What are the different versions of FSX, and which should I get?

I am reading that there is the standard, deluxe, and gold. Is gold the best, or is deluxe? Also are there any other versions?

Gold is the only way to go..:)

Standard is the basic ancient FSX 2006 edition.

Deluxe adds new bits and pieces.

But Gold is best by far because it goes the extra mile by including the 'Acceleration' expansion which adds new planes and juicy new features.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Flight_Simulator_X

I cannot tell you which version is the best, but personally for me...the FSX Gold...is my choice. al v

Undoubtedly the Gold version.

 

IAN

I have the "Standard Edition" which works for me. If I had it to do over I would, also go for the "Gold".

 

Acceleration will give you Carrier Catapult launches along with Traps (Carrier landings)

With my Standard, I can do landings using AI Carriers but no Traps. Acceleration is also needed in the many Military aircraft like the new F-35, FA-18 SuperBug, etc. Most of these aircraft can be flown in FSX+Sp2, but a lot of the features don't work.

 

Go For The "Gold" :cool:

FSX Deluxe all day long. I find it to be less buggy and performance wise is better. Basically Gold edition includes the acceleration package which adds service packs 1 and 2, along with some military aircraft, an aircraft carrier and some more missions. If that does not interest you then go with the deluxe version, and simply install service packs 1 & 2...to avoid the unecessary bloat.

 

They can be downloaded here:

Service pack 1

Service pack 2

 

Here is what the acceleration pack includes.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-Acceleration-Expansion-PC/dp/B000U96L54

...Basically Gold version adds the acceleration package which is service packs 1 and 2, along with some f 15's or something, an aircraft carrier and some more missions...

If that's waht you think, I suggest you read this thread in it's entirety: https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?255990-FSX-Acceleration

Much, much, more to Gold/Acceleration than you know. Even if the miltary enhancements don't mean much to you, the scenery/texture extras may just change your mind.. Don

Meh...with all the addons now any updated scenery or aircraft from almost a decade ago is not a selling point imo...ftx global has completely replaced default fsx scenery/textures anyway...from the screenshots it looked like it was limited to objects such as cars, boats and buildings...and imo objects are the worst looking part of any sim.

...with all the addons now any updated scenery or aircraft from almost a decade ago is not a selling point imo...ftx global has completely replaced default fsx scenery/textures anyway

Kinda misleading...

 

FTX Global is great, I love it! Expensive @ $86usd, IMO.

Combine it with FTX Global VECTOR($60usd) and your sim will look awesome.

The autogen building textures do make many of the default airports look much better.

But, the fact remains it does not replace the default airports, scenery, etc.

Selling point??

 

Basically, it only addresses Textures and Night lighting

From FTX Global overview:

Many new gorgeous ground texturesNew autogen textures for buildings

3D night lighting with zero FPS impact

Base landclass updated to enhance Asia etc.

Unlocks dormant M-tiles for perfect blending

Works with all 3rd party landclass products

Works with all 3rd party mesh products

Free service packs and patches from Orbx

Same sized textures as default

Textures for all 4 seasons + hard winter

"Hybrid" mode for FTX Central regions

Expandable with Orbx openLC packs!

 

If you download any of Ray Smith's or my airports from websites you must have Acceleration or you will not see a current airport. That is because we use all the newer files that ACES gave us that are available on the Acceleration disk. ACES also updated many airports.

 

Detroit, Boston, San Francisco, Reno, Albuquerque, etc. have a lot more scenery that you cannot see if you did not purchase Acceleration.

 

When you look deep into Acceleration you start to see that ACES has given us a newer FSX Simulator that you can only get by buying it. So let me give you a number.

 

Acceleration adds and overwrites 27,280 files to make it the most current FSX simulator you can have on your computer. For the naysayers and skeptics I will say that again.

 

Acceleration adds and overwrites 27,280 files which some are all the gauge cabs (mutilple xml's) and updates them also.

 

jim

Jim's and Ray's are not the only developers' add-ons that require FSXA.

A multitude of free and pay aircraft/sceneries use/rely on it.

Some simply won't work without it.

 

As Jim notes, you gotta have FSXA to see most of the HD airports in all of their glory...Don

I imagine ftx add-on airports are far more detailed than any of these x pack updates. With all the great add-ons now you could almost make a sim that is a physics engine only...and then people can add on scenery, aircraft, and weather.

Gold is the only way to go..:)

Standard is the basic ancient FSX 2006 edition.

Deluxe adds new bits and pieces.

But Gold is best by far because it goes the extra mile by including the 'Acceleration' expansion which adds new planes and juicy new features.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Flight_Simulator_X

 

But isnt gold edition a simple mix of deluxe and accel ?

...anyways its better going for gold instead of buying 2 different boxes xD

I use both and compare them many times a day. Performance wise, there is no difference. Aircraft behave and look, and scenery looks the same when SP2 is used in Deluxe.

Scenery and add-on aircraft work on both except for this detail which is important for the kind of flying I do...

 

Gold/Acceleration was designed around the F-18 Hornet in which MS decided to introduce a style of afterburner not used in previous versions of Flight Simulator. Staging and throttle position triggering.

 

This means if you fly primarily military fighter jets, you will get a reasonable representation of reheat operation in aircraft designed to use FSX Gold staged afterburning.

 

I however mostly fly the Concorde and SR-71 when I fly supersonic aircraft and they do not use staging, but are continuously variable AB which is not an option in FSX Gold.

Gold also disables the fuel rate gauge when AB is activated which is not helpful. This is not a problem in Deluxe.

 

For this reason and others, I prefer the Deluxe which more correctly models these two aircraft when programmed correctly.

 

If you want to fly an AB aircraft in Gold, you have to fly an AB aircraft which is SPECIFICALLY coded for Gold.

If you want to fly an AB aircraft in Deluxe, you can fly ANY AB aircraft which was coded for Deluxe or FS9 which gives you more choices.

 

In my opinion, MS introducing staging in Gold without the ability to also have backward compatibility created a HUGE headache for developers like me who create supersonic aircraft.

 

-Pv-

I'd get Gold, (which is what I have) if I were you. standard is the old thing, the release version. Deluxe is standard with a little tweak here and a little tweak there. Gold contains the acceleration pack, and deluxe edition. So you'll get everything there is. that is: carrier capability, tower capability, top number of missions, top number of available Microsoft aircraft, supersonic flying, and capability for about any FSX addon you can find in this big wide universe. you may need to go onto the disk one more time if you want to tweak airports, because you need a converter that's on it and you probs won't have. Get Gold, it really is the best, and the cheapest, currently costing just as much as the standard, on amazon.