Best FSX addons

[jetsmell 45]

Orbx

A2A

Rex

FSUIPC

FS Global Real Weather

PMDG

[Sportsfan23 2]

Ok so far on my list of things to get.

 

PMDG 737

Ifly 737

Feeltehre 145

The turbine studious sound pack

FS2crew 737 Bundle

Pro Flight emulator unless there is a better option out there that I don't know about?

FSCaptain

Active Sky 2012 upgraded, or Rex Plus Overdrive. What are the differences between the two? 

 

ORBX FTX Global. Could somebody please explain the regions+airports part?

FSUIPC

DX 10 Fixer

 

Also are there any major differences between My traffic professional and Just Flight traffic 360? Do those work with PFE?

 

And will all of these work together and with Windows 7 ultimate edition?

[Jim Young 2,356]

 

 

Also are there any major differences between My traffic professional and Just Flight traffic 360? Do those work with PFE?

 

Not sure about JF Traffic 360 but this link has info on some of the different versions - http://secure.simmarket.com/mytraffic-x-professional-5.4-b.phtml.  I think you are asking a good question but logically, someone would have to own My Traffic X Professional and Just Flight Traffic 360 to give you an accurate response about the differences.  All AI traffic products are compatible with PFE.

 

Best regards,

Jim

[Sportsfan23 2]

I read in another thread that sometimes the game will have you land on the wrong runways or something. Do the ATC program and the traffic program fix that so you and the AI fly realistic approaches and departures?

 

Another question that I have is with the new DX10 fix can you still use scenery from Fly Tampa? I noticed on there website the airports I was interested in aren't DX10 supported. Does that mean they won't work?

 

So far on my list of airports to get are.

 

Fly Tampa if they are compatible with the DX 10

 

Tampa, Boston, Midway

 

FSDT

 

GSX program, JFK, LAX, DFW, LAS, ORD,

 

I did quite a few searches for other free airports and it was staggering how many there were. Does anybody have any reccomendations for freeware airports that aren't listed above or people who make these airports that I should keep and eye out for?

 

Another big question I have before I go and get all this stuff is just how easy it to integrate all of these things into FSX? Is there like a certain order I should install these programs or is it just run the install program and it works in the game?

 

 

Are there guides that explain how to make your system run FSX as efficiently as possible?

 

I really do appreciate all the suggestions.

[snowingairlines 20]

PMDG 737

Ifly 737

These two do the same plane. It is normally accepted that the PMDG is the better, but they are both great.

 

 

Could somebody please explain the regions+airports part

Orbx has divided the world into a couple products.

 

Global gives the world entirely new textures, but does nothing else. It is great for tube flying, but less effective for GA.

 

Regions upgrade the textures, landclass, shorelines, and Airports, to give a more accurate view of the region.

 

Airports need the region that they are located in, and upgrade an airport to a whole new level. ORBX does some of the best airports ever.

[Sportsfan23 2]

I was able to find the region products it appears all the north america products are of the western USA. While they do look really cool I dunno how much flying I would be doing out west like that. Are ORBX Global and Ultimate Terrain X USA basically the same thing?

 

I would be flying mostly in North America. So which would be better for the type of flying I am going to want to do?

[Sportsfan23 2]

While the thrustmaster warthog looks like a great joystick I am looking for something a bit less pricey. Is the Saitek pro flight yoke any good? It says it needs a 2.0 USB port but my computer is only going to have 3.0 is that a problem or would it still work? I am also assuming it works on Windows 7.

 

 

 

[FloG 148]

 

 

Also are there any major differences between My traffic professional and Just Flight traffic 360?

I only own MTX Pro 5.4c, so I can't give a reliable (and unbiassed) review of them, but in one of the threads I linked before, there is quite a good a comprehensive overview of all popular options along with all its pros and cons. Here's the link again(in case you didn't read through it before): http://forum.avsim.net/topic/409236-best-ai-traffic-solution/?p=2678922 and http://forum.avsim.net/topic/409236-best-ai-traffic-solution/?p=2679143.

 

 

 

PMDG 737

Ifly 737

There's no point in going for both aircraft (unless you want to use both FS9 and FSX) - either one is good, although I hear that PMDG is better in general (but obviously much more expensive, if you calculate the price per model - and you want more than only the -800 and -900 versions). The PMDG base pack is only 738 and 739, with an expansion for the smaller 736 and 737, whereas the iFly comes as an all-in-one package with the 736, 737, 738, 739, BBJ1, BBJ2, BBJ3, and all that at - as far as I can judge - only a little lower quality in terms of visual and systems modelling. The show-stopper parts or the iFly are probably the necessity to disable your antivirus program during the installation and the fact that the HUD is limited to the BBJ models only, and it does not look quite as good as the NGX's. The major advantage is that it is sold via the Flight1 wrapper system, which should give you the benefit of their 30 day money back policy (but I'm not completely sure if that really applies for the iFly).

 

 

 

ORBX FTX Global. Could somebody please explain the regions+airports part?

What Ryan said. Besides that, the regions are designed with GA "low'n'slow" fliers in mind, so you can naviagte quite well just using roads, rivers and upgraded landmarks - but it sure looks great from the flight levels as well (and the approach to airports like Portland is way cooler with ORBX PNW active than without it!). And most of their airports, especially in the NA and EU part are currently GA only, though some fo them can handle small regional airliners, and a few are even major airports.

[Sportsfan23 2]

So it appears ORBX FTX Global is the way to go from a scenery standpoint. I guess what I was hoping to get in a scenery program was more realstic looking smaller cities and towns while flying. I figure most of the big cities are well done. I have seen city specific scenery you can get. Do those work with ORXB FTX Global? Do I need to get one of those ground enviroment programs or does FTX Global include that?

 

Also I haven't been able to find this answer. Do FS2crew and FSCaptain work together?

[Sportsfan23 2]

Also on the ORBX site with there new product announcement in the screen shots they keep mentioning FS Global mesh. I assume this is also something I need? I searched for it but only could come up with FS Global 2010 X. Is that what they are talking about or is it something else?

 

I guess another thing I am wondering about is this too many addon programs for FSX to be running at once?

[Sportsfan23 2]

Could sombody suggest which version of FS2crew I need for the PMDG 737? I see they have like a 737 captains set, and then a special bundle which is cheaper. Is there a difference between the versions aside from the price?

[FloG 148]

 

 

I have seen city specific scenery you can get. Do those work with ORXB FTX Global?

Any other addon shoudl work with FTXG, except programs that replace ground textures, such as Ground Environment X (GEX). As GEX and FTXG do exactly the same thing, they are not compatible, but every other addon should work with FTXG just fine.

 

 

 

Do I need to get one of those ground enviroment programs or does FTX Global include that?

As said above: No, you don't need another one if you go for FTXG.

 

 

 

Also on the ORBX site with there new product announcement in the screen shots they keep mentioning FS Global mesh. I assume this is also something I need?

That does depend on what you want - a HiRes mesh sure looks great if you fly low and slow, but the effect it has for arliner flying is not that impressive IMO, so it's not really something "essential" at all. I don't know about any of the mesh products you mention, but what would influence my decision about which one to buy is 1) the mesh resolution, 2) the coverage area and 3) the price. (I'd like a mesh addon at the highest possible level of detail for mountain flying, and - if possible - I'd like it to come in modules, so I can buy only the areas I need, or at least install only those areas to save space on my hard disk - but that part is not so important to me, it would just be a nice feature).

 

 

 

I guess another thing I am wondering about is this too many addon programs for FSX to be running at once?

In theory it's impossible to have too many addons (except if they do the same thing - then they will eventually overwrite each other's files), but there can be some quite annoying things, though: First of all, too many highly detailed addons at the same time can bring the best computers to their knees, even more so since FSX is an old 32-bit aplication which is limited to 4GB of RAM (danger of OOM errors when many detailed addons are to be displayed at the same time). Then there are some programs that might interfere with each other, resulting in anomalies of some kind. And last but not least: the amount of addons installed can significantly increase FSX startup and loading times.

[Sportsfan23 2]

In theory it's impossible to have too many addons (except if they do the same thing - then they will eventually overwrite each other's files), but there can be some quite annoying things, though: First of all, too many highly detailed addons at the same time can bring the best computers to their knees, even more so since FSX is an old 32-bit aplication which is limited to 4GB of RAM (danger of OOM errors when many detailed addons are to be displayed at the same time). Then there are some programs that might interfere with each other, resulting in anomalies of some kind. And last but not least: the amount of addons installed can significantly increase FSX startup and loading times.

 

Yea since I am basically buidling this simulator from scratch and don't really know anything about any of these products I just want to make sure that the stuff I am getting will work with each other and avoid those issues if possible.

 

Since I think most of my flying will be jet flying it appears I can forgo the mesh program.

[FloG 148]

 

 

I just want to make sure that the stuff I am getting will work with each other and avoid those issues if possible.

One of those possible issues just came to my mind: Some Wilco/Feelthere installers (I'm never sure whose installers those really are, and I sure don't want to blame the wrong guys for it, so I'll just blame both ) tend to make a mess out of the dll.XML file, which is important for modules of other addons to work. E.g. it will make the PMDG menu vanish from the menu bar, or might disable other functions that rely on 3rd party *.dll files. So I would advise you to first install all Wilco/Feelthere products, put the dll.xml back into a proper order, and then install further addons, as the workload might increase significantly the more addons you install, because there will be more entries to edit.

[Sportsfan23 2]

How hard is it to edit the dll.xml file? I've never edited programs or anything before. I guess in general will I be editing a lot of FSX files to get all these things to work?