XP 11 - Recommendations?

[Rusty10 5]

Hi

 

Long time MSFS (P3D user) and first time XPlane dabbler!

 

Is there any recommendations to enhance my XP experience? Last night I installed the NOAA plugin which seemed to work enabling realtime weather however, the clouds to me just look pretty basic compared to ASA?

 

I mainly fly short-haul tubeliner flights and just wnated to know if there are any 'must haves' payware or freeware?

 

Many thanks in advance :smile:

[soaring_penguin 428]

Please notice that X-Plane 11 is still in beta. 

Most of us "experienced" pilots are still putting our big toe in this new waters.

 

Until it is out of beta, anything can change between updates.

Also developers are just starting to work on updates for their planes, and they are not supporting version 11 yet.

 

I would recommend you to use X-Plane 10 instead for now, there are plenty of threads here. 

 

Personnally, atm, I would not spent money on add-ons, unless the developer clearly states that they will support XP11 without extra costs.

 

P.S. don't judge XP11 on the bugs that are still in there, they will be solved over time. 

[ricka47 611]

I also am also coming from P3D after trying XP10 and never liking it.  But this version may be a keeper for me if I can deal with weather (and seasons) and traffic.  I think that is good advice to not add anything to 11 yet until the beta period has passed.

[pilot83 387]

Hi

 

Long time MSFS (P3D user) and first time XPlane dabbler!

 

Is there any recommendations to enhance my XP experience? Last night I installed the NOAA plugin which seemed to work enabling realtime weather however, the clouds to me just look pretty basic compared to ASA?

 

I mainly fly short-haul tubeliner flights and just wnated to know if there are any 'must haves' payware or freeware?

 

Many thanks in advance :smile:

For weather plugins 2 main ones skymax pro which works with real weather connector and the developer is now working on v4 to make it compatible with XP11http://forums.x-pilot.com/forums/topic/11740-skymaxx-pro-v4-announcement/ and another promising one too still in beta X-enviro and has a weather engine too and also the developer is working on xp11 upgrade. The same developer mentioned in this beta stream he is planning to work on seasons. You can skip to 1h 16 min https://youtu.be/203xtxeaRQ0

I also am also coming from P3D after trying XP10 and never liking it. But this version may be a keeper for me if I can deal with weather (and seasons) and traffic. I think that is good advice to not add anything to 11 yet until the beta period has passed.

For traffic there is world of traffic and xlife both have demos i beleive but world of traffic more stable seems and also if you fly offline i recommend this atc freeware which is still in alpha but works well and allows you now to add a text to speech voice such as ivona or your windows voices ... for now 2 voices but the developer will make it work with multi voices soon but note that this atc do not interact with above ai traffic plugins. http://124thatc.matacchieri.eu/

[Jean-Jacques 120]

The advice offered above to refrain from investing in addons for XP11 is certainly excellent advice unless, as mentioned, the developer commits to 'XP11 compatibility' once the new version has stabilized. Your questions concerning weather/environment rendition are also of much interest to me. You may know about xEnviro but if not, check these links:

 

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/84551-xenviro/&page=1

 

http://simrussia.com/xenviro_en/

 

JJ

[ricka47 611]

For weather plugins 2 main ones skymax pro which works with real weather connector and the developer is now working on v4 to make it compatible with XP11http://forums.x-pilot.com/forums/topic/11740-skymaxx-pro-v4-announcement/ and another promising one too still in beta X-enviro and has a weather engine too and also the developer is working on xp11 upgrade. The same developer mentioned in this beta stream he is planning to work on seasons. You can skip to 1h 16 min

 

For traffic there is world of traffic and xlife both have demos i beleive but world of traffic more stable seems and also if you fly offline i recommend this atc freeware which is still in alpha but works well and allows you now to add a text to speech voice such as ivona or your windows voices ... for now 2 voices but the developer will make it work with multi voices soon but note that this atc do not interact with above ai traffic plugins. http://124thatc.matacchieri.eu/

Thanks for the info.  Traffic appears to be the one that needs the most work coming from a FSX/P3D perspective.  I think that XLife covers only some airports and it appears that World Traffic 2.0 requires a good deal of tweaking to get it going.  I guess that I'm spoiled by MyTraffic for FSX/P3D that puts the appropriate traffic at every airport along with ATC sounds by just a simple install.  I don't want to see a 747 or a SR-71 at my local airport which is what I see now.  But, I see that there is a 3.0 version of World Traffic which may improve the situation.

[Desaix 235]

Yes, the situation for AI traffic is not intuitive right now. Both packages need some skills and time to properly install liveries and ground routes (when available). I can get a realistic traffic (I mean comparable with UT2 or the like) at some airports where I developed extended ground routes and using realistic timetable and liveries. But not outside those.

The problem is that AI had been skipped in the past, XP being mainly regarded  as a GA simulation, that's why you still see payware and good freeware airports shipped without ATC taxiroutes (which works more or less as AFCAD in FSX world).

 

I think it's a matter of time because I read quite many newcomers to XP world and this means the level of yield on investiment will be lower in the future. 

 

The first dev that can provide a working vocal ATC with AI traffic integration will be a winner for sure. I can figure out lot of third party software houses are reading forums and thinking "wait, you see, people show interest and are moving to XP11, what does miss there that we can gain some big money from".

[ricka47 611]

Yes, the situation for AI traffic is not intuitive right now. Both packages need some skills and time to properly install liveries and ground routes (when available). I can get a realistic traffic (I mean comparable with UT2 or the like) at some airports where I developed extended ground routes and using realistic timetable and liveries. But not outside those.

The problem is that AI had been skipped in the past, XP being mainly regarded  as a GA simulation, that's why you still see payware and good freeware airports shipped without ATC taxiroutes (which works more or less as AFCAD in FSX world).

 

I think it's a matter of time because I read quite many newcomers to XP world and this means the level of yield on investiment will be lower in the future. 

 

The first dev that can provide a working vocal ATC with AI traffic integration will be a winner for sure. I can figure out lot of third party software houses are reading forums and thinking "wait, you see, people show interest and are moving to XP11, what does miss there that we can gain some big money from".

 

Good point!  I think that a lot of us coming from the FSX/P3D world really want to move 100% to X-Plane for many reasons such as the 64-bit platform.  But, it's things like this (that FSX had a decade ago) that holds us back.  I don't want to mess with two platforms; so, it will be either P3D or X-Plane although I have both installed at this point.  Right now, based on what I'm seeing in version 11, I'm leaning toward X-Plane but I hope that you are correct that developers will see that there is a pretty big potential here as I've noted a good deal of interest from the FSX/P3D folks that I didn't see with version 10 (which I bought but gave up on after about a month).  

 

Yet, I remember discussions such as this when X-Plane 10 first came out - "just wait", many said, but here we are, five years after I purchased version 10, still waiting.  We'll see!

[Rusty10 5]

Some great advice, many thanks.

 

I guess what I am looking for is a comparible experience with XP as I get with P3D - Weather, AI, ATC...

 

I will head over and check out the links and report back :wink: Thanks again

[N9718 28]

I, too, am contemplating moving over from FSX to XP10/11. Definitely a fan of the 64-bit platform. Loved the XP10 demo. I, too, am interested in weather, AI, ATC. Not a fan of the reported empty XP airports, lack of AI traffic, poor weather, etc.

[ricka47 611]

I, too, am contemplating moving over from FSX to XP10/11. Definitely a fan of the 64-bit platform. Loved the XP10 demo. I, too, am interested in weather, AI, ATC. Not a fan of the reported empty XP airports, lack of AI traffic, poor weather, etc.

 

Those are concerns of mine as well since I have P3D v3 with nice traffic, weather and airports.  I am less concerned though with empty airports in XP11 than I was with XP10 (which I purchased five years ago this month).  It seems that the Scenery Gateway has helped that a great deal and new airports are added with each update.  But, it's true that there are still many empty airports and this hurts the immersion factor for sure.

[pilot83 387]

Those are concerns of mine as well since I have P3D v3 with nice traffic, weather and airports.  I am less concerned though with empty airports in XP11 than I was with XP10 (which I purchased five years ago this month).  It seems that the Scenery Gateway has helped that a great deal and new airports are added with each update.  But, it's true that there are still many empty airports and this hurts the immersion factor for sure.

i do understand your concerns, for airports dont worry because lots of quality freeware airports, check this you tube vid

 

 

[soaring_penguin 428]

About the concerns from FSX and P3D users: 

- yes traffic is nowhere near MyTraffic. But unless you expect schedules to be on time, I find it is not a big deal.

  Choose your A.I. traffic wisely, and a bit more populated then the default, and you don't get the feeling to be alone in the sky.

  There are 2 developers working hard to get this to the same level as FSX/P3D.

  I don't remember seeing wrong planes landing / take off since last X-Plane 10.50. (No Boeing on a grass field anymore).

- weather (or at least the depiction of the weather) : personal taste, but I never liked the card board clouds rotating in FSX. Also the sky is not like that most of the time.

  Yes, towering CB's or individual cumuli are lacking, I really hope they get those working soon.

- empty airports: there are now over 3000 populated airports, and an additional lot to download from the .org, some of the free (misterX, tonywob) exceeding payware quality.

 

My point is: for the price a single addition in FSX, you get a complete new simulator, with a lot of good quality freeware, and its own strenghts, and still under very active development). 

 

And please do not forget that X-Plane 11, despite all the hype, is still in beta.

[pilot83 387]

Also forgot to add you can join this facebook group for xp11 questions

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/XPlaneNG/

[ricka47 611]

i do understand your concerns, for airports dont worry because lots of quality freeware airports, check this you tube vid

 

 

 Looks good - thanks!  About airports - I see this in the manual: "The latest Gateway scenery will be provided automatically via updates. You may also add scenery from the Airport Scenery Gateway before that happens, but note that if you do so, it will suppress any later Global Airport updates to that same airport."

 

So, if I install an airport from the Gateway that is not currently in XP, I won't get any updates of that airport if they are made at a later date.  While I want more populated airports, is it a better strategy to wait for these airports?