Opinions wanted: Aerosoft F-16

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

I have been considering the Aerosoft F-16 for some time now. Since it has finally been released I would like to get some feedback from those that have it. Mainly interested in how the performance is and general thoughts. I fly only in the VC and would like to know how it is as well. I wish I could buy it through Flight1 so that I could get a refund if I didn't like it.Currently the only addon aircraft I have in FSX are the RealAir SF-260, LDS 767, and Nemeth CH53. I am able to use these in basically any environment with no issues. Thanks in advance for the feedback and comments.Regards,Sean

[A36 Apache 0]

Moving over from Falcon4 Allied Force I felt right at home; that speaks volumes right there.I was very pleased with the number of variations you get in models and liveries, and the aircraft is true to its real-life limitations. I haven't discovered any flight-ending bugs.

[Guest dswo]

There's a fair and thorough discussion here: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=2139

[ORN 1]

Hi,one good thing is the HUD, as it is built into the model (I think), so it has no impact on fps, and is readable in every situation so you can actually use it :-)I also like: The Falcon is known for being a plane you can point in any direction and it will go there like a rocket. The Aerosoft bird does that!I also like: Even though it's a very complicated model, my PC has no problems running it smooth as silk (AMD Dual Core 3GHz, NVidia 8800GT, 2GB RAM).I also like: Landing F16-style is possible ... slowing the plane by remaining in landing attitude down the runway a while, it looks cool :-cool I have seen a RNoAF F16 at the annual airshow Kjeller (not so fun last year because it wasn't allowed to fly above 10 000 feet, but the year before was awesome!), and I can do some of that stuff myself with this bird, the power and flexibility is great fun.There's no showstoppers in this one for me, just pure fun. With a lot of repaints by Dag an VinFlyer you just can't lose.Eagle

[Guest dswo]

>one good thing is the HUD, as it is built into the model (I>think), so it has no impact on fpsSome data on how the HUD affects FPS: http://www.forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?sh...ndpost&p=130053

[Guest Shalomar]

one good thing is the HUD, as it is built into the model (I think), so it has no impact on fps, and is readable in every situation so you can actually use it If you have TrackIR, expect the HUD symbology to disapear if your head is not at an angle at which the HUD would be readable in real life. If your head is just a little off just the corners or edges of the symbology fade...Cool rendition of a legendary plane.Best Regards, DonaldT.:-wave(__/).................................(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste(")_(") signature to help him gain world domination.

[Guest jprintz]

>If you have TrackIR, expect the HUD symbology to disapear if>your head is not at an angle at which the HUD would be>readable in real life. If your head is just a little off just>the corners or edges of the symbology fade...>>Cool rendition of a legendary plane.Thanks for the compliments!As to the HUD symbology disappearing off the HUD glass, or following your head as you move it around the cockpit... Yep! ;-)This effect is intentional, accurate, and is aimed for in the real world. Fundamental, actually. It's called collimation, and the effect you describe is a natural side effect of it... "it" being symbology which is focused at theoretical infinity. We worked very hard to make this happen, and I'm almost certain that no other plane yet released for any version of MSFS does this. The combination of conformality plus collimation mean that the Aerosoft F-16 HUD operates VERY MUCH like the real thing.Some may find this characteristic (the symbology moving off the glass when the head moves too far left, right, up, or down) to be an annoyance, if for no other reason than that they're not used to it. But think of what would happen if it were NOT this way. The symbology would hardly ever be accurate. Suppose you start with a conformal HUD, meaning that **from the default eyepoint** the scale is correct, the flight path marker marks the true flght path, the HUD horizon matches the scenery's (theoretical) horizon, and on and on.... Basically, the symbology *conforms* to the simulated Earth. Without collimation (IOW, if the symbology didn't move off the glass with head movement), the HUD would be very inaccurate at every eyepoint EXCEPT the default one. Probably most simmers have noticed this in all the other non-collimated-HUD-equipped planes out there. (Basically, all of them.) In that non-collimated HUD, if you move your head left, the flight path marker will appear to shoot rapidly right, against the backdrop of the scenery, no longer fulfilling its duty of marking the actual flight path. Then move your head down just a little, and the HUD horizon and flight path marker shoot rapidly up, losing their accuracy very quickly. The bottom line is that if we want the HUD symbols to be accurate from ALL head positions, then this effect you speak of (which is a result of collimation), along with a HUD gauge which is already fundamentally conformal, is absolutely essential.I hope people are enjoying the plane! There will be several improvements and fixes upcoming. I don't think Mathijs would mind me saying that it's looking like SP1 will be coming within a week.By the way, this Rockwell-Collins page talks about some of these HUD concepts:http://www.rockwellcollins.com/products/cs...iew/hud-basics/

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Thanks for all the feedback. I actually got the plane before anyone posed comments. I went on the Aerosoft site and saw that it was only $32.00 so I just bought it anyway. Not too big a loss if I didn't like it.I am really glad I got it. It has no impact on FPS at all. I have had more fun flying this plane since yesterday, than I have had with any other plane I have owned in either FS9 or FSX. It is such a rush to get down an fly at a few hundered feet off the deck through canyons and mountains. A nice break from flynig my LDS767 and SF-260.I was also surprised that I was able to fly it in Mega Scenery areas Phoenix and SoCal and be able to fly really fast and not really experience a problem with the textures blurring. I though for sure going that fast at low altitudes that I would get some blurries, but not really, even over photo areas or GEX areas. Now I just need to read the manual and find out how to properly operate the systems and such. Thanks again for the help, and thanks to Aerosoft for the great plane.Regards,Sean

[Guest jprintz]

Sean, really glad you're enjoying the plane!!! Keep an eye out for the first service pack. (Within a week, probably.) I'm actually making some very cool additions to the air to air HUD this very hour.>Thanks for all the feedback. I actually got the plane before>anyone posed comments. I went on the Aerosoft site and saw>that it was only $32.00 so I just bought it anyway. Not too>big a loss if I didn't like it.>>I am really glad I got it. It has no impact on FPS at all. I>have had more fun flying this plane since yesterday, than I>have had with any other plane I have owned in either FS9 or>FSX. It is such a rush to get down an fly at a few hundered>feet off the deck through canyons and mountains. A nice break>from flynig my LDS767 and SF-260.>>I was also surprised that I was able to fly it in Mega Scenery>areas Phoenix and SoCal and be able to fly really fast and not>really experience a problem with the textures blurring. I>though for sure going that fast at low altitudes that I would>get some blurries, but not really, even over photo areas or>GEX areas. >>Now I just need to read the manual and find out how to>properly operate the systems and such. Thanks again for the>help, and thanks to Aerosoft for the great plane.>>Regards,>>Sean

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Oh great. I am looking forward to it. What else is the service pack going to include? Also, I read somewhere, don't remember where, that there are also going to be some missions added. Is this true? And if so, how many?Thanks again,Sean

[Guest jprintz]

>Oh great. I am looking forward to it. What else is the>service pack going to include? Also, I read somewhere, don't>remember where, that there are also going to be some missions>added. Is this true? And if so, how many?>>Thanks again,>>SeanSean:My responsibilities are the HUD and MFD's, so that's what I'm most able to address. There have been a hundred little changes and improvements to them, and a few big, nice, and noticeable ones.The MFD's now offer a ton more flexibility as to which pages are displayed where. Both the air and ground radars have been improved, tweaked, are more accurate, etc... leading to improvements in HUD accuracy, too.The HUD air-to-air mode now offers a lot more information (not that there wasn't already enough!) about the AI aircraft you're intercepting. Besides an improved actual target box, which overlays the AI aircraft's real position through the HUD, a missile ring is provided (as an option) which offers some really nice visual cues, such as distance in thousands of feet that ticks down like a clock, and also an aspect angle pointer. These things are more precise and more intuitive as compared to other displays of the same info, and you won't need to go to the air-to-air MFD for some of that data. I attached a quick screenshot. (Sorry that the quality is not so great!)http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/194278.jpgI'm at this moment trying to get in a couple of other nice features, but they are complex and time may be an issue. Not sure. But I suspect you'll see them at some point no matter what. ;-)Beyond the HUD and MFD's, I can tell you that at least a handful of other people are working their behinds off to make this plane even better. Tons of changes and fixes are coming. This is very much an active and evolving project, not something that's "done" after a few fixes. Again, glad you're having fun with the F-16!! It's easy to forget (especially after threads involving "best" zoom factor ;-) that having fun is the bottom line!