After watching jcomm's excellent FF757 video and much contemplation (yeah, right) I fear I may have fallen down the XP-12 rabbit hole.  

I have a meager system that runs P3Dv5.4 quite well, and thought I'd give the XP-12 demo a try, just in case it performed well.  I did just that, and guess what?  It was very smooth with default settings on my system.

I think I may have to make the purchase, now!  :  )

Setting up my t16000 stick and twcs throttle was pretty straight forward and I only need to dig a bit deeper on several button assignments when I install the Zibo 737-800.  If that works well, I will most likely buy the FF 757.

It's going to take some time to get familiar with the differences in XP-12 and the a/c handling dynamics down, but looking forward to it.

Now for the big question - how are the default major US airports?  Should I plan on going with 3rd party addon airport scenery instead?  

And away we go.....

Thanks & Merry Christmas!

2 hours ago, beechcaptain said:

how are the default major US airports?

can't say I've been to them all. but major airports should all be 100% straight out of the box.

community airport development site is here:

https://gateway.x-plane.com/

that has details of each and tracks submissions, e.g.

https://gateway.x-plane.com/airports/KJFK/show

There is also

https://airports4xp.info/

which is a good resource for flight planning against the airports XP ships with.

Edited December 21, 20241 yr by mSparks

2 hours ago, beechcaptain said:

Now for the big question - how are the default major US airports?  Should I plan on going with 3rd party addon airport scenery instead? 

XP uses a community contribute default airport system (gateway scenery), most of the default airport is quite up to date, and the default library is much more detailed than what's in P3D for sure.

For me most of the time default airport is good enough, but sure add-on airports have it's place.

You can go https://gateway.x-plane.com/ and search some airport in your interested in see if they are updated recently and some with thumbnail.

Beech Captain - after FSX and P3D - XP12 was quite a surprise - it was so word not allowed good. Once installed and it has got better and better so, I have never gone back to the other sims. 

Look you will find that about 70% of the default or stock airports are to a very high standard and some are as good as payware addons. I have a bit of addon scenery but generally it is for some quirky place but that said the Scenery Gateway system is a brilliant innovation and even I can do it if I wanted to. Payware scenery addons - some by a lady Cami de Bellis are must have - few but just attention to detail is amazing. Never get tired of the high degree of realism in XP12 - sloped runways, wind in the trees, and the weather depiction is now pretty spot on as well. Great night lighting and the AI keeps airports alive. The only scenery addon I have paid for are Sydney Australia and the ORBX Global Forests, thats it. 

Model or aircraft wise yes there are lots of aircraft that have not made it to XP12 but I am more than satisfied by what is available and some of the payware aircraft like Felis, Tollis and XCraft to single out several are first class efforts and very very impressive.  You will appreciate the strong contributions of GA and or similar aircraft done by amateurs and available at the Org. 

I find I get silky smooth simulation, credible weather, reasonable landscape and great looking airports and no issues with frame rates or otherwise. There are a lot of quirks but lets say it is just the very different way of doing things that needs a little attention and application. 

Despite all the hype of competitor sims - my simple view is that XP12 is by and large everything I ever expected, a good simulator program that is not MS dependant cou;d produce the goods lighting and ambience is better than LMs P3D and runs flawlessly and even if you stuff something up is easy to repair and fix. 

Best sim there is simple!

The current Steam sale price has me tempted for XP12 but the addons are so bloody pricey.

$125 for the Hotstart CL650, FF777v2 and Tolis Airbus $90.

Addon market wise XP and p3d can't compete with the elephant in the room... But in terms of quality, the average XP addon are in terms of flight dynamics and systems modelling, superior...

OFC there are still great addons for each platform which make keeping it installed and used worth the effort and disk space 😁( eheheh, says the uninstaller...)...

Edited December 21, 20241 yr by jcomm

Yes, I realize addon prices are steep.  I'm glad the Zibo Mod 738 is freeware.  If my system can't handle the demand, I have not invested much.

I was hoping to have a good bit of time to get started with familiarization, but alas, holiday schedule has made it here, fast and I'm pretty busy for the next 5-7 days.  I'll be back when I have some questions and/or comments.  

In the mean time, Merry Christmas to all.

 

 

You will be good with the Zibo ! Great addon - watch this streamer youtubes if you can:

 

3 hours ago, VeryBumpy said:

The current Steam sale price has me tempted for XP12 but the addons are so bloody pricey.

$125 for the Hotstart CL650, FF777v2 and Tolis Airbus $90.

It has always been like that in the "complex(ly modelled) aircraft" department. Best you can do is wait for a sale and pass the time with Zibo's 737.

Just checked the XP12 airliner / bizjet market for < $50 add-ons and the amount of offers is fairly low. 787, CRJ series, G550 or 650, Concorde, E190/195.

1 hour ago, beechcaptain said:

Yes, I realize addon prices are steep.  I'm glad the Zibo Mod 738 is freeware.  If my system can't handle the demand, I have not invested much.

I was hoping to have a good bit of time to get started with familiarization, but alas, holiday schedule has made it here, fast and I'm pretty busy for the next 5-7 days.  I'll be back when I have some questions and/or comments.  

In the mean time, Merry Christmas to all.

 

 

Welcome to our side of the fence. 😃

I was hoping one day you would final give Xplane a try. It seem like it is a better fit for you of the type of flying you do and what you look for in the sim. 

If you're looking for some resource information. You don't have to get these unless you find them of some value to have,

Dave Britzius made a series of "Flying Low The X-plane 12 Handbook setup Books 1,2 3.

The has everything you want to know from initial setup and strategy of the use of the sim and it settings, best hardware to use, hardware configuration with single of multi monitor, scenery configuration and suggest addon that help manage it, like the Organizer.  It is something every new user should have.  I provided the link below but there are a lot more. 

https://store.x-plane.org/Flying-Low-The-X-Plane-12-Handbook--Setup-Book-1_p_1627.html

There maybe some free advice and tips from his tip club out that can be found here:

https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/clubs/76-x-plane12-tips/

But this to me is the most comprehensive and all new updates to each his books are free.  

 

 

Just another tempting video, and addon 🙂

 

 

21 hours ago, beechcaptain said:

After watching jcomm's excellent FF757 video and much contemplation (yeah, right) I fear I may have fallen down the XP-12 rabbit hole.  

I have a meager system that runs P3Dv5.4 quite well, and thought I'd give the XP-12 demo a try, just in case it performed well.  I did just that, and guess what?  It was very smooth with default settings on my system.

I think I may have to make the purchase, now!  :  )

Setting up my t16000 stick and twcs throttle was pretty straight forward and I only need to dig a bit deeper on several button assignments when I install the Zibo 737-800.  If that works well, I will most likely buy the FF 757.

It's going to take some time to get familiar with the differences in XP-12 and the a/c handling dynamics down, but looking forward to it.

Now for the big question - how are the default major US airports?  Should I plan on going with 3rd party addon airport scenery instead?  

And away we go.....

Thanks & Merry Christmas!

just remember you dont have many addons airports you can use.  Anything not optimised for xp12 will tank your frames. 

@jcomm -  stop it!!! You are pouring jet fuel on the fire, my friend. 🙂

@fluffyflops - so far, I am satisfied with the airports I've had time to check out (KLAX, KMIA, KATL, KORD).  Not bad at all, so I don't think this will be a big deal for my needs.

I have had a little time with the Zibo Mod 738 and am quite impressed.  Frames are 28-35 at the above airports, so I'm in, for sure.  I have also decided to give myself an early Christmas present and purchased the Toliss A321, to use with my VA as they (The Delta Virtual) have a custom livery for the 321 and 319.  I have wanted to become familiar with the Airbus and now that I have XP12, will definitely do so.  FPS for the Toliss A321 are even better than the Zibo 738 ~ 30-48.

Now, I've got to relearn all keyboard commands and do a few flights very soon.

One last thing - opinions on default GA aircraft?  In particular, C172 and B58 are favorites of mine.  On quick flight tests they seem to be pretty good. 

Thanks & Merry Christmas!

10 minutes ago, beechcaptain said:

@jcomm -  stop it!!! You are pouring jet fuel on the fire, my friend. 🙂

@fluffyflops - so far, I am satisfied with the airports I've had time to check out (KLAX, KMIA, KATL, KORD).  Not bad at all, so I don't think this will be a big deal for my needs.

I have had a little time with the Zibo Mod 738 and am quite impressed.  Frames are 28-35 at the above airports, so I'm in, for sure.  I have also decided to give myself an early Christmas present and purchased the Toliss A321, to use with my VA as they (The Delta Virtual) have a custom livery for the 321 and 319.  I have wanted to become familiar with the Airbus and now that I have XP12, will definitely do so.  FPS for the Toliss A321 are even better than the Zibo 738 ~ 30-48.

Now, I've got to relearn all keyboard commands and do a few flights very soon.

One last thing - opinions on default GA aircraft?  In particular, C172 and B58 are favorites of mine.  On quick flight tests they seem to be pretty good. 

Thanks & Merry Christmas!

You can get REP for default baron there is also Xaerodynamics for the 172, both make a few improvements

8 hours ago, mjrhealth said:

You can get REP for default baron there is also Xaerodynamics for the 172, both make a few improvements

^^^This:

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