4.4.2014

This is the first modern flight simulator I have played, so thought I'd share my findings for anyone in a similar position who isn't sure what to expect.First of all, the game is much better when played with a joystick. You can use keyboard and mouse, but I found this very difficult to get used to, and as soon as I got a joystick, it became much easier to handle the planes. I can recommend the Thrustmaster T.Flight X - that's what I bought and it has worked perfectly to date.Learning the controls can be a very daunting prospect at first, especially if you go into key mapping and see the incredibly long list of commands covered!Don't be put off - you get used to it and you'll soon find what you want to have access to most and then it's just a case of working out the right set up for you. Some of this will depend on you're preferred viewing method. I like to use outside views and so need to have more controls mapped than if you prefer a cockpit view, where you can just press whatever control you need from in there. The detail in this is excellent, as it really gives you that sense of being there and doing it.There are some great tutorials that cover everything from your first take-off and landing, to an introduction to flying jets and helicopters. I strongly recommend that if you came to it as a complete newbie like I did, that you play through all of the 'Beginner' level missions at least, and then do some free flights to get more used to how everything works.There has clearly been a lot of detail worked into the game, but I found it didn't really hit me at first because a lot of the scenery is like a big Google map satellite picture that you fly over. Buildings are placed throughout the game world, and airports have been built up to be realistic (down to terminal gates, plane stands, and taxi ways). The realism you want is largely down to you - you can always take off straight from the runway, or you can taxi there and go through the whole communication process with Air Traffic Control. This continues into flying and landing at your destination - you can just fly in and shut down, or arrange your landing and taxi to your stop.Sound is another impressive element - engine sounds, alerts, and ATC comms are very realistic.I also recommend you spend time getting used to using the flight planner. If you just jump in and fly, you'll need to know where you're going to land somewhere. If you plan your flight, you can use the in-game GPS and you'll know where you're going and how long it will take you to get there. It's easy enough to pick up how to use it, and if you do miss anything then there is a vast knowledge base that covers everything in the game.Once you're used to how the game works, you can play through the variety of missions available (anything from a secret flight to Area 51, to a Carrier landing), or you can do what I have an jump into the vast world of Flight Sim add-ons! There is tons of freeware out there, literally thousands of pages of it. Everything from planes to scenery and additional traffic (planes, road traffic, and ships). You don't have to be a computer whiz to use it, as most pieces come with detailed instructions on how to install, and some even come with an installer built in to it.I recently registered for the Flyaway site and pay for member access, as once you start downloading this stuff, you'll want the extra speed and removal of download limits as there is so much you can get through. You get a lot to start you off with in the game itself, especially with the acceleration pack version, but there really is just so much you can add to it.I mention this because I found the simulator itself got boring pretty quickly if you don't have anything to make it work for. Most planes have an autopilot, and while it's obviously up to you to use it or not, just flying for the sake of it didn't really appeal for long.There are several things out there dedicated to giving you a reason to fly from A to B. FS Economy is a good place to start, as it's free to play, and then Air Hauler is a good piece of software that focuses purely on cargo. Again, it takes a bit of getting used to with how these elements work, purely because rather be added as a part of FSX, they are stand-alone programs that interact with it - but once you've played a couple of times, they are very good enhancement of the original software.So in summary, don't expect to see your street modelled in detail because it's not set up that way, but the water effects and areas of attention to detail is impressive when you consider it covers the whole planet!Sounds are excellent and add to the experience, as does the fact that you can sit in a cockpit and experience an actual flight as you would if you were in the real thing.And look at what's out there to take the simulator further - whether it's adding elements to it or giving you a reason to fly from one place to another.Hope this helps you decide if it's for you!

24.7.2011

A bargain!Firstly this is the base package which supports many hundreds of fantastic upgrades to all aspects of flight simulation. From the casual gamer to the hardcore sim enthusiast this will surely please all who are interested in flight.The price for this package is incredible considering it would cost around £60-£70 when it originally came out(deluxe and acceleration).The only problem I have found (and many others) is that it can be buggy and with all the expansions available it can be a task getting all to work together without any problems.Many years of flight simming have taught me the ins and outs of how flight sim works so problems can be corrected most of the time.The problems I have encountered range from trees in the middle of the airport to missing traffic or the sim crashing mid flight.I am no expert but know enough to solve a few common problems.This software has been developed for 32bit cpu computers(I am told) so using it on a new 64bit cpu computer can cause problems, there are fixes out there which seem to have cured the problem on my system.With all the add ons out there you can create a very realistic flying experience and even after two years of using this sim I am still blown away by the detail and realism made possible by many hard working developers.I would consider this software to more a sim than a game, don't let that put you off as the missions can be very exciting and challenging. You can make FSX what you want, a game/sim with missions, sight seeing using extremely accurate and realistic add on scenery, flying like real world pilots using the same procedures, tools and aircraft as they do, you can fly to almost anywhere in the world, island hopping in the Cessna Caravan or Canadian bush flying with the Beaver, flying to the foothills of the himalayas in a Twin Otter, or the tricky right turn approach into old KAI TAK Hong Kong in a 747, as they say the world is your oyster and in this case it can be.Airports are accurately placed around the world however scenery by default is repeated generic textures that look good from a cockpit point of view but disappointing from outside the aircraft, scenery add on for the area is required if you want to see how it looks like in real life and provided someone has made scenery for that area.So flying in Costa Rica is good so far as map location is concerned but don't expect accurately represented landscape such as trees, buildings or rivers as they are in real life.As an extra note I recently discovered (after two years of 100% by the book airliner flying) the joys of flying in a basic aircraft such as the Cessna Caravan with an incredibly realistic scenery add on for the whole of Australia (and a real weather/sky/clouds add on) using real world maps to search out the sights. You can literally see the world without getting out of your chair! Lazy? Well yes and I know its not the same as really being there but far far cheaper for a similar experience. Want to see what Melbourne looks like at 3000ft? Now you can....and then when you want a break put the sim on pause and go and get a cup of coffee and some cookies.So for £20 its a bargin and could be the start of a fantastic (and possibly expensive) hobby. Unfortunately this is the only flight sim available that provides hundreds of add ons although X-plane 9 provides some but is no where near the same amount as FSX, as a result you have two choices, 1.Any problems you encounter will have to be fixed or 2.You don't bother with FSX at all and lose out all the amazing experiences that can be had.There is always someone out there that will have suffered the same problem as you so a fix is not difficult to find.A very good buy for anyone even slightly interested in flying.

25.9.2014

Having used Microsoft Flight Simulator 9 (FS2004) a couple of years back I knew what to expect if I bought FSX. It's a bit like a DSLR camera, you start with the basics and then add to it as you become more professional. If you search Google for add-ons you will quickly realise that there are a lot of additional planes and helicopters along with scenery packs (Not developed by Microsoft). You can easily spend hundreds on these but don't let that put you off. There is enough in this pack to keep you going as far as missions and general flight planning goes but some of the add-ons on offer will offer more eye candy than the standard FSX offers.Don't get me wrong, it's okay but,it's quite basic and not very realistic at low flight. Scenery packs are developed for specific areas so if you like London for instance, you could invest in that area?I have had some issues with the default terrain textures which seem to jump out into the sky, blocking everything outside the cockpit. This can be very annoying when you are coming in for a final approach. I have researched and some say it's a case of messing arround with the texture settings. The settings are very customisable so it's going to take some time I guess. You can set it a very high detail if your system can handle it?My system is no slouch so I have everything on max but as I said, my textures are having issues so I may need to turn them down. As far as I am aware, Microsoft do not provide support for FSX any more so it really is down to you and research I'm afraid.My system is running Windows 7 (64 bit) with 16GB Ram. I have an i5-3750k and a HD-7950 with 3GB with everything installed on an 256GB SSD drive. The whole package installation takes around 13GB once installed although if you do intend to get expansion packs it's worth taking that into account at a later date.Overall, this is a big improvement over FS2004 but not massive. There is more on offer in terms of missions but the general game play is the same. It's obviously better looking too especially with added scenery packs. There's also a more sophisticated learning environment with added audio guidance. FS2004 lacked this I'm glad it was addressed for FSX. You do feel like you are learning more.Make sure you have time on your hands for some of the tutorials. They can last a long time!I have taken a star away because of the odd bug here and there and the texture issue I'm having.The default graphics and cockpit textures could have been a little better too. But, as this is a "simulator" it's also important to realise that the game play and realism is what really matters. The balance of realism is up to you depending on your experience but I suggest you keep it to a minimum to start off with?At around £20, FSX GOLD is a steal. If you like flight sims, you will love this. It just needs time, patience and the odd add-on or two!!

6.1.2013

This software might be 6 years old but it is extremely impressive and a bargain at £12.50 for the gold edition. It installed quickly from the 3 discs and had no problems activating it, I installed acceleration pack immediately afterwards as this contains the equivalent of FSX service packs 1+2.When it was first released the game was criticised for the slow frame rate experienced by many users at the time as it required such a powerful system. I was therefore surprised at the great results using modern integrated graphics, I think it was mainly CPU hungry. As there are already a lot of reviews for this product I will speak of my experiences of using an integrated GPU.Using Ivybridge's HD4000 the game defaulted to ultra high settings for everything,

21.3.2013

(This review is for this GOLD edition which includes Service packs 1,2 and Acceleration. The optimisation of the base game (without any service packs) is even worse for multicore and high end systems.)My system (the main bits):CPU: AMD Phenom II 1055t X6 2.8GHz (overclocked to 3.5GHz), water cooledGraphics: GTX 560 Ti (standard edition, 1 GB ram, Direct Cu II cooling)RAM: Kingston 1333MHz, 12 GBMobo: ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3First of all the game is brilliant. Sorry, I really should call it a simulator. It has a lot of features and the currently available add-ons can make it a truly realistic experience (given that you are prepared to pay for them).(Further note: if you are into realistic flight simulators,

20.11.2010

The box for this product does NOT state it to be compatible with Windows 7, but the Microsoft website stated it was, so I took a chance. It works OK for the most part on my W7, 64 bit machine, but I have had a couple of crashes (software, not aircraft!) which W7 says it tries to recover from, but although the computer doesn't lock up, the position I was in at the time was wiped out. On launch, MS-FSX changes my desk top colour scheme, due to some form of incompatibility; it apparently does not like Aero. So therefore, slightly flawed for me. But the graphics are, for the most part, very good, and the flight experience excellent. My full system is W7 64 bit, 4 Gb Ram, HD5850 Graphics, i7-875 processor,

25.3.2010

Please note, this is not a game, although you can have a lot of fun with it !Full world terrain to an excellent detail level...check.Amazing graphics (even given it is several years old now)....checkHundreds of real airports...checkGood variety of planes and helicopters with well modelled interiors/exteriors, virtual cockpits and flight models....checkHUGE amount of free stuff available on the internet (just look!)...checkHUGE amount of payware available to upgrade just about anything....checkAmazing training guides and fun missions to fly....checkWell thought out online environment with huge potential....checkVery highly spec'd PC required to play ?

1.3.2010

I'm very much enjoying FSX. About the only fault I can find with the gameplay is some occasionally confusing mission instructions appearing. For example, I played one mission where I had been told to maintain 210 knots. I was then told to descend to a particular height and part way through my rather slow descent, I was told by the control tower to reduce speed to 180 knots. However, when I reached the end of the descent, it told me to level off and maintain 210 knots. It meant 180, but said 210 because it was expecting me to have completed the descent before I was told to reduce speed by the tower. Anyway, only a minor criticism...The more significant problem is a number of random crashes on Windows 7 64 bit (I don't know if 32 bit is affected).

4.4.2011

I had to buy a new machine when my old box died and i went for a Dell XPS 2400 sporting the somewhat delayed but very quick sandy bridge chip-set.As it's Win7 64-bit I had to change a lot of software and M/S flight sim X was the obvious choice to replace F/S 9.So here's a new look at an old program.You can crank up all the settings to max without it glitching too much. A lesser machine just wouldn't keep up with all the extra data slopping around in there.The detail is generally pretty fantastic, although not at all realistic in some cases.It's said that to test out a map, look at somewhere you know.Well, so far I've looked at London where I lived and worked for years,

1.7.2013

Quite simply, just what I expected! I thought long and hard about whether to buy this or the X-Plane package and when I considered, in reality, just how much I was actually be going to use the flight sim - amongst my other sims and everyday other activities, chores, etc, - it became a no-brainer! X-Plane is something like £50 and FSX Gold I managed to get for £15!Graphically, it is very pleasing and runs effortlessly now that I have my i7 laptop with 8 GB of RAM and 2GB Graphics card. I have since added to this - and the cost - by buying Horizon's v3 VFR landscape and Earth Simulation's Treescapes. Yes, that does now considerable come to more than X-Plane's initial outlay...but I'm quite sure that even X-Plane has its necessary add-ons in order to enhance its quality!

29.3.2011

My 11 year old son asked if he could use his birthday money to buy Flight Simulator X... Having had some experience of the original Flight Simulator series I tried to explain that it's not like "Blazing Angels" or "Hawx" on his console and that it is a *serious* simulator more than any game he may have played. Although such terms are pretty-much lost on an 11 yr. old tech-head, I'm surprised at just how much use it is getting...It is running smoothly on an Acer PC100 (Old style Athlon 64) with only 2Gb RAM and years-old graphics tech - under Windows 7 Home. YES - I had to knock the quality settings back a little,

10.10.2009

Wow! I have been reading up on this simulator for years and was always impressed then, since buying a pc capable of running this beast of a game this feeling has only got greater. The graphics are mind boggling and the detailing on the aircraft is unbelievable. This is certainly the best version of the game, containing the original, service pack 1 and the the 'acceleration' service pack 2.The virtual cockpit is a joy to fly in as you make your way across the world, either on your own accord using the free flight function - where you plan your own route, aircraft, or through one of the many missions which test every bit of your flying capabilities.

8.5.2012

I absolutely love this game. I have been fascinated by flight since I was about five years old (which was when I had the first holiday that I can remember). However for years I had been a casual gamer, happy to play games like burnout paradise and the occasional shooter on my Xbox hooked up via standards cart cable. Anyway, as a sixteenth birthday present I received a more multimedia orientated PC and decided to take the plunge in to the world of flight simulators. FSX, seemed to be the perfect choice.Installation went by without any issues, and I then jumped in to the first tutorial mission. By the way I spent a bit of time turning on the mouse yoke feature as I didn't own a flight stick.

1.1.2010

I bought this with the intention of having a go at the flying lessons and "learning" to fly :) As it turns out, I've yet to try the flying lessons, as I never play the game for more than half an hour before I get bored and I spend all my time doing low level strafing runs in the Mustang or putting the lear jet in orbit using slew mode and seeing if I can get its wings to fall off by flying too fast...which never happens. And herein lies the problem, really - flying, it turns out, is actually pretty dull when you're just sat in front of a screen. This game (well...it's not a game, really) would benefit from multiple screens and proper flight controls, just to engage you that bit more - I use a Logitech Force 3D Pro,

18.1.2014

Having thought about trying this flight sim for quite a while, I finally took the plunge based mainly on the bargain price at the time. I am so glad that I did. I have dabbled with combat flight sims for a number of years, Rise of Flight being my current favourite, so wasn't sure if I could cope with the lack of action. How wrong I was. There's something here for everyone, be it flying airliners, classic aircraft, helicopters or small general aviation aircraft of all sorts of configurations (floats, skis etc.). The missions included are also enjoyable and there's something for beginner and more experienced flight simmers,

Flight Simulator X: Gold Edition (PC) - Reviews

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