fs2004 addons

nO}{8 · 15 Jun 2006 at 18:44

whats the best addons for fs2004? im looking for one that will increase the detail and realism. any ideas fellow flight simmers?

Roduga · 15 Jun 2006 at 19:16

We had a thread full of stuff but I can't find it.

Anyone remember who started it?

leezer3 · 15 Jun 2006 at 19:37

http://walhalla.mine.nu/fs2004.php - Biggest list of freeware scenery on the planet

I also highly reccomend FS Passengers.

-Leezer-

KnightStalker · 15 Jun 2006 at 19:37

i started one, that deleted or lost, then someone else started one and it got deleted or lost...so im guessing try the archive, they could be in there.

Roduga · 15 Jun 2006 at 20:13

KnightStalker said:
i started one, that deleted or lost, then someone else started one and it got deleted or lost...so im guessing try the archive, they could be in there.

Seems to be gone. *shakes fist at mods*

I used these for my planes:

http://www.surclaro.com/downloads.html
http://www.avsim.com/

When I first started the Project Opensky people had some really nice planes.

I kept meaning to get a Piper Warrior, but I fly a real one now. Seems pretty realistic.

Charlie Bravo · 15 Jun 2006 at 20:24

nO}{8 said:
whats the best addons for fs2004? im looking for one that will increase the detail and realism. any ideas fellow flight simmers?

In answer to your question;

Better sky textures
here (these are a must)

There loads of other bits which can be found at www.flight1.com and www.simmarket.com

Shelster · 15 Jun 2006 at 22:16

nO}{8

It all depends on what type of flying you are doing and where. If you are mainly just doing day hops in VFR conditions and in the UK, the the VFR add ons by Just Flight are preety good. Scenery can look a little ropey at low levels (ie landing and take-offs) but at a decent altitude, looks ok.

Agree with lezzer3, FSPassengers is a must for FS2004 as it makes the whole thing a bit more real. I use it when i am flying with my Virtual Airline, improved my flying experience by about 6 million percent and also improved my flying. It is free to try (limited to take-offs from 1 airport but can land at any) but i do recommend buying it. Only cost £21 online and it was written as a labour of love (oh and a cash earner) by the author.

I am hoping that from the screen shots ive seen, FS-X wil be better in the scenery stakes than it's predecessors. Autogen looks better too. Just hope they dont make it Vista only

Roduga · 16 Jun 2006 at 00:17

Shelster said:
Just hope they dont make it Vista only

I think this was quoted at some point:

"No. While “Flight Simulator X” will not require Windows Vista, it will be optimized for the latest in Windows gaming hardware and fans will get the best experience by running on Windows Vista."

Charlie Bravo · 16 Jun 2006 at 01:21

I won't be buying FSX as it looks very similar to FS2004. From the vids I've seen of it, it still has the age old stutters as well.

OzZie · 16 Jun 2006 at 09:55

Was my thread that was deleted

Anyway i'll probibly write another one sometime today for you . Flight simulation seems to be quite popular again...

Roduga · 16 Jun 2006 at 10:03

Charlie Bravo said:
I won't be buying FSX as it looks very similar to FS2004. From the vids I've seen of it, it still has the age old stutters as well.

Similar in what way? Where are the videos you speak of? Stuttering?

Charlie Bravo · 16 Jun 2006 at 14:11

Roduga said:
Similar in what way? Where are the videos you speak of? Stuttering?

Similar in that it looks the same..... same textures, same crap default aircraft, same clouds etc

A search on Google reveals plenty of links for FSX previews.

Yep, the stuttering that was introduced in FS2000, FS2002 and FS2004.

The game is ok for Joe Average but it has many errors that anyone associated with aviation should be aware of (like the MS team).

Roduga · 16 Jun 2006 at 14:19

Charlie Bravo said:
Similar in that it looks the same..... same textures, same crap default aircraft, same clouds etc

A search on Google reveals plenty of links for FSX previews.

Yep, the stuttering that was introduced in FS2000, FS2002 and FS2004.

The game is ok for Joe Average but it has many errors that anyone associated with aviation should be aware of (like the MS team).

I can't say I experienced any sort of stuttering. As for the textures, from what I've seen they've been improved hugely. Nice to see rain actually having a visible effect on the runway.

Of course the default aircraft will be crap, they know they can't compete with the gazillions of well-crafted photo-realistic planes avaliable so why bother? It would just be a waste of time.

And as it isn't even out yet we can't even comment on 'errors'.

Charlie Bravo · 16 Jun 2006 at 15:27

FS has suffered with stutters since FS2000, just watch the ground when you take off. It's not fluid and hasn't been on any PC I've played the game on.

With rgds to rain on the runway..... I tired X Plane a few years ago and that had rain effects on the ground. The wait goes on.

The aircraft..... you say why bother? Well why bother including them at all then?

I was talking about FS in general when I said about errors. The game is full of them and I doubt they'll be corrected in FSX.

OzZie · 16 Jun 2006 at 18:59

The stutter has mainly been to a memory leak that has been around since 2000 (as you say) but cant be reduced by applying the 9.1 patch and altering with the in game options and config files.

I have a seperate partition for my flight sims and now i get zero lag when taking off with all my addons installed. Keeping your drives clean and defragging helps so much.

FSX is literally a completely new engine and all the physics etc have been concentrated on much more. I can't wait for it . The default aircraft at the moment actually look very tasty i must say. Graphically it is stunning as always. (although my FS2004 looks just like FSX at the moment

)

[ui]ICEMAN · 16 Jun 2006 at 20:05

I hope but somehow I doubt it that they'll actually add the dynamics for leaving the flight envelope at some point, makes aero's rather hard when FS2004 wont let you depart from normal flight and if it does it has no realism at all.

Scania · 16 Jun 2006 at 20:43

Pop across to Simviation an excellent site for all things Microsoft FS based.

The downloads section is here.

Anybody who's suffered stutter issues could do worse than get a FLIGHT SIMULATOR GRAPHICS SOLUTIONS " System Unification
You have to pay for the service, effectively, somebody at the other end of the phone / MSN will set up your machine for an optimal FS experience.

Not tried it personally, but, plenty of good FS friends have and say its well worth the money.

Some testimonials from customers.
The testimonial from Dave, aka "Fly2e" - an admin @ Simviation's forums says a lot. Daves not the sort to mince his words this is how he describes FSGS.

For many years I have been flying flight simulators. For me, the Sim never looked real. Being one who is always looking for the best quality in any type of image, I was never fully satisfied with my graphics and performance. I frequent a few screenshot forums and am always posting my shots. That is how I came to know Michael, or Ramsa329 as many of us know him!

Michael and I spent many hours via instant messaging working on my PC. We started at the beginning and worked through every detail of my computer. Through the entire process I gained a friend who was very patient, very knowledgeable and extremely helpful! I actually learned how things work and why they do. Now, I am constantly getting asked how I get such incredible graphics out of a NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400 video card! My answer is always the same.

“If you are serious about getting the best performance from you simulator, you need to contact Ramsa. Stop wasting your time playing with different settings. Say goodbye to frame rate problems and say hello to a faster, more realistic simulator! ” Microsoft didn't make Flight Simulator “As real as it gets”…Michael did!

Dave "Fly2e"

Graphic Designer & Freelance Photographer

Well worth the outlay if your seriously into flying. (No, I am in no way connected to them either!)

Would you like your FS9 to look like this? :eek:

Charlie Bravo · 16 Jun 2006 at 23:41

Well I run an Athlon 64 3700 Clawhammer @ 2.5Ghz, 1Gb PC3200 and an X1800XT, and I still get stutters.
Theres no way in the world I would pay somebody to 'enhance' my system in an attempt to smooth out a game thats had stutter issues for 6 years.

It's well known that the game suffers with it and until they change the graphics engine, it always will. Those shots are with add ons anyway so it's not a case of 'our service will do this for you'.

I've been taking some screenshots lately for a project we have at CBFSIM. Heres a few that came out really well (yes they are small for a reason)

Anyway, for anyone into classic british aircraft, come and join our forum @ www.cbfsim.org

Azagoth · 16 Jun 2006 at 23:53

Also, click on my signature!

Scania · 17 Jun 2006 at 02:32

Charlie Bravo said:
Well I run an Athlon 64 3700 Clawhammer @ 2.5Ghz, 1Gb PC3200 and an X1800XT, and I still get stutters.
Theres no way in the world I would pay somebody to 'enhance' my system in an attempt to smooth out a game thats had stutter issues for 6 years.

It's well known that the game suffers with it and until they change the graphics engine, it always will. Those shots are with add ons anyway so it's not a case of 'our service will do this for you'.

I hear what your saying, I'm just relaying info about a solution that works, and has been verified to work by plenty of FS community people who are in a position to know. - Not saying your not btw.

Personally, its not for me, has worked for others though.

It was just a thought.....

N.B. whilst Dave (Fly2e) is an admin @ Simviations forums, in no way is FSGS nor Dave Connected in any other way with Simviation. - Just wanted to make that clear.