How do I make FSX as pretty as possible?

[Guest DefBringer]

I notice that many people talk about how things look good in FSX, even with the "default" scenery. I am assuming default = what you get out of the box from Microsoft?I am completely new to FSX and want to make it look as good as possible.Can someone explain to me how I can juice up the weather effects/scenery of my FSX to look as good as it possibly can? Preferably freeware, but if it looks that good I'm willing to spend money too.

[Virtualwombat 4]

High quality visuals generally cost more money. IMHO, the best scenery available for FSX right now is Horizon Simulations high res photorealistic scenery for England and Wales. Run on a fast system, it is possible to obtain 30+ fps with almost all sliders to the right. The exceptions are autogen (not used by Horizon at present, although custom autogen is in the works and a demo is already available) and traffic (high settings are only possible on really fast systems). Note that I do not rule out light bloom; although this still has a heavy impact on frame rates (10 fps on my system) the effect on visual quality is amazing. In summary, if you want the best FSX visual experience, Horizon's photorealistic scenery is fantastic when run on a fast system with almost all the sliders turned up. And you can still get good frame rates, at least away from major cities.Cheers,Noel.

[lliaudais 2]

Each of us has preferences, even if we can't alway define them.Pretty can mean better looking clouds, better looking trees, more colorful sunsets, stunning Autumn colors, transparent looking tropical waters, roads that match the real world, bridges where roads cross water, correct shorelines, towns and villiages where they are in the real world, airports that "match" the real world in terminals,hangars, concourses and gates (or just scaled correctly)... The list is endless.Personally, the biggest impact at the least cost is to get good landclass because that describes what you fly over - desert, agricultural fields, woodlands, urban etc. I ported over the landclass from my FS9 Ultimate Terrain install and you may observe the improvement. FS9 and FSX default didn't seem to know there was anything at Silverthorne and Dillon Colorado; UT did. http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/170062.jpg----------------------------------- UT --------------------------------------------------- default --------------You will need to find if there is improved landclass scenery for your area of interest. You may have to wait if it doesn't exist yet...Loyd

[Alvega 2,119]

>I notice that many people talk about how things look good in>FSX, even with the "default" scenery. I am assuming default =>what you get out of the box from Microsoft?>>I am completely new to FSX and want to make it look as good as>possible.>>Can someone explain to me how I can juice up the weather>effects/scenery of my FSX to look as good as it possibly can? >Preferably freeware, but if it looks that good I'm willing to>spend money too. If you want the best clouds, sky, lens flare and runway lights go for Real Sky v3. 3 screenshots here:http://secure.simmarket.com/product_info.p...roducts_id=2250

[Virtualwombat 4]

Hmm... that does look good! And since I bought the previous version, I get a discount on the latest version. Think I'll give give Real Sky 3 a try...Cheers,Noel.

[Guest jshyluk]

There are certainly some excellent payware and hardware solutions to make FSX look wonderful. Without going into specifics, I can go into broad categories for improvement:Anything you can do to help the sliders move to the right will make FSX look better. I can break these items down into $$ categories and ++ categories: the more $'s and +'s you see means the more you have to invest. $= money, and + = time.$$$ Better processor/motherboard$$ More RAM$$$ Better graphics card/monitor$$ Dedicated FSX hard drive$$ Buy scenery: landclass, terrain mesh, sky, etc.+++ Get rid of extra processes running in the background. Something like freeware EndItAll or FSAutostart are good.++ Hunt down viruses/spyware+++ Tweak your registry+ Fly at dawn or dusk (sim time, not real time)for best lighting effects, although it's best to keep the lights in your room low-key+++ Read the forums, ask lots of questions!+ Use a view program like freeware WheelCam to get unique views.Hope this helps!Jeff ShylukAvsim Product Reviewer

[Alvega 2,119]

>There are certainly some excellent payware and hardware>solutions to make FSX look wonderful. Without going into>specifics, I can go into broad categories for improvement:>>Anything you can do to help the sliders move to the right will>make FSX look better. I can break these items down into $$>categories and ++ categories: the more $'s and +'s you see>means the more you have to invest. $= money, and + = time.>>$$$ Better processor/motherboard>$$ More RAM>$$$ Better graphics card/monitor>$$ Dedicated FSX hard drive>$$ Buy scenery: landclass, terrain mesh, sky, etc.>>+++ Get rid of extra processes running in the background. >Something like freeware EndItAll or FSAutostart are good.>++ Hunt down viruses/spyware>+++ Tweak your registry>+ Fly at dawn or dusk (sim time, not real time)for best>lighting effects, although it's best to keep the lights in>your room low-key>+++ Read the forums, ask lots of questions!>+ Use a view program like freeware WheelCam to get unique>views.>>Hope this helps!>>Jeff Shyluk>Avsim Product ReviewerI really like Wheelcam, but i cannot use it because when i want to use the mouse wheel to rotate the panel knobs it changes the view zoom (don't you have the same problem?). The author said he was going to solve that problem but i didn't hear from him since i posted the problem (maybe 2 months ago). He said next version would be ok, but where is it?

[Guest]

I just posted this already in another topic (several...), but if you like Active Camera and/or WheelCam (in other words: if you'd like to look around in a VC)... do yourself a favor and get Natural Point's TrackIR 4 Pro (with the TrackClip Pro). It'll cost you something but it will totally change your simming life. Really. It's worth every cent and I'd buy a new one today if my one month old TrackIT would break down. It's absolutely awesome. http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/

[Alvega 2,119]

>I just posted this already in another topic (several...), but>if you like Active Camera and/or WheelCam (in other words: if>you'd like to look around in a VC)... do yourself a favor and>get Natural Point's TrackIR 4 Pro (with the TrackClip Pro).>It'll cost you something but it will totally change your>simming life. Really. It's worth every cent and I'd buy a new>one today if my one month old TrackIT would break down. It's>absolutely awesome. >>http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/I know about it and it's on my list, but tell me something, what's that Track Clip Pro for? Do i really need it? What if i buy it without the Track Clip?

[Virtualwombat 4]

All the track clip pro does is remove the need to wear a cap, which is otherwise required to mount the vector clip. It's a refinement that may or may not suit you. I wear headphones, so as not to disturb the family when I fly, and a cap is no extra burden.Track IR is the best add-on I ever bought and I won't fly without it, even after 2 years of using it.Cheers,Noel.

[Guest Bud]

LloydThat looks amazing - can you tell me exactly what you moved over from FS9 - I didn't think that anything from UT worked in FSX.Bud

[Guest]

> All the track clip pro does is remove the need to wear a capHm, well, no no no, that's not all...! The TrackClip Pro even has it's OWN reviews, which surely wouldn't be the case if it ONLY removed the need to wear a cap! (Even more: you STILL have to wear SOMETHING fot the clip, usually a headphone!) Read more about it here:http://www.avsim.com/pages/0207/TrackClip/TrackClip.htmIt certainly makes the TrackIR work even better than before!

[Guest jshyluk]

Thank you very much for posting that -- it's my review! I am not only a big convert to the NaturalPoint system, I gotta be one of their biggest fans. I didn't award the Gold Star just because I thought stars look pretty, a Gold Star is a serious proposition. It means that the developer has set a new standard of excellence that has never before been achieved. A Gold Star winner is something that redefines MSFS, and makes it that much better.I can't speak as to what the other Reviewers might say or do, but I do consult with my Editor, Robert Whitwell, as to whether or not a product deserves a Gold Star, and Mr. Whitwell needs to be convinced. In the case of the TrackClip Pro, my task was easy: the product is exceptional.Please read the review - I put a fair amount of work into my articles, and whether they turn out well or not, I do get satisfaction that people read them regardless if they agree with my findings. As for WheelCam, I don't actually fly with it. As was mentioned before, the best seat in the house is the pilot's seat, so I will fly from there. If the autopilot is safely engaged, then I will "move around" inside the aircraft's interior. WheelCam comes into its own when I don't have to interact with the aircraft. Often, I will pause the sim before I look for new views. Personally, I am not a big fan of actually flying the aircraft from external views, unless I am running FSXPilot by Scientific Networks. But I do like getting new views for screenshots.Incidentally, though, I never use WheelCam for my review screenshots. Most of my shots are used with default MSFS views, and a few I have enhanced with my TrackIR. And in answer to the top post, screenshots are the whole reason for me personally to make FSX as pretty as possible. For regular flying, I do lower the settings considerably, and live with the reduced visual quality. Jeff ShylukAvsim Product Reviewer

[Guest]

>Thank you very much for posting that -- it's my review! I am>not only a big convert to the NaturalPoint system, I gotta be>one of their biggest fans.And I am the other biggest fan. ;) (And it was a good review!)

[Virtualwombat 4]

Track clip pro requires a USB lead whereas the vector clip does not. While it is true that the track clip pro may have some advantages in situations where light from background sources interferes with the operation of the trackIR unit, nowhere do I find claims of enhanced operation over the vector clip when the latter is installed in a compatible environment. Since I chose a wireless headphone to avoid having wires hanging off my head, for me the track clip pro would be less convenient than the vector clip. I would much prefer a wireless version of the track clip pro. With 3D glasses from eDimensional this choice is available, so the reasons given by NaturalPoint for not offering a wireless option appear less than compelling.Cheers,Noel.