I continue to be flabbergasted every day with what I am seeing AND feeling in XP12.2  How can the other sim be described as the best graphically?  Quite incredible what LR and the addon community has achieved!

 

EDIT - Apple Maps Pro with the Map Enhancement Tool Pro.

Edited July 8, 2025Jul 8 by MrBitstFlyer

Looks great, what’s is needed to get those visuals?  Can you do a video also?

Looks like the real thing!

13 hours ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

How can the other sim be described as the best graphically?

That would be a subjective opinion. The other day I had the exact same sentiment about that other sim 😉 Your shot looks great though, but I'm not blown away like you.

2 hours ago, Rimshot said:

That would be a subjective opinion. The other day I had the exact same sentiment about that other sim 😉 Your shot looks great though, but I'm not blown away like you.

I was always singing the praises about MSFS 2024 graphics, but after XP12.2 it now looks very ordinary.  It is hard to describe the comparison between the two.  XP12 is like a movie full of real flying sequences, where MSFS is full of CGI.

I keep using the word 'dead' to describe MSFS - it just feels lifeless to me.  Added to the graphical improvements in XP12, there are trains, cars (visible WAY off in the distance), boats and the sky is FULL of traffic.  I have LiveTraffic set to 50 miles and 100 aircraft and this results in constant visible traffic.  Flying GA I am constantly on the lookout, but in MSFS the LODs are so short 99% of traffic is never seen.

It is very subjective of course.

19 minutes ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

I have LiveTraffic set to 50 miles and 100 aircraft and this results in constant visible traffic.

Is this during daytime? Last year I flew EDWN-EBMO for real. A trip of slightly more than two and a half hours. Cruising at around 2000 ft, I have not seen one single other aircraft during the trip. But indeed, apart from other air traffic X-Plane has more traffic on the ground going on, I like that too.

 

27 minutes ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

It is very subjective of course.

That is for sure!

13 minutes ago, Rimshot said:

Last year I flew EDWN-EBMO for real. A trip of slightly more than two and a half hours. Cruising at around 2000 ft, I have not seen one single other aircraft during the trip.

It would be impossible to say about the airspace you flew through, but here are some live images I took from an ADSB radar app I have on my PC at 15:46.  South coast of the UK is at the bottom, London area in the center and Birmingham to the top left.

Firstly airliner traffic.

 

Next is all the GA traffic.

 

Now an image with all traffic

 

With XP12, with the right settings in Live Traffic, aircraft can be seen miles away and that makes GA flying so realistic with a sky full of traffic.

11 hours ago, SayAgain said:

Looks great, what’s is needed to get those visuals?  Can you do a video also?

I use the Map Enhancement Tool, using Apple Maps Pro.
SimHeaven Europe
'HazeAdjust' Lua script to tame the haze a little (FlyWithLua' plugin.

35 minutes ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

With XP12, with the right settings in Live Traffic, aircraft can be seen miles away and that makes GA flying so realistic with a sky full of traffic.

What I'm trying to say is, although the skies are busy, it is very hard to spot other traffic. Especially during daytime, of course dependent on your position relative to the sun, you definitely do not see other traffic from miles away... During dusk or at night that is another story.

I'm not trying to rain or your parade. I understand it makes the sim feel more alive when you spot other traffic.

Edited July 9, 2025Jul 9 by Rimshot

I had that feeling earlier today in LEMU when I started the simulator and I really looked out of the window. MFS is far from this because the lighting, clouds and colours are beautiful but less realistic and more cinematic.

34 minutes ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

It would be impossible to say about the airspace you flew through, but here are some live images I took from an ADSB radar app I have on my PC at 15:46.  South coast of the UK is at the bottom, London area in the center and Birmingham to the top left.

Firstly airliner traffic.

 

Next is all the GA traffic.

 

Now an image with all traffic

 

With XP12, with the right settings in Live Traffic, aircraft can be seen miles away and that makes GA flying so realistic with a sky full of traffic.

When I took some friends on a scenic round manchester from egcb back in october, a GA was taking off or landing every few minutes, once airborne there was maybe 1 or 2 actually visible (and a couple I tracked over the radio as they hit their reporting points).

Doing a scenic round LYBE the most I ever really have to deal with is the big tubeliners taking off and landing.

So yeah, that "alive" thing is definately varied, but not even livetraffic is doing justice to the GA mayhem of busy GA airports atm, because a lot of GA doesnt have transponders.

18 hours ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

How can the other sim be described as the best graphically?

Because it just is, at least right out of the box.  XP12 can look amazing too, and on my setup it definitely does, but only after constant investment and tweaking.

In the end, both sims can deliver those “wow” moments, but MSFS gives you that eye candy right away, which makes it a much better deal for most simmers.

20 hours ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

 How can the other sim be described as the best graphically?

Easy: All you have to do is fly helicopters or bush planes. 😎

 

20 hours ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

I continue to be flabbergasted every day with what I am seeing AND feeling in XP12.2. Quite incredible what LR and the addon community has achieved!

 

EDIT - Apple Maps Pro with the Map Enhancement Tool Pro.

Aaaannnd...AGREED 😁

3 hours ago, Rimshot said:

although the skies are busy, it is very hard to spot other traffic. Especially during daytime, of course dependent on your position relative to the sun, you definitely do not see other traffic from miles away...

Amen. I live rather close to a major intl airport with frequent military & GA flights in the mix.

ADSB shows the skies usually crowded, but other than the Heavies, it's hard to spot aircraft.

And as for the military jets (which are usually the size of a biz jet or more)... Well, let me tell you that gray camouflage is incredibly effective!

Edited July 9, 2025Jul 9 by UrgentSiesta

2 hours ago, Aglos77 said:

I had that feeling earlier today in LEMU when I started the simulator and I really looked out of the window. MFS is far from this because the lighting, clouds and colours are beautiful but less realistic and more cinematic.

I like to call it 'arcade'.