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The Simulator Poll and X-plane announcement discussion

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EHM-1997 Alexander:
This thread and poll provide an opportunity for you to express an interest in the platforms, ask questions and get some comparisons of strengths and weaknesses between MSFS and X-Plane.

You should be able to select all that apply, and if you make a mistake or change your mind, be able to change your votes.

You do not need to vote in the poll to participate in the discussion.

EHM-0654 Murray:
As Alex knows well, I switched to X-Plane from FSX about a month ago, as I was disenfranchised by the "cartoon" flight models in FSX when compared to X-Plane.

If I have a complaint about X-Plane v9, it's the lack of scenery (general airport buildings and the like). FSX populates the world around the pilot a lot more than X-Plane v9. Of course, we're expecting X-Plane v10 to redress this imbalance quite spectacularly :)

EHM-1997 Alexander:
I switched from MSFS to X-plane exclusively over a year ago now, which was a tough move considering the amount of money I have invested in add-ons for MSFS (I have addons from PMDG, Captain Sim, Aerosoft, JustFlight... et al). Many x-planers I know actually switch between the sims to enjoy the best offering of each, and for a while I did just that, mainly while battling through driver hell (ati and opengl make for interesting times).

That said, I've also had a range of problems and bugs in MSFS, so both have equal share to be fair. The difference is that x-plane has seen continued development and the problems I had are gone now. I would say that version 9 isn't quite at the point where it would perhaps be a better choice for pilots flying heavy metal routes, but I think it's already a better choice for VFR. If X-plane 10 lives up to expectations, then it may well be, especially with its enhanced use of multiple cores

I love the XPUIPC freeware plugin which attempts to emulate the FSUIPC interface (work in progress, but a lot already usable, and a wide client works without a fee), for x-plane. This allows me to connect Flogger 4,  FlightSim Commander and Project Magenta up to x-plane and use them as I would for MSFS. This allowed reuse of a chunk of addons I had invested in.

Default airports are sparse in version 9, although the 'believable world' of 10 should hopefully address that. Add on scenery for airports can look as good as MSFS, and the lighting is much better.

I find that MSFS gives a greater feeling of 'aviation', gate to gate, whereas x-plane is more focused on the flying (currently).

Some of that will be addressed if the new ATC and traffic in version 10 lives up to the hype.

What really clinched it for me was 120fps average on the first leg of the wild division tour, the ultra smooth gauges and fluid sensation of flight. I think that I jumped to x-plane as an early adopter, but it's reaching a point where it will be more appealing to other MSFS pilots, and that should keep improving over time.

EHM-2625 Jason:
Well I've taken the plunge and ordered X plane 9 from Amazon (only £17.91).

Will be able to compare to FS9 on my quad core Vista based machine, MSFS doesnt stretch the machine.  FSX has been a nightmare, and would usually freeze after 45-60 minutes.

Have tried the demo from Laminar site and performed very well, all be it limited to 10 minutes.

Will watch this space for more info and developments.

EHM-2155 Mariano:
What you need is Windows 7 mate... toss Vista out the window, seriously.

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