I'm a big fan of using the computer for entertainment, always have been.  Been playing versions of flight sim on and off for years.  I used to play FS9 on a laptop, found the performance sucked, and wasn't all that into.  It so happened I bought a new "powerful" desktop computer on sale at Best Buy, around the time that FSX was coming out.  Boy was I surprised.  It was terrible.  But I found FS9 ran great, and to make up for the disappointment, I went out and bought my first Payware aircraft:  A plane by PMDG.  It so overwhelmed me that such things were possible.  I had never seen anything so cool.  Needless to say I became hooked, other games faded into the background.  It also made me a malcontent.  the list of Payware planes that I consider "worthy" can be counted on one hand.  Obviously, as time passed, I upgraded computers, bought more and more payware, and it became a genuine "hobby".
    But now, I'm losing interest fast.  I'm sick of dealing with constant tweaking, planes that fall short of expectations, jerky developers that don't listen to their customers and constantly release planes that I've never even heard of, and finally, I just don't know where to go with it.  I remember feeling so proud the first time I landed a jet in FS9 and watched it in Instant Replay (the landing sucked, but it was a landing).
   So now I have a biggy computer with yoke and throttles, pretty much totally dedicated to FSX.  I've become so bored with it all that I was seriously considering "Farm Simulator".
   I would hate to leave a gaming computer like the one I have just sit in the corner gathering dust, and eventually becoming obsolete.  The trouble is, I can't even imagine anymore what kind of other games I would even be interested in.  I abhor the stupid shootemups, not much into fantasy role-playing, and just can't wrap myself around the idea of playing yet another incarnation of Civilization.  Any suggestions?  I guess maybe I'm just getting too old for Video Games.
   Since its a lazy Sunday Morning, Halloween, I was just putting this out for a boring discussion, since there isn't much else going on. 
   Anybody feel the same?

Yeah, I considered going back to FS9 several times, and I used to have both of them side by side.  As it is, I get pretty decent performance now, at a premium cost of course.  Was it worth it?  No, probably not.

Steve M wrote on Oct 31^st, 2010 at 1:27pm:


That probably isn't a bad thing.  You get on what is called, I think the hedonistic treadmill where nothing is ever good enough.  Can't speak for others, but you get one plane like the Stratocruiser and suddenly you don't want to fly the CalClassics anymore.  And then it starts bothering you that they didn't include the Secondary Air Conditioning circuit breaker...

I've always been more interested in the development side of FS than actually "flying". Creating addons rather than buying them might help relieve your boredom. Perhaps that's not what you had in mind.  It doesn't suit everyone but can be very addictive.

Alrot,
I liked how you took the liberty of BOLD facing that.  LOL.    I stuck that sentence in there, not quite sure if anybody would zero in on it!  I was actually referring only to some Payware developers, definitely not Freeware developers.  Sorry I didn't make that distinction.

I've played around with some "development" in the past.  I put it in quotes because it was more stuff like learning how to compile objects and place them in the sim, do rudimentary modifications to runways etc, for the purpose of entirely static digital Dioramas.  I used to mess around with 3D design using Blender.  The only 3d object of mine that ever made it into the sim was, get this, a mobile Passenger Stair! (not terribly exciting, I know).   And then I got online and saw some of the magnificent stuff that you were creating, and it made me feel like I was kind of silly!
  I've made some Flight Sim movies that I thought were quite good.  One time I showed some of them to some dinner guests, thinking they would find them entertaining.  Instead, they stood there, looking bored, and after making some polite comments, went back to their drinks in the kitchen!
   I hear what you are saying.  You might be the first person who has ever told me to get a life, in a positive, constructive way!
I don't want to wind up like Fozzer (that was a joke)

snippyfsxer wrote on Oct 31^st, 2010 at 3:01pm:



If I end up in retirement vaguely emulating Fozzer, I will regard life as having been successful  As my own father puts it, grow old disgracefully

Matt

PS Can't remember the last time I took to the virtual sky.

I've recently gone over to the Dark Side, I've brought X-Plane 9. The graphics aren't as good as FSX but the game play is incredibly realistic and suddenly I'm focusing on sharpening my skills on a variety of planes and being an aerobatic God in as close to realistic settings as possible.
Remember I'm a nutter.... scary or what?

ozzy72 wrote on Oct 31^st, 2010 at 3:28pm:


Don't you think you went to "the dark side" If M$ do what they do as the main avatar "We Will Ignore People & we just want to empty their pockets" Many will move to plane x

Quote:

ozzy72 wrote on Oct 31^st, 2010 at 3:45pm:


I still remember that episode from the Simpson ,Unfortunately I didn't find it in english ,but you know they buy everything that thread them and then...you have got to see this episode ,its a classic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6HrUdr3xEc

...and yes its like that world from George Lucas and we are the rebels 

It seems like a pretty common theme, and I fall into this category as well:  People who talk Flight Simulator, but rarely fly Flight Simulator.  I do the same thing.  I start up FS, fly a circuit, and then I'm done.
Setting up a new plane if FS is a lengthy process for me.  I have to custom map all the commands to my hardware.  I have to set up eyepoints, etc.  Then, since I'm only interested in Payware planes with sometimes 100s of pages of manuals, then I actually have to sit down and learn it.  Often times, instead of doing that, I find myself back online browsing around for the next plane to add to my Hangar!!!  Strangely though, I guess because I'm picky, I have a surprisingly small number of planes.

ozzy72 wrote on Oct 31^st, 2010 at 3:28pm: