Making FSX look better/more realistic.

Ok. I know this question must have been asked a million times and there are lots of sites and pages that talk about this but I find all the info and the products out there overwhelming and I think it's better to ask people I can interact with (like here).

 

I already have REX OD and REX4, and have FS Water Configurator but that's all I have for visual improvement. I see all these beautiful videos on Youtube that look very close to real and even though some say most are embellished or enhanced, I'm sure -or hoping- there is something I can do to make my game look better. I know about Orbx but I don't think it's something I'll be buying -kinda pricey and I don't see a big improvement over the default scenery, and I read somewhere it will impact the FPS and my PC isn't that powerful. Any other similar programs that can make the terrain look better? I know there's a bunch out there. Any free ones?

 

What about those shader things ( Enb and another one with the word "sweet" in it (can't remember the exact name) ?

 

How about Ezdok? I know it's just a camera thing but is it worth it?

 

Thanks.

If`pricey` is your limitation then frankly you're SOL.

 

Everything that can make a reasonable stab at substantially improving the visual perspective costs.

 

You can however, start with better Mesh - FreeMesh is just that and can give a better visual experience as it better optimises the textures already installed (that `stony outcrop` texture in the middle of the arable field now has a bump in it that shows you why Farmer Giles doesn't plant crops in it, that kind of thing.

 

After that, it's time to start saving.

You're question is like: "I have a Volvo from 20 years ago, is there something I can do to look and run like a Ferrari?"

I didn't say that you cannot do something, but if you don't start with an appropriate hardware like an i5, better i7 and at least an nVidia 750 for a video card, I'm afraid there isn't too much to do. A good start for you I think is to Google for "Nick's fsx Bible".

Give it a try, it could help a little bit.

Another thing: why on earth if you have Rex4 you continue to keep Rex overdrive?!? Rex4 is made specially for texture, is the substitute for overdrive! And so with water texture, why do you use the other one? It's already everything you need in one product you already have:Rex4! Before you think how to make look better fsx, you should think to make more smooth and frame friendly without a tone of inutile add-ons.

 

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I think that there is a difference between "better" and "more realistic".

 

I would use the term "better" to describe the visual appearance of the sim, like colors, contrast, the textures themselves. This is what ENB, Shade or SweetFX do, they make the same things look different. Texture replacements can also make the sim look better - if you prefer them to default, which might not always be the case. Texture replacement products are for example Rex4 Textures, OrbxFTX Global, the GEX series or FSCene. If you like these textures or not, or if you think they look more realistic, is a matter of taste. All of these things do not change what you are looking at - it just appears different.

 

"More realistic" is a different beast. IMO things can only look realistic if you are using real world data. So what you IMHO foremost need for realism is additional simulator content, that replicates reality better than the default does. That would be addon scenery and addon aircraft. You can get a lot of stuff in that department as freeware. But when the data gets more complex and you want it to be even more real, then more real work on part of the developer is required too - that is why so many of the really good addons are payware.

 

Most YouTube videos in that category are using high quality payware scenery and aircraft, both of which are seldom free. Bottom line: you will have to pay for realism, not only in money, but in performance too. Every addition to the simulator influences it's performance. There is a general rule of thumb: higher complexity and more data will always make it worse/slower/less FPS/stutter/OOM.

 

The most important things for me re:realism:

- A high quality, high resolution mesh (I am using the 4,75m products from France VFR)

- A high quality weather engine with matching textures (AS16, ASCA and Rex4T currently)

- Ultimate Terrain 2 with FTX Global or photoreal textures

- High quality airport sceneries

- Sophisticated aircraft (RealAir, A2A, PMDG)

- ATC addons (RC4 and PFE)

 

EZDOK is worth it, if your computer can manage. It takes a small bite out of your FPS. It is indispensable when using TrackIR IMHO.

Thanks for the replies.

 

Mallcott and seth, I know a more powerful hardware is always better and even required in some cases and so is having to spend some cash for a better product (addon) but my question was more about what addons are used to make the game look more realistic. Upgrading my hardware (actually an i5 2500k processor with a gtx 750Ti) is the easiest part. But I always read comments (on youtube) from people who say they have PCs with i7 and powerful v cards but they don't get anything (visually) close to what they see in the videos. So, I think having the right addon is what makes the difference (looks wise).

I'm not rich but not broke, and spending $70 on orbx isn't a big deal but I thought the game is pricey for what it offers -IMO, it's not a big improvement over fsx, and I don't think fsx as it is is that bad. I'd gladly pay double the $70 if there were a product that would make fsx (terrain, buildings, roads....) look like that of GTA's. Also, I've seen some videos on youtube where the addons they used (for textures/terrain) were free but they did a good job making the game look more realistic.

 

Seph, I don't know but the clouds in REX4 look fake. They're not much better -if at all- than the default fsx clouds. The water in REX4, ...is a joke. I like REX OD better.

 

 

Evm, thank you for your reply. So, Enb and sweetfx are what they use to make the shading better in fsx.

 

Now, I can say I've learned about something new from the replies - Mesh, that I can download for better textures... and Enb,sweetfx for shading... So, now I'll have to find out how to use them.

That's what I was mostly looking for in my question.

 

Thanks.

Two additions:

 

- Mesh and texture replacement product are not the same. Mesh is only the altitude profile of the sim, and textures are what is painted onto this mesh profile.

 

- "I'd gladly pay double the $70 for global realism": after 4 years I am currently at roughly $8000 for scenery, tools and aircraft addons. And that scenery is mostly for Europe...

I have been running a I5-2500k now for five years. Overclocked to 4.5 on air cooling. I use FSX with Acceleration. REX4TD+SC and REX 3 for my weather engine. Video card is 760ti. I also use GEX and UTX for ground terrain. FPS are great, no stutters or pauses etc.

In case you didn't know it, you can use textures and from REX4TD with textures from REX3.

In my 30 years of using MSFS I find the best way to achieve good performance and great looks is how you tweak your FSX cfg. and your setting for your GPU and the settings in FSX. I have most settings in FSX set high but have found that changing the settings and checking the results really helps. Change one thing at a time and then check to the effect of that change.

Two additions:

 

- Mesh and texture replacement product are not the same. Mesh is only the altitude profile of the sim, and textures are what is painted onto this mesh profile.

 

- "I'd gladly pay double the $70 for global realism": after 4 years I am currently at roughly $8000 for scenery, tools and aircraft addons. And that scenery is mostly for Europe...

 

What evm is saying is that it's not a 70 buck commitment, it's closer to $700. Or 7,000...

 

If you want to try a mesh product start with FreeMesh because it's... free.

It makes more sense of the textures that are already there. It might be what you want

 

After that, everything you might be looking to achieve is going to cost. If not for the textures, addons themselves (you can find freeware to enhance the visual experience) then becuase those enhancemnts comeat the price of fps - and to get that back is NEVER free or low-cost.

 

Personally, I'd put a couple fo hundred aside to go and take a real flight in a real plane to actually be able to gauge what you are seeing is better, or merely different. A lot of bucks can be spent on making things less realistic.

 

However, for a pilot the first and most beneficial improvement comes NOT from ground textures, but from improvements to clouds, skies and weather - the environment in which you fly.

 

This will be immediately apparent when you leave the ground on your air experience flight, and will demonstrate just how your focus is in completely the wrong direction at present. Your thinking like a passenger, not a pilot.

Thanks again guys for the replies. Couldn't write sooner because been preoccupied with some health issues.

 

Anyway, yeah I understand now the difference between mesh and texture. To be honest, I didn't even know about this mesh thing until my post (this one). So, that's one thing I learned about that could add to the realism of the game (visually). So, thanks...

 

IMO, the default fsx texture isn't bad but thought if I could make it even a little more realistic then why not but like I said, I didn't think the difference in quality between fsx's default and Orbx's is really worth the $70, especially if I could find a freeware program that does the same- I'm not sure if there's one actually.

 

So far, I've found a couple of free add-ons - FSX Enhanced Autogen, TreeX and REX grass (not sure if REX Grass is only good for grass at airports or everywere). Haven't installed these ones or figured out how to use them but they seem like nice improvement (looks wise) over the default.

 

I also downloaded ENB and installed it and wow ! It does make a difference making the shading more realistic but I'm wondering if there's a way to tweak it because sometimes it looks a bit too strong. I've also read about SweetFX and from what I know it's tweakable but it seems more complicated to apply to FSX. I also found FreeMeshX (freeware mesh) and it does look pretty good but I haven't installed it yet either.

 

 

$700 in software !! I don't think I'll ever spend that much on addons, let alone $7000 or $8000. But wow! That's a lot of money to spend on FSX. I'm not a hardcore simmer but more of a plane lover/watcher -I know you're all are- and I think making my planes and sky/clouds look more realistic is more important than terrain and scenery, and I think I have the most popular addons for that (REX). Good thing it also makes water and runways look good too. I have a bunch of free plane addons and some look so damn good but I might get some payware ones in the future. One thing I've never got around to doing is tweaking fsx.CFG. I've come across some posts mentioning this but never looked into it. Any links to what tweaking the CFG does?

 

 

Wow, bgets ! 30 years of FS ? That's from the times when fsx planes looked like the drawings of a 1st grader and the FPS were like 2. I remember the one from late 90's (had it). FSX has really come a long way.

 

 

Anyways, thanks again.

Not only is it pricey but it is a massive amount of work. The more you add the easier it is to break things. You can also add things and it breaks other things so you better know your flight simulator files inside and out. If you don't like editing files and tracking down problems then you will be in trouble. Ya, there will be some who say it is not much work but considering you are taking 11 year old code and then on top of that throwing 40 or 50 or more addons at it and all addons made by different company's all with different standards........Well.......you get what I mean.

The addons you mention will give you a flavour of what is available. And don't forget FreeMesh as it makes greater sense of the textures by improving the topography.

 

REX grass only affects the airports.

Tweaking the fsx.cfg (and NVI): Gerenally speaking, tweaking is not necessary, unless you have a massive and/or annoying problem in your simulator. Things like unusually low FPS, stutters, blurries or other artifacts. Then tweaking can help, if you know what you are doing. Tweaking takes time too, because there is no telling if setting a parameter to a certain value will have the same effect on your computer that it had on others, who recommended that tweak. So it is constantly a "one step forward, two steps back" kind of thing. Took me two years of tweaking now and then until my simulator experience was like I wanted it to be. Then I bought a new GPU (780ti -> 980ti) and it was all for nothing - most of the old issues are back.

 

You will get there eventually, when you keep adding things to the simulator. Just take your time. If you want to make it less of a mystery, get something like SimStarter (there still is a freeware version available) where you can apply the tweaks in a convenient GUI instead of fiddling with notepad.

Well depend of personal taste. I have Rex overdrive, but since I use rex4 nothing seems more realistic to me. Of course you have to use a good addon for real weather. I use OPUS FSI for ex. If you use the fsx weather of course nothing change. And for the water, I use dx10 with Steve's fixer. I ensure that the water is way different from dx9 like the waves for ex. which follow the wind direction near the coastline. And oh' yeah the shadows in the cockpit! I personally don't use it, because is a huge frame eater for my video card (GTX 420 2 GB - less powerful then your's), but the effect is guaranteed! And for smooth and good frame Nvidia inspector configuration for dx10 of course. You can easily find the PDF guide on Google "DX10 how to". I have made a video some time ago with A319, is not so beautiful like some, because the most of video you see are modified with some video editor to looks way better and have some artifacts like audio with noise and passengers , pilots voice or baby crying... I prefer the "scratch" . So you can see it here:

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rRxtArium-c

 

 

 

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Ok. I don't know what happened to my reply but it just disappeared for some reason. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks again for all the replies.

 

Yeah I don't think I'll be getting any addons (payware, that is) at the moment, but I'll be trying mesh (FreeMeshX) and also TreeX.

If REX grass is only good for airports then I won't be needing it since I have REX4 but I've seen some really nice pics of grass that looks so realistic (almost like 3D) and I'm wondering what they used for that.

 

http://www.avsim.com/topic/468764-reshade-sweetfx-master-effect-reborn-fsx-dx10-shots/

 

I'm still wondering if anyone knows if ENB is tweakable (if I want to adjust the amount of shading....).

 

Thanks for the video and the DX10 tip, seph.

The grass is 3D, but it is part of that specific addon airport scenery, not globally. Developers like to include these things nowadays. Sometimes it is applied only along the runways and taxiways (like a fence), sometimes it covers all grass areas of the airport.

The 3D grass on some payware airport is a huge frame eater, I never use it.

 

Inviato dal mio Sirius_QS utilizzando Tapatalk

I used FTX Global, Rex 4 Texture Direct with Softcloud, ASN Weather engine and some addon scenery. You can check my following VDO.

 

I'm not sure that it meets your requirement or not.

 

Note: At taking off, it stopped for a second. It is the bugs of the scenery that I use.

 

Sent from my SM-N915F using Tapatalk

Thanks for the replies and the info and thanks uncensor for the video. There's no doubt FTX makes fsx look a little better but like i said it's not a big improvement over the default scenery and in my opinion it doesn't justify the price. But I might change my mind some day.

 

Thanks again to all those who replied.

"it's not a big improvement over the default scenery"

 

I suggest trying some photoreal scenery. There a lot of freeware versions to try out there, then move on to payware versons.

To address the videos you have seen: I have made some FSX videos that out of the box 'look' better than when I am flying. The reasons are several fold. First, I think when you watch videos you're in a different mind set. I've seen several videos that appear over the top wow. Watch again, and you will start to see the flaws...little stutters, etc.

As far as some of the tricks. Record your flight with FSRecorder at HALF speed. (Or during playback, do it half speed) Record the saved flight with Fraps or other capture program, then dump it into Movie Maker or other video editing and then double the rate to get back to full real speed.

Then with selective editing, fades, zooms, etc...adds to the overall effect and simply makes the video 'better'. Add in music and what you see as a final movie is not anything like when you are flying.

Very good reading in this posting.

I have used the simulator for years, starting with FS98. I've bought most of the mentioned software.

What I've learned to my cost is that FSX cannot use the capabilities of a high end computer. My ultra high-end work computer does a worse job than my old Core i5 Dell.

Windows 7 is the only (IMO) setup that works well. I have a dual boot machine now (boots to Windows 10 or Windows 7)

 

The only way for realism, is a professional simulator:

http://www.flyipilot.co.uk/shop/

Only costs $140 for an hour. Ask your wife first.

 

If price is no object, buy:

TouchTrainer FM with 100 Degree Visual System (18,500 Euros)

 

Cheers

One thing that nobody mentioned, unless I missed it. To be more "realistic" in terms of looking at what you see, try adjusting your view setting in the virtual cockpit to 50% or even 45%. Unless you have flown for real in a small plane you cannot appreciate how tricky it can be to find that darn grass strip that you know is hiding in plain sight among the farm fields down there.

Hi Guy, Let me to ask you make sure, Does FSX Real Weather still activate? I know FS9 Real Weather still shut down by Jeppesem.com of weather leaving FS9. FSX Real Weather have still ALIVE loading? REX 4 that include "Real Weather reloading?"

 

P.S. pls help me information.

Hi Guy, Let me to ask you make sure, Does FSX Real Weather still activate? I know FS9 Real Weather still shut down by Jeppesem.com of weather leaving FS9. FSX Real Weather have still ALIVE loading? REX 4 that include "Real Weather reloading?"

 

P.S. pls help me information.

 

I use the FSX weather updated every 15 minutes and it's been fine and within the parameters of the weather in the real world.

"it's not a big improvement over the default scenery"

 

I suggest trying some photoreal scenery. There a lot of freeware versions to try out there, then move on to payware versons.

 

 

No I know those photoreal sceneries are beautiful. I have Catalina island and it's like day and night difference compared to the default but I was talking about something that would apply to the whole terrain in fsx, which those photoreal sceneries don't. But yeah those photo-realistic sceneries are really beautiful and I'll be downloading more.

Oh and some of the free planes (addons) I have are photo-real and they look way better than the other ones.

 

CrazyDaveIowa, I know there are some editing softwares to make those clips look as good as they do but I don't care for recording. I just enjoy looking at a plane flying "live" in the game and having a scenery that looks as close to the real thing as possible and I'm pretty happy with how things look with REX especially with some of the photo-realistic plane addons I have.