I am EXTREMELY disappointed with Microsofts decisionto abandon the ability to add "fixed windows" whenusing 2D panels. Basically we are stuck with the VCviews for anything but the main panel! In the case of the default DC-3 the VC isn't even acomplete cockpit! It's chopped off behind the pilot'sseats if you move your eye-point back to get a viewof more of the panel. And slew the VC view up andyou're greeted with a very clunky looking array ofwhat I assume are supposed to be bat-handle switches.It'd be nice to be able to read the ledgends on them.The elimination of 2D views with photorealistic BMP'smeans that many FS9 aircraft that are imported to FSXwill have nothing but a wide open view of space whenlooking anywhere but forward. Case in point, FSDZignsL049 Connstellation. I've brought it into FSX with theonly problem being that I no longer feel like I'm inthe cockpit due to the lack of side/back and forward-left/right BMP's.In FS9 I rarely used VC's since to me, most are toocartoon'ish. They do nothing to suspend disbelief.On many of the FS9 aircraft that did have VC's, I disabled them and installed fixed windows withphotorealistic BMP's. Now, the ability to customizeone's cockpit environment is essentially gone forthe majority in favor of some grandious multi-cameraenvironment. I understand it is difficult to design a VC and have the artwork approach a photoreal quality but it would be nice if we hadn't been forced to accept this less-than-photoreal solution with no other options! Just tossingout the 2D panel bone isn't satisfactory.I spend almost my entire time in the cockpit, not in seat 19A or in a chase plane or other point in thesimulated world and I'd like that cockpit to at leastbe close enough, visually, to the "real thing" thatI can believe I'm in a cockpit, not some Renoir-depiction of one. I can live, for now, with poor frame rates since Iknow that in the future I can rectify that with a hardware upgrade but there is nothing that I can doto rectify the poor depictions of a panel and cockpitenvironment as it exists in the FSX VC's. The B747-400is a joke, and that's with Ultra-High resolution selectedand my display at 1280x960, and the CRJ's not much better.In fact, I've yet to find an FSX included aircraft thatI wish to fly using the VC...not one.So, in my estimation Microsoft PORKED the entire cockpit view situation and that, by far, is the most disappointingfeature of FSX for me. Paul

I simply couldn't disagree with you more with regard to this.And the fact that you can use the mouse to look around and zoom in on stuff too means that they make 2D cockpit panels look like a joke in comparison.

I think it is also bad, and the sound does not sound the best, likethe in on FS2004 I bet we have a large patch for FSX in six months.I spend more time changing setting in the game then flying the sim.

To the contrary, the sound is leaps and bounds ahead of FS9. Fire up FS9 and listen to the AI traffic taking off. Oh that's right, you can't. Listen to the doppler effect of each, then post the results.-Jeremy Burchhttp://home.earthlink.net/~dawgfighter/sit...es/swvasig1.gifSWVA4806 http://www.virtualswa.com/home.phpThe Ozark Dogfighter http://forums.avsim.net/images/wedge.gifCurrent system:Pentium 4 Cedar Mill 641 (3.40GHz), Abit AW8D, Gigabyte GeForce 7900GTX (512MB DDR3 PCI-Express x16),Corsair XMS2 Pro 2GB PC2 6400 (DDR2 800), 2 SeaGate Barracuda 250GB hard drives, Sound Blaster X-Fi PlatinumKlipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 speakers, NEC 20" CRT, Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2Please note: System specs are for reference in tech forums only and are not to be taken as meaning anything else.Doing so will result in eye-rolling, possible teeth grinding and perhaps mild internal chuckling.Happy Flying!

For the anti-VC, I give you one word. TrackIR4Pro (I think that's one word...)

>(I think that's one word...)If'n it ain't, we'll make 'er so!-Jeremy Burchhttp://home.earthlink.net/~dawgfighter/sit...es/swvasig1.gifSWVA4806 http://www.virtualswa.com/home.phpThe Ozark Dogfighter http://forums.avsim.net/images/wedge.gifCurrent system:Pentium 4 Cedar Mill 641 (3.40GHz), Abit AW8D, Gigabyte GeForce 7900GTX (512MB DDR3 PCI-Express x16),Corsair XMS2 Pro 2GB PC2 6400 (DDR2 800), 2 SeaGate Barracuda 250GB hard drives, Sound Blaster X-Fi PlatinumKlipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 speakers, NEC 20" CRT, Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2Please note: System specs are for reference in tech forums only and are not to be taken as meaning anything else.Doing so will result in eye-rolling, possible teeth grinding and perhaps mild internal chuckling.Happy Flying!

is it just me oris it almost impossible to click buttons and adjust the autopilot in vc-mode ?sometimes you hit the "-" somtimes the "+" and the "head-movement" doesnt make things easier...i tried FSX for 1 or 2 hours and never used it again...

Yeah well you're entitled to your opinion. As to the "suspension of disbelief", I think it's more lacking in 2D cockpits purely because they're just that, 2D!LOLJames

Yes I am disappointed also.... but I will not slag off FSX or VC's like the other children in this post! :-roll

regardsEdaka Capt. P[/font color]i[/font color]c[/font color]a[/font color]s[/font color]s[/font color]o[/font color]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v640/edetroit100/eddd2.jpgMy FS9 Videos] AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 1024Mb PC3200 DDR, 300Gb HD 256Mb DDR Nvidia 7800 GTX PCI-E, Audigy 2 ZSCH Products Yoke, Pedals and Throttle Quadrant[/font color

I agree with ONE point you make in the post:Aces cut some corners in the VCs where they shouldn't have. When I fly online with someone in a shared plane, I always take the appropriate seat in the cockpit: if I'm the co-pilot, I sit in the right seat.Many of the VCs have "holes" in them in places which someone sitting in the captain's seat wouldn't see (like the right side of the center pedestal, or the left wall of the door alcove), but these are painfully obvious to a co-pilot.I can't imagine that removing these polygons and their textures has improved the game's performance any in the grand scheme of things. FSX is a demanding application and a couple of VC textures won't make a difference one way or another, especially since these particular textures could theoretically have been mirrored copies of the texture on the "other side".It would still be a lot better than looking down at the pedestal and seeing the ocean below.. I bet that would cause some concerns in the flight crew of ANY real-world plane ;)

>is it just me or>>is it almost impossible to click buttons and adjust the>autopilot in vc-mode ?>>sometimes you hit the "-" somtimes the "+" and the>"head-movement" doesnt make things easier...>>i tried FSX for 1 or 2 hours and never used it again...Well, guess you should have spent some time reading the manuals before you gave up mate. You would have discovered that Shift+O locks the mouse in mouse look mode, or] you can press and hold the space bar to activate the mouse look mode temporarily, allowing you to pan and zoom on the autopilot. Release the space bar and the mouse returns to normal function. This is why Active Camera is not being ported to FSX. The function is already there!The space bar also functions to unlock the shift+o mode, so you actually have the best of all worlds - press & hold the spacebar and move the in-cockpit view using the mouse, zooming in on the autopilot, then release the space bar and use the mouse normally to make changes. Or use Shift+O to lock the mouse view mode for general looking out the window and just press the space bar once to return the mouse to normal function.And you can bring up the 2d version with Shift+2 and make the changes from there.Probably for the best that you put it back in its box, I reckon.But there are a lot of people making tha mistake. Anyone found the clever little trick for the 2d panel view yet? Guess not, judged by the number of posts from people unable to see over the nose. (Clue: in 2d panel, use the numpad Del key to restore the `straightahead` view, or the hatswitch forward on the stick to dip the field of view to look `over the nose`). Far too many people are familiar with FS9 and make the mistake of assuming that FSX is the same. Its not. Many new key options have been used, many have changed, and some of the `old` options don't do quite the same thing as before. Use the Learning Centre. It is your friend!Allcott

i think you people are nuts. i think the VC are excellent. the 737-800 is absolutely awesome! it looks stunningly realistic and sharp. the only difficulty is its sometimes hard to turn nobs etc.i used to only fly in 2d mode but in the new sim i havent left the VC. great job ACES.

>For the anti-VC, I give you one word. TrackIR4Pro (I think>that's one word...)>And just what would that do for the cartoon'ish renditionsof cockpits that seem to be the VC norm?That's the issue I have...being left witout an alternativeother than no BMP's other than the forward direction.VC's just do not float my boat no matter how easy itis to pan around them...they're just plain ugly! Paul

To me that picture looks very cartoonish. :-wavehttp://www.scandicair.com/images/sa_banner.gifFSX..:-hmmm...nah.. Still happy without it!! :-hahMy specs are:Dell Dimension 4600 P4/2.8 at 3.0 Ghz1024 Mb DDR333 Dual channel memory (2x256,1x512)AGP 256 Mb ATI Radeon X850 Pro ViVo, flashed to a X850 XT PE. Omega 2.6.87 (CAT 5.12)DirectX 9.0cW XP Home with SP2E171FPb Flat panel monitor 17"370Gb HD (120 GB Maxtor, 250GB Samsung) 7200rpm ATA Lacie 250Gb Extern HDMy work:http://library.avsim.net/search.php?CatID=...&Go=Change+View

I'll hop in on yet another 2d,3d discussion. I think Aces have upped the ante on some of these vc's. There just as good as some of the payware VC's available for FS9 and the A cycle button is just what I needed, especially for those hard to see light buttons on the 172.2D has always been just that. The ability to "look" around the cockpit and pan is well worth the loss, if any, of resolution in a 3d cockpit. I love the head movement, especially when gunning or cutting the throttle pushing you back or forward. It's these little touches that add to the immersion of the 3d cockpit. Now if someone could come up with some VR goggles for under 100 bucks I'll be good to go.But that is a personal preference so 2d folks will have to adjust unfortunately. Maybe some of the talented 3rd party folks will rectify the situation.Ian.