FSX and FsPassengers

[Meco]

Reading Dan's update thread I get a sense that the flavor of the summer will be for the new sim. Flight Sim X

I have concerns regarding this. If a new sim comes out all 2004 updates and bug tweaks like the 25 hour maintenence which resets the
100 hour maint may go unfinished.

This could be a problem for many people I think in the short term. ( 1 - 2 years )

When we all first got FS9 (2004), we noticed right away that at the time our best machines were far lacking in power to run FS9 at max
settings. and now here we are 2 years later and still many people with better computers cant run at full FS9 capability. We still have to
trade off view for performance, especialy when we load up add ons.

Just read up on these forums and you will note that many armchair pilots continue to struggle to raise the frames per second bar so that
they can fly smoothly and with best visuals possible. even with a 3ghz 2 gig ram and 258meg vid card. FS9 strains to meet these
demands that Microsoft Flight Sim implemented on it's product.

So with each release of a new flight sim. The Sim is essencialy ahead of the average computer technology growth. by 1 - 3 years.

I know myself when 2004 came out and I first got it with my old system I was frustrated and had to return to 2000 untill I could get a better
computer. or more accuratly wait untill the industry invented a better computer that could catch up.

So I realize 2006 FSX is a natural progression. but if your running 2004 now at say 50% settings just so that you can keep it all smooth,
then what will happen to you when you load FSX with that best available computer of the day and are forced to run the sim at 25%
settings just so you can fly it. Because all that extra detail they will put into FSX IE: real road traffic, birds flying, AI helecopters, rendered
roads, a miriad of improved city graphics... Will be a framerate nightmare with the best computers currently available.

If you need a 3.5 - 4.0 ghz now to run 2004 as it was designed for at full graphics with 30 - 50 FPS. Then your gona need that 5 ghz
system to run FSX as it is being designed for. But wait. theres no such thing as a 5 ghz machine.... yet...

So even if MS gets FSX out this year as they are hoping for. I for one will still hold 2004 as my main sim untill my next major computer
upgrade in the far future. I don't enjoy flying a plane while looking at a slide show.

Which bring me all the way back to FSP... With the utmost respect for Dan... As a registered user of this fine add-on, I will be most
disapointed if FSP 2006 becomes all consuming with programing while the current version remains well... in short... incomplete with its
minor bugs still unsolved. such as the 100 hour maint reset bug.

I, like everyone paid for FSP 2004, and it is my hope that those proceeds are spent to complete the product I paid for. If you dont want to
add any new feature for the current FSP thats fine. since it's an awsome add-on as it is. But I ask that this one is completed first before a
new one is made. and rather than charge an upgrade fee for FSP 2006 when it's released, I for one will be more than happy to pay full
price again for the " new " program and all it's "new" features for FSX.. when Im ready and my computer can handle it.

Also, when FSP first came out there was a steady progression of updates and fixes. but ever since (5 september 2005) there has not
been any new development to complete the last couple of "known bugs". um.. thats 9 months ago.. Every day I log on looking for the
100 hour bug fix. and it's still not ready

So I emplore you Dan. Don't cast FSP 2004 asside on a shelf simply because theres a new kid in town. We your customers love what
you have done for FS9 and our flying experience. It is, after all unique in scope. The transition from FS9 to FSX will not be an instant one. It
will take time for everyone to catch up with FSX proccessing needs. But in the mean time please continue to improve FSP 2004. for at
least one more bug patch... soon™

The transition from 8 Track to cassette was much faster than VHS to DVD... many still watch movies on VHS even though DVD's have
been around for over a decade. And I suspect something similar will happen with FSX. They still gota work out the heat problems if they
are gona make a public ready 5 ghz machine with 12 gigs of Ram and a 2 gig vid card ... sounds far fetched now.. but look how far
computers have come in 10 years. But the growth is much slower now than before. When I got my 450 mhz system. in less than 6
months they doubled in power. I bought my 3 ghz computer over 2 years ago.. And so far they have not been able to double it..

We all luff you Dan for all your hard work. And I hope you will continue to make FSP2004 evolve.. When the day comes where everyone
fly's FSX and the comunity at large for FS9 resembles the amount of people flying FS2000 today. Then I guess ill have to catch up with all
you rich people with super computers and get the FSP2006 add-on.

[jboweruk]

I wouldn't worry too much on that mate. For one thing FSP is a .dll file so may even work with FSX as is. Secondly regarding FSX a lot
more is being handed off to the GFX cards. Up till now FS has used the CPU virtually for everything, which is why stuff like the Capsim
Herc is pretty smooth, it relies much more on the VGA card than normal FS aircraft. With that the case I would not be surprised if on
release you will be able to run FSX the same as you run FS9 now. Add into the mix a new way more powerful PC and we should finally
have a good looking sim that runs better than a slide show.

When Vista comes out and MS patch FSX to suit it should look and feel even better still. On that we will have to wait and see. I don't for
one moment think Dan will abandon us, nor will many other developers of add-ons. PMDG have already commited to updating the Queen
and MD11, also releasing new versions of the 737NG series. Shockwave have commited to updating WOP to FSX compatibility. The
future really looks bright, and I look forward to seeing what exactly FSX brings. Sure I'll hang on to FS9 until I see what works and what
doesn't, but I 'll get it on day dot like I did FS9. LOL actually I had FS9 at Dot minus 1, I had pre-ordered it and it arrived the day before
release.

I also know RC are working on Version 5, so I'll guess that will be FSX compatible. And you can bet your bottom dollar AS6 will be either
updated or we'll have version 7 coming out.