Microsoft Flight Simulator X

glpilot

Pre-takeoff checklist
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GLPilot
Not sure if anyone saw this yet but I just ran across it.
For those of you (like me) that also dabble with Microsoft's Flight Simulator I just found this released information today. Looks like some serious eye candy, and a 2006 holiday release. Check out these first release screenshots.

http://www.simhq.com/_air5/air_174a.html
 
Oh yeah, baby, I can't wait! I only hope that they are a little quicker releasing the Multiplayer SDK this time, so that Squawkbox won't take almost 2 years to be updated to work properly with it!

I also hope that they include Microsoft's Local Live Satellite Photos as part of the graphics.

This almost made me want to cry:
air_174a_006.jpg
 
i hope the game looks as good as the 3d renders. nothing is more annoying than game companies releasing renders and cinematics that are not from actual game play.

it would be nice if the landscapes have as much detail as these images.
 
I don't think its far fetched to believe it will look just like the screenshots.

I usually upgrade my PC right around the time MS releases a new version of flight simulator every few years. I'll do the same some time in the last quarter of '06 to coincide with the new FS10.

But I always felt whatever they released as screenshots to promote the simulator was what I saw when it on my own machine.
 
glpilot said:
For those of you (like me) that also dabble with Microsoft's Flight Simulator I just found this released information today. Looks like some serious eye candy, and a 2006 holiday release.

Of course, as is usual with Microsoft products, someone else has done it first, and better:

http://www.x-plane.com/
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Of course, as is usual with Microsoft products, someone else has done it first, and better:

http://www.x-plane.com/

Wow. That new scenery pack is amazing. Looks like I'll have to be buying that soon!
 
I admit X-PLANE is a great sim and it has been a while since I had it configured on a PC here. So I have not checked it out recently. Personally I don't think its necessarily better than MSFS overall. I like Microsoft's presentation with this product and there is no end in add-ons, support, and following of MSFS. I'll have to grab a copy sometime and check it out again.
 
glpilot said:
I admit X-PLANE is a great sim and it has been a while since I had it configured on a PC here. So I have not checked it out recently. Personally I don't think its necessarily better than MSFS overall. I like Microsoft's presentation with this product and there is no end in add-ons, support, and following of MSFS. I'll have to grab a copy sometime and check it out again.

X-Plane also has lots of add-ons and such like you mentioned - Plus, there's a zillion FREE aircraft plus all of the tools to design your own aircraft. The coolest part is that when you design an aircraft yourself, it will (or won't!) fly just as if you'd built it in real life because X-Plane is based on blade element theory rather than just having artificial flight models.

Lots of goodies here: http://www.x-plane.org/

Just reading what improvements were made from 8.21 to 8.32 gives you an idea of the insane amount of realism they're going for - And one feature was listed as being added because "Some guy wanted it."

samples of the 60 (!) new features in 8.32 from x-plane web site said:
More-advanced lighting model... we now have seperate light sources for the sun and moon to get our lighting DIRECTION correct in all cases... and we worked on the moon phase to get it more accurate as well.

Rain on the windshield... Set the weather to rainy overcast and go flying.

More accurate effects from control-surface deflections: Ailerons, elevators, and rudders.
Now we look at WHERE on the wing the lift from the ailerons, elevators, rudder, and flaps are applied (which of course we have ALWAYS done) but now we use the LOCATION of that lift (how close to the wingtip is it) to determine the lift DISTRIBUTION on the wing to determine the effective ASPECT RATIO of the wing and TIP LOSSES and ANGLE OF ATTACK CHANGE on the wing due to the deflections and resultant lift-coefficient changes.

p180_grandcanyon_06.jpg

Alberta_24.jpg
 
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Those are great screen shots, and I love X-plane - but the thing that X-Plane has always lacked to me is realistic looking airports and cities. Have they changed that yet?
 
SkyHog said:
Those are great screen shots, and I love X-plane - but the thing that X-Plane has always lacked to me is realistic looking airports and cities. Have they changed that yet?

I dunno about the airports... I never really noticed that.

But for the cities... How about this?

NYC_27.jpg
 
How are those virtual cockpits now? I'm big on Virtual Cockpits and remember the aircraft I flew in xplane way back when didnt have them.
 
I can't wait......MSFSX
Just had the new computer built:goofy:

Ok off to get some time on VATSIM.....
 
GMascelli said:
I can't wait......MSFSX
Just had the new computer built:goofy:

Ok off to get some time on VATSIM.....

Resurrecting the old thread... NEW PICTURES JUST POSTED... swallow your drink first so you don't spill on the keyboard when your jaw drops open.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/microsoftflightsimulatorx/screenindex.html?sid=6154963

EDIT: Microsoft just posted a limited area/limited planes trial version you can download and try:

http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulatorx/downloads.html
 
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Downloading the trial as we speak...
 
Installing as we speak...
 
jangell said:
Installing as we speak...

So are either of you USING as we speak?? What's the dealio? We want a report..

-Chris
 
CJones said:
So are either of you USING as we speak?? What's the dealio? We want a report..

-Chris

Sorry, been spending the last hour watching my daughter fly the ultralight around St. Maartens.

Very cool, they did a nice job, and now I want to go fly an ultralight!

Funny thing, we set things to "dawn" and took off, and the roofs of the houses were painted with the texture maps for the runway signs! Must be a bug. (see attached photo) The overspeed is because I pushed the nose over specifically to capture those wrong rooftops.

You're limited to a few planes, limited territory... and about 30 minutes per session.
 

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Here's another shot... the vehicles on the roads actually are driving, there are birds, the water is not static; it moves and swells.
 

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Sweet... Just curious -- do you think it will take a fairly 'beefy' computer to run FSX when it comes out? Or do you think you can get by with a non-gaming standard setup? With all of the graphics you're describing, I'm guessing a pretty sharp vid card will be required and some MEGA RAM..

In the pics you posted earlier, it looked like there was some real-time ATC tower pics. Does it say anywhere in there if the multiplayer ATC will be built-in to the new version?

-Chris
 
I have 1 GIG of DDR memory and a Nvidia 6600 Ultra video card..which is a fairly decent setup.

It was alright with the grapahics with the default settings but it didn't look any better than MSFS2004. I cranked them all up to High (not Ultra High) and it was pretty much unplayable but looked pretty good.

I expected that though. This winter will call for a new AMD Dual Core system, 4 gig of memory, and a nice graphics card.
 
CJones said:
Sweet... Just curious -- do you think it will take a fairly 'beefy' computer to run FSX when it comes out? Or do you think you can get by with a non-gaming standard setup? With all of the graphics you're describing, I'm guessing a pretty sharp vid card will be required and some MEGA RAM..

In the pics you posted earlier, it looked like there was some real-time ATC tower pics. Does it say anywhere in there if the multiplayer ATC will be built-in to the new version?

-Chris

Yes, it will... buy the best graphics card you can afford. We're talking $400 or so, lots of onboard memory. www.newegg.com has great consumer reviews (by the people who bought/use the cards), awesome prices.

Multiplayer ATC is built in, and you can choose to be a tower controller and play the sim that way, rather than fly! You are "in the tower". Not sure about enroute ATC.

Here's a shot of the Beaver, off my system. WOW.
 

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Troy Whistman said:
Yes, it will... buy the best graphics card you can afford. We're talking $400 or so, lots of onboard memory. www.newegg.com has great consumer reviews (by the people who bought/use the cards), awesome prices.

Awww.. Bummer... I'd rather spend my $$ on flying.. I think I'll just run it at lower quality and still have some of the cool planes and features....

Troy Whistman said:
Multiplayer ATC is built in, and you can choose to be a tower controller and play the sim that way, rather than fly! You are "in the tower". Not sure about enroute ATC.

Now THAT is pretty cool.. Back a few years ago when I was first getting deep in to FSim stuff, I remember we used an add-on app that would allow someone to sit and run ATC.. If it's actually built in, THAT is pretty cool..

-Chris
 
An excerpt from the README file for the demo:

Major Known Issues

At the time we created this demo version, Microsoft Flight Simulator X was not yet complete and work is ongoing.
Setup

§ The Flight Simulator X demo version is not compatible with the Flight Simulator X beta versions.
Aircraft

Some aircraft in Flight Simulator X demo may not be finished.
§ Some of the incomplete items, such as untextured aircraft models and animations that don’t work, are obvious and will be implemented before the product ships.
§ You may also notice that the “level of detail”, or LOD models are not completed—as an aircraft moves away from you, it will abruptly swap to a low-detail model.
Scenery

§ Taxiway and apron textures will sometimes exhibit regular patterns of mismatched textures, especially at the intersections of different surface types. Taxiway fillets may appear with texturing different from that of the intersecting surfaces.
§ Airport boundary fences currently block out views of terrain and buildings behind them.
§ Autogen content (generic bridges, buildings, trees, etc.) and placement are still in progress.
§ Autogen exclusion is currently not working properly, so you may see trees and buildings appearing on airport polygons.
§ Some scenery objects in this pre-release demo version are not complete and may display as black or incomplete shapes. This will be corrected in the final product.
Configuration

§ The retail version of Flight Simulator X runs on Korean, Japanese, and traditional Chinese Microsoft Windows operating systems. This demonstration version of Flight Simulator X will not run on Korean, Chinese, or Japanese versions of Windows.
§ After changing time of day or location in the simulation, terrain textures occasionally won’t update, or some textures will change to black or bright colors. To resolve the issue, restart a flight. Cycling views will also occasionally resolve this problem (press S).
§ Anti-aliasing is not working on RADEON X300/X550 series cards.
§ Anti-aliasing does not work for the Free-Flight aircraft preview window for any configuration.
§ Windows in Virtual Cockpit mode may not be transparent in video cards that only support shader 1.1.
§ CH throttle quadrant's range of motion is currently limited.
§ If you are using an Xbox 360 controller for Windows with Flight Simulator, make sure you plug it in before starting. Plugging an Xbox controller in while Flight Simulator is running may cause problems with control assignments.
§ Flight Simulator will not render in windowed mode with Windows Vista Aero/Glass enabled. Disable this feature in order to use windowed mode on Vista.
§ Bloom effects are not functioning.
§ TOSHIBA: TECRA M4 users may experience a blue screen when altering screen resolutions.
§ Shader Model 3.0 card users (GeForce 6100 and ATI Radeon X1300) should update their drivers to see self-shadowing.
§ The setup repair function is not working properly. If you have problems with your installation, please uninstall and reinstall Flight Simulator.
Missions

§ The missions are still a work in progress and are currently being tuned. No known bugs should prevent you from flying the missions in the demo.



I had various issues while playing it, but they are still polishing it up before realease. Should be an amazing game when it comes though!
 
I messed with the graphics and got it setup to where it looks pretty damn good and is perfectly smooth.

One problem though. My computer will randomily power off for absolutely no reason during the middle of game play. I suspect a driver issue...Updating drivers as we speak.

BTW. I think the flight realism might be better in this.

Take the Baron 58 and get some altitude. Fly it below red line and kill the number two engine. You'll be in for a surprise. In MSFS2004 I could fly the multis below red without an issue.
 
When you are in the cockpit view, I think it simulates the feelings you have when you do different stuff. I.E. when you apply hard brakes the view bobs down a little, like you feel in real life. Water looks amazing when you are sitting in it, screenshot below
 

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I'm downloading it while I am at work right now. When I get home, I'll give it a shot. I can't wait, it looks amazing.
 
Hmm. It's not liking something in my computer. Still the random power off. Weird.

All drivers are current. Nothing in the event viewer. I'll mess with it more later. For now I'm just going to go fly a real airplane.
 
jangell said:
Hmm. It's not liking something in my computer. Still the random power off. Weird.

All drivers are current. Nothing in the event viewer. I'll mess with it more later. For now I'm just going to go fly a real airplane.

I had that problem with my old laptop with FS9. It was a cooling issue that was generated by insane graphics (insane at the time with crappy onboard video card).

My solution:
Placing the laptop on top of a room fan. Extra bonus: All the dust and crap came out also :D
 
OMG!!! Its amazing! I cannot wait for the full version to come out.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Of course, as is usual with Microsoft products, someone else has done it first, and better:

http://www.x-plane.com/

I have MSFS 04 and was given X plane as a birthday gift by a pilot friend. I have had problems trimming out aircraft in MSFS I just can't get them to trim out. He gave me X-plane b/c he felt it to be a better platform for Insturment Sim ie holding alt , trimming the plane flying the ILS etc. although he felt the graphics on MSFS were better.
 
Oh wow. wowiewow:

And it gets better/ The 3rd one is hard to make out, but light dances on th water in the distance!
 

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Looks gorgeous but it will be a system hog...

I can run FS2004 at full settings with high FPS, the question is will FSX look better with the settings turned down than FS2004 at max settings. I have my FS2004 so modden and upgraded with so many awsome addons I don't want to give it up just yet...
 
Very exciting stuff. I have been holding off on building a super computer for gaming, and mainly FSX. I may still wait till after it comes out to build a new PC to see what people are saying about performance. One thing is for sure MSFS is awesome at highest settings, and to do that you need to have a powerful PC to back it.
 
I was wondering if you all have a recommendation for a video card... I have a fairly beefy machine that I built for myself, but I purposely skimped on the vid card as I didn't really know what to buy... Here's what I'm currently running:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2000MHz
2GB Dual-Channel RAM

I've got one PCI Express x16 slot, and I'm thinking of a 512MB card... Any recommendations? Ideally, I'd like to bump FS2004 all the way up AND be ready for Vista. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
 
ReverendSlappy said:
I've got one PCI Express x16 slot, and I'm thinking of a 512MB card... Any recommendations? Ideally, I'd like to bump FS2004 all the way up AND be ready for Vista. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Wait until MSFS is released before you buy the card. Technology changes so quick you will get a better card for the money in a couple of months.
 
jangell said:
Wait until MSFS is released before you buy the card. Technology changes so quick you will get a better card for the money in a couple of months.
Yeah, but I've been playing a lot of FS2k4 lately, and I'm in instant gratification mode :). 20FPS just ain't cuttin' it.
 
ReverendSlappy said:
I was wondering if you all have a recommendation for a video card... I have a fairly beefy machine that I built for myself, but I purposely skimped on the vid card as I didn't really know what to buy... Here's what I'm currently running:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2000MHz
2GB Dual-Channel RAM

I've got one PCI Express x16 slot, and I'm thinking of a 512MB card... Any recommendations? Ideally, I'd like to bump FS2004 all the way up AND be ready for Vista. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Nice machine!!

512 might be overkill but hey WHY NOT :D
 
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