What addons do YOU have?

[Guest bratonabike]

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?

does REX, GEX AND UTX have a mjor hit on systems?, and are GEX and UTX add-ons for all terrain all over the world?

[Ioan92 63]

REX / PMDG 747-400That's all :)

[Cras 6]

My list is pretty darn close to yours.I use FSX withREX 2.0 (greatest addon to buy. I remember waiting for months for the first version came out, and it just makes FSX look amazing)UTX + GEX (for realistic scenery for sure)UT2 (which can be a bit of a pain)RCv4 (which can also be a bit of a pain, but I can't fly with default ATC and sometimes I want to have my whole flight covered)ASE (great when the thing works.)FSPassengers (fun, but I have to turn most of the features off as it conflicts with other things)Topcat (I recommend this to everyone flying a PMDG or Level D 767)vRoute Premium (just awesome. I love the Flight Progress Card you can print. I hated FSBuild.)FSFlight Keeper (nothing logs flights better than this thing. And it works well with Active Sky, along with an Acars gauge, that you can get WX data right inside the flight deck.)and last, but definately not least,FS2Crew (once you fly with FS2Crew, you will never want to go back.)My next addon will be for sure FS Genesis.

[Turbine777 13]

Nice list there Scott, I've added quite a bit in the last few months so will have to update my list when I have more time using them to give a better summary.The main one I would add is FTX's new beauties. Really adds a lot but... think I'll stop there before more testing :(

[bob34 124]

HardwareIntel Q6600 2.4ghz Quad Core on EVGA 680i MLB +4gb Patriot 1066 DDR2ATI 5770 Video on Acer 24" Widescreen and Dell 22" WidescreenSaitek Pro Flight YokeCH PedalsG15 Keyboard and G5 MouseCreative Audigy Gamer w/ Bose QC2 NC HeadphonesComcast High Speed w/ DLINK Wireless NSoftwareWindows 7 HomeFSX w/ SP2EnvironmentREX 2.0Ultimate Terrain XActive Sky ExtremeMy Traffic X 5.2Shockwave 3D Redux (idle due to FPS issues)Edit Voicepak (to speed up ATC voices)SceneryPayware - EGLL, KMEM, KCLE, KIND, KIAD, KMSP KRDU, KSDF, EDDF, EDDP, Central MexicoUtilitiesFlight Operations CenterFSBuild 2FS Flight KeeperNavigraph nDACSuper Traffic BoardFS2 Crew MD-11 / B747 / B767TuneVNAV (idle)AFXTweak FS BundleTopcat (my newest purchase which I love)Dispatch Planner III (idle)DBS Airport GPSVoicebuddy 3 (idle)FS Commander (idle)FS Passengers (idle)Vroute.info PremiumAircraftPMDG - MD-11, B747 B1900 (idle)LDS 767Captain Sim C-130 (idle), B757 (idle)Wilco/Feelthere ERJ-145, CRJ, E-Jets, Airbus Vol 1 & 2, Citation X, B777, Legacy, B737Ariane 737-900x (idle because he won't activate it for me after I needed to re-install)MDMAX Super 80Sibwings Saab SafirAlphasim B36, ApacheA2A StratocruiserOh... and the MOST important of them all - Registered FSUIPC (Thanks Pete!!!). Where would we be w/out that...WishlistGEX (North America and Europe)Blueprint DublinAerosoft LFPGImaginesim KATL, MYNN, KSJCTSS MD-11 Sound Packs (RR, PW, GE)Audio Environment Airliner EditionFSPS Flight Sim ManagerOn the side:Air Hauler from AerosoftI wish there was a way to transfer and trade licenses. I have so much software doing nothing. It's such a waste.

[ricky76 46]

Gex Rex2.0Ftx gold, tamworth, cessnock, hearvey bayFtx pnw, darrington, starks twin oaks.Carenado, Seneca, mooney, c185, Pmdg, 744, 78i/f, j41quest kodiakA22 foxbataerosoft twin otterlevel d 763capt sim 757, c130, 727flight replicas super cubcessna mustangarianestudios 737 800 x2iris DA 40feelthere 737traffic xFSWCFSUIPCFSX accelerationand plenty more to come!!!!!

[PropPro 0]

FS9/FSX, I fly both regularly for different reasons (more scenery/mesh in FS9 and the PMDG MD-11 is more stable in FS9).PMDG 747 and 747X and 748PMDG MD-11 FS9/FSXPMDG J-41Aerosoft Beaver FS9/FSXEaglesoft Citation X and Citation X Extreme 2.0 (as of 2 days ago, havent even gotten into it yet)Flight 1 Cessna 177, Conquest and Golden Eagle.FS Genesis (FS9 only)Level D 767Captain Sim 757...............:(Simmers Sky Airbus seriesCLS A345/A346Active Sky AdvancedRadar ContactFSUPIC (FS9/FSX)Active CameraAnd a few others I cant put my finger on right now.

[Christopher Low 5,354]

To be honest I can not understand how anyone could buy a traffic add-on other than UT2. Because all of the others have one big flaw: The airliner models are just plain ugly! This is even true for the newest MyTraffic 2010...

Does UT2 include military aircraft operating from Air Force bases?

[nzeddy 13]

Flight Simulator X AccelerationScenery:Flytampa St Maarten Complete, Kai TakRealNZ Supercity: Auckland for FSX, Southern Lakes Adventure, Across the Straight, Rotorua, Tauranga V2FTX/Orbx Australia SP3 DVD, Pacific Northwest, Tamworth, YMML Melbourne Intl v1.5, Coffs Harbour, YBBN Brisbane Intl FS Dream Team PHNL Honolulu Intl, KLAS Las Vegas Intl (demo)Aircraft:PMDG 747-400X, 747-8i/F, JS4100Comercial Level Simulations Airbus A330-200/300, A340-200/300Flight Sim Labs Concorde XLevelD 767Captain Sim C-130 X-perience, 727 Captain, 767 Captain, 757 CaptainUtilites/Environment:Ultimate Traffic 2Real Environment Xtreme 2Just Flight Airshow Pilot

[KLMMD11 0]

My fsx hangar:CS 767/757/727PMDG MD11/747fly Tampa sxm completeaerosoft f16vrs superbugfreeware f14freeware raptorand mores coming!!!!

[ricky76 46]

Well what I get from this thread is that we are all junkies :( I still have every add on I bought for sub logic sim all the way up to fsx!

[asanal 32]

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.

I was keep looking for "Meatwater's voicepack for Radar Contact 4". I just checed Avsim Libraray, still not available yet

[Turbine777 13]

I was keep looking for "Meatwater's voicepack for Radar Contact 4". I just checed Avsim Libraray, still not available yet

I just found them with info provided from this post by Norman here.Here is a link for others wanting them.

[Tabs 2,790]

Just want to mention Vertical Reality's new F/A-18X - installed it this afternoon and it's amazing. Big improvement over the FS9 version. When people say VRS is "the PMDG" of military jets, they aren't joking, it's that good.

[KLMMD11 0]

Just want to mention Vertical Reality's new F/A-18X - installed it this afternoon and it's amazing. Big improvement over the FS9 version. When people say VRS is "the PMDG" of military jets, they aren't joking, it's that good.

yeah its great isn't it!!! i haven;t really flew it for a long flight yet, i'm flying the 747 to the land of oz!!!!