FSX-WOW! YEEEHAAA

[michal 44]

>>are included in this version, it would be a HUGE step forward>in the series!!and I will be laughing.So here we are .. absolutely flat runways, visibility that jumps suddenly when crossing 10,000 ft, forests that are so dense that remind you of perma-frost latitudes yet we got Birds :-lolMichael J.

[michal 44]

>Yawn,>>FSX= FS9 + Bev, Ultimate Terrain, etc. I personally doubt Ultimate Terrain will be part of FSX. It is all about max eye-candy, accurate terrain is hardly a priority.Michael J.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/pmdg_744F.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[Jimmy Angel 19]

>I noticed the carefully-aligned autogen objects, too, but the>cynic in me immediately said "That could just be for this one>particular area - what about remote towns in Alaska, Africa or>Siberia?" In this sense judging autogen complexity on a global>scale based on these screenshots alone is a bit premature.Perhaps, but if we look at BEV as an example they have managed to line up autogen on the underlying textures just by defining the placement of autogen within each texture tile. This doesn't have to be placed by hand once you've defined the configuration of a texture tile (as far as I understand this bit of magic). There's nothing to preclude Microsoft from offering this level of detail worldwide if they do it right.

[Jimmy Angel 19]

>Yawn,>>FSX= FS9 + Bev, Ultimate Terrain, etc. >>Wake me up when Microsoft starts delivering Half Life 2 style>graphics for its flight simulator series. Wake me up when Half-Life 2 is able to present a seamless world encompassing the entire globe without any loading screens and from altitudes of thousands of feet.I'd sure like to see that.Apples/Oranges.

[michal 44]

>* Water textures are maybe a bit glossy for my taste, but>certainly a big improvement over FS9 default.Water textures (I mean waves) look great, but I agree about too much gloss, on top of that the water colors are awful ('neon' like). Hopefully this is something they will be working on. They should go to FlightScenery guys for a lesson on how to render water.Michael J.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/pmdg_744F.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[Guest JoJoDawg]

Well first someone taking the screenshots needs learn to use a little lets say AA. :) Geez!! I had to really not focus on the stairway to heaven jaggies all over the place and focus on the real meat of the shots.Second I wish some would see the potenial that we can accomplish with some of the things like the birds and animals. I predict(I can see already in my mind whats to come). This is what's going to happen, mark my words the first ;). Since animals are ai and we probably will be able to control them just like (or better)our ai planes now, we will be able to create oh lets hmmm see auto traffic yeah and have them able to move in pattern determined by time. I see it now leaving O'hare at 5:00p.m. and seeing the morning rush hour driving home. Landing in NY at 2:00a.m. and there's hardly any traffic on the roads. That would make my jaw snap in half. How about taking the birds and making them into shooting stars that would be neat to see on a long haul.I know these are just beginning shots, but these are opinions on the shots not on the final product. Ok now what I like about the shots.The lighting looks wonderful. It really adds a lot to the relism of what we see in the world. The roads look great, they seem to be a little better on the size. I've always found the roads to be too small.The water looks outstading in most of the shots, except of shot fsx25. The plane looks amazing but that water is horrible. I like how you tring to reflect in the water, but up past the nose of the plane looks like someone just dumped buckets of paint in the water. Havn't seen water climbing shots yet either, you know the ones were the water is rock climbing.The textures on the planes looks really amazing. I think I'm going to love the bumpmapping to death. Those helo shots look so freaking awesome. Fsx023,029 and 022 are my favorites shots.The bad: In the distance shots look blurry still. I hope this is fixed, I absolutly can not stand this right now on my pc. Autogen looks as if it fades away too fast. Speaking of autogen, I see lightposts in a shot, I hope there's a surprise in night lighting. What's the distortion in the shot with the 747? Is it rain boucing off the pavement or just a graphics goof?Clouds look bland, but I'm not worried about that, just the impact on FPS. I have AS to solve the clouds problems.LoL the railroad tracks don't line up at all on one shot.The shadows at the port are bad, they don't project on the nearby boxes. I assume this is probably going to be fixed with dx10.Well that's about it for now. To me the sim looks incredible for just being in its midway stage. Some shots look like they were from earlier on in developement and some later. There looks like some tweaks need to be done and I'm sure they will be done. I just can't wait for it... My upgrade now has to be put off till the end of this year and that my friend is a long ways away.Thanks Microsoft FS team for the wet dreams for the rest of the year, and oh yeah for starting about a million fights on the forums :(p.s. Don't be late with FSX it better be out by Thankgiving. GO BETA TEAMs...I'm tired...

[willywonka 36]

There are a LOT of details you guys may be missing, like the glowing beacon light... :)I'm waiting to see:Airport environmentNight environmentHigh-altitude shotsI hope my add ons work. No matter how good the default is, I'll still install Flight Environment, Ultimate Terrain (face it, **NOTHING** beats UT's night lighting... at least).

[Guest JoJoDawg]

I also like how in shot fsx011 there looks like a sail mast sticking out of the water. Might want to tell Magnum P.I. to go out there and fecth them. :)

[bkircher 0]

look at this!!http://www.simflight.com/~reviews/com-FSX-...ght2_resize.jpg

[ibanez737 3]

I've looked at all of the screenshots and info about FSX that I could find so far, and this is what I've come up with. Feel free to add on or correct me:GRAPHICAL IMPROVEMENTS:*Aircraft cast shadows on themselves (see pic. 29 at Avsim). Other objects do not appear to do this (yet).*Bumpmaps allow for much greater detail (rivets, seams, etc.)*Sun bloom effect*Improved dynamic shine looks amazing. Includes shine on wet tarmac during rain.*Water has real-time reflections of landforms, objects, clouds, sky color, you name it :) and much more detailed waves.*Questions: Will there be heat shimmer? I wouldnt be surprised to see it in the final product, but I dont see it in the pictures. Also, it would be awesome to see the jet or propwash on the water with the wet tarmac. Please?OBJECTS:*AUTOGEN:-trees are full 3D, have immensely improved variation, have realistic density, and the tropical foliage has apparently been completely overhauled (something I am very happy about)-Buildings are greatly improved, more detailed, and more dense.-The streets (at least the freeways) HAVE FREAKIN' 3D CARS ON THEM!!!! (the picture of this is on www.simflight.com, not AVSIM!!!) I'm pretty sure they will only be visible at close range (LOD system), should make approaches in urban areas very cool! And fun to race in the Piper Cub*Boats, ships, etc. look lots better, but they are not necessarily AI*BIRDS!!! Dunno if there are other animals. But take a look at pic 29 on AVSIM. Are those feathers behind the plane??}( Apparently there was a dolphin in the video MS showed, but I have a feeling that may be part of the special "mission" scenery involving the yacht (I somehow dont think the yacht and dock is autogen). I doubt dolphins will be appearing all over the place. But it's not like they do in real life anyway, so Im not complaining.TERRAIN:*NEW HIGHER RESOLUTION GROUND TEXTURES!! Looks about 2 meters per pixel or so, as opposed to the 4.8 limit now used. This allows for much better low-and-slow VFR flying. This means roads, traintracks, everything that you see on the ground will not look like %#$@ anymore when you are below 3000 ft. or so*It looks like mesh has been significantly updated. Maybe they're using SRTM??? (Around 70m accuracy for all you non-mesh junkies.) In short: Bumpy ground will be cooler looking.*ROADS AND COASTLINES ARE ACCURATE FINALLY!!! It looks as though MS used GPS data for the roads, coastlines, lakes, rivers, etc; much like Ultimate Terrain. (Whether the cool night lights will be present remains to be seen:) ) I don't know whether this is just in the US or worldwide, lets keep our fingers crossed for worldwide :-jumpyGAMEPLAY:*All I know about this so far (from the Q&A) is that there will be "missions" and things to do, and improved multiplayer of some sort. By God, the possibilities are endless... see the pic of the Maule in the mountains with the camping gear!! Rescue missions with a helicopter perhaps? Search and rescue? Bush flying is going to be unreal...SKY:*Not much seems to be changed here. The clouds at sunset look a little better, but to be honest the sky looks a little too bright. Not something that couldnt be fixed with some replacement textures, which Im sure will show up within weeks of the release... But please MS, work on making the sky look a little more real, especially during sunset and sunrise. How 'bout sun rays between clouds when moisture is in the air? ;-) If clouds could cast shadows on each other, that would make me go bananas. It would probably fry my CPU too though...NEW AIRCRAFT:*Maule*Ultralight*DeHavilland Beaver (see shadow in AVSIM pic #26)*Grumman Goose (its not a Widgeon)*747-8?? (just revealed by Boeing in real life). Model does not appear to be done yet, note missing nose gear in Avsim pic #27.*Updated Aircraft:-Cessna 172 has new model and textures-Bell 206 has new textures, maybe new modelThat's about all I got, people. Overall, I can't wait for this game. Those of you who cannot see the difference with the graphics, just take a little longer look (or get your eyes checked out:)) The new gameplay I believe will add immensely to the quality of the sim; for the first time you will be flying with a purpose in mind (from a non-airline standpoint anyways.) For those of you who hope to find all of the functions of an airliner fully operational out of the box, I do not believe that will happen. People get paid $150,000 a year to know how all that stuff works in real life, those of you who hope to duplicate it all in a sim are probably few and far between, but the additional addons taht will surely appear will make you happy, as they have done for FS2004. And now... Start Waiting!!! (and saving money for your upgrades....):(-Scott Armstrong

[Guest United]

I have not, nor do I intend on reading all the comments above; all that prelim. eyecandy means nothing to me if there is not a decent ATC system including voice activation built into FSX. I dont care about progressive training, I need a good ATC system. I dont need experimental aircraft, I need a good ATC system; I dont care about that Boeing 707 (or whatever it is), I need a good ATC system. I dont care about shiny tarmac with rain, I need a good ATC System. Active Sky already has pretty weather and colors, I need a good ATC system. And NO, Im not talking about RC4.0 or even Voc ATC, FSX needs a much better base system.Randy Jura, KPDX

[Guest pixelpoke_from_MSFT]

All I can comment on are the textures:All the shots show generic terrain textures except the shot of the Seattle waterfront (with the Amphib aircraft). All other shots (seattle area shots included) are of generic terrain textures. Cheers,Jason

[ibanez737 3]

One more thing to add... Let's all hope that FS retains it's realistic, true "simulation" tendancy despite possibly being developed also for the Xbox 360. (Has anyone heard any concrete evidence on this?? I'm still not convinced...) I was slightly disappointed to see the Microsoft guy demonstrate flying the helicopter with an Xbox 360 controller, but that's expected I guess, being made by Microsoft...

[Guest midibyte01]

Ever hear of VATSIM?

[edetroit 935]

And I need a useable EPR variable ... have I said that before? :-bigangel

regardsEd

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v640/edetroit100/edley.gifAMD Athlon 64 3500+, 1024Mb PC3200 DDR, 300Gb HD 128Mb DDR Nvidia 6600GT PCI Express, Audigy 2 ZSCH Products Yoke, Pedals and Throttle Quadrant