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What's a better deal, FSX or the Prepar3D Academic with an eye towards the future, assuming ofcourse that one has never owned FSX ?With Prepar3D Academic making improvements whilst FSX is frozen for the forseeable future, hoping MS wakes up from the Flight fiasco, how can one pass up on Prepar3d Academic at $50 ?http://www.prepar3d.com/prepar3d-academic/

For starters, invasion of their turf, which they have tried so hard to protect - at least for now and the foreseeable future. Secondly, it may set a precedent for future 3rd party add-ons, thus further eroding their control of their turf.I don't know what sort of restrictions they place on the user and/or the user's hardware - so, IMHO, it's a grey area. And I am not too thrilled with it being "Live" !

Check this video out, especially their custom simulator with humongous screens @4:52 onwards.http://www.iconaircr...-invention.htmlAt $139,000 for a base Icon model, they include lessons for two over a two week period and seems like ANYBODY can be trained, thanks to the FAA's new "Sport" classification. I also notice in one of the videos a parachute for the whole aircraft, should anybody be panic stricken when all else fails - and they have it shown as a picture rather than a video - understandable why they don't want to dwell too much on that !I don't have an extra $139,000 laying around but that multi-screen custom sim sure seems like the next best thing ! Wonder what other sceneries they have.How much for the sim ? If not for sale, the free MS Flight will suffice for now.

Could other 3rd party developments be far behind ?I am just curious as to how MS might feel about this.

Since I am not familiar with either "Steam" or Xbox, I'd assume "Windows update" as the closest thing to "Live".Thank you for the responses.

Does "Live" mean that the updates to the base Flight program and/or the DLC's will get automatically updated should you chose to do so, kinda like Windows updates ?

Perhaps negative but definitely a standout !Lack of SDK for ANY 3rd party involvement.Lets just say a dis-improvement or purposeful deletion of a feature, hence a definite disappointment and a huge setback.Facing today's reality, folks !

Do you have ANYTHING to say at all ?If so, DO IT, otherwise ....

I am not sure I agree with that. Same documentation, yes, but same tools, I doubt it. The large commercial developers have the ability and the resources to develop and/or enhance the available Laminar tools and codes which a smaller or individual developer may not have. I'd agree to that. Laminar is now stuck with supporting/maintaining "compatibility" to a greater degree, if the likes of Aerosoft and others are involved/committed to developing for X-plane, where the smaller or individual didn't/wouldn't stand a chance.No doubt there are pros and cons to this but, IMHO, overall, on balance, the individual or smaller developer loses. Just like the MS Flight, 3rd party involvement is out of the question for now, MS has infuriated most, if not all developers. I am sure, people who would like to purchase the commercial 3rd party products would not care one way or another.But again, IMHO, the dice is loaded, increasingly favoring commercial developers and I think it's a setback for the smaller and individual efforts that X-plane has benefited from over the past decade or so.

I'd have to agree with you there. It seems that the direction Laminar is pursuing is increasing large commercial 3rd party development at the expense of individual 3rd party development. I am not completely comfortable with that, but I am sure many would probably be. Perhaps so. The difference is Laminar EXPECTS it's users to contribute to X-plane. That is somewhat of a demand by Laminar of it's users. And if that's the case, the users have a right to ask Laminar to furnish the users with ALL the necessary and appropriate tools.I think that's only fair.

I rest my case.

@ jasonX,i care more about issues than personalities. If any one has an issue with what I posted, by all means challenge my post with your own, but slipping into character attacks doesn't interest me.Thanks.

Not quite.What I am saying is that over the decade that I have been fiddling with X-plane, Austin's, (X-plane author), attitude has been and I quote "you can do whatever you want", implying that Austin has no interest whatsoever in what you do to develop whatever you develop. That is evidenced in the absence of tools or utilities coming out of Laminar from versions 4 thru halfway thru version 7! He saw 3rd party development as an invasion of his independence and encroachment on his turf rather than seeing the 3rd party development as actually enhancing X-plane's credibility and adding value to X-plane.Hence my statement and I quote :"If Laminar expects users and 3rd party developers to spend the necessary time and effort to contribute to X-plane by enhancing the "plausible world" to the contemporary "real world", that is the least they, Laminar, should be expected to do."In fairness, I must say that things started changing for the better in the latter part of v7 and became somewhat stable after Ben Supnik was hired. However, that "could care less attitude" still lingers to an extent. This is where the "compatibility" issues between versions also become relevant.Here's to hoping that the Laminar team understands that ANY 3rd party development adds to the value and credibility of X-plane, which ultimately benefits Laminar as well as it's customer base.

Frankly ? Ask me if I care whether you are tired or not !I made a clear remark about what would be good overall that everybody could use and add to the overall X-plane experience. I have been around and have used X-plane long enough to feel comfortable in my skin in making the remarks I do - all with the intention of making X-plane better. Someone once remarked that I may be able to catch more flies with honey - may be so, but I am afraid I don't have that much patience left in me considering the hours and years I have devoted to X-plane.I am not here to please anyone, just say my piece, FWIW.You don't like my answer, TOUGH !

May not be quite what you were looking for but, here goes :1. Clear, concise documentation of ALL available commands and options available in the X-plane program for use by aircraft/scenery/plug-in/utility developers.2. Tools for scenery development - Object viewer/editor/texturizer, dsf editor, including editing all land and water features and texture application, whether on a small custom scale or on a more general larger scale. WED or making some of the code available to-date are steps in the right direction but hardly adequate. If anyone should know, Laminar should !3. An ironclad guarantee that whatever is developed in the way of tools and 3rd party scenery development will be usable and/or a conversion utility made available for updating to the next version of X-plane, including a promise to update the current tools to the next version. The reason why this is important is because the current scenery engine and data formats are based on X-plane v8, which are or may be outdated and the next generation may be a complete do-over, hence leading up to a waste of all the current and past efforts at development. And we have been here before.If Laminar expects users and 3rd party developers to spend the necessary time and effort to contribute to X-plane by enhancing the "plausible world" to the contemporary "real world", that is the least they, Laminar, should be expected to do.What Laminar has failed to completely understand in the past is that each 3rd party effort, whether individual, group, freeware or payware, at scenery, aircraft, utility or other creative developments and add-ons enhances the value and reputation of X-plane and the said developers need all help they can get !

I could support that and actually welcome that - but we are dealing with Laminar.

In case you didn't know, this isn't your website, not even a topic you started. Correct me if I am wrong, but you are as much a guest here as I am. The only difference is that you are using this website for your personal gain.My opinion, expressed on a website, which, may I remind you again, does not belong to you, is expressed for everyone to see, not just you.

When you, CameronB, offer an opinion (technical or otherwise) on a product, that's one thing.But when you offer an opinion on these free forums that promotes your product over another in addition to you providing a link to your website, that, IMHO, is a conflict of interest.Again, IMHO, if you want to compare products that you have no direct or indirect commercial interest in, is acceptable; so is putting that comparison in a paid advertisement if it's a product you sell. But using these free forums for your own commercial benefit is, to me, a conflict of interest.Admitting that you run a commercial enterprise and are pushing a product you sell over another you don't sell or whether you stand behind your products is hardly adequate; and, as I have said above, is a conflict of interest in my book.

Isn't this a conflict of interest ?

Morten,In your response you avoided talking about any deviation of your efforts from airliners, so I ask again:-Please diversify and apply your talents beyond airliners - a business jet perhaps ?Thanks.

My guess would be that the street data is more current.i.e. the scenery generating program was probably run with slightly older OSM data.Off topic :-How's your system coping with XPX and are you running the full version or the demo ? I am considering putting together a custom built system, and looking for suggestions on components with a components budget incl. Win7 OS to around a grand !

I think you are doing fine, with or without meds !Wish you a healthy speedy recovery.

It should be optional; besides the manual says you should be able to do that. And if you can't fly offline, isn't that raising a privacy issue ?

Hi MortenM,Have enjoyed many of your creations over almost a decade now and hopefully will continue to. Your countless number of creations and dedication to X-plane is admirable and very much appreciated.May I ask if you have had any personal contact and/or discussions about the X-plane flight model and how it can be improved. If anyone can make suggestions to Austin, it would be you. I believe you are residing somewhere in Europe and Austin seems to prefer having X-plane get-togethers in Europe - he hardly has any in the US - haven't heard of any, so it might perhaps be easier for you two to meet to discuss X-plane's FM. I am sure you would have a few suggestions for him that he could incorporate into X-plane to improve the FM.Thank you for all your wonderful creations over the years and look forward to more - hoping you would create more and diversify your talents - like the Archer III.Thank you again.

IMHO, the best option is to move the entire X-plane folder out from the SSD to wherever you have the additional space available, assuming of course you have enough space available, for present and future needs.The main drawback being the program may load more slowly than the SSD load !BTW, you can safely move the X-plane folder to a new location, since X-plane does not depend or write to the registry, assuming you have a Windows OS.