Payware AC vs Included AC in X-Plane

[ryanbatc 12,770]

True.  Also the cost of addons is generally less in XP than P3D/FSX.  But I also feel you don't get the fidelity out of the high end XP addons vs P3D.  For instance the best XP tube liner (not sure what it is, maybe the B757 v2 or the IXEG B737) isn't quite as complicated/detailed as PMDG's B777, but it's still really really good.  The best GA plane in XP - I'm not really sure what it is either, maybe the Airfoillabs C172 or maybe a Carenado plane with REP....  isn't quite as nice as A2A's Comanche etc.  It's close but maybe not as good.  (just my opinion).

 

Recently though, the payware quality for XP10/11 has really started to increase.  Frankly some of the payware for XP10 when I got in a few years ago was junk I thought...  I mean it looked like stuff we had for FS2000.  But now I think the quality from XP devs is surpassing FSX/P3D (with maybe PMDG as the exception).

 

I'm most excited for the DDENN Global Jet - can't have it soon enough.  Also the LES Citation will be something I'll pick up for XP11 if I ever get a new PC.  Aerobask is also doing a Eclipse 550 reboot of their freeware offering.  Can you tell I'm a GA fan hehe?  Tubes....  meh - I should get one one of these days - probably the IXEG.

 

Anyway I rambled on there... the key is, to really enjoy a sim you should invest in a few payware aircraft!  

[sd_flyer 6,022]

What airfoillabs really captured is yoke responses of real 172. A2A fell short of my expectations in this respect. I flown all GA airplanes A2A released up today  in real life, and struggled bit to get correct response from flight controls using different tweaks. Too bad airfoillabs dropped XP11 beta compatibility. I was stupid enough to delete their version that worked

[Paraffin 2,197]

True.  Also the cost of addons is generally less in XP than P3D/FSX.  But I also feel you don't get the fidelity out of the high end XP addons vs P3D.  For instance the best XP tube liner (not sure what it is, maybe the B757 v2 or the IXEG B737) isn't quite as complicated/detailed as PMDG's B777, but it's still really really good.  The best GA plane in XP - I'm not really sure what it is either, maybe the Airfoillabs C172 or maybe a Carenado plane with REP....  isn't quite as nice as A2A's Comanche etc.  It's close but maybe not as good.  (just my opinion).

 

I think we're still down to flying preferences. Maybe I'm in a minority here in not caring about Aribus jets or Cessna 172's because that's not my thing. But If you're a fan of vintage aircraft or bush planes, then find me a model in FSX/P3D that's better than the LES DC-3, RWDesigns Twin Otter, X-Aviation MU-2, or HydroZ PBY Catalina. Or while we're at it, the PMDG DC-6... shades of things to come.

 

And I didn't even mention helicopters, this time.  :wink:

[JimmiG 244]

I think the AC in X-Plane 11 are pretty nice, especially the C172 (except the viewpoint is as if the pilot has removed the seat and is sitting on the floor of the aircraft, but this can be easily fixed). But they are a bit basic and "bland" compared to 3rd party addons.

 

Right now with XP11, add-on aircraft are a bit hit and miss. Some work, some don't work at all, some "kind of" work. I would hold off buying addons until the situation has been cleared up somewhat.

[JYW 2,957]

IMHO X-Plane payware is just like FSX/P3D payware - lightyears ahead of the default aircraft - in most cases at least.  I have bought some complete lemons for X-Plane though, with textures that look like they're from X-Plane 5.     Just apply a bit of "buyer beware" and check reviews / screenshots / you tube.  Plenty of great options out there.

 

My favourites are the IXEG 737, LES Saab 340, EMB 110 (can't remember who it's by but it's on the ORG), and yes, the Carenado B1900 is divine - streets ahead of the FSX version.   I love the Alabeo DA-42 in X-Plane too.  It has more systems modelled than the FSX version, including the buttons for the engine run-up check, which work.

[Jimm 437]

IMHO X-Plane payware is just like FSX/P3D payware - lightyears ahead of the default aircraft - in most cases at least.  I have bought some complete lemons for X-Plane though, with textures that look like they're from X-Plane 5.     Just apply a bit of "buyer beware" and check reviews / screenshots / you tube.  Plenty of great options out there.

 

My favourites are the IXEG 737, LES Saab 340, EMB 110 (can't remember who it's by but it's on the ORG), and yes, the Carenado B1900 is divine - streets ahead of the FSX version.   I love the Alabeo DA-42 in X-Plane too.  It has more systems modelled than the FSX version, including the buttons for the engine run-up check, which work.

Bill, you mentioned Carenado, do all of their aircraft run well in XP11?  Last I tried with the CT208, I had issues with buttons not appearing and functioning.  I checked their website for updates and such, but no joy.  Could they be waiting for the final release of XP11?

[Mountain Man 142]

I personally think that XP11's default Cessna 172 flies great, and it's a terrific looking model, easily on par with and possibly better than third-party aircraft from developers like Carenado.  Not having any real-world flying experience, it flies the way I think a plane should fly, but maybe I'd feel different if I was a pilot.

[nanosour 9]

The vast majority of payware outperforms the defaults in XP11 by a wide margin.  Usually you'll find the price curve mimics the quality curve.  Here's my list of payware mostly purchased in XP10.  A couple are holdovers from XP9, but surprisingly are still functional in XP11.

 

IXEG B-737 (best of the best in XP10/11, truly a great piece of work by those guys)

JRollon CRJ-200 (my first and very nice aircraft.  Great exterior, bad sounds, 85% systems sim)

FF B-777 (98% system sim, nice exterior, wing flapping is comical, 98% FMS)

FlyJSim B727 (all around great model)

B787 (Don't waste your money, akin to XP8 default)

DDenn Challenger 300 (excellent model and great support, I too can't wait for GLEX)

ND BK-117 (Superb helicopter)

Carenado F33A (excellent model, gear doors hang in XP11 for now, should be patched when out of Beta)

Carenado BE-58 (again excellent, way better than default BE-58)

Carenado C-172 (suprisingly not up to Carenado quality, default 172 way better)

F-16 (Marginal flight model)

T-38 (Slightly better than F-16, but still not that good)

DC-3 (Very nice aircraft and nice flight modeling)

Q-400 (FlyJsims first effort and not as good as his B727, some really like it though, I rarely fly this one)

ERJ-170 (low budget modeling but flies OK, don't fly this much)

 

The only default that is worth starting up IMHO is the C-172.  Flies nice and looks even better.

[Jimmy RFR 406]

 

 

I think we're still down to flying preferences. Maybe I'm in a minority here in not caring about Aribus jets or Cessna 172's because that's not my thing. But If you're a fan of vintage aircraft or bush planes, then find me a model in FSX/P3D that's better than the LES DC-3, RWDesigns Twin Otter, X-Aviation MU-2, or HydroZ PBY Catalina. Or while we're at it, the PMDG DC-6... shades of things to come.

And I didn't even mention helicopters, this time

 

Flying preferences is the thing, for sure. For example, if you were to look at military jets (and props, for that matter), you don't have anywhere close to the selection available in X-Plane that you do in FSX or P3D. There's simply nothing in X-Plane that can match the overall fidelity of the VRS Superbug, the Milviz F100 or F4's, the Aerosoft F-14's or EE Lightnings, etc.

 

Generally I find that it's not so much that there isn't quality payware available for X-Plane, it's that the developer base is smaller (and newer, in many cases) and so hasn't had the time to crank out a large library yet.

 

But to answer the OP's topic, yes, just like FSX, a lot, but not all, of the payware available for X-Plane is quite a bit farther ahead than the default included aircraft.

[JYW 2,957]

Bill, you mentioned Carenado, do all of their aircraft run well in XP11?  Last I tried with the CT208, I had issues with buttons not appearing and functioning.  I checked their website for updates and such, but no joy.  Could they be waiting for the final release of XP11?

 

Oh I couldn't say yet Jim.  XP11 purchased but not yet installed!  I have XP10 via Steam, and recently had some problems with vsync on my desktop (in general, not XP related).  So I installed my XP10 copy from Steam to test that, before buying XP11.   Luckily there were no issues, so I bought XP11 but have not yet gotten around to installing it yet.   Very excited to though.

 

Totally agree about the eco system.  It's just amazing.  Within 2 hours of installing XP10 again, I had GB Pro, W2XP Europe, 6 top notch airports all installed - all FREE!

 

I'm having a blast flying the Alabeo DA-42 around the UK.  Next up I'm going to download Spain UHD again (Free, amazing) and the Canaries airports on the ORG, and fly the B1900 over that way.

 

Save a fortune on XP, and the immersion is just unbeatable.

[Jimmy RFR 406]

 

 

Totally agree about the eco system. It's just amazing. Within 2 hours of installing XP10 again, I had GB Pro, W2XP Europe, 6 top notch airports all installed

 

This is actually the turning point that drove me to X-Plane. Not necessarily the free/inexpensive aspect, but the simple ease of working within the X-Plane ecosystem.

 

The ease of doing almost anything within X-Plane cannot be emphasized enough...

 

For example, I do some minor work and a bit of beta testing for a FSX/P3D developer. Which kind of necessitates me to have a functional P3D or FSX install. So, a few nights ago I had a thought that since I recently brought P3D up to date (which was laborious on it's own because I was a few releases behind) I might want to play with some of my FSX aircraft for a bit, take them for a spin, etc. Well, I also then had a fond recollection of when I had the Hawaii islands all set up in FSX, with photoscenery + autogen, Geroge Keogh's wonderful airport scenery, and the FSDT Hawaiian Airport packs.

 

So, I set about to do just that again - downloaded all of the scenery, downloaded the separate autogen packs, the patches, the freeware airport packs, the FSDT airports, all of it. And then to installing, adding everything, starting up each airport, removing duplicate AFCAD's, fixing elevation issues...

 

Total time spent so far - about 6 hours. And I'm not done yet.  The whole time I'm thinking to myself just how much easier this all is in X-Plane!!

[richie894 45]

I echo the other people. You definitely save a lot of money with the great community providing quality freeware. Other than $60 I spent on XP11 beta, I have yet to spend a penny. I have amassed some great scenery and airports for all over the world. Had this been on P3D, I would have easily spent $1000+ on the same volume of add-ons. I need to make sure I go back and give some donations to some of the people for their hard work.

[deetee 164]

I hate that a subforum was added. I just want to post in 1 forum. More people will see it that way.

+1

This is the only forum I browse at AvSim, moving interesting threads about add-ons to a separate forum will just divert traffic away from them. Like Ryan I believe most people who like to discuss planes, scenery, airports and weather prefer to do so in General Discussion.