Want to advance to newer simulators, but...

I have been playing Microsoft FSX for years now.

Passing my PPL in the USA not too long ago, I decided to buy a new joystick for flying. The folk I bought it from, he have X plane 11- amazing sim, but there is an issue I remember with those sims which are not FSX. Flying in NYC- you don't see any building you know. Flying in any other place is also a problem- you either have to install the right scenery for the area you fly- or you gonna see brown or blue (ground or sea).

In FSX you don't have this issue. You can fly all over the world, and you will see building you know. Flying in London? you will see the Big Ben. Flying in Mecca? You will recognize by the Qabba, Flying in NYC- You will see the Empire State Building, maybe even the Chrysler tower, etc...

I am pretty sure that if you will fly at Philadelphia in xplane11 you won't see the two recognizable blue skyscrapers. But in FSX however, you might. In xp11 you need scenery for every place you go.

And the sceneries? for NY is not so accurate- because it includes a building in the WTC complex which is not yet built in the real world (altough the mod is really realisitic except for that). I am not even sure they have mod for Phila for this game, and for every city you would like to fly? you will need to look out for mods- you get what I'm saying?

FSX is more than 10 years old- arnen't there any newer simulator which gives you the same peace of mind as FSX? In which you can fly anywhere you want and see there buildings or landmarks you recgnize?

I have been playing Microsoft FSX for years now.

Passing my PPL in the USA not too long ago, I decided to buy a new joystick for flying. The folk I bought it from, he have X plane 11- amazing sim, but there is an issue I remember with those sims which are not FSX. Flying in NYC- you don't see any building you know. Flying in any other place is also a problem- you either have to install the right scenery for the area you fly- or you gonna see brown or blue (ground or sea).

 

In FSX you don't have this issue. You can fly all over the world, and you will see building you know. Flying in London? you will see the Big Ben. Flying in Mecca? You will recognize by the Qabba, Flying in NYC- You will see the Empire State Building, maybe even the Chrysler tower, etc...

 

I am pretty sure that if you will fly at Philadelphia in xplane11 you won't see the two recognizable blue skyscrapers. But in FSX however, you might. In xp11 you need scenery for every place you go.

 

And the sceneries? for NY is not so accurate- because it includes a building in the WTC complex which is not yet built in the real world (altough the mod is really realisitic except for that). I am not even sure they have mod for Phila for this game, and for every city you would like to fly? you will need to look out for mods- you get what I'm saying?

 

FSX is more than 10 years old- arnen't there any newer simulator which gives you the same peace of mind as FSX? In which you can fly anywhere you want and see there buildings or landmarks you recgnize?

Where have you been for the last decade? Prepar3d is but one sim. Addons for X-plane are freely available. FTX/ORBX and other scenery developers offer accurate scenery for those sims and others too. Cityscapes and individual scenery elements are all over the place.

Oh and you can't see `Big Ben` in London. That is the name of the bell in the Elizabeth Tower. Who cares about New York?

FSX is more than 10 years old- arnen't there any newer simulator which gives you the same peace of mind as FSX? In which you can fly anywhere you want and see there buildings or landmarks you recgnize?

Ignoring the previous poster's crass remarks, there's only X-Plane or Prepar3d for PC which feature whole world scenery, which can be enhanced greatly by payware and freeware scenery add-ons.

The latest flight sims are developed for Android or iOS tablets, take a look at Infinite Flight for example. I have X-Plane 10 on my Kindle Fire HD 8 and it's superb - it probably runs better on the tablet than it would on my PC!

I have been playing Microsoft FSX for years now.

Passing my PPL in the USA not too long ago, I decided to buy a new joystick for flying. The folk I bought it from, he have X plane 11- amazing sim, but there is an issue I remember with those sims which are not FSX. Flying in NYC- you don't see any building you know. Flying in any other place is also a problem- you either have to install the right scenery for the area you fly- or you gonna see brown or blue (ground or sea).

 

In FSX you don't have this issue. You can fly all over the world, and you will see building you know. Flying in London? you will see the Big Ben. Flying in Mecca? You will recognize by the Qabba, Flying in NYC- You will see the Empire State Building, maybe even the Chrysler tower, etc...

 

I am pretty sure that if you will fly at Philadelphia in xplane11 you won't see the two recognizable blue skyscrapers. But in FSX however, you might. In xp11 you need scenery for every place you go.

 

And the sceneries? for NY is not so accurate- because it includes a building in the WTC complex which is not yet built in the real world (altough the mod is really realisitic except for that). I am not even sure they have mod for Phila for this game, and for every city you would like to fly? you will need to look out for mods- you get what I'm saying?

 

FSX is more than 10 years old- arnen't there any newer simulator which gives you the same peace of mind as FSX? In which you can fly anywhere you want and see there buildings or landmarks you recgnize?

Well with all the crying and whining about scenery the facts are, and still remain, these are being sold as "Flight Simulators". Where most flight takes place in the sky, ground scenery is not and has never been the priority of programing , that has been left to 3rd party developers That being said think back to the late 80's early 90's time frame, that's when I started. Things have improved greatly.

Now depending on your computer rig and available cash, you can make the ground as real as you want, but remember it's about the airspace between that counts Personally I run the newest Lockheed Martin but I did run FSX for about 10 years, that was much longer than I or any one else thought it would go considering how quick technology was chasing it. When I flew my first real jet (T-2 Buckeye) in the late 70's, I thought you could not do much better than that. Then came the F-14A Tomcat the last real fighter, then came, TARPS, the "Bombcat" and then The Hornets and Rhinos.....It was all about progression and keeping the learning curve going. But one thing that never made a tinkers damn about our flying was what the ground looked like, because we knew when it was all said and done the scenery didn't matter. If we hit the ground the last thing that would pass though or mind wasn't going to be how beautiful the scenery was.....but instead, the last thing to pass thought our mind was problaby going to be our boots.

But one thing that never made a tinkers damn about our flying was what the ground looked like, because we knew when it was all said and done the scenery didn't matter.

If you're strictly a jet jock, then ground scenery may not mean a whole lot to you, but when you fly low and slow, as a friend and I often do, ORBX scenery makes all the difference (as the real thing often did when we flew together in real life). Often, when flying in mountain country, the scenery looks almost real in ORBX, even from 500 AGL. And when you're flying directly connected multiplayer (as we do -- I'm in Denver, he's in Dallas), it's wonderful to swoop over a hill, see the beautiful valley spread out before you, and be able to share the moment with a long-time friend. The beauty of the earth from the air is part of what makes flying so enjoyable.

We make sure the scenery and aircraft we have in the sim (P3D now, but we've done this since FS98) are in sync, so that we're seeing the same thing as we fly along, whether it's 100 feet above a river in B.C. or 2,000 feet over a valley as you cross a ridge. We're often in formation, sometimes loose, sometimes very tight, we explore remote areas and smaller airports, and enjoy the animated people and animals, along with the marvelous details that ORBX provides, from dumpsters and traffic cones, to cars and truck, tool boxes, bicycles ridden by kids, picnic tables, BBQ grills, tractors and combines in the field tending their crops, static aircraft parked on the ramps, and much more.

So keep in mind that what you get out of the sim isn't necessarily what some other folks get out of it.

Now back to the OP's original question, IMHO getting P3D (or even FSX, if you're so inclined, but P3D has a multitude of improvements*) then adding ORBX scenery (there's even a free demo section of Washington state available, so try before you buy) as you go along (even one region is a lot to explore), perhaps with an add-on aircraft of a type you'd enjoy (or many add-on aircraft -- there are hundreds of decent ones available for free download at this site, and a lot of good payware is available, too). So check out the download part of this site, too.

* Cloud shadows, reflective water, much improved shadows are the tip of the iceberg in those improvements.

Ok so I see p3d is based on FSX so it is a great idea to buy it! But I see it is a bit expensive, so based on your replies I'll do the follow:

1. Try XP11's demo

2. If it works well buy it. If not, check previous versions and eventually buy one that works well on my rig.

3. Everywhere I fly look for sceneries. If I am not happy with what I find- do the equivalent flight in FSX.

For example I need to fly from Lancaster PA to Philadelphia- and I find no scenery for this city for xp11/10/9- then this particular flight fly in FSX.

4. In the future I might buy P3D if I won't be satisfied with XP.

Updates:

1. XP11 too heavy for my system.

2. XP10 works fine and look great but after first flight I don't like something there- In the cockpit view, you can't adjust your view so you will see no cockpit but only the outside (in FSX virtual cockpit you can move your "head" free, in xp10 when you aim the camera up it raises up to certain point- is there anyway to raise the chair in xp10?

Due to remark 2, and if this problem can't be fixed (hope I won't find more things that disturb me) I'll have to move to P3D.

Just to get things staright- p3d bought fsx, so it means fsx with modern graphics?

Can I buy older versions of p3d so it can run in old computer? As for what I saw in their website there is a fixed price for both new and old versions and I don't like it.

Also, you can't buy this game in ebay or steam. You have to buy in their website.

So, very basically, FSX & FSX:SE --development long frozen!

P3D -- very much ongoing ... go to https://www.prepar3d.com/

& see how far advanced P3D is, compared to FSX &, as said above, google it, & this has been discussed many time, here & in every other sim forum!

If you get P3D get the "ACADEMIC" version. Some people make a mistake and think they need the $200 dollar version but you don't. at $60 US it is a good deal.

A good deal only if you qualify. Not for hobbyists, not for recreation. Fact.

From LM:

An academic license at a reduced price is available for educational purposes at the undergraduate college level and below (students in elementary, middle, high school or pursuing a bachelor’s degree).

For your convenience, here is the Prepar3D EndUserLicenseAgreement as set forth by Lockheed Martin

- for the Academic Version

https://secure.prepar3d.com/solo/products/LicenseAgreement.aspx?ProdOptionID=1089

1. License Grant. Subject to the terms and conditions of this EULA, Licensor hereby grants Licensee a nontransferable, nonsublicenseable, nonexclusive license during the Term of this EULA to use the Software: (1) on a single computer, (2) by no more than one user at any one time, (3) in connection with Academic Education, (4) by students, instructors and staff associated with Licensee's Academic Education, (5) in the Territory, and (6) for purposes other than personal/consumer entertainment.

14.13 "Academic Education" means education programs for elementary through undergraduate students in fundamental academic disciplines such as science, technology, engineering and math, including history and social sciences related thereto, but NOT in connection with graduate students, professional training or certification of any kind, including, but not limited to, military training, emergency responder training, commercial flight training, private pilot training, air traffic control training, airport ground control/logistics training, driver training or nautical training.

For the Professional version

https://secure.prepar3d.com/solo/products/LicenseAgreement.aspx?ProdOptionID=1096

1. License Grant. Subject to the terms and conditions of this EULA, Licensor hereby grants Licensee a nontransferable, nonsublicenseable, nonexclusive license during the Term of this EULA to use the Software anywhere in the world, but only on no more than one computer; and only by no more than one user at any one time and for purposes other than personal/consumer entertainment.

Guys,we most certainly do NOT want internet policemen here!!!

It is up to each of us to buy want we want! We do NOT need to be told.

What you guys are doing is actually a form of bully tactics that has no place here.

I'm sure that each & everyone of us can decide what we want to buy without the internet 'police' highlighting in bold & red what we can or cannot do! As for entertainment... we do not regard it as a game, we are learning all the time, academically speaking!

So, please do NOT rant, point or wave fingers at those of us who have free will & a concience to do whatever we can, rightly or wrongly.

Imagine... an actual 'student' owning P3D is, according to the EULA, not allowed to just relax & play around with maybe a vehicle, & be personally entertained by flying around & having a bit of fun, by flaunting actual aviation rules!!

Funny response. So, what you are proposing is, that everyone should just disregard any license restrictions? That when Mr. Internet Forum tells you to buy it, that somehow makes it OK?

At least make people aware that there are strings attached when you recommend something.

And yes, that is precisely how it is. The student is not to use the software in that manner. Just like you are not supposed to dry your dog in the Microwave. Which you can do of course. Just don't ask the manufacturer for support.

Of course I am googling, p3d's normal undiscounted price for either new or older versions is a fixed 200 dollars:

https://www.prepar3d.com/prepar3d-store/

xplane 10's price is 60$ when buying at the company and about the same or a bit more to buy from ebay. Only problem is with the limited raising of the chair (which is also realistic on one hand ,but less fun) is a bit disturbing- I saw youtube videos and it's the same case. I'll try to ask at xplane 10 sub forum about it if I won't find an answer here.

So, please do NOT rant, point or wave fingers at those of us who have free will & a concience to do whatever we can, rightly or wrongly.

Wrongly, indeed. Openly urging people to break software licensing terms doesn't require any "police" to say that its wrong. It just is … wrong.

Wrongly, indeed. Openly urging people to break software licensing terms doesn't require any "police" to say that its wrong. It just is … wrong.

There’s 3 people in the world that use P3Dud for ‘educational purposes’. The other several thousands use it for what’s it was designed for. ‘Entertainment purposes’.

And judging by all the screenshots here and at jyoungsim.com, many are loving the entertainment value in it. It’s great that flightsim.com and jyoungsim.com are encouraging the entertainment side of it as well. Keeps the kids happy. ;)

My dad got his pilots license for entertainment purposes. Every once in a while he flew for professional reasons, but rarely.

Also, I JUST recently purchased a custom built computer from an acquaintance for $570. I installed P3D. Ive only flown twice. My first impressions....pretty darn good. I was actually a bit disappointed in some scenery looking a lot like FSX. nevertheless, yes, the upgrades and downloads will come over time. If your computer runs FSX well, you may be just as happy (for now), to upgrade your FSX with freeware and payware scenery. honestly, if I could have my 570 back, I think I would go back in time and upgrade my FSX, but Ive been flying flightsims for 25 years (yikes) So I guess Im pretty hard to impress, lol