One of FSX's best assets can also be its worst

[freddy]

A personal observation.

Maybe you too are someone like me who finds the following ...

I am a fussy, pedantic person who likes things to be as near as possible to the real thing or as close to real as they can be. I like the logos on AI planes to look right, I want my skies filled with the correct airlines or GA planes, and I want my airports to at least resemble their real-world counterparts.

One of great things about FSX is that I can add, edit, modify and change things.

I have an AI traffic program that lets me add and edit flight plans for AI traffic, I have a repaint tool which lets me add new liveries and edit existing ones, and I have an airport editor that allows me to make changes to airports.

However, whilst the ability to edit almost everything in FSX is one of its best assets, I find it to also be one of its worst.

I constantly find myself spotting something minor in FSX that I am not necessarily happy with and, having all the right tools readily at my disposal to "fix" it, I soon find myself NOT FLYING. Instead, I'm diving in to the appropriate editor and making the required change. It can be something as simple as an airport taxiway sign arrow that's not quite right, an aircraft logo which isn't quite centered on the tail, or an AI aircraft landing at an airport that it wouldn't normally fly in to in real life. Grrrr. Once I spot one of these little "issues", off I go, closing the sim, opening the editors, at it again, fixing and changing, and NOT FLYING.

This does annoy and frustrate me. I'd rather be flying. It's my own bad habit though ... spotting something which I think isn't quite right, and then spending the next half-day fixing it ... NOT FLYING ... But, yes, I really do only have myself to blame. Or, hmmm, is FSX part to blame as well?

FSX is open enough to allow me, the user, to make edits and change things. That's really cool. It's definately one of FSX's best assets. But for fussy, pedantic me, this great asset can also be one of FSX's worst.

[f16jockey_2]

Looking into a mirror I'm afraid .

Wim

[ScatterbrainKid]

A compromise approach works best for me, midway between not caring how things look on the one hand, and being over-fussy on the other.
So i tend to tweak only the things that really matter, for example I'm currently juggling some floatplane contact points to make them sit properly in the water.
Also later I'm going to replace some engine sound files with more realistic ones.
Like I said, concentrate on the important stuff like that and don't get obsessed with minor unimportant things..

[boxcar]

.
.....Wonderful that we have the choice to enjoy the sim or obsess over it. Characterize your flight simulator use by a narrow, even ostentatious concern for "formal rules" or get lost in the illusions.

.....Personally speaking, if a livery looks great against the backdrop of Grand Canyon then I'll fly it there. It's of no concern to me whatsoever if the Czechs actually fly their L-39s there or not, or anywhere else for that matter. Same goes for big airports & all other places in sim world. And again personally speaking, have learned over the course of my 58+ years that whenever we try to manipulate & control anyone or anything then we'll end up losing the exact same ratio of control over some aspect of our lives. Law of Balance, works for everything, man. So lighten up or tighten up, your choice... though it's difficult to see where you'll ever be really happy with flight simulation while constantly demanding perfection. It will never be perfect but it is lots of fun. Educational, therapeutic & highly enjoyable too.

.

[Jim Robinson]

...off I go, closing the sim, opening the editors, at it again, fixing and changing, and NOT FLYING.

Yeah, tell me about it

[BMG50]

Yeah, tell me about it

LOL...Yep.same here..Always tweaking,never flying.

[fxsttcb]

Because I enjoy fixing things, creating, tweaking, and tuning, I love the capability!
I spend half of my sim time doing those things, only because I enjoy that as much as flying.
I used to pause, fix, resume, but, I don't interrupt too many flights anymore. Having notepad on hand has become the norm. Finish the flight, then do my thing using the list.

I jumped right on Flight, but, couldn't fix anything, so, after a months worth of trips around Hawaii it has been relegated to the bottom of my Sim List...Don

[rservice]

Yeah,its hard at times to remember this is not real life but a fantasy.The accuracy of a fantasy is what makes it appear more real.
Some developers only make a basic attempt to simulate an aircraft in order to grab part of the market.Others cater to the hard core simmers amongst us.
Painters are usually dedicated to producing accurate renditions of the aircraft whether vintage or new down to the last rivet and including the dirt.The beauty of this hobby is that it caters to all tastes while not always satisfying them.I just like to fly the beast,watch videos of my better efforts and realize at the end of the day that life is fleeting and not to become obsessed with it.The latter I find hard to do.
Ron

[torkermax]

A hobby doesn't always consist of just reaping the seeds but everything in between

[freddy]

Some interesting comments here. I am glad to see that I am not the only one who can find themself getting caught up in the fine line between fantasy and realism, flying and fixing.

Yes, one should probably try to concentrate only on the important stuff and not get obsessed with the minor unimportant things. Using Notepad and making notes along the way for fixing later. It all sounds so simple.

Yep, it is indeed wonderful that we have the choice to enjoy the sim for what it is, whilst at the same time also having the ability and tools to mold it how we want it.

At the end of the day, whether I am flying and enjoying what is on offer, or whether I am fixing things and moaning that I think it should have been correct in the first place or could have been done better, I suppose I should take a step back and realise that, it's all just another part of the hobby, and regardless of what it is that I am doing, I'm still having FUN.