FSX-SE is topcat worth it?

[FEDERICO007 0]

hello im thinking on getting topcat for fsx steam edition and i always ask myself is it worth it? 

hope someone can give me an idea on what should i do!

[evaamo 549]

Unless you fly the PMDG 737-7000, 777(LR/F) and the 747(400/F), I don't think it's worth it at its current state (basically abandonware).

If you do fly any of those, I think it still is a safe purchase due to the fact that there's no current (or in development) competitor, and it still does the job.

Also, the integration between PFPX and TOPCAT is really good.

Hope this helps.

edit: just saw this is in the FSX forum, so I guess the use other aircraft such as LEVEL-D 767 and Flight1's ATR apply.

[spesimen 135]

as far as alternatives go,

TOPER has a 737 tool and ones for a few other airplane types... the 737 one works fairly well but it doesn't support de-rated thrust it's pretty cheap ( 10 euros)...  i use it for the 737-600 and 737-900 which aren't covered by TOPCAT

there's also a newer one that came out maybe 2 months ago called TOPS which supports a similar set of aircraft but also the A320 ( https://topsdev.eu  ) . i haven't tried that one so i can't comment on it but it looks pretty nice at a glance, and is only like 6 euros or something.

personally i would go for topcat only if you use pfpx and fly those particular planes that evaamo mentioned..

good luck!

cheers,-andy crosby

[FEDERICO007 0]

yes but I'm looking to get something professional hardcore I've been in siming for a few years now and I want to go direct with hardcore

[spesimen 135]

32 minutes ago, FEDERICO007 said:

yes but I'm looking to get something professional hardcore I've been in siming for a few years now and I want to go direct with hardcore

well, i'm not sure what you mean by 'hardcore' in this case exactly. all 3 of those apps will give similar numbers.. i use topcat mainly because i like the convenience of loading the data directly from PFPX with a single click... but i still have to use TOPER for flights with the -600 or -900 anyway.. 

whether that one-click convenience is 'worth it' is sort of a subjective question i guess :)   if you don't use PFPX then you could get the same results for less with some of the other apps. look them up for yourself! you didn't mention which planes you fly so it's hard to really be any more specific with advice at this point..

cheers!,-andy crosby

[ubersu 78]

Try Utopia from the AVSIM library - look for utopia12.zip. I've had TOPCAT for years and never found it particularly useful...

DJ

[Beardyman 604]

Contrary to DJ i will say that TOPCAT is extremely useful - if u fly PMDG ...

[pracines 823]

I have Topcat with PFPX and its nice to have the top for (currently) 4 planes in P3Dv4. If developers come around with quality 757-200 (PW), 767-300, MD82, MD11, ATR-72212A, and Fokker F28 planes in P3Dv4 then I could use it to its fullest. But at 17.99 Euros (about $22) its worth it to me. I have a Navigraph Ultimate subscription, so the airport/runway data is current as well. 

The downside is there is no indication that there will be further development and I see no activity on the forum since Sept 2016. Lots of talk about how "impossible" or difficult it is to get data to add to the list of planes in the program. I personally hate to hear excuses, and say 'don't get into the business if you're not up to the challenge'. 

However, I use topcat almost every day and it works great. Currently I'm flying on NAT TRACK B from EDDF to KIAD in the PMDG 744 and the performance recommendations/calculations from topcat were fine.