Thinking of MSFS 2002

[Guest Dann]

I have a PIII 1 Gigahertz, 256MB ram (and not increasing, it stops Longbow from running!) and a Voodoo 5 5500 vid card (again, that stays). Games are run on Windows 98SE.How well will MS Flight Sim 2002 run on this machine?Thanks in advance, Dan

[Guest gfk777]

This is about identical to the computer I was using until I upgraded recently (including the V5). FS2002 was OK on this machine. If you have something like SimFlyers airports you'll get single digit framerates in those areas but overall performance is not bad. Because 3d went out of business the V5 has some problems that will never be solved and I found going to a new video card provided less hassle (although I still consider the antialiasing on the V5 to be superior to what I'm getting now with a 9700 Pro).

[WebbPA 0]

I run FS under W98SE on a 1 Ghz Athlon, 256 Mb RAM and TNT2/64 - very similar to yours. It runs fine at 1024x768 with 16-20 fps (some say anything over 16 is a waste and you would do better to increase resolution than fps - I agree with that, but it's just my opinion). Scenery complexities are all at default or better, except clouds - I cut them down to 30%.You know that FS2004 is coming out soon, don't you?

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I saw your post, and wanted to reply right away.I have a P3/800, 256 Megs RAM, 98SE (it's as stable as my office W2000 O/S, mostly because I watch the O/S like a hawk)...I originally ran FS2002 with a Voodoo 3.... It ran well, but there were graphics oddities, especially since the V3 only supported 16-bit color. Still, I had fps in the low 20's as long as I kept AI off, and Autogen set to midrange.The Voodoo 5 had issues with reflections, and there were some posts which suggested fixes. I believe part of the solution involves inverting the alpha channel on reflective aircraft with imagetool....I've since upgraded to a GeF/2. I'm very pleased with FS2002's performance. Some aircraft, like the recent payware Beechjet, have a great "feel" in the air and look rather nice. The Beechjet should have been included with FS2002 :( But back to my point--the fact that that feel is replicated very well on a P3/800 is a big feather in Microsoft's hat. There's been lots of talk about FS not getting it right in the flight model, but I'd say 90 pct of the flight envelope is modelled very well, at least if I compare the only A/C I've ever flown, which only included a Cessna 140 and a '182..., against some of the better flight dynamics updates out there. With the right slider settings, FS2002 will run on a 1 Gig or less machine as well as FS98, with far better scenery. Max everything out, especially AI, and be prepared for single digit framerates. When I do want AI, such as shooting touch 'n go's, I cut back on all the detail, and just focus on the airport environment. This frees up a great amount of resources for AI to work it's magic in the flying environment. Under those circumstances, and if I stay away from very detailed area, I can still enjoy fps in the teens and twenties with a realistic mix of air traffic in my vicinity.-John