Recommendation

I'm looking to move on from FS2004. to a newer/more realistic flight sim. Is FSX the way to go??

Thanks

for the price, yes. You can get FSX:SE for $25.00, sometimes $5-8.00. If you can find the boxed version, it can go for a couple hundred, sometimes less, sometimes more.

P3D has better graphix, I've heard, but I can't speak from first hand experience. It's also $75.00.

Do you want eye candy, or an affordable flight sim?

Up to you...

Pat☺

No, FSX is a dead sim. As dead as FS2004.

Only available in FSX Steam edition, there have been no upgrades to FSX: SE for years.

Might be worth picking up in the bargain bin - Steam occasionally sells it for $5 or $10 but with the end of Flight Sim World the last vestige of code is gone.

Depending on your system and circumstances the future is 64-bit - X-Plane or Prepar3d, possibly Aerofly FS2

Couple of hundred? https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xfsx.TRS0&_nkw=fsx&_sacat=0

Aaron - I was going to say! Yes, I have seen some people, even on Ebay that lists their Gold edition FSX on there for $200+ , they must be smoking dope! Anyway, for the OP, if you do decide to go the boxed version, make sure you get the Deluxe edition, it offers more default aircraft than the standard edition. If you buy used, make sure seller states the discs (2) are in good condition and make sure they are providing you with a product key to go with the purchase! I bought mine used on Ebay and have had no issues at all with it!

Good luck! - Rick

+1 to mallcott.

Development of FSX is stone-dead now. After FSW died I doubt anyone will pick up the pieces.

Take a look at the requirements for P3D, if your system can handle it that's the way to go.

Jorgen

Dovetail does not own the fsx software. They have a licence, to sell it. Nothing more. Microsoft still owns the code itself, and they have made it clear they will not develop it further.

Still, lot's of scenery and planes and other useful addons for fsx are being produced for fsx by other developers. And can be bought online.

Fsx is still a fun game, played by many people. Maybe fsx is dead to malcot and jorgen, but that is their problem then, not yours.

I should clarify that I still use FSX a lot, more than P3D, because I have more scenery for FSX. It's the development of FSX itself that's deader as a doornail now.

Jorgen

I should clarify that I still use FSX a lot, more than P3D, because I have more scenery for FSX. It's the development of FSX itself that's deader as a doornail now.

 

Jorgen

I agree from the point of view of Microsoft. But if MFS is so dead, why are so many programs and add-ons still coming out every day and being bought up by MFS users??

I have bought two editions of P3D including the newest 64 bit a few days ago. Regardless of how hard I try I can't make myself like P3D nearly as much as I do FSX.

As to "dead," as in users' interest, there are usually about 250+- people on this site almost every single time I log in plus tons of others on the other MFS sites. While only about 20-30 are typically on the P3D site. And the same appears to be the case with the Aerosoft community as well. I was involved in a round the world rally that was open to all forms of flight sims. But far and away there were more FSX simmers entered than all the alternatives added together.

Even if some consider them "dead," it's obvious that the Microsoft programs are always the ones people actually use! P3D has certainly been around long enough now that if they were competitive to those "dead" programs, it'd show up in their numbers. IMHO P3D and X-Plane are still and probably will always be a MFS wannabe!

Rupert

FlightSim.com forum count update. As of a minute or two ago 234 were viewing FSX, 121 viewing FS9, 181 viewing MSFS Screenshot.

Scrolling down I found 15 were viewing X-Plane, 14 viewing P3D and 1 viewing the P3D Screen shot forum.

I'd say that based upon many observations of user counts that P3D and X-Plane are the dead flight sims in the view of those who actually buy and use flight sim products.

Rupert

FlightSim.com forum count update. As of a minute or two ago 234 were viewing FSX, 121 viewing FS9, 181 viewing MSFS Screenshot.

 

Scrolling down I found 15 were viewing X-Plane, 14 viewing P3D and 1 viewing the P3D Screen shot forum.

 

I'd say that based upon many observations of user counts that P3D and X-Plane are the dead flight sims in the view of those who actually buy and use flight sim products.

 

Rupert

Yep. Nothing wrong with the ‘old’ sims. I’m still buying products for fs9. :)

FlightSim.com forum count update. As of a minute or two ago 234 were viewing FSX, 121 viewing FS9, 181 viewing MSFS Screenshot.

 

Scrolling down I found 15 were viewing X-Plane, 14 viewing P3D and 1 viewing the P3D Screen shot forum.

 

I'd say that based upon many observations of user counts that P3D and X-Plane are the dead flight sims in the view of those who actually buy and use flight sim products.

 

Rupert

Rubbish. The `life` of a sim is how much work is going into still developing it, not developing for it.

Scientists are still investigating dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are still dead.

Rupert, I have seen several comments around that P3D will really shine if you have a very high-end graphics card with more than 8 GB of VRAM. Then there's a certain setting in the Prepar3D.cfg you can change to achieve stunning graphics.

So I keep petitioning my local Secretary of the Treasury for a GTX1080TI....

Jorgen

Jorgen,

I'm using a GTX1070 on one computer and a GTX960 on the other. They're both supposed to be pretty good cards. I'd be very interested in a cofig. change which might make P3D look as good as FSX with ORBX.

I'll find the setting for you, but remember there has to be at least 8 GB of VRAM on the card for that setting to work. That rules out at least the GTX960, as that one only has 4 GB - at least that's what my own GTX960 has.

Maybe I should post my whole Prepar3D.cfg - but not here, in the P3D forum as it should be.

Jorgen

Statistics: P3D users also check for FSX addons. This has been one of the failures of FSW: any compatibility.

I'm using P3DV4 but FSX-SE (plus Steve's Fixer) is a great simulator with tons of addons available and has one advantage: no more updates. I reccomend FSX-SE for people coming from FS9

That’s only because the ‘kids’ of today get suckered into moving onto the ‘latest and greatest’ of everything without thinking if it’s better or worse and just accept because it’s newer so it must be ‘better’.

*rolls eyes emoji with a baseball cap on backwards..

To Clarify an earlier post. P3DV4 64bit is only 59.95 for the academic version and that is all you need. Many addons have been upgraded to use this new version. Coming from FS2004 this will probably be the easiest of the choices for you. or, You could go with X-Plane 11 which is nice but has a much larger learning curve.

Either way you can't go wrong. :)

FlightSim.com forum count update. As of a minute or two ago 234 were viewing FSX, 121 viewing FS9, 181 viewing MSFS Screenshot.

 

Scrolling down I found 15 were viewing X-Plane, 14 viewing P3D and 1 viewing the P3D Screen shot forum.

 

I'd say that based upon many observations of user counts that P3D and X-Plane are the dead flight sims in the view of those who actually buy and use flight sim products.

 

Rupert

This by no means proves anything. So many more forums and places for Flight Simmers to hang out. Just because they are not here doesn't mean they don't exist.

This by no means proves anything. So many more forums and places for Flight Simmers to hang out. Just because they are not here doesn't mean they don't exist.

Perhaps you should refer to the info Lesh has about RW daily useage of just one Microsoft Flight Sim product. And that's data recorded directly from actual users. That data should tell us a lot more than a "statement" about where people hang out! "Just because they are not here doesn't mean they don't exist."

"Take a look here https://steamspy.com/app/314160 at the CCU hourly and daily stats. There were almost 3000 concurrent players using it 2 hours ago and that regularly rises to over 4000. There are probably far more people than that using the boxed edition.

Only the last sentence in that quote is conjecture. Numbers I've provided and the numbers Lesh has provided are Real World actual numbers. Not conjecture like your statement about where people hang out.

Perhaps you should refer to the info Lesh has about RW daily useage of just one Microsoft Flight Sim product. And that's data recorded directly from actual users. That data should tell us a lot more than a "statement" about where people hang out! "Just because they are not here doesn't mean they don't exist."

 

"Take a look here https://steamspy.com/app/314160 at the CCU hourly and daily stats. There were almost 3000 concurrent players using it 2 hours ago and that regularly rises to over 4000. There are probably far more people than that using the boxed edition.

 

Only the last sentence in that quote is conjecture. Numbers I've provided and the numbers Lesh has provided are Real World actual numbers. Not conjecture like your statement about where people hang out.

What does Steamspy have to do with anything? Yes, lots of people are hanging out playing it on Steam. That's like polling 25 people about something and then coming to the conclusion the whole world agrees. You have no way to know the actual number of people playing simulators on platforms all across the world. Again you spit out numbers with out any proof except 1 site. Just because you refuse to understand that yes, FSX may not be dead yet but it is on it's way. Personally I would prefer to point new users to a new platform. Just about anything in FSX works in P3D. I could go on and on about the reasons why NOT to start with FSX now but again, You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink no matter how thirsty they are.

What does Steamspy have to do with anything? Yes, lots of people are hanging out playing it on Steam. That's like polling 25 people about something and then coming to the conclusion the whole world agrees. You have no way to know the actual number of people playing simulators on platforms all across the world. Again you spit out numbers with out any proof except 1 site. Just because you refuse to understand that yes, FSX may not be dead yet but it is on it's way. Personally I would prefer to point new users to a new platform. Just about anything in FSX works in P3D. I could go on and on about the reasons why NOT to start with FSX now but again, You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink no matter how thirsty they are.

I can see you have a real bee in your bonnet about this, but I'm going to take the risk and point out:

1. Not dead yet but "on their way": '56 Chevys, Jaguar E Types, Volkswagen Beetles, vintage warbirds . . .

2. While you may be happy using the Academic Version of P3D, a scrupulous reading of the respective EULAs suggests to me that most people don't actually qualify, and should buy the Pro version. And $200 is steep, even for the indisputably better graphics and better capabilities. As a step up from FS2004, FSX:SE is the simple, sensible way to go.

I'm looking to move on from FS2004. to a newer/more realistic flight sim. Is FSX the way to go??

 

Thanks

Talk about beating a dead horse. FSX is not dead. To me the only deciding factor is, do you want a 32 bit or 64 bit program. If you are going to start beefing up the program with scenery and planes go for the 64 bit. OOMs are a pain in the neck. If you work at it you can avoid them. But with the 64 bit program there are no worries. I slam everything at P3d and never have a problem. My suggestion is go for the 64 bit and then if you see FSX steam on sale, grab it.

As a step up from FS2004, FSX:SE is the simple, sensible way to go.

I have FSX with ORBX and PMDG NGX and I call it a step down from FS9. But each their own. :D