X-Plane v. Microsoft FS

I have seen a few X-Plane 11 videos on YouTube and I am interested. I guess X-Plane has been around for a long, long time, but I have not really been aware of it. I am a long-time Microsoft FS guy but have been somewhat disappointed by Microsoft FS's kind of dropping out of the picture since 2010.

Sooooo - I am thinking of taking a shot at X-Plane 11 but, before I do, I thought I would ask for some of your views on X-Plane v. Microsoft FS. Is X-Plane for real? I suspect it is. Is making a move from Microsoft to X-Plane advisable? What are the pros and cons?

Thanks for any input on this.

Mike

Mike I am a fan of FSX, have been for years. I have x-plane 9 and like it but I always come back to FSX. I like the planes and such better. If you go to X-planes site you can download a trial version of 11 to see if you like it, how it runs on your rig and to generally get a feel for it.

In fact I have it here for you.

http://www.x-plane.com/try-it/

Happy :pilot: Flyin... AD

Mike I am a fan of FSX, have been for years. I have x-plane 9 and like it but I always come back to FSX. I like the planes and such better. If you go to X-planes site you can download a trial version of 11 to see if you like it, how it runs on your rig and to generally get a feel for it.

In fact I have it here for you.

http://www.x-plane.com/try-it/

 

Happy :pilot: Flyin... AD

Wow! Thanks so much AD. I have been with MSFS since FS1995. That's a long time, and of course, I pretty much know MSFS inside and out. Like you, I suspect that I will end up coming back to FSX, but I will give X-Plane a try.

Mike

Mike - I tried the trial version out and got so frustrated. Forget all you know with the FSX shortcut keys, your "F" keys. Knowing FSX won't help you conquer X-plane. It will be like starting "all over again!" Don't take my word for it, give it a try! Anyone just starting out with a flight sim, I would probably encourage them to try X-plane, but not someone who's been flying with FSX!

It will give you a better appreciation of just how good FSX really is! JMHO!

Enjoy! - Rick

pdmike,

I was an avid FS, FSX and P3D guy for over two decades...that was until X Plane 11 hit the market. I won't ever go back to any of the previous. X Plane 11, in my humble opinion, is TOPS, physics wise. After you fly X Plane 11 for a month...just give it a month, go back and fly P3D and FSX. You will find that the X Plane 11 physics are second to none...just like the real thing.

pdmike,

 

I was an avid FS, FSX and P3D guy for over two decades...that was until X Plane 11 hit the market. I won't ever go back to any of the previous. X Plane 11, in my humble opinion, is TOPS, physics wise. After you fly X Plane 11 for a month...just give it a month, go back and fly P3D and FSX. You will find that the X Plane 11 physics are second to none...just like the real thing.

Hope this isn't a silly question but can XP11 and FSX co-exist on the same PC? Just thinking of the demo XP11 and a potential uninstall not affecting my FSX in any way...

Most avid FSX users give up on XP because they want it to work the exact same way as FS, which simply is not a realistic expectation.

Besides, the comparison should be between either XP and P3D, or XP and FSX + a zillion add-ons. To me, out-of-the-box, XP11 is the best civilian flightsim at the moment, but in the end it all boils down to personal preferences.

Hope this isn't a silly question but can XP11 and FSX co-exist on the same PC?

Absolutely, no problem whatsoever!

As RR above says, they can and do co-exist on the same PC, I have FS9, FSX and XP-11 on my PC, but having said that I rarely ever fire up FS and if I do I quickly go back to XP.

Posts I've read where people say XP has bugs, well yes it does but they are being worked on, I mean look on this forum and FS9, its got lots of threads where guys are having problems, I've had plenty in the past.

I've also come a long way with FS9, FSX, FSX-Steam and P3D. Absolutely hated X-Plane 9 and 10, but X-Plane 11 changed it all, it is a whole new kettle of fish. The interface is better, the graphics are superb and X-Plane out of the box looks better than FSX and P3D after a whole lot of expensive add-ons have been applied. It was way easier for me to get X-Plane running smoothly and looking good than it was for any version of P3D, still struggling with P3D v4.1 actually.

Having said that, the flight planning and ATC of X-Plane are atrocious. It can be overcome with some free- and payware add-ons, but that should not be necessary if you buy something that claims to be a flight simulator. If X-Plane can address those two shortcomings, I will wholeheartedly recommend it. However, as it stands I still frequently go back to my trusty FSX, which is still the whole complete package.

There are more add-ons available for FSX, although there are surprisingly many and good quality free ones available for X-Plane, but I do find that payware bargains are more plentiful for FSX. P3D v4 has opened up a whole new ugly can of worms with many (if not most) developers charging anything from a small upgrade fee to full price for the new installer and a few small tweaks.

If you do decide to buy X-Plane, look at the Steam version, it often goes on sale and you can pick it up way cheaper than the standalone version.

tgon,

Not a silly question at all. XP11, P3D and FSX can all coexist on the same machine, provided you have the recommended system requirements for each. That way, you can test each of the sims yourself.

WOW, I am impressed with all responses here. I am an avid FSX user and have the box XP-9 as well. I have tried XP-11 demo and came back to FSX as I find it runs better for me and I know what to expect from all of the freeware and payware add-ons I have. That being said, none are perfect and I do enjoy flying a C-&-B on them. My next try is going to be P3D. FSX SE is the same as FSX and I have it too, tho my traffic 360 won't run.

AD