For those of you who have used both.. is flight environment worth buying in comparison to FSW? from the looks of the pics they seem identical..can you help me out here?

Well, FSW is freeware. FSW has no water (if I recall), FE has phenomenal water I might add. Just as food for thought Active Sky (are you the current user ?) is coming up soon with their new ASV 5.0 which will feature excellent clouds/skies but no water. Too many choices ;-)Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpg

>Well, FSW is freeware. FSW has no water (if I recall), FE has>phenomenal water I might add. Just as food for thought Active>Sky (are you the current user ?) is coming up soon with their>new ASV 5.0 which will feature excellent clouds/skies but no>water. Too many choices ;-)>>Michael J.>WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB>Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2>http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpgim using AS and FSW as we speak. im thinking of holding off on FE b/c it costs money and FSW is excellent..the default water is fine for me. nice system you have i might say. i have the AMD 64 3000+ and am currently tweaking for best results..but am pleased so far.

Actually guys i'd like to say something rather interesting here...i own FE2004 and I love it. I go to art school at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Recently, today actually...I used screenshots as part of a color theory project. I used the color of the shots to change people moods and feelings towards the shots. My point? Well the screenshots actually tricked the students, and the teacher...they all thought that they were REAL photos...i heave a lot of comments once i told them that they were fake...most revolved around guess what? The environment...I heard things like the clouds look so real....the sky...everything. FE2004 is one of the best addons, and it is not hard on the frames at all.-Marc

I own FE and use to run FS Sky World. The main reason for me buying FE was the water. It looks fantastic! I can't wait for Active Sky V and will use that for my cloud options but I will still be enjoying the water FE displays! The draw distance bug in flight sim is definately minimal when at high altitudes. Every water add-on except FE, freeware or not, does not fix this issue.

Thanks for those kind words Al about the water.The new sets "Evolution" and "surfers paradise" are the sets that fix the horizon issue.There is another free update coming out soon that adds a lot more water options including 2 more base sets that also fix the horizon issues.As for clouds; a lot more sets added too.To the orginal poster I really don't like these which is better questions. Always the result is somebody gets ofended.It's probaly best to think of FE clouds as different to FSW and some people will say FE is better and others FSW is better. FSW has more users because it's freeware and it's very good. FE has a lot of satisfied customers who rave about the clouds and one or two users who seem to like FSW better. Some people think they are equal to each other.What you think is going to fall somewhere between all this... And to be fair even if you asked 10 people the question they would all say different things to you.If you do a seach for FE on this forum you will find a few threads and hopefully you will be able to form dome kind of opinions.Peter

In addition to the other answers here, Flight1 has a very fair money back policy on their add-ons, so you could purchase FE "risk free" so to speak. I've never heard of anyone taking Flight1 up on this policy with FE. It sounds like from Peter's reply a way's been found to help with a nasty issue vs. the water, where a visible "seam" appears at altitude using the default water and many add-ons. I haven't found a freeware add-on that eliminates the seam, so you may wish to evaluate FE for that reason alone, or be stuck doing what I'm doing--flying close to the ground :)-John

So many options!! I find it hard which ones to choose. Thanks for letting me know about the water sets and which ones fix the problem. Anyway the clouds and sky look fantastic as well. Sunset is unbelievable!! Can't wait for the update

>I own FE and use to run FS Sky World. The main reason for me>buying FE was the water. It looks fantastic! I can't wait for>Active Sky V and will use that for my cloud options but I will>still be enjoying the water FE displays! The draw distance bug>in flight sim is definately minimal when at high altitudes.>Every water add-on except FE, freeware or not, does not fix>this issue.Serious?????????!?!?!?!?!I have been looking for a program that fixes/minimizes that for AGES.Hmmmm, may have to give FE a good ol' looking into!

there are three things that FE does better then the other offerings (this is my Opinion as a beta tester who tried both) one thing is almost eliminate that hard edge, two, makes the feeling of flying through the cloud layer feel real, and three, look the most realistic.Get it for the water but you wont be disappointed with the sky or clouds either and you might get a fps boost, some people do.

If we already have FSWater is there any benefit in using FE's water?Thx!

yes, FE is also a FSWater update, it has upgraded water textures. Plus, you get a discount on FE if you own FSWater!

>yes, FE is also a FSWater update, it has upgraded water>textures. Plus, you get a discount on FE if you own FSWater!Should you have both installed or could I just remove FSWater and still get the complete benefits of FE AND FSW combines, i.e., does FE have everything FSWater has and more?Thx!:)

you wont be able to use FSSW with FE, FE will overwrite any water, sky, and cloud textures you have now. You would still have the old stuff on your hard drive but they wont be in your game as long as your using FE. There is no need to have FSWater installed when you have FE installedFE includes clouds, sky, and water all in one.

Well, I have used both. I also bought FS Water.In my opinion, Flight Environment is the way to go!It looks great, has a very good user interface, and I really like the ability to quickly set the cloud, water, sky, and performance options quickly. The randomization feature is also very nice.The other free packages are good, but Flight Environment is well worth the money in my opinion!Happy Simming!Scott :-)ATP/CFII/DA20 Type Rated - Instructor Pilot - USAFA (KAFF), Colorado Springs, CO & at KCOSAOPA #00956593, since 1987Background in Corporate, Airline, and General AviationB.S. Degree in MISGamming System Specs: (Built this one myself)AMD Athlon-64 3000+ Gigabyte K8NS nForce3-250 Chipset 8x AGP Main Board 1GB DDR400 PC3200 Memory 160GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive 16x DVD-ROM Audigy 2ZS Gammer Sound Card5.1 Channel Surround Sound Speakers256MB GeForce-5700 8X AGP Video Dual 17" LCD and CRT monitorsCotytech Gaming CaseCH Products Yoke, Rudder Pedals, Throttle QuadrantSaitek Cyborg Gold Joystic for Helo's & Stick equipped aircrafteDimensional AudioFX force feedback vibration headsets & micWindows XP Pro SP2Home Network for using the Instructor StationFS9COF Sliders maxed with other settings at their best quality positions