Fenix A320 vs FsLabs

[JetCat 94]

Ancient, but very familiar because P3D is FSX in wolf´s clothing 😉 I still knew many of the old FSX keys and shortcuts right after installing it by pure instinct, but it looks like it is not possible to move around in the cockpit and I hate being glued to the captain´s seat because I dynamically move around all the time when I switch things on the overhead panel and middle pedestal.

The iFly Boeing 737 MAX and some other planes look very very good and can hold up with MSFS quality with a few texture mods.

Well now there is still that small problem left that the FS Labs Airbus costs 160 bucks and I cannot test it before buying. What if the circuit breaker panel or the cockpit door is ugly and blurry or low polygon, what if important areas have visual glitches? Too bad I want that IAE-freighter so badly!

I have watched a few videos and it looks indeed more complicated and interesting system-wise than the Fenix, all lights are functional, the MCDU looks a bit more complex, but without being able to check the visuals of the cockpit and the cabin before buying.... hmmm... difficult decision.

And thank you very much for the pictures, while Captain Sim has an enormous array of screenshots presenting the open maintenance flaps of the turbines, the gigantic amount of details and superb textures and far-beyond-MSFS-visuals going 3D models, FS Labs has only a handful of rather low resolution screenshots zoomed in on the main panel, pedestal, and overhead panel. The cabin looks low polygon on this screenshot here, the textures (for example around the windows) are very ugly and blurry, I assume the FS Labs Airbus is not on MSFS Fenix Airbus and P3D Captain Sim level... 😉

[juaness 9]

Honestly, I believe they are two completely different platforms as of today.

Using MSFS doesn't necessarily mean leaving P3D.

I turn to P3D when I look realism in my flights.

I think MSFS is still primarily a visual simulator today. Fslabs provides the option of using 2D panels, which I find very helpful and usable.

In summary, using MSFS doesn't mean to exclude using P3D, just like XPLANE or other simulators.

It's unfortunate that many developers are leaving P3D. I hope FSLABS doesn't follo. While the FenixA320 is good, it still far behind FSLABS.

[abrams_tank 7,426]

11 minutes ago, juaness said:

I think MSFS is still primarily a visual simulator today.

MSFS has the best default GA avionics now. MSFS has the best default G1000, G3000, G5000, GNS 530, GNS 430, and G3X.

For the G1000, G3000, G5000, and G3X, you can't even buy a better one with payware because none exist that are better than the ones in MSFS.  P3D default GA avionics are not nearly as good as MSFS default GA avionics.

[juaness 9]

6 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

MSFS has the best default GA avionics now. MSFS has the best default G1000, G3000, G5000, GNS 530, GNS 430, and G3X.

For the G1000, G3000, G5000, and G3X, you can't even buy a better one with payware because none exist that are better than the ones in MSFS.  P3D default GA avionics are not nearly as good as MSFS default GA avionics.

Good. Enjoy flying visuals with a Cessna. Not for me 

[rmeier 473]

My $0.02.

IMHO, comparing the FSL to the Fenix (or, P3D to MSFS for that matter) is like arguing Rocky Marciano vs Cassius Clay. Hint: they never competed against one another.

For those who were familiar with the FSL in P3D...that was an aircraft under a long development curve...and brought a lot of "firsts" to P3D. It still stands up very well in that platform.

Fenix has also been under a long development curve (albeit, shorter than FSL...mainly due to the release timeframe of MSFS)...with a developer that seems intent to continue to improve their product. The features of their recently released Block II trailer looks very promising.

I, for one, can accept that both are high quality simulators in their own platforms. Any comparison, is moot.

[Ricardo41 5,955]

24 minutes ago, juaness said:

I think MSFS is still primarily a visual simulator today.

No, it is not. 

[lwt1971 7,420]

2 hours ago, juaness said:

I think MSFS is still primarily a visual simulator today.

Hehe that is a rather naive and wholly nonsensical take in 2023, although perhaps a very fair take in 2020 and even 2021 maybe.

Numerous examples obviously to counter this.. from the myriad high fidelity payware aircraft offerings to also what's currently default in the sim, from GA to airliners, and in simulation of flight, systems, avionics, etc. The latest Fenix V2 Block 2 update (below) is just the most recent example of what is possible in MSFS. Also as seen in offerings from PMDG, iniBuilds, A2A, JustFlight, Milviz, SWS, FSReborn, <insert any high fidelity developer here>, etc who're all exclusively/mostly developing for MSFS now.

In any case, if MSFS was just a visual simulator, FSL of all devs would surely not have stopped development on P3D and switched completely to MSFS :), which they've been doing for some time now.
 

 

Edited February 17 by lwt1971

[SierraDelta 1,342]

1 hour ago, juaness said:

I turn to P3D when I look realism in my flights.

I think MSFS is still primarily a visual simulator today.

So you decided to dig up a year-old thread to provide us with your words of wisdom 🙂

SMH

[rjquick 229]

'Visual' is the only thing you have in a home simulator*. The feel part of it is produced by your imagination of what you 'think' it would actually be like. The only people that can even begin to truly judge the merits of an aircraft simulation are people that have a decent amount of real-world flying experience in that plane type. Anyone else is just reporting back on their personal ASMR level when playing the game. Does anyone ever really consider the folly of making authoritative proclamations about the accuracy of the simulation of a complex aircraft that you have zero experience of operating in real life? You can make observations about all the proper buttons being there, but that's about it. Just enjoy the fantasy.

* - Unless you've gone all out and installed some type of hydraulic motion simulation box in your basement. Congrats to the 6** people that have done this.

** - I made this number up.

[sd_flyer 6,049]

1 hour ago, juaness said:

I think MSFS is still primarily a visual simulator today. 

So in real life you fly with your eyes closed ? lol

[WestAir 2,522]

Why would FSLabs move over to MSFS if MSFS were inferior?

It's the premier sim, and it has a larger dev team than all the others combined. The rate at which improvements and features are being developed is unprecedented. It would be no surprise if MSFS2024 finally ends the debate with its overhauled ground friction, flight envelope, and weather overhauls.

[juaness 9]

1 hour ago, rmeier said:

My $0.02.

IMHO, comparing the FSL to the Fenix (or, P3D to MSFS for that matter) is like arguing Rocky Marciano vs Cassius Clay. Hint: they never competed against one another.

For those who were familiar with the FSL in P3D...that was an aircraft under a long development curve...and brought a lot of "firsts" to P3D. It still stands up very well in that platform.

Fenix has also been under a long development curve (albeit, shorter than FSL...mainly due to the release timeframe of MSFS)...with a developer that seems intent to continue to improve their product. The features of their recently released Block II trailer looks very promising.

I, for one, can accept that both are high quality simulators in their own platforms. Any comparison, is moot.

Thanks

Thank you so much

That's exactly what I'm trying to explain.
They are different platforms. End

Where has it been said that one replaces the other?

Edited February 17 by juaness

[Bobsk8 12,753]

42 minutes ago, sd_flyer said:

So in real life you fly with your eyes closed ? lol

He is apparently flying P3D. "Eye's closed" might be a great idea with that sim. . 😏

[UrgentSiesta 932]

1 hour ago, lwt1971 said:

Hehe that is a positively naive and wholly nonsensical take in 2023, although perhaps a very fair take in 2020 and even 2021 maybe.

 

I disagree. FS2020 was always a more realistic flight simulator than FSX/P3D. 

I mean P3 D still doesn't even pretend to have live weather to this very day!

Too many people (not you, btw) conflate what add-ons are available for a sim with how good the sim itself is. 

I'm not able to say whether FSL is a more realistic addon than Fenix or Toliss or FF.

They're all so realistic that I'd only trust the opinions of IRL type rated pilots (and even then we often see that a particular pilots specific preferences can affect their ratings).

To put it simply, every one who prefers "realism" would be sticking with P3D if it were indeed more realistic. 

But we can tell by the utter implosion of the P3D market that simply isn't the case, and especially now that so many High Fidelity add-ons have made their way to FS2020. 

A further good example is the recent change by BlueBird Sims on the fidelity level of their 757: it's going from a generally realistic addon to being redesigned to release as a study level bird.

It shows the ongoing/increasing demand for hi fi add-ons in MSFS. 

 

Edited February 17 by UrgentSiesta

[pommy80 82]

2 hours ago, lwt1971 said:

In any case, if MSFS was just a visual simulator, FSL of all devs would surely not have stopped development on P3D and switched completely to MSFS :), which they've been doing for some time now.

Where did they say they have stopped P3D development completely?