery complexity all the way up. This gives me razor sharp textures to look at, buildings while on the ground, and razor sharp looking texture buildings while in the air with autogen trees and an average fps in the high 20's -30's .

[Guest Alphahawk3]

Hi all, and let me start out wishing you and yours Happy Holidays and only good things in the coming new year! :( I would very much appreciate it if some of you would be willing to share any advice you might have, regarding which FSX addons I should purchase, based upon my system specs and my typical use of FSX. Yes, I have used the search engine here at AVSIM and elsewhere, am hoping to get some advice more closely tailored to the factors related to my situation/setup.Primarily, my use of FSX is for flights in GA aircraft at less than 10,000' MSL. Simulating bush flights in Alaska is at the top of the list followed by the more typical kind of realworld, GA, VFR and IFR hops. I have been known to make relatively "low and slow" world tours via flight simulation and am interested in doing that as well at some point with FSX. I've been using Active Sky 6.5 with Active Sky Graphics and Ground Environment Pro in/with FS9.1. I do hold a realworld, non-current PP ticket (not a boast in any way, just a point of information to let you know that I do know what the world looks like from 5,000' AGL).My system specs are as follows:OS: Dual boot CPU w/Vista Ultimate, 64bit, SP1; XP Home, 32bit, SP3; each OS on it's own 150Gb x 10,000rpm, Raptor hard-drive (FSX Deluxe with Acceleration expansion pack installed on the Vista drive, FS9.1 on the XP Home drive) Antec 900 case w/ 850W Antec TRUEPOWER Quattro Power SupplyMoBo: EVGA Nvidia 780iProcessor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.0GHzRAM: 4 Gb Corsair DDR2 XMS2 DHX @ 800MHz (4-4-4-12)Video: EVGA GeForce Nvidia 9800GX2 w/1Gb total Video memory, x2 GPU's (NOT two 9800GX2's in SLI)Audio: Onboard Realtek Hi Def AudioDisplay: 22" Samsung SyncMaster 226cw w/native resolution of 1680x1050Controls: Ch Products Pro Pedals (USB) and Flight Sim Yoke PC (USB) for fixed-wing aircraft and an MSFF2 Sidewinder joystick (USB) for rotary-wing aircraft.Based on all of the information above and your personal experience, what in your opinion would be the wisest use of my "buck" to achieve a happy medium between performance (to wit reasonable framerates)and "eye candy"? I do realize that ultimately I will have to do some tweaking in order to maximize things relative to performance and "eye candy". I have read many reviews available both here at AVSIM and elsewhere on the net about the available products, but is there any advice you might share with me, on how to find the FSX scenery add-on "sweet spot", given my system specs, my typical use of FSX, and your personal experience with the available add-ons in mind?I am currently considering purchasing the following products:A global terrain mesh: either FS Global 2008 or FS Genesis World (to improve scenery on a "low and slow" world tour?).The following landclass and texture replacement programs: UTX for USA/Alaska-Canada, GEX enhanced for USA/Alaska-Canada, and REX (primarily for clouds and hopefully an improved weather engine when the devs get it sorted out).With my best regards, take care all,Dave :(

Not a real world pilot....would love to be but the money is not there at this pont in my life.....but as for MSFS I think FTX is a must for flying low. It is Australia based but there is nothing like it for the US that I have seen. I am currently doing a fly around Australia from filed to filed....don't know where I am going but sure am enjoying getting there with that scenery. I have GEX....FEX.....XGraphics. All of those add realism to the flying and don't put a strain on my i7 system. I had tried UTX but that was with an old P4 and maybe need to go back there again. The P4 just could not handle it and Flight1 promptly gave me a refund....which they do for the first 30 days. Like Geofa I too have stuck with the default landclass. I have tried FSGS and Scenery Tech. I do not like either one of them since GEX came out. Flying around in the southwest with GEX and default landclass looks pretty real to me. I have the SF260....SR22....and of course Flight1"s 172. I need to try some kind of traffic package but just don't know which one. The AI in the sim is not to my liking and I would love to find something that would have some GA traffic hanging around my Small airfield. I am waiting for more input on the bugs in REX but do want to try it. I read something interesting that Geofa wrote in a thread the other day that got me to thinking....and it has to do with performance issues and "As real as it gets". He had said and I think this is right...that he does not use any outside camera views to look at his aircraft when flying. Now I may be wrong about that but that is what I remember. It got me to thinking that you can't do that in real world flying...you can look out windows....and I also thought what a strain on a system when one does that. It may look nice to look at your aircraft but it is not realistic. But we all use this as we want and that is what it is all about. But it made me think I can add more on to the sim if I just use my windows to look out of when flying. I ran GEX...FEX....Xgraphics.....FSHS mesh with my old P4 and believe it or not it ran pretty good with the autogen off. I don't think you are going to have any problems with what you are talking about adding on. May I ask why the two video cards? Regards

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

I notice the Realair SF260 being recommended, which I would certainly agree with.Based on your flying preferences, I'd add the Realair Scout and possibly the new Flight1 Cessna Mustang.

[Guest Aviator4life]

Gents,Thank you very much for taking the time to post your well thought out replies. They contain precisely the kind of feedback/input I am looking for, objective and comparitive with explanations all-around.Recently, I lost my 3rd class medical certificate for a heart condition (totally occluded - and inoperable - main coronary artery) in spite of the fact that my ldl cholesterol is 62! This is the main reason why I am so interested in updating my installation of FSX as it will be my way to continue flying (other than the occasional rides I go on with pilot-friends). I've had a look around inside FSX and it seems obvious to me from all the documenting screenshots that this is the sim to use for GA low and slow flying, provided the right add-ons are used in the right way. I'm looking forward to this new "journey" in flight-simming.That being said, given both your comments (and keeping in mind I'll be sim-flying primarily in North America), I think that it is safe for me to order and download at least UTX (USA/Alaska/Canada) and GEX for the time being. It's probably safe to go with REX as well (for the cloud textures alone). I would consider FEX but I am figuring to either wind up using ASX (or the new AS version about to come out) or the weather engine included with REX.Frankly, I am/was already worried about the performance hit of a more detailed terrain mesh add-on. However, with your recommendations I will forgo that option at this point, since you both seem to think that the negatives in either performance or function (the raised airfields due to the flattenning mechanic used in FSX with regards to airports) outweigh the benefits.I've checked out the FTX stuff for Australia via the internet, but I just don't see myself leaving my full set of Alaskan sectionals and approach plates, various other North American sectional charts and complete set of approach plates, to get dusty on the shelf while I sim-fly on the other side of the world. Although I do take your recommendation for the FTX line of products very highly and with much confidence given all of your remarks "Alphahawk3". Absolutely no disrespect intended whatsoever, be certain of it. While I have your "ear", I only have one graphics card. I tried to be clear on it but it can be confusing. The 9800GX2 is basically two separate GPU's on a single card solution. Granted it is a huge card, but it is like having two cards in SLI mode without the "SLI mode". There is only one Graphics card in my machine but it contains two GPU's. I got it because at the time it was the only single card alternative to a two-card SLI setup (which is not economical given the cost/performance ratio of doing so, I suspect we think alike on that count). I built this machine with upgradeability in mind, I can go to a quad-core, 8 Gb RAM, and/or add another graphics card - or two - if and when I ever feel the need to. That is also why the 780i Mobo. Right now my rig is and has been as stable as a rock. I totally agree with "Geofa's" philosophy on staying in the cockpit while sim-flying. I have never done any wing-walking in the real-world and I never go to external views while sim-flying, UNLESS it is to take screenshots while viewing a replay. But when I'm acting as PIC, sim-flying or r/w flying, I'm in the cockpit. Anything else, in the case of sim-flying, totally destroys the immersion for me.Geofa, I do think that I will take a close look at one of the flight1 C-172's, which is something I hadn't previously thought to do. The idea of customizing the panel to match the 1978 C-172 XP II I used to fly (among other various rental aircraft) sounds like an interesting and fun project.As far as the AI traffic replacements and such, well, I think I will maintain my focus for now on the view out the windscreen. Once I get that sorted, then i will consider some of the other options you have mentioned. But you should both be certain I have duly noted your comments and they will not be lost on me.Lastly, I agree with you Geofa that it is indeed a compliment and testament to FSX, and FS9 for that matter, that so many realworld pilots use it. There can be no arguement as to the value of flight simulators when it comes to flight training, that is a fact I have personally experienced on several occasions. I had exactly 40.2 hours in my logbook after I logged my flight from my home FBO to the airport where I met my flight examiner for my PP check ride. That was due in large part to my use of MS flight sims. I helped prepare another flight-simmer for his basic flight training using FS9 and the freeware RealAir 172 and he completed his PP requirements in South Africa in less than 30 days - he was a resident of the Netherlands), and there are more experiences like this that I have personal knowledge of.Again, thanks for your comments, and for taking the time to share them with me and others reading this thread.Just remember that there is nothing more useless than the runway behind you, the altitude above you, or the fuel you didn't take - back at the FBO before departure, hehe! :( :( Happy Holidays and Best Regards to all! :(EDIT: Bert, ty for your recommendations on the payware aircraft as well!

[LAdamson 240]

I totally agree with "Geofa's" philosophy on staying in the cockpit while sim-flying. I have never done any wing-walking in the real-world and I never go to external views while sim-flying, UNLESS it is to take screenshots while viewing a replay. But when I'm acting as PIC, sim-flying or r/w flying, I'm in the cockpit. Anything else, in the case of sim-flying, totally destroys the immersion for me.

If you feel the need for "spot view".............I'm a real world pilot too, and probably use the outside/camera view about 50% of the time. But then I also flew radio control for many years, and can easily keep the spot view aircraft in complete control. As to why I like spot view, it's simple. In real life, I have a sliding canopy, which is much like the RealAir Marchetti 260 thats been mentioned here. In reality, a monitor shaves off much of the panaramic view, that the real aircraft has. I figure I'd need about six monitors to make up the difference. So in some ways, the SPOT view is a bit more realistic. But it's really preference, and keepiing the aircraft in control at the same time.L.Adamson

[Guest Aviator4life]

L.Adamson, you have a valid point and I would agree that it is largely a matter of personal preference. I like to treat the flight simulator with all its faults (can someone say ATC) as much as possible in the same way as the realworld. Of course, we both know there are vast differences between the two, that is a given. For me, the limited view from the VC or 2d cockpit of a flight-sim aircraft is realistic, as it closely matches the view I am used to in the GA aircraft I used to fly.Of course this is due largely in part to my large stature at 5'6" and 160lbs., lol! Yup, I have been known to sit on an extra seat cushion or two to properly see over the front panel of an aircraft from time to time. :( :( So I guess realism, in this case, truly is in the eye of the beholder. :(Best Regards :(