Flight Simulator X "To Be, Or Not To Be...That Is The Question?"

By Nigel C. Martin (31 August 2007)

Well, I have to tell you I have been thinking about making the investment for some considerable time, let's be honest we all strive for a more realistic fight experience, but the negative press this product has attracted, has been legion. Mind you, the DVD sample was in my view a rather negative move... Only a personal view, but there it is.

I have been offered well meaning 'advice' by so many people, that if you do not have a top flight machine and upgrade to Microsoft Vista, all the detail settings have to be set to low, thus negates the reason to buy FSX. So, before now I have not looked twice at the new offering.

I do, however, remember such rhetoric when FS2004/ACOF was released, and the minimums quoted proved to be just that... In fact, and thousands like me, had do some serious upgrading of hardware to get anything like reasonable frame rates, and decent detail.

The 'clincher' for me, was the massive Flight Simulator patch recently released by Microsoft for the Flight Simulator X, so I download that, and take the plunge. Order made, within days the package arrived from the US, more precisely from FS Flight Shop, (excellent service) ready to install.

I have three hard discs in my machine so I decided to dedicate one to Flight Simulator X, to minimise the chance of any 'clashes'. DVD disc one (two DVD discs enclosed) in the tray, closed it, and waited for a error message to appear... But no, in fact after some minutes, it prompted me to place the other DVD disc into the tray. That done, pressed the button to commence, and so it did, until I got the long awaited COMPLETE message. Wow, this is looking good.

Not wishing to tempt providence, I installed the patch without any issues. OK, now this is it! Seek out the icon on the desktop, (different to ACOF), double click, usual tantalising wait, then there it is, a redesigned window showing all the usual options. I selected the Bell Jet Ranger out of Newcastle International (northeast England) with real weather (downloaded without a hitch).

There I was, in sunlight, OH MY GOD, THE DETAIL. Yes folks, the detail was incredible... The dynamic shine on the cockpit screen and on the exterior is awesome. The lights and strobes are the best I have seen thus far.

The sound files have been taken to new heights. I have to say that all the aircraft I selected show the same incredible detail. The ground in every way has been taken forward to new exacting standards...fantastic! The screen options are slightly different, VC, tower, external, and a 'natty' external view that positions you close to the fuselage looking forward, which using the hat key you can adjust. Makes for some great 'picture' opportunities to adorn your desktop screen! Or share with your friends and family! OK, maybe not to that extreme!?

OK, what about the flying? Is that is where it all falls apart with slide show speed as the screen updates? No, I experienced smooth amazing graphics, at all heights. One of the key areas of interest for me is the water detail, well landing on H2O the detail was good but not jaw dropingly brilliant. Well into settings, and selected a 'tad' more detail in the water detail slider. All other settings were set by default at install.

Hit the OK button, watched the detail update slider do its thing, and there was the detail I was looking for, wave action, and truly incredible reflections.

The ground, or more precisely the trees, etc., look very real indeed. I also selected heavy winter settings and selected Switzerland, the snow and mountains looked excellent, good enough to ski on!

The night effects are equally impressive.

OK, this does not constitute a review of Flight Simulator X, but I just had to express my joy at getting their latest offering onto my machine and running. I have not had many hours on it yet, so who knows, I may find some issues, but not yet.

I must say I have not experienced all this program has to offer, except a SAR flight provided, which lasted for some 40 minutes. It was great. I am looking forward to 'explore' FSX in time.

For me I truly feel ACOF has at last come of age with tons of freeware and commercial add-ons, and for me, the most important two items which make my simming experience complete, namely FS Nav and SquawkBox.

So FSX will remain an amazing simulator for true VFR flying. I am now counting down the days before FS Nav and SquawkBox becomes available. So as ACOF has 'matured' to its current level, we have to remember how long it took to reach its peak.

Let's hope it does not take as long for FSX. Guess that is dependant on the commercial developers.

My Golden Tip, or nugget of advice: Don't be swayed by well meaning 'experts' saying it is "rubbish". Seek out from users who use the software you are considering, plenty of message forums out there. Why? Well FSX is a classic point, I was NOT going to spend my hard earned cash, because of the enormous additional cost of hardware upgrades to get the program to run at anything like an respectible rate... Just as well I did some research, because I now have some great SMOOTH flights in FSX, and more serious nav based flights in the still great iconic ACOF.

I am not saying people have not had issues surrounding installing and running FSX, but I would wager it was post Microsoft massive and extensive patch. I did not use the main program until the patch was installed. This I guess made my transition smooth from installation to use effortless.

In fact, I am a lucky 'bunny' because I have both to immerse myself in... More hours to spend in front if the computer, my wife, oh yes, and the children, will be pleased!

Version Tested: Flight Simulator X Deluxe Edition
Computer spec: AMD 64 X 2 Duel Core 3800 I Gig SDRAM, NVIDIA G Force 7900 GT

Onwards and upwards,

Nigel C. Martin
n.c.martin@btinternet.com

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