To SP2 or not? Zat is ze question...

[Guest Hugo]

Hi all! I Just got a new system, E8400/2GB/9600GT/WinXP/SP1. It runs FSX fairly well with high settings, most of them at 80-90%+ to the right with traffics in the 25-40%.What are (or would be) the advantages to install FSX SP2 for those that are still on WinXP? My understanding of this update is that it has been brought up mainly for the benifits of those who are on Vista with a GCard able to handle DX10.Thanks for any info, Hugo

[Guest UlfB]

Hugo,Funny, but I just left a discussion regarding SP1 and SP2 and Acc pack on another forum, where mr harleyman52 posted this link to Phil Taylors blog (so I didn't have to dig that article out from the archives myself).http://blogs.msdn.com/ptaylor/archive/2007...on-and-sp2.aspxIn this article you'll find out what SP2 brings for DX9 users. But SP2 also broke some FS9 content that did work with SP1. Some other poster might inform you on exactly what was broken or you could try to search the forums.Ulf BCore2Duo X6800 3.3GHz4GB RAM Corsair XMS2-8500C5BFG 8800GTX, Creative SB X-FiFSX Acc/SP2, Vista 32

[WarpD 824]

>My understanding of this update is that it has been brought up>mainly for the benifits of those who are on Vista with a GCard>able to handle DX10.>SP2 has more to it than just Vista and DX10.Any aircraft I create for FSX require SP2. There are gauge items that were corrected/updated/added with SP2 that aren't available with SP1.So... choose wisely. SP2 is the current FSX version and aircraft compliant with SP2 are far more likely to be closer to compatability with FSnext when it's released.

[Guest Hugo]

Thanks Ulf for the fast reply. When I got my system one month ago I did install FSX right up to SP2 and it worked nicely and possibly even better visualy and performancewise than what I have now with SP1. But this is very subjective appreciation (feeling) of mine at this point because I only backed down to SP1 2 days ago, hence not enough time to realy appreciate and conclude.So my feelings tend to agree with points 2, 3, 4, 5, under FSX SP2-DX9 heading in your link but definitaly not at all with point 13, "Multiplayer fixes for a) when using DIRECT CONNECT :( COM1 shared cockpit sync."I just wasn't able to host or join a Direct Connection let alone cockpit sharing with SP2 installed. The later being an important feature for me and few of my friends. That's the main reason I revert back to SP1. Now I can Direct connect and share. Maybe that's one of the areas where SP2 regressed over SP1. At least for me and a couple of other guys I fly with.But I'm not always flying in cockpit sharing mode. For those times I'm not, I could have SP2 installed for a nicer global feeling and uninstall it for those times I want to fly a cockpit sharing session. That is, until a fix is founded.Has anyone reading this and being also under WinXP/SP2, succesfully made direct-connect multiplayer session?Hugo

[n4gix 4,947]

>I just wasn't able to host or join a Direct Connection let>alone cockpit sharing with SP2 installed. The later being an>important feature for me and few of my friends. That's the>main reason I revert back to SP1. Now I can Direct connect and>share. Maybe that's one of the areas where SP2 regressed over>SP1. At least for me and a couple of other guys I fly with.>>But I'm not always flying in cockpit sharing mode. For those>times I'm not, I could have SP2 installed for a nicer global>feeling and uninstall it for those times I want to fly a>cockpit sharing session. That is, until a fix is founded.>>Has anyone reading this and being also under WinXP/SP2,>succesfully made direct-connect multiplayer session?Hugo, the key point is simple enough.Everyone flying Multiplayer (whether through GameSpy or direct LAN) must be running the same release version.IOW, if you have SP2 or Acceleration installed, you can only "connect" with other folks who're running under SP2 or Acceleration. :)

[boshar 6]

If you need those gauges it might be possible to simply copy the contents of an SP2 gauge folder to an SP1 install.The SP2 compliant aircraft argument is nice but after seeing how even good FS9 aircraft still have their problems and any new features of the FS-next program will off course never be supported whats the point? Its beter if developers keep their source files and reauthor their add-on for FS-Next.

[Guest Hugo]

Good Point. Hum... May I "confess"... that MOST (4-5)of all others with whom I tried to connect then were on SP1 while I was on SP2. Only one of them was on SP2 but it didn't work either. Maybe was it for circumstantial causes/reasons.Would you extend the restriction to those flying Vista/Sp2 vs WinXP/SP2?Hugo

[barryward12345 0]

When I first installed FSx, I intalled everything right up to SP2. BUT - I had severe graphical "glitches". The ONLY way I could eliminate these was to uninstall SP2 - everything has been fine ever since.Who knows why -- perhaps the hardware, perhaps the hardware drivers, perhaps the programme itself??Who knows - but frankly it is all too difficult for what is supposed to be a retail product which you install out of a box!Barry