I remember flying FSII on my Commodore 64

https://www.c64-wiki.com/images/d/d3/Fs2_meigs.gif

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/H0IAA...RCg/s-l300.jpg

I think things are a little different today.

I think I may have done a little in my first IBM compatible PC days, but nothing super serious. I'd enjoy it, but it's so darn time consuming.

Do not have to have a microphone, great vox box: team, area in, squad channels and PM.
It is a multiplayer environment, team based play. Warning, you will need a joy stick, flying with a mouse and keyboard are almost impossible. Download is free, 2 weeks free, then $15.00 a month. For cartoon planes, a great WW2 combat flight sim.

A couple of screen shots and a in game video.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1579549108.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1579549647.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1579549647.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi8jAz13ZBw

Nope. At least not at that range. You paint someone, then ask on the friendly channel if you are painting anyone.

masraum, that is what I started on as well.

Warthunder is supposed to be good for a combat sim as well. Free through Steam. I have it, but haven't tried it yet.

We like Wings Over Europe since we can control the server.

My thoughts of the difference between a 'sim' and a 'video game' is the level of immersion. Obviously that is a fine line and is different for most people. I've flown planes that feel like a game but in a sim world. I've also played fps games that briefly feel like sims. A sim will retain a fun factor even without some external challenge or contest. It is good enough on it's own. Only recently have hardware and programs become so good as to begin to mimic reality in 2D, even without other sensory inputs.

And this is just the start of it all..

Someday auto repair manuals will become step-by-step visualizations of taking apart a 3D models.
Travel will be available virtually.
Go in amongst football player on the line and feel the crunches using focused sonic skin disrupters. Rewind and watch the play from a different perspective in full slo-mo control. Who did what and why. What could they see from that angle? You are in the game instead of watching moving blobs on a screen.
Art and CAD will be create-able in the ether with motion and thought sensors.
So many things will be possible in the upcoming virtual experience.
(sorry I'm repeating myself here, but am fascinated by what many humans now have access to.)

I once went up on a B-17 flight with dad, but now can 'fly' one of them. Felt familiar. Just wow.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1579559856.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1579559867.jpg

There are some very talented individuals involved in flight sims:

EzDock camera plus air effects is made by some lone genius in Russia.
Drzewiecki Design massive cities and airports is made by some lone genius in Poland.
Here is Seattle again with buffeting rain and winds.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1579561867.jpg

MegaSceneryEarth(also owns PCAviator) creates huge photoscenery at affordable prices, as well as disk defrag and virtual memory management, and is our own lone homegrown genius.
Here is Kauai where we took a helicopter tour.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1579561887.jpg

I purchased Prepar3d about 3 years ago. I have been quite happy with it but agreed, more limited. Some of the MSFS planes work, some don't a bit of a crapshoot. I used MSFS for years (since 1997 through 2015. My latest computer wouldn't take the software...too buggy so I switched to Prepar3d. Weird though, it was like they didn't want me to buy the software. But they were really good about helping me move the software to my new computer.

I use Prepar3d to keep "relatively" current flying as I am a pilot but don't fly much at all. I can't get out much and I find it helps me keep some of the skills. Nothing beats real flying but you take what you can get. Plus, it really helped out tremendously when switching to glass cockpits. saved $$$$ money not learning the instruments while in the plane (both Cessna 162 and 172s).

I currently have logitech controls. HUGE upgrade on the sidewinder joysticks I was using. Plus, I now have 3 monitors to give me instruments, and better outside view. Starting to think about getting a VR display now. hmmm.

https://smhttp-ssl-71222.nexcesscdn....itekBundle.jpg

And the funny/sad thing is that all of that tech is probably going to be applied to sex before the rest of that, VR glasses and a bluetooth fleshlight.

There is an airport just west of Cali, Columbia which ends up being stuck inside a giant pit.

Either the original FSX airport data was incorrect...or the mesh and the addon mesh is incorrect.

So I used an airport height-adjust program to try to bring it all back up to ground level.
I did it wrong.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1582061677.jpg

If you want head tracking and still be able to see the keyboard and controls, TrackIR works great. For combat sim flying it is a major advantage though.

I have used it on both triple screens and single large screens with great success.

Will be interesting to see how the new MS sim compares to others like X-Plane.

Well, this looks promising....

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BCBgO6St9ug" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

One for Paul. S-76 instead of his bird though.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/glxJ9x8QgQs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The combat sim we fly together.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LjnFySV5k38" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Sure has come a long way ↓

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1582072597.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1582072597.jpg

Fun stuff.

I'm not a pilot, but have used flight simulators for a long time. I think my first was IFR on a Commodore VIC 20. Currently "flying" X-Plane 11. My last version of MS Flight Simulator was 2004. I personally think that X-Plane has better physics...

Yup. I would take better physics over eye candy any day. 11 looks pretty good too, especially with the ortho scenery.

After struggling with typical OOM (Out Of Memory) errors for a long time....I finally read about major problems.
Every FSX'er banging their head on the desk has experienced this.
It was an epiphany.
A eureka moment. That forgotten sock in the carburetor.

Here are some basic facts every newby should know:
1). FSX from 2006 is a 32-bit program and it can only utilize 4GB max memory internally.
(Prepar3d is 62-bit version which can use your computer hardware fully the way it's supposed to be.)
It doesn't matter if your computer has 500GB RAM. The software can only digest a small part of it.
Software memory is different from computer hardware memory.


2). FSX loads all enabled scenery at the main menu and not just the location selected!
You must disable all other add-on scenery not being used for that specific flight!

a). After slimming down to only a few countries, the frame rate is now much faster for some reason.

b). The menu and flight now loads within a minute or so. (Not 15-45 minutes as before.)
I've got about 6Tb of photo-scenery covering much of the world and had it all enabled previously.
I'm now using https://www.disktrix.com/ultimatedefrag6.html which allows selected programs and files to be placed at the outside of the disk for faster read/write times. Seems to be working good.

c). FSX can now run 100% road traffic without studder. An FSX milestone. Traffic and shadows are well known framerate killers.
I'm now using ProcessLasso from https://bitsum.com/ which allows programs to be prioritized for CPU usage. Background progs can be turned off or punted to the back of the line. Seems to be working good.


3). I just found out FSX does not un-load scenery from program memory!
(It keeps building up like a giant garbage pile.)
On the internet there are a lot of stories of crash-to-desktop when landing after long flights.
The new airport overloads the program memory, which was already full.
There is not a known solution for this AFAIK.

I bet the new version is 64bit! Not that it helps with the current version.

I've arrived at the conclusion that seahawk's former job is probably the most difficult thing to attempt so far.
Even in a simulator.

Instead of planning forward there are four dimensions of travel. Add in torque over, descending rate limitations before rotors lose all lift, sudden gusts off the ocean, ground effects near the surface, a small moving and bouncing target, close quarter obstacles, etc and it all become very complicated.

I've got about a 10% success rate so far. Thankfully there is a reset button on the keyboard.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1584733917.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1584733927.jpg

Some rotor craft are much harder to land on a water based pad. The Bell 47 or MD500/Loach compared to something like an HH53 is much easier to get tossed around and are much more intensive with small adjustments. The 47 doesn't even have auto-throttle. The Little Bird is a blast though. I was always jealous of the pilot that flew the more difficult scenes in Magnum PI. Roger Mosley was a certifies rotorcraft pilot and flew a lot himself.

You did well landing that bucket on the front of the ship. I have a hard time landing on the back of a frigate or something. Front would be worse.

I finally discovered something that helps a bit in flying the French Gazelle SA-342.
"M"="Marche" or "On". (not "Manual")
"A"="Arret" or "Off". (not "Automatic")
The aircraft seems to fly better with things working. ;/

Still haven't figured out how to turn off the "PA" light.
(I suspect that means "Pilote Automatique")

That seems so, intuitive!

:D Something to consider, you know, just in case you need to go somewhere and it's the only ride around.

Your French military attache stumbles into the hotel room and falls to floor.
A gunshot wound in his back.
The keys slip from his bloody hands. "Go my friends. Go!" he whispers with his last breath.
You hear the sounds of sporadic gunfire outside in the streets outside with the distant rumble of tanks in the distance as you head for the roof.

Took a flight in a B-17 around Detroit.
The Yankee Lady still flies out of Willow Run a bit further to the West.

All the pretty gauges are on the right and I may be sitting in the wrong seat.
This plane is much like driving a cruise ship in a slalom course. You have to plan ahead a mile.

(A big thank you to the essential EZDOK camera system. It would be impossible to see and reach all the switches otherwise.)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587772574.jpg

On final approach to KDTW 3R 10,001ft the windows suddenly fogged up. :(
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587772597.jpg

No time for complicated menus. Fixed by opening a side one.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587772642.jpg

For some reason the engines would sputter without breaking the safety wire and using emergency rich mixture throughout the entire flight.
(Those are the tall red ones in the center)
I did have the props rimmed for correct rpm, fuel pumps on, filters are supposed to be on below 15,000.
Still doing something incorrect...

I had called ground control for clearance, remembered wheels and flaps, and even landed on the correct runway!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587772694.jpg

Unlocked the tail wheel after slowing down but the joystick is set up to control all four engines.
You need the outer engines to be able to turn. It is a beast.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587773041.jpg

Flying around downtown Detroit in a Bell-47.
Learning the layout.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587775531.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587775542.jpg

Chasing the People Mover train through downtown.
(EZDOK made it a bit tricky to fly with their ground effects and crosswind gust modeling between the buildings).
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587775628.jpg

It's difficult to see here, but there are labels everywhere on this photogrammetry map from Google.

I think this tech will become the next evolution in maps and virtual travel.
Users will be able to virtually fly through a route to see everything beforehand.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587775652.jpg

Arstechnica has an article on MS2020. They are selling a 10 disc set in Europe to jump start the install. 90GB just on the discs and then more once it is installed. They said all the cloud stuff streams as you fly and it is thousands of discs worth so no local install on that. It looks nice and i bet it is hard on the CPU/GPU. No VR yet which struck me as weird and not sure on TrackIR support, which would suck. Actually, no support would mean no purchase from me.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/microsoft-flight-simulators-physical-release-spans-a-whopping-ten-dvds/

MSFS 2020 is actually developed by a French developer https://www.asobostudio.com/ so hopefully no MS BSOD.
I've watched the videos and they are simply amazing.

I do have inexpensive but sketchy dial-up which I want to keep. That might be an issue.

The language being used is pretty vague at this point in time, but another major issue might be game activation.
-It looks like the game will require an internet activation every single time you want to play. Not just once for registration.
-It also looks like an Xbox Game Pass might be required. $10/mo $120/yr to play a game already 'purchased'.

That might be a deal breaker for myself. Major bummer.

The DVD option is only available for Europe. Not the USA.
10 disks is a problem? pshha! Here are my FSX install disks and 7TB of photoscenery. Not including a couple hard drives.
Two DVD drives toasted and counting:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1595004967.jpg

Sounds like it's time to invest in a BluRay burner.

Or copy them all to a flash drive.

FS2020 gets its scenery from the could as you fly so it is constantly downloading files as you go to new places. Not sure if it caches the area you have already flown.

X-Plane has some Ortho scenery that is incredibly storage intensive as well. I like the scenery as long as it doesn't impact the fidelity of the flight model.

Thank goodness the mega hard drives are so cheap. Load up on RAM.
The 2T SSDs are available but it will a while before they are big+cheap enough for flight sims.

64-bit X-Plane looks so much better than 32-bit FSX. I really dove into the shallow end on that one.

X-Plane 11 | NEW XPRealistic Pro Plugin- Get Insane Realism!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HPMf1DxJ8nw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

MSFS 2020 is actually looking pretty good. I might regret X-Plane 11 if it is as good as the reviews say. VR/TrackIR from the get go as well.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/ms-flight-simulator-our-yoke-on-look-at-new-features-gorgeous-flights/

Well, a few hours into MS 2020 and the flight fidelity is good and the scenery is really good. The interaction with the panel is better than X-Plane but the thing that I don't care for is you can't practice ditching in the water If you are not a float plane the sim stops as soon as any part of your plane touches the water. Same if you over stress the aircraft. I also have not found a "reliability" tab to have things go wonky at some random time, like loss of oil or alternator gone bad.

It is pretty good overall, just missing some things important to me.

Next you'll be needing one of these....
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/346206518/yaw2-motion-simulator-and-smart-chair

I could rent a lot for those prices! That, and no movement is good for IFR stuff as you have only the instruments to tell you what is going on. Unless you are at Airventure in the spinning cockpit of doom to test your IFR chops.

So what's new in the flying Sim world since this last post more than 2 yrs ago? VR ?

MS2020 is still full of stupid bugs never fixed but is amazing.
Lots of online griping about getting double-charged, not getting their money back when cancelling, MS servers being extremely slow and d/l taking many days, downloads looping, not being able to 'log in' in full screen mode, massively oversized trees, ATC not working, manual cache "saved scenery" not working, mandatory updates, huge files and space needed, slow frame rates, random CTD for various reasons including bad Nvidia drivers, etc. Some of that being basic user error.
It is beautiful when it works though.

MS2024 is slated to be released soon but it supposed to be mostly "on-line". Considering the cost of huge data that will require, and the previous server problems, I'm not sure how that will turn out.

I know little about X-Plane 12.

I'm an X-Plane 11 user and really like it. The only thing that has stopped me from moving to X-Plane 12 is that my current flight-sim computer won't fully support it.

You can download a fully-working demo from X-Plane and try out X-Plane 12. The demo is limited to one geographic area and will only fly for ~15 minutes but otherwise is fully functional. It's a great way to test on your hardware before committing.

I have X-Plane 11 customized with several add-on aircraft. Lately I've taken to flying helicopters more than anything and built myself some custom controls for that (based on a Leo Bodnar board). Check out X-Plane.org for the on-line community. It's not as extensive as MSFS2020 but certainly gets the job done...

Did you have trouble getting Ortho photoscenery to work?
I've seen programs which automatically D/L, but then problems with google maps and other sources.

I look outside the cockpit more than inside. Low and slow here. MS is better for that.

I have not loaded a lot of orthoscenery in X-Plane 11 (still running with old hardware). I have added several freeware scenery packs which enhance the scenery that is already there. That's been good enough for me. I agree that the MSFS demos I have seen have some scenery rendering that is probably better than X-Plane.

I haven't had any issues with MS2020 other than huge updates. It is pretty good in VR. I like X-Plane 11 for flying better still, but MS you can see stuff like the pyramids and such. Had a competition with my nephew landing on the smallest nodule at Monument Valley. You have to be able to take off again was the only stipulation. I just used enough speed to fall off and get speed while falling.

Just started Flying DCS in earnest with my nephew too. He flies with a group of retired Ait force and Navy guys.