Hi, havent bought it yet.

Whats the goodies and maybe the not so?(Performance?)

Thanks Michael Moe

Downloaded the free version via Orbx, lasted barely a flight before uninstalling. Personally to me it's just the default toolbar wearing a fancy dress. 

The biggest downer for me though was not being able to drag it to another monitor.  

EDIT: I just noticed you said you haven't BOUGHT it yet, please do yourself a favour and try the free version first. 

Edited January 15, 20233 yr by verbal
Update post

The free version brings little to the game. However, the 'Essentials' version I use every flight. 

The widgets (which are found in the Essentials and Professional version are very useful. The Camera widget is a great way to switch cameras and expose the many 'hidden' camera views. [take a look at all the cool camera views built-in to the C414]. The other widgets: weather, time, etc. are all nicely done and useful as well.

I like it a lot.

I've mapped the command to show the wheel to Mouse 4. With this setup, I can click Mouse 4, the wheel appears where my mouse cursor is, and I click on what's needed. No hunting around for the toolbar and so on. Big reduction in mousing around.

Edited January 15, 20233 yr by RichieFly
moar

38 minutes ago, RichieFly said:

The Camera widget is a great way to switch cameras and expose the many 'hidden' camera views. [take a look at all the cool camera views built-in to the C414]. The other widgets: weather, time, etc. are all nicely done and useful as well.

This I did like, but as I'm changing cameras, I still have the wheel sitting "in the shot" so to speak. If they can somehow integrate the ability to move it to another monitor, then I would give it another crack. 

Here's what I do: after displaying the camera list, drag the window a bit to unlock it from the wheel. Next, drag the camera list to a screen edge to shrink it to a little camera icon...mostly invisible.

There's nothing documented about these shortcuts, so, yeah. Experimentation.

Like smartphones, you're just supposed to magically know all the gestures and shortcuts.

If you use the Free version you won't get the bells and whistles that make this a great add-on.

I personally love the refined, contemporary layout of the wheel.  One click and it's all there in front of you with the ability to customise across multiple wheels.

The new nameplate integration is awesome too along with the ability to exit the sim with one click when you're done.

I guess it's all about ease of use without having to go in and out of the default handlebar menu.  

I use the Pro version for reference.

5 star product.

Jase

Mr. OP,

I didn't answer all of your question. I can't detect any performance hit at all.

Wouldn't fly without it. No impact on performance. Bye bye ugly toolbar. 

The toolbar is ellegance at its best IMO.

sp

Edited January 16, 20233 yr by Sky_Pilot071

When I first heard of Flow and saw some release info for it, I thought that oh, looks nice but probably not much more useful then the default toolbar. Then, I watched a few in depth review videos and my mind started to change. So, I went ahead and purchased the pro version, and now for the last few weeks I have found it extremely useful. It it super customizable and I love the interface. For me, it does indeed flow. Would I suggest it for everyone? Not necessarily, but I would highly suggest that if you are slightly interested, then do some deeper research on the capabilities and options and also watch some in depth use and review videos. Then make a more informed decision. Overall, I find it extremely useful and an excellent application. And, no effect on frame rates or sim performance for me.

Thanks for your insight but i am still not that convinced to say the least. I normally dont adjust wind/weather or time besides from at the global menu.

So i cant really see any improvement ? , i have buttons on hardware all-ready on cameras.

 

But again please share your thoughts

 

Michael Moe

I bought the Essentials version. As someone already mentioned, not being able to just drag it to my second monitor is a deal breaker. And my experience was about the same - less than five minutes from first launch to uninstall.

It's kind of ironic that this tool which Parallel 42 promotes as modern and intuitive  - "Goodbye toolbar!" - is not intuitive at all.  I've been using one of the free No Toolbar Handle mods for ages and guess what - goodbye toolbar lol. It's there only when I want it with a simple mouse movement. I see some users are getting what at least to them, is a benefit from it. To me it's just a gimmick.

There are a ton of widgets for it on fsto.    Some of them look rather usefull.

https://flightsim.to/c/user-content/flow-pro-widgets/

I liked it but the VR implementation is janky. But it looks better than the top-bar otherwise. 

I don't fly in VR.

I tried out the free version first. Liked it. 

Bought the Pro version and use it on every flight. There are a ton of useful tools and an active user community that provides widgets for the wheel (user widgets only work with the Pro version). 

No impact on performance, although it does take a while to load on my ancient PC.

Plus, there is an active Discord community. 

5 Stars, highly recommended.