GEX and all the rest

[AirbusA340300 0]

so, i am expecting the final missing pieces of my new computer to come any day now. and in the mean time, i am deciding on what to get for FSX. i plan on getting ASA to enhance my weather. and when it comes to terrain, thats where i am confused. FEX, GEX, UTX, REX, i cant keep track of them. and on top of that, i read that some of them work together? some have replacement textures, others dont and have landclass textures. and some change the clouds, and it goes on and on. from what i heard, the best to get now would be GEX and UTX? because these work together, correct? any help would be appreciated, thanksadam k

[CanadaOne 36]

Hey there,You're asking the Silver Bullet question. There is no one firm answer, there are several, but my version of the FSX Silver Bullet is pretty conventional.These are the first add-ons I bought and those I will never fly without.FS Genesis Terrain Mesh - Makes the FSX blobby looking moutains look like real mountains with cliffs and ridges and peaks.GEX - Makes the ground textures and auto-gen look much richer and more well placed.UTX - Corrects shorelines and coasts and rivers and puts cities and roads where they should be.FEX - Gives you gorgeous Haagan-Dazs clouds and water. Fantastic eye-candy with hundreds of sets to chose from.For me, these are the must have programs. Together they turn FSX into FSX Plus! (Oh, and the FSX Acceleration Pack is a must as well.)Happy flying!

[bonchie 2,305]

so, i am expecting the final missing pieces of my new computer to come any day now. and in the mean time, i am deciding on what to get for FSX. i plan on getting ASA to enhance my weather. and when it comes to terrain, thats where i am confused. FEX, GEX, UTX, REX, i cant keep track of them. and on top of that, i read that some of them work together? some have replacement textures, others dont and have landclass textures. and some change the clouds, and it goes on and on. from what i heard, the best to get now would be GEX and UTX? because these work together, correct? any help would be appreciated, thanksadam k

If your into eye candy GEX and REX are the two to get first. UTX is nice but it will hit your frames (no matter what the developers say). I've had it for 2 years and I just recently decided to take it off for a while. Unless you are VFR flying and landmark spotting you won't notice much of a difference.FEX and REX do the same thing. REX has better water and coral simulations. I'd say the clouds are about even. Since REX is 5 bucks less and also includes airport textures (runways, taxiways, markings, parking spots, etc.) I'd say go with that. It also includes a weather engine but it's kind of buggy at the moment. Works for some, doesn't for others. If it works for you you may wanta hold off on ASA, even though it definently is the superior weather engine, but how much that matters to someone is subjective. I'm personally happy just clicking real-world weather and flying. I never got into creating my own weather and stuff.

[Geofa 108]

If your into eye candy GEX and REX are the two to get first. UTX is nice but it will hit your frames (no matter what the developers say). I've had it for 2 years and I just recently decided to take it off for a while. Unless you are VFR flying and landmark spotting you won't notice much of a difference.FEX and REX do the same thing. REX has better water and coral simulations. I'd say the clouds are about even. Since REX is 5 bucks less and also includes airport textures (runways, taxiways, markings, parking spots, etc.) I'd say go with that. It also includes a weather engine but it's kind of buggy at the moment. Works for some, doesn't for others. If it works for you you may wanta hold off on ASA, even though it definently is the superior weather engine, but how much that matters to someone is subjective. I'm personally happy just clicking real-world weather and flying. I never got into creating my own weather and stuff.

One of the things Utx does is increase car traffic on many roads (not just the main ones) and without from what I can tell a performance hit.So for me Utx is just as important as I like an alive world below me in addition to the other things it adds.I use all the above add ins-and they all add hugely to the sim.

[badaboom 0]

I just added UTX and I agree,It adds a lot of realism when you're on final of your favorite airport and see streets and intersections that are correctly placed with moving traffic,very cool! I think I'm going to make FEX my next purchase.

[Guest Aviator4life]

"AirbusA340300",What addons you can use and what addons would be most useful to you can be two entirely different things depending on what types of flying you most like to do in the simulator. I prefer mostly "low and slow" bush-flying type hops. I added UTX (USA & Canada/Alaska), GEX, and REX this holiday season (along with a few other "bush" and GA payware aircraft). From a "textures" and aircraft perspective in my flight-simming, I couldn't be happier.Now, if you find yourself in ATP Airbus aircraft, up in the flight levels above transition altitude, at speeds measured in Mach rather than IAS, while remaining on top of the vast majority of the weather, well you would probably be better served with other addons than the ones that were right for me. Maybe an ATC addon (Radar Contact), a weather addon for a more accurate realtime/realworld weather engine (ASX - Activesky X or ASA - Activesky Advanced), perhaps some localized scenery upgrades for the airports you use the most, and last but not least - maybe some high quality payware aircraft (the choices are numerous).It all depends.There is no substitution for reading product descriptions, user reviews, professional reviews, and support forums. Then you must ask yourself which of these products will enhance YOUR flight-simming the most. I dropped $180.00 this holiday season on my FSX installation, and because I made the right choices for ME, my flight-simming has reached an all-time peak in the fun and enjoyment departments.Once you determine which products are for you, then you can put them in a list from most important to least important. After that, which ones you buy is merely how far down on your list your budget will allow you to go.Whatever you do, don't be in a hurry. Take the time to make informed choices. That is how you can be certain to not only buy the products right for you, but also how you can be certain to get the most "bang for your bucks".End of story.Best regards and best of luck, enjoy your new rig! :(

[AirbusA340300 0]

thanks for the replies. i myself am a heavy iron flier in flight sim. i plan on getting the pmdg md-11 as soon as i get my new rig set up. and although, for the majority of the flight, i wont make any use of GEX or any addon of the kind, but it would enhance my experience during take off and landing which is the main reason i would get itadam k

[Guest Aviator4life]

Cool beans, like I said, if it is important to you, that is what counts as opposed to what is important to others. Exactly the point I was trying to convey, I merely suggested localized scenery rather than an overall textures improvement, but again, it's what you think that matters most. I think GEX is an excellent product and am glad I made the purchase.I do think that atm REX is a better value than FEX for sky textures, plus you get airport texture improvements as well.I know guys, I say po-tay-to and you say po-tah-to, rofl. :( (but I am talking about my two cents in this case, hehe :( )To each their own. It's all good! :(