Let me give you an example. Recently, due to rapidly declining frame rates (note to self – send a nasty email to the developers of all whose product displays those numbers), I was forced to delete entirely FS2004 and do a clean reinstall. There is something exhilarating about starting up fresh and clean, and the frame rates? Holy Moly! 30’s, 40’s, even 50’s! And with maxed sliders, no less. Of course, we’re talking default aircraft, with default airfields located on default scenery. Remember that exhilaration? It sort of wanes pretty quickly, doesn’t it?

So, regrettably, the process begins anew. Now, I’ve got a notoriously long list of add-ons. I finally had the foresight, after the last reformat of the hard drive, to print the receipt of all these goodies, saving me from being one of the mindless yo-yo’s who pester developers and retailers with the “Um, due to a reformat I’ve lost my program and my key” message. C’mon, fess up. You’ve got that sentence on a macro, right? I could type that in my sleep.

So, there I sat with this three ring binder, which in the winter could second as traction ballast in the trunk of my car, leafing through the pages fondly, reverently, looking at all my must-haves. And, just to prove that every silver lining has a cloud, my task was to weed out the somewhat-less-than-must-haves. After all, if I install all this stuff again, we’ll be back to slideshow approaches.

So (again), the process of elimination commenced. Like trying to decide which kid goes to summer camp, and which one stays home. Which of my babies will remain zipped on a backup disk, and which will again be a participant in my sim world?

Well, I’ve reached a few conclusions. One, I’m lousy with money. I shudder to contemplate totaling my investment in add-on software. Probably could have bought that Lexus. Next, I have some serious self-control issues. I’ve got quite a stable of 737’s in my hangar, and damned if there isn’t a PIC 737 on the way. As my friend Mark says, “That boat’s tied up to the dock…”

Also, and perhaps most importantly, I’m coming to realize that at least for me, a smooth flight from point A to point B is what is really important. This is not to say that looking out the window is unimportant. To the contrary, I like getting those sweaty palms and goosebumps. It’s just that seeing all that eye candy crawl by with the rates in the single digits sort of detracts from the experience, if you know what I mean. I’d rather see mediocre scenery gliding by than a photoreal slide show any day.

Having taken the long way around the block, we now find ourselves back at the terribly painful decision making process of which to keep, and which to store until I am no longer able to live with my sim and myself. I don’t know about you, but here is what I’ve decided: Nice scenery is important. I’ve found an adequate solution by combining Ultimate Terrain USA with the FSGenesis mesh. I’ve kept a few airport freeware sceneries, and am dabbling with a couple of payware ones, too. So far, so good. There are a couple of environment add-ons that I simply cannot live without, including Flight Deck Companion V3, FsPassengers and FS2Crew (for those times that I really feel masochistic). I’m toying with resurrecting VoxATC, too.

As for aircraft, well, I just have to keep my beloved 737’s, and certain other PMDG iron. And I’ve a plethora of A320’s that have remained on my list. There’s also a couple of payware GA aircraft that have remained. I’ve repainted all of these (don’t even THINK of learning how to repaint unless you’ve got hours to devote – I hardly ever fly anymore) and use them as my Company (YellowBird) with FsPassengers (God, I’m such a child!).

Now for the shocker. I’m holding off on my AI add-ons. Yes, I’ve got both of the major payware ones, and a freeware GA one, too. But, I’ve decided that even with sliders to the far left, they are frame rate killers. Heck, I’m here to fly, not plane-watch. The generic AI craft aren’t all that bad.

Of course, the kicker to all this is, I remain unsatisfied. I’ve come to the realization over the last several days that, for the moment, I am quite content with FS2004. My rates are good, I like my aircraft and their spiffy paint jobs, I like the environment, the traffic control and the scenery. I happily go from A to B, singing along with the music I pipe in via FSHotseatSFX (another keeper I forgot to mention). Finegood. All is well. Until, that is, I visit FlightSim.Com or any of the other hundred or so related sites I’ve got on my favorites list. Then, a freebie or payware product will be displayed, and we’re back to square one, adding to my three ring binder, adding to my now nationally recognized pile of debt, and faithfully diminishing my frame rates until this cycle begins again.

Well, at least I’m consistent.

Three Green!

Chip Barber
rfbarber@optonline.net