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Relative newbie to civilian sims - comparisons to other Sims

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Hey all,

I'm quite new to civilian flight sims but have a fair number of hours on modules like the Huey, Mi8, F/A-18C and F-14A and B in DCS. I am curious, are the likes of PMDG, JustFlight and the upcoming Fenix regarded as roughly equals to the aircraft in DCS in terms of depth of simulation? I mean things like electrical systems, hydraulics, computer systems etc.

 

I'm not asking which is better at all of course, I'm just interested on a technical level about depth of simulation. I have and love both.

 

I guess it's more my inner-nerd being curious about what's going on below the hood of both.

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Yes for PMDG. 

Yes for JustFlight (although keep in mind they are considered medium-complexity). Some of their GA prop products have an addon called Reality Expansion Pack made by Simcoders which increases the complexity (and therefore realism) a lot, but it's available for X-Plane only.

No for Fenix because nobody except the beta testers have access to their stuff and I'm not one of them.

Be aware of the fact that an inaccurate environment will generate inaccurate results. MSFS 2020 flight model is very bad (according to my research and survey) and so is their default weather modelling. Therefore if you buy and put a Justflight or PMDG product in it, there will be times when the end result will be inaccurate, whereas in X-Plane 11 the same Justflight GA plane will be more accurate flight model wise. Of course if you don't care about accurate flight model then ignore this part of my post.

47 minutes ago, EvidencePlz said:

MSFS 2020 flight model is very bad (according to my research and survey) and so is their default weather modelling.

I am a bit confused - I remember that you were very positive about MSFS a while ago?

Also, the general consensus seems to be that the flightmodel of MSFS was greatly improved over the last month and is at least on par with if not even substantially better than other flightsimulators?

Not trying to start another sim-war here and since I don´t own MSFS I can´t form my own opinion, but it strikes me as odd that a statement like yours does not get challenged by the audience?

1 hour ago, EvidencePlz said:

MSFS 2020 flight model is very bad .

No it's not.

Life time flight sim enthusiast, current airplane owner 172P (past C182F). FAA CP/IR ASEL/AMEL, FI ASEL

My System: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D , MSI X870 GAMING PLUS, 64G RAM, ASUS RTX5090, 4T SSD

Put my hands on (pic/dual/given)

7GCAA, 8KCAB, BE24, BE76, BE35-C33, BE35, C150, C152, C172B/N/P/R/SP, 182F, M20E,M20C, M20J, AT6(SNJ4), PA28-140,PA28-151, PA28-161,PA28-181,PA28RT-201,PA28R-180/201T, PA24-250, PA32-300R, PA44, AC114, YAK-18T, YAK-52, SR22

 

14 minutes ago, Janov said:

Also, the general consensus seems to be that the flightmodel of MSFS was greatly improved over the last month and is at least on par with if not even substantially better than other flightsimulators?

No, there is no "consensus" concluding that the MSFS flight model is, as you say, "...on par with if not even substantially better than other flightsimulators"--consensus means unanimous agreement, and we are certainly far from that.  There are a considerable number of folks, some with respectable real-world credentials, that don't hold that opinion at all.

Bob Scott | President and CEO, AVSIM Inc
ATP Gulfstream II-III-IV-V

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Welcome !

I've actually taken the opposite ride for a while 😁

After more than 2 decades mostly on civil flightsims, after feeling so disappointed with MS FLIGHT's fate, and with the not so good experience with X-plane 10, Aefs, etc..., I was finally tempted to try DCS World. Started with the p51d, then the uh-1h and the other ww2 modules. I don't like jetfighters.

After a while I also started playing IL2, and for a good while both were my escape whenever feeling unhappy with civil sims.

I believe MFS even with it's quirks, mostly due probably with the release having been rushed by MS ... can become a really good platform. Have have been enjoying it with the PMDG dc-6 so much that I fear falling in the temptation of uninstalling it 🤣... self-punishment is what they call it...

Jokes apart, MFS IS GOOD, but just don't expect, at least for the time being unless you use the dc-6, to find a level of feel and detail like that you get from DCS...

There's also X-Plane 12 coming...

Edited by jcomm

Flying gliders since 1980

Flightsimming since 1992

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1 hour ago, EvidencePlz said:

MSFS 2020 flight model is very bad (according to my research and survey)

Please elaborate...

Cheers, Søren Dissing

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1 hour ago, EvidencePlz said:

MSFS 2020 flight model is very bad (according to my research and survey)

As a real world pilot, I don’t agree anecdotally, but I’m willing to be persuaded with facts. Can you share the facts that lead you to your conclusions?

What criteria? What research? 

1 hour ago, Bigbluss said:

Hey all,

I'm quite new to civilian flight sims but have a fair number of hours on modules like the Huey, Mi8, F/A-18C and F-14A and B in DCS. I am curious, are the likes of PMDG, JustFlight and the upcoming Fenix regarded as roughly equals to the aircraft in DCS in terms of depth of simulation? I mean things like electrical systems, hydraulics, computer systems etc.

 

I'm not asking which is better at all of course, I'm just interested on a technical level about depth of simulation. I have and love both.

 

I guess it's more my inner-nerd being curious about what's going on below the hood of both.

Hi, and welcome.

Since you coming from Huey, Mi8, F/A-18C and F-14A and B in DCS then you clearly like things to be as good as they can be or at a level no other sim can offer. Anyone who can fly what you list and can do champains etc has my respect. I've done the AV8 and the F-18, now am focusing on the HB F-14A/B, its breathtaking good and hard to learn, the F-16 is so easy to learn from the F-14 hehe.

So all you need to know is for MSFS stick to

PMDG DC-6 is really good.

JF for GA or later A2A

Fenix will be right up there.

If you want any war birds then the FI Spitfire and the Milviz FG-1G are both stunning.

They are all at the highest level and like you I like the "best"

Have a good wekkend.

David Murden  MSFS   Fenix A320  PMDG 737 • MG Honda Jet • 414 / TDS 750Xi •  FS-ATC Chatter • FlyingIron Spitfire & ME109G • MG Honda Jet 

 Fenix A320 Walkthrough PDF   Flightsim.to •

DCS  A10c II  F-16c  F/A-18c • F-14 • (Others in hanger) • Supercarrier  Terrains = • Nevada NTTR  Persian Gulf  Syria • Marianas • 

• [email protected] All Cores HT ON   32GB DDR4  3200MHz RTX 3080  • TM Warthog HOTAS • TM TPR • Corsair Virtuoso XT with Dolby Atmos®  Samsung G7 32" 1440p 240Hz • TrackIR 5 & ProClip

yer guys...turn it into a war over what the best flight sim..for flight modeling did the OP ask that? NO?

David Murden  MSFS   Fenix A320  PMDG 737 • MG Honda Jet • 414 / TDS 750Xi •  FS-ATC Chatter • FlyingIron Spitfire & ME109G • MG Honda Jet 

 Fenix A320 Walkthrough PDF   Flightsim.to •

DCS  A10c II  F-16c  F/A-18c • F-14 • (Others in hanger) • Supercarrier  Terrains = • Nevada NTTR  Persian Gulf  Syria • Marianas • 

• [email protected] All Cores HT ON   32GB DDR4  3200MHz RTX 3080  • TM Warthog HOTAS • TM TPR • Corsair Virtuoso XT with Dolby Atmos®  Samsung G7 32" 1440p 240Hz • TrackIR 5 & ProClip

2 minutes ago, Nyxx said:

yer guys...turn it into a war

I don’t see any “wars”…just a civil discussion, and the OP did ask about comparisons.

11 minutes ago, neil0311 said:

I don’t see any “wars”…just a civil discussion, and the OP did ask about comparisons.

yer right...😄

David Murden  MSFS   Fenix A320  PMDG 737 • MG Honda Jet • 414 / TDS 750Xi •  FS-ATC Chatter • FlyingIron Spitfire & ME109G • MG Honda Jet 

 Fenix A320 Walkthrough PDF   Flightsim.to •

DCS  A10c II  F-16c  F/A-18c • F-14 • (Others in hanger) • Supercarrier  Terrains = • Nevada NTTR  Persian Gulf  Syria • Marianas • 

• [email protected] All Cores HT ON   32GB DDR4  3200MHz RTX 3080  • TM Warthog HOTAS • TM TPR • Corsair Virtuoso XT with Dolby Atmos®  Samsung G7 32" 1440p 240Hz • TrackIR 5 & ProClip

1 hour ago, EvidencePlz said:

Yes for PMDG. 

Yes for JustFlight (although keep in mind they are considered medium-complexity). Some of their GA prop products have an addon called Reality Expansion Pack made by Simcoders which increases the complexity (and therefore realism) a lot, but it's available for X-Plane only.

No for Fenix because nobody except the beta testers have access to their stuff and I'm not one of them.

Be aware of the fact that an inaccurate environment will generate inaccurate results. MSFS 2020 flight model is very bad (according to my research and survey) and so is their default weather modelling. Therefore if you buy and put a Justflight or PMDG product in it, there will be times when the end result will be inaccurate, whereas in X-Plane 11 the same Justflight GA plane will be more accurate flight model wise. Of course if you don't care about accurate flight model then ignore this part of my post.

Haha classic, what a load of tosh

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1 hour ago, EvidencePlz said:

 

Be aware of the fact that an inaccurate environment will generate inaccurate results. MSFS 2020 flight model is very bad (according to my research and survey) 

That is BS. 

 

 

 

You can ask pretty much fighter pilot their opinion on say DCS and most will say yes  very like real airplane, but no not exactly like real airplane LOL. This statement can apply to every military and civilian sim! Yes, XP11 model is good but not perfect. Similar logic applies to MSFS! 

 

P.S. Some people in discussion don't even have MSFS installed yet eager to discuss flight model! LOL

 

Life time flight sim enthusiast, current airplane owner 172P (past C182F). FAA CP/IR ASEL/AMEL, FI ASEL

My System: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D , MSI X870 GAMING PLUS, 64G RAM, ASUS RTX5090, 4T SSD

Put my hands on (pic/dual/given)

7GCAA, 8KCAB, BE24, BE76, BE35-C33, BE35, C150, C152, C172B/N/P/R/SP, 182F, M20E,M20C, M20J, AT6(SNJ4), PA28-140,PA28-151, PA28-161,PA28-181,PA28RT-201,PA28R-180/201T, PA24-250, PA32-300R, PA44, AC114, YAK-18T, YAK-52, SR22

 

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