View Full Version : So I got FS-10.
BASED ON DELUXE EDITION
Last night I got MSFS10 Deluxe Edition and it's actually really good, I thought I'd post some of my thoughts on it to influence your purchase for those who don't already have it.
MY PC SPECS:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800
GPU: ATI Radeon X800 256MB PCI-E
Memory: 2048MB RAM
DDR: 190GB
OS: Windows XP w/ SP2
Performance:
Seriously, I don't know what all the fuss is about. Yeah, so what, you can't have your graphics on ultra super high, but thats the case with most sims anyway. I can get around 35 - 40 FPS on medium high settings, with 100% traffic and autogen among other special effects. It takes a few hours of messing with the sliders to really find the 'sweet spot' on what you want, however there seems to be a boarder line on those sliders, once you go to far back your considering looking like FS98 or something, you should at least have them past medium.
GamePlay:
The actual flying is terrific, with so many effects including head latency with control surface inputs/braking/wind or whatever else would cause you to shake around in real life. A disappointment is the ATC hasn't been upgraded at all, and its the same old thing unless you fly a mission. There's lots of wildlife like birds and elephants, to girrafs, and while flying over a low area with wildlife you can hear birds chirping and animals making the usual sounds. There are something like 50 missions and tons of aircraft (at least on my version, deluxe) that keep you busy and gives you some guidence, with things like rescue missions, to normal flights, to air demos, and air races. The airports are fully functional, for example. Lets say you landed on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle, and you park at the assigned gate. You can watch, as ground crews come and unload cargo, work on your aircraft, and just do your normal ground crew services. Also, the gates automatically dock to your ATP aircraft.
Aircraft:
Well, honestly I've had the sim for about 4 hours and I haven't gotten around to the ATP's yet but as far as GA goes, its very nice! The virtual cockpits are very high detailed. Another disappointment though, is no upgrades to make any systems realistic, but thats just to keep the average new commer interested instead of saying "this is too complicated". The sounds have been updated, and new planes such as the A321, 738, Maul, CRJ700, Goose, and new cockpit gauges like the G1000 have been added.
Graphics:
http://www.avsim.com/pages/0106/FSX/fsx024.jpg
http://www.avsim.com/pages/0106/FSX/fsx026.jpg
http://www.avsim.com/pages/0106/FSX/fsx016.jpg
http://www.avsim.com/pages/0106/FSX/fsx003.jpg
http://www.avsim.com/pages/0106/FSX/fsx012.jpg
A Video Displaying FS-10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qtrfrcKoTc
No words needed, see for yourself.
Multiplayer:
Multiplayer has been completely re-done also, they re-did the entire thing now. It's wired through game-spy so of course you'll need to register for an account, but so many things have been added, such as voice-over communication, ablity to be an ATC, and share the same plane with others. It does appear to be a bit more stable, making it easier for formations and overall multiplayer looking better.
So, what's the deal here with FS-10? IMHO if your running a higher end computer, and your a flight simulator fan, this is totally for you, if your running a slow computer, stay with the older versions until you can upgrade.
liquid_rockface
10-28-2006, 07:22
lqcorsa how about some of your own screenshots instead of those from avsim which we've all seen about, well, a million times! :sad:
Nice review, I enjoyed reading it. Just a comment about the game. Like, if you were really flying in a plane, I highly doubt you would hear birds chirping and animals making noises, unless you were flying in a hang-glider maybe! Even in a micro-light, I'm sure the noise of the wind and the engine is far to high to hear birds chirping! Just a criticism on the reality.
Is there wind noise in the cockpit? How does the rain look? Are there finally working windscreen wipers on the appropriate planes?
What is the flight planning software like? For instance, in FS9, I cannot work out how to plot a chart so that I know that I need to fly into VOR X at X degrees in order to get to whatever place. I'm also not sure that there is an option in the 737 or 747 to even set the OBS for the VOR. It's fed through the GPS I think, which is pre-programmed by the simulator without any option for editing. All of which is quite unrealistic.
I would really appreciate seeing some of your screenshots. Thanks again.
First off thanks for taking the time to write about it.
I have one question, what are the instruments like, are they smooth in operation?
Cheers
I'll get back to both of you on that ASAP, but I can answer a few right now.
Like, if you were really flying in a plane, I highly doubt you would hear birds chirping and animals making noises, unless you were flying in a hang-glider maybe! Even in a micro-light, I'm sure the noise of the wind and the engine is far to high to hear birds chirping! Just a criticism on the reality.
You can only hear this is the external views, unless you are flying a ultralight or glider, low. Or if you fly through the amazon or congo or something you can REALLY hear the monkeys and what not :lol.
I have one question, what are the instruments like, are they smooth in operation?
Well, you can chose to have either a Virtual Cockpit as default, or a 2-D cockpit as default, however you CAN access both, you just have to play around with some keys, F-10 I think it is to access the 2-D Panel. In the 3-D cockpit, IMHO the gauges could be quite a bit smoother, they look like they capture at about 4 FPS, but there might be a setting I'm un aware of to change that.
Okay I got the answers for your questions, and some of my own screens.
There is wind sounds, you can hear loud and clear.
The rain is very realistic, and it creates puddels and splashes on the runways, also water sprays behind your plane on takeoff.
The Flight Planning Software is exactly the same, however just like FS2004 you can edit all the waypoints and what not.
Here are my screenshots, all taken in the season of Fall, October 28th 2006 in my home state, Washington. The terrain is simply amazing, and EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING is exactly the way it is in real life, not a single object is missing. The Pictures don't really allow you to fully grasp the expierience though.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n119/lqcorsa/fsx4.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n119/lqcorsa/fsx5.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n119/lqcorsa/fsx6.jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n119/lqcorsa/fsx7.jpg
Afterburner
10-28-2006, 20:24
DDR: 190GB
You mean HDD bud... :wink2:
Xcellent pics too....ATI's image quality rocks :evils:
It looks nice with the settings turned all the way up when sitting on the runway.:thumb:
How ever I can't fly with out major choppiness. The settings are set to medium high. It doesn't look that good and still gets choppy through the flight.:nono:
I did have a memory problem today. Lets start with system specs
AMD 62FX, Evga 7900GTX super clocked 512 memory, 2gigs of ram.
I was just ending a 35 minute flight and went to exit when the game dumped.
It gave me an error message saying ran out of memory try setting your video
settings lower.
I don't need help with this but I just want to inform every one who is thinking about buying a new card to make sure it has at least 1 gig of ram on it. 512 isn't going to cut it unless you want very low settings.
I am going to end this with a wish that these new high end cards coming out have at least 2 gigs of ram on them. just to be safe for future games. :wacko:
You mean HDD bud
Whatever same thing lol.
Rowdy, not sure why your getting those frames, but maybe its because you have Nvidia instead of a "processing powerhouse" AMD and ATI :rofl (joking).
I found some other cool stuff while flying a mission. They included area 51 in this version, and it included several UFO's flying around the base!
Afterburner
10-29-2006, 00:03
Ur mistaken mate, cards with 512mb are more than suffcient. Even 256mb models rarely break a sweat except when playing @ 1600 x 1200 resolution onwards. Your system is High End. Wats slowing you down is the Autogen Detail. I can have absolutely everything else maxed out but Autogen set to none and I get liquid smooth gameplay without tweaking. If you can take high resolution terrain and texture without building or trees then its super smooth.... :smile:
For Nvidia cards I would suggest selecting "Let 3D Application Decide" in the Driver Settings for this particular SIM as forcing the card to use otherwise results in alot of slowdown. Ensure that you select Anisotropic and Anti-Aliasing in FSX settings under Customization while the rest is up to you.... :smile:
Vampire14
10-29-2006, 21:10
190 gigs of Ram, that thing must be hummin!!! :bigsmile:
Afterburner
10-30-2006, 03:20
Not sure if ur jesting but he meant 190GB of Hard Drive space jus incase.... :smile:
Well you missing the point After burner.
"If you can take high resolution terrain and texture without building or trees then its super smooth...."
I don't have much fun playing with settings like that. So yes more ram in the video card is some thing you need if you want to play this game and have fun.
That's all I'm trying to say.:victory
Afterburner
10-30-2006, 14:57
I didnt miss the point and know what you meant.... :tongue:
What I am saying is cards with 512mb are sufficient to store the textures as well as run @ 1600 x 1200 and above resolution.... :smile:
Microsoft FSX needs to be tweaked via altering Configuration files....period :evils:
I hear you, thanks for the extra info.:smile:
BlackBird
10-31-2006, 12:07
First off thanks for taking the time to write about it.
I have one question, what are the instruments like, are they smooth in operation?
Cheers
Good question. They are working smooth. Except for the attitude indicator. I have witnessed it on the Cessna's only, but the ball is moving very stuttery. Like the steps indicating attitude change are too big. Makes it really hard to fly IFR, cause you're off course without knowing.
BB
SuperKungFu
10-31-2006, 15:25
ok FSX is really starting to piss me off about the security warning. everytime i install an airplane addon, it keeps coming up with these warning that would sometime never go away despite what you press
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/SuperKungFu/warning.jpg
They said it was backwards compatible but its really hard. :nono:
Make sure they are FS10 addons and not just FS2004, FS2004 isn't really compatible. I got that problem once but it was a FS2004 addon.
SuperKungFu when I seen you post it scared me. I thought it was a pop up.:wink2:
SuperKungFu
10-31-2006, 18:36
lol sorry. But like i was saying, FSX didn't really think this through, why does all the addons come on with this sign. Yes i tried it with a FS2004 addon but its suppose to be backwards compatible like how MS2004 could use MS2002's addon. That means all my payware/freeware addons are going to waste, so why bother switching to FSX? I get about the same eye candy with all the addons with MS2004 but more fps. I also used an addon THAT WAS MEANT FOR FSX - eaglesoft Beechjet/Hawker 1.5 for FSX and it came up with that sign again- even worse, it doesn't go away. No matter what i press the sign keeps coming back up to the point where i have to force quit.
liquid_rockface
10-31-2006, 18:57
Yeah you scared me too with that "pop-up" lol...it blends seamlessly into your post! you should put a border around it or something!
SuperKingFu, only a few addons have backwards compability, because FS10's gauges are .DLL files while your trying to use .GAU! If Flight Simulator X doesn't work out for you, just return it! =)
SpinKick
11-01-2006, 11:21
SuperKungFu when I seen you post it scared me. I thought it was a pop up.:wink2:
lmao. me too. no matter how many times i hit the "X" it just wouldn't go away! :rofl
got the game yesterday... so far... Just Hate it. FPS just suck !!! I cant fly out of my hometown unless it looks like FS-98. Unless one of you guys can fly with 3.8 FPS... that's not even with the settings on the highest...
:nono: :nono: :nono:
Funky
FPS just suck !!!
This helped me allot on the fps side....
http://ops.precisionmanuals.com/wiki/FSX_FPS_Guide#FSX_Tweaks
Yep, that's a computers way of saying, UPGRADE ME PLEASE! :lol
Caddie87th
11-02-2006, 04:51
Yep, that's a computers way of saying, UPGRADE ME PLEASE! :lol
Have you seen his computer specs?? :whistling
Grtz
Hell Sqn Kronus
11-02-2006, 09:40
Hey guys ...just because you are talking about FSX. Where can i find addons like the T-38C Talon.
...and remember ...free is always better.
. Where can i find addons like the T-38C Talon.
Give the designers some time first, not only do they need to get used to some of the new coding, but they gotta play it first! Right now there's only a few addons. Search on avsim for keyword "cessna" or "boeing" and a few will come up, as long as your searching in All FSX Files.
Have you seen his computer specs??
Yeah just now saw them, he's got ABOUT the same thing as me only I have a ATI video card and a better Motherboard. Not sure why hes getting super bad frames though. I guess just wait for Vista!
Hell Sqn Kronus
11-02-2006, 12:03
Thanks lqcorsa for your reply.:thumb:
This helped me allot on the fps side....
http://ops.precisionmanuals.com/wiki/FSX_FPS_Guide#FSX_Tweaks
Thanks man. I really appreciate the help! I've tried some of those, and I'm getting somewhat better FPS, which is promising. Interesting thing is clouds, even thunderstorm layers don't impact my FPS much... I guess the main load is on my CPU, and not quite on my GPU.
Is there a way to find out which component is under more pressure?
Also, does anybody know if this program is actually designed to take advantage of dual core? (as in dividing its tasks between cores to run more efficiently)
Yep, that's a computers way of saying, UPGRADE ME PLEASE! :lol
ahhm... Thanks for the advise... but it wasnt very long ago when I dumped a good 2 grand on this baby. My computer's probably within the top 90-95% of the spectrum here, and if these guys (read microsoft) think they can get me, and guys like me to upgrade... well, THEY ARE WRONG! Actually Microsoft seems to do a lot of this. This time though, I think they're just pissing people off!
Funky
I think they're just pissing people off!
Funky
Your probably right, just to get people to buy Vista, but in reality, its just making people buy less copies of FS10.
Afterburner
11-02-2006, 21:20
Vista is slower in gaming in some cases than WinXp which most folks are obviously unaware about so dont be a moron and quickly go get one. Observation and Reasearch is key.... :evils:
Next thing, 64-bit type CPU owners users are strongly urged to get the 64-bit version of Vista when doing so to aid in making 64-bit OS become mainstream worldwide. 64-bit OSes were meant to replace 32-bit versions but adoption has been FREAKING slow thanx to lack of education and OEMs like Dell, HP, Acer, Gateway etc still packaging 32-bit OS in their systems which the silly masses unawaringly purchase thus in return making ATI / Nvidia lazy to come up with proper 64-bit 3D Drivers though this has improved quite abit.... :mad:
Vista is slower in gaming in some cases than WinXp which most folks are obviously unaware about so dont be a moron and quickly go get one. Observation and Reasearch is key.... :evils:
Next thing, 64-bit type CPU owners users are strongly urged to get the 64-bit version of Vista when doing so to aid in making 64-bit OS become mainstream worldwide. 64-bit OSes were meant to replace 32-bit versions but adoption has been FREAKING slow thanx to lack of education and OEMs like Dell, HP, Acer, Gateway etc still packaging 32-bit OS in their systems which the silly masses unawaringly purchase thus in return making ATI / Nvidia lazy to come up with proper 64-bit 3D Drivers though this has improved quite abit.... :mad:
I believe I read here that it would probably be a good idea to wait about 5 to 6 months before upgrading, taking full advantage of the quad processors, DX10 graphics cards etc. hopefully they will have resolved most of the bugs and will have the 64 bit drivers available for the cougar, I've jumped on the band wagon in the past buying the 64 bit XP and sli config and has proved to have been premature.
The individuals on this site seem to be the most knowledgeable with respects to what computors will be best for simming, so I for one will be watching and waiting, thank guys :thumb:
Afterburner
11-03-2006, 01:24
Yep, the best is to wait, sit back, observe, consult and then make a decision.... :smile:
So far I would think Vista is already better off than when WinXp first came out in 2001. WinXp had 2000 bugs when it was RTM while the beta Vista build 5840 is down to the '500 bugs' region and should be even lesser when the RTM build is out. Vista is set to RTM @ Build 6000 onwards.... :wink2:
RTM = Release To Manufacturing :evils:
I'm thinking I'll probably get the deluxe version of FSX in the next few weeks.... got to much else on the plate atm :)
I don't need help with this but I just want to inform every one who is thinking about buying a new card to make sure it has at least 1 gig of ram on it. 512 isn't going to cut it unless you want very low settings.
<nitpick>
No such thing is available. The only card marketed as having 1GB of VRAM (GF7950GX2) actually has 2 GPUs on the card, with 512MB VRAM per GPU. IOW, it's the same as any normal card with 512MB VRAM.
</nitpick>
I've bought FSX deluxe, the first day it was released in Belgium... I love the soaringplane... last week, made a flight of 2.30h in it...
For the rest, I do the missions, the scenery is the best in those area's...
New problem: TrackIR doesnt work!
Yea, I've got the latest alpha for FSX and I've been following the forums but no luck so far... All the lights come on no matter what but no movement in the cockpit..
Funky
I couldn't take it anymore, I now have FS2004 and FSX both installed, but I'm only installing my favorite plane, and a few scenery addons in FS2004. Even though I like Microsoft's guidance in Flight Simulator X with the missions, the missions are limited, and when you've beat them all, your stuck with a sweating CPU/GPU in a sandbox with lots of boundries. Once systems can run high settings with fluid performance in FSX, and once we see some Level-D/PMDG addons then I'll cease FS2004 from my system. Until then I'll continue to enjoy FS2004 using realistic airline transport payware addons with SquawkBox and fluid performance, while FSX provides me with spectacular scenery for use with VFR single engine props.
Bogusheadbox
12-11-2006, 10:18
New problem: TrackIR doesnt work!
Yea, I've got the latest alpha for FSX and I've been following the forums but no luck so far... All the lights come on no matter what but no movement in the cockpit..
Funky
I followed the directions in Naturalpoint forums and trackIR and FSX 10 are working fine with me. You must have done something wrong big fella!
I couldn't take it anymore, I now have FS2004 and FSX both installed, but I'm only installing my favorite plane, and a few scenery addons in FS2004. Even though I like Microsoft's guidance in Flight Simulator X with the missions, the missions are limited, and when you've beat them all, your stuck with a sweating CPU/GPU in a sandbox with lots of boundries. Once systems can run high settings with fluid performance in FSX, and once we see some Level-D/PMDG addons then I'll cease FS2004 from my system. Until then I'll continue to enjoy FS2004 using realistic airline transport payware addons with SquawkBox and fluid performance, while FSX provides me with spectacular scenery for use with VFR single engine props.
I don't have fs 2004 so i can't comment. But one thing i can't get my head around is the possability of a memory leak? the size of Oprah Winfrey pay check.
I can spawn into Heathrow Airport with very playable frame rates. Take off, panning, external views - - All very good. But if i do a two hour fly in to heathrow, it will be a slide show.
I even did a test where i took off from an airport flew around for approx an hour and landed on the same runway as i departed. Again a massive FPS drop. Panning is even stuttery.
Online multiplayer (but i am sure it is the same offline). I can spawn in sitting on the ground engines off. Panning in cockpit and panning in externals all work with good framerates. Walk away from the comp and come back 45 minutes later and i am stuttering more than Forest Gump with 6 packets of chewing gum in his mouth.
There is a problem (for me). Just wondering if anyone else is having the same issue>?
I posted in this thread a while ago. Just wanted to update how FSX in running now. I installed the latest nvidia drivers 93.71 Thanks Giving weekend. I wanted to show my brother Las Vegas so I cranked the settings up. To my surprise It isn't too choppy any more and runs fine. Could have some thing to do with the video drivers not too sure but I would suggest you have the latest drivers.
duffman7575
12-12-2006, 01:37
lqcorsa, Could you post some screenshots of your graphics settings maybe? My systems a bit better than yours (64 X2 4400+, 7900GS, 2GB ram, cpu and gpu both overclocked a bit) and I've got it running around medium-high with low traffic, like 30% planes and 25% cars and I'm getting in the are of 20's but in cities it drops down to like 15. I was averaging like 14 in the introduction to jets mission.
Duffman thats about where I got it, medium high with low traffic. But the key is autogen. If you know how to tweak your autogen, you can get some fair frames. Try flying with 0% autogen so you can sort of mark how many you get without it, then slowly add more until your happy. You could try Mango's FPS tweak witch didn't do all that much for me, but as you can see in the pics below it did for him. If all else fails either use slim to none autogen, or try renaming your autogen (default.xml I think in your fs/autogen folder) to default.bak to make it inactive, reducing the variety of autogen you have, however I think it does make a huge visible impact on the game, no more pretty houses down the street, more like FS2004 warehouses and cottages.
Mango's FPS Tweak:
http://images.fs2004.com/images/1863/Screen-v171.jpg
http://images.fs2004.com/images/1863/Screen-v171_1.jpg
http://images.fs2004.com/images/1863/Screen-v171_2.jpg
http://images.fs2004.com/images/1863/Screen-v171_3.jpg
http://images.fs2004.com/images/1863/Screen-v171_4.jpg
http://images.fs2004.com/images/1863/Screen-v171_5.jpg
http://images.fs2004.com/images/1863/Screen-v171_6.jpg
http://images.fs2004.com/images/1863/Screen-v171_11.jpg
liquid_rockface
12-12-2006, 18:58
Wow those are great screenshots! Does anybody know of an add-on that can get the auto-gen houses in FS2004 to line up in blocks, or at least all face the same direction, rather than have them look like they were tossed up by a tornado and landed whereever they landed?
Also, in FS2004, I would like to move the position of a scenery add-on I downloaded, a certain building. It is not perfectly aligned with the scenery. Is this possible?
Sorry to go off-topic...
By the way, are the roads in FSX more or less in the correct places? Or is it just random? What does MS do in areas of the world which aren't famous, like in Africa? Are there random roads, or they really mapped out all the roads on earth?
I can't wait till FS has proper waves on the water.....*sigh*
What does MS do in areas of the world which aren't famous, like in Africa? Are there random roads, or they really mapped out all the roads on earth?
Yes, I've flown over Zimbabwe (I think thats how you spell it) and things like that, its all high detail, even if it is desert, you see elephants, roads with very low traffic, and the terrain is mapped out in a life-like environment.
I can't wait till FS has proper waves on the water.....*sigh*
Will be modeled with Direct X-10. As seen here:
http://img309.imageshack.us/img309/421/xbu0.png
all-fired-up
12-12-2006, 21:58
Yes, I've flown over Zimbabwe (I think thats how you spell it) and things like that, its all high detail, even if it is desert, you see elephants, roads with very low traffic, and the terrain is mapped out in a life-like environment.
Will be modeled with Direct X-10. As seen here:
http://img309.imageshack.us/img309/421/xbu0.png
Actually Iqcorsa that's not an actual DX10 screen shot, it's an artist concept using photoshop. This was stated in Maximum PC Magizine.. I wish DX10 would look like that but I seriously doubt it. In the link below just mouse over the picture, you can tell the artist just used a FS9 screengrab and put in his own artistic touches using Photoshop...very easy to do.
Also, to note, the reflection of the mountains on the choppy water is VERY unrealistic, the reflections would be very muted, and certainly not that vivid. It's obvious that the artist took the upper part of the scene, flipped it and lowered the transparency of the layer and possibly overlayed it as a layer style in Photoshop. Also he/she matched colors of the FS9 scenery to the photos they got elsewhere, probably using Image Adustment/Match Color.
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/articles/447226.aspx
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20060817/directx10-fabulous/
I know its an artists concept, keyword is concept, and I've seen graphics on DirectX10 before, and I wouldn't be surprised if thats what it does look like. Regardless, its a concept of what it will look like, and no matter how un-realistic it is, it still looks good enough for me to enjoy it to the fullest, not that everything in FSX is realistic anyway.
all-fired-up
12-13-2006, 00:00
Yeah I want to wait for all the bugs to be smoothed out in Vista before getting into it and DX10, I really am drooling to see what DX10 can do. I have heard alot about Crysis with DirectX10 and I like what I see there.
duffman7575
12-17-2006, 19:05
So I did what you did lqcorsa and man what a difference. Very nice being able to fly over Seattle with maxed out scenery, terrain, AA, AF, the whole nine yards getting 20+ fps. Didn't think it was possible.
Lustypooh
01-09-2007, 15:20
Anybody want to ake a guess what it will play like with my specs? (Ordered it and will be delivered this week):
Intel e6600 core duo 2 x 2,4 ghz
Asus PBE mobo
Nvidia 7950 gt 512 mbyte
1 gbyte ddrII ram @ 800 mhz
Anyone take a guess.?
Depends on where you in-game sliders are and where your going to be flying. I'll get about 23 in a big city. Also, you should advise if your going to be installing any FPS tweaks...
Lustypooh
01-16-2007, 17:44
I will install the autogen tree-tweak (one kind of tree). Helped me great on my old rig. Sliders around 75% on all of the choises.
Any clue ?
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