FSX got released and I made the wise decision not to get it right away. I have a "middle of the road" computer at best. P4 2.8 Ghz processor, Asus P4P8X Mobo, 1 Gig of 3200 DDR RAM and a Radeon 9600 Pro graphics card. As you can see this rig is going to need a lot of upgrading to handle all the eye candy FSX has. Because of this I figured it just wouldn't be worth getting FSX right now. I'd do some upgrading and then think about it in six months or so.
Then I went to the game store just to look at the FSX box and see some of the features. Really, I swear that's all.
The guy there knew I was a flight sim fan so even though all the copies they had on the shelf were sold he had a couple saved back behind counter for the die hard simmers.
Considering the fact that he'd been so nice as to save me a copy I decided that I might as well get the software. I'll be using it eventually anyway so what the heck, might as well.
Got it home and installed it out of curiosity just to see. Got the exected results. Single digit frame rates in any complicated scenery like cities etc but not unflyable. About as bad as FS2004 did on my old computer. It does seem a lot smoother than FS2004. Even with low frame rates it doesn't just freeze for seconds at a time.
Outside a city however was completely different. I get a flyable 17 very smooth FPS and it actually seems better than FS2004 did at first. Only mod I've made was to rename the file for the special objects and lower the density of the AG objects. Otherwise it's stock out of the box.
I tried a couple of the missions. The Game park one was great. The settings I'm using for animals etc are pretty realistic. Enough animals that they are noticable but the park isn't thick with them. That's about what you will see flying over a game park. They aren't wall to wall wildlife in real life so shouldn't be in the sim. I get reasonable AI traffic. Since I can't fly into the big cities and airports. Since I'm more of a GA and bush flying type, that doesn't matter much. I managed to get the other sliders up about half way and still maintain flyable frames and smoothness. The gliders are fantastic. Tow plane and realistic thermals. Last night I flew the glider mission and that was almost worth the price of the sim in it'self.
All in all FSX is working out well. Just can't have complex aircraft or detailed add on scenery but there's still a lot I can do in it. Looks like It'll stay on my HD beside FS2004 until I can make some upgrades.
As for the features. I love the new water. It looks a lot more like water over the oceans and large lakes. Kinda wierd seeing ocean like swells and waves in a pond but it's still an improvement over FS2004.
The way the float planes move on the water. (one of my pet peeves with FS2002 and 04) is better. No more trying to take off through molasses.
Ground textures are great. The look a lot less repetitive than earlier versions of the sim.
There are obviously a lot more things I'll find that I like and probably lots I won't like but overall FSX tips the balance to the positive side and I can't wait until I'm able to get full performance out of it. That's going to be fantastic.
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