Can I expect better performance from X Plane ?

Can I expect better performance from X Plane ? By performance I mean, scenery, planes, traffic, weather, and anything else that might be superior to FSX ? Is it more expensive than FSX ? It's not that I'm dissatisfied with FSX, but it's just nice to know that I'm using the very best.

 

 

 

Jim

There's no one best anymore. Xplane will probably run smoother. It will look nicer (out of the box anyway). Some of the planes will look awesome in external views. The cockpit views are nicer too.

 

FSX/P3D blow Xplane out of the water in many ways, though. If you like flying long distances, FSX's flight planning capabilities are much better. Its ATC is much better (and it's not all that great.. But Xplane's is a total joke).

 

The aftermarket scene is better for FSX, though that advantage will shrink as XP11 gains popularity.

 

Basically, what Xplane does well it does really well. What it doesn't do well, it does terribly. FSX/P3D will be more middle of the road. You won't have the visual wow-factor, at least not without some add-ons, but you also probably wont' ever ask "What the hell were the devs thinking with this!?" like I often do in Xplane.

Can I expect better performance from X Plane ? By performance I mean, scenery, planes, traffic, weather, and anything else that might be superior to FSX ? Is it more expensive than FSX ? It's not that I'm dissatisfied with FSX, but it's just nice to know that I'm using the very best.

 

 

 

Jim

 

Jim - You can download a trial version of X Plane, I did, and I immediately got rid of it! All the keys that you are accustomed to, forget about it, you have to completly relearn the keys! I think you have made the right move with Steam, you certainly have a renewed enthusiasm since doing it!

 

But, hey, do the trial version and you will see what shadow is saying!

 

Rick :cool:

Jim - You can download a trial version of X Plane, I did, and I immediately got rid of it! All the keys that you are accustomed to, forget about it, you have to completly relearn the keys! I think you have made the right move with Steam, you certainly have a renewed enthusiasm since doing it!

 

But, hey, do the trial version and you will see what shadow is saying!

 

Rick :cool:

 

Thank you Rick. I too have tried the sample version of X Plane - 11, and I was totally bored within 10 minutes, and quickly dumped it. But I have a neighbor who keeps nagging me to get X Plane. He does send me some pretty nice pictures, but he has spent hundreds of dollars for add-on planes, scenery, traffic, and weather. Different strokes for different folks I guess ? :(

 

I'm just looking for assurance from the good guys here at FSX, that I'm on the right track.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Jim

Yeah, your neighbor has spent hundreds on add-ons! I just counted, I have 175 aircraft including the default and I haven't spent a dime on aircraft add-ons! That in itself says a lot for FSX! I think the best decision you made was going to Steam! It's very apparent that you are very pleased with the results you are getting with it!

 

Enjoy! Rick :cool:

Yup, I spent $7.49 on Steam, and not ever a dime on add-on's. That in itself is pretty impressive. My old boxed version of FSX is overloaded with aircraft and choppers of every description, but I have only moved over to Steam my favorites, including that B-25. I still keep the old boxed version icon on my desktop, just in case I get the urge to go there, for whatever reason. Mostly for reference, the dozens of planes in the hanger, and comparing it to Steam. There is still some valuable information in that package that I would hate to lose.

 

I'll continue to be patient, smile, and let my neighbor blab on about X Plane, and as always Rick, I appreciate your advice.

 

Jim

I have them all and keep going back to FSX. It is by far the best value-for-money, complete simulator. I totally agree with shadow; X-Plane does some things really well and you will be impressed by how good it looks. However, the planes behave strangely on the ground, ATC is a joke and flight planning is non-existent. I also fly in real life and FSX is my go-to flight sim to practice up-coming flights. The others I use just to get a different perspective or to fool around.

I too have tried the sample version of X Plane - 11, and I was totally bored within 10 minutes, and quickly dumped it.

 

As in everything worth doing, you reap the rewards according to the effort you invest. It doesn't surprise me you were dissatisfied with X-Plane if ten minutes is all you were prepared to give it. I can't help but wonder what you were expecting.

Sometimes 10 minutes is enough. I knew I didn't like Kombucha tea in far less than 10 minutes. ;)

 

Speaking as someone who put at least 20 hours into it awhile back, I'm not convinced that 10 minutes isn't enough to make a call on X-plane. The stuff that irritated me after 10 minutes irritated me a lot more after 20 hours. One big irritation is that Xplane is really good in some areas, and if they'd just sit down and think about what simmers want, they'd probably come out with something that would make us abandon FSX/P3d and never look back. But instead, from what I understand, the developer develops it toward the kind of flying he does, and the kind of flying the rest of us do takes a distant backseat.

 

If you like VFR in small planes and don't care about navigation or procedurals you'll probably love Xplane. If you like IFR in jets and want to sim the whole ball of wax, like flight plans including SID/STARs, well, Xplane will frustrate you endlessly.

 

Running Xplane felt a lot like running Gran Turismo. It gets so much right, but stumbles on fairly important parts. Gran Turismo claims to be a racing sim and it's gorgeous and driving the cars is really fun, yet I can hit the wall at 200mph and just... bounce off and keep racing. Xplane is a flight sim, but it only simulates certain aspects of aviation well.

 

Heck, it doesn't even get ground handling right - your plane will dart back and forth on the takeoff roll with even the slightest touch on the rudders.

As in everything worth doing, you reap the rewards according to the effort you invest. It doesn't surprise me you were dissatisfied with X-Plane if ten minutes is all you were prepared to give it. I can't help but wonder what you were expecting.

 

Now ya gotta be careful here ........ I didn't say that I only gave it 10 minutes. I probably flew that first X Plane flight for close to one hour. But to tell you the truth, it never did have the WOW factor, that even my old Standard FSX edition had within the first 10 minutes of flight. I expect that if I did "invest" in some of their $downloads$, that things would get better, and that it would perhaps even equal FSX when you first open it. In my humble opinion, I would certainly hope so, but when you bring up FSX for the first time, you get the whole enchilada, with no further investment needed. I expected to get similar results with X Plane, but it failed to give me that. That's my opinion, and my opinion alone !

 

I don't mean to upset anyone here, and I hope that this clears things up a little, so that we all can sleep better tonight.

 

 

Peace my brothers. - Jim

 

 

.