Long time simmer who is getting back into it after being away for 8+ years due to work.  I'm now retired, bought a new high horsepower desktop and wondering, is it better to leave my fully tricked out FS9 (scenery, AI, A/C) and go to FSX, or the new FS?  I've read some of the issues with FS and not interested in being a beta tester for MS.

1) What can be transitioned from FS9 to either FSX or FS?  I'm aware EZ Scenery doesn't support FSX or FS and that hurts me big time (just bought Instant Scenery and not impressed with its functionality). How about aircraft, AI aircraft, etc. What will transition?

2) Is FS now stable enough that those of you that are running it would fully recommend it, or...?

I've got a lot to catch up with. Greatly appreciate any thoughts now that I have the horsepower to use either platform!

 

Captain Tom

 

I don't think you're going to find much of your FS9 software will remain useful in any current, modern sim.

I also don't think FSX would be a good platform to target at this point.  If you're comfortable with Microsoft ESP-based sims (FS9/FSX/P3D), then Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D v5 is a much better choice, being a stable 64-bit platform with a large palette of available add-on options.  FSX is hugely constrained by the 32-bit address limit, which has been relegated to history by 64-bit versions of P3D (v4 and beyond).  XPlane has made significant strides forward in the last 8 years also, though I am not an X-Plane user so I can't speak to specifics.  MSFS is king of the visual environments, but is still very much a work in progress, is plagued by frequent forced updates that routinely break things, and some of the things I need to see to ever consider it seriously (like historical and/or forecastable weather) may never be coming.  Which sim you choose will depend on what's important to you--each has strengths and weaknesses, not just in the sim itself, but equally important, in the ecosystem around it.  And nothing says you can't choose more than one.

 

Bob Scott is correct in his assessment of the current crop of flight sims.  With my new computer, I decided to stay with FSX for the time being.  I did switch to FSX Steam Edition and I must say that it runs smoother than the older, boxed versions of FSX and has fewer of the out-of-memory issues that are part of FSX being a 32-bit program.

There is a slim chance that some of your old stuff will cross the divide to P3D if you consider getting that, but I would not expect this to be an absolute guarantee. P3D, in case you did not know, is basically a considerably enhanced 64 bit version of FSX, which is made by Lockheed Martin and is generally intended to be a fairly 'serious' simulator.

Frequently things intended for FSX and occasionally FS9 will go into P3D since it shares the basic file structure of FS9 and FSX, but being 64 bit and enhanced in many ways, will invariably lose cockpit gauges, sounds, textures and such, so in reality, getting into P3D would for the most part be a start from scratch affair. P3D is good, but it can get pricey when you start having to add weather programs, sceneries, air traffic control add-ons and such, not to mention the really fancy aeroplane add-ons frequently passing beyond the 150+ price tag, but if you have the cash, with add-ons it can be made into something which is probably second to none when it comes to simulating airliner flying on a PC at home.

MSFS is very good and is benefitting from considerable ongoing development which comes in the form of frequent (very large) updates, and there is a massive online community for it which is making lots of free stuff for it including fancy airliners and airport sceneries via its built-in scenery creation controls (which are easy to learn and use if you like that kind of thing), but it still lacks a few things which some flight simmers of old miss, such as the ability to easily use historical weather settings, and a really super-realistic ATC system, although these are on the way, and in the interim, it still does a pretty good job for the most part. What it does benefit greatly from, is the fact that even its payware add-ons are invariably considerably cheaper than those for other sims owing to its popularity and large consumer base, and most payware developers are moving, or already have moved toward it, including big names you'll know such as PMDG and A2A. Another advantage of it, is that it harnesses the power of modern computers better than other sims, which means in spite of having realistic scenery for the entire planet built in, it still runs like greased lightning on even a fairly modest computer. It's very inexpensive to try out too.

The reality is that MSFS is the way the wind is blowing in terms of future development, so I'd recommend giving it a shot to see if it floats your boat before delving into the money-pit which P3D can easily become.

 

Edited March 12, 20224 yr by Chock

Thank you Bob, Stans, and Chock!  

Appreciate your quick, insightful replies.  There is much to consider here and, I hadn't even thought about P3D. Lots of homework to do here.

Again, thank for your thoughts, they are greatly appreciated.

Captain Tom