Do we Love X-Plane? Don't we?

[Jessica Bannister-Pearce 120]

Thanks Mario, I had no idea tropical sim were doing XPX things. This is what I mean. We just don't get to here about this because the XPX marketplace is both fragmented and conversely .org centric ( I'm not sure how this all fits together, but it does)

 

For my job I have to try and keep up to date with every release for multiple platforms, and it's not always apparent when a new XPX product appears. ( I love the guys at truscenery though, always there for a chat. )

[MarioDonick 752]

 

 

I had no idea tropical sim were doing XPX things.

 

• Buenos Aires Saez 2013
• Aruba TNCA 2012
• Sao Paulo
• Washington National KDCA

 

I don't know if their sceneries are available at other places than SimMarket ... Which is a real pity, because they are doing great stuff.

 

 

 

 

For my job I have to try and keep up to date with every release for multiple platforms, and it's not always apparent when a new XPX product appears

 

I know that problem -- doing X-Plane reviews for your German "counterpart" (somehow), FSMagazin

[Jessica Bannister-Pearce 120]

Then you know how it is Mario. My problem Is that I cover everything, so I could be dealing with an fsx add on one issue along with a hardware review, next issue its XPX aircraft and a p3d article. Its a great job, but I need my iPad to be surgically attached to my arm. Lol

[CarlosF 1,234]

Pirata, I believe I didn't use the right word... I meant the gap in the number of available comercial add-ons, not on their features ;-)

 

oops, I take it back jcomm....lol

[MarioDonick 752]

Then you know how it is Mario. My problem Is that I cover everything, so I could be dealing with an fsx add on one issue along with a hardware review, next issue its XPX aircraft and a p3d article. Its a great job, but I need my iPad to be surgically attached to my arm. Lol

 

Maybe some day Google Glasses can help

[Jessica Bannister-Pearce 120]

Maybe some day Google Glasses can help

Lol. Btw I occasionally pick up a fs magazin when I'm in Austria. It helps me learn more german.

[scotchegg 4,168]

A lot of this angst could be avoided if Ben kept his devblog regularly updated.

[MarioDonick 752]

Lol. Btw I occasionally pick up a fs magazin when I'm in Austria. It helps me learn more german.

 

*gg* Very good! I also read the last PC Pilot issue (on my iPad), to see what you are writing about the Jetstream 32. Your reviewer seemed to have liked it

[Jessica Bannister-Pearce 120]

And why not, it's a great aircraft that I'm looking forward to getting.

[MarioDonick 752]

And why not, it's a great aircraft that I'm looking forward to getting.

 

Indeed.

[BrianKoehler99 13]

 

• Buenos Aires Saez 2013
• Aruba TNCA 2012
• Sao Paulo
• Washington National KDCA

 

I don't know if their sceneries are available at other places than SimMarket ... Which is a real pity, because they are doing great stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

I know that problem -- doing X-Plane reviews for your German "counterpart" (somehow), FSMagazin

 

beautiful payware by Tropical Sim, I bought them all.

[CarlosF 1,234]

A lot of this angst could be avoided if Ben kept his devblog regularly updated.

+1

And why not, it's a great aircraft that I'm looking forward to getting.

Why are you taking so long Jess? Get it, you will not regret it. It is one that helps put aside all of XP's shortcomings.

[carrotroot 77]

This summer has been a complete disappointment in X-Plane land

 

I guess things wouldn't be so bad if they would throw us some goodies on a consistent basis. For instance if they can't get the autogen or some other important technical feature ready, they could have at least provided a few landmarks, or some airports in the meantime. 

 

... speaking of airports, this is the perfect example of foot dragging.

From July to August LR held an airport contest, a good idea, but it ended a month ago and a winner has already been selected. But what's the hold-up now? Why no update just for the airports? Nothing from Robin Peel either ... oh well, I guess I could go to the Org and download them, but that would defeat the purpose of the new update system that they had been talking about for 2 years.

 

This doesn't promote much confidence when you leave low hanging fruit like this to shrivel on the vine. 

 

With P3D 2.0 on the horizon, I am faced with an undeniable truth, FSX *is* where the bar is currently at in terms of overall features. Not X-Plane. Where XP10 is still struggling to extend the view distance to over 40km, add airports, etc ...  the MSFS platform has already accomplished these things nearly 10 years ago.

 

Now Lockheed Martin is taking what has been done, and is improving on it. How is Austin going to respond? X-Plane 10 is still really far away in the basics, it's hard to see how things will improve with XP11 in 2-3 years. 

 

I've stopped holding out hope that XP10 will improve to where I would like, and I'm now seriously considering purchasing P3D 2.0 when it comes out. 

 

Throwing in the towel on X-Plane

 

-Rob

[jcomm 5,890]

Yes,

 

as I wrote at another Forum, in another thread, MSFS and FSX in particular is - The Best Civil Flight Simulation Platform ever available for a PC! - and I have a enormous admiration for the Aces team, and also for those that participated in the MS FLIGHT project, because they gave me the best flight simulation times of my simmer life, even if I felt in love for DCS for it's superb flight dynamics, for ELITE for it's superb IFR trainning tool characteristics, for X-Plane for many aspects as well...

 

This is, after all, my honest oppinion, and having re-installed FSX a while ago to be able to use that SUPERB PMDG 777and continue beta testing some products, brought me memmories from good things, not CTDs... Never had one actually since I got my new PC which was supposed to be dedicated to MS FLIGHT, and FSX and those very heavy add-ons run smooth as silk on it, and in fact, low frame rates and stuttering, and even if rare CTDs,  are issues I sometimes experience in X-Plane 10, not in FSX!

 

When I finally decided to buy X-Plane 10 ( which I very reluctantly bought given my negative experience with 7, 8 and 9, almost always for the same reasons...) , I confess I really expected a lot more than what I found, because contrarily to what interests most simmers, I always place great expectation of the flight dynamics and systems modelling, and "ultra-realistic" is the last thing I would call X-Plane 10 in terms of flight dynamics - sorry to say...  Ok, call it ultra interesting... ultra challenging... but please not ultra-realistic :-/

 

To tell you yet another truth, I sometimes recall the day Austin announced he was working on X-Rotor, his new rotary wing simulator, which was initially supposed to be an independant product ( by that time X-Plane costed a little fortune, and all I could reach were the demos...). Then, X-Rotor never saw the light of the day, and the next version of X-Plane incorporated rotary wing as well... Sometimes, as I  was saying, I think that Austin should probably turn exclusively to X-Rotor, because indeed rotary wing are probably the best models in terms of realism we can have in X-Plane... and in that area the simulator is way superior to FSX even with the best add-ons available for that sim... Also, some visual limitations of scenery in X-Plane would perfectly adapt to typical helicopter operations, and he could concentrate on even more detailled aspects of rotary wing simulation...

 

Problem is, as we all know, FSX is kept alive artificially, there being no internal evolution of the platform, or even of ESP, other than the ( good ) initiative of LM. But LM and it's V2, still seats on top of the same core simulation ( which requires update in many areas ), and we will most probably not be able to use some of our preferred add-ons there ( the EULA problems will most probably persist... ), so, with no other ( civil ) flightsims in the horizon ( now would be the right time for a Propilot 2013, a Fly! 2013, a Flight Unlimited 2013, etc...), and although I already have good news about ELITE v9 ( :- ))) ) I really have to keep supporting X-Plane 10, and using it, because, as I also mentioned on other threads, the truth is that it also has features that, IMO, are very good and even better than similar ones in FSX, and above all, it is STILL under development!

 

I also must not forget the size of the team behind X-Plane 10 vs the Aces, or even the teams behind the DCS projects... I believe LR receives support from some 3pds, but that is certainly not enough to ensure that new features, specially some complex ones, can get released every month or so... I have to be patient, and since I am in this boat, and did not yet get sick, and actually like the most part of the ride... I will stay and try to enjoy the most of it for as long as, at least version 10 goes.

[Airfighter 150]

@carrotroot

 

What you are probably missing is that X-Plane with 64-bit implementation have gone far ahead from the competition. This is too big to be ignored. Also do not forget that XP10 provides real lighting (aka HDR), which again is ahead of the others.

 

What LR is doing now, and that is why you cannot have any visuals clues, is the modernization of the code up to the latest OpenGL technology. This will create the basis of very stable platform for further development/features addition. But this work takes time to get it right. And again it is not visible.

 

I think they approach it right! If you go in a hurry and put staff in, then you will come up that is useless...and then you have to run to fixing things around probably ending in a total mess.