fsape

I will be most happy to take a few over the weekend.So, uhm, am I permitted to add screenshots to this thread, or should I start a new topic?

Been flying the Feelthere Citation X for a couple of years in FSX, and have generally enjoyed that plane a lot, despite the ocassional bug or odd behavor. But an acceptable exterior model, what feels like a realistic flying model and quite a nice virtual cockpit with systems modelled reasonably well (aside from a couple of unfixed annoying bugs), it has made for a pleasant experience over many many hours.I am however a man that loves the buttons and simulation depth, so when I found out that a much more sophisticated version was in the works by Eaglesoft, you can be sure I was excited. Been following this plane for some time, and looking at the various developer screenshots they had posted and reading snippets of information about what was to come, my expectations were quite high.I purchased this fine aircraft the minute I could get some private time with the computer, and as most people would, just jumped right on and took a peak at the goodies. Exterior model is amazing. Really, it's gorgeous. Little details like the antennas, the shock absorber on the front wheel and the curves of the wing. Terrific animations for the doors, spoilers, and even the wheels turning on the ground. Love the winglets. Overall, great great job on the exterior, it is absolutely top-notch.Going into the cockpit, where one does spend most of the time, and I got hit with a *major* disappointment: the virtual cockpit. I don't know if I've been spoiled, I was not expecting PMDG or F1 Mustang level of quality (I had seen the developer screenshots), but what hit me was something that looks like a FS2004 freeware cockpit. There's nothing crisp and delicious about it. The overall vc graphics look flat and dull, like they're not even trying to look real. The 2D popup panels with APU controls, power, hydraulics buttons etc, are terrible, borderline amateurish, and honestly, much worse than the Feelthere version. Heck, you can spot the outside environment through thin gaps between gauges. Not good. The best looking part of the panel is the static circuit breaker area next to the right pilot seat. And what is with those incredibly shiny red buttons on the yokes?And something that bothers me to no end, is that the yoke covers the lower end of the right honeywell screen, with no option that I can find to remove the yoke. I was even considering getting a TrackIR just to be able to look around this yoke. The FeelThere version has positioned the yoke perfectly, so it doesn't cover the flight screens.Zooming to 50% in the VC, the only realistic perspective for me in this aircraft, and buttons and text becomes jerky and difficult to read. Same is not the case with almost all other higher-end payware FSX add-ons that I own.Keys.. Why don't keyboard shortcuts work? Why in the world does a simply CTRL+L to control landing lights not work? Almost none of the autopilot keyboard commands work, so you're forced to use the mouse for almost all operations. Highly annoying, when you've spent years memorizing all those MSFS shortcuts.Modeling of the technical systems, like the FMS and hydraulics are great. Good balance between realism vs button fetisch. In some other add-on aircrafts you have the choice of starting an aircraft in "cold and dark", "before engine start" and "engines running". Here you have cold and dark or engines running, but even starting with engines running, I've found that you have to go through a click some buttons, or the plane won't let you take off without alarms ringing. I'm myself a cold and dark sort of person, having flown advanced planes for decades, but this is not an aircraft for a beginner flight sim pilot, in my personal opinion.Firing up the aircraft, and you get to the enjoy the sound package. From within the cockpit, sounds are mostly excellent. The little clicks you hear when clicking the Honeywell screens or when moving the throttle, are all superb. External sounds are great too, no complaints there at all. Well done!Flying it, well, I have not had the filthy luck of flying one of these in real life, but it feels incredibly real. Very easy to hand fly. Performance feels very accurate. Not excessive climb rates, good glide and realistic feel of speed. I was surprised how little drag the spoilers and flaps created, making the plane somewhat hard to slow down. And going from 0 flaps to 35, creates relatively little lift, which I found a little odd, but again, I don't have a real Citation X to compare to, so don't know if this is true behavior. Overall very very good flight dynamics.Documentation is clear, well illustrated, to the point and as little or as much as you want to read. Good work on that!Frame rates have taken a bit of a hit, where I usually run 24 fps on my system, about 2 years old, I get 15-17 fps in the Citation X 2.0 Extreme.Conclusion? Considering I spend perhaps 90% of my flightsim time inside the virtual cockpit looking at the instruments, this aircraft has been a disappointment, especially considering the relative high price of the product. I've given it about 16-20 hours of active flying time in the past few days, and I'll probably give it another chance, but honestly, I just tried the Feelthere version before I started writing this mini review, and stepping into the Eaglesoft VC again, it felt a bit like a downgrade.I'll probably get hammered by Eaglesoft when posting this, and I can certainly appreciate the incredible amount of time and resources they have invested in this package, but for me personally, it wins in flying model, sounds and externals 100%, but loses terribly in the cockpit which looks dated and not at all on par with other FSX payware add-ons like F1 Mustang or the new ERJ 145.Thanks for reading. Now I'll go and fly some more.

Well, the trackclip is around $35 (http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/02-pro...ckClip-PRO.html), so unless it's actually needed, would be ok to save those bucks.. In your opinion it works just as well without the TrackClip?

Saw a video on Youtube with a guy using the TrackIR and I was blown away, looks like a must have for simming. Went to buy it, but now stuck on whether to get the headset trackclip or not. Is it really necessary to get it, or is the sensor sitting on the monitor sufficient? Any feedback greatly welcome!

Sounds fantastic! How about a couple of screenshots? :-)

Wow. Amazing screenshots. Is it still framerate friendly, or should I start saving up for a new mean gaming PC?

Well, this certainly sounds promising. Now we just need it released. :-)Ron, if you need a very experienced simmer as beta tester for this, let me know.

Hello all,Anyone here know when the Eaglesoft Citation 2 extreme lands for FSX? Been flying the old Wilco/Feelthere version for some time, but can't help drooling a little bit over the screenshots on their site. Wrote them and asked when it would come to FSX, as I saw a message on a forum from February saying "any day now", which obviously is a bit of a stretch, since it isn't out yet. Never heard from them. Anyone know anything?I haven't flown any of Eaglesofts other planes.. Are they usually of decent quality?

Hey, Nick, just a quick word of thanks from me. I've been following these forums for years, and your tips and suggestions on tuning FS and general tech insight into FS, has been truly useful and valuable. So, thank you!