I think to truly appreciate the current simulators available now both FSX and X plane 10 people need to have flown the first version of Microsoft flight simulator. All we had were lines and a pretty bad flight model. If we compare that to what is available today we would not be complaining now. X plane 10 cost $80 today where we paid 50 bucks for fs9, fs2000 ect,. and if you compare those graphics to today, I think you would see more "realism" today. Fortunately though we are all free to chose what looks best to us and there is no reason to degrade microsoft or Xplane to drive your point. There are hard working people involved on both sides trying their best to bring us closer to reality as possible. The only way we will all agree on reality if we fly for real. So just enjoy what we have and keep both companies working to improve our favorite sims.

..... I also hope you have absolutely no ties with Laminar Research.

Keep hoping.

That sounds to me like a straightforward attempt to silence criticism and stifle debate.

No, it's a straightforward attempt to shut up a couple of whiners who have nothing worthwhile to say.

No, it's a straightforward attempt to shut up a couple of whiners who have nothing worthwhile to say.

Are you calling me a whiner? come on mountain man, don't mince your words

I must admit, as nice as it is to give away a lot of money to an animal shelter I did think about spending the money on the platform as well.. Unless he pays himself a HUGE salary he probably does what I and other people who own businesses do which is draw down from the busniess when you want/need it and pay yourself a regular salary. I don't know his history or what he spends his money on but if he's giving away millions (Admirable) and spending a small fortune on personal toys by drawing down on the company then people could rightly ask why LR's blogs defend some of the chatter over the last week by saying they are working with limited resources. All of that is his right to do, don't get me wrong but it sheds a different light on a company that is working with limited resources that are not as limited after all.

I think the reference to limited was in meant as in manpower.Personally for me tho, for someone to walk into an animal shelter and write out a check for 1.5 million is damn cool. That takes class in my opinion and gets thumbs up from me.:)

Most likely the X-Plane 10 budget was established based on expected return rather than Austin's personal backroll.

No, it's a straightforward attempt to shut up a couple of whiners who have nothing worthwhile to say.

It's a shame that you all judge fair criticism as worthless then isn't it.

Are you calling me a whiner? come on mountain man, don't mince your words

I don't know that he is calling you a whiner, but it seems to me you have expressed your concerns, at length. You have chosen to ignore one of the developers attempts to explain the current state of the graphics, and you continue to pursue the matter. Come back in a couple of months and see if things are better suited to your needs. You might be surprised.

Now that's really silly. Care to look up the definitions?Plausible def. Seemingly or apparently valid, likely, or acceptable; credible.Realistic def. Tending to or expressing an awareness of things as they really are.

In what way is that silly?Would you care to tell me how a scenery can be valid, likely, or acceptable if it doesn't express an awareness of things as they really are?Effectively, tell me how something unrealistic can be plausible.

it seems to me you have expressed your concerns, at length

I've only replied when I've been replied to. The length and number of my posts is directly correlated to what I've been asked to respond to.

Come back in a couple of months and see if things are better suited to your needs. You might be surprised.

You're absolutely right, of course. I should come back at some point in the future and give the demo another try.Till then, there is Flight, Prepar3d and this new AeroflyFS to look into to see if my civil flight sim itch can be scratched.

In what way is that silly?Would you care to tell me how a scenery can be valid, likely, or acceptable if it doesn't express an awareness of things as they really are?Effectively, tell me how something unrealistic can be plausible.

Howard,I gave you the definitions of both words. I quoted you on your remark that the two words necessarily belong together and mean the same thing. They don't!A scenery of New York city can be plausible by the fact that the streets and buildings are there and it occupies and fills a correct amount of terrain. This would make it valid and acceptable yet it may not be realistic, if the main sights of the city, it's landmarks are absent.

There is some valid criticism. But I stopped reading every post in this thread after the only 100% true statement was made: Basically it's a users decision based on personal preferences. And those are starting from "Which Operating System do I use" and range to a question like "Am I not interested because there are 10 planes included that I never will fly".As for the criticism, two questiions remain:1. Why wasn't Laminar able to adress some of those for X-Plane 10 (e.g. airport buildings)? Possible answers:- Manpower- Different main focus- reacting to X-Plane community input first- and so on2. Will Laminar be able to adress some issues? Possible answers:- While there can't be promises, it is known that Laminar is constantly adding features and improvements to the sim - not only from one major version to the next one.- counterquestion: What can we expect from third parties, freeware and payware like Aerosoft, in the coming months and years? If some major areas in the sim are regarded as having a huge demand to be improved, then why should a third party not jump on board and fill the gap?And from there, we always go in circles in those threads that I stopped reading from page 1 to page x.

I've only replied when I've been replied to. The length and number of my posts is directly correlated to what I've been asked to respond to.You're absolutely right, of course. I should come back at some point in the future and give the demo another try.Till then, there is Flight, Prepar3d and this new AeroflyFS to look into to see if my civil flight sim itch can be scratched.

Yes, AeroflyFS does look very good. I'll keep an eye on it also.best regards

Yes, AeroflyFS does look very good. I'll keep an eye on it also.best regards

Only Switzerland. Won't make sense for how I use flight sims. But yes, looks ok.