:smile:  I have to apologise if I touched on the elephant in the room regarding other current threads.

 

There is such a sim called X-Plane which:

1) indeed incorporates a totally different and fairly modern engine

2) already makes use of your GPU and welcomes an upgrade

3) adding to #2, has no problem with using 4+ GB of your precious RAM since it's on 64bits for months now, stable

4) won't spoil the fun with 'commercial' limitations of any kind since this is a sim being offered for entertainment purposes in the first place, leading to a lets call it civil pricing and future

 

I cannot say that it's bug free or that it offers the plethora of addons having arisen from the FS9-to-FSX-to-P3D adaptation but there is an active freeware and payware scene, although some names might be new to you. And, hey, even PMDG joined that club, so it cannot be that unprofitable from a market perspective. Other big (FSX) names, of course, are Aerosoft or Carenado.

 

So if you wonder how your sim might progress and how really new purchases (as opposed to just buying a new licence for a plane you already 'owned') make sense, there's a contender you might have missed so far.

 

There's a demo available and if you want to stick with it, you can either fire up STEAM or get a boxed version (which is cheaper, as it seems). So all preferred paths of purchase should be available.

I took me a long time to warm up to X-plane 10. It has on of the ugliest UI in decade. It's directly from the 80s. Once you figure out a few thing, it actually works pretty well. Tons of addons to choose from but none of the payware aircraft are really flight study level. I think we will have to wait and see about the incoming PMDG DC-6. The ATC in X-plane 10 is an abomination.

Shal I say it ... ?

 

Better not :-/

 

FSX:SE here... again... forever... 

It looks very pretty at night, but as I see it, it has 4 major issues (BTW - I own it and have it installed).  

 

User interface is beyond awful, it's like a 3D modeling program for industry experts.  

 

The AI Traffic and ATC, are lower quality and less functional than FS8, it makes me wonder why they are even in the sim.

 

Lack of season textures / default airports.  When i first installed it I wondered why London looked like it was taken straight from the extended edition of 'Mad Max'.

 

Distinct like of 3rd party support, though i acknowledge that this is changing, albeit very slowly.

What about the (personal) pros, Ian? I agree with Claude and you btw, the ATC isn't on that list.

Tons of addons to choose from but none of the payware aircraft are really flight study level. I think we will have to wait and see about the incoming PMDG DC-6.

 

Just getting into XP10 and actually enjoying it. As CoolP says, there's lots going for it, and it's only getting better. Weather addons (like the NOAA plugin) are improving, freeware scenery improvements are rapidly expanding, and even AI traffic is being worked on, although there's miles to go before it remotely approaches what's available for FSX et al. ATC is currently a mess, indeed, but there's a new Vatsim client in the works that will work in XP.

 

Can...not...wait for the PMDG DC-6 to hit that scene!

 

There are actually at least a couple of XP payware aircraft that approach PMDG level in terms of systems and flight: Leading Edge Sim's Saab 340A, which is a terrific simulation, and FlightFactor's Boeing 757 (and like PMDG, with an acknowledged affiliation with Boeing itself). Both of these are being actively improved upon and expanded.

How are those Spring textures coming along?

How are those Spring textures coming along?

http://maxx-xp.com/?page_id=23

 

Only time will tell.

 

 

Can...not...wait for the PMDG DC-6 to hit that scene!

 

Indeed, the primary reason i have re-installed it.

 

 

What about the (personal) pros, Ian?

 

Yes, i guess i was quite negative, so:

 

I love the look of X-Plane at night, it really is leagues ahead of both P3D and FSX, the environmental lighting is quite beautiful.

When compared to either default P3D or FSX X-Plane blows both out of the water, it's "plausible environments" are very compelling. 

64-Bit, a huge plus...but...so little makes use of it, i have read over at the X-Plane forums that people have had OOMs in X-Plane 64, i cannot for the life of me see how.

 

...I'll confess i haven't used it anywhere near as much as either FSX or P3D, i hope to use it more when PMDG release the DC-6.

:smile:  I have to apologise if I touched on the elephant in the room regarding other current threads.

 

There is such a sim called X-Plane which:

1) indeed incorporates a totally different and fairly modern engine

2) already makes use of your GPU and welcomes an upgrade

3) adding to #2, has no problem with using 4+ GB of your precious RAM since it's on 64bits for months now, stable

4) won't spoil the fun with 'commercial' limitations of any kind since this is a sim being offered for entertainment purposes in the first place, leading to a lets call it civil pricing and future

 

I cannot say that it's bug free or that it offers the plethora of addons having arisen from the FS9-to-FSX-to-P3D adaptation but there is an active freeware and payware scene, although some names might be new to you. And, hey, even PMDG joined that club, so it cannot be that unprofitable from a market perspective. Other big (FSX) names, of course, are Aerosoft or Carenado.

 

So if you wonder how your sim might progress and how really new purchases (as opposed to just buying a new licence for a plane you already 'owned') make sense, there's a contender you might have missed so far.

 

There's a demo available and if you want to stick with it, you can either fire up STEAM or get a boxed version (which is cheaper, as it seems). So all preferred paths of purchase should be available.

I wish ORBX, REX, and Realair would embrace X-Plane. The night lighting is amazing.

 

 

Only time will tell.

 

The same ol' stuff like from a year ago. I know my seasonal textures in FS were free, and came with the default program.

The same ol' stuff like from a year ago. I know my seasonal textures in FS were free, and came with the default program.

They were good, then made better by GEX, and then further enhanced by FTX.

 

It takes talented developers to improve any platform. If they only develop a better attitude toward X-Plane, we might have a better sim down the road?

Hi

Just downloaded new textures from world2xplane it blows away anthing ive ever seen.

Yep I use fsx se, fs9, prepar3 , but good as they are, did not compare to flying over london in 757 with xplane.

I agree theres odd bits need doing, but no more than a lot of addons that are released then have to be updated as they are not working right.

 

Atc is fine with pilot2atc, as good as fsx.

 

What do I fly in most, fsx se, why , because I use prosim with jetmax setup, and prosim does not support xplane yet, otherwise xplane is my choice.

 

As far as study type aircraft go, theres plenty to chose from, and would suggest that a more in depth look and search would be the best thing to do

Mhazy

Hi

Just downloaded new textures from world2xplane it blows away anthing ive ever seen.

Yep I use fsx se, fs9, prepar3 , but good as they are, did not compare to flying over london in 757 with xplane.

I agree theres odd bits need doing, but no more than a lot of addons that are released then have to be updated as they are not working right.

 

Atc is fine with pilot2atc, as good as fsx.

 

What do I fly in most, fsx se, why , because I use prosim with jetmax setup, and prosim does not support xplane yet, otherwise xplane is my choice.

 

As far as study type aircraft go, theres plenty to chose from, and would suggest that a more in depth look and search would be the best thing to do

Mhazy

 

Unfortunately most of them had terrible FMS implementation. I can tell you the 777 worldliner is one of them. It doesn't fly anything like the PMDG 777. It seems to be the problem with most aircraft in X-Plane.

I'm very jealous of XP's atmosphere rendering and nightlights. But when I look at it closely there are still too many features missing from XP that makes FSX/P3D "alive".  :mellow: