Speed Of Flight

Great news! While I enjoy all the addons that still work in FSX, it will be good to have dual-functionality. Thank you also for making this a simple patch/update. Your time is appreciated!

It has been the practice for a long time to kick Microsoft around for their complacency, and lack of "give a dang", if you will. I do almost encourage such criticism of the "out of touch" big guy. There is a new developer updating, modifying for better performance, and in general, showing a sense of urgency and, dare I say, excitement about owning the license to a very old platform. With all due respect, to admins and moderators alike, it doesn't sound very professional to be snide about Dovetail's lack of informing PMDG about every change they make. It would help, sure. After all, we all want OUR products to work with THEIRS. I would like to think that I'm buying from a company that makes professional products, with a corresponding demeanor. No offense intended, but it's a new day for our hobby, we should be excited! Difficulties happen, and you'll figure it out. You always have, and we're all waiting patiently. Do that voodoo that you do so well...

I think he means "repair work". I am certainly glad that some 25-30 years ago, MS acquired and really brought out a great flight sim product. However, to later abandon it, then sell off its components to some 3rd party folks, and then watch it explode back to life on release day must be a real eye-bruiser: meaning, someone in the big corner office at MS will tell his colleagues that Steam sells it for $5, and that's why it did so well, while thinking in the back of his mind, "would it have been so hard or expensive to just fix it?" The way I see it, this gem of a product does belong in the hands of someone willing and inspired to maintain it, develop it, grow it, and make it what it was in its prime. For pete's sake, there were TV commercials for it. That has to be some kind of first, right? If having it now for $5 only gives me a credit for the next release, or even nothing at all, then so be it. We've all been struggling to keep this thing alive for 8 years now, while hoping for something new, right? Now we have it. I hope these guys at Dovetail really keep themselves in a "good guy" role by working with the developers we have all come to know and trust over the years. Afterall, quality addons are some of the best reasons to have FS in the first place. I think "regular priced" sales will do just fine. Remember, FSX was $69.99 on release day, for "deluxe", and $30 for Accel x-pack, and I bought both on release day. I think that for the passion we all have for this thing, cost is to a point, irrelevant. I'm excited for this newest of chapters in the story of our hobby/passion, and am glad to see it take off again!

Purchased/downloaded in 25 minutes. Flew for 1+- hr, so far. Initial pros/cons: Pros: 1. The changelog may seem like only a little was done, but it does seem to perform somewhat better on my machine, as in higher frames. We have most of these tweaks already, but the cfg file looks somewhat different to the trained eye. The "HIGHMEMFIX=1" tweak, for example, is implemented by default somehow, but the entry is not present in the cfg, suggesting that they did more than just tweak it the way we users do, and perhaps explaining the mild performance gain. Noteworthy: This is with only a few addons, since installing some addons is slightly different now. This may change after clamping it down with a few busy scenery packages. 2. FSX IS ALIVE! A developer with current staff is now going to oversee this product, meaning "hold on to your butts!" We ride again, with fully-functional integrated and seemingly stable MP connectivity. 3. Many installers of 3rd-party addons will allow you to navigate to the new directory during install for FSX-SE. You can keep your planes and stuff! 4. It's 5 bucks. You really can't miss. It's not buying your old FSX again, it's investing in a company, and showing support to the community, and hell, it's sending the message that we sim folk are quite alive and well, and ready to embrace a next-generation of flight simulation. The power is in our hands right now, I did my part to support! 5. Still just as open-source as ever. Just a slightly different file structure. You can add your own tweaks, if you need/want to, but try it before you go messing with it. Cons: 1. Not all 3rd party addons are 100% compatible yet, but only because of the aforementioned install procedure needed, at least as I've noticed. These can include FTX Global, PMDGs stuff (maybe if I uninstall from Vanilla FSX first) but I don't know yet. Lots of sub-folders are created with PMDG products, and they don't all land in the same structure/order as in FSX. Possibly, but IDK yet. 2. D/L only. I like having the disks, just incase. But we are putting a lot of faith in the newfangled interwebs nowadays, we'll probably fare just fine without them. Conclusion: It was 5 bucks, and a half-hour D/L. It's a no-brainer, really. Seamless install procedure. Co-exists with FSX. Why not? See you up there.

It was a problem with windows 7. I just formatted/reinstalled (for the umpteen-and-a-halfth time) and had complete success. I don't know what happened with windows, but everything went fine this time. I thank you all for your replies. I did have a ticket open, and just downloaded the MD-11 again, and this latest one just worked flawlessly. Now for the 777. Thanks again, all.

I wonder if PMDG would have any discount method since I just bought the thing. There has to be a better way, but I know I could troubleshoot a DVD better than a direct download. I was afraid of this, that's why I bought the 747-400 on disc when I saw it. So far, the 777 goes awesomely, but the MD-11 is a real problem right now. I don't get why. It might be something on my end, but I'm sure there's something I'd have learned by now. What about that "7-days to download, and after that, a support request is required to get it going again"? I still use the link from my account, and have downloaded it again several times thinking it's correct, and that the file is corrupted, or something, but it always behaves the same way. Never installs. Just the install wizard window, and no actual PMDG window appears.

That was the 2nd thing I tried. No, this is far more complex, me thinks. It's as though the file is empty. Like the archive has no files in it. Did PMDG ever make a DVD or CD that I can opt for? t least I'd have a backup hard copy I could do something with, rather than depend on the interwebs to get it right.

Trying to install the MD-11 for FSX, and it doesn't start. Double click on the install icon, and it unzips, says the install shield will guide through the install process (quickly, this is really just a flash with a progress bar) and nothing else happens. Process manager says it's using 13% or so of the system resource, but nothing ever comes back on the install. Wait a few minutes, and still nothing. Redownloaded the package, incase the one I'm using was somehow corrupted, and still nothing. There's nothing I can be doing wrong, but what can I do? It's a download, and a double-clicker. But nothing happens. What else can I do?

MD-11 installer won't install. It opens the installer, but nothing else happens. When I click it again, it says that "another instance of the installer is already running", and to let it do it's thing, slow down, wiseguy, but nothing happens. Check the task manager, and it lists it in the applications tab, taking 11% of the available processor's duty, but left for 30 minutes, still nothing happens. It's as easy as a double click, but meh. Just bought this thing a couple months ago, and even downloading a new package since the link is still valid, and same thing... Any ideas? Just for GPs, UAC is all the way off.

So I've learned that FSX now crashes trying to use any aircraft. This has to be a bad dll or module, or something that the MD-11 installs into FSX. 30 seconds to a minute, but no matter what plane I choose, the dreaded fatal error. I will now open a support ticket.

Seems rather expensive for an (at most) 14 hour flight. Definitely worth it, if one is EXTREMELY well-to-do. How luxurious! Very interesting idea.

Newer member, first new post! Thread should read "PMDG MD-11 crashes FSX". I hope Im not misunderstood... I finally purchased the MD-11, and after all these years, it's still majestic! I have always loved this heavy, although she's practically a relic now. I installed it, and after that, I started having FSX crash. I get "A fatal error has occurred", and "FSX is restarting." I have freshly formatted, reinstalled FSX, and am currently still working out the bugs before I start loading up all my eye candy. I have only two addon aircraft: a C-130, and the mighty PMDG 777. Everything was going fine until I installed the MD-11. After that, I get enough time to load a flight, get to where I'll start to push the throttles forward, and then the blue circle of death appears, and I get a fatal error... So, this is the latest version, but still an older model. 1.20.0055. Best I know, anyway. Just bought it a month ago, or so. Does anyone else have an issue like this? What happened? Things were going so good! Why can't I fly my favorite heavy? :(

How does one "enable the auxiliary tank"? Is it in a .cfg file, or operations center?

You mention that if we didn't read those two paragraphs carefully; is the 777 going to use this feature on its own, without a separate purchase from HiFi? By that, I'm asking if this will be included with the SP1 or otherwise as a simple update, or only if we purchase HiFi's program?

The "altn trim" levers left of the throttle levers with one click will set trim to a favorable angle, but not the means to properly set pitch or "stabilizer trim". I saw this message "config stabilizer" on takeoff at KBFI, and it will always appear if an incorrect trim value is present. The FMC is the proper place to set exact trim for takeoff, as current TOW and CG will be accounted for. I am still learning this bird, and have noticed that it isn't one that even an accomplished sim pilot can simply jump in and fly. Hope this helps someone.

Thank you! With all the complicated troubleshooting steps, intricate testing and tuning, and then even the consideration of abandoning the AMD card, I thought, "well mine is performing spectacularly, I ought to try to help". The power trophy for "best card out there" goes back and forth between the brands, so it's not really about loyalty, but it seems like anywhere you look, the NVidia camp has plenty of smear tactics to offer about AMD, and I can't stand it. To an intellectual type, it seems easy to conclude that AMD wouldn't be out there with a GPU if they were really that much worse than the competition. I'm off my soap box now. Ultimately, the goal is to help. I wonder if there are 14.x drivers out there giving any issues yet? I don't update. If the one I've got works, why complicate things? All the best to both camps. See you up there!

New member here, first post! That out of the way, I too run an AMD card, the 7870. Had the same issue with spikes and other scenery artifacts. It was quite annoying. I fixed it, at least for my machine. I want to help. Firstly, it is 100%, whole heartedly, without a doubt, assuredly, a driver issue. Roll back to an older driver. If you want, I'll look up which version I'm using (problem-free, even) and post it. AMD keeps them on their site, archived in the back lot. It takes some digging. Secondly, I hope it's not TOO LATE! Don't start wrecking your FSX .cfg. It's not there. Nothing you'll do in there will fix it. I returned my first 7870 over this exact issue. I posted pics on another site, and asked for help, but ended up solving it with a driver rollback. Third, I run AMD CPUs, overclocked past 5.0 GHz. No problems. It's all about a driver. I'm guessing that as far as you've gone to correct this issue, with as many pages are here to be read, that you all may find it difficult to believe that it's that simple a solution. Just try it. When I bought my card, the 13.2 driver was in the box. The version that it came with was already affected and had this issue. I'll look up where that driver comes from and link it in a post if it's ok to do that here. I'm also going to tell you that if you've tried a 12.8-12.11 driver (or just not 13.1) and you're still seeing this problem, that with all due respect, your other driver was not completely uninstalled. Uninstall. Restart. Delete the AMD folders from your programs folder. Restart. Install new driver. Restart. It's a long process, but so is troubleshooting. Hope this helps, and that it's landed on a receptive audience. It's your driver. Positively.