The following information is based on what I have read so far in the SimV, AvSim, and FS2004.com forums. It is also based on all the official articles that were released months ago by AvSim, FlightSim, and SimFlight as well as all the screenshots posted by both Microsoft and all of the reguler customers who managed to get their greasy hands on the final version of FSX.
The following is an overview of all the features have experienced for the past several months in FSX.
[The Obviouse]
1. Bumpmapping
2. Glint
3. Water reflects both terrain and current weather
4. AI cars, boats and wild life
5. Missions
6. Towplane and tow physics now supported
7. User-controlled ATC [online and only in Deluxe Edition]
8. Water reflections no longer bleed like in FS9
9. Scenery buildings can now reflect in the same way as aircraft.
10. Runways and Tarmacs Reflect when wet
[The Not-so-obviouse]
1. IK-Base Skin and Bone animations supported [affected by wind as well]
2. Space Travel [at least up to 18,000 MILES]
3. Mission Editor [If you don't like the default ones]
4. Negative Flaps supported
5. SDKs are included [this time]
6. Thermals are supported [as noted in the missions]
7. 5.1 Surround Supported
8. You can now reach the poles
9. Earth is finally round and not cylindrical
10. You can finally land on a MOVING surface such as a carrier.
11. Improved water physics [you no longer need full power to even budge in the calm water]
[The Bad News]
1. Due to the high demand of backwards compatibility, FSX's game engine is based on the FS9 game engine.
2. Regular ATC [except for the missions which use real voices] is still the same.
3. Weather looks the same as noted in the many shots released by Microsoft.
4. Current version of AFCAD doesn't recognize FSX airport data editing.
5. Regardless of backwards compatibility, some FS9 addons won't work as well in FSX.
6. You will need at least 2GB of Ram, latest possible processor and the best video card your bank account would allow if you want to enjoy FSX NOW.
7. To get the most out of FSX, you need to wait until next year to get DX10 and Vista so that you can experience the full glory of FSX.
[The Good News]
1. There are now tweeks available [see sticky threads] that will help you get enjoyable frame rates while still experiencing good quality from FSX.
[Sources]
P-12C's BlogTdragger's BlogFS Insider Press ReleaseFSX Oshkosh Booth VideoConference VideoAvSim ArticleSim Flight ArticleYou can find more information by simply reading the first few pages of this forum board.
[Note]
If you see anything wrong [besides the spelling] with the above information please let me know and I'll correct it.
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