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X-Plane 12 Early Access

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Re: X-Plane 12 Early Access

#21

Post by mdip »

GekkePrutser wrote: post #13
juice_bus wrote: post #2

How does X-Plane compare to the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator?

The experience in VR is much much better in X-Plane. Sadly it doesn't have the amazingly realistic cities and world textures of MSFS but the controls work so much better. Especially X-Plane's "ergonomic yoke" which uses the tilt sensor in the controller instead of having to hold up your hand in thin air. MSFS is far behind this. And why call out VR specifically? Well, VR is in my opinion absolutely groundbreaking in…

First, thanks for the info -- you answered my question, too. :)

  > VR is in my opinion absolutely groundbreaking in flight simulation.
I completely agree. I'm not a pilot nor interested in becoming one. My Dad owned his company and flew a plane for work[0]. He used the 1980s version of Flight Simulator to get licensed for IFR flying. I was impressed with the latest, but if there ever was a use for VR, it's this. You've got a panel full of instruments in front of you and an array of windows to look out of. At least half of the "controlling" in that game involves looking at specific places/in specific directions. Everything would be much more natural if I could control what I was looking at by ... moving my head.

So far I've held off on buying any VR-related non-sense because I have yet to find something that it would improve the experience of enough to warrant spending money on. It sounds like this might be getting me closer?

[0] I've written at length about this in the past, but he owned his company and sold to manufacturing plants. Many were out-of-state, so the plane allowed him to get to a few appointments and back home without a hotel stay -- or ... "gave him an excuse to own a plane". You pick :)

Re: X-Plane 12 Early Access

#23

Post by nightski »

GekkePrutser wrote: post #13
juice_bus wrote: post #2

How does X-Plane compare to the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator?

The experience in VR is much much better in X-Plane. Sadly it doesn't have the amazingly realistic cities and world textures of MSFS but the controls work so much better. Especially X-Plane's "ergonomic yoke" which uses the tilt sensor in the controller instead of having to hold up your hand in thin air. MSFS is far behind this. And why call out VR specifically? Well, VR is in my opinion absolutely groundbreaking in…

I used to spend a lot of time in flight simulators and am very interested in VR. What headsets have you used? Just a Quest 2? Or one of the high end ones?

Re: X-Plane 12 Early Access

#25

Post by cypress66 »

asciimike wrote: post #19
beardedscotsman wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s not entirely true. They gameafy some aspects for sure, but that’s just about accessibility. You can run it like a full sim and there are great videos of real Boeing pilots talking about it. Even the old flight sim was so advanced MSFT had contracts with the French military for their mapping tech from the game specifically. This is back in the day now.

Here's a great example of why the flight model is... lacking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GX9lTvKuqU It's perfectly fine for most things, but _really_ bad with things that could actually kill you. Meanwhile, in X-Plane land: https://developer.x-plane.com/2022/02/x-plane-12-flight-mode...

Not only that video is very old (there have been multiple improvements), people that are even remotely serious don't use the default aircraft which are always awful, they buy payware aircraft that are much better modeled.

Re: X-Plane 12 Early Access

#26

Post by jillesvangurp »

clumsysmurf wrote: post #5

I've never used X-Plane or Microsoft Flight Simulator. Can anyone recommend a good $200 (or less) joystick?

I use a quite old MS Sidewinder Precision 2 joystick from 2008 or so. Works fine with the X-plane 12 demo. Look for something that support rudders by twisting. I spent nowhere near 200$ at the time for this. I'm sure there are better options than this on the market right now. But I must say, this thing was pretty good value for money.

Re: X-Plane 12 Early Access

#27

Post by mshockwave »

clumsysmurf wrote: post #5

I've never used X-Plane or Microsoft Flight Simulator. Can anyone recommend a good $200 (or less) joystick?

I play DCS and I'm using T.16000M FCS + HOTAS (you don't really need paddles unless you're flying helicopter). I'm primarily flying F-16 and these gears are really good. I only have minor complains so far, for example there is only one D-pad on the stick and the grip is too big for my tiny hand to sit on the palmrests

Re: X-Plane 12 Early Access

#30

Post by Applejinx »

juice_bus wrote: post #2

How does X-Plane compare to the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator?

I've had X-Plane back since version 7 or so. Get into binges with it and then stop for years.

The reason for that is, my primary interest in X-Plane is DESIGNING planes to see if and how well they will fly. If it had the structural stuff in the short-lived Young's Modulus by the same guy I'd be even more interested… that's a big ask, however, and potentially very dangerous.

Because people literally use X-Plane to design real planes, by making rough drafts of the aerodynamics, weights and balances of their proposed designs. X-Plane is a full-on blade element modeler right down to modelling the propellers of prop-driven planes also as little wings, and flight is simulated by taking all the airfoils etc. at various points of all wings and determining how the plane would fly with this collection of forces… for ALL MODELS.

That's the only engine at work. You don't download 'new flight code' for new planes you get, just the aesthetics and the model that says what airfoils go where etc. and then the sim works out what would happen.

If you wanted to fly your 747 but see what would happen if you stuck a Cessna engine 3 feet in from the left wingtip, MFS absolutely would not know where to begin with that. X-Plane would not only let you do it but would do a pretty decent job of showing what would happen.

So it's kind of not even a comparison…

Pretty hilarious getting downvotes on a nerd site for saying THIS. Bring it. I stand by what I said 100%, these are the things that matter in a simulator. For airplanes :)

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