MS Flight Simulator X

[Fatal_Papercut~SPARTA~]

Sorry for posting this here, I don't have the proper privileges to post in the Flight Sim forums.

 

Flight Sim X is pretty cheap these days; you can get the original game plus the expansion for $30 USD. Has anyone here played it, and is it any good?

 

Keep in mind that I've never been a hardcore flight sim player, but I've really enjoyed taking "sight-seeing tours" in Arma 2 using the various aircraft. I'll be flying most likely with keyboard/mouse controls, although I also have an Xbox 360 controller and the Logitech Rumblepad 2 that I can use. I also have TrackIR. I do not plan on investing in a nice flight stick/throttle set-up unless I REALLY get into the game.

 

I don't mind the learning curve--I did play Falcon 3.0 many, many years ago--but I'm looking for a more relaxing experience.

 

Buy it? Pass on it? Your input is most welcome!

[Zeno~SPARTA~]

I have only done some basic stuff with it, it seems to be a very realistic sim but just moving around. But thats cool, I am going to use it to improve my flying skills.

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

I had the demo, and flew quite a bitt. They have a fighter jet add on pac for it as well. I fly raido control planes also. Its good, and in direct x 10 as well. Oh, theres no typeing involved in that one.

Edited February 7, 2010 by Athlon64~SPARTA~

[1VB_SARmedic]

I Have that game, plus the Acceleration pack. (Gives you some extra aircraft and functioning aircraft carrier.)

 

Great sim, and you can set it to whatever skill level you want. If you really want to get into the "sim" side of it, there is a lot to learn and it's just like flying a real aircraft from one airport to another. (Radar, coms, waypoints, altitudes, etc.)

 

But...this is a flying simulator, so the terrain graphics are lacking quite a bit. If you enjoy flying, I would say it is well worth the $30, and you can pick up a simple joystick for under $20 to make it more interesting.

 

Good luck.

[MH6~SPARTA~]

If you want to play FSX, invest in a joystick. Trust me on this. There's honestly no point to playing it otherwise.

 

That being said, FSX is quite fun if you are interested in the civilian/commercial side of aviation. I love taking the Cessna 172 for a spin every now and then, flying from my local airport to other real-world airports such as La Guardia or Richmond Intl. I went the heavy-sim route though, learning comm. frequencies and how to use VOR and ADF, which basically uses AM radio frequencies to point you in the direction of a certain radio tower. This is useful for long trips so you don't go off-course.

 

FSX can be an excellent tool for anyone who wants to pursue a real-world pilot's license. The in-game guides are pretty damn good too. Still, fun can be had merely flying VFR (visual flight rules--don't need to read any instruments really, like driving a car) too.

 

Also, multiplayer is pretty fun, merely because there are quite a few people who are pursuing aviation careers that play. I.E., most games I joined had actual people working ATC, and that was the career they were learning in real life as well. So in my opinion FSX is pretty much the closest you can get to real-world aviation for under $50.

[Fatal_Papercut~SPARTA~]

Thanks for the feedback, folks! The Superbowl half-time show was long enough that I was able to make it to Best Buy before they closed (it's only 2 miles away) and picked up the Gold Edition (FSX Deluxe Ed + Acceleration Pack). I did a little research online during the first half of the Superbowl, comparing FSX to X-Plane 9, which I vaguely remembered somebody mentioning in a relatively recent post. It seemed like they were almost equals as far as what they offered (although X-Plane seems to have the advantage in accurate terrain mapping with 6 DVDs worth of material), but I got the impression that FSX has far better support from the community and the developer. Best Buy also had three expansion packs that had additional aircraft, which struck me as odd for such a niche game, so that tells me how well-supported it is.

 

I'm installing the game now, and, according to the Quick Reference Card, it looks like I should use my Xbox 360 controller for now. I'll put up the cash for a decent flight stick once I get a feel for the sim and determine if this will be something I run on a regular basis, or if it will be just for the occasional relaxing sight-seeing tour.

 

I did see what looked like a decent, cheap joystick at Best Buy; I don't remember the exact model, but it was made by Logitech, was only $30, and the stick twisted for rudder control. It also had a hat-switch, but I didn't notice any sort of throttle control. Can anyone tell me if this is a good stick or just cheap crap?

[MH6~SPARTA~]

Thanks for the feedback, folks! The Superbowl half-time show was long enough that I was able to make it to Best Buy before they closed (it's only 2 miles away) and picked up the Gold Edition (FSX Deluxe Ed + Acceleration Pack). I did a little research online during the first half of the Superbowl, comparing FSX to X-Plane 9, which I vaguely remembered somebody mentioning in a relatively recent post. It seemed like they were almost equals as far as what they offered (although X-Plane seems to have the advantage in accurate terrain mapping with 6 DVDs worth of material), but I got the impression that FSX has far better support from the community and the developer. Best Buy also had three expansion packs that had additional aircraft, which struck me as odd for such a niche game, so that tells me how well-supported it is.

 

I'm installing the game now, and, according to the Quick Reference Card, it looks like I should use my Xbox 360 controller for now. I'll put up the cash for a decent flight stick once I get a feel for the sim and determine if this will be something I run on a regular basis, or if it will be just for the occasional relaxing sight-seeing tour.

 

I did see what looked like a decent, cheap joystick at Best Buy; I don't remember the exact model, but it was made by Logitech, was only $30, and the stick twisted for rudder control. It also had a hat-switch, but I didn't notice any sort of throttle control. Can anyone tell me if this is a good stick or just cheap crap?

 

Sounds like the Logitech 3D Extreme Pro, which is an excellent joystick. There was a joystick thread not too long ago where we talked about it.

 

As for X-Plane...I have it, didn't like it. FSX is far better in my opinion.

[Pringle~SPARTA~]

I use the Logitech 3D Extreme Pro for ARMA2. It's exactly as you described plus a throttle control. I mostly just fly transport, so I can't say how well it performs for all scenarios. It gets the job done for me, though.

 

Ty

[1VB_SARmedic]

I have an X52 joystick, and a REALLY old Microsoft joystick. I use the old one because it has force feedback and throttle control. I use it for ArmA2 just because it has the twist, feedback, and many fewer buttons.

 

When I fly MS, I much prefer the X52 because of the extra buttons and separate joystick/throttle combination.

 

A simple stick will work though, trust me.

 

Have fun, if you want to, contact me and we can link up for some flying fun.

[Rooster]

+1 on the x52 HOTAS... One thing about FSx is that it will make you want to buy more peripherals so that you can simulate all the buttons in your cockpit area. Anyway, flying in FSx isn't quite the same as in ArmaII. You will find out that flying is much more involved in FSx, but its flight model is pretty accurate to RL. There is a great tutorial over here that will speed up your helo training. http://www.fsstation.com/tutorials/helicop...g-tutorial.html

[DeltaSierra]

I played FSX for at least 4-5 months. It's really the only Flight Sim I ever got into heavily. It's great for RPing if you roll with the right guys in it, I flew for Grizzly Flight making delivery runs haha. I liked it, I can't remember why I stopped playing it.

Edited February 8, 2010 by DeltaSierra~SPARTA~

[Fatal_Papercut~SPARTA~]

I found the Logitech 3d Pro at another Best Buy other than my "usual" store (there are 4 of them no further than 8 miles from my house), just getting it configured for Arma 2, then FSX next.

 

I spent last night just doing a bit of cruising, listening to my news podcasts while doing so. I have a feeling that I did what most people initially do: flying around my local area. It was interesting to note that they had most of the major landmarks in downtown Salt Lake City, but I think there is one major omission: the Kennecott Copper Pit, which is THE largest open-pit mine in the entire world--you can even see it from space. Not necessarily anything to be proud of; "Oi! Look! We've raped the environment and made the biggest hole in the world! And we're STILL digging!" But still...

[MH6~SPARTA~]

I found the Logitech 3d Pro at another Best Buy other than my "usual" store (there are 4 of them no further than 8 miles from my house), just getting it configured for Arma 2, then FSX next.

 

I spent last night just doing a bit of cruising, listening to my news podcasts while doing so. I have a feeling that I did what most people initially do: flying around my local area. It was interesting to note that they had most of the major landmarks in downtown Salt Lake City, but I think there is one major omission: the Kennecott Copper Pit, which is THE largest open-pit mine in the entire world--you can even see it from space. Not necessarily anything to be proud of; "Oi! Look! We've raped the environment and made the biggest hole in the world! And we're STILL digging!" But still...

 

I'm sure you can find a scenery pack to purchase online. They usually provide high-res textures and terrain information, and make the game look 10x better...for that one specific spot.

[Fatal_Papercut~SPARTA~]

Ugh, I'm getting frustrated here. As per a previous suggestion, I found what I thought would be a reputable site to purchase add-on scenery for FSX, FlightSim.com's Pilot Shop. I purchased scenery packs for Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Both packs came as ZIP files.

 

Unfortunately, both ZIP files are also corrupt and cannot be unzipped. The response I got from FlightSim was that the publishers were responsible for providing proper files for downloads, whereas one of the publishers, Taburet, says that they do provide proper files and that it is FlightSim's download servers that are responsible for causing the corruption in the ZIP files. The 2nd publisher has yet to contact me.

 

In other words, neither party wants to take responsibility, and FLightSim refuses to refund my money.

 

Any suggestions?

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

Call in a arc light strike!