Hey guys I want to try XP12, but hoping to make it look as good as possible. What are the key add-ons I need to get a decent impression of this sim? I would rather not spend money just yet, at least until I evaluate it. 

Simheaven (autogen) and Autoortho, both freeware.

I keep giving this advice (although I know that there are compulsive "add-on-collectors" out there that consider pimping their sim of choice to be 95% of the fun):

If you are new, fly X-Plane 12 vanilla for at least a month. Get to know it, learn it´s in´s and out´s, see what you like, what you want to improve...and get used to stuff.

If things still bother you after a month of using it, start to add things CAREFULLY - each add-on you pile on will increase your chance of things going south. As soon as you start adding stuff, the responsibility for a working simulator installation rests with you and your right to complain (to LR) is waived.

Especially for someone coming over from "the other sim" the initial impression may be jarring, especially in the scenery department, and a knee-jerk reaction could be to scramble to get some of the scenery-enhancing add-ons as fast as possible. But they all come with serious potential downsides, and a new user may stumble into one of the many pitfalls surrounding them.

Above all: TRY THE DEMO FIRST! Its free and will give you a solid impression of what the full game is like.

Auto Ortho - Simheaven - Lossless scaling - That is about it to get started really. 

X-ATC-Chatter is a must have for immersion. It also has the "Simple ATC" feature to get broken into more advanced ATC communications.

Not free but definitely a great purchase. It wont clog your system up either.

https://store.x-plane.org/X-ATC-Chatter_p_890.html

I would suggest the only essential for xp12 is better pushback. Everything else is options not essential. Learn how it works before you break it.

Well, pretty much all good suggestion that come into my mind were already given to you 🙂

You are well with the default aircraft and a worth of good free addons you can get from x-plane.org

For Rotary Wing I would suggest:

OH-58D Kiowa Warrior - Helicopters - Rotorcraft XP12 - X-Plane.Org Forum

HSF Alouette III XP12 - Helicopters - Rotorcraft XP12 - X-Plane.Org Forum

Bell 47G-2 - Helicopters - Rotorcraft XP12 - X-Plane.Org Forum

For some really nice GA:

Let L-410 - Turbolet XP12 - General Aviation XP12 - X-Plane.Org Forum

Tieman.'s Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket - General Aviation XP12 - X-Plane.Org Forum

Boeing Stearman – XP12 mod - General Aviation XP12 - X-Plane.Org Forum

Aerobask Robin DR401 CDI 155 XP12 - General Aviation XP12 - X-Plane.Org Forum

PWDT&NHAdrian Zlin Z-142 - General Aviation XP12 - X-Plane.Org Forum

I have used AutoOrtho but also "Map Enhancement", a variant of auto ortho scenery that has payware and freeware versions:

X-Plane Map Enhancement » X-Plane 12

SimHeaven X-World for Xp12 is yet another free scenery enhancement addon: simHeaven | X-WORLD for XP12

If you need any help installing these don't hesitate to contact me through here or PM 😉

I just put RXP Enhancer into the Lua scripts but I dont notice a huge difference. I really liked the visual in X 11 better. And I am only getting 15 fps now on a M1 Mac with 16g ram... am I missing something..?

Thanks guys! Appreciate the help. 

Can't believe no one recommended the freeware Zibo 737-800! Definitely a must have!

There are some good freeware orthoimage scenery updates out there.

Usually a little fiddly to get working right, but way better than the default ground textures.

Here's a place to look that has lots of options:

https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/134/x-plane-scenery/

 

Depending on how much you value your time, Orbx Direct is having a 40% off sale right now. You can pick up their excellent TrueEarth Great Britain South for about $15 USD right now. The install couldn't be simpler. (The South of GB is where most of the "action" is, London and all that jazz 😉).

The other two areas (Central & North) are also phenomenal if you prefer less developed, rural areas.

Ehehe @UrgentSiesta it's even paradoxical none of us, before you, mentioned what is probably One of the best simulations of a 738 presently available.

In my case it tends to be seen as payware because it is actually almost unbelievable that such and addon can exist as freeware!!!

Yes! The Zibo 738 is, in the limit, the reason for having xp12 installed 😁👍

Not freeware, but the Q4XP is essential to me. 

7 hours ago, UrgentSiesta said:

The other two areas (Central & North) are also phenomenal if you prefer less developed, rural areas.

I’m going to assume you’re either a cockney, or don’t live in GB 🙂 

https://github.com/hotbso/AutoDGS

10 hours ago, UrgentSiesta said:

Can't believe no one recommended the freeware Zibo 737-800! Definitely a must have!

You are absolutely right of course. But I understood the question related to the looks of the sim only 🙂