Seeing FSX for the first time

I have been simming for 20 years, and the other night I discovered something by accident that has made my simulator look more real than I could have hoped for. I guess I am one of those who took the moniker seriously, as I have tried all manner of things in the past to acheive this... 3D glasses, super large monitors (a 50 inch wide screen TV), REX, EZdok. I typically, and highly recommend customising airports by changing texture files (runway and taxiway textures including taxiway and runway marks textures) which can be easily done (best to save your complete main original Texture folder so you can revert back if you accidently lose a file). In fact by using grass textures, you can remove all runways, taxiways and markings and turn your airport into a grass field which is pretty cool if you want to simulate a field from the 1940s. Or you can replace a runway texture with the dirt runway texture, or sand. 3D was pretty cool but I have never had a 100% satisfactory experience over the years, and the complication of nvidia stereo drivers and ghost images, especially lights has kept me away from 3D for a long time now. Currently I run EZdok, which is simply the best addon ever created in my opinion and makes flying in the virtual world feel a bit more real. Well to cut a long story short, for a few years now I have experimented with using a "smaller" screen when using fsx, as I have always found the fs world buildings and textures to be a bit "cartoon-like". By running in window mode and reducing the window size I found fs looks more real in the past, but it became not possible to see the VC dials etc so I found that not very good, though it improved how the fsx world looks.

Well the other night I was approaching my laptop and was amazed at how more real the VC looked from a distance (ie not at your laptop). I tried an experiment. I sat about 2 metres away from my 15inch laptop screen (luckily my joystick has a long cord) put the sim in VC mode, CRJ cockpit, full screen mode, set the EZdok zoomed into about 0.6 so I can just see the top of the topmost cockpit displays and over the top of the panel, autogen density scenery setting at 100%, and took off from an airport I know well. I was amazed how real it looked. I got a sensation of speed on the runway I havent experienced since my flight training days on a cherokee at my local airport years ago. Simply amazing. I then went to another airport I know well and I never fly from on fsx, because I have never considered it to look like the real one, but to my amazememt this time it looked not bad and pretty much like the real one from this view point. I encourage anyone to try this technique out. It has changed my sim experience completely, yet hasn't changed anything. By changing the season I can get a landscape that suits the region. On that point I have always disliked the summer setting at Australian airports, but actually when it is dry the bleached dried out yellow colours and green trees is pretty accurate of an Ozie landscape in drought, especially in bush fire season.

To make fsx look more real I highly recommend REX, EZdok and FS water configurator as well. The effects you can get with that water mod program is amazing.

Interesting reading. Post a screenshot of what you are looking at. I wouldn't mind seeing the results.

Sorry my old pc is not online (I am using an ipad at the moment) and it's probably something you have to experience - not sure a screenshot would capture it. The important thing is to zoom in close to the top of the VC panel, so you get a 3D like effect with head and panel movement. The default aircraft VC cockpits that seem to work best, are the CRJ and the Maule. But the CRJ panel zoomed in to 0.6 is amazing with EZdok and sitting far from your screen in a daytime fsx setting (I havent tried night flying yet). I have found that despite my remote position, I can still just make out important dials like heading indicators, but not seeing the dials well is a trade off I can accept. It is strange that such a small thing like where you sit in front of a screen can make such a big difference, and unless I had personally experienced it I doubt I would believe it. All I can say is that FSX looks much more real when viewed from a distance than up close, but it is true that EZdok plays a big part in the experience. HK

..To make fsx look more real I highly recommend REX, EZdok and FS water configurator as well.

 

Call me a stick in the mud, but FSX is so beautiful straight out of the box that I've never wanted any fancy addons because there are already ample settings and sliders in the default sim to get it looking fantastic..:)

PS- For example there's a useful post with pretty screenshots about getting cockpits looking good in a thread here-

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?248567-How-do-you-keep-FSX-interesting/page35

 

And check out the other 40-odd pages too in that sensational thread.

Sorry my old pc is not online (I am using an ipad at the moment) and its probably something you have to experience - not sure a screenshot would capture it. The important thing is to zoom in close to the top of the VC panel, so you get a 3D like effect with head and panel movement. The default aircraft VC cockpits that seem to work best, are the CRJ and the Maule. But the CRJ panel zoomed in to 0.6 is amazing with EZdok and sitting far from your screen in a daytime fsx setting (I havent tried night flying yet). I have found that despite my remote position, I can still just make out important dials like heading indicators, but not seeing the dials well is a trade off I can accept. It is strange that such a small thing like where you sit in front of a screen can make such a big difference, and unless I had personally experienced it I doubt I would believe it. All I can say is that FSX looks much more real when viewed from a distance than up close, but it is true that EZdok plays a big part in the experience. HK

Reply to SKid...yes I don't disagree with you about default fsx. Even though I have REX installed I havent used it in a while and am not using it presently, as the default is so good. HK

And often a simple touch of a key can drastically change the way FSX looks. for example I remember a newcomer once posted saying that the scenery moved towards the plane in boring slow motion, so we advised him to simply zoom out to level 0.50 or 0.60.

He tried it and came back with "Wow thanks, now the scenery is whizzing past and gives a great sensation of speed!"

Previously he'd been using zoom level 1.0 which he wrongly assumed was the "realistic" level, but it's not..:)