I go back to FS on the Mac128 then 512. More imagination was required in those days as we piloted wireframes around the sky.

 

Modems at 300baud allowed wide-eyed access to BBS's ... remember them?

 

Now it takes me 65 minutes just to get the engines started!  The fun factor has left. Now it's as real as it gets ... but so serious, so professional ... just like in the real world.

 

Sometimes I hanker for a Piper Cub with tundra tyres and just go out and burn a hole in the sky. :lol:  

I'm still with FS9 and I'm loving it!

I'm still with FS9 and I'm loving it!

I think I'm going to reinstall it.

I really need to start getting more serious about DCS

I do remember it all and I still do have FS9 installed.

 

Steve

I really need to start getting more serious about DCS

Waiting for the new engine.

Waiting for the new engine.

 

Real quick question, probably not appropriate for this topic, but will the new engine offer full support for SLI?  I'm totally out of the loop on DCS these days, but I want to know so that I can formalize my hardware upgrade plans to support both P3D and DCS.

Real quick question, probably not appropriate for this topic, but will the new engine offer full support for SLI?  I'm totally out of the loop on DCS these days, but I want to know so that I can formalize my hardware upgrade plans to support both P3D and DCS.

My understanding is that the new engine will use Sli/Crossfire with up to 4 GPU's supported, and will also be DX11

 

In actuality it sounds kind of like flight (terrain shadow projection) and P3dv2 (DX11 support)

 

With a little bit of X-Plane 10 thrown in.

 

I like FSX because it's not for rent.

Any sim that makes the user feel happy is worthwhile!  I was always (and forever will be) in love with the PMDG NGX, and their new 777 is a wonderful addition!

 

Unfortunately, I got a wild notion into my head about having triple visual monitors (180 degree field of view with little to no distortion, running at high frames rates, with butter smooth graphics even at night or at complex airports.  I wanted a separate glass cockpit below my outside view monitors.  I wanted a sim experience that was beyond anything I had experienced thus far, and more closely emulated the sensations of real flight.

 

In my own personal case, the result was--

 

Great video Robert.  Very immersive.

Thank you Mike.  Primitive filming with my Samsung Note phone... but it conveys the gist of the new setup.

That's a heck of a setup there Robert!  I'm jealous. 

 

Best regards,

I use:

 

FSX - The core platform for a sh*t ton of add-ons from scenery to aircraft to Opus, HTR & EFB etc. With DirectX10 fixer its a new sim.

DCS - The depth......

Aerofly FS - Great flying feeling and makes you think what things could look like

Take On Helicopters

DCS WW II: Europe - kickstarter right now, made my contribution and can't wait for this.

 

As for the next platform, basically where my add ons go, can't live without A2A and PMDG with select Aerosoft, Milviz, Eaglesoft and others.

Ah, the future.  It looks like there's something for everyone out there.  My personal perspective on the five options I have tried as of today...

 

FS9! The sim that got me back into flight simulator back in 2004 and that has not yet waned.  In fact, I make a living off the MS flight simulation business and it started with FS9.  I'd bought most all previous versions from FS2 up to FS98, and despite high hopes each time was disappointed with the lack of an immersive experience and lost interest after a week or two.  But not FS9...that was the breakthrough for me.   I couldn't stop buying add-ons and it became my most prevalent timesink/hobby.

 

FSX...like most of you I had high hopes and was a little bitter that it looked far worse than FS9 out of the box, and I couldn't do anything about it on my system without turning on the slideshow.  But, inspired by posts from the community, I went out and forked over the cash for a beefy PC, and suddenly -- amazement.  I remember my first flight then.  It made even my well-enhanced FS9 feel like a simulator in comparison!  Except the textures were ugly...and anything beyond default aircraft killed frame rates...so the endless tweaking and upgrading continued.  But now ... with DX10 now smooth and crash-free I am still amazed at what this platform can deliver.  I haven't even thought about FS9 in years except to fire it up every once in a while for nostalgia.  But yes, for me it feels like playing a flight sim compared to the immersion I get from my well-tweaked and well-added-on FSX.

 

Prepar3d V2..After reading the posts on here I had to try it.  And I'm sort of back where I was when I first bought FSX after loving FS9.  P3D looks wonderful (once I replaced the default textures) but...but...performance and bugs are what's holding me back.  Performance means I need to spend money on hardware that I simply don't have right now.  Bugs, well, there are too many right now -- but I am confident that LM will fix most of those in 2.1.  And that's the real point here.  P3D is a living and growing product.  Unless LM management kills it, this would seem to be the future.  The compatibility with most FSX add-ons gives it a huge leg up over any competition.    The move over from FSX will be slow, even slower than the move from FS9, and some will never move, but in the end I think this has the strong potential to become the future of mainstream PC flight simulation.  Simulation...not gaming..this is not a game!  Don't say it's a game!

 

X-Plane 10...I do not own it.  I tried the demo, and nothing there was sufficient to seduce me from FSX.  I totally respect the fans of the platform and I'd love to see it gain the customer base to get developers to take it more seriously.  Frankly, though, it's not quite there yet -- but close, I feel.  The issues are well known and need to be addressed, and I think this platform can be a strong competitor.

 

Flight Gear...the open source platform.  You know, I have a soft spot for open source.  But, yes, I have tried this and it was -- several years ago -- not even close to getting any of my interest away from the more serious platforms.  But...have you seen the screenshots from the latest version coming out soon?  Of course screenies can be deceiving...there's lots more to a truly immersive experience than pretty graphics...but at least effort is being put into this, and I hope it will continue.  I'll be looking closely at this new version when it is released.  I am tempted to contribute code to the project.  We'll see.

 

Right now, I play with GA airplanes in P3D V2, but my serious time is spent in FSX DX10, which I'm extremely happy with.  It's smooth, beautiful, immersive, and so far crash-free (I recently had to reload it all, it does seem to suffer from bit-rot when you keep on adding things to it!)

 

Looking forward to what the future will bring and very happy to be a part, and a contributor, to this community.

 

Dutch