One downside is that it isn't possible to adjust any of the instruments using the mouse in VC mode, unless you have a hardware panel. My other criticism of the VCs is that the graphics are blurry and in addition it is difficult to set the point of view so that you can simultaneously see all the instruments you need to and fly the plane, but this is partly the fault of the aspect ratios of the monitors we use.
The full set of commands now is:. Move eyepoint up - shift-enter Move eyepoint down - shift-backspace Move eyepoint right - ctrl-shift-enter. Move eyepoint left - ctrl-shift-backspace Move eyepoint forward - ctrl-backspace Move eyepoint back - ctrl-enter Reset eyepoint - space.
While this is very good news, it does provide a trap for the unwary on approach, because it is possible to spend so much time adjusting your VC view to get it just right that you end up doing a controlled flight into terrain. Don't forget that pressing the spacebar orientates the VC view straight forward for approaches - so remember to hit the bar when you flare.
While this isn't quite the same view that a real pilot gets, it is near enough for simulation purposes and anyone who is having trouble with landings might like to try it. The POV can now be moved forward and backwards as well as up and down, but Microsoft have yet again failed to address the fact that it is fundamentally wrong in the 2D view. If you sit on an international airport runway in a real Cessna , you feel real small, I can assure you, even without a looming up behind you.
Allowing for the fact that much of this effect is due to peripheral vision, applying a zoom factor of 0. Moving outside the cockpit, again for reasons which are unclear to me, Microsoft have gone and altered the mechanics of the spot plane view. I can't see why they didn't just stick with the FS method, but in FS everything is geared towards you using a hat control.
If you have such a thing you can pan all around the plane to your heart's content - if you haven't, you are stuck with eight fixed same-level FSlike views, tagged to the numeric keypad, and this quite rightly infuriates many users, who can't see what was wrong with the FS system, although in FS the sudden shifts in viewpoint can be minimised using the "gradual transitions" option. Another big change is that it is no longer possible to fly the plane using the mouse, which is bad news for disabled folk who can't use joysticks.
The instant video playback feature is a huge improvement on anything available in FS and I have spend many narcissistic moments watching myself executing difficult approaches thanks to this ace piece of programming I just love the bang when you crash. The one thing that would really put the icing on the cake would be an option to pack the instant playback into a "video" that could be emailed to stun and amaze your friends.
I don't see that this would be so difficult to do, assuming that the recipient had a copy of the same version of Flight Simulator. Presumably the sim uses coordinate data to reconstruct the flight. Flight data swapped like this could be very useful for VA flight training, but the best thing about the instant video is that you can swap from cockpit to spot plane view at will and I used it to take many of the screen shots here. Nice one, Microsoft. The autopilot has also been "improved," to the consternation of many simmers.
While in many ways this makes it behave more like modern passenger jet autopilots, it is very different to the FS autopilot and this has caught a lot of people out who have become used to engaging alt hold and then hand flying the directional axis, but there is a work around:. The other problem with the autopilot is that capture of the ILS is nowhere near as good as it was in FS and capturing the localiser can be extremely tricky, especially in the jets.
Over the years I have reviewed a number of ATC add-on products and none have had either the simplicity or the intuitive nature of the interface Microsoft have designed. In my judgement, even a beginner, with no experience of ATC whatsoever, should be able to navigate his or her way through the menus and the "auto-tune" feature means that you don't even have to worry about the radios. As you can see in the panel screen shot, ATC choices are shown in a translucent overlay on-screen.
When you select a choice that involves communication, you hear your pilot talk and the controller reply, backed up by text scrolling in the ATC window. On the whole the ATC is reasonably realistic, but it has its limitations - you are stuck with the flight level you filed in your flight plan and neither can you ask for an alternative runway - so we can look forward to it being improved by third party add-ons.
My favorite feature is "progessive taxi" which you can request after pushback; a pink line appears and all you have to do is follow it to get to your runway. Sure, it isn't the way things work in real life, but when you bear in mind that some international airports will turn taxiway lights on and off to guide you, it isn't totally unrealistic, either. Both versions of FS offer the opportunity to experience failed instruments and mechanical systems, which will be useful to many student pilots simulating emergencies, and fun for simmers who just want to try something different.
In addition there is a flight analysis system, which can be used to show deviations from a flight plan and in the Pro version an "instructor" can monitor your progress - and perform limited skills tests - via an internet link. I haven't had time to test this section of FS yet, but I can see that it is likely to be popular with the VAs. One of the biggest changes in FS is the least obvious.
The adventure programming language APL is on it's way out of favor and is only minimally supported in the new version of the sim. This will be of immediate interest to many Virtual Airlines, some of which use adventures extensively. All is not lost, however, because a new adventure interpreter called "ABL" was used to write all of the FS lessons - ABL should be documented in one of the SDK releases sometime between now and the end of The FS engine is capable of putting out some outstanding graphics and I am sure that many people have already wondered if it is possible to dump the boring old AI planes and replace them with more eye-catching liveries.
The anwer is yes, it can be done, but there is a catch. Even in its default state, FS puts a mind-blowing number of polygons on screen - far more than even CFS2 - and part of the reason why the frame rates are so good is that Microsoft have put some serious thought into texture management.
Autogen for example, uses only two by compressed textures for everything you see on screen and the aircraft texture size is limited to a single by compressed texture, a decision which has already led to criticism of the default planes; but there is a reason for it. Although some users have 64 Mb video cards and Mb cards will appear before long, many people don't even have 32 Mb graphics and run their systems on 16Mb cards or less.
FS98 was quick in 8 Mb, but with all the sliders maxed, but a complex FS airport environment with AI aircraft flying can happily use 64 Mb and more to show the terrain, virtual cockpits, scenery objects and aircraft. This has implications for how detailed AI planes can be without killing frame rates.
In addition to photorealistic airports, the quest for ultimate realism in FS has led to the development of some extraordinarily detailed visual models, using in some cases as many as 30 different x textures. One of the most highly praised visual models uses nearly 14 Mb of compressed textures to paint the plane at dusk and 7 Mb by day. While planes like this are fabulous if you have a system that can handle them, I get numerous emails from people complaining that once loaded, add-on planes won't "skin" properly - the reason is that their CPUs and graphics cards are still thinking about how to get all those textures up on screen at once.
Now imagine the situation with a dozen detailed AI aircraft like my favorite add-on Feel Real Virgin up there, as well as a detailed Boeing in spot plane view. In day time you could be looking at Mb of texture memory just to display the planes, never mind the terrain, buildings, clouds, panels and all the other stuff we can't get along without - not a recipe for good frame rates.
Since frame rate problems were the curse of FS, developers are going to have to learn to make some compromises along the way if we don't want to see a repeat of the problems associated with the packages like Airport Volume 3 release - a fantastic add-on which unfortunately would only run at its best on the very highest spec machines, leaving many buyers disappointed at their inability to run it properly.
I often get asked which are my favorite utilities and I guess this is as good an opportunity to say it as I will get in a while. If any add-on ever deserved the crown of "most useful utility" this would be it, and if it was payware, I would be first in the queue to pay my money. If you enjoy flying with real weather in Flight Simulator, then you should consider buying a copy of FSMeteo and the weather display gauge that has been developed to go with it. The benefit of this is that if you undertake a long flight, the weather will change with time, an option you do not have in a default installation of FS One seemingly minor detail that I feel needs to be mentioned is that you no longer have to be set at Meigs Airport in Chicago by default when you start.
You can now create a flight starting at any airport and set it as the default. This is a feature that was long overdue in my opinion and I was very happy to see it. The game plays exactly the same in multiplayer as it does in single player mode except you can see other aircraft and talk to other pilots. I found it to be a pleasant addition to the game as it was kind of fun to watch some people show off or do a little myself and play some cat and mouse type games.
It seems with each new release of MS Flight Sim the graphics get increasingly more detailed and Flight Sim is no different. I also went out and got an additional MB of RAM for my system and noticed with the graphics turned up I did see an increase in my performance. With the graphics settings on high, the ground looked photo-realistic and lots of new little buildings, such as houses or small office buildings, appear when you get close enough to the ground to see them this is a new feature called Auto Generated Scenery.
I also flew very close to Mt. Rainier and it looked incredible. Note: The version I reviewed is labeled "Marketing Copy" with photocopied documentation, so the actual docs in the package may be different. Was this reply helpful? Yes No. Sorry this didn't help. Thanks for your feedback. This thread is locked. In reply to deleted message.
I have exactly the same problem. If you find a fix please post it. I agree with others that say this MS product is compatible and it is not. MS informed me they no longer support the program. Then why does it say compatible no action required? I agree with other posts that say this is pure BS from MS.
Thanks Reg. In reply to ReginaldPhd's post on July 30, In reply to Weaselpilot's post on July 30, It is high time this was fixed. It is all very well MS using their power arrogantly to refuse to support their products, but loyal customers are not going to stay loyal when something like this is not fixed!
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