While it a bit of a shame that there is apparently no option of having 2D side/rear view bitmaps, in my opinion, the new FSX VC views more than compensate; they add an extra element of depth to the side views.i was never a fan of VC's in FS9, but I must admit that the FSX versions are changing my opinion! I love the head movement effect as the aircraft accelerates, and meets turbulence, etc...and this time, most of the default VC's match the 2D panels; except for the 747...this looks to be a lazy port of the FS2002/2004 panels and the 2D bitmap is significantly different to the VC that it breaks the immersion when switching between them. The Airbus, 737, and CRJ which I have flown mostly so far look excellent in VC mode; far better than any of those defaults from FS9, so personally, I'm not worried by the new style of cockpit design.I look forward to an FSX A319/320 with VC being developed, but on the whole I'm very happy with the supplied A321, and 737 models, and eagerly await the forthcoming repaints, and so won't be so worried about trying to import all the old FS9 favourites just yet!Any problems with operating any of the controls in VC mode, then I just use the F10 shortcut to the 2D view, then F9 back to the VC....!

>>This game is different things to different people, and your>concerns are perfectly valid. >>All I can say - Given a strong feature set and a fully>enclosed environ, you CAN make the transition to VC, but it>takes a little time when you are used to 2d bitmaps. I thought>the LDS 767 and PMDG 744 VCs were a little cartoonish at>first :-lol but systems fidelity and the ability to interact>totally won me over.>>The only cure for 2d photos of actual cockpits is 'out of>sight out of mind' Get yourself well designed fully functional>VC aircraft as aircraft you like become available for FSX, and>perhaps you too can make the move?>>>regards,>Mark>http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpg>XPHomeSP2/FS9.1/3.2HT/1024mb/X700pro256 Well, unfortunately MS left no options for us "2D cockpit" people. We will have to "adjust". As to finding a "well designed fully functional VC aircraft", the only ones I flew regularly in FS9 were done by David Maltby. I have over 700 aircraft in my FS9 inventory so I really doublt that I'm going to find even 70 "well designed fully functional VC aircraft" any time in the forseeable future. My bigest #### is that MS didn't give "us" any options. They just flat removed the ability to have bitmaps in the views other that forward and, as I discovered when tweaking my L-188 panel, foward_up. All others are either VC generated or wide open "windows". It's great if you are satified with the quality of VC's but I am not and it's my personal preference to go "2D". Thank goodness I have the hard drive space to retain my four FS9 installs along with FSX. But should the day come when I start running out of room, FSX will "go" before any of my FS9 installs! Paul

>I really do not know what is wrong with you people .... some>like 2D panels some like VC's.>>Why you have to fight or prove that one must be better than>the other I do not know.>>Enjoy flying whichever way you like!>>

>regards>>Ed>-SNIP- Well Ed, that's the crux of the issue I have....I can no longer enjoy flying in my preffered "2D" cockpit world...MS eliminated most of it in FSX. To ejoy "my world" I go back to FS9 where I can tweak/adjust/customize the cockpit environment to my liking without having to resort to designing my own aircraft model in GMAX. I just can't believe that the "old" [Fixed Windowxx] capabilities of FS9 needed to be removed for any good reason. Paul

I just hope that someone will come up with a fixed-wingview tweak like in FS9 (where u can use the numpad keys). A fellow Avsimmer did tell me that there is an SDK on Disc 1 that lets u create your own camera views. I wonder if it will be possible to make them a/c-specific.Apart from that its hard not to be impressed with FSXs VCs even though Im not a fan of VCs. I like the 737NG cockpit a lot :) They have done the glass reflections well dont you think!Im getting dreadful performance though, I have to fly in clear weather with the sliders at very low level :(What a demanding & expensive hobby PC gaming is! Graphics cards & CPUS that are brilliant when u buy em are obsolete and slow when you unpack them at home...awaaaaaaaaaa!! Early days early days...lets just trundle around and enjoy the new sim :)

I just want you to know ...you will not be on your own Paul.I am very happy flying FS9 for the forseeable future.If and when I decide to move to FSX I hope I will have learnt how to make my own VC's. :)

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

What are you doing in the FSX forums? We already know you don't like it. Others do like it, so get over it already.James

I have to say, I am not a 3D panel only pilot either... YET. The ease of functions in 2D panel are practical, and the 3D views are mostly eye candy for me. I've been flying the Captain Sim C-130, and have to go into the 3D for some functions, but cannot read all the gauges in there. The problem is 3D panels seems to be a little more blurry than the 2D. And we are gonna find some 3D's great and some a joke. But I trust they will get better. I do agree, they should not have taken out the ability for those that like 2D only, but it's time to move on guys. I'm learning to like 3D.The only thing I don't like, is the keyboard paning in 3D. I can't get the views to snap like it does in 2D. If I had that, I'd be happy. I've changed all the settings in controls, but it won't work. If anyone knows how to change that, please let me know.JimNevermind, I found it.

The good thing I like is the cycle view function in the 3d panel, especially for those pesky light switches underneath the yoke. It's not the snap left or right view but it replaces manually zooming in all the time to look at the radio, light switches etc...Ian.

>I just can't believe that the "old" [Fixed Windowxx]>capabilities of FS9 needed to be removed for any good reason. Paul, tdragger explained this already. In order to build the new camera system the old system HAD to be scrapped. There simply was no way for them to coexist.

I use the VC about 90% of the time in FS9. Some of my payware planes have beautiful VCs.Sometimes though when things get really busy during an IFR flight I will switch to the 2D view because things are not moving around so much and it is easier to focus on the gauges and radios.My VFR Flight are almost strictly VC with TrackIR.Since I don't have the full FSX program I can't speak for most of the planes, but from the FSX Demo, the Baron 58 VC panel looks like crap compared to the Dreamfleet Baron 58 payware model for FS9. The Dreamfleet Baron also has a vastly better flight model than the FSX Baron. Another good looking VC is the Aerosoft payware Piper Cheyenne for FS9; it is absolutely gorgeous.Hopefully those models will be updated for FSX. The added CPU load may be a problem though until faster computer hardware is developed.RonP.S.I have absolutely no affiliation with the above payware companies. The opinion of their products is mine alone.

>>>I just can't believe that the "old" [Fixed Windowxx]>>capabilities of FS9 needed to be removed for any good reason.>>>Paul, tdragger explained this already. In order to build the>new camera system the old system HAD to be scrapped. There>simply was no way for them to coexist.I did run across that post, Bill. But as I said, I just can'tbelieve the two could not co-exist. To me, an old ( very old )hardware/firmware type, it's just not logical for some reason :)And I don't think I'll very be satisfied with the new systemunless each and every new FSX aircraft comes with a VC thatis equal or better than, say, Maltby's HS748 for one. I just can't get turned on by switches that look like they are onsteroids and me, the viewer, is on acid. Paul

My main problem is that in VC, you don't get as many gauges displayed, and have to constantly look down. In a real plane, your eyeballs do allot of the movement to glance down and you don't need to move your head as much. Not saying you don't move your head in a real plane, but the 3D view, you have to move your view, then reset constantly. If you zoom out, you lose readablitiy of gauges, then it looks like you are sitting in the back seat. If you lower your seat, then you can't see over the nose. Without spending big bucks on IRtrack or whatever, which I don't have, the 2D view is still a must have. Alot more in a single view in the 2D. And this hobby should not be a money pit. I certainly like the 3D, and yes I uses it. But also switch to 2D during critical phases of flight. In the Captain Sim C-130, MANY guages are lost in the view in 3D and are difficult to read, and only go in there for certain non critical functions. There is no reality to it, because it takes alot of view commands to get what I need to get to, and in the real thing, you just reach for it. I'd rather have a quick pop up window, click it, then pop the window off. And this my friends, is all about opinion. Some love VC only, and some don't.

>>>I just can't believe that the "old" [Fixed Windowxx]>>capabilities of FS9 needed to be removed for any good reason.>>>Paul, tdragger explained this already. In order to build the>new camera system the old system HAD to be scrapped. There>simply was no way for them to coexist. Thanks for the information Bill. I perfer 2 D myself but could care less for the side views since I am more interested in the main 2 D panels for instruments ( 2 D is better at FPS here still). Sure it would have been nice to have both but I understand why they cannot now.. Best,Randy J. Smith<<>>

It's not that they couldn't. After all, anything's possible with computer programming, right? It's just that when we "disassembled" the FS2004 camera system it was deemed too costly to build *everything* back into the new system. We had to make tradeoffs based on user scenarios and, sorry to say, sideview usage is pretty small comparatively.

I fly mostly VFR flights, I'm in traffic patterns constantly. I used to be a 2D only. But the head latency at least makes you feel like you are moving inside the plane, and after fixing the 3D to snap instead of pan on the keyboard, while still being able to pan with the hat switch.... I've got the best of both worlds where I like it. Since the 2D panels seems to put a larger, or higher image of the panel, it's harder to see the ground. Rather than adjusting that, I decided to just get used to the 3D. I find myself in the 3D most of the time, only switching to 2D for clicking switches. But guys, I'm still working on the transition here.One thing that would make this nicer, is to be able to set my view down a notch or 2. Not sitting further down, just looking down a little. I use the pan down, but every time I look around, resetting the view means I still have to adjust the look down. I don't want to lower my seat because then I see less over the nose.So is there any way to set that view down in .cfg files somewhere? I'd like to do it across the board, not just in each aircraft.Jim