Hello !! Any fsx news from Ifc Denver , photos, videos , anything ????brds

Hi,I was at the IFC conference in Denver. We had a good 90 minute discussion with 3 of the FS developers / program manager there. There were times when they couldn't say much, but significant emphasis was made on the point of D3D10 (DX10) which will become available with Vista (although no hardware yet supports it). We saw a shot of Glacier park in MT (which is the default desktop for Vista, replaces the green fields of XP), then the same shot from FSX with DX9, then FSX with a software rendering of DX10. All were still frames. The difference between 9 and 10 is absolutely incredible. Swells in the river actually appearing as they do in real life. I have been thinking of upgrading hardware for Vista/FSX, and while I might do something for a motherboard and RAM, it would be throwing $$ away to buy a video card now, as there's no backwards compatibility to 9. This is the first time that MS have broken the legacy chain to prior api's, as they said "Legacy drags you down" (they kept repeating that often throughout the conference too....).I did get to play on a feature-limited demo, but what I saw didn't make me jump up and down too much- but they are obviously saving the best to last! Lots of references to features that they couldn't talk about.If there was one time at the Q&A that they let a cat out of the bag it was this- someone asked if there would be a G-1000 equipped Cessna. They looked at each other, stammered a bit, and gave a rather weak answer like "MS has always had a good relationship with Garmin,..." and definitely gave me the impression that something might be there on the G-1000. A lot of this was body language, so very subjective. They did give October as the release date. They discussed the current beta, and features- while defined- are still being incorporated and unincorporated in the current betas. I got the idea that they were nowhere near ready- but I guess October is still a ways off.... you guys at the AVSIM show may see a lot more than we did.Most of this won't be news to anyone here. I did win an AMD 4800+ X2 Dual Core CPU, which I took instead of the $800 ATI video card, since my understanding is that the video card won't do much with FSX if I want to run DX10.Bruce.

Thanks Bruce for the information! It all helps, and we are all FSX info starved. Congratulations on the PC win.RH

..and just to add (message editing is expired on my prior post), that multiple threading will be supported for those with a dual-core device.One of the comments was- if you have a weak spot in your system, FSX will find it, if you have all the sliders maxed out. But then I think we've always seen that with FS anyway :)Bruce.

"you guys at the AVSIM show may see a lot more than we did."Well, I can't give out any details of course, but given the timing of the Convention, it should be obvious that attendees will either see the gold release candidate or the final product. The fact that we are giving away 400 free copies should also say something pretty substantial, and the fact that the MS team will be speaking all day Sunday of the event about the release, technology and all the other great things about FSX that can't be discussed now - four hours worth plus an hour Q&A. Anyway, we'll let you draw your own conclusions. :)

but significant emphasis was made on the point of D3D10 (DX10) which will become available with Vista (although no hardware yet supports it). We saw a shot of Glacier park in MT (which is the default desktop for Vista, replaces the green fields of XP), then the same shot from FSX with DX9, then FSX with a software rendering of DX10. All were still frames. The difference between 9 and 10 is absolutely incredibleAll the more reason for me to wait until DX10 hardware is out before upgrading the computer and buying FSX.

>Most of this won't be news to anyone here. I did win an AMD>4800+ X2 Dual Core CPU, which I took instead of the $800 ATI>video card, since my understanding is that the video card>won't do much with FSX if I want to run DX10.VERY smart move there IMO Bruce...

so the harbour image we have seen (DX10) is true then?

>If there was one time at the Q&A that they let a cat out of>the bag it was this- someone asked if there would be a G-1000>equipped Cessna.Keep in mind Bruce, that even though there may be a G1000 in FSX, it would be nothing much more than a re-dressed G500 insofar as the GPS portion is concerned, and will - without any doubt - be entirely XML based, since the nice folks at ACES seem to have concluded that the future lies in XML... ...seemingly oblivious to the fact that serious, advanced systems programming is completely impossible using only XML. *:-*

Hi Tom,Too bad that I can't make the AVSIM convention this year- and while any convention in my local area is too tough to pass up, I missed you guys! :)Bruce.

Thanks for everyone's responses......Bruce.

Bruce, we may yet come back to Denver. Our friends at UAL and we do keep in touch and there may be another great Level D sim weekend in the future.

Tom -They announced that their annual U.S. conference will be in Denver henceforth!Scott

Now that is funny. :)

Seconded. I am doing the prep-work for my next system now. -Nods over to the PMDG lads as well- Took me three months to pick my first pay-ware airplane. Here's the system information I'm targetting: CPU: 1x Dual-core AMD (64) or Intel (Core) CPU.-- FS is extremely CPU-intensive. Unlike most games a good dual-core CPU will assist greatly. Especially with the game utalizing multi-threading.Mem: 3GB DDR2 RAM-- 2GB is the min currently for optimal gaming experience. 3GB is a precaution to allow you 1 year of time with this computerMotherboard: NVIDIA nForce 4 or 5 with SLI. For AMD make sure you buy the AM2 models. DFI-Lan Party or ASUS brands recomended for quality of componentions and support. -- You want that integrated 1 Giga-bit ethernet and the nForce's SLI ability. Nothing makes you love FS more than a panarama driven by 2 videocards (on 3 displays).Video Cards: NVIDIA (unknown). Wait for DX10 compatibility. -- Buy one just behind the bleeding edge (See 7800 GTX for $500 and pick up the 7800 GT for $350. You win). Purchase your second card in 6 months.HD: SEAGATE 300 GB Min or Greater. SATA1 or SATA2-- Your PSS, CLS, PMDG, Reality-XP, Wilco and FS-Nav add-ons eat up space. Don't be afraid to wait for a Fry's sale and pick up the 500 GB Seagate monster for $205. Hd speed means little for someone running 4-hour flights. Seagate is currently the most reliable company around for MTBF. You wouldn't skimp on your instruments, why here?OS: Windows Vista Home Premium (minimum) / Ultimate (max)-- You want DX10? You want the best effects? You want the speed increase? Be ready to shell out another $300-$500 for Vista... or purchase it along with your system.Extras: Creative Labs X-Fi Sound Card-- Best hardware acceleration on the market combined with the worst drivers released. Creative will have to work hard to maintain their Green vendor rating when Vista releases. Updated every 120 days? Required now. 64-hardware accelerated 3d sound channels means you can hear all four of your 744 engines spool while the rcyc fan clicks merrily above you.Anyways, that's my current recomendation for a 2006-October 2007 system.