I have been away from the hobby for 9 years or so.   I recently built a new system and want to get back into FS.  I'm looking for opinions as to whether I should just install my old copy of FSX with SP or do I need the Steam edition?  Is there anything truly gained or lost by using the Steam edition? 

 

I was planning on jumping into P3D; however, the new edition isn't ready it seems for add-ons and I'm kinda broke.  It also seems that a lot of people are content with FSX, so rather than pay for P3D, I think I should put FSX back on.

 

My main desire is to install the MD-11.  I loved that plane in FS9.  I also was to try the newer NGX.  Mine was the original in FS9, lol.

 

For add-ons I only typically ran Flight Environment, Ground Environment, Active Sky and some traffic.  All I truly cared about were the aircraft I flew.

 

So since my goal is to build a sim geared towards the NGX and MD-11 for now (maybe 747 too), with minimal scenery add-ons, which direction should I be going??

 

Thanks,

Chris Jefferies  :smile:

 

 

Hmmm seeing that you have been away for 9 years, may I suggest going with the time tried and reliable FSX, I don't have any experience with the steam version but be sure to use the acceleration when going for the old box version, then aim to go to p3d v3, while yes there are some issues with it, it is still new and developers all over seem to be excited about it so their issues will soon be resolved.

You don't need the Steam edition but it will run better and installing it on a system that has never had FSX on it previously will avoid any problems. The MD-11 isn't officially supported on FSX-SE but it works all the same. If you don't already have FSX Acceleration then you'd be better off buying FSX-SE instead.

 

If you are mainly interested in flying the aircraft then I don't see the point in moving to P3D. The improvement there is in graphic details like clouds casting shadows. For me it's simply not worth the extra cost. There will never be a P3D installer for the MD-11 and not only is it not supported it is not licensed for it either.

 

P3Dv3 does fix memory handling issues inherited from FSX that can cause OOM crashes but so does FSX-SE.

Every time I think it would be great to have P3Dv3 and ask myself why don't I have it, the answer comes back MD-11.

The Steam Edition (FSX=SE) is actually an improved version of the FSX Acceleration version. I sat on the fence (FSX Disk version) until recently when I changed over. All of the developers I work with agree that FSX-SE is the way to go.

 

There is one Caveat though.  Some of payware aircraft (especially FS9 ports like the Level-D and Leonardo Maddog) won't work in Steam.  I believe somewhere there is a compatibility list.

 

Hope you find this helpful.

The Steam Edition (FSX=SE) is actually an improved version of the FSX Acceleration version. I sat on the fence (FSX Disk version) until recently when I changed over. All of the developers I work with agree that FSX-SE is the way to go.

 

There is one Caveat though.  Some of payware aircraft (especially FS9 ports like the Level-D and Leonardo Maddog) won't work in Steam.  I believe somewhere there is a compatibility list.

 

Hope you find this helpful.

Level D 767 and the Maddog work with FSX-SE on my system (single clean install). They might not work on a dual install though. The only FSX aircraft addon I have tried that won't work is Concorde X, which FSL have said they will patch (eventually). AES isn't compatible with FSX-SE and AES lite scenery animations won't work.

I appreciate the replies.  Now I'm more confused than ever.  I own the original deluxe version on DVD.  I never bought Acceleration, as I stayed with FS9 until I had a system failure that wiped everything.

 

I see where the Steam edition is apparently the way to go, however, a lot of add-ons aren't officially supported.  Why is Steam preferred over FSX with SP2?  What is gained by adding Steam or acceleration for that matter?  

 

It seems as though, even in the case of PMDG add-ons, that they work, but without official support something might be broken and no one has posted about it.  I'm unhappy to see that the RXP gauges won't work as well.  A couple aircraft I want or had run with those gauges.

 

So unless Steam offers an internal coding advantage over FSX with SP2, then I see no point in messing around.  I might as well wait and buy P3D since more stuff I want appears be working in that sim. 

Acceleration was a last minute fix to try to improve the speed. The old FSX code expected the usual MHz race, which ended just when FSX was about to be released.

The problem with the old disks: They won't always install correctly with todays operating systems. When I upgradted my old FSX computer to WIndows 8.0 and installed additional hardware, FSX no longer worked correctly. Steam improved the compatibility with todays operating systems.

I appreciate the replies.  Now I'm more confused than ever.  I own the original deluxe version on DVD.  I never bought Acceleration, as I stayed with FS9 until I had a system failure that wiped everything.

 

I see where the Steam edition is apparently the way to go, however, a lot of add-ons aren't officially supported.  Why is Steam preferred over FSX with SP2?  What is gained by adding Steam or acceleration for that matter?  

 

It seems as though, even in the case of PMDG add-ons, that they work, but without official support something might be broken and no one has posted about it.  I'm unhappy to see that the RXP gauges won't work as well.  A couple aircraft I want or had run with those gauges.

 

So unless Steam offers an internal coding advantage over FSX with SP2, then I see no point in messing around.  I might as well wait and buy P3D since more stuff I want appears be working in that sim. 

Although PMDG don't officially support the older products on Steam, they do install and run, and there is plenty of help in this forum about how to do so. PMDG don't support using Windows 8 or 10 either but plenty of people do.

 

Some addons require Acceleration to work correctly, which is why it's better to have that than SP2. Engine modelling is improved, for example, relating to turbocharging and afterburners amongst other things.

 

FSX-SE is FSX Gold (i.e. FSX +SPs + Acceleration) with bug fixes. Most are to do with multiplayer, but they have fixed memory handling (memory no longer needed is released, so the FSX task doesn't keep growing as you fly over different areas). That is a big improvement. Crucially the old code was recompiled using modern, better optimised, compilers so it runs more efficiently. In some respects P3D does not run as well.

 

More stuff works on FSX-SE than works in P3Dv3. When you see a list of what doesn't work it may well include addons the developer doesn't support (but still might run). The list may also include addons that will not install into FSX-SE in dual mode (i.e. running alongside FSX disk in the same machine). That won't affect you starting from scratch with FSX-SE. Only a few complex addons which were hooked into hardcoded offsets in FSX won't work properly in FSX-SE as those addresses will have changed in the recompilation.

 

If you want to fly the MD-11 then P3D is no use to you. The MD-11 is quite heavy on memory and if you fly long haul you may well end up with memory problems with FSX disk. FSX-SE running on 64 bit Windows has a full 4 GB of address space to use and manages the memory available much better.

 

I was very sceptical of FSX-SE when first released. I thought it was mainly a placebo effect on user experience. I eventually bought it in a sale for $5 to try out and the benefits were obvious from the outset.

I appreciate the reply. That sounds reasonable. I understood that the MD-11 won't work in P3D but it sounded like a lot of hassle to mess with FSX:SE just for it. I suppose from reading around that I should just give the Steam edition a go and buy the MD-11. It was such an amazing product in FS9.

 

How about the NGX? Is it running ok as well? Bug wise and all? I would love to have it as well. Is it a fairly stable product?

 

How about the 747 and 777?? I liked the older 747 in FS9 but had a few odd bugs with it.

The NGX is an extraordinary addon, and the 777 is even better. So many very useful and interesting features. The ability to control configuration, weight and balance from within the sim is superb. They are absolutely must haves in my opinion. The NGX works fine in FSX-SE as does the 777. They both also work in P3D, but the pricing for that version is higher. The 747 is still good but as you say has the odd bug in it and showing its age a little. There's a new version being developed which will be to the same high standard as the NGX and 777 so probably best to hang on for to be released rather than buy the old version for FSX.