Back in the mid 2000s I remember being a member on this forum.  However, since then life intervened and I got totally away from PC simming (both car racing and flight).  Now, I want to get back into some light flight simming and I have a couple of questions (since much has changed in the intervening years):

1.  My main interest in flight simming is "Virtual tourism".  IOW, I like to view scenery that I'll never see in real life.  So, I guess my priorities are graphic/visuals over realism.  What currently available flight sim would be most appropriate for me?

2.  I still have my original DVD's for FSX but, unfortunately, one is scratched quite badly and is no longer readable.  So - if FSX is still a good choice for me, I see that "Steam" has a sale on it right now.  Is that a good alternative and is it the same thing as the retail disk version?  Can it accept patches and 3rd party scenery and planes, etc just like the retail disk version?

FWIW - my PC is brand new.  Specs are i5, 8 Gigs Ram, Nvidia 3Gig videocard - but it is Windows 10. 

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

 

 

If you still want to use FSX, then the Steam version will be fine.  There have been some inconsistencies with the use of some add-ons but you could read the topics in the Microsoft FSX forums to clear up any questions. 

The Steam version is simply FSX with some tweaks by DTG.

Also, welcome back to the forums.

 

1 hour ago, newbert said:

Back in the mid 2000s I remember being a member on this forum.  However, since then life intervened and I got totally away from PC simming (both car racing and flight). 

Welcome back.  I too had a hiatus from about 2004 to 2009 due to demands of my business career, long hours, extensive travel, etc.  So again, welcome back! 

I am still an FSX user and with my system specs I am more than satisfied at performance.  Hope that level satisfies you as well.  If not, there are great new innovations, but they may require some system upgrades, as has always been the case with emerging and maturing simulators over the years.

Welcome back Newbert. I would recommend the FSX steam edition. If you have not install the original DVDs that you mentioned then just about every add on should work. I gave up on the FSX DVD (boxed version) about eight years ago because of stutters, poor performance and crashes to desktop (CTD) and went back to FS2004. When the steam version came out I gave it a try and have flown about 650 hours in the last two years and have not had one CTD and it runs a lot smoother than the DVD version. I do similar flying like you described and I would recommend some add on scenery. I used the Scenery Tech Ultimate Terrain X series and like it very much. The ORBX products are also very popular. 

Edited January 26, 20188 yr by Jim Young
Added an X to Scenery Tech Ultimate Terrain

My last post should read Scenery Solutions Ultimate Terrain X series not Scenery Tech Ultimate Terrain.

Edited January 26, 20188 yr by Jim Young
corrections made

On ‎22‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 3:42 PM, newbert said:

My main interest in flight simming is "Virtual tourism".  IOW, I like to view scenery that I'll never see in real life.  So, I guess my priorities are graphic/visuals over realism. 

I would agree with the suggestion to go with the Orbx products which add great visuals but obviously that may depend on the area on which you are most interested in flying. Ultimate Terrain X combined with Ground Environment X is a very good and perhaps slightly cheaper alternative, offering (at the moment) more extensive worldwide coverage than Orbx. I personally use a combination of Orbx products with vector data from Ultimate Terrain X (mainly because I had UTX before I started buying the Orbx products) and that also works very well.

Bill

Welcome back