Upgrade for sure but wait!

[EHM-0744 Alex]

Woah... very stunning indeed. However we must take into account that these videos were probably made in high-resolution areas of the FS and that that kind of detail wont be predominant overall.

Because if it is...

My system is screwed....:s

[EHM-1760 Sven]

I think all these mission are an step back there will be many more idiots in organisation like IVAO or Vatsim.

But I hope that the Flight characteristics are more realistic. So that the can't fly.

;D;D

[EHM-1703 Philip]

Well, the addons thing is a burning question and is quite simply answered.

If the plane works, it wont need repainting! Basically reading between the lines if addon developers have adhered to the MSFS SDK then the addon's should work with minimal tinkering. Of course this was the same for FS2002-2004 as well. The problem is, a lot of the new features will not be available on the old planes.

I think it will only be a short time before Freeware makers like POSKY and MELJET are making fully featured FSX freeware aircraft but it will take some time before all models in the fleet are updated to FSX.

[EHM-1199 Philip]

Originally posted by EHM-E4S
My PC is alright. It's actually the latest one. I've got alot of powerful games which take up alot of space like the sims 2 and all it's expansion packs. My FS has quite good framerates, so it's ok in holding what i have now, but I guess I will be un-installing alot of things.

And good. I'm glad the VA will still be strong.

The likelihood is that all but the most lucky few will need to upgrade if they want to see FSX as it is meant to be seen. Basically, FSX will only be at its best on Windows Vista which is part of the reason for the timing of the release. It will showcase the differences between 32bit and 64bit windows. This is both a positive and a negative. Positive first ... if you have the right system the improvement in visual experience will be marked unlike some previous upgrades where the improvement has been negligible initially. The negative of course is that to experience that improvement folks are going to need to upgrade.

There will be three key component upgrades required here IMHO.
1: Your processor (and therefore motherboard) will need to be upgraded. For processor you will need a 64 bit processor and the fastest you can afford as FSX will rely heavily on this from everything currently being said.
2: Your graphics card. You will need the best spec graphics card you can afford. PCI Express will be a must and those on older PCI or AGP boards will really need to say hello to a new graphics card.
3: You will need a fast hard disc drive. The best arrangement (as is the case for FS2k4) will be to have two physical drives. One will contain the OS and FSX, the other will contain all addons, especially scenery. Putting the scenery on a second hard drive is known to provide real measurable improvements in performance.

Me, I think I'm going to play it cool for a while and see how the dust settles. Expect, as with all previous incarnations of Windows, that early takers of Vista will bemoan the long list of problems and that over the first six months a number of updates will gradually put right these problems. Also expect to see that early purchasers of FSX say Wow at the graphics and then also go through all the 'FSX/Vista' configuration options available and publish worthwhile advice to get good performance. By then of course, 64bit chips will be cheap as the proverbials and the rest of humanity can for under a grand get a system that will make FSX fun to fly. Therefore, I for one will be holding out into 2007 before buying my new system and my copy of FSX.

[EHM-0641 Rico]

Originally posted by Plymyphil
Me, I think I'm going to play it cool for a while and see how the dust settles. Expect, as with all previous incarnations of Windows, that early takers of Vista will bemoan the long list of problems and that over the first six months a number of updates will gradually put right these problems. Also expect to see that early purchasers of FSX say Wow at the graphics and then also go through all the 'FSX/Vista' configuration options available and publish worthwhile advice to get good performance. By then of course, 64bit chips will be cheap as the proverbials and the rest of humanity can for under a grand get a system that will make FSX fun to fly. Therefore, I for one will be holding out into 2007 before buying my new system and my copy of FSX.

Couldn't have said it better myself Phil;

Exactly what I'm planning on doing also ..

[EHM-1703 Philip]

To an extent I would agree with you Phil, but I really think it is too early to speculate about Hardware needs at the moment. As far as software, It will run on XP!

Facts that we actually know about FSX and have been confirmed by MS are:

1) FSX will be released as a 32 bit Application and will run on Windows XP
2) FSX will run on Direct X 9 Compatible Graphics Cards
3) FSX will be updated at a date sometime after release to take advantage of 64 bit OS & Direct X 10.

Yes I am not denying that you will need a fairly decent system but by the time of release specs which are relatively high now will actually be affordable.

Last week I bought a Saphire Radeon X1800XT Crossfire Graphics card for 150 pounds sterling from my local PC supplier. This is a Shader Model 3 card with 256mb Ram and pretty d**n good if I do say so myself. Three months ago this same card was retailing for around 300 pounds. In six months time I expect this card to be selling for between 70 & 80 pounds. At the same time I purchased an Intel Pentium D 940 CPU and an Intel 955 Motherboard, total cost 200 pounds sterling. Again, 3 months ago the same kit would have cost me double that (well with the equivelant 840 CPU) and in 6 months time I expect it to cost almost half again.

I agree with you on one point, don't be scared in to upgrading now. Save your money and wait for the release. You may just find that if you have a fairly good system now that runs FS2004 well with addon scenery such as Active Sky and/or Ground Environment then there is a good possibility it will run FSX just as well without the need for these addons sceneries as they are included out of the box. You can also forget about the Vista version until you are satisfied that Vista is stable.

[EHM-1199 Philip]

Phil, I think you are being optimistic in your expectations here. Microsoft themselves say in their product overview ...

"The latest installment will include the usual genre leading realism that continues to awe real pilots and will serve as the graphical benchmark for games on Windows Vista."

Yes, there will be a 32bit version but this will almost certainly not be worth the upgrade ... the whole purpose of everything Microsoft do at the end of the year will be geared to encouraging folk to get Vista. Consequently expect Vista and 64bit FSX to be essential if you want to see the type of performance in the publicity screenshots and videos that Microsoft have released. (Expect to see the same with Office and all other MS applications and games - they will be practically beating us round the head with the need to upgrade.)

Basically the price of an entry level games system just never changes. In 1998 when I got my first PC an entry level games system cost about £1000. For that you got a 4Mb RAM 486DX66MHz system and about a 40Mb harddrive. That was the bees kness for a gaming machine. (Sadly, I went to the maximum my savings would then allow and had the £799 386 SX40 with 4Mb ram.) Able to play the games but not quite up to it for Strike Commander!)

When I bought my current system about two years ago, the same was true. Basically I got a 3.2GHz P4 with 512Mb RAM and a 170Gb harddrive for just under a grand. The same will be true in 12 months time ... an acceptable gaming system will cost about a grand and no doubt will be sufficient for Vista and a reasonable look at FSX. To look really hot folks will need SLI configurations for video cards and an extra 500 notes or so to really kick the system in to gaming heaven.

As regard scenery, I see Active Sky as a utility more than a scenery upgrade and as such I wouldn't be sure whether to put it on the primary harddrive or the secondary. I would guess the primary. For such as the VFR photo scenery or the detailed airport scenery we see now, a second hard drive will be needed and FSX will not deliver to this level - folks are still going to need addon products for this.

[EHM-1703 Philip]

Sorry Phil I can see that only time will prove who is right on this subject and I guess we will have to agree to disagree and I really don't want to turn this in to the preverbial Pi**ing contest! (This is my last post on this subject until I have further concrete information! )

I would certainly Disagree that in 1998 a entry level games sytem would buy you a 486 DX66. By 1998 a £1,000 would buy you a system with a Pentium 2 inside. (Edit, I know I bought an Evesham P2 in 1998 which came in at £998)

I do agree that Running the game on Vista with a Dual Core Processor and a Direct X 10 Graphics card will reap the best results. I disagree that this will be "necessary" to play the game or get any benefit over FS2004 though. No Developer in their right mind, including Microsoft, would develop or sell a product that will only benefit a high end system, this is just not good business sense. (we both know that every game that has ever been released commercially is specifically aimed at the largest sales market which is Mid Range)

I don't know whether you aware that as of a month ago there was not even a peice of Direct X 10 compatible hardware in the prototype stage?  Microsoft had not yet tested FSX on a DX10 machine, simply because one did not exist at this point in time! (I don't know whether this is still true but I have not read anything to the contrary)

Put simply, I can't and wont believe that it will be necessary to have the best gaming system available on the day of launch to run the game, they are the largest Software comapany in the world, they didn't get that way by selling to a market that does not exist.

I will end by saying I will have my copy of FSX on Pre Order purely because I am more than willing to Support the company that has developed and updated a quality peice of software which I have gained great pleasure from for almost the last 25 years.

[EHM-1671 Ben]

I'm getting scared...

Being only 15, I'm not quite sure that I'll be able to afford to upgrade my system. Of course, I'll be doing quite a bit of uninstalling but that goes without saying.

Then there are the delays; it takes about 6 months (no joke) for software/movies to reach New Zealand, and maybe a little less for Microsoft Vista to get here. So I'll be forced to have a look, see how everyone rates FSX, and what it's like. I doubt very much that I'll be updating my computer to Microsoft Vista any time in the near future though.

For those of you who are getting it ASAP (I faintly remember someone saying they even pre-ordered it) then you are unofficially obliged to take dozens of screenshots, and let us all know how it goes!

[EHM-1199 Philip]

I guess we all need a little patience ... there is at least another six months to wait and that is if the product arrives on time

[EHM-1703 Philip]

Here's some mre details and news:

http://www.avsim.com/pages/robertw/FSX/FS-X.htm

Cheers

EDIT!!!!!

Well I posted it here before reading and all I can say is WOW!!!!!!

There will be a new concept to Virtual Airlines, with 2 Pilots in different parts of the world being able to sit in the same virtual cockpit!!!! Fantastic!!! Shared Skies looks great, with VOIP software built in to the product out of the box!

It looks like the Deluxe Version will come with what looks like a cut down version of PMDG's updated 737NG if the screenshots are anything to go by. (Although the FMC's are blank!)


Cant wait!

[EHM-1703 Philip]

And Ben has just forwarded this too me as well!

http://www.projectmagenta.com/video/SharedSkies.wmv

Enjoy!

[EHM-1883 Matt]

I'm interested in what controllers will be like, considering that it takes over IVAO and VATSIM's jobs!

All I know is that I'll be flying along side other EuroHarmony pilots one day!

[EHM-1703 Philip]

I think that is a feature that won't be used. I can however see the re-union of the networks if the shared skies features are only available on MS network servers. Once again, we will have to wait and see.

[EHM-1821 Javier]

Saw that article on FSP forum yesterday, im so excited!

[EHM-1883 Matt]

We need Vatsims traffic, and IVAO's software, combined into one magnifficent action-packed flight!

[EHM-1703 Philip]

Hmmmm, I wonder if MS are trying to get us to pay to play? Just a thought. That would not go down too well with the online hardcore if thats the intention. Then again, I guess the online simmers would just stick with FS2004.