FS has always been my prefered sim because the spot view allows you to easily float around the aircraft and most importantly the aircraft does not turn directly on its axis. By this I mean is most sims if you rolled and pulled back, the view would stay in the same place and the aircraft would turn to face you, where as FS floats the view round to remain behind the aircraft or where ever you were before you started the manoeuvre.

I'm sure it will still be there. But I would like to suggest an improvement to make spot view much more realistic. In the real world there is always relative movement between two aircraft due to turbulence, constant pilot adjustments etc. Also in the real world very often the camera is not perfectly pointed at the centre of the aircraft. If Microsoft could implement this (probably quite easy) then the spot view would be far more realistic and would give an extra sense of dynamism. Also I hope that Microsoft finally update the view system (the dreaded S key). It's hardly changed since FS95. It's probably the only flight simulator in the known universe that doesn't have a flypast view. It would be great if they could implement all of the features of Active Camera.... Best regards, Chris

You won't be disappointed, Chris.

I like spot view and I like 'gradual transitions' turned on to give that floating characteristic to the view (to me, things just seem fake when that's unchecked).However .... currently the spot view can be a total pain in the butt as the view can loop back into the plane, trial behind the plane in wierd ways, go through a plane showing a cutaway view of the model and other annoying habits.It seems the faster the plane (or the further from level flight your flying is) the more annoying controlling the spot view can be. It is especially annoying when pausing and the plane zooms way ahead when I just want things to pause so I can line up a screenshot properly.I do like spot view with 'gradual transitions' checked on but I hope it can be made better.Also I remember a nice float view from Red Baron 3d that was behind the plane and floated.It was a really cool view. Might be a nice option as another viewBeing able to select which views you want to have in your view sequence would be nice. I'd like to takje the tower view out completely as it's just in the way to me.

DK,re: the Red Baron tail view, wouldn't it be NEAT in FSX, if we could assign CUSTOM view points? Making a big assumption here, but reading between the lines from the pixelpoke blog, and here, that is what I gathered may be done to some extent...

Awesome!http://home.earthlink.net/~dawgfighter/sit...es/swvasig1.gif-Jeremy BurchSWVA4806 http://www.virtualswa.com/home.phpThe Ozark Dogfighter http://forums.avsim.net/images/wedge.gifHappy Flying!

The solution is simple. Take the FU3 system of viewpoints, and copy it.Job sorted.Chris Low.

Another point if the guys at MS are going to implement something like Active Camera: When you can walk around your aircraft make it so that half the landscape does not dissappear.The walk around capability would be really nice so that you can perform a walk around to visually check the integraty of the aircraft before you take it up. Especially if you see one of those bluddy birds nesting in your engine!I have always thought it would be nice if you could start a flight by selecting your aircraft, transitioning into a 3D cabin/flight prep room so that you can plan your flight and then walk to the door, press enter and transition (ie fade) to you being stood by your aircraft. You then have free movement around the aircraft so that you can optionally walk up the steps (if there are any) and again press enter key on the cockpit door to transition into the cockpit or walk through the cabin or perform your walk around.Sort of something like this that I have drawn:http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/622/drawing1ra.jpg

The thing I'd suggest for views is getting rid of tower view or at the very least allowing us to remove it from the "S" key cycle order - I never use it, and you always have to cycle through it to get from spot back to the cockpit etc. This should apply to all views actually - there's aircraft without a 2D panel (like the RealAir Spitfire or SF260) where having that 2D view still allocated and functioning doesn't make sense...And please for the love of god smooth gauges in the VC!!!

Of course, we don't know whether FSX will still have the S key. But even if it does, I would strongly suggest that each view mode should have a specific command key, so that a desired view mode can be accessed immediately. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if FSX has additional view modes, so cycling with the S key would be quite awkward and time-wasting. Best regards, Chris

Absolutely. I really hope FSX allows something like this. Traditionally in FS you were locked into the cockpit of your chosen aircraft and that was it. Virtual cockpits allowed you to walk around the interior of the aircraft, but you still couldn't leave it. Active Camera finally liberated us from that limitation. You were able to leave the aircraft and walk around, though limitations with the scenery engine caused very serious display problems. I hope Microsoft build on this, so that your suggestions would be completely possible. It would add a new dimension to Flight Simulator. In general, one could move around and enter and leave vehicles, rather like the F key found in many games. Another suggestion: provide a specific 'flight model' for ground vehicles, so you could drive to your aircraft, or even to the airport! There are numerous add-on cars etc but their 'flight models' are completely unrealistic. Best regards, Chris

Absolutely right. I love the viewpoint controls in FU3 because each one has a separate key command.....F2....VFR CockpitF3....IFR CockpitF4....Virtual CockpitF5....External camera (joystick hat switch/keypad keys allow full range of movement left/right/up/down, and the Z and X keys are used for zoom in/out respectively)F8....Third person viewpoint (for want of a better term; above and slightly behind the plane)Chris Low.