TedG

Nice to see you back sir. Sincerely :Peace:

Dare I suggest that an apology is in order?

I am actually working on a review of this particular model along with the SSJ-100 Superjet as sort of a dual XP airliner piece.I had actually purchased both planes prior to deciding to write about them.The Dash 8 is seriously well done. If you have experience with the Flight 1 ATR72-500 under FSX you will find this similar in general function from a flight management perspective and FAR better looking and performing under X-Plane...not to mention way faster.Not to steal my own thunder...but it's a good 'un! Well worth the money and loads of fun to fly. Same goes for the SSJ actually.I'll eventually have the review in for publication. I have been busy with a transatlantic move/new job and this is literally my first weekend to enjoy flight simming :Peace:One caveat....I am still using XP9.7 so no comment regarding performance under XPX at the present time.

Not to totally derail things here....I just bought Crusader Kings 2 a couple days ago and its pretty deep! It brings to life the bits of Medieval Total War II that are abstracted (the family relations/marrying/heirs/intrigue/lineage etc) and is pretty immersive. Actually I think it is the polar opposite of MTW2 as the battles are generally abstracted in favor of the Borgia-like scheming. Great stuff and probably the most accessible Paradox title yet (Hearts Of Iron was a chore lol).But if you feel the need to dive right down the rabbit hole....something insanely complex beyond belief (and still moderately easy to learn the mechanics of) would be Gary Grigsby's "War In The East" or John Tillers "Campaign Series" will utterly satisfy your inner grognard. Actually "Campaign Series" has been on my PC's ever since they were first published in 1997 (I think).Back to the flight simulator part of things.....I fly real weather/VATSIM-only/adhere to the published charts and stick to just a few aircraft that I take the time to get comfortable with. I felt pretty hardcore doing the transantlantic crossing in the B377 with no naviads for my recent review....or at least my tush did .But I would not go hanging labels.....as long as folks are enjoying what they do in this hobby and feel it is time well spent thats what is important.**edit**I also like to waterboard myself on the golf course....sigh....5 years left to get my handicap down from 18 in order to join the senior tour......yeah right :(

Because I can.Because it is not a poll regarding personal opinion of Flight.And just because I have no interest in Flight for myself it would be foolish to ignore what others are saying about it. This is after all a flight simulator community.Similar to yourself posting in say....the X-Plane forum area with no interest in X-Plane right? :Whistle:

NoUhuhNopeNahhhMy virtual aviation buffet is already full to bursting and have no need to wander elsewhere.

My answer would depend on what sort of simulation you are referring to!For example...its not overly difficult to learn how to competently fly a complex simulated aircraft, navigate, and interact with ATC during the process of takeoff-landing-going from point 'a' to point 'b'.Now compare that to certain other sims where you might be required to fly fast at very low altitudes...in the dark....no autopilot...and dump a selection of boomboom on various targets while avoiding becoming a target. Or engage in a dynamic shooting war environment against other hostile aircraft.Never mind other types of sims more oriented towards strategy.....i.e. Gary Grigsby's "War In The East"....or perhaps trying to keep your battalion from getting turned to mush in "Steel Beasts".......One fella's "hardcore" is another fella's walk in the park.....and all perfectly valid :(

Thanks for the clarification.

I stopped reading this after his comments regarding VATSIM. LTFN

I am not really fussed about Flight.....it is what it is.I chuckled a bit when I read this:Yes, we can display all Navaids, they are all there. And if you mouse-over any of them on the Map, you will see the Nav frequencies and hear the Morse. Now why would the developers have bothered putting Navaids in an arcade game for kids? They are all operational and you can fly all published approaches with IFR-capable aircraft, although the Icon and the Stearman are not.How does the reviewer know if you can actually "fly all published approaches" if the aircraft provided are not IFR-capable?The piece is generally well-written...but....and a rather large but.....I too found it rather patronizing and condescending.It is also biased to the point of being an opinion rather than a review. A lot of pure speculation as well (unless the writer is in the know and being annoyingly coy).I also find it interesting that there is no "What I Like/What I Dislike". Overall it is a departure from the usual objective nature one finds in reading AVSIM reviews past and present-although in fairness Luis did chuck himself under the bus by actually writing the article in the first place. I wouldn't have taken it on....but I have no real interest in the product.I have to agree with Stick (although the "low point" is more the childish antics displayed by forum members in recent weeks).And to echo Stick...it's just my opinion. And now I'll duck back under my customary X-Plane/FSX protective shell :Peace:

Hmmmm...Rex Essentialand if I understand correctly Orbx are doing something for southern Alaska.Everything else is all for X-Plane

Something has been seriously tweaked in this latest release.I just downloaded the latest beta and at KSEA with my settings my frames jumped from average 20-30 to 40-50 with no change to previously set rendering values :( .Now in fairness the RW weather at the moment there as read from the XPX METAR is CAVOK so the real test will be with the clouds. I noticed the cloud slider is now moved from 0% to 45%.....I'll report again when I get some crappy weather in there.Also I have the ATC/AI planes shut off.And yes it's an ASUS GTX 550ti Direct Cu 1Gb card with the brand new driver set from earlier in the week.If this is a sign of things to come.....whoa Nelly! Seriously awesome optimising going on...nice work LR guys.

LOL....as a complete derailing side note when I got told I needed reading glasses before Christmas I could not believe the huge improvement it made; however, they are useless with the PC. Other than the reading glasses my vision remains way better than normal.....still 20/15 at age 45 which is pretty good going considering the abuse they have had over the years (stereoscopes, light tables, imagery analysis, abnormal environments) and the rest of my family wear coke bottles to a varying degree.I put it down to my all consuming love of the humble carrot :( . Perhaps I may yet go forward with my cunning plan to obtain at least a Sport Pilot license just for giggles.Anyway...back to the UI discussion.

Fix steak now...improve sizzle (UI) later. LR seem to have priorities in order.

Actually there is a distinct VSOA (Virtual Special Operations something-or-another) group of pilots within VATSIM that fly military transport and combat aircraft under some specific guidelines and mission profiles.This includes simulated USAF and other related military/Coast Guard types from around the world.I do believe with the clearance of participants you can even indulge in simulated intercept/escort...sounds kind of fun if you like that sort of thing. Best thing to do is get in touch with one of the organizations involved.....they are listed here:http://linksmanager....operations.htmlIf you don't want to get involved to that extent you are free to fly whatever you like and control (if available) will probably accomodate requests for various speeds/approaches as desired within reason.**edit**Just FYI the F-16 is an Air Force jet...not Army :( .