What addons do YOU have?

[Turbine777 13]

Heya peops, Since we all use addons, at the very least, PMDG's babies. I thought it would be fun and informative to list our addons and maybe some comments on what we like, why we use over another, tricks and tips or whatever you'd like to say. I have a ton and keep looking for others, both to add to the fun and some to replace some that I already use. I went into a lot of detail but of course you can just list yours if you want.Here's my list/comments/etc...FSX = Ok, not an addon but important info perhaps for some.PMDG 747-400 = My favorite addon of all of course. As far as aircraft realism, I have never experienced anything remotely close to PMDG. (Can't wait for the 737NG)Rex 2.0 = This is without a doubt one addon I couldn't fly without. Realism is insane! The detail is so beautiful, I have actually told people when comparing my sim to some real world scenes, "I like my sim, graphics are better". I really cannot believe I put off getting a program like this for as long as I did. I use to just fly from point to point and pay attention do performing my route as realistinc as I could etc. etc... But every since I got this I am constantly back and forth in slew mode and looking at the skyscapes from different views. Actually today (happens a lot) when driving home from work I was looking up at the sky and couldn't wait to get home and download the weather hahaha. There are a couple tips I can say about Rex, that I have learned. 1.) In the FSX settings under weather, turn "Rate at which weather changes over time" to "No change". This does NOT mean you will not be flying real world weather and that it won't change. This only means FSX will not change the weather in addition to what you will be flying. This keeps clounds from all of a sudden disappearing and appearing in front of you. Ya know, one minute you have loads of clouds and the next clear skies. If you use ASA or any other program that has this setting I would recommend turning it down as well. 2.) Don't be afraid to load the lower resolution clouds if your fps are hurting. I have lots of addons, and like all of us I try to maximize my frames. I was very happily surprised how great the cloud/sky textures still looked after changing to lower res clouds from the High res ones. Actually in some cases, I think the lower res ones look better. Experimenting is key!GEX = Great ground textures. The best I have used and I have used a few. If you get GEX you might want to also get UTX, and possibly even FS Genesis. GEX replaces ground textures in FSX and has very little, if any frame rate loss. I honestly think I get better fps. One thing to keep in mind with any texture addon is that they do all give you recommended settings that will allow you to see how nice the textures are and how they were designed to look. However, if they suggest 1x mesh and autogen at max then of course you'l have to play with that for the best results for your rig. GEX is only ground textures but is another addon that's a must. Lower frame rate than FSX default I have read and seen many times, I think the format may be easier on newer systems or something.UTX = As stated above, you should have this if you have GEX, they compliment one another. Where GEX is textures, UTX is the framework basically. But UTX is much more than that. UTX is landclass, waterclass, roads, railways, bridges, rivers, lakes, coast/shoreline placement, and night lights. It really makes lakes and beaches look incredible the way they border. I fly in my area and the hills at our local airport are almost exact! There are a couple things you need to know about UTX and the biggest is vehicles. If you have ground vehicles on ANY amount, you can expect to see some FPS lost. If you have it, go ahead and turn off ground traffic and you'l see a rise in about 10-20 fps. Of course that is in a populated area but UTX traffic can hurt some lower and higher systems already pushing maximum density. Their vehicles are all MUCH better looking than the default FSX vehicles, so turning them off is hard to do.Here's a link for some great tweaks for UTX that I follow every install.http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=29041 The site has some great tweaks all around but the UTX specific tweaks are down near the bottom.FS Genesis = FS Genesis is also a Landclass addon, which means it makes hills look like hills and mountains realllly look like mountains. It doesn't replace UTX and UTX cannot replace it because they are very different land class addons. FS Genesis is more mountains and outer areas, where UTX is only urban areas. Just starting to use it so nothing to really add yet.A2A Redux Lights = Another must have for me, however I have modified my install quite drastically for much better results. The addon adds 3D light to your aircraft, that really look Aweome on the beautiful PMDG (if done correctly). It also installs the lights to a few default FSX aircraft and because of this can be a big hit to FPS. Again, if your not running a lot of addons you may not be crippled by this, but you can also eat your cake and have it too. I simply replace all the backup aircraft.cfg's to the default AI after installation, so it is only my PMDG 747-400 that has them. That is what most of us want it for anyway, for ourselves right? Anywho, the settings for the light locations on their website are imo terribad and I have a set that makes them look awesome and puts them in the right places as well as fixes an annoying bug of seeing the Beacon light flashing on your dash when in VC mode. Replace the light section in the Aircraft.cfg (\\FsX\SimObjects\Airplanes\PMDG747-400\Aircraft.cfg) with the ones I have below, and you'll be very happy with the reults, I assure you![LIGHTS]light.0 = 3, -225.90, 0.30, 4.72, fx_shockwave_navwhi_l, // Position Aftlight.1 = 3, -225.90, -0.30, 4.72, fx_shockwave_navwhi_l, // Position Aftlight.2 = 2, -225.52, 0.00, 3.94, fx_shockwave_strobe_l, // Strobe Aftlight.3 = 1, -33.596, -0.50, 14.868, fx_pmdg744_beacon, // Beacon Toplight.4 = 1, -86.149, 0.00, -11.735, Fx_shockwave_beaconb, // Beacon Bottomlight.5 = 5, -76.800, 20.40, -3.700, fx_Shockwave_Landing_light // ShockWave lightlight.6 = 5, -76.800, -20.40, -3.700, fx_Shockwave_Landing_light // ShockWave lightlight.7 = 5, -75.500, 18.30, -3.700, fx_Shockwave_Landing_light // ShockWave lightlight.8 = 5, -75.500, -18.30, -3.700, fx_Shockwave_Landing_light // ShockWave lightVroute Premium = This is like FS Build I see many using. It is awesome, however I cannot compare it with FS build because I have never used it. You can download the free version to check it out but of course it is the Pay version you'll want to export your FSX and PMDG(all types) Flight Plans. If your an AVSIM flyer it will even log your flight, or help you along the way. Of course this has no FPS hit since it should be run prior to starting FSX. I normally get my Flight Plan, export to both formats (FSX & PMDG), and then when I use the defaut ATC my route matches perfectly.Navigraph nDac 3 = Charts and FMC data. I think we all use this so no need to comment.Follow Me = This is an addon that eliminates the need to have the unrealistic yellow arrows of "Progressive Taxi" on the ground bringing you to the runway and to parking, gates, etc... I actually got this because I had issues with the progressive taxi lines not showing up all the time (not because of DX-Preview) and needed another way. Great idea but unfortunately seems to work when it wants and at times will go directly to the runway to include through the buildings haha. It's great when it works and very cheap. I just stopped using it recently. I also never noticed a FPS hit from it.FSPassengers X = This is great! I love this program and never fly without it. It works great with PMDG with only one bug that I'm aware of, which is after you take off you will get a fueling prompt that can cause some to CTD. Anywho, the program basically makes you a carreer pilot with as the name says, carry passengers. A must have IMO. Tons of settings from when you die, that's it, to more reaxed career paths :)Keep your plane maintenance up to date or be prepared for some pretty cool emergencies. Very addicting that brings a lot of fun to my late night simming hours.UT2 (Ultimate Traffic 2) = Hard to write this. First of all, it has many awesome aspects that no other has in a traffic program. It leave the others in the dust. Textures are hands down better than MyTraffic and Traffic X (yes, I own them too so I can say that truthfully :(). It also (unlike the others), uses actualy Flight Plans for the AI. There are a ton of great things about this product and I hope it soon fixes the one issue I cannot have........ When you go to anything in the menu's the AI will reset. This may not be a big deal for some, but is (unfortunately) a big one for me. I bought Traffic X for now until they can fix the issue. It is because of the way it uses Sim-connect, and I believe is really a sim connect issue so really not sure they will fix it... I hope so, because other than that one issue, it is the best.STB (Super Traffic Board) = STB is a traffic board program and the main reason I stopped using UT2. I often do a cold/dark start and let my FSPassenders load real time for 20 minutes so often have some time to kill. I use to be a cockpit builder so have a lot of toys around, mainly monitors. So I have a monitor now dedicated to STB. It's great to watch the plane in the gate next to you call for taxi then see it immediately updated on the board. Aircraft type, callsign etc... It's great I think, and not too expen$ive either. I would still use it if I had one monitor, but I often run in windowed mode so it's no biggy for me.Traffic X = I like it better than I do MyTrafficX, but hate to high heaven the lights and the fact that they look like a star coming in for landing than a plane haha.Walk and Follow = Use it for better camera angles when making videos. That with FSRecorder and Fraps and a good video editing program like Premiere and that's all you'l need. Very very buggy program however, haven't used in a while because of which.MegaScenery = I own Massachusetts but prefer GEX (above) to it. Can be pretty hard on the FPS and in my opinion isn't as colorful. Great for VFR travel though. Unfortunately, I am often either IFR or at altitude, where I think it looks very very dull.Active Sky Advanced = Ok, as you most likely know,this is one of many different weather engines/generators, and in a lot of ways it is great! It really depends what you're looking for. This is currently the biggest problem I have, and that is deciding which to use. I love ASA because the weather smoothing in conjunction with FSUIPC's weather smoothing helps allow me to do lonnnnng hauls without issue in the 747. I also love the way you can drag and drop weather along your route,,, toooo cool! There are many things I love about ASA, but I am at a cross between their weather engine, REX 2, and yes,,, the DEFAULT! Haha.Because of the features, I prefer ASA, and of course the weather smoothing to help with the baro issue of the PMDG (Not PMDG's fault, just too realistic a bird for FSX's unrealistic weather). But, I LOVE the WaSys that is part of REX 2. I love zooming in and seeing highways that I can see in the sim as I fly over, lakes, etc... I believe in the near future REX will be my choice but right now I think ASA just has some better options for me. The WaSys gui is awesome though and hope it never leaves with newer upgrades. Seeing the weather is something else it shows and is great too, but my favorite part is the map detail. Believe it or not, I have been mainly using the default weather engine of FSX. I honestly think it displays the weather (choices of weather textures of default and REX clouds) than both of the other two. I live near Boston, MA and we have a weather station very close by. I compared them all, and do a few times a week and ASA is way off from REX, and FSX is just the closer of them all to what I see outside my window. Of course I only use it when I will be sitting here the entire flight, ready to fix baro issues etc...PFE (Pro Flight Emulator) = Hmmm, this was the last addon I bought, and let's just say,,, I like where they are going with it, I love the realism, but I cannot stand the way the sound bites are at such higher and lower pitches than the last. What I mean is I cannot make out what frequency they are saying because whoever did the sound bites should have been told to do them alllll at the same tone. It sounds like the ATC is Max Headroom haha. Seriously,

for the first few seconds if you don't know Max. I also need to say in all fairness that I am new at this program as I was with Radar Contact. PFE is a work in progress and has updates all the time so they will hopefully fix it and I am confident it will get better in time. I also hope they make it so it has 1 GUI rather than switching back and forth between it and PF2K, another rather annoying aspect. My eyes are out for hopeful improvements from them and the eventual release of RC5. Yes, I have it too and the roboticism of the voices kind of killed it for me. I know they will have a better product soon enough though.FSX ATC... Ok, I seriously feel bad for the programmers of FSX's ATC engine. Yes, with PFE you can have much more realism in changing FP's, sid/stars etc... but NO ONE, can come close to the fluidity of their voices. Also, NO OTHER ATC addon can deal with the AI. PFE will on the ground and they do have fake radio chatter for the effect etc..., but what I'm talking about are the little things that help add to some of the fun I have in the sim. One is when I look on the ND of the 744 and see two aircraft getting close to one another and then hear ATC give them both a shoutout. Or, when I am watching the STB board and hear ATC give clearence to a plane and see it update on the traffic board then moments later taxi behind me. If you save your flight plan in both FSX format and PMDG format (VRoute Premium baby ;) FSX default ATC is not that bad at all, and in many ways will always be better, or atleast has them all beat by far in the voices haha. Plus PFE will never constanly nag me about my altitude if I tend to ignore them the way FSX will ;-)FSUIPC/Wide FS - Registered = What can I say except,,, LONG LIVE PETE!!!Well, that's about it I think. I'm always looking for the next thing and may even someday start back into cockpit building (perhaps when Project Magenta cracks PMDG's code,,, cough cough). Again, these are my opinions about these addons so take that for what it's worth. I look forward to reading yours, who knows, maybe something I don't have and will get after your review ;)I do need to get more PMDG planes, and hate waiting for the 737. I think I'll get the MD-11 this weekend and try it out. What do you think?

[CapP 0]

That's quite a list. Very nice. One thing to consider: did you try Meatwater's voicepack for Radar Contact 4? IMO these voices are much better than the default RC4 voices and even the default FSX ATC. You can download the pack from the avsim library for free.

[Tabs 2,790]

In FSX I'm using:UTXGEXFSGenesis 10m meshREX 2.0

[ExNusquam 11]

All are installed in FS9Utilities: AS6.5FSBuildRegistered FSUIPCJeppesen SimchartsIntegrated SimAvionicsNavigraph Navdata SubscriptionScenery: FlyTampa TPA, MDW, SAN, SFO, SEA, HKG, SXMMegaScenery SoCal, NorCal, Pacific NW and Mid-AtlanticUltimate Terrain USABlueprint IND, IAD and MSPFeelThere Florida LandingsFSDT JFK and LASAircraft: FeelThere 737PMDG 737 NG 600-900FeelThere E-JetsFeelThere Citation XRealAir Scout 2006 RealAirSF.260 2005Aerosoft SeahawkLevel-D 767

[MMartinov 48]

Only FSXFS Global 2010 for the landclassMyTraffic 2010 for the traffic (if you still consider - my personal - better than Ultimate Traffic 2)ASA for the weather engine REX2 for the weather texturesPMDG -mostly MD-11 and J41 for my personal realism satisfactionTongass Fjords by FSAddon (amazing) for significant weather flyingOrbx - Australia - (even more amazing) for blues skies weather flyingFS Commander for the routesAIRAC for the computersIris F14 Tomcatand aicarriers2+USS Nimitz IKE (excellent) for some scary landings

[Cuddly1956 1]

FS9 - Century of Flight.FS Global 2010 for terrain, etc - a mustFS Scene - good in fs9, not so good in fsx.Loads of Aerosoft scenery like list below.FreeZAustria Pro.Innsbruk Approach.ASA for the weather - excellent in fs9AESPlanes737-800/900, SSTSIM Concorde, MD-11, Beech 1900C/D and a few freeware ones.FSX Accel.FS Global 2010 - a must in my opinion.Loads of Aerosoft German airports, SionX, AspenX, Luxembourg, Leystad, CDG, EGLL, Lisbon, Beussels, Nice, Madrid, Arlanda.TahitiX (superb)MallorcaX - I'd suggest this only for the newer multicore cpu's as it can be a killer.ASA and FSCUIP4 - for weather although, like all of the weather progs it can have issues in fsx.REX 2 - truly brilliant.RXP weather radar - Good 'eye candy' (hehe Ryan)FS Build - for planning in both platforms.AESxUtopia for takeoff derates.PlanesLD 767, 747X, MD-11, Js4100, Aerosoft F16, Catalinab1900c (copy over but brilliant to fly), Cessna Mustang, Lotus L-39Fokker 70/100 (no install, has Win7 issues and unfinished imo)And the Dash, 737NGX and ConcordeX - well will be when they are done (hint hint) :( John Ellison - i7-2.8Ghz Asus P9P55D 8Gb ddr3, Nvidia9800, 19" monitor. TrackIR4, CH Eclipse yoke.

[Twitchstick 0]

FS9 :FSBuildNavigraph SubscriptionFSUIPCWideFSWoAIAISmoothAESFSPassengersWalk and FollowActive CameraPMDG 747-400, 737, MD-11Level-D 767Captain Sim 757JustFlight 777PSS 777Aerosoft ManhattanMegaCity AtlantaFSGenesisPablo Diaz HDE 1.0UT USA & EuropeGE ProFlight EnviromentActive Sky AdvancedFSDT -> KJFK, KLAS, KORD, KFLL, About 40-50 other payware airports from Imagine Simulation, Blueprint, Aerosoft, & Cloud 9UK2000 SceneriesFSXAirhaulerAESFSUIPCWideFSREXGEXUTXFS2 Crew Heavy Hitter PackFS Commander XFPS LimiterMy Traffic X 5.2bRadar Contact 43d Lights ReduxFSPassengers XASA Piper CubCaptain Sim 757Wilco Airbus Vol 1 & 2, Ejets, Cessna Citation X, Flight1 MustangLevel-D 767PMDG 747-400X, MD-11Aerosoft CatalinaAerosoft Discus GliderAerosoft F-16Carenado Piper Checrokee, 152, 182, 172, 206 Arrow IV, Just Flight 747-200 & 747-300Super 80 ProFlight 1 ATR 72-500CLS Airbus CollectionFSDT KJFK, KLAS, LSGG, KORD, KFLLORBx Australia - Everything!MegaScenery Las Vegas, Hawaii100 or so Payware airports and about 30 or so freeware ones.God this thread just makes me cringe at how much money I have spent in this hobby. Its safe to say I'm addicted. :(Mind you not all of the addons are installed in FSX. FS9 can handle the load fine but FSX can get crazy when it sees to many things @ once LOL

[Turbine777 13]

Too late to modify my list, but tonight I think I'll buy PMDG MD-11 :)Been looking forward to it all day at work.

MyTraffic 2010 for the traffic (if you still consider - my personal - better than Ultimate Traffic 2)

Not that I enjoy the thought of spending more money on another traffic program, but I may actual buy this tonight. Tell me Matin, how is it on FPS compared to the others? One thing I didn't like about MyTrafficX was all the older liveries not optomized for FSX still floating around but after reading about the 2010 edition again, it has my interest.

God this thread just makes me cringe at how much money I have spent in this hobby. Its safe to say I'm addicted.

Hahaha, yeah I know tell me about it. The worst thing is some of these I haven't read about in a long time if ever and as you can see above, will be getting a couple more this evening. I need help... Oh well, work hard, play harder :)

[Lucevan 2]

I really like FS2Crew with the 747 and MD 11.Wouldn't fly without them.Just waiting for the Voice Commander version for the JS 41Peter Lucevan

[sluggy 3]

FS9All of PMDG's stuff (surprise surprise)All of Dreamfleet's95% of Flight1's (planes, GEPRO, FE etc)RC4ASV6.5RealAir's SF260 (how come everybody doesn't have this?)Most of Eaglesoft's GAsMost of Carenado's stuff (haven't got any of their newer stuff)FSUIPC (thanks Pete!)RXP stuffDA Cheyenne (finally coming of age after a rough couple of years) and DA F70/100 (still struggling with faults, needs some attention from DA)FSGenesis meshNow that FS9's addons are starting to dry up (at least I've got the NG2.0 to look forward to, hint hint :( ), I'm actually able to spend a little less money and a little more time in the air.Cheers, Chris Dalgarno

[Turbine777 13]

That's quite a list. Very nice. One thing to consider: did you try Meatwater's voicepack for Radar Contact 4? IMO these voices are much better than the default RC4 voices and even the default FSX ATC. You can download the pack from the avsim library for free.

Hi Pieter, I'd like to hear them. Unfortunately Avsim's Library is still dead and am starting to wonder if they'll ever recover what they lost. I found the posts of his zips, but of course got the ole "File unavailable...". I also checked links that he posted long ago for direct download and they too are inop. I'll check back though, as I'm anxious to hear them :)Thanks for the headsup, and sorry for the late reply.Dan

[MMartinov 48]

Not that I enjoy the thought of spending more money on another traffic program, but I may actual buy this tonight. Tell me Matin, how is it on FPS compared to the others? One thing I didn't like about MyTrafficX was all the older liveries not optomized for FSX still floating around but after reading about the 2010 edition again, it has my interest.

MyTrafic 2010 has less impact on the FPS eve though I have more traffic at the aiports. The program organises traffic even on the most remote or small airport (currently I am testing Tongass Fjords and FTX Australia). There is military traffic on the military airfields. Just hop to Edwards or Miramar and you'll see what I mean. Cargo flights are there as well. Last but not least you can control the traffic directly from the FSX sliders.Again, it is my personal opinion but I would not install UT2 again.However there is one last point - if you fly online (say IVAO) and still want to see traffic around you - UT2 is for you because of the outside FSX control console. Ivap can not stop the UT2 traffic from showing up. A bit unrealistic but not bad.......Cheers

[justme 0]

If anyone has refuel window issue with FSPassengersX with PMDG aircraft then I have a solution for you:- load fuel into aircraft through PMDG menu- load FSPassengers- before take off load a very small amount more of fuel via PMDG menu. This causes FSPassengers warning that refuel is not allowed but before takeoff it can be closed without problem and this popup never comes up again during flight anymore. So you can use it without problem.FSPassengersX is really great but very low support comes with it.Matyas Majzik

[Gary A 8]

Heya peops, Since we all use addons, at the very least, PMDG's babies. I thought it would be fun and informative to list our addons and maybe some comments on what we like, why we use over another, tricks and tips or whatever you'd like to say. I have a ton and keep looking for others, both to add to the fun and some to replace some that I already use. I went into a lot of detail but of course you can just list yours if you want.

A few of the honorable mentions.1. FSX tuned by NickN http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=290412. XP-64 Had to add that as it highly contributes to a problem free sim.3. FSUIPC paid version by Pete Dawson4. CH yolk wouldn

[Nic 0]

Heres my list for FS9AircraftLevel D 767PMDG 737-800/900Flight 1 ATRDreamFleet 727Should really get a Scarebus I suppose :( SceneryFlyTampa = KSFO,KSAN,KMIA,KSEA,KMDW,KBOS V2 ( Will deffo buy new KBOS)Cloud 9 = KLAXImagineSim=KATL,KCVG,KCLT,TJSJSunskyJet= KPHL ( When it is available)UtilitiesG.E ProActive Sky AdvancedRadar Contact 4Alacrity PCFlight EnvironmentButtkicker 2FSUIPC ( Free version)ShockWave Redux LightsFS Build We spend too much on this hobby don't we!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Regards Nic Jackson