Blew dust off FSX...what a difference 5 years makes! WOW

[raffi 0]

5 years ago, I uninstalled fsx. I don't know, got boring after a while, add-ons were limited, so I stopped playing.

Last week I stumbled on FSX videos from youtube and was totally blown away by the extent to which weather and scenery has advanced, and the aircraft selection, wow, espeically pmdg, very sophisticated and realistic!

 

Anyway, I'm hooked again

This is my current system, my video card is 3 years old, but she holds up ok

 

i7 920 quad core @ 3.6Ghz (w/ hyperthreading)

24Gb DDR3 RAM

Radeon HD 5800

Windows 7 64bit

 

Before I jump into the install, given all the options for add-ons, etc., I'm assuming there's some recommended guidelines or list of essential add-ons for the best all-around experience? I did some quick research and came up with this:

 

FSX/Acceleration Pack (follow AVSIM FSX Config Guide Nov/2013)

GEX (ground scenery?)

REX Essential + Overdrive

UTX USA

(don't care about aircraft for now)

 

Is that a good starting point?

I'll do more research, I was just looking for some pointers, make sure I didn't miss anything important.

 

Thanks,

[levada 1]

Ignore GEX, get Orbx Global instead (simply a must-have!) and any of the Orbx FTX regions (also a must-have, with Pacific North-West, Southern-Alaska and Northern California being the best). You can also consider Orbx Global Vector  (roads, coast lines, more road traffic, improved textures in some areas, etc)  and the soon to be released Orbx Global LC (landclass). Orbx Global Vector and Orbx Global LC are not needed when you only buy FTX regions.

Ignore REX Essential + Overdrive, the newer REX 4 Texture Direct has better textures (more realistic, the ones in the previous version were sometimes a tad over done), much better water and installs textures a lot faster. It lacks the weather engine of the previous REX, but it was poor anyway. Instead pick FS Global Real Weather or Opus FX or consider to wait for the soon to be released separate REX Weather Direct or REX Weather Architect (if they're good). FS Global Real Weathere is the best, based on comparing weather from web cams with the weather in FSX.

 

Get EZDok, you can't live without it if you use the virtual cockpit! You get head movements, excellent cameras and you even gains a few FPS, because it turns off the cursor automatically when it's not used (FSX has an issue with frame rates when the cursor is visible). I even used it in combination with voice control. Without EZDok it feels like flying on rails.

 

Also get a file called "UIAutomationCore.dll"  (make sure you get version 6.0.5840.16386) when you use Windows 7/8 and place it in your main FSX folder. It's needed to get rid of certain crashes.

 

Also important, optimize FSX. Start with this tool: http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html

 

 

FSX/Acceleration Pack (follow AVSIM FSX Config Guide Nov/2013)

 

I have the best experience with the original game with SP1 and SP2. It's rock solid stable for me and I never suffered a single OOM crash (Out Of Memory) in FSX, that seems to be a common problem on long flights for a lot of other people.

[spesimen 135]

things i'd suggest to consider:

 

1. weather engine - i prefer active sky next, but i also hear favorable things about opus and fs global real weather. i think asn and opus have demo versions?

2. ezdok or opus - a lot of planes are going to virtual cockpit only, having a camera manager makes using the VC much easier to navigate, i already have ezdok so haven't tried opus to compare

3. scenery - depending where you prefer to fly, have a look at the orbx regions, the ones for the west usa are pretty amazing.

 

i think gex/utx is fine... ftx global as suggested above is another option.. ftx global vector has the advantage of global coverage but i don't know how it compares to utx in terms of detail, haven't really seen a direct comparison yet, if you plan to fly mainly the usa or if you fly a lot of other places too may influence that decision..

 

cheers

-andy crosby

[levada 1]

 

i think gex/utx is fine...
 

 

I disagree and I want him to know because I don't want him to waste his money on those 2 products. Orbx looks way better at low altitudes, it performs better,  it's constantly in development and the products are improved at a rapid pace....and there are LOTS of products that they're working on! When you buy everything from Orbx, you'll also have products that work well together, something that should NOT be underestimated. Especially the Orbx FTX regions completely blow the competition out of the water, especially Pacific North-West.

 

Just to clarify, the Orbx FTX regions are a major improvement over Orbx Global; higher resolution mesh, handcrafted landclass for every mile, better vectors, better looking airports, more airports, lots of areas that have photo realistic textures, more autogen objects and textures, a lot of hand placed autogen etc

 

Also important to mention is the product  FS Global 2010 FTX Compatible (made by PILOT'S in Austria), wish delivers increased mesh resolution that is compatible with all FTX products.

[spesimen 135]

I disagree and I want him to know because I don't want him to waste his money on those 2 products. Orbx looks way better at low altitudes, it performs better,  it's constantly in development and the products are improved at a rapid pace....and there are LOTS of products that they're working on! When you buy everything from Orbx, you'll also have products that work well together, something that should NOT be underestimated. Especially the Orbx FTX regions completely blow the competition out of the water, especially Pacific North-West.

 

 

the regions in PNW are amazing, for sure, definitely among the best scenery in fsx.

 

but for the rest, well, it's a matter of opinion for now. like i said i haven't really seen any direct comparisons (other than this video,

) 

 

 it is my understanding that ftx global vector doesn't include residential roads which may be a factor for someone planning to do a lot of vfr or whatever. been flying happily with UTX for years (also utx canada,alaska, and europe) and certainly don't feel that i wasted any money, and nothing i've seen from the orbx screenshots has made me think i need to go spend more money, at least not yet. when i installed their iceland demo it completely screwed up the rest of my sim, which didn't inspire confidence either. when their landclass stuff starts coming out i will probably look more closely at it.  for a new user i would agree that carefully evaluating either one would be worthwhile before purchase. 

 

cheers

-andy crosby

[Guest Mik75]

UTX and FTX Global work together very well!

[Zuendholz 50]

Also tweak your fsx.cfg via http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html to get more out of your FSX. 

[levada 1]

UTX:

 

 

 

Orbx:

 

[ryanbatc 12,854]

Wait are you comparing a full Orbx region to GEX? Because I have the Orbx region with Calgary and yeah it's better than GEX but not a fair comparison.

[ailchim 206]

To be clear on the weather engine, OpusFSX comes WITH a camera system which you will need to fly in the virtual cockpits than have taken over during the 5 years you've been away.

 

I don't know anything about EzDok, I've never used it but people seem to like it.  I have used ActiveSky products in the past but prefer Opus although I have never used the latest version of Activesky.  If you buy ActiveSky, you'll probably need to buy EzDok too.

 

On the other hand, be aware that if you buy Activesky, it comes with replacement textures so maybe you don't need Rex - although many swear by Rex!

 

These overlaps make life a bit complicated.  You've said you aren't interested in aircraft at present but you should look at what's on offer from the likes of PMDG, Majestic Software and RealAir to name but 3.  Save some of your budget for aircraft and go for the least cost options on the rest - they're all good.  

 

There's a hot debate in these forums about the relative merits of FTX and UTX/GEX which you can look at yourself.  Be careful what you read - as in the 2 posts above, not all the comparisons offered up are fair ones.  Again you need to look at what you are getting for your money in terms of geographic coverage and whether you are getting textures AND the landclass you need to get the best effect.   Personally, I use GEX & UTX and have no intention of changing.  I suspect how far you can move the sliders (particularly the autogen) to the right is as significant as which software you use.  That's a function of hardware but I don't propose to advise you on that!

[Anxu00 176]

 

 

any of the Orbx FTX regions (also a must-have, with Pacific North-West, Southern-Alaska and Northern California being the best)

I have these and they look good.  However, I would recommend you think hard about potential OOM issue with these sceneries.  If your intention is to fly Jet (PMDG) don't bother with any of these and invest in decent weather engine and texture replacement such as REX (I use REX essential + OD, I would suggest you research carefully about REX NEXT as some of its features are heavy on performance).  And also be very careful with complex airport sceneries, as they can be a performance killer.  I has spent hundred of dollar on sceneries that I wish I did not, because of these performance issues which will interfere with a smooth flying experience, both on framerate and on being able to complete a flight without OOM and CTD.  FSX can be made to look really good, until you realized that all your money has been flushed down the toilet, as you take off in slow motion as you escape the sceneries and reach an altitude where the performance is back up again, only to find out you are back to stutters as you approach to land.

 

All these add-ons will eat up precious computer resources.  Think hard about what type of flying you want to do and invest  slowly and carefully.  If I had a chance to do over again, I would not buy much sceneries at all. Go slow and save your money. 

[mmann 72]

Wait are you comparing a full Orbx region to GEX? Because I have the Orbx region with Calgary and yeah it's better than GEX but not a fair comparison.

 

It's worse than that; he is comparing UTX with a full Orbx region with the Orbx payware FTX CEF4 Airdrie Airpark which includes an enhanced Calgary.

 

On another note; Orbx FTX Global Vector is based on the free OSM data which in many areas is much less detailed than UTX which is based on detailed commercial data. In some of the areas I checked out, Vector wasn't any better than the default scenery that came with FSX.

[raffi 0]

Ignore GEX, get Orbx Global instead (simply a must-have!) and any of the Orbx FTX regions (also a must-have, with Pacific North-West, Southern-Alaska and Northern California being the best). You can also consider Orbx Global Vector  (roads, coast lines, more road traffic, improved textures in some areas, etc)  and the soon to be released Orbx Global LC (landclass). Orbx Global Vector and Orbx Global LC are not needed when you only buy FTX regions.

 

Ignore REX Essential + Overdrive, the newer REX 4 Texture Direct has better textures (more realistic, the ones in the previous version were sometimes a tad over done), much better water and installs textures a lot faster. It lacks the weather engine of the previous REX, but it was poor anyway. Instead pick FS Global Real Weather or Opus FX or consider to wait for the soon to be released separate REX Weather Direct or REX Weather Architect (if they're good). FS Global Real Weathere is the best, based on comparing weather from web cams with the weather in FSX.

 

Get EZDok, you can't live without it if you use the virtual cockpit! You get head movements, excellent cameras and you even gains a few FPS, because it turns off the cursor automatically when it's not used (FSX has an issue with frame rates when the cursor is visible). I even used it in combination with voice control. Without EZDok it feels like flying on rails.

 

Also get a file called "UIAutomationCore.dll"  (make sure you get version 6.0.5840.16386) when you use Windows 7/8 and place it in your main FSX folder. It's needed to get rid of certain crashes.

 

Also important, optimize FSX. Start with this tool: http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html

 

 

 

I have the best experience with the original game with SP1 and SP2. It's rock solid stable for me and I never suffered a single OOM crash (Out Of Memory) in FSX, that seems to be a common problem on long flights for a lot of other people.

 

 

OK! This is a lot of info! I've got some reading to do.

One question on the UIAutomation file, regardless of what add-ons I install, this is required, correct?

[LHookins 3,103]

Unless you're dead set on using a camera utility like Ezdok or the cameras in Opus, consider getting TrackIR.  This is more important if you're flying low and slow than if you're going to be flying tubeliners all the time.

 

https://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/

 

Hook

[JSkorna 137]

OK! This is a lot of info! I've got some reading to do.

One question on the UIAutomation file, regardless of what add-ons I install, this is required, correct?

No. I have used Win 7 64 bit for years and never once needed that file.