Darth_Vapor666

Hi Sam, I think your comments are mostly fair, I'm not sure about you holding off from Flight for another couple of years though - Why?Regarding today's PC not handling Flight, it's a bit disrespectful of Microsoft's information and claim to build a Simulator for todays generation of PC's. Also you've completely ignored the impact of a 'gaming' world (awards, acheviements, richer online play) adding to the fidelity and diversity the current Flight sim experiance,i.e.1) I don't necessary implicate gaming tendancies to be anti hardcore - I'm sure there'll be interest for experienced flyers. 2) the possibility exists that Flight could actually add something new and therefore be viable alongside FSX not instead of it.I'm with you on not upgrading - I think a Sandybridge 2600 i7 should keep me afloat for a few years anyway :) we just have completely different reasons for keeping our rigs intact. I don't have many add on's though and not much other hardware but I'll ask you again, can you really hold off from buying Flight, why not just treat it as another add on and use it in isolation, I think we put too much emphasis on moving platform when a lot of simmers probably have or have had more than one Flight simulator installed on the PC at anyone time.Happy Flying.Cheers,Dave.

Dave, you raise some good points. My motivation to resist upgrading is mainly driven by financial reasons. I know a significant amount of time has lapsed since the release of FSX, especially in contrast to prior versions which were released much closer to one another. But as with FS9, FSX is different in that it boasts a very large number of 3rd party add-ons. Infact i wonder if FSX has the largest collection of add-ons of any game ever. It is this investment in add-ons that makes it so hard to walk away from. And if it turns out that Flight offers backward compatibility for FSX addons, I will be among the 1st to get it.Regarding my disrespectful statement casting doubt over MS's claim to build a sim for current generation pc's, I will believe their claims when I see Flight playing on today's PC's. As for speculating on the target market, I do not have the sources or interest to do that. Will leave that to the experts on this forum. I totally agree with your comment about some of us putting too much emphasis on moving platform. Maybe it should not be so, but that's the way it is. I gave away FS9 the minute I got FSX. I had numerous addons for it too. It's just that some of us are programmed to go all or nothing. Being 6 years older and wiser, I wish to go down the 'nothing' path this time.I have read comments in forums about FSX belonging to a past era or past its use-by date. They make me wonder how I'll be able to resist Flight with all it's technological advancements and promise of 'as real as it gets' in 2012 versus FSX's promise applying to 2006. In computing terms, the gap is like an eternity.In my opinion, the most important question to consider would be what (if any) edge does a stand-alone Flight offer over an addon enhanced FSX? As vital as it is, FSX is like a skeleton for many of us, with addons bringing it to life. And while we often hear developers blame it (rightly I suppose) for the limitations it imposes, it's hard to ignore that within these limitations, the cutting edge stuff these developers are delivering us today is built for FSX. Take EZCA 3 and ASE2012 as examples. Based on what they are showing us in previews, both redefine excellence and realism in flightsim. Considering they are both for FSX and still not out, love it or hate it, the platform is here to stay for atleast as long as FS9 already has.The discussion can go on and on. There's just one way to resolve; MS release Flight already so we can get a break :)Kind regards, Sam

Guess no news is good news. Another happy shade user here.

This feels so realistic, I can almost smell the fumes. Love your work guys.Btw what aircraft is that?

SibWings Safir. Very nice aircraft, nice sound package... and different!

Sorry, got too excited to read.

Thanks Damian. Appreciate your detailed reply.I did as suggested, and moved a couple of min sliders to 20%. It certainly made a difference. I also unchecked gusts and wind suppression in FSUIPC. I haven't had much time to try out but I hope to do so on the weekend. Another thing I want to look at more closely is if EZCA's random effects are causing a conflict with ASE. Kind regards, Sam

It sounds like you are suggesting we've spent no time or have no priority towards "realism" or depicting turbulence.

Not at all Damian. I wouldn't be so excited about the upcoming release of Active Sky 2012 if this were the case. Apologies if I came across as complaining about lack of realism or anything to that affect. Rephrasing what i said above; a feature that overrides other sliders and settings to produce real world weather is what I was referring to. Perhaps its already the case and i am just not aware. But my understanding is that individual sliders take precedence over everything else. Is the opposite possible? So say a user has wind limit set to 15knots and the actual wind is 20knots, then the 'real world weather' option overrides the wind slider setting and depicts 20knot winds. It may not be a popular request, but just thought id put out there what ive often wondered. Thanks,Sam

I am one of those that kind of hopes Flight turns out to be some kind of x360 buttonmasher game , or a "Vista" for real flight simmers so that it delays a real hardcore simmer FSXII for a few more years like Windows 7,so that my FSX addons last a bit longer, lol.

Haha My thoughts exactly...

Dan, I hear your pain lol. I'm beginning to think that no matter what I need the computer. So FSX and the addons to make it fun will cost $200-$400 minimum. Over 2 years, until MS Flight is released and debugged and addons developed it works out to $100-$200 per year for untold hours of enjoyment. And I will still get MS Flight when it comes out. If the addons work it's a bonus, either way I'll get my money's worth.

I hear your pain too Dan, Panda, Ranger and everyone who finds themselves in the same dilemna. I have spent a friggin $2k on flightsim software and hardware in the past year alone. Just got ASE, and have AS2012, PMDG777, Majestic Dash8 Q400 and RC5 on my radar. So how do you throw away goodies that you have barely used in favour of a new untested addonless (lol made it up) Sim. I have no doubt, Flight will shine and perhaps overshadow the competition, but its about limited resources. And that was the purpose of this post, to gauge the general interest and opinions of users.

Thanks Damian, yes it helps to an extent. I've never introduced specific weather conditions into my flights. I use real world weather whether it's injected by ASE, REX or the default weather engine. Hence my reluctance to up minimum cloud turbulence. I have all min max options at the limits so ASE has access to creating actual weather conditions without restrictions. Basically I prefer the weather engine to calculate whats closest to reality at a given place at a given time. Imposing limits defeats my purpose of using complex weather engines such as ASE. Guess what I am saying is that it would be nice to have an option that not only autonomously creates true to life weather at a place and time but also the simulated effects associated with that weather. For example, if i am flying through a blizzard with wind varying within a certain directional and speed range, then I would like to experience the most realistic effects for those types of conditions, nothing more nothing less. I may be asking for too much, but true weather IMHO is one of the most important variables in a flight simmers quest for maximum realism.Kind regards, Sam Mustafa

Guys,I want to know the combination of settings that would result in realistic turbulence. I have seen posts suggesting FSUIPC wind smoothing settings be disabled and similar for FSX settings. But I cant seem to get much of it even in heavy cumulous clouds. I am after realism, and not just turbulence for the sake of it. In real life, you can expect an uncomfortable experience flying through thick clouds, and I am not getting that with ASE at the moment. Thanks,Sam Mustafa

Your cheap, go buy X-Plane 10. Or... Stick with FSX. Nobody really cares, it's your money. I for one, am ready for something new.

X-Plane looks promising, no doubt. They have managed to steal a big chunk out of MS's share. More power to them I say. Competition is good. As a consumer with no affiliations or fanatic inclination towards either, my decision is based on quality alone. Enjoy testing, I prefer my flightsims bug-free

brucets, unless you work for them or are hoping on somehow profiteering from the project, I cant see how an opinion will have such an explosive impact on anyone. You can disagree all you like, but you dont have to be rude. Pls get a life! lol Fsau. Its gonna be tough I know. But I fell into the trap of upgrading to FSX too soon and lived through the nightmare of trying to make it work.

Wish it came for the price of a meal for two. Cant speak for anyone else, but I know I will never be able to stick with the base package alone. Another upgrading cycle will be begin spelling financial disaster for me . Yes, I agree about a dry 4-5 years. But FSX is now where it should have been in 2008. It finally runs the way it was meant to and boasts add-ons that rival FS9 in quality and quantity.

Hello fellow simmers,So we will most likely see Flight released in 2012. How many of you are intending on upgrading immediately? While I anxiously await its release and will be following every update, I am not planning on getting it for atleast another 3 years. Having built a healthy collection of add-ons and hardware over time, I dont think I can leave behind FSX just yet. In my opinion, it will be 2-3 years before we see the variety in 3rd party product choices we have in FSX today. The biggest developers still have promising add-ons for FSX in the works and until this momentum subsides, cant see any reason to change. It will also take time for the product to mature and become relatively bug free. Moreover if FSX is any guide, today's computers will most likely not be able to handle it well.Anyways, that's just my 2 cents worth. Not meant to discourage anyone. Happy Testing to all those planning for an early upgrade. I will be watching and waiting from the sidelines till such time that I am ready for Flight.Sam Mustafa

After encountering a few, mainly performance related issues, ASE has been steadily growing on me. Lately I have been using it with every flight and discovering its many features. So this news has me really excited. The screenshots posted are simply magical and some of the best I have seen. Looking forward to its release hopefully soon. Would make for an excellent Xmas present to myself. Thanks HiFi Team!Kind regards,Sam Mustafa

Yes, it's back. Thanks guys.

Hi all, I am in panic mode. Have been trying to get onto Aivalsoft to download the latest update but the site appears offline. I hope thats all there is to it. Its one of my favourite addons.Thanks,Sam Mustafa

Let us know what the rest of Hawaii looks like

HAHA too funny

Could the axing of Flight be the promised December announcement??

Yes, they own the franchise. They decide how to go about selling their products. But if they dont lose customers as a result of this veil of secrecy, they sure aren't winning any. Personally, I can't care less about announcements. My only hope for 'Flight' is that it's more stable than FSX and less resource intensive. The only reason I, and no doubt many others have stuck with MS is the lack of alternatives (and available add-ons). With the launch of XP10, Aerosoft sim & Prepar3d, and seeing that major developers are paying attention, we may finally see worthy alternatives. Sam

Its about 2 years since I got TIR, and Im yet to use it for more than one flight phase at a time. Every few months or so after reading raving reviews, I give it a try with fresh hope...only to disconnect a couple of hours later. I have used Seth's profile, tweaked Seth's profile, tried setting up my own profile but nothing seems to work. I think its a good idea, but as others have said above, its not for everyone. Fidgety people, stay away from it. Or first try free/cheaper alternatives so you can judge if its for you.Sam

You don't want to get caught in a microburst. I've been there --it ain't pretty. The feeling of absolute helplessness is awful.

Ok Dan, I retract my statement. Although I was only referring to it in the context of flight simming.

Thanks for your valuable suggestions guys. I think I have done enough tweaking and testing in the past few days to make ASE work for me. Apart from updating drivers etc, I think the one thing that made the biggest difference was the 'cloud layer number' setting. Confident my system could handle it, I had them way up. Now down in single digits, artifacts, CTD's and low frame rates have suddenly disappeared. Im also discovering that choosing a weather depiction method involves a bit of compromise. I love DWC, but after I saw snow falling in fair weather conditions, I had no choice but to switch. I am yet to experience the joys of getting caught in a up/down draft (microbursts) or wake turbulence, but the anticipation is keeping things interesting.Cheers,Sam

Wow thanks for that Damian. I am currently going through the painful process of trying to isolate the issue. Evidence so far is pointing to something other than an add-on problem. I have now had several freezes requiring a reboot. Apologies for any critical remarks in my post. It seemed too much of a coincidence earlier that fsx started playing up just as ASE was installed. My system has been rock solid since I got it, hence the suspicious tone.As I mentioned, ASE does seem to hold great promise. I just hope whatever is causing the problem allows me to experience this program. Currently I am tinkering with drivers and other system settings. Next, if unresolved would be a system restore and then clean boot :(Thanks again for your help and understanding.Sam Mustafa

Nope, not the Rex weather engine.In the past hour, ASE crashed and won't startup anymore. I think a full reinstall is in order.

Hi,After doing quite a bit of reading and research, I finally purchased ASE yesterday. The product seemed very promising, and I must say I was initially impressed. Unfortunately, this was short-lived and soon gave way to anger and frustration. As in the attached screenshots, I am getting random artifacts, tearing and other display problems. I have no idea if ASE is not liking my other add-ons but in the absence of ASE, they all happily worked together. I have not noticed anything specific triggering these issues. They just happen randomly with ASE running. Another issue I cant show in the screenies is flickering scenery. And I dont mean little distant sections, this is like half the airport building flickering...Its very disappointing to experience such issues with a product that has been in the market for a while. I dont get much time for flight sim, but what time I do get, I want to be flying, not posting for help in forums. I am sorry if my tone offends anyone, but its the 2nd payware in as many weeks to not perform. And Im just starting to question the quality of new products being released by some publishers.I use my pc exclusively for flight sim. Here are the specs:HP Pavillion w intel core 17 860 3.03 Ghz processor 8GB Ram, Nvidia GTX260The programs I am running: FSX acceleration with all updates, REX 2, Aivlasoft EFB, RC4, EZCA, Shade, FS Global 08, FSpassenger, audio environment & FS Scene.(pic5: a thick coloured line across the co-pilot windscreen)Also the clouds dont look right. Are they supposed to be 2-dimensional?Thanks,Sam Mustafa