So some folks probably know me.

I built a robust FSX over many years. Last year I upgraded my PC to a high end gaming machine and decided that I would move to P3D....and have done so. I never use my FSX even though it has more stuff. I have most Orbx scenery, UTX, planes galore, freeware and payware galore, some of my own work, Saitek pedals, yoke, trim wheel, switch panel, throttles, I use two monitors - one 40" and second 23"....blah blah...tons of stuff.

I have reviewed XP11. It seems, well very good. I was thinking I would get this sim and give it a try.

Can you "expert" XP folks give me the low down on what I need to get going.

- So get the game, get the world scenery package, then what?

- What addons, what freeware, anything the is a must to get her going strong...for instance I looks like a mega load of mesh is available.

Anyone, share a list of stuff?

Bryan

Hi you know me from the P3D forums.  I still fly it occasionally.  But XP has taken hold hehe.

First, just start simple.  Upon install of XP11 just install the scenery areas you think you'll be flying in.  For example I only installed the USA for now.  Then get setup from there.  Don't go hog wild on addons...yet.  Make sure the sim is running how you like, are the controls the way you like etc?  Are the graphical options the way you like?  Once that is done, determine what types of planes you like to fly... GA. tubes, whatever.  That will help us address which addons you might like.

Remember the word Ortho4xp - that can come later though.

If the plan is to fly with many different aircrafts, i.e. props, jets, helicopters, I would strongly recommend to install the plugin XAssign, which saves and stores joystick mappings for every aircraft you have.

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/12551-x-assign-linmacwin3264/

As ryanbatcund said, start small, do not install unecessary plugins or addons. Do only install what you need. Hence some plugins may be interfering with each other and cause crashes in worst case scenario. Lesser is better.

Taking from memory I have these plugins installed:

XAssign

XCamera (for me it is perfect for saving indvidual aircraft views to joystick buttons, but that is just a small grasp of what it can really do)

Ground services - a simple plugin for pushback, but there are other pushback plugins out there, even some airplanes have pushback builtin)

XEnviro - weather engine which I like, costs money.

Headshake - Do what it tells, noticeable in turbulence.

XIvap and XSquawkbox - Online services, should not be installed at the same time.

Python Interface - can run some python scripts as plugin, currently not using it.

FlyWithLua - same as above but for LUA scripts, currently not running any scripts here either.

When it comes to scenery, I've downloaded the HD Mesh V3 which is easy to install. Though not the same fidelity as Ortho4XP, but it does not take up much HDD space. Sceneries of airports is manually downloaded and installed from different sources if I do not want to use the default airports, I mainly do this when an airport in 3D do not exist as default, which can be checked at:

https://gateway.x-plane.com/

This is vey important to know whennstalling scenery:

Also to remember is that many custom airportt sceneries requires some scenerypacks to be downloaded.

Helpful stuff....lots to learn I've always found it helpful to hear from others about a sim before jumping in, get to know what to expect, pitfalls. So much time can be spent reading and experimenting with a sim I would prefer to use others experiences to help guide me.

Whats this file:X-Plane Library Installer 3.4

It appears to be a collection of tons of library objects for sceneries?

Is this useful and compatible with XP11

24 minutes ago, 1st fltsimguy said:

Whats this file:X-Plane Library Installer 3.4

It appears to be a collection of tons of library objects for sceneries?

Is this useful and compatible with XP11

That's exactly what it is and AFAIK scenery add-ons should port over with little to no issues to XP11. Might as well try and see.

10 hours ago, sizziano said:

That's exactly what it is and AFAIK scenery add-ons should port over with little to no issues to XP11. Might as well try and see.

Roger that.

Welcome to X-Plane world. So much to learn and so much fun, you will never get tired of exploring the vast libraries of quality freeware, donation ware and payware add-ons. Some of the freeware airports are outstanding and up to par with some of the  payware airports in FSX world. Create your own photo scenery with Ortho4xp you will be amaze at some of the results. X-Plane 11 is so easy to setup and you can customize the settings to your own taste.

My biggest tip is use it alot for the first month or two. I promise you will be hooked! Dont be like some of the people here that download the demo and try it for 20min and then say they don't like it and come to these forums like experts on XP telling others its no good! Honestly if you only tried the Demo for a few minutes you got no idea about XP!

xplane.org is your friend !

Xprealistic Pro, cockpit immersion !

OrthforXP if you like photo scenery.

Blu FX.

If you buy any ADD-ONS make sure they are optimized for XPX-11.

 

I agree, I tried the demo a few times and was not impress. When X-Plane 11 was launch on Steam I decided to purchase it and if I did not like it I would demand a refund. It turn out that it is the only sim I use now.

7 hours ago, petkez said:

My biggest tip is use it alot for the first month or two. I promise you will be hooked! Dont be like some of the people here that download the demo and try it for 20min and then say they don't like it and come to these forums like experts on XP telling others its no good! Honestly if you only tried the Demo for a few minutes you got no idea about XP!

Right, as with anything new or different, one should get used to it.

1 hour ago, strider1 said:

xplane.org is your friend !

Xprealistic Pro, cockpit immersion !

OrthforXP if you like photo scenery.

Blu FX.

If you buy any ADD-ONS make sure they are optimized for XPX-11.

 

Helpful, I found the xplane.org but not the others.

1 hour ago, michelh said:

I agree, I tried the demo a few times and was not impress. When X-Plane 11 was launch on Steam I decided to purchase it and if I did not like it I would demand a refund. It turn out that it is the only sim I use now.

Sounds encouraging.

Much thanks folks.

On 5/16/2017 at 10:21 PM, 1st fltsimguy said:

So some folks probably know me.

I built a robust FSX over many years. Last year I upgraded my PC to a high end gaming machine and decided that I would move to P3D....and have done so. I never use my FSX even though it has more stuff. I have most Orbx scenery, UTX, planes galore, freeware and payware galore, some of my own work, Saitek pedals, yoke, trim wheel, switch panel, throttles, I use two monitors - one 40" and second 23"....blah blah...tons of stuff.

I have reviewed XP11. It seems, well very good. I was thinking I would get this sim and give it a try.

Can you "expert" XP folks give me the low down on what I need to get going.

- So get the game, get the world scenery package, then what?

- What addons, what freeware, anything the is a must to get her going strong...for instance I looks like a mega load of mesh is available.

Anyone, share a list of stuff?

Bryan

i just want to throw this out there, i used fsx since launch and always tried to move to x-plane starting with x-plane 8,i would try it a couple hours and give up, i did that all the way until x-plane 10. over time i started spending more time with x-plane 10 and realized it wasn't the sim that was the problem but me, come x-plane 11, i now only fly x-plane 11. please take the time to learn it, give it a few weeks instead of a few hours or days. i believe you will find x-plane 11 can be one of the most relaxing experiences in the flight sim community, it's not fsx or p3d,please remember that.i have to say it is much easier to install and to put addons in the sim. for flight planning i highly recommend effass ng, it will become your best friend, its an all in one flight planner, fuel planner and efb.one of the best tools around. if you are into heavy aircraft go with the flight factor 767,757, rotate md80, jar design a320,a330. as far as ga planes there are alot of nice ones, my suggestion would be the Pipistrel Panthera v3,airfoil labs Cessna 172SP Skyhawk and the Quest Kodiak by Thranda-Kodiak. as far as the weather x-enviro or skymax 4 are both good options, i own both but i use skymax 4 with x-plane 11's default weather. there is a ton of freeware airports on the org store forums, search mr x and you will start out with some wonderful airports.

  as far as plugins go, x-life is nice for having ai aircrafts not supported at all airports,autogate for moving jetways, xuipc, which is like fsuipc,x-raas which is close to p3d, but better i think and all free.you buy x-plane 11 and a couple payware aircrafts and you can have a great experience from what i mentioned above.make sure you turn ai traffic off in x-plane 11 as it will kill framerates.

  don't give up right away, the x-plane 11 ui makes the sim so much better and so much easier to setup, good luck and don't give up. anything you buy, alot is specific to x-plane 11, so don't buy and x-plane 10 aircraft because it probably won't work in xp 11

http://store-x-plane-org.3dcartstores.com/Boeing-767-300-ER-Professional_p_444.html

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/33270-kbos-boston-logan-international-airport/

http://store-x-plane-org.3dcartstores.com/Pipistrel-Panthera-v3_p_590.html

http://store-x-plane-org.3dcartstores.com/Kodiak-Quest-G1000-_p_534.html

http://store-x-plane-org.3dcartstores.com/Cessna-172SP-Skyhawk_p_401.html

 

On 5/17/2017 at 2:12 AM, 1st fltsimguy said:

Whats this file:X-Plane Library Installer 3.4

It appears to be a collection of tons of library objects for sceneries?

Is this useful and compatible with XP11

thats what it is, it will make your life easier than tracking down libraries for airports.

1 hour ago, Patriot3810 said:

goldmine of info...

 

Wow this is very helpful, I was wondering where to go for stuff like weather. I have managed to find some stuff and now I have a pile of bookmarks for the sites.

The good news I am up and running. My bandwidth has taken a huge hit. I found the XP10_HD_Mesh_V3_ and have started downloading tiles...started with west coast NA. Last night I did the update thing and it pulled down a bunch of airports I for free I had no idea.

I am quite blown away so far, right out of the box this thing appears very good. Took me a bunch to figure out how to get my yoke, throttles, trim wheel working and calibrated...still more to do to refine them.

Flew around KSAN and was totally awed....and late last night found the sceneries...including a great freeware KSAN which I will pull down today. AND also there is a RXP GTN...wow, lord help my wife finding out about my charge card bill!

This is an amazing experience. I am seeing some landclass things that need attention like no golf courses but I'm sure there is a cure for that.

Totally satisfied customer so far and quiet different from P3D (which I had moved to) and from FSX ....both of which I still have on their own drives so can jump back to them for certain experiences.

I am so into XP11 wanting to  beef it up with addons.

Thanks for you suggestions.

Bryan