From FS2002 to Fly! II.

[Guest]

Hi everyone, I had a question that just about everyone will have an opinion on i'm sure.I live in two locations, at my (not primary) residence I have a pentium machine running Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 and I love it. I practice navigation all the time with it. At my primary residence I have a G4, and HATE X-Plane with a passion :) I am very intrested in Fly! II. Would you say that it is similar in quality as MSFS2002? What do I mean by quality? Well, MSFS2002 has full navigational support, every airport in the country and most around the world, nice looking scenery, interactive ATC and great flight models (for external views, etc.) All the screenshots and information i've read about Fly! II says the quality is just the same. Is this true?Also, anyone use a Microsoft GForce feedback joystick with mac Fly! II?Thanks,-matt

[Guest ftessler]

Hi, Matt.I don't have a definitive answer for you, since quality is in the eye of the beholder. Also, like many here, I've never used MSFS 2002 so I can't use that as a basis for comparison.Having said that, however, I can honestly say that Fly! II does many things very well. Its simulation of cockpit panels is outstanding, and from what I've read, it beats MSFS in that arena. With all the free add-ons available for Fly! II, including scenery and aircraft, there's also plenty of eye candy and other goodies to keep you happy. Happily, most of these add-ons work on the Mac.The one disappointment we Mac Fly!ers have always contended with is performance. Simply stated, at no time has Mac performance (based on FPS) ever matched PC performance. Even with a fast Mac and a good video card, you'll only get decent, but not stellar performance, especially under OS X. If you plan to Fly! a lot, you'll do somewhat better in OS 9. There was a significant jump in performance with the recent Fly! patch, as well as when Jaguar was released. But, given that development of Fly! almost certainly has reached an end, any further increments will have to depend on improvements in Mac hardware or software.I don't want to make it sound as if I'm complaining. We Mac users are incredibly fortunate that Rich Harvey saw fit to include us in his recent efforts. (If you're not aware of Rich's situation, please read his anchored post in the Fly! general forum. What he has done is nothing short of remarkable.) Also, I feel safe in saying that I've never "met" a nicer group than the people here.If you do decide to run Fly! on your G4, please feel free to drop in. We'll do our best to give you a helping hand.-Franklin------------------------------Franklin TesslerDP 800Fly! for Mac Co-moderator

[Guest]

Thank you for your reply! :)I just don't want to buy the product and then, not like it. Are you able to knock down texture quality to improve FPS? Also, does it come with sectional charts, or a flight planner so you can plan flights?-matt

[Guest]

Matt,Yes, you can knock down Texture Quality. You can set the range for low, med, and high detail textures. You can also turn other features on and off. Even though I don't have a top end computer, I like to keep those things on just for the eye candy! It comes with sectional charts for many key cities, and you can download more from the File Library, and yes, it comes with a very intricate flight planner that allows you to select the route yourself or let the flight planner build one for you.Hope to hear more from you soon!

[Guest Allan Jones]

Matt,If cost is an issue, I saw FlyII Mac for $10 at, I believe, www.poweron.com. I can't get the site to connect right now to verify, but am pretty sure that was the place. Last week, they had two copies at that price.

[Guest]

There is one thing that's better on FS2002 in the nordic countries. There are moore of the smaller airports. They all have the same nav facilities as in real. ILS and such things are missing in Fly! The same for building and taxiways.In US most of this is repaired by 3rd part addons.Keep'em flyin'!Bertil PerssonESPC Fr