And I still stand by my argument that the 2D is or becoming a thing of the past. If PSS is going to make VC 120% usable, and developers are finding new ways to improve the VC technology; what is left is MS making countless view angles in the cockpit.

(1) FPS FPS FPS to 25+ with ALL Sliders maxed on a 2.0 GHZ or better CPU. (2) Revamp the Weather Engine. Must meet Requirement #1.(3) ENHANCE / FIX ATC / AI InteractionIf this is ALL Microsoft did for FS 2006, WE ALL WOULD BE HAPPY!THAT IS ALL!!!

If MS got rid of 2-d cockpits, I'd be shopping for another sim. Unfortunately, there isn't much of an alternative.Adam

I would be also.I just have to say it again..."Do you always fly from the back seat?"That's what you do in the VC, fly from the back seat.

>I just have to say it again..."Do you always fly from the back>seat?">>That's what you do in the VC, fly from the back seat.Any way you look at it, using one monitor is quite a compromise. In effect, you'd need at least six monitors for the required field of vision.With a VC and a 75% zoom rate, at least I get enough added peripheral vision to detect "yaw" much better than a fixed 2D panel shoved in my face. This makes anything but a long straight approach landing, a lot of fun again. L.Adamson

I hate to get into this VC thing...but:..."Do you always fly from the back seat?"Now THAT has to be the weirdest argument against the 3D panel yet! I'm curious as how you arrived at that conclusion.Take a look at the two screen shots belowhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/115069.jpgHere we see the 2D cockpit and all the compromises that must be made to utilize it. The view is almost as if sitting on the pedestal. The gauges are inaccurately placed if one were sitting in the Captain's chair and the forward eye view focus is totally wrong.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/115071.jpgThe 3D cockpit on the other hand is centered directly in the middle of my screen, which in turn is centered on my yoke. On the real aircraft the EHSI is the captain's centerline also. To do a proper instrument scan one must move your head (scroll with the mouse) in a similar pattern as on the real aircraft (up, down, right, left).So, quite franky the "unrealistic" 3D view notion is interesting to say the least but can be more accurately applied to the 2D view. Still, for fluidity and ease of use (all buttons in front of you), the 2D panel remains champ.With that said, I HOPE MS doesn't do away with the 2D pit for the sake of freeware. Development is far, far longer to make a 3D pit than it is for the 2D counterpart. There is already a shortage of quaility freeware aircraft and the deletion of the 2D pit would pretty much make them none existant.As far as enhance features and being able to run the 3D pit, I say either upgrade your rig or stay with FS2004. One cant expect the drivers in the Indy 500 to slow down or not take advantage of enhanced engine technogies just because some can't keep up. Innovation has a price, it just seems to me that many don't want to pay that price. MSFS has traditionally taxed even the most robust systems with each new release and to think otherwise is pretty naive. For many of us, with 3rd party addons MSFS 2004 is as close to a perfect sim as we've ever had. Personally, I am happier as a simmer now than I have ever been. And that begs the question, what can MS do to FS10 to make it better?- Accurate photorealism for the entire planet?- A more realistic weather engine?- A revamping of the flight dynamic engine?- Accurate ATC based on true real world dynamics, spacing, etc?Will FS-10 be worthy of investement considering the investments already made in FS2004+3D party addons (which for me has run into the hundreds of dollars)? It remains to be seen.Best regards,Mike T.Regards,Mike T.

The "back seat" argument is the type of argument made by someone who simply hasn't ever bothered with VCs. It has no basis in reality. The fact is that with a well-designed VC I can position the eyepoint so that what I see looks virtually indisitnguishable from the 2D panel. I don't understand the "if they drop 2D I'll be looking for a different sim" perspective. I suppose if one assumes they might do away with 2D before the remaining problems accossiated with VCs are resolved I can understand it, but if VCs continue to improve as they have recently, it's not going to be long before most or all of the traditional complaints are gone. If the guages update as fast as a 2D panel (as they already do in RealAirs Spitfire), and if panning is fast and smooth (as it already is with active camera's mouse panning), then what is the issue? For anyone that does still want the locked 2D-type view you could just adjust the eyepoint to where you want it and don't pan - voila, 2D view. Having said that, I think it'll be some time before the facility for 2D panels is removed from the sim. I just think that gradually as time passes we're going to see more and more devs going the RealAir/Bill Lyons route and forgoing 2D panels in their add-ons...

'Beloved' means that Microsoft loves you....You sure about that?

>Jon,>>>...........Yeah, I know that the world isn't fair, and I'm not saying>that those who can't afford a new rig who max out the settings>should expect fluidity, but it's also not fair for MS to>require you to run FS2006 (if there will be one) on the latest>and greatest hardware........Microsoft does not require you to buy a new version .... a couple of options ... keep your current version or buy the new version and optimize the video settings for you current system ... Vern

Mike: ROFL.I said that in jest as a real world pilot and the fact that most VC's still aren't really clear enough to function. They are coming along, but I still prefer the 2d panel.

Jeff, as an aside, I own both your London City and Gatwick products and I have to say that they rank at the absolute top of my scenery add-ons!!!Flying into Heathrow is especially spectacular since the London City scenery extends out that far. After a 8 hour KIAD-EGLL flight it feels as if I have arrived in London. The same goes for Gatwick which is rendered in painstaking splendor. There may be sceneries as good (Flytampa comes to mind, but there is NONE better available for MSFS. (<---period)As a displaced Londoner myself (grew up in Camden...our flat had a great view of Euston Station and the GPO tower), I have explored the scenery and it really envokes a lot of sentimental feelings.If ANY simmer flies into London even once a year, they are not doing themselves justice if they don't have your scenery on board.Now, with that said, stop posting here and get your butt to work on KMCI!!!!!Best regards,Mike T.

HAHA...LOL, we're going as fast as we can, but Shoreham is actually going to the next release.

Jeff - question about this Gatwick scenery - I admit I never heard of this product. I went through all the shots and they look outstanding. But I have this question - I did not see a single daytime shot of the runway so I could see runway textures. These days if I buy an airport for over $15 it better use the latest of runway textures techniques (like Imaginesim, Flytampa). Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2

I'll get you a shot real quick. I thought we had some daytime shots.I'll post it here for you.

Hi Mike,Perhaps a scrolling 2D like FLY2 is a good compromise.just my 2cents of thought.chris_Cahttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/115114.jpg