XP12: the good, the bad, the ugly

[HiFlyer 9,436]

2 hours ago, tonywob said:

Does any sim do this out of curiosity? I've never noticed. It would be cool 

The closest I think was the much maligned Microsoft flight, which actually had complex physics between planes and trees and buildings, to the point that you could do things like lightly (or catastrophically!) clip tree branches and buildings with your wheels, wings etc, and get plausible reactions.

EDIT: In fact, now I remember that even planes could collide realistically with each other, which caused much mischief.

I don't think it extended to wind effects, though. I would have to fire it up to check. (Yes, I still have it installed)

Edited September 11, 2022 by HiFlyer

[Humpty 752]

19 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

The closest I think was the much maligned Microsoft flight, which actually had complex physics between planes and trees and buildings, to the point that you could do things like lightly (or catastrophically!) clip tree branches and buildings with your wheels, wings etc, and get plausible reactions.

EDIT: In fact, now I remember that even planes could collide realistically with each other, which caused much mischief.

I don't think it extended to wind effects, though. I would have to fire it up to check. (Yes, I still have it installed)

DCS has collision with trees and objects

[HiFlyer 9,436]

1 hour ago, rka said:

MSFS has collisions as well.

I remember a nice long thread on the org where many people explained that collision detection is impossible and it's rather stupid to even want collision detection in a flight sim. Good times.

FLIGHT! did it by not being afraid to use proprietary tech. In that case it was Nvidia PhysX

I asked a developer about this once, and was told that they were unwilling to be locked into such tech (from other companies) and would rather develop and own it themselves, which, because of resources, meant it was unlikely to ever happen.

[Gary1124 181]

Along with 

ATC

Air Traffic.

Collision avoidance is also integral to the "large picture" operation of an aircraft.

[HiFlyer 9,436]

3 minutes ago, Gary1124 said:

Along with 

ATC

Air Traffic.

Collision avoidance is also integral to the "large picture" operation of an aircraft.

Do even the vaunted "Level D" sims portray sophisticated ATC of the complexity we seem to demand on our desktops? (I have no idea)

[MrBitstFlyer 3,927]

Somebody posted a BAD point of XP12 was having to compete with MSFS, but as far as realism is concerned I don't think that is quite true imho.  Admittedly XP12 has to have some downloaded ortho to compare to MSFS in autogen areas.

Take a look at these images - they look less realistic now XP12 is out.  I am not suggesting MSFS is suddenly a bad sim though!  I have 1700 hours in it and will carry on using it, but if Laminar Research can sort the weather and add ground shadows, XP12 is going to be hard to beat!

[Ianrivaldosmith 5,318]

38 minutes ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

they look less realistic now XP12 is out. 

How so?

[MrBitstFlyer 3,927]

9 minutes ago, Ianrivaldosmith said:

How so?

The atmosphere has better haze leading to a more realistic look.  I must stress I love MSFS but the pictures I linked to have an atmosphere too clear.  MSFS does have some excellent low vis effects near the ground, but at altitude the visibility in general is too high.

Wouldn't you like the XP12 haze effects in MSFS? I would.  

[Bob Scott 7,781]

4 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

Do even the vaunted "Level D" sims portray sophisticated ATC of the complexity we seem to demand on our desktops? (I have no idea)

No, they don't do ATC at all.  Generally the sim instructor plays the role of ATC controller.

[Baber20 1,530]

I feel like the shadows could use a bit more depth. Is there way to increase the intensity of shadows ? 

[UKflyer 630]

wow just flew into EKCH with flytampa's scenery (XP11 version), we need scenery like this everywhere!! It's quite stunning in XP12.

[avhpilot 156]

On 9/8/2022 at 1:47 AM, FlyingGoose said:

1. Works without internet access (after initial install). No need to download large amounts of data as you fly - you can use it offline, the experience doesn't degrade. This is a big deal if you're limited by speed/data. I'm not (symmetric gigabit fiber), but I do like that I can use XP 12 even if my internet gets knocked out. 

Yes, in a way... but not entirely true i am afraid.

A few months ago i had my PC offline for a few days/weeks and x-plane 11 demanded to be re-activated because of it. I needed to look in my archives to find that word not allowed license key. If I'd lost it i would have been kicked out and forced to seek help from their support.

So, do not loose that license key folks !

[Humpty 752]

I feel LR should at least have trees with collision , this would be a great effect for heli riders trying to land in forest areas. 

[MrBitstFlyer 3,927]

6 hours ago, Baber20 said:

I feel like the shadows could use a bit more depth. Is there way to increase the intensity of shadows ? 

I feel this is the biggest area XP12 needs to be improved.  There is the new lighting model which is superb, but ground features lack depth because there are no shadows.  

 

[Bjoern 1,188]

3 hours ago, Humpty said:

I feel LR should at least have trees with collision , this would be a great effect for heli riders trying to land in forest areas. 

For my heli skills, the ground is a formidable obstacle already.