After reading the forum posts for the last week about fs2004 I think I picked up on a few high points to utilize during fs2004 install and operation:#1 Do not upgrade any computer componets till observing how FS2004 preforms ( current using 1.8 gig 512 megs SDRAM with Radeon 7200 series 64 meg card)#2 shut down antivirus program and defrag hard drive before install#3 Cross fingers#4 If FS2004 installs ok, read the readme file and adjust and tweak sim settings as necessary to compromise, compromise, compromise.#5 If Sim does not run properly, Check on Video Card Drivers/ Cat updates and give ATI and other internet sites time to post info particular to FS2004 after the official release date.#6 If sim runs ok Lock Frame rates to acceptable rate and DO NOT monitor rates during simulator operations :0)#7 HAVE FUN :0)To be honest with you guys I hope FS2004 works ok for me tomarrow but if it won't work then I will go back to FS2002 and wait till my particular situation changes for me to try again. Will I be upset, no not really. To some degree all of this is a crapshoot anyway that it will work with my particular system as it seems to be for alot of folks. Even with all the mixed posting about FS2004, I am willing to take the gamble and pay the money for the chance to enjoy this hobby even more.Thanks to all who posted in this forum as your contributions are most valuable to the casual observer.fly safeDave

Great attitude Dave!! I am with you on this one, we'll both see tomorrow, took off work, just for this!!Regards, Michaelhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpgCalVirAir International VAwww.calvirair.comCougar Mountain Helicopters & Aviationwww.cgrmtnhelos.com

Seems about right, especially points #6 and #7 which I have been advocating for years.Seems finally people are starting to take notice that FS is NOT a quest for fps but a quest to have fun flying around in a simulated environment!

FWIW, that is largely what I did without reading the forum posts as it is pretty-much common sense anyway. It arrived yesterday and I am thrilled with the new developments. It installed just fine, looked great right out of the box and several times elicited an unbridled "Oh, Wow!" from yours truly. I didn't expect to be as impressed as I have been having been in on every release since FS1 on a TRS-80 in 1981. Watching all the hysteria and plain childishness (YMMV) preceding every release does tend to put one off a bit, but this really is a major improvement.Funnily enough, the one thing I noticed straight away which seems to have received scant attention hereabouts is the quality of the 'feel' of the default flight models. Whether that's becuase they took time to make it so or because there is a new engine under the hood which permits that naturally I don't know, but I took my traditional first flight from Meigs to Champaign-Willard, this time in the DC-3, and I was just delighted with how it all felt.And then seeing new eye-candy along the way like the power lines and telegraph poles at the road sides set in the beautiful new textures...well, it quite restored my faith again.I'll be keeping FS2002 for PIC and a few other things, but I'm looking forward to the next couple of years with FS9 much more than I was. Memo to self... stop reading flightsim forums at least one month before the release of each new FS version!Cheers,

I will be doing tip #3 all the way through set up and for about 10-20 minutes into my first flight :-lolI planned on upgrading my computer long before FS2004, now I am planning on doing it earlier than planned.