Paul Henty

I stopped buying the 'old version' after the first time I bought it. :( Paul

I had the same problem - I also updated to SP2 from XP Home SP1 using the windows update feature.I noticed that this version of the SP2 install was only about 60mb, compared with another version that you can download from MS which is 266mb.I took off the SP2 update (control panel -> add/remove programs -> tick the 'show updates' box at the top of the form) and used the larger SP2 install.Ater that, FSX installed fine.Here's a link to the SP2 update that works: (Well, it worked for me.)http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...&DisplayLang=enHope this helps.Paul

Isn't MFC and the Win32 API obsolete as of Vista? My understanding is that they are being replaced by the WinFX API and the rest of the .NET framework.Will it not be like running a DOS application in current Windows? Like a backwards compatibility thing rather than a program native to that operating system?I'm also surprised there's no .NET code because the FAQ's say that the best experience will be with Vista, which sounds like it's using some of the new Vista APIs (The new Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) being a likley candidate) which are all .NET libraries.Maybe I have things a bit mixed up though. Can you shed any light on this?Paul

Can anyone say if FSX has been re-written in .net or is it still a Win32 application?Paul

HiI wonder if the two posters (or anyone else) who are running more than one Video Card in their PC for *outside* views can elaborate on how this is done and how well it works.Like Bryn said above - it is widely believed that more than one outside view will bring framerates into single digits. The only real way to run multiple monitors for outside views is to use video cards that do the monitor spanning internally and present a single desktop to windows (like the Peherila does with three monitors).As far as I knew nVidaa cards can do this spanning accross only two monitors. What models of video card are you using (presumably they are in PCI slots) and do you need to make any special settings to get this to work?Or do you simply have low framerates (<10)? Or do you have the detail sliders very low?Please guys - let us know the scoop there - 'cos it's widely believed that the setup you are using cannot work.I'd ditch my Paherlia card pretty quickly if it turned out you can do the same thing with faster video cards like nVidia's.Thanks...Paul http://www.jdtllc.com/images/rcv4bannersupporter.jpg

Hi,I don't have the required codec on my PC to view your video. Which one do I need?Thanks,Paul http://www.jdtllc.com/images/rcv4bannersupporter.jpg

>> FS9 can already do for you what you want; you don't have to wait >> for FSX to benefit from your widescreen monitor. You just have to >> play with the zoom level.Just to add to that - After you've zoomed out to get more field of view: if your VC is too far away and too small you can move your eyepont forward with CTRL-Backspace. (CTRL-Enter moves it back again). This brings you closer to the VC again and may help restore the guages to a readable size. Moving the eyepoiont doesn't alter the field of view angle.Paul http://www.jdtllc.com/images/rcv4bannersupporter.jpg

I may be missing something here but FS9 already supports widescreen. It can run at any resolution and aspect ratio that your windows desktop can be set to.I've got a Parhelia graphics card running 3 LCDs and FS9 streches over all of them. The total resolution is 3072x768 - That's an aspect ratio of 4:1 which is far more than a widescreen TV.Paul

>Late on the thread... But has anyone seen this?>>http://www.e-onsoftware.com/Products/vue5infinite/?Page=2>>This thing is also responding to python language. I am>wondering how such a visual representation can exist on one>side and the cartoonish stuff on the other... Technology is>not that different.One Frame in FS takes about 0.04 Seconds to render (Assuming 25fps).One Frame in Vue5 at 1025x768 with full quality settings (like the ones on the website) could take hours to render.How's that for a frame rate? ;)Paul

Is there anything about the 767 version that would stop me using it for a 737?For example, are there 767-specific notches on the flap lever that won't match up with a 737?Paul

I'd like to second that. I had my first ever online flight last night from Toronto to Montrial. I have to say I was very impressed. I had voice control all the way and there was quite alot of traffic. It was great to see the other planes in the multiplayer session and on the TCAS. It just made it so much more real. I don't think I'll be going back to computer generated ATC in a hurry.Even though I got lost taxing the controllers were very patient and they really knew thier stuff.I'd been put off before by the number of programs you had to run to get voice etc, but Squawkbox 3 is just brilliant. Thanks to the author for such a great bit of software. Paul

Not for free. Both those audio signals are mixed down together. Splitting them up again is tricky. I know of two options but both cost money:Option 1:You can buy a little gadget from www.goflightinc.com called the GF-ATC. This uses audio filters to extract the frequency range of the ATC speech from the total audio mix and passes it out over headphones. The audio is also passed along to your normal speakers. No idea how well this works or how much seperation you'll get. It also has some knobs on it for controlling the atc menus rather than using the keyboard.Option 2: (the way I do it)Buy RadarContact and run it on another pc accross a network. The ATC audio is totally seperate then. This will be used instead of the FS2004 ATC. It has some advantages like being more comprehensive than the FS ATC. The main disadvantge at the moment (v3.1) is it doesn't interact with the AI aircraft very well (if at all). I understand that version 4 will fix this.Option 2 is cheaper if you've already got the second pc and you're running an FSUIPC/WIDEFS setup. If not, AFAIK the GF-ATC is the only game in town. But as I said - I've never heard one so I don't know how good they are. Best ask around for some opinions.Paul

Luca,Without knowing what kind of graphics card you have it's difficult to give specifc details but here's some general guidelines:The first thing you need to do is setup the monitor and laptop display so that the windows desktop is extended over both displays. If you have windows XP it fairly easy:Do a right-click on the desktop and select properties from the shortcut menu. Goto the settings tab. You should see your two monitors. The laptop display will be number 1, your monitor should be number 2. For the external monitor you need to select it and make sure you tick the option: "Extend my Windows Desktop onto this monitor."You don't need to do anything with the 3d acceleration in the trouble shooting tab - leave these both on full.That's the hard part. Once you have that working in flight sim it's easy:Start a flight as normal. Make sure you are not in full screen mode. You have to be in windowed mode. (Alt-enter toggles these modes)Right-click on the outside view and select 'undock' from the menu. the outside view will then pop out of the flight sim window into it's own window. You just drag that onto your monitor and size it. Make sure it's completely contained in the monitor and that bits of the window do not creep onto the laptop display or your frame rates will be very poor.Once you are happy with the window positions save the flight. The window positions are saved with the flight.If you're not using windows xp you may have to make the monitor your primary display, run flight sim on the monitor and drag the panels to the laptop. (You undock the panels in the same way as the main display).Paul

Just to correct a factual error in your post:------- Project Magenta should be testable outside of the "official"graphics demos that show it animated but not working connected to FlightSimulator.-------The official demos on the project magenta website are not just animations - they are working versions of the program that can indeed be conected to flight sim. The demos however will cycle thru different instrument displays at regular intervals and will quit after a set time.The 'animation' mode that you discribe is only activated if no FSUIPC or WideFS is detected.Paul

There is no doubt that SimCity 4 has much more detail on the buildings than any building in FS.BUT... Sim City is not proper 3D. It just an isometric projection. You can't go down into the streets and walk or drive or fly around it. You can view the city from exactly 4 headings 000, 090, 180 and 270. :-)The Sim City 4 team did intend to render the game in true 3D when they started, so the user could view their city from any position and walk around it. They soon found out that the frame rate was too bad because they like to use very hi-res textures on the buildings. The only way they could get it to run in true 3D was to reduce the detail on the textures so a level they concidered to be unaceptable. So they stuck with the isometric projection.This was all documented on their web site during the development of SC4. Paul