I'm done

[Guest Mr Chips]

Bob,If you're like me, then it'll take more than 6 months to get your enthusiasm back, more like 1-2 years. But I think it is healthier to think in more permantent terms and then take it as it comes.

[Guest United]

Bob, You are so not done. Anyone who takes the time to write such a long post as you have about your frustrations with flight simming is just venting. Well, go ahead and vent, it's good for the soul. Somebody pointed out that you have posted something like 1600+ posts on this forum.......LOL....you know you have to be here and you have to fly, at least once in awhile. Yes, FS9 is not perfect by any means, neither will FX be. I anticipate getting really ###### at FX for things that were not fixed, but I'll not only buy FX, I'll patiently (or not so patiently) await FX updates of my favorite products. And for the record, when a guy is well and truly finished with software, he does not go and whine about it on a forum, he dumps it and moves on faster than a bit flying around a CPU.Best regards,Randy Jura, KPDX

[Dillon 2,197]

Bob you've made a smart choice... The few things I'm reading from people who've purchased and now hold the release version of FSX is leading me more than ever to believe it's a good time to take a break. Invest some time into other things in life as FSX will need plenty of time to mature on the market. I could see needing a new machine for any new version of FS but what FSX seems to require is insane. I'm curious to see how sceneries like FlyTampa and PMDG's birds run on a sim that barley performs with only a default install on most (common) machines. Some have the money to drop down $3,000 on a new Falcon/XPS system. Their performance won

[Toys_R_Us 0]

So you're done, So what ! Either you want the simulation and the costs associated with it, at it's finest, or you don't. It's a technological innovation. It's your life. I'm just not sure of the motives you have in making this rather pointless announcement to the world. Who cares what you like and don't like to do ? They're you own priorities to choose. So go choose a differnet one. Big deal.Bob (Lecanto, Fl)

[Dillon 2,197]

"Either you want the simulation and the costs associated with it, at it's finest, or you don't."Cost won't save you on this on Bob... Even the most expensive hardware on the market today won't get you all the selling features of FSX that supposedly put it so fare above FS9 visually. That argument worked back in the days of FS2k2 and FS Century of Flight (FS9), hardware existed that could run those sims at the time of their release...The verdict is still out, we'll see what the actual customers have to say that have FSX in hand...

[Guest Zevious Zoquis]

Anyone who's been around these forums and the FS community for a while probably has an uncanny sense of deja vu right about now. I mean I'm pretty sure if you fished around the archives for a few minutes you could find threads from around the time of each previous FS since FS2000 (actually, probably since FS98 even) that are almost verbatim copies of this one. Every release seems to create this teeth gnashing and fretting. Trust me, this too shall pass. In two years, people will be saying things like "who needs a new version. Now that FSX has been patched and the major problems have been taken care of, I can't see myself going through the old song and dance ever again." I still find it strange how different peoples experiences with FS9 (and with every version probably) have been though. I see so many threads that talk of a users frustration with the sim and how he's finally decided to re-install or reformat and start from scratch (sometimes for the umpteenth time even!) My own experience with the sim has been completely the opposite. I'm still running my original more than two-year-old install, I get great performance (on my crummy old P4-1.8ghz/GF4Ti4200 rig) in spite of the crazy amount of (payware and freeware) stuff I've installed (and I'm pretty obsessive about things like stutters and framerates). I can't recall ever having experienced a true CTD. There's been one or two occasions where the sim hasn't booted up properly after I installed something but those issues were quickly and painlessly resolved after a quick visit to this or some other forum where the solution was inevitably already posted. Now don't get me wrong, I've done a lot of tweaking over the years, but that's something I'm completely accustomed to since I play all sorts of different games - in fact, I've come to actually enjoy the process. It's certainly not detracted from my enjoyment of the sim in general. I think ones frustration will be hugely compounded if they have unrealistic expectations though. This is an enourmously complex piece of software - probably the most complex I have on my system. Theres a ton of stuff going on while it's running and frankly I'm often astounded the thing works at all - especially considering we are talking about a $50 piece of entertainment software and not some $2000 CAD program or something. Given the nature of PCs and all the things that can go wrong with them from poorly designed/configured virus scanners and the malicious programs they are supposed to protect us from to user incompetence and everything in between, it's not surprising that problems occur. But I guess my experience might be evidence that those problems don't necessarily always originate from the sim itself...

[Guest Tingoose]

BobI'm with you. I've done the same thing. FS is a blessing and a curse depending on where you are in your life. Once I bit the bullet and uninstalled a bloated FS9 folder and stopped simming I discovered how much time I had been dedicating to something which I was finding,. . well. . . frustrating, meaningless and boring. . . sounds like an existential crisis doesn't it, except that simultaneously I remembered all the other things in life that I enjoy more and had somehow forgotten. There is something peculiarly addictive about FS but once I broke the habit I felt much freer. So for me it's a curse. For all you who find it a blessing I wish you well. Oddly enough, as I mentioned above, I still enjoy the lively disussions that go on in the forum especially now that FSX is stirring up so much debate. So maybe at some point I will return to the simming fold but not for a good while yet.

[Guest Zevious Zoquis]

I think you are mis-remembering. I seem to recall every bit as much consternation about FS9's performance at it's release as I'm seeing now with FSX.(btw, I too have no intention of making the jump to FSX for some time if ever. I'm happy with FS9. It does what I need it to do and looks great and runs great. But, I have no doubt FSX will grow to be a better and more impressive sim over the next few years. I'm just opting out for now which is of course a choice we are all entitled to make. Nobody is holding a gun to our heads...)

[Guest eashouse]

Kinda biding my time with FPS games 'til FSX comes out but I may not rush right out and buy it. Then again, I may - whatever floats my boat.Guess that's one of the good things about life - 'whatever'! ;)

[btacon 1,788]

Well said,bt

[Guest david W.]

>That argument worked back in the days of FS2k2 and>FS Century of Flight (FS9), hardware existed that could run>those sims at the time of their release...>If fact when FS9 first came out, the frame rates were terrible. It was a slide show on my computer at the time. Now with FSX Demo 1 & 2, it is pleasantly flyable on my old computer that is now 3 years old. Frames locked at 20, and get 20 unless viewing lots of trees etc it drops to 12-16.Have you investigated Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Its today's hardware that seems to run FSX very well with sliders very high. Several people have already posted regarding this.Another thing is that the forums are pretty quiet considering a number of people already now have FSX. I don't see tons of flaming posts yet regarding terrible frame rates, as was the case when FS9 came out.My guess is they are all too busy having fun flying in FSX.The doomsday posts all seem to be coming from those that don't have or don't want to get FSX.

[pbenoit 0]

Just a couple of thoughtsBob, congratulations on retirement!!!! (I'm insanely jealous!!!) and best wishes for success in the rest of your life!!!I gave up tweaking, worrying about stutters, frame rates, etc some time ago and really enjoy every opportunity to plan and fly!!! Even as a terrible cynic, I still see FS as the glass half full ... incredible software with incredible addons which allow me to do something I can't afford to do in real life ... all in the comfort of my own home!!!I guess like in the rest of non-FS life, it's all in the expectations!!!! Having been in the computer biz for 30+ (yikes) years now, I'm simply AMAZED that anything works!!!!Like some of you I have finally stopped buying "everything" .. I have no addon scenery, and other than adding a the awesome grounhandling gauge and Reality XP Weather radar where needed, I "tweak no more" ... I've stopped buying GA and BizJets because I never fly them ... however I did join a VA (FTG - Singapore Airlines) and find that it gives me some structure to what time I spend ... and I fly everything from ERJs and ATRs and Maddogs to all the Boeings and Airbuses all on real scheduled routes ... some fun for me!!! I go up and down in my "time spent" ... being at a down at the moment, but I'm sure the spirit will move me to a daily flight soon again!!! I use AS6, RC4, FSNav for moving map, FS FlightKeeper for logging and FDC for checklists and general ambiance ... and have a excellent experience almost every time!!!!The key is just doing ... not worrying about this and that ... realizing that it is software ... quite complicated ... and that for a few bucks I can sit in a 747 or MD80 and actually "fly" in my mind ... and suspend reality for a few minutes!!!!Cheers to everyone and again, Best Wishes to Bob!!!

[boshar 6]

The problem is that even a little autogen is unusable in the demo while in FS9 on the same machine you get perfectly good framerates with full autogen. I wouldn't be so quick to blame the demo or blame the unique setting of the demo. There are a lot of area's in the FS world that are thougher on the autogen used. We can only hope it is solved. I for one can't live without good autogen...

[Guest Boone]

Hi Bob, As a fellow musician I feel I can empathize with your statement. I was forced to temporarily give up FS9 in June of 2005 when I moved from Ireland to the U.S. My PC was old and it just wasn't worth bringing with me. Just as 'Dave - on the Devon Riviera' said, 'flight simming is addictive and there's no cure for it', I continued to read Avsim everyday and stay up to date with the latest and greatest addons. As time went by and plans for a new AlienWare killer PC, were repeatedly shelved, I realised that while I haven't been simming I've written more songs, spent more time with my wife and kids, watched more movies, read more books, walked further with the dog and have been getting to bed a whole lot earlier!Flight simming, I found, became an obsession. So much so that I'd think about it 24/7. When playing with my kids I'd be day dreaming about my next flight! I'd rush through story time with my daughter to get back into PMDG's 737NG (most of the time tweaking and doing everything possible to improve performance), foregoing a night with the misses, sipping wine and watching a movie in front of the fire and the eventual results(!). (Keep in mind my PC struggled to get any decent fps).I can't say that I'll never get back into it, infact I fully plan on doing so, but not perhaps as soon as I had intended. For me now there's too much going on outside of the 'cockpit' window.Finding the balance between Flight Sim and the real world is the key. The question is how do we - those with other interests and responsibilities who are flight sim nuts(!) - prevent it from becoming such an obesession?Cheers,(SONIC) BooneCurrently saving pennies for a new pooter for FSX (don't tell the misses!)

[Guest david W.]

>My own experience with the sim has been completely the>opposite. I'm still running my original more than>two-year-old install, I get great performance (on my crummy>old P4-1.8ghz/GF4Ti4200 rig) in spite of the crazy amount of>(payware and freeware) stuff I've installed (and I'm pretty>obsessive about things like stutters and framerates). I can't>recall ever having experienced a true CTD. There's been one>or two occasions where the sim hasn't booted up properly after>I installed something but those issues were quickly and>painlessly resolved after a quick visit to this or some other>forum where the solution was inevitably already posted.Same here. I still have my original install on my 3 year old computer. And it has lots of add-ons and scenery etc. No problems.On the other hand I know a guy who in the past 2 years has probably had to re-install about 10 times, his computer hard disk has crashed twice, his windows operating system has had to be re-loaded around 4 times. He is always downloading new aircraft and add-ons, many of which bomb his system. He has once or twice given me stuff that was suspect, so simply removed it. He just does too much tinkering, and tweaking which adds to the problem. He phoned me about a month back to ask if I had experienced problems downloading real world weather. I said I would let him know. The next day I rang him to let him know that the weather server had been down the whole weekend. Too late, he had already started re-installing FS9 as he thought there was a problem with it again.