SkyMaxx looks appealing but I read about a few quirks and issues, and I wouldn't like to start my X Plane experience with tweaking and looking for solutions, I have more than enough of that in FSX... ;-)

I have zero problem with SkyMaxx Pro, the latest version : 1.1 works right out of the box.  Since you fly jet, not having the SkyMaxx Pro experience is a sin.  It makes the clouds look and behave as they should, not the lame default one.  The only tweak, and I am not even calling that a tweak, more like pushing the settings to my liking is to reduce the crepuscular ray down.  Also do not install the NOAA plugin, it causes wind issue with 10.25. 

I have zero problem with SkyMaxx Pro, the latest version : 1.1 works right out of the box. Since you fly jet, not having the SkyMaxx Pro experience is a sin. It makes the clouds look and behave as they should, not the lame default one. The only tweak, and I am not even calling that a tweak, more like pushing the settings to my liking is to reduce the crepuscular ray down. Also do not install the NOAA plugin, it causes wind issue with 10.25.

Ok, I will consider the install of SkyMaxx since realistic weather and clouds are really important for the whole sim experience.

So, after the install of XPX, I'll just have to download and install SkyMaxx, no further tweaking, additional plugins needed?

And, how do you think XPX will perform on my system?

i5 3570K @ 4.1 GHz

GTX 670 2GB

16 GB CL9 RAM

all on a 480 GB SSD

Win7 64 bit

 

 

I seriously wouldn't mind some screen grabs from you guys.  Let me see what you are flying, and where....what interests you!  Would love to see them!  So, ok...waiting on you all!

 

Ses, here's a few shots of me just finishing up a turnaround flight from YMML to YSSY. De-boarding is complete, shutdown & secure procedure complete, left the aircraft powered on GPU for the ground crew....and now I'm off to get finally some sleep  B)

 

 

 

 

This truly is a magnificent bird. Never thought I'd get into the 757 this much, I haven't been this excited about a new aircraft since I first got the NGX.

Interesting to read comments on the FF 757.  I would agree with many of the positive comments here.

 

I know there is another sound set for the FF B757 (I have it but can't recall where I got it from-    )....  this is perhaps my only complaint that the sound is the cockpit sounds like I am sitting on top of the engines, esecially the loud engine whines when spoling up or down. 

 

I don't know enough of the XPX sound system (there doesn't appear to be a standardized sound setup as in FS, with the ability to alias sounds, so it's hard to even copy a sound set from another plane). That's my only gripe, not significant when considering the flight model and the technical accuracy of the 757.

 

Now to try the 727....  I've heard wonderful things about it 

 

Thanks, Bruce.

Ok, I will consider the install of SkyMaxx since realistic weather and clouds are really important for the whole sim experience. So, after the install of XPX, I'll just have to download and install SkyMaxx, no further tweaking, additional plugins needed? And, how do you think XPX will perform on my system? i5 3570K @ 4.1 GHz GTX 670 2GB 16 GB CL9 RAM all on a 480 GB SSD Win7 64 bit

Your system will handle XPX just fine.  Watch the texture requirement though, since your GTX card only has 2GB.  I don't know what monitor resolution you run at, but if you select the rendering options to keep the total VRAM to be half your video card VRAM size you will be fine.  Let us know how it goes for you.

Your system will handle XPX just fine. Watch the texture requirement though, since your GTX card only has 2GB. I don't know what monitor resolution you run at, but if you select the rendering options to keep the total VRAM to be half your video card VRAM size you will be fine. Let us know how it goes for you.

I hope, my weak graphics card won't become a bottle neck that results in stutters and frames per second in the teens...

The visual quality of X Plane 10 is one of it's most appealing things to me. If I have to turn everything down on order to get enough fps for a fluid flight model, I'll be very disappointed.

I decided to order a second SSD, just for XPX. It will arrive tomorrow (Friday), so at Saturday I hope to be able to post first results.

I run FSX at 1920 * 1080 resolution.

 

 

I hope, my weak graphics card won't become a bottle neck that results in stutters and frames per second in the teens...

 

You have a GTX 670, you'll be fine! I have a 560ti also with 2GB and I can still have HDR turned on with most settings at 'high' or 'very high'.

 

Just like Anxu00 said, make sure not to go crazy with the texture res, 'very high' setting works best for me and 'extreme' might be pushing it a bit. XPX has many different settings and there's no way you can simply move all the sliders to the right and expect best results in performance, there is a little tweaking involved of those settings to find the right 'sweet spot' for your hardware, but once you do you just leave it alone and enjoy. Unlike in FSX there's no heavy tweaking of config files or any of that stuff, it's all very smooth and fluid once it's setup properly.

 

 

I run FSX at 1920 * 1080 resolution.

At that resolution it will be very smooth with very good rendering settings.  Check out the AA and FPS thread in the XPlane Tips and Tricks forum for even more performance.  I turn off AA and AF in XPX and push it all to my GTX680 card, in non HDR mode and with extreme resolution with 2560x1600 resolution I am getting 50+ FPS with the FF 757.  You will do fine.

Thanks again for your help! I am really looking forward to flying a decent 727 in X Plane's beautiful environment!

I'll defenitely report back here with my first impressions or my first questions how to set everything up! ;-) We'll see!

Ok, I will consider the install of SkyMaxx since realistic weather and clouds are really important for the whole sim experience.

 

Just a heads up ... SkyMaxx pro isn't a weather generator ... it's a visual replacement of the default XP clouds.

If you want realistic weather, (or the closest we can get at the moment ..) you may need to install Joan's NOAA Weather as well (it's Python based).

 

But for the time being as you mentioned, just use a minimal setup (including SkyMaxx Pro) to get your feet wet.

 

When you get the 727, you may also want to consider the CIVA (for authenticity!); which is a separate package at the Org Store. It integrates into the 727 via a panel menu.

Just a heads up ... SkyMaxx pro isn't a weather generator ... it's a visual replacement of the default XP clouds.

If you want realistic weather, (or the closest we can get at the moment ..) you may need to install Joan's NOAA Weather as well (it's Python based).

 

But for the time being as you mentioned, just use a minimal setup (including SkyMaxx Pro) to get your feet wet.

 

When you get the 727, you may also want to consider the CIVA (for authenticity!); which is a separate package at the Org Store. It integrates into the 727 via a panel menu.

 

 

Thanks for the info, I am aware of this fact. I read that FSGRW, one if my favourite weather engines for FSX, is in development for X Plane.

I'll definitely get that the minute it comes out!

Right now, I am installing X Plane, the 3rd DVD is almost finished, only 5 left to go.

But with the new SSD just for X Plane, the first 2 discs "only" needed 15-20 minutes! ;-)

After 2 1/2 hours, all 8 DVDs are installed! But now the updates are downloading and installing, 123 minutes left... I ticked the beta option as well, I hope that was correct. Anyway, tonight, I'll be flying the 727! ;-)

Here we go! ;-)
It´s done, X Plane with all current updates is installed. It took me an hour and a half to set up the yoke and the buttons and change the graphic settings, to install Urban Maxx and the 727, and now, I already performed 2 complete flights in this beautiful 727:




I am really pleased so far with X Plane´s look and the look and feel of the FlyJSIM 727. With my settings (HDR active, settings to match a VRAM usage of 1-1.1 GB), fps are between 25-30 on the ground with some weather going on, and well above 30 in the air.
I also downloaded and installed XUIPC to get Plan G working with X Plane.
Next thing to do will be downloading and installing Sky Maxx Pro.

That 727 is certainly one of the best add-ons available for X-Plane 10!!!  I've heard the best about it!

Hi!

I could not resist any longer and so I bought the FF 757 yesterday.

I did a few touch and goes to find out about its handling characteristics and its LNAV and VNAV capabilities.

Hand flying this 757 is nice, but not as fluid as the 727, simply because the performance is significantly worse in the FF bird. I get 5-7 fps less in the same situation (sitting on EDDK RWY 32R with some rain) compared to the FlyJSIM 727. It can go down to 15 fps on take off roll and during initial climb, so flying a SID by hand is still possible but the beauty of fluidity is gone. Once at altitudes of 10.000ft and higher, fps go up to around 22-30 fps. Even though I reduced the cloud detail to 30% and the road traffic to Siberian Winter, my total texture load is still around 1.5 GB in this bird. I even got a CTD for the first time in XPX.

15 fps feel much more flyable and there are still no stutters, compared to FSX which becomes quite nasty at frame rates under 17 fps, but I wish it would be a little more fluid.

Other than that, systems seem to be modelled very deeply. LNAV only worked for me when (after preflight data and flight plan entry is done) DIR INTERC. is used to bring the first waypoint on top. When not doing this, the first waypoint in the LEGS page is the departure runway at CRZ FL and with CRZ speed, so the plane goes into a full circle after taking off and engaging LNAV.

VNAV seems to be a bit tricky either. No matter how I loaded the plane (fuel and payload), I always got the "UNABLE CRZ ALT" message which led to a VNAV/PREF UNAVAILABLE error upon trying to engage VNAV after take off every time.

ILS approach and landing (I tried an autoland too), worked perfectly and the look and feel of the FF 757 is really fantastic.

And yes, these wipers make a beautiful job when its raining! ;-)