HiTo me the most amazing feature of FSX are the Missions! No more boring flying around. This feature makes FSX so much more enjoyable now. And take my word that Payware and freeware developers are going to have a ball with this.Stelios

For me its the feeling of being in a real plane when turning from base to final. There's a real dynamism to the air mass that was missing from FS9 that actually affects how the response of the aircraft `feels` even when the controls aren't moved. And that is just like it is in the real world where constant small corrections always follow any change in attitude and outside factors have a constant impact on the airframe.However, to make the fluidity work right I find that you need at least 25fps, better 30 or more, when lots of things seem to `come together` to work as a whole. I have to have autogen off to get those frame rates, which eats into the realism when you are close to the ground, so its still a compromise. Kind of lends a lie to the `excuse` about 15 fps being enough! :)Allcott

> No more boring flying around. Well, I would have to admit that, in all honesty, I have thoroughly enjoyed the last twenty three years of boredom and am looking forward to more of the same :-)

just flying around from point "A" to Point "B" is what we do in real aircraft on real flights. If you treat a simulator session like a real flight, from flight planning , weather , checklists , navigation, the last thing you need is " game like missions , I for one want keep this a simulator and not a console game.There is plenty to do and loads of fun just fying .Allan "Seahawk"

The difference is the missions can interject the aliveness and unplanned variables that can and usually do happen on a real flight. Of course some of the missions are gamey (pun intended), but some also increase the realism greatly. I can't wait till a series of real life flight stories like the "I learned about flying from that" section in flying magazine, start to make their appearance.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

>I have to have autogen off>to get those frame rates, which eats into the realism when you>are close to the ground, so its still a compromise. Kind of>lends a lie to the `excuse` about 15 fps being enough! :)This is purely down to personal preference isn't it. Yes, we would all like a zillion fps, but we have to tune to what is good for each of us.I find 15fps to still be smooth, so I increase settings to get the more believable view I am after. I fix fps at 20, because that is the compromise I find works best. I find an increase in fps but decrease in visual quality doesn't give me what I want - it is not an 'excuse', but what I require as a simmer.Ray Keattch.

>just flying around from point "A" to Point "B" is what we do>in real aircraft on real flights.> If you treat a simulator session like a real flight, from>flight planning , weather , checklists , navigation, the last>thing you need is " game like missions , I for one want keep>this a simulator and not a console game.>There is plenty to do and loads of fun just fying .>Allan "Seahawk">Have you actually tried the missions? If "yes" then, fair enough, you don't have to like them. If "no" then perhaps you should try to see FS from a slightly different perspective and do something that you might not normally consider. Try something new and perhaps be surprised.

>>I have to have autogen off>>to get those frame rates, which eats into the realism when>you>>are close to the ground, so its still a compromise. Kind of>>lends a lie to the `excuse` about 15 fps being enough! :)>>This is purely down to personal preference isn't it. Yes, we>would all like a zillion fps, but we have to tune to what is>good for each of us.>>I find 15fps to still be smooth, so I increase settings to get>the more believable view I am after. I fix fps at 20, because>that is the compromise I find works best. I find an increase>in fps but decrease in visual quality doesn't give me what I>want - it is not an 'excuse', but what I require as a simmer.>>Ray Keattch.I think you missed the point I was making Ray. At 30 fps the sim is of course smooth, but there is a definite improvement in the way the aircraft responds. If you think about it the reason is obvious. If the math calculations are done only 15 times a second then the gaps between the calculations (the ones that render the `environment`) are twice as far apart. Regardless what is being claimed for smoothness at lower fps, I suspect that FSX is just like the previous version - only at its best when the fps is at 25fps and above.You can try this for yourself and see if you see the difference - or rather `feel` the difference. Create a saved profile that ensures you can maintain 30fps (it doesn't matter how you set the visuals to achive this, that's not the purpose of this test). This is NOT a graphics issue, this is one of those mysterious processes that are constantly filling the CPU time behind the scenes. You know, the ones that can't be dual-cored or shared ;)They are better at 30fps than they are at 15. If the sim was optimised for 15 as some have claimed, then there should be no difference. But there is: A discernible difference.Allcott

>I find 15fps to still be smooth, so I increase settings to get>the more believable view I am after. I fix fps at 20, because>that is the compromise I find works best. I find an increase>in fps but decrease in visual quality doesn't give me what I>want - it is not an 'excuse', but what I require as a simmer.I know what Alcott means. Now I'll make a very provocative statement: I'd call people willing to compromise to fly at 15 FPS "eye-candier" and not "simmers". :-sae Marco

and please don't forget that FSX is a game. A very enjoyable game!!!Stelios

I agree.I never had so much fun (or is it stress?) landing during the monsoon @ Singapore. First time i headed in = missed runway and crashed. Second time it went well.. From that i went to the mission where you should land in the snowstorm (skitrip thing), much more fun than the regular "lets fly the 747 half across the globe" flights i would otherwise do.Some of the more advanced missions are too easy. At least for me. The test pilot mission is quite easy, including the ending which i will not tell about here. And the "Secret Shuttle" mission is a perfect balance between ordinary bussdriver vs sightseeing... (take a guess)Some missions are not what they say they are. The descriptions may sound like a routine mission, but you are usually in for a surprise. "Limited Opions" was fun in this way (I was like "oh craaap!" :D)Unfortunately, i ran into one or two bugs while playing one mission, but if you just continue and try to fulfill the mission objective (ignoring the details) then you will complete the mission anyway.I also found that it was possible to cheat by not doing certain things, in some missions - but i'm not going to tell how.And the awards, medals, photos, wings... they really spice up the game and i want more of them! (done about half now, guess i have to learn how to make my own.)Some of the awards are not as impressive as the others (like a buss ticket), but some are rather nice to have.(Got them all attached so if you are curious, take a peak. If you dont want to spoil the surprise, do not click the attachement. I have moved around the text so that them would take up less space and fit on a smaller image.)

Well I fly for real for the "eye candy" when I can-and yes sometimes in the sim I will turn everything up to accept less than ifr smoothness to enjoy the visuals...there is a big world in the sim to explore-and sometimes it is more about exploring and enjoying these visuals. So sometimes I turn the sliders down (and have a config file saved for this) to do super realistic flying in real weather and clouds. Other times I turn the scenery way up and enjoy the visual experience and accept less smoothness. In fact I have about 5 saved configs to quickly switch between different flying experiences.The sim can't do all at the same time with todays hardware-that is the compromise. I think it just has to be approached that way. I've had the same challenge with every other version-except I used to be able to upgrade my hardware at the time and take care of the problem somewhat...http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

If you haven't checked out fsxmisioon.com run over there. I got the Argentine mission last night-some of the most spectacular scenery/weather I have seen in any sim and great fun. I see a new one is up today-smuggling in British Columbia-can't wait to give it a try.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

Allan,I agree with you. A real life like planning makes regular fsim flying mission like. The only thing that has been missing is probability of failure parameter. The Failure option that you have to set youself in fsim thats applicable only to that flight...just about kills it..cause then you end up anticipating failure. What we need is a low probability setting somewhere like in the cfg that we can set and forget about. A failure should happen once every 30 flights or maybe even higher. Then..there is this background subconscious uncertanity that adds to realisim.I know there was an addon called "ALERT" I believe...Not sure if they are still in business.Manny

Coolness! Thanks :)http://www.fsxmission.com/ = *bookmarked*