I am a long time FS9 user (with multiple fancy add-ons) and have just upgraded the FSX Gold Edition. BTW - FSX is great, much better than I had imagined.I have the following add-ons thus far Ground Environment X - USA and Canada, Flight Environment X for FSX, and Ultimate Terrain X - USA/Canada Bundle. What other add-ons would you recommend to get that super real external environment look (not including specific airport scenery)?Thanks in advance!RH

I am a long time FS9 user (with multiple fancy add-ons) and have just upgraded the FSX Gold Edition. BTW - FSX is great, much better than I had imagined.I have the following add-ons thus far Ground Environment X - USA and Canada, Flight Environment X for FSX, and Ultimate Terrain X - USA/Canada Bundle. What other add-ons would you recommend to get that super real external environment look (not including specific airport scenery)?Thanks in advance!RH

The choice is very clear my friend: FTX!!! http://fullterrain.com/

I am a long time FS9 user (with multiple fancy add-ons) and have just upgraded the FSX Gold Edition. BTW - FSX is great, much better than I had imagined.I have the following add-ons thus far Ground Environment X - USA and Canada, Flight Environment X for FSX, and Ultimate Terrain X - USA/Canada Bundle. What other add-ons would you recommend to get that super real external environment look (not including specific airport scenery)?Thanks in advance!RH

Active Sky Advanced.

I am a long time FS9 user (with multiple fancy add-ons) and have just upgraded the FSX Gold Edition. BTW - FSX is great, much better than I had imagined.I have the following add-ons thus far Ground Environment X - USA and Canada, Flight Environment X for FSX, and Ultimate Terrain X - USA/Canada Bundle. What other add-ons would you recommend to get that super real external environment look (not including specific airport scenery)?Thanks in advance!RH

http://www.precisionmanuals.com/http://www.flight1.com/http://www.scenerysolutions.com/index.htmlhttp://secure.simmarket.com/default-en.htmlhttp://www.aerosoft.com/cgi-local/re/iboshop.cgi?show0http://www.flightsimstore.com/http://www.realenvironmentxtreme.com/http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.htmlhttp://fsaddon.eu/wpfsaddon/http://fullterrain.com/http://www.flightenvironment.com/index.htmlhttp://www.fsd-international.com/http://www.fsdreamteam.com/index.htmlhttp://www.leveldsim.com/sevensix_home.asphttp://www2.hifisim.com/http://www.fsgenesis.net/http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/http://www.captainsim.com/http://www.carenado.com/ecommerce/index.php3http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/http://www.eaglesoftdg.com/http://www.fsbuild.com/http://www.reality-xp.com/http://www.realairsimulations.com/home.php?page=homePick any of your own choice :(

I am a long time FS9 user (with multiple fancy add-ons) and have just upgraded the FSX Gold Edition. BTW - FSX is great, much better than I had imagined.I have the following add-ons thus far Ground Environment X - USA and Canada, Flight Environment X for FSX, and Ultimate Terrain X - USA/Canada Bundle. What other add-ons would you recommend to get that super real external environment look (not including specific airport scenery)?Thanks in advance!RH

FSGenesis Mesh

FS Genesis Mesh (I would get this or ASA first)ASAFTXREX (You already have FEX though so you may want to skip this for a bit).If you do a lot of flying in areas with variable weather, ASA would probably benefit you very much. However, I would probably get FS Genesis Mesh first since the terrain you fly over will add to the experience inclimate weather or not. :(

Does FS Genesis Mesh handle the elevation data like it did in FS?What are ASA, FTX, and REX? Thanks,RH

Since, blessedly, I don't seem to be having the problems some people report with various things, I am really hesitant to add anything to a system that works. The only thing I have is X Traffic and a couple of airports. Are there risks of frame hits and conflicts with global modifications like terrain and weather? Sometimes I wonder if the difference between working right and not are global mods, especially since fresh installs of FSX seem to solve some problems. I'm not accusing any product of causing problems; I'm just looking for "informed consent."Granted, if you want decent traffic you have to go third party. Weather could be better in FSX, especially graphically, but I don't know how many FPS I'd be willing to part with and I sure would hate to see weird aircraft behavior. Given that FSX scenery is better to start with than FS9, I'm also wondering how big a difference those packages make and what the risks are.

Does FS Genesis Mesh handle the elevation data like it did in FS?What are ASA, FTX, and REX? Thanks,RH

ASA = Weather engine. You ca modify all aspects of the weather as well download accurate weather from around the world. ASA greatly enhances the weather aspect of FSX/FS9.FTX = Region pack for Australia (I actually do not have this...I got UTX and FEX mixed up. It is only Monday and it has already been a long week. LOL) It does seem to have a rather strong following though...I just never fly in Australia.REX = Real Enviroment Extreme. Combined texture enhancements (clouds, sky, water, runways, taxiways, sun glare, etc.. etc..) + Weather engine. The weather engine does ot seem as robust as ASA though. I actually use REX textures with ASA weather.Hope this helps.

Since, blessedly, I don't seem to be having the problems some people report with various things, I am really hesitant to add anything to a system that works. The only thing I have is X Traffic and a couple of airports. Are there risks of frame hits and conflicts with global modifications like terrain and weather? Sometimes I wonder if the difference between working right and not are global mods, especially since fresh installs of FSX seem to solve some problems. I'm not accusing any product of causing problems; I'm just looking for "informed consent."Granted, if you want decent traffic you have to go third party. Weather could be better in FSX, especially graphically, but I don't know how many FPS I'd be willing to part with and I sure would hate to see weird aircraft behavior. Given that FSX scenery is better to start with than FS9, I'm also wondering how big a difference those packages make and what the risks are.

I don't think the 3rd party apps themselves cause as many issues as it may seem. I think what is often seen/heard is the vocal minoirty rather than the silent majority. Weather programs such as ASA do not affect performance themselves, rather what they are capable of can...i.e., a "Storm" with FSX default weather may not be nearly as bad as the more accurate weather depicting ASA provides. ASA does have options though to aid in performance, such as cloud layers, visibility distance locks, etc.. It really is a powerful tool, and it can, IMO, greatly affect your immersion in the simulator (in a positive way!). Some programs are probably more beneficial to certain players than others depeding on what they fly. In all honesty, I do not think any of the programs I have used have caused any issues with FSX or FS9. As an aside, after utilizing all of the programs I do, if could no longer use them I would more than likely not play FS9/FSX any longer. Now that I have used them, I really do not think I could sim without them. It has always been my feeling that "messed up" FS9/FSX installs are more often user error rather than program inflicted. The issues some experience may not even be remotely caused by anything FS9/FSX related. How many times have we all seen a user install an add-on, then their computer won't boot and it instantly becomes the add-ons fault.........even if the add-on has absolutely nothing to do with the boot process (*insert* add-on here killed my Windows install!!! ##### lazy-windows-killing-add-on-developer! Don't you people ever beta test this garbage?!?!?!? Oh wait....................I had a virus. Sorry, thanks for the great product!"). lol No doubt some FS add-ons may cause issues, but on the average, I would say the add-ons catch a bad rap. Hope this helps a little!

ASA = Weather engine. You ca modify all aspects of the weather as well download accurate weather from around the world. ASA greatly enhances the weather aspect of FSX/FS9.FTX = Region pack for Australia (I actually do not have this...I got UTX and FEX mixed up. It is only Monday and it has already been a long week. LOL) It does seem to have a rather strong following though...I just never fly in Australia.REX = Real Enviroment Extreme. Combined texture enhancements (clouds, sky, water, runways, taxiways, sun glare, etc.. etc..) + Weather engine. The weather engine does ot seem as robust as ASA though. I actually use REX textures with ASA weather.Hope this helps.

Flight Environment X also has a weather tab, but that program has not yet been updated. I have just updated to the next "extreme detail" clouds, and I can say that FSX has never looked better, and I did bot notice any performance hit from the update.I suppose ASA is the same thing/company as AS6 (the weather program I used in FS9).Thanks for the reply.RH

Flight Environment X also has a weather tab, but that program has not yet been updated. I have just updated to the next "extreme detail" clouds, and I can say that FSX has never looked better, and I did bot notice any performance hit from the update.I suppose ASA is the same thing/company as AS6 (the weather program I used in FS9).Thanks for the reply.RH

Yes, AS6 is the same team as those who created ASA (HiFi Simulations). I actually forgot, I use FEX for clouds now instead of REX since I can create my own (I like really soft clouds). The clouds in FEX and REX both look really good. I use a mixture of add-ons for the sky; REX for sky/sun/water/runways/taxiways, FEX for Clouds, ASA for weather.

Yes, AS6 is the same team as those who created ASA (HiFi Simulations). I actually forgot, I use FEX for clouds now instead of REX since I can create my own (I like really soft clouds). The clouds in FEX and REX both look really good. I use a mixture of add-ons for the sky; REX for sky/sun/water/runways/taxiways, FEX for Clouds, ASA for weather.

Does FS Genesis Mesh handle the elevation data like it did in FS9?Thanks,RH

Does FS Genesis Mesh handle the elevation data like it did in FS9?Thanks,RH

I am not sure. The best place to ask would be the FS Genesis forum.

Does FS Genesis Mesh handle the elevation data in FSX like it did in FS9? To me, it was a must add-on program in FS9. Thus far, I have Ground Environment X - USA and Canada, Flight Environment X for FSX, and Ultimate Terrain X - USA/Canada Bundle. I will add others later, but I am guessing FS Genesis Mesh for my next add-on since the outside view in FSX looks rather flat. Thanks,RH