FlightSim.Com Review: Abacus Tips & Tuning Guide

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Tips & Tuning Guide

By Nels Anderson (29 December 2000)

INTRODUCTION

ooking at the cover and size of this new book from Abacus you might not be all that impressed. Abacus is really being a bit modest with the title as there is a whole lot more here than a few tips for FS2000 users. The book is not physically large--it's actually smaller than the manual that comes with FS2000--but it covers all the right information, including many of the topics that I know from personal experience answering the mail here at FlightSim.Com is on the mind of many FS2000 users.

So, what does the book cover if not just tips? How about a complete reference of keyboard commands, all in a single conveniently organized list. Or how about a detailed breakdown of all the FS2000 files and folders so you can finally understand what things really do--and even change them to fit your needs using the information provided. Or how about fun things to do like finding "Easter eggs" or creating situations and challenges.

The "tips & tuning" parts are all there too. Included are sections on improving overall performance, editing configuration files, hardware upgrades, menu settings--it's all included.

The book features high quality full color printing on glossy paper.

IT'S FOR BEGINNERS

FS2000 beginners will find many of the chapters immediately useful. One of the real sticking points for people getting started is learning how to use files they've downloaded. This isn't easy as there are several layers of learning necessary to be able to do it. First is handling ZIP files, and the book has that covered by offering a chapter on using WinZip. Then there is the actual installation, which is covered by a chapter showing step by step what to do with new scenery and texture files. Finally there's the matter of making the new add-on work by modifying configuration files and sure enough that's covered too.

Other areas covered that beginners will find interesting are setting up the joystick and keyboard (beginners often don't realize that all joystick and keyboard functions can be customized). There's also a chapter on aviation terminology to help beginners understand other books and documentation.

IT'S FOR ADVANCED USERS

But even if you know how to use FS2000 you'll find advanced topics covered here that are far beyond what the manual offers. Ever thought about repainting aircraft? A basic introduction is included--enough to get you started at least doing simple changes to existing aircraft. This introduction might give you an appetite for more advanced aircraft projects.

These might include changing aircraft flight dynamics, which is also covered. This is perhaps the most challenging part of creating an aircraft, not to mention the most important. If a plane doesn't fly right it doesn't really matter much how pretty it is.

Chapter List
Flying Using The Keyboard
Moving Around Without Flying
Controlling FS2000 With Menus
Finding Easter Eggs In FS2000
FS2000 Folders And Files
Making Your Aircraft More Realistic
Tuning FS2000 Weather
Using ILS And Practicing Runway Approaches
Using WinZip With FS2000
Changing Joystick Settings And Actions
Improving FS2000's Performance
Tuning FS2000 Configuration Files
Adding New Scenery In FS2000
Removing/Replacing The FS2000 Opening Video
Creating Situations And Challenges
Repainting FS2000 Aircraft
Tuning The PANEL.CFG File
Adjusting How An Aircraft Flies--Flight Dynamics
FS2000 Resources And Contacts
Talk The Talk

There's also a chapter on panels, with enough information for you to do basic customization of panels and perhaps even more with some experimentation. The panel.cfg file actually makes sense when someone gives you the key to all the entries!

Chapter List
Flying Using The Keyboard Moving Around Without Flying Controlling FS2000 With Menus Finding Easter Eggs In FS2000 FS2000 Folders And Files Making Your Aircraft More Realistic Tuning FS2000 Weather Using ILS And Practicing Runway Approaches Using WinZip With FS2000 Changing Joystick Settings And Actions Improving FS2000's Performance Tuning FS2000 Configuration Files Adding New Scenery In FS2000 Removing/Replacing The FS2000 Opening Video Creating Situations And Challenges Repainting FS2000 Aircraft Tuning The PANEL.CFG File Adjusting How An Aircraft Flies--Flight Dynamics FS2000 Resources And Contacts Talk The Talk

These advanced topics make you an expert FS2000 user and even give you the chance to expand beyond being just a user into someone who actually creates with FS2000.

IT'S FOR PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY FLY FS2000

Several chapters are all about actually flying FS2000. One problem with a true simulator is that you have to figure what to do with it. There are a number of answers here. The chapter on Easter eggs will give you a number of places to fly to. What's an Easter egg? It's a hidden or secret object placed in the scenery that is probably not documented--something interesting for you to seek out. Here is included a whole chapter of Easter eggs to find, giving you a good reason to fly to some new places.

There's a chapter on using all the weather features of FS2000. Adding some rain or snow, clouds and low visibility, opens up a whole new set of flying challenges. Some might stick with the basic weather menu, but once you understand the advanced weather settings, which the book explains nicely, you have full control of your flying environment.

Many people like to create or use "challenges" which are a set of flying tasks to perform--often under challenging conditions (bad weather, etc.). Here you can learn how to create your own, whether just for your own use or to share with others.

There's also a chapter on landing approaches, which helps answer one of the most asked questions amoung flightsim pilots: how do I land?

CONCLUSION

I think any FS2000 user will find something of use here. Many will want to read the book straight through. Afterwords it makes a good reference to keep around. You don't need to read it cover to cover, though, as each chapter stands alone as a complete description of its topic.

One thing that's impressive is to see who the authors are. Each chapter has its own author and many are recognized experts in their area. People who download from FlightSim.Com will recognize many of the names, like Michael Vone, author of the MV Challenge series, who did the challenges chapter or Dai Griffiths who did the panel chapter. The other authors are just as experienced. You really could not ask for better expert advice.

Unfortunately, many pages are printed with a heavy textured background which hurts readability.
The book is soft cover and printed on quality glossy paper in full color. The illustrations are clear, though some of the screen shots are a bit small. The only real problem I can find is that most of the pages are printed with a rather "busy" colored background that makes the text unnecessarily hard to read. This might be a problem for some people. There also seem to be more typos than you would expect in a professional publication though none of them affected the understandability of the text.

In short, this is a book that any FS2000 pilot would find useful and one I'm happy to recommend. The book is priced at $19.95 U.S. and is available for purchase directly from Abacus.

Nels Anderson
nels@flightsim.com

Visit Abacus for more information.

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