Newbie help trialling FSX

[ostiusa 0]

Hi all.

I'm pretty new to this flight sim stuff. I started with MS Flight not long after it came out and I'm now looking to move on after it's demise.

I'm currently tossing up between FSX and X-Plane 10 and have tried the demos for both. X-Plane visually looks great but it's a bit of a clunker to work with for me. FSX doesn't look as good out of the box but is a lot friendlier to work with and has the added bonus of tons of content including missions.

One of the things I really like with flight simming is sight-seeing - checking out the cool scenery the world has to offer, so decent quality graphics is pretty high on my want list. So what I'd like to try is the FSX demo with some enhanced scenery if at all possible.

Can anyone tell me if the FSX demo can be enhanced with better scenery? Obviously it will only be for the small area included in the demo. If it is possible, what is the best/better freeware scenery I can try? I realise that any freeware won't provide anything near ORBX quality but if I can get it getting close to the look of X-Plane it might sway me toward FSX.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

David

[ZachLW 37]

Hi all.

I'm pretty new to this flight sim stuff. I started with MS Flight not long after it came out and I'm now looking to move on after it's demise.

I'm currently tossing up between FSX and X-Plane 10 and have tried the demos for both. X-Plane visually looks great but it's a bit of a clunker to work with for me. FSX doesn't look as good out of the box but is a lot friendlier to work with and has the added bonus of tons of content including missions.

One of the things I really like with flight simming is sight-seeing - checking out the cool scenery the world has to offer, so decent quality graphics is pretty high on my want list. So what I'd like to try is the FSX demo with some enhanced scenery if at all possible.

Can anyone tell me if the FSX demo can be enhanced with better scenery? Obviously it will only be for the small area included in the demo. If it is possible, what is the best/better freeware scenery I can try? I realise that any freeware won't provide anything near ORBX quality but if I can get it getting close to the look of X-Plane it might sway me toward FSX.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

David

Welcome David!

 

I've never heard someone say X-Plane looked better out of the box or otherwise. That's a new one! You are limited to the demo area ONLY, and it sure would be dishonest if we tried changing that. FSX can be picked up in bargain bins for $10-$20. Why not just go that route?

[speedyTC 206]

If you'd like a taste of what's possible in FSX eye-candy-wise check out the OrbX freebie section. Apart from a number of smaller airfields scattered around Oz there are also two Demo versions of the PNW (Pacific Northwest) scenery and also of Tazzy (Tasmania) Down Under.

 

FSX looked terribly bland and uninspiring out of the box but by adding the UTX/GEX series of products plus AS2012 (ActiveSky) they have turned my FSX world into a very life-like place indeed.

 

I have not tried X-Plane so I cannot offer an opinion but FSX is extremely upgradeable and as far as I know has a much wider choice of add-ons for it. As Zach has said, FSX can be had for a pittance. Pick it up. It's a solid platform on which to build.

 

Cheers!

[ostiusa 0]

Welcome David!

 

I've never heard someone say X-Plane looked better out of the box or otherwise. That's a new one! You are limited to the demo area ONLY, and it sure would be dishonest if we tried changing that. FSX can be picked up in bargain bins for $10-$20. Why not just go that route?

 

Thanks for the welcome Zach.

What I meant was that the scenery in the X-Plane demo looks better than the scenery in the FSX demo. Are you really saying that it doesn't? :)

I do realise that I'm am limited to the demo area, so I was hoping to be able to add better scenery for that area only. I'm not trying to cheat the program to get more areas, just trying to get an idea of what's possible. :) I've only seen FSX for around $30-$40AUD here in Australia. Still cheap but I don't want to invest in the time to get FSX up and running properly if I don't really like it.

 

Thanks speedyTC. If I do get FSX the Tasmania scenery will probably be the first I go for as that's where I live. :)

 

Cheers,

David

[Jetstream96 20]

Thanks for the welcome Zach.

What I meant was that the scenery in the X-Plane demo looks better than the scenery in the FSX demo. Are you really saying that it doesn't? :)

I do realise that I'm am limited to the demo area, so I was hoping to be able to add better scenery for that area only. I'm not trying to cheat the program to get more areas, just trying to get an idea of what's possible. :) I've only seen FSX for around $30-$40AUD here in Australia. Still cheap but I don't want to invest in the time to get FSX up and running properly if I don't really like it.

 

Thanks speedyTC. If I do get FSX the Tasmania scenery will probably be the first I go for as that's where I live. :)

 

Cheers,

David

 

Honestly speaking, X-plane's mountain is pretty awesome. However, I personally consider FSX's world makes me feel more realistic.

 

Notice that there are many, many add-on scenery/aircrafts/utilities ready for FSX. Image the beautiful ORBX/Aerosoft scenery, and the highly-realistic PMDG/Level-D aircrafts. Those add-ons are my reason for choosing FSX.

 

Welcome to the virtual sky!

[JaseMelbo 395]

Fsx hands down. I have recently retired my copy of fs9 and I have to say fsx rocks!

[ostiusa 0]

Thanks all. I've ended up settling on FSX. Now I've just got to get the thing running smoothly.

[gizmosellsbunnys 106]

Eyecandy fsx and flying xplane both are good. Start out with fdx its cheap and plenty free and payware goodies. Xplane planes feel more lively but scenery is a lot less than fsx.