although i vaguely remember playing flight simulator II on the c64 back in the 80's,i haven't been keeping up with all of the releases over the years so i'm new to these games. i just bought FS2004 last week and i am thinking about checking out 2002, but i am a little confused on which version i should get. i'm assuming the "professional" version is probably better , but what exactly is the difference between the two? and does the pro version include everything from the standard version?

If your PC can run FS2004 AOK, then don't don't bother with FS2002. You get much more in ACOF.

Pro includes Gmax (for modelers), Image Tool also, I think (for repainters), a few more aircraft as has been mentioned, but otherwise, as far as I can remember, is exactly the same as Std in all working aspects.  I saw no differences.  So if you've got Std, don't waste your $ on Pro.   However, most simmers have gone to FS9 by now, which does not include the extra programs, by the way.

thanks for the info everyone . i _DO_ get some slowdown with FS2004 but it only seems to be when i start turning the settings too high. default settings are ok though.btw, how can i find out how many frames per second i'm getting?

Hi Brundlefly!
Welcome to SimViation! 8)
I have FS2002 at the moment and I'm wanting to go to FS2004. I hope to get it in the next few weeks. As far as I know there is no comparison between the two. FS2004 is leaps and bounds better. Going to FS2002 pro or standard will be a downward step. The only problem with FS2004 is its enormous appertite on machines, as u mention. But I was told by someone on here that even with the graphis on medium it is much better than FS2002.
As you'll already know if you want extra planes SImV is the place to come... - there are literally thousands here! 8)

Ben

Guys, I think that this debate is bigger than whether FS9 is 'better' than FS8 Pro. 'Better' is a relative term, and there do appear to be downsides to FS9: there are quite a few planes out there in the freeware world that will not display properly in FS9, but they will in FS8. Those with systems that will just cope with FS8 are unlikely to cope with FS9. FSUIPC and Active Camera are freeware for FS8... The list goes on. In these cases, FS8 is 'better' than FS9 - see what I mean? Horses for courses.

Having seen the screenshots in the freeware forum, the sky shots may be a little further advanced in FS9 but I don't see a huge difference otherwise. I don't hear about improvements in plane handling, and that's one of the main reasons I fly in the M$ simulator - indeed, I spend most of my time in the cockpit. So maybe it doesn't make a great deal of difference for me.

There's some fantastic freeware scenery out there for FS8 which is excellent, and shows FS8 off for what it can achieve - try the Caribbean meshes and scenery packages on the web.

It's a shame that you can't have FS8 and FS9 loaded on the same machine at the same time (or can you? Anybody know?); this might be a good solution.

I've used FS2004 and own FS2002 and I think FS2004 is better, but I'm not buying it until I'm sure Project Ai has an FS2004 version or just works in FS2004 with the FS2002 version.

Quote:


Then it's settled, I'm getting FS2004 .