After all the flying, tweaking, and reading I've done over the years, you'd think I would know this...but it still makes me crazy.I'm talking about FS9 screenies or videos that look so real you have to look twice to make sure it's really the sim.  To be sure, I am very happy with my setup; and it gives me a very nice feeling of being in the cockpit.  But sometimes I get jealous of the few of you who "really" have a tricked-out flying experience - perfect clouds, amazing reflections and shadows on everything, zillions of trees.  You get what I mean.Your opinions - and experiences - please.  What are the main things that really make the difference between 'OMG' stunning...and pretty nice?Ron

Add on quality for sure. For me that would start with a great add on plane, then scenery and so on....And to trick it all out you need a decent rig to max out the GFX, no way aorund that as it takes $$.Many payware add on's are great but you don't need to spend money on add on's because we have some great freeware out there that is payware quality.Check some of the freeware post's to get started, just type "Freeware" into the search box. Some great stuff out there. And then after that get a nice payware plane. I might suggest the PMDG 747-400 if your into big iron. :( And if you have money after that look at some payware scenery.For the record, many of my friends drink in bars or golf for a hobby, I spend my money on flying and flying related joys.

HiAnd if you prefer GA aircraft then Flight 1's Cessna 172 and Carenado's Mooney M20 are excellent and to be recommended.David

Hi, try out HDEv2 (hdev2.zip) on avism. It gives you really good HD clouds and far better sky colours. It really changes the look of FS2004, I´ll never fly without.

For me it's several things that have transformed FS9 into an absolutely new simulation - nothing like when it came out of the box.1. Buy a registered version of FSUIPC - it will do wonders for the way weather is rendered, especially visibility, cloud layers etc. I only did so recently and am kicking myself for waiting so long. I cannot believe what it has added to the experience in so many subtle ways.2. Everybody has their own list of "the best" environment products but here's mine. REX, ASv6.5, Ground Environment Pro (I would use that first and then use REX over the top of it as it's a lot more updated but GE still has many excellent features.) Those three alone will transform your experience3. Buy scenery from the cutting edge developers - FSDT (try before you buy! Awesome) Aerosoft (great quality, newer versions have very smooth ground traffic - GAP series is a great value) FlyTampa (Awesome quality and renowned for their low FPS impact) Nobody else comes close to those three companies. (Cloud 9 KDCA is "up there" but doesn't have AES support.) :( 4. If more realistic ground contours are important to you, FS Genesis mesh. But one caution - though it is a great enhancement it will cause some scenery problems as most sceneries are developed using the default mesh and sometimes this causes conflicts5. Install Glacier Bay 2, 9Dragons Kai Tak, Pellston airport, Glenn Falls, Meigs, EPWA, KPHL - all freeware that are payware quality and in the case of the first two give you a region to fly in that is breathtakingly real. There are numerous excellent RAF military airfields that are freeware if that lights your fire - search for UKMIL or John Young or ACG6. Buy aircraft and utilities from the top quality developers - Flight1, Aerosoft, PMDG - they set high standards and anything you buy from them is top notch and has excellent support. For GA there's Carenado and the FSD Pilatus Porter is a blast! Not many great FS9 helicopters but the Sikorsky CH53 formerly by Alphasim stands way out. (Not the MH53 - the vc is inferior to the CH53)7. There is a good freeware contrails program - not perfect but it still looks pretty cool when you see a hit on the TCAS, look out and there's a contrail coming your way at high speed8. High quality AI - MAIW and WoAI all use quality models. Anything by Henry Tomciewz, AI Aardvark and Nick Black are going to be good and easy on FPS9. For great screen shots and VFR flying, you can't go wrong with the Megascenery line of photo-realistic sceneries.10. For an AMAZING package that gives you an entire region of top quality scenery and airports, get the FSAddon Portland, Oregon scenery. Not just top notch airports - the entire region is rendered with custom mesh, accurate land class, custom textures etc. It is as real as it gets - if I am demonstrating FS9 to someone I invariably take them to that scenery in my Flight1/DF 727 to show them an entire environment that is close to real world - outside and inside the cockpit! Both products very FPS friendly!There are lots of great freeware products - too many to mention all but Google David Maltby Comet 4 and BAC 111, Rick Piper HS748, AVSIM - Milton Shupe Beech 18 and almost anything else by him. There are freeware airports that are payware quality - use the search engine to check sceneries that use Gmax and/or Photo-realistic ground textures and that should turn up several. A good guide is to download AES from Aerosoft (it's free to use but you have to pay to add services to most airports - and worth every penny!9 The developer of AES keeps his eye open for new sceneries that are of excellent quality so pretty much anything on his list of supported airports is going to be pretty good. Look through the recent forums - there was a long discussion on excellent freeware airports not long agoDo a fresh install. Sorry but it's the only way to ensure you will get the quality you want. I would start with freeware airport environment upgrades (search Richard Probst) and Night Environment upgrade (freeware - don't bother with the payware). Then GE Pro and ASv6.5 cloud textures - they work together well. Then install REX and sit back and say wow! You're on the way to getting the look you're hoping for. UT Europe will also make a big difference - the other UT are good too but not as dramatic a change. To get started with some excellent airports that are close to real world, buy some that are within reasonable flying distance so you can enjoy a trip that starts and ends in something that will make you go "wow" again! :( Aerosoft and FSDT European airports are good for this as they are not long distances - or get the FSDT Hawaii series.Warning - all this can be fatal for your bank account and your family relationships - seriously addictive. Good luckIan

4. If more realistic ground contours are important to you, FS Genesis mesh. But one caution - though it is a great enhancement it will cause some scenery problems as most sceneries are developed using the default mesh and sometimes this causes conflictsIan

Interesting you should mention this. I just finished releasing a scenery for FSX that some users had problems with; turns out they had FS Genesis mesh and I designed it around the default mesh. I was thinking about making the scenery for FS9 but wasn't sure whether to assume most people were using a addon mesh or not.Excellent post by the way. Great advice you have given here!!Regards, Mike Mann

I've found that "HD" clouds may sound good, and look good up close, but from a distance start to look unnatural. I've been running the Phase 8 Flight Environment set for a long time. Also I think realistic sky colors are a must. The set by Pablo Diaz would be a good starting point.Cheers,Todd

Thanks everyone for the tips and opinions so far. Interesting that we seem to be discussing software, not hardware. Does that mean that pretty much any modern computer and graphics card will crunch the numbers, but it's the software that really affects what we see?Ron

I've found that "HD" clouds may sound good, and look good up close, but from a distance start to look unnatural. I've been running the Phase 8 Flight Environment set for a long time. Also I think realistic sky colors are a must. The set by Pablo Diaz would be a good starting point.Cheers,Todd

Interesting you should mention this. I just finished releasing a scenery for FSX that some users had problems with; turns out they had FS Genesis mesh and I designed it around the default mesh. I was thinking about making the scenery for FS9 but wasn't sure whether to assume most people were using a addon mesh or not.Excellent post by the way. Great advice you have given here!!Regards, Mike Mann

Thanks Mike. Yes, add-on mesh has been a mixed blessing for me. Just yesterday I found that after recently adding a new 19m mesh for Nevada, thinking how cool it would be to be able to fly an A10 out of KLSV through some realistic desert terrain. Then I went to the awesome FSDT KLAS and there is now a big hole under the threshold of one of the runways. I'm hoping Umberto will be willing to do a flatten for it though it's not really his problem... :(

Thanks everyone for the tips and opinions so far. Interesting that we seem to be discussing software, not hardware. Does that mean that pretty much any modern computer and graphics card will crunch the numbers, but it's the software that really affects what we see?Ron

Hi RonThere's no doubt that good hardware makes a huge difference once you really need it. But the only reason you need more than a basic PC to run FS9 is if you have complex add-ons and want to get the most out of them. Just upgrading your hardware for the default FS9 isn't really a good investment. Try some good software and then if you start having problems running it all smoothly, then you go and plead with the wife to let you buy a new PC! :( My advice is start with the environment - when you can look out and see realistic sky, weather and ground textures you have a whole new ballgame. Good luck - it's fun. But remember the warning - it's highly addictive! :(

Oh, trust me, Kiwi - I've been computer flying for a very long time.  I know how addicting it can be!  I just started this thread because after all this time, I'm still fascinated both by how varied it is; and how darn realistic it's become!  And like most addicts, we keep wanting more and more!>"Good luck - it's fun. But remember the warning - it's highly addictive!  :("<