Couple of things I would like to say about this flight simulator software program to get a sense of perspective. I have no performance issues - none! I concur with Mr Austen that the matter of roads and joins is an issue and that correct high level cloud depiction remains elusive. Sure there are some minor thing here and there but overall I as a humble user say that it is without a shadow of doubt the best computer based flight simulator program I have ever run on a PC. There is something about the way XP12 manages scale that makes it comprehensively akin to the 'real world'. Light and shadow is managed effortlessly and for atmospheric conditions. Wind, slope and vegetation is realistic, moves with the air and is first class. The harnessing of Gateway and the work and passion for people who love making good scenery - you have an out of the box representation of basically any airport in any country on the planet - all reasonable facisimiles or stunning mirrors! 

The flight modelling is superb. Again I can switch from a single engine taildragger such as the Piper Cub, to the turboprop De havilland Dash 8, into a KingAir, a Douglas DC-3 or an MD11 with shades in between. I can measure fidelity and sit stunned as a Boeing 720B beautifully reproduces a Dutch Roll just as the real 707 used to do. The light wing loads of a Cessna 172 in strong winds and rain. Yep and rain, on the windscreen, on the ground, in puddles and pools. At night or day traffic moves about your airport, a refuelling truck or just a security car or some other airport vehicle, all with their lights correctly displayed. At a large international type of airport it is all there for you - straight out of the box and in stunning texturised shaping and colour. I have no idea how they have managed to do it but they have simple. 

When I can simulate a flight in a Tiger Moth, a King Air, A Cessna 206, an MD80 a Boeing 707 or even the Douglas C-47 and come away from each session with a sense of awe and wonderment that a simulator this good has been made and that it can only get better, So much to explore, so much aviating to enjoy! 

That's all I wanted to say.

From an Aztec

to a Boeing 707

to a DC-3

 

Out of the box so to speak with a little simheaven colour I have to say it does not matter where I have chosen to go - anywhere on this planet I have found is a clever rendition of the real world. In some cases by addition which is nice. I can move from the isolation of a little grass strip in the Pacific Islands - to a dirt runway in Alaska or Patagonia or go the whole hog and go to a big high traffic hub - the experience remains authentically good and the flight dynamics immersively quite impressive. I can experience the cantankerous ground manners of a DC-3 or the more sedate issues of size with a MD11, the scaling keeps it believable. So bring on 12.6 the other biggie will be road textures that fit! 

How much now I can get out of this simulator depends only on what I want to do with it - now that is a fascinating problem to have. I can try any flight regime I like - wow!

 

Moments of wonder in XP12 have become rare for me, but it's a bloody good, straight to the point flight simulator nonetheless.

And hand flying simply feels good (in the right aircraft).

If you want to have some challenging fun: MissionGenerator plus any aircraft with Reality Expansion Pack. The former offers a semi-random list of destinations and decreases your experience point gain when using the autopilot (unless you level up the related skill to decrease the penalty), the latter adds flight characteristics overhaul and maintenance to selected aircraft. You'll spend two hours cursing Sir Isaac because you just can't find a perfect combination of trim and power to fly hands off while staying on course and at altitude. On the other hand, it doesn't get boring. Catch some thermals? Have fun retrimming. Wind shifts slightly? Yep, retrim. Burned some fuel? Guess what...

MG recently sent me to a short grass strip. In a Beech Baron. At night. With a mere small beacon on top of a windsock as guiding light. It admittedly took some intermittent time of day (and OpenStreetMap) cheating to get a position fix (no runway heading info in the GPS or LittleNavMap), but once on final, the landing was completely made in the dark until the landing light beams hit the grass. No damage, just higher than normal tyre wear from strong breaking. Never a doubt that the flight model may screw me over as long as I stayed on speed. All in all, it was a good combination of fun, challenge and excitement, something rarely found in civilian flight simulators for me. It was so good that it provoked a rare verbalized reaction in form of a a nervous laugh and lots of unprintable expressions of relief all the way from turning off the runway to shutdown.

After many months of dissapointment (performance, shimmering and so on) I have given it a try again, now with 12.05.

For me it's VR only, If not possible than it's a no go for me. It is still a hard hit on performance and still a long way to go but I think I notice some improvement.

Euphoric moments of sheer perfection on how the world looks provide unparalleled immersion - with which the other sim cannot compete despite its many superior features - but are followed by moments of utter dissapointment, still.

But what becomes clear to me every time when spending some time in the sim is that LIGHT and reflection is everything ! It's the way the landscape interacts with the cloudshadows and sometimes the haze above it that gives a sense of true-to-life scale of how the world looks.It looks 'wide'. It has 'definition'.When the LIGHT is perfect and colors are more natural, modest (not satured like in the other sim) than I will forget all that makes the other sim so great in an instant.

When flying in the evening or in the dark, a sea of sharp lightbulbs make for a confusing and difficult to orientate (and thus to navigate VFR) landscape in urban areas. A challenge but better and more realistic than the other sim. The sky at night is also not overdone with a visible milkey way in urban areas like in the other sim. Only the brightest of stars are visible, like it ought te be,

When crossing a road on final one sees cars, vans, busses, trucks, trains moving that all give the impression to be real objects that can be touched, that have a substance. Same goes for the activity and objects at practically any airport (significant or deserted).

I am hoping 12.06 will be the solution to the performance issues.

 

 

 

Edited June 23, 20232 yr by avhpilot

@coastaldriver - Great shots!

 

how did you install your Aztec into XP12, and how does it fly? (And how does it fly and is there a mod for rain effects etc?)

3 hours ago, Republic DC9 said:

@coastaldriver - Great shots!

 

how did you install your Aztec into XP12, and how does it fly? (And how does it fly and is there a mod for rain effects etc?)

The Aztec is the Caranado/Alabeo  Aztec for XP11. (I bought it early in my ignorance with XP12 of some XP12 fundamentals the lack of backward compatibility for which there are lots of good reasons). So I had a go and I patched it myself. First I ran it through planemaker to just convert it to XP12 acf config, that fixed all the animation issues rest all worked mouse controlls etc. The model worked fine but now no sound - so as I was just starting out with XP12 and with FMOD I created a basic FMOD package from its sounds and installed that. Those two fixes gave me a complete working Piper Aztec in XP12. I think I posted up the mods know I did with the FMOD package - all here in the library. Makes the XP11 version work fine in XP12. Same cannot be said for all of Carenado's stuff though. Cannot recall if there is rain effect implemented or not - sorry!

 

The Boeing 720 is the Shensee B707-720 for XP12 with PBR and Rain Mods (and GPS for the Dash). A standout rendition of the Boeing 707. 

The Douglas is the AWX Douglas C-47 for XP12 (Previously FSX-P3D only by Manfred Jahn). A standout rendition of the Classic Douglas. 

Edited June 24, 20232 yr by coastaldriver

8 hours ago, coastaldriver said:

The Aztec is the Caranado/Alabeo  Aztec for XP11. (I bought it early in my ignorance with XP12 of some XP12 fundamentals the lack of backward compatibility for which there are lots of good reasons). So I had a go and I patched it myself. First I ran it through planemaker to just convert it to XP12 acf config, that fixed all the animation issues rest all worked mouse controlls etc. The model worked fine but now no sound - so as I was just starting out with XP12 and with FMOD I created a basic FMOD package from its sounds and installed that. Those two fixes gave me a complete working Piper Aztec in XP12. I think I posted up the mods know I did with the FMOD package - all here in the library. Makes the XP11 version work fine in XP12. Same cannot be said for all of Carenado's stuff though. Cannot recall if there is rain effect implemented or not - sorry!

 

That's awesome as I happen to own the Aztec from XP11 and would love to use your mods to fly it in XP12 - but I searched the library here at Avsim and I can't find your mods, can you post a link or something to help me find them - the Aztec is a wonderful bird?  Thanks!

Steve

Never mind....I found them at that other popular site for xp fans, installed your FMOD and did your tweaks in Planemaker and now have a nice Aztec in XP12, thanks!

Hopefully someone will come out with a raindrops glass mod (I have no idea how to use Blender).

We got lucky with the Aztec. Other Carenado stuff has not worked so well alas! Sorry should have made clearer that the mods were over at XPlane.org

 

9 minutes ago, coastaldriver said:

We got lucky with the Aztec. Other Carenado stuff has not worked so well alas! Sorry should have made clearer that the mods were over at XPlane.org

 

I read somewhere on the org from a post that Carenado is bringing their aircraft  to Xplane 12. So if true, you may be in luck.

Talking of XP as is and will be, when is their keynote at FSexpo?

52 minutes ago, scotchegg said:

Talking of XP as is and will be, when is their keynote at FSexpo?

stream with FSElite on Sunday

29 minutes ago, mSparks said:

stream with FSElite on Sunday

Do you know if it is pre-recorded or live? I know they said some of the interviews were already done.