First impressions of X-Plane.... not great

[carguy4471 19]

So I decided I'd try x-plane out to contrast it against P3D.  A couple things I just can't get used to, but maybe I can change/adjust somehow??

 

First is the view.  I feel like my face is up against the dash.  I can't see nearly enough of the cockpit and the view isn't very wide at all.  I did manage to figure out how to toggle mouse look to a button on my yolk so I sorted that much out.  

 

Second, the controls are so very touchy and the aircraft seems to yaw like a bandit on meth.  The flight model feels horribly unstable.  I've only tried the stock baron so far though.  And with that I can't sort out how to turn on the dang lights!!

 

Are there some pro tips to help me out.  I'd like to give x-plane an educated attempt and at least understand it well enough to make a decision about it.

 

 

Thanks!!!

[Tom Wright 438]

The view controls take a while to get used to, but actually I find it much easier to move around the cockpit in X-Plane than in FSX. Many liken it to having EZDOK built in.

 

With the default key commands I think the virtual cockpit in SHIFT+9 and then you can use the arrow keys to move around, and the mouse with a right click to pan. You can adjust the field of view in the rendering settings.

 

In regards to the controls, I too have found that generally aircraft have a more lively feel to them than in FSX, but don't judge it by the default aircraft. Like in FSX, the default aircraft aren't very good.

[Alpha Floor 237]

First is the view.  I feel like my face is up against the dash.  I can't see nearly enough of the cockpit and the view isn't very wide at all.  I did manage to figure out how to toggle mouse look to a button on my yolk so I sorted that much out.  

 

You can define custom views using the built-in XP-10 function. Position the camera where you want it and hit "Ctrl + X", where X is the number to which you which to assign the view. 

 

The Field-of-view angle can be adjusted in the Rendering Options. 

 

 

 

Second, the controls are so very touchy and the aircraft seems to yaw like a bandit on meth.  The flight model feels horribly unstable.  I've only tried the stock baron so far though.  And with that I can't sort out how to turn on the dang lights!!

 

Play around with "Joystick & Hardware" calibration options.

 

 

I'd like to give x-plane an educated attempt and at least understand it well enough to make a decision about it.

 

Good to hear that.

 

A newcomer to X-Plane should "want" to like X-Plane and have an open mind towards it. Many people coming from FSX/P3D just fire up X-Plane one time and say "hmm, feels weird, I don't like it". That's not the way!

[finkelstein 25]

So I decided I'd try x-plane out to contrast it against P3D.  A couple things I just can't get used to, but maybe I can change/adjust somehow??

 

First is the view.  I feel like my face is up against the dash.  I can't see nearly enough of the cockpit and the view isn't very wide at all.  I did manage to figure out how to toggle mouse look to a button on my yolk so I sorted that much out.  

 

Second, the controls are so very touchy and the aircraft seems to yaw like a bandit on meth.  The flight model feels horribly unstable.  I've only tried the stock baron so far though.  And with that I can't sort out how to turn on the dang lights!!

 

Are there some pro tips to help me out.  I'd like to give x-plane an educated attempt and at least understand it well enough to make a decision about it.

 

 

Thanks!!!

 

FOV can be adjusted in the rendering settings (lower middle area of the window). Most people seem pretty happy with a setting of 85.

 

As for the stock aircraft, they are stock aircraft after all. If the controls are too touchy, you can adjust them in the respective settings menu and see which setting is to your liking. In general, aircraft will feel less on rails than what you may be used to.

 

As for the educated attempt/decision, you will only know once you've actively used it for a good while. If you are trying to replicate the exact same experience that you have in P3D, you will not be able to. A different sim is, after all, different.

 

Is there something about P3D that drove you to give X-Plane a try? Or are you just curious?

[mmerelles 78]

1. FIRST ISSUE:

(which is not an issue at all, xplane is extremely powerfull on this by default and puts P3D to a shame)

 

1.1. You define your FOV (field of view) on xplane rendering settings. This value defines the width of the screen view to see more or less cockpit

1.2. You also set your pilot's head position as per your liking, forward, backguard, left, right etc. using xplane pre-assigned keys or you can customize them on a per aircraft basis and you can update them real time as many times as you like.

1.3 You can also set pre-defined views on a per aircraft basis, overhead panel, captain's view, pedestal, mcp, wing view, anything. So you get that view under a single clic.

1.4 You can quick zoom to point anything specific and rotate the view freely if required also at any time to mimic rotating your head.

 

2. SECOND.

Twitchy controls an flight model are two entire different things.

 

Twitchy controls, it depends what controls you use and set xplane for those controls. It is an entire different setting for a control that has a 2" travel than for a control that has 8" travel. You need to go to joystick & assignment and adjust all sliders as per your controls.

 

Flight model, well i have to presume you never been on a real aircraft as a pilot. You can not leave a Cessna for 3 hs untouched and it will keep flying straight ahead and leveled, this doesn't happen on real life at all. The aircraft dances around at all times and you must keep applying tiny corrections for keeping it smooth unless you are in a/p.

[carguy4471 19]

1. FIRST ISSUE:

(which is not an issue at all, xplane is extremely powerfull on this by default and puts P3D to a shame)

 

1.1. You define your FOV (field of view) on xplane rendering settings. This value defines the width of the screen view to see more or less cockpit

1.2. You also set your pilot's head position as per your liking, forward, backguard, left, right etc. using xplane pre-assigned keys or you can customize them on a per aircraft basis and you can update them real time as many times as you like.

1.3 You can also set pre-defined views on a per aircraft basis, overhead panel, captain's view, pedestal, mcp, wing view, anything. So you get that view under a single clic.

1.4 You can quick zoom to point anything specific and rotate the view freely if required also at any time to mimic rotating your head.

 

2. SECOND.

Twitchy controls an flight model are two entire different things.

 

Twitchy controls, it depends what controls you use and set xplane for those controls. It is an entire different setting for a control that has a 2" travel than for a control that has 8" travel. You need to go to joystick & assignment and adjust all sliders as per your controls.

 

Flight model, well i have to presume you never been on a real aircraft as a pilot. You can not leave a Cessna for 3 hs untouched and it will keep flying straight ahead and leveled, this doesn't happen on real life at all. The aircraft dances around at all times and you must keep applying tiny corrections for keeping it smooth unless you are in a/p.

 

Actually, I have my private, inst and multi.  But I'll let you handle inserting the foot.

 

For the rest, thank you.  I'll try those few settings out.  I'll tinker with it and fly it.  I'm mostly trying it just out of curiosity.  I like options.  I know it'll be different but out of the box it's nearly unflyable.  

 

Any other advise will be well received and added to the "tinker with" list.  

[CFIJose 5,485]

So I decided I'd try x-plane out to contrast it against P3D.  A couple things I just can't get used to, but maybe I can change/adjust somehow??

 

First is the view.  I feel like my face is up against the dash.  I can't see nearly enough of the cockpit and the view isn't very wide at all.  I did manage to figure out how to toggle mouse look to a button on my yolk so I sorted that much out.  

 

Second, the controls are so very touchy and the aircraft seems to yaw like a bandit on meth.  The flight model feels horribly unstable.  I've only tried the stock baron so far though.  And with that I can't sort out how to turn on the dang lights!!

 

Are there some pro tips to help me out.  I'd like to give x-plane an educated attempt and at least understand it well enough to make a decision about it.

 

 

Thanks!!!

Carguy,

 

Youtube has some great videos that will help you get the most out of XP 10.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rmaQO3zdkg

 

It took me a few months to fully understand XP, but I can honestly say that it's an excellent sim with some freeware and "must have" payware add-ons.

 

Hang in there and good luck. Thx.

[carguy4471 19]

Carguy,

 

Youtube has some great videos that will help you get the most out of XP 10.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rmaQO3zdkg

 

It took me a few months to fully understand XP, but I can honestly say that it's an excellent sim with some freeware and "must have" payware add-ons.

 

Hang in there and good luck. Thx.

 

Nice!!!  I just installed it last night so haven't had time to hit up youtube yet.  Imma check that video out as soon as I get home from work today!!   Thank you!!

[Denco 48]

Also this.

https://www.stickandrudderstudios.com/x-camera/download-x-camera/

I forgot to mention to not use any stability enhancements in the controls setup. Rather increase you joystick linearity setting so that becomes non-linear and learn to do small movements when flying. It's very rewarding. I'm not sure what the best setup is with linearity if you're using a yoke. I reckon no non-linearity would work best in that case.

[hjsmuc 393]

 

 

I forgot to mention to not use any stability enhancements in the controls setup. Rather increase you joystick linearity setting so that becomes non-linear and learn to do small movements when flying.

Interesting, would you mind pointing us to the right settings menu for that?

[Jimmy RFR 406]

First is the view. I feel like my face is up against the dash. I can't see nearly enough of the cockpit and the view isn't very wide at all. I did manage to figure out how to toggle mouse look to a button on my yolk so I sorted that much out.

 

I think others have you well sorted here. Be warned, once you get used to flexibility of the XP view system, FSX/P3D feels terribly clumsy.  It's the single hardest adjustment I have to make when bouncing between the two sim platforms! 

 

One thing that I do in XP, is to setup a controller (I actually have an old Playstation 2 control that works well for this) with nothing but view controls - panning, tilting, up & down, back and forth, side to side, with a button to jump back to the main cockpit view, and a button to instantly save a new main cockpit view. With it, I can either grab the controller and move around the cabin perfectly, or else switch to outside while on the ground and walk around just as if I were in a regular video game.  Terribly addictive, and no need for an 'avatar' is in P3D!

 

 

 

Second, the controls are so very touchy and the aircraft seems to yaw like a bandit on meth. The flight model feels horribly unstable. I've only tried the stock baron so far though.

 

I think worth noting that without properly setting up the responsiveness of your controllers inside X-Plane, you'll have no idea how good (or bad) any specific XP flight model is.

 

If you click on the menu item 'Settings' / 'Joysticks & Equipment', you'll bring up a window that has several tabs along the top. The tab you want to take a look at is called 'Nullzone'. On the left side you have 'stability-augmentation'. Don't be fooled by the use of the word 'REALISM' here - turning the sliders down the minimum will result in extremely sensitive controls.  If you like that, great, but I find things to be far too sensitive at the minimums, even with linearity adjusted.

 

I find a setting of 25-40% works well with my PFC yoke for pitch and roll for most aircraft, whereas about 50-65% works well for my Saitek rudder pedals. For flying helicopters, I turn up the the pitch and roll settings a bit higher, since I'm using a plain joystick.  Basically, if you find things are far too 'touchy' look at this section, in conjunction with the right side of the window, where you can set linearity.

[Denco 48]

Interesting, would you mind pointing us to the right settings menu for that?

Sure. Its under controls and equipment and then under Null zones.

[Luftwulf 8]

So I decided I'd try x-plane out to contrast it against P3D.  A couple things I just can't get used to, but maybe I can change/adjust somehow??

 

First is the view.  I feel like my face is up against the dash.  I can't see nearly enough of the cockpit and the view isn't very wide at all.  I did manage to figure out how to toggle mouse look to a button on my yolk so I sorted that much out.  

 

Second, the controls are so very touchy and the aircraft seems to yaw like a bandit on meth.  The flight model feels horribly unstable.  I've only tried the stock baron so far though.  And with that I can't sort out how to turn on the dang lights!!

 

Are there some pro tips to help me out.  I'd like to give x-plane an educated attempt and at least understand it well enough to make a decision about it.

 

 

Thanks!!!

 

Take it from a recent convert, just stick with it.  I felt the same as you, the viewing was hard to get use to, as well as using the nobs etc.... however slowly after several flights I was hooked and now it has become a natural flow for me.... in fact after I flew the JarDesgin A330 (recommend) last night I found the workload was much easier because of the camera control of XP or X-Camera.   I think the freedom built into XP with the camera is a major plus and one I had not taken into account. 

 

So in short, over time I have found the flow of the cockpit much easier in XP over the others.

[bonchie 2,305]

The planes yawing so bad is an issue. The biggest problems occur on the ground. It has something to do with how XP doesn't properly model ground friction and the effects of wind while taxiing. 

So if you taxi with a crosswind, the plane will pull left (or right) just like you've got full takeoff power in and are fighting torque. If winds are calm, this won't happen. In the air, prop planes kind of act like they have a heavy left wing. Hopefully they deal with this some day. 

 

But don't let that deter you. These are no worse then many flaws in the FSX flight model. Just different. 

I recently started using XP as well so if you need advice on what freeware plugins are must haves, I can shoot you a list. 

[finkelstein 25]

Take it from a recent convert, just stick with it.  I felt the same as you, the viewing was hard to get use to, as well as using the nobs etc.... however slowly after several flights I was hooked and now it has become a natural flow for me.... in fact after I flew the JarDesgin A330 (recommend) last night I found the workload was much easier because of the camera control of XP or X-Camera.   I think the freedom built into XP with the camera is a major plus and one I had not taken into account. 

 

So in short, over time I have found the flow of the cockpit much easier in XP over the others.

 

Always interesting to see/hear what converts end up liking or disliking. Most of these seem to be usability factors like the camera system or framerates. Surprisingly, I don't read about a lot of people having  issues with the UI after they have used X-Plane for a little while (not saying it doesn't need improvement).