otterspotter

Cool shots! Love the last one.

Beautiful shots. Thanks.

Hah. I guess FSX can still surprise some people. Awesome shots.

Beautiful. Simple. Thanks.

Hah. While others have commented on where exactly JF TriStar lies on the accuracy continuum (and can we stop equating accuracy or depth of simulation with good quality? QW's work on 757, with its simplified systems, is of great quality), here's one thing that JF TriStar has that SimCheck A-bus doesn't: a more in-depth INS implementation. SimCheck's version of INS doesn't implement drift or DME updating. As pointed out in some reviews, TriStar, while a 'lite' systems simulation, has a pretty decent INS implementation and can serve as a great INS procedural trainer. One of the reasons I bought it. Yay! Looking forward to it! I like the plane very much even as a 'lite' simulation but would love more depth in the systems implementation. We now do have some choice with regards to medium- and high-level first generation narrow bodies (CS 707, JF DC-8), but there are only 3 first-generation widebodies on the market: CLS DC-10 and B742, and JF L-1011. They're all lite sims (even with the realistic INS in TriStar) and the first 2 are a bit dated (any news on the CLS 742 1.5 upgrade? Unfortunately it doesn't involve an update to the bit dated cockpit graphics...). So to have at least one with more in-depth systems and more up to date with regards to modeling (as JF TriStar is) would be great.

Cool shots, all of them!

Awesomeness!

Coolness! Love the TriStar liveries.

Wow, nice! Love them steam cockpits!

Cool shots.

Great shots. For me FPS is really not as much of an issue as stuttering (and I have a quite old machine). Apparently there's a couple of "experimental" files in the default install that can be removed for better performance and supposedly not that much less eye candy. It was one of their first US Cities X products and it's kind a disappointing that even though the city area is one of the smallest among the big US cities (being surrounded by water on 3 sides), they didn't include western or southern parts of the city. It'd be nice if there was an Extended version...

Awesome shots!

OK, you may have a point there with regards to intent: FS doesn't come with missions where breaking the law is the intent. However, haven't kids playing robbers glorified violence for decades (or centuries, since I'm sure previous generations had their own versions)? And should all artistic/entertainment creations explicitly or implicitly express their support for the law? Is popularity/widespread reach of the games the actual issue? Stated like this, it is the basis for any and every censorship ever imposed by man. People will always have ideas, whether you want them or not, whether you approve of them or not. This is the glory and the curse of sentience: for every brilliant, world-changing idea, there's another one benefiting few and bringing misery to many. We could argue on whether taboos in societies make them stronger or not, what effect they have on a society and its individuals, how they stand the test of time and internal/external pressures, but considering the country we both live in, I would think debating freedom of speech is a moot point (then, of course, you could argue games, like porn, aren't speech, though as the history with the latter indicates, such an argument might have a hard time in court). I do agree with you on glorification of violence in general and don't like it any more than you do. I don't quite agree with your assessment of the causes, just like the others here. Of course popular culture influences behavior, but in what ways and to what degree is open for debate and not as straightforward as you're suggesting. Nor is what to do about it. The struggle for greater freedoms in Western societies has brought about unprecedented social changes. I think most Western people would agree for that for the most part they've been for the better: from civil rights to women's rights to gay rights or greater tolerance and openness in general. Of course, the changes have also had negative aspects but do you really think you can selectively keep what you think is right and prohibit what you think is wrong? Do you really want to turn back the time to whatever time you think violence wasn't such an issue? I think you'd easily find violence in another form plus plenty of other issues to worry about.

Oh, so games are the source/enabler of violent behavior? Just like movies or rock music were before them? While I'm not a fan of some of the adolescent humor in the GTA series, or the wacky (insert a suitable adjective) pursuits some of its players engage in, it has a great deal more to offer than that, which is obviously lost on you. Every concept and tool can be twisted and used for nefarious purposes: after 9/11 weren't there reports (true or not) that the hijackers had used a flight sim to practice their piloting skills and execution of their plan? Only if you're a purist. Then again, where is the line between "flying around" and "operating the plane like you would a real aircraft"? How realistic does your cockpit have to be? Do you get to do a 2-man's job all by yourself? And so on and on. Amen.

Cool shots!

Coolness! I've always enjoyed GTA, sometimes even to just get in a taxi cab and watch the scenery rolling past the window... Sim in its own right.

There's more of us.

Now, that's purdy! Though with that deck of clouds I would expect some haze in the distance...

Cool shots! What bus is that?

Wow.

Looking good for free-/donationware!

Cool stuff!

Cool shots, but Planes wasn't made by Pixar but DisneyToon Studios. And it shows.

Spectacular! QW?