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stephenbgs

Regretful purchases for FSX

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An extremely dissapointing product IMHO. I just bought Cloud9's XClass and will be doing a comparison, but my home area is much better in XClass than SceneryTech Europe.

 

For NA, for areas where I don't have Orbx (NW) or photoscenery (SW), I use UTX with either XClass or Scenerytech. Someone else here clued me into this (I'd give credit if I could remember), but I've found that some areas are better with one and others with the other. Neither were very expensive, so having both is worth what I spent as far as I'm concerned.

 

Scott

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For NA, for areas where I don't have Orbx (NW) or photoscenery (SW), I use UTX with either XClass or Scenerytech. Someone else here clued me into this (I'd give credit if I could remember), but I've found that some areas are better with one and others with the other. Neither were very expensive, so having both is worth what I spent as far as I'm concerned.

 

Scott

 

How do you manage them together? UTX has its own landclass, and using SceneryTech and XClass means you run three landclass layers at the same time. Wouldn't only the top landclass scenery layer show in FSX?


Simmerhead - Making the virtual skies unsafe since 1987! 

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Hey Microsoft IS Flight Simulation! Don't count them out yet. Just Imagine what the franchise would be like if they would incorporate Bing topography. Bill Gates is an avid Flight Simmer so one can hope IMO. Cheers jja

 

Bill Gates a simmer, I wouldn't go that far... As long as 'Lack of Vision Steve B' is at the helm I wouldn't hope much at all.

 

Now back to the topic.


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How do you manage them together? UTX has its own landclass, and using SceneryTech and XClass means you run three landclass layers at the same time. Wouldn't only the top landclass scenery layer show in FSX?

 

Yeah, sorry that wasn't completely clear. SceneryTech and XClass are an either/or proposition. I turn one or the other off, but one stays selected at all times. Both sit above "UT Landclass - Vegetation", but below "UT Landclass - Urban" which allows it to fill in nicely without disrupting the landclass elements that UT does well.

 

Scott

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Wow! Looks like this thread hit a nerve. For me its Araine 737-800 whatever version. I bought it only to hold me over till the NGX. It did that until I had to reinstall after a hardware change and reformat. Paid once to get another licence . Never again. Support was brutal. Rude and antagonistic are rare combination for a business supposedly focussed on customers. Anyways this horse has long been dead, but it is the purchase I regret the most. The aircraft itself wasn't that bad.


Mike Keigley

 

Boeing777_Banner_Pilot.jpg

 

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I have to add myself in the list of users who are regretful of their purchase of FSpassengers. The program runs for a little while then terminates with an unauthorized version error, even on a licensed and purchased version. The developer cannot or will not fix the problem. Very disappointed!!


Jim Melton

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I have to add myself in the list of users who are regretful of their purchase of FSpassengers. The program runs for a little while then terminates with an unauthorized version error, even on a licensed and purchased version. The developer cannot or will not fix the problem. Very disappointed!!

 

Wow, I'm lucky I guess as it's always worked well for me. I am using Vista 64. It does make me wonder if it will work for my next build--if it doesn't I will be very unhappy because I really enjoy it and set up all my flights using it. I guess we'll see.


Noel

System:  9900K@5.0gHz@1.23v all cores, MSI MPG Z390M GAMING EDGE AC, Noctua NH-D15S w/ steady supply of 40-60F ambient air intake, Corsair Vengeance 32Gb LPX 3200mHz DDR4, Sabrent NVMe 2Tb x 2, RTX 4090 FE, Corsair RM 850W PSU, Win10 Pro, LG Ultra Curved Gsync Ultimate 3440x1440, TCA Boeing Edition Yoke & TQ, Cessna Trim Wheel, RTSS Framerate Limiter w/ Edge Sync for near zero Frametime Variance achieving ultra-fluid animation at lower frame rates.

Aircraft used in A Pilot's Life V2:  PMDG 738, Aerosoft CRJ700, FBW A320NX, WT 787X

 

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Greek Airport Project's Rhodes Diagoras International. When I first started flight simming, I set myself the mini-goal of recreating the flight from Manchester to Rhodes that I'd done as a passenger in real life a few years back. So while I was learning the basics and building up to the tubeliners, the first payware airports I bought were Manchester Xtreme from UK2000 and Rhodes Diagoras from GAP.

 

Rhodes was absolutely gorgeous when I loaded it up to test. I could recognise the hotel I'd stayed in and the old town looked fantastic. But when I finally got around to completing the flight, something terrible happened. Arriving round about the time the sun was setting, the framerate started to drop dramatically, until on final approach it was down to an unplayable <1fps.

 

It turned out that there's something in the night lighting or textures for GAP Rhodes that conflicts with FSX Acceleration. GAP say in their forums that they only support the product with SP2, have refused to consider any sort of fix and seem to grow quite irritated when people ask about it.

 

After wrestling with it for some time, even doing a complete reinstall of FSX to go back to SP2 for a while, I've now given up on it and installed the LiveInFSX version of the airport/island. It's maybe not quite as pretty as GAP's, but at least it doesn't turn into a pumpkin when the sun goes down.

 

The other purchase that I'm clooooooose to regretting is the upgrade from Just Flight's Traffic X to Traffic 360. While I can maybe accept that the greatly reduced volume of movements I'm seeing at my local airport (EGCC) may actually be more realistic than the taxiway queues I was seeing under Traffic X, I'm not convinced by the lack of variety of takeoffs : Leaving the sim running I clocked twelve takeoffs in about three hours, all but two of which were British Airways "Speedbird" call signs. The same time period in real life had takeoffs from many different airlines, at least according to Flight Aware. I've also seen AI flights in mid air with their doors opened and passenger stairs lowered. Traffic 360 may have a lot going for it, but there's definitely more than a few rough edges to it in dire need of a service pack.

 

Caveat Emptor

 

Dr V

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What an amazing thread! I wish this had been around a few months/ years ago and before I started believing everything they review in PC Pilot!

 

The most annoying product of late for me has been REXEssentials and the fact that, what was and probably is, a good product, the delayed SP1 has lead to so much bad feeling that you could sense it in their forum. Such a pity that it could have been kept simpler by leaving more bells and whistles for another day and just correcting the basics with just SP1. I can't be alone here I'm sure.

 

I sincerely hope the developers are taking on these comments posted to date.

 

Richard.

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VFR France for FS9 - reproducible CTDs in some areas on my system. I've not dared try their FSX version.

FSGenesis for FS9 due to airport plateau effects, airports in deep pits, and lakes sitting up in the air. FSGenesis for FSX seems better.

Radar Contact because I cannot find a way of flying published approaches without getting repeatedly barked at. Almost 300 pages of fairly indigestible documentation. Hoping for better soon.

REXEssentials (FSX and FS9). It may be superb but I find it too complicated. I am never sure where the 'overdrive' versions fit in. I've not got time to read all the documentation so as to get the best out of it. I prefer ASA2012. I use REX only for water and runway textures.

 

So far, none of the aeroplanes or sceneries I use regularly have appeared on this list. :smile: I must be doing something right.


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John

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Radar Contact because I cannot find a way of flying published approaches without getting repeatedly barked at.

 

Hello

Try the Tutorial number eight from the Radar Contact manual (RCV4.pdf), it takes you through a flight from KDRO-KPVU

Showing how to request a full instrument approach.

 

 

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Hello

Try the Tutorial number eight from the Radar Contact manual (RCV4.pdf), it takes you through a flight from KDRO-KPVU

Showing how to request a full instrument approach.

 

 

You are right about that, but as shown in your manual picture IAP can only be requested within approach airspace. However, the controller tries regularly to get you down earlier, even when it is not time to descend yet. That is actually problematic since that function seems not to consider the environment. Try landing in Almaty UAAA - RC4 will vector you right into the mountains. Same for some airports in the Andes. You HAVE to follow a proper STAR to avoid that problem if possible.

 

Also - if you dont include the STAR in the flightplan for RC4 (unknown approach when planning) and you choose a STAR which requires a change in course (when not requested an IAP because most of the STAR courses starts much earlier than the approach airspace), RC4 gets quit annoying, because it thinks you are not following the flightplan. You can fix that by choosing an approach that is valid for any Rwy when planning and then just add the active runway , however not all airports have such "any rwy" STARs. I then usually choose a runway depending on wind direction while planning and choose a STAR accordingly. But if the weather changes and RC4 assigns a different runway the STAR is invalid. The only way to avoid RC4 nagging then is to follow vectors or to request "your" rwy - with the usual result that the AI gets in the way.

 

Also you cannot get the active runway when >50mi from the airport (via ATIS information) - but depending on your FL, RC4 demands a descend like 80mi out, sometimes 100mi when FL 410. I never see that corresponding to an actual STAR descend profile.

 

I dont know how the STAR operation is done in real live. I saw some videos somewhere, indicating that the pilots choose the STAR when setting up the FMS before start. I think that might be working with weather data when going on short trips. But long haul? Wind directing and approaches might changes underway...

 

BUT: Apart from this, RC4 is a fine piece of software!

Nico

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This is an amazing thread - I am just going to repeat on what I said in a earlier post of mine - so others know about this product Feelthere's ERJ V.2 (135, 145, 145XR Jets) - I actually have a love-hate relationship with this product. Works great day time, and night time flying is the only issue (it is the graphics on the model)....thats it - everything else is just perfect.

 

It is an amazingly beautiful plane, and yes, almost all buttons work - even though I am new to the world of flight sim, I have to read the manual just to get the plane off the ground (I am a newbie). The eye candy is amazing and Call! addon for it - makes it very immersive and Virtual Pilot Checklist is awesome.

 

All things have flaws and it does have a major flaw (to me it is), is the the cockpit glows green when viewing the plane from the outside during night time flying (if instrument panel lighting is on) - that kind of ruins the scenery for me when flying. I have never seen any plane (in real life) fly with Dome Light on. There are knobs which should do this in the plane, but it does not work like that at all. One knob turns all the lights on including the panel.

 

Speaking of official support - I went and did an thorough search on Feelthere's forums - and this issue has been brought from day one (if I can recall it was from 2009), their response has been zero about this. They are not changing it at all. Lack of enthusaism from the developers is sad to see when this product is over 40 bucks. They did make a great product, but they dropped the ball in one main feature (simple graphic issue) - I would glady play $10-$20 to get that fixed (but imbo it is never gonna happen).

 

Question comes to my mind (as the plane is fantastic for day time flying, and for some cockpit glow is not an issue) - would I buy products from Feelthere in the future? Probably not.

 

I will stick with these companies/products for their excellent support and quality Rex, Orbx, Quality Wings, A2A Simulations, FSDT. I can't say about PMDG as I do not own anything from them - but I have visited their site, etc and it looks like they are on top of their game and everyone keeps raving about them (it will be early next year, when I get the NGX - and I am looking forward to it).


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