fsx-se Are people making the switch to FSX Steam?

[odourboy 1,290]

Thanks for the replies - that works for me!

 

A couple of other things (I apologize if this was already covered):

1) Do I need a new NI profile or is the fsx.exe executable name the same?

2) When Steam updates FSX:SE, do I lose all my customizations (fsx.cfg, scenery.cfg, terrain,cfg,, dll.xml, exe.xml, cameras.cfg, gauges, modules, effects, sound, simobjects folders .... etc.) or does it just replace the bits that need to be updated?

[Echofox 3]

Bought this on Steam's 80% discount offer, after long download time installed it on my laptop (as opposed to my dedicated Sim desktop), tried it, didn't think it could compete with my long standing FSX and all the Add-ons, so uninstalled it.  If you have a fast computer capable of running FSX , I wouldn't bother with Steam.  Also when the programme is uninstalled using the default Microsoft uninstall, it leaves a lot behind requiring folders to be deleted manually.  Now about to cancel the so called Steam subscription. However it was worth the money to lay the ghost to rest for good.

Echofox

[Pete Dowson 558]

1) Do I need a new NI profile or is the fsx.exe executable name the same?

 

EXE name is the same, so no change to NI.

 

2) When Steam updates FSX:SE, do I lose all my customizations (fsx.cfg, scenery.cfg, terrain,cfg,, dll.xml, exe.xml, cameras.cfg, gauges, modules, effects, sound, simobjects folders .... etc.) or does it just replace the bits that need to be updated?

 

It only changes those parts which need to be changed -- usually only the FSX DLLs and EXE. If the Gauges change it'll only be those default ones in any case, not add-on ones.

 

Pete

If you have a fast computer capable of running FSX , I wouldn't bother with Steam.

 

That's only true if you don't have any demanding add-ons and don't want your sliders up high. With FSX and Aerosoft's Heathrow I could only turn up MyTrafficX traffic to around 50%, and had most of the scenery sliders well off the maximum. I still only got 15-25 fps and it was jerky.

 

With FSX-SE, the same scenery and everything else, I can have 100% traffic, all the scenery sliders at max, even Autogen at "very dense", and still get 25-35 fps, and more importantly smooth!

 

And I have a fast PC -- an i7-4770K overclocked to 4.4GHz with a GTX780.

 

I think those who find no performance or smoothness improvement in FSX-SE over FSX are just not loading up the sim enough. And that's just fine if it suits you. But please don't let it lead you into wrong conclusions.

 

Pete

[jcomm 5,939]

Only things I use in my FSX-SE CFG are:

 

Highmemfix=1

AffinityMask=14 ( in my case - i5 2500 )

DisablePreload=1

Fiber_Frame_Time_Fraction=0.12

Poolsize=0

 

Then, I use Steve's DX10 Fixer v2.7

[wanabflyer 53]

Now about to cancel the so called Steam subscription. However it was worth the money to lay the ghost to rest for good.

Echofox

Why would you do that? Even if you do not intend to use it now. Just uninstall Steam if you have no need of it or FSX SE and it's always there at a few mouse clicks if things change down the road.

 

Just my thoughts.

[odourboy 1,290]

 

 

Then, I use Steve's DX10 Fixer v2.7

Ah - yes. Something else I'll need to do is move to Fixer 2.7.

 

With 2.7 - does it treat Steam and MS versions as two independent products and allow you to adjust each individually or do any settings that you adjust (change cloud settings or switch to DX9 mode for example) get automagically applied to both sets of configurations files, shaders etc? (Or does it do something else - like offer a separate UI for Steam)? How does it scan for 'effects' changes?

[jcomm 5,939]

Hmm, I only have FSX:SE installed odourboy :-/

[netshadoe 144]

 

 

Now about to cancel the so called Steam subscription.

 

What subscription?  If you paid for Steam, then you've been had.  Steam is free...you pay only for the games you buy.  I've been using Steam for close to 8 years and have never paid a cent for their service.

[wanabflyer 53]

What subscription?  If you paid for Steam, then you've been had.  Steam is free...you pay only for the games you buy.  I've been using Steam for close to 8 years and have never paid a cent for their service.

I agree, but I am assuming he means to cancel his account ( which I don't know if you even can) in which case I don't know if you lose your purchases or not.

[Donstim 109]

 

Quote

2) When Steam updates FSX:SE, do I lose all my customizations (fsx.cfg, scenery.cfg, terrain,cfg,, dll.xml, exe.xml, cameras.cfg, gauges, modules, effects, sound, simobjects folders .... etc.) or does it just replace the bits that need to be updated?

 

It only changes those parts which need to be changed -- usually only the FSX DLLs and EXE. If the Gauges change it'll only be those default ones in any case, not add-on ones.

 

Pete

 

Is that the complete answer?  This is what Steam had to say in their forum:

 

 

1. Addons like Ground Environment (GEX), REX, OrbX, etc. all replace files in the game's core directories. How will the Steam updates affect these additions? Will the Setup managers just need to be run again to install textures and other changes that the Steam update "corrects?" Or will it be possible for Steam to ignore the changes those addons have made to the core game files?

 

Steam will always try to restore your files to match those of the core game. This will happen when you verify the files through Steam and can occur when installing a new update. Running the installer again for the add-on in question should put it right back for you or you could back up your files before installing updates. Our advice is to ask the developer who made the add-on since they know how their add-ons install far better than we do.

 

This sounds to me like if any of the "default" FSX files are replaced by an add-on (mostly thinking texture files, but what other examples are there?), then any time Steam updates the game, it will overwrite the changed files.  Sounds to me like users will need to keep this in mind and reinstall the add-on or otherwise flip the files back.

 

 

Another question for those who've made the switch... Are you using the same FSX.CFG tweaks in steam as you used in FSX:MS or is it back to square one with new and different tweaks, or is the Steam version already tweaked to perfection?

 

Here is one common (or used to be common) tweak that was talked about in the Steam forum:

 

Question:  As you may know, a popular tweak in the FSX community is to alter the [bUFFERPOOLS] in the fsx.cfg to help some users with performance. On modern hardware the most popular setting is UsePools=0. My question is; as of 62608 there was a update that improved the vertex and index buffer handling for performance and I was wondering if manually changing the buffer pools overrides your default improvements and also what the new normal value is for your buffers, if you all are OK with revealing it. 

 

Response:  The short answer is yes. We have improved the handling of vertex and index buffer pooling (actually, this is dynamic vertex/index buffer management) within FSX:SE. 

By setting UsePools=0, you are effectively disable dynamic buffer use. This forces all buffers to be created in a static fashion which may affect performance in either a positive or negative way, depending upon your hardware.

 

Buffer pool management in FSX:SE is now much more sensible by default in that we only use dynamic buffers when the buffers are quite small. Larger buffers still end up as static buffers so the idea is that the overhead of creating small buffers is made much less by pooling them.

 

Don S.

[Pete Dowson 558]

Is that the complete answer?  This is what Steam had to say in their forum:

 

Nevertheless, I've never lost anything I've installed or set, and that's now through FSX-SE update 62608-62609-62610-62611-62612 and now 62613.

 

The updates only replace files which have been changed. Maybe something you depend on has been previously changed by an add-on (for instance, maybe some textures or gauges), but this would certainly be a rarity, and only need a backup copy of whatever folders you are worried about. I don't have anything like that sort of dependency.

 

Pete

[Donstim 109]

Thanks, Pete, but doesn't texture file replacement by programs like GEX or UTX qualify as "files which have been changed?"  Or, are you saying that only files that Dovetail has changed would be replaced?  If the latter, that doesn't seem to jive with what the Steam forum moderator stated.

 

I haven't yet installed FSX-SE, but am trying to ready myself for what all will be involved.

 

Don

[Pete Dowson 558]

Thanks, Pete, but doesn't texture file replacement by programs like GEX or UTX qualify as "files which have been changed?"  Or, are you saying that only files that Dovetail has changed would be replaced?

 

The latter. At least that's my experience so far. All of the updates have been quite small. Maybe if you selected the option to restore all your files to the default, then, yes, you'd have them changed. I don't know, never tried it.

 

I haven't yet installed FSX-SE, but am trying to ready myself for what all will be involved.

 

As with all software, backups are key. I've always maintained a complete copy of my FSX installation for this reason. With the enormous capacilities of hard disks these days, even SSDs, it isn't a problem.

 

Pete

[robert young 2,897]

 

SimMarket doesn't doesn't sell FSUIPC or WideFS through Steam.  Very few if any developers do. Those who have signed up with DTG/Steam will have gone into it with their eyes open. There's no one forcing folks to sign an agreement they don't like, so why the disgust?

 

Pete

 

Actually that is not quite true Pete. No-one was forced but "eyes open" isn't entirely the case, and I have already explained that. When someone knocks on your door and says "this is the future - I'm offering you a deal. We'll sell thousands of your product. But first I want you to sign this piece of paper that says you agree not to discuss or disclose the wonderful deal I'm about to offer you, or even that this discussion took place", and then offers you a lousy deal on which you'll actually make barely enough to cover costs, that is not exactly "open" negotiation is it?

 

Luckily I did not sign anything but found out anyway what the terms were because it was through a third party who claimed he was acting as an exclusive agent. That was not true so I withdrew from verbal assurances I gave on the basis that when someone doesn't tell the truth I am not longer obliged to respect the secrecy. 

 

That was not the case for other developers who did sign and now are constrained from usefully telling others not to go there. 

 

That aside, and it is a different subject from whether FSX-SE itself is any good, I have repeatedly stated till I'm blue in the face that it appears to run better than FSX-MS and have consistently said so. FSX-SE is dirt cheap because it is a loss leader for DLC, so the two are inter-connected. I know you couldn't care less about this and just see a sim that you like. That's fine. Others are more interested than you in the business approach of people they deal with and, old fashioned as it might sound, proceed accordingly.

[bonchie 2,305]

Bought this on Steam's 80% discount offer, after long download time installed it on my laptop (as opposed to my dedicated Sim desktop), tried it, didn't think it could compete with my long standing FSX and all the Add-ons, so uninstalled it.  If you have a fast computer capable of running FSX , I wouldn't bother with Steam.  Also when the programme is uninstalled using the default Microsoft uninstall, it leaves a lot behind requiring folders to be deleted manually.  Now about to cancel the so called Steam subscription. However it was worth the money to lay the ghost to rest for good.

Echofox

 

Steam is not a subscription service. There's nothing to cancel. 

Actually that is not quite true Pete. No-one was forced but "eyes open" isn't entirely the case, and I have already explained that. When someone knocks on your door and says "this is the future - I'm offering you a deal. We'll sell thousands of your product. But first I want you to sign this piece of paper that says you agree not to discuss or disclose the wonderful deal I'm about to offer you, or even that this discussion took place", and then offers you a lousy deal on which you'll actually make barely enough to cover costs, that is not exactly "open" negotiation is it?

 

Luckily I did not sign anything but found out anyway what the terms were because it was through a third party who claimed he was acting as an exclusive agent. That was not true so I withdrew from verbal assurances I gave on the basis that when someone doesn't tell the truth I am not longer obliged to respect the secrecy. 

 

That was not the case for other developers who did sign and now are constrained from usefully telling others not to go there. 

 

That aside, and it is a different subject from whether FSX-SE itself is any good, I have repeatedly stated till I'm blue in the face that it appears to run better than FSX-MS and have consistently said so. FSX-SE is dirt cheap because it is a loss leader for DLC, so the two are inter-connected. I know you couldn't care less about this and just see a sim that you like. That's fine. Others are more interested than you in the business approach of people they deal with and, old fashioned as it might sound, proceed accordingly.

 

You are making assumptions in a vacuum. Namely, you are assuming that addon company "x" will sell the same volume either way. They probably won't. 

 

There are some companies who would rather sell 2000 copies at $5 on steam vs. 100 copies at $25 on their private website or some other distributer with much less traffic. 

 

Not everyone is in that position, but some developers may be. The market size on Steam is massive compared to your normal FSX distributor.