The 'Official' Screenshot & Tips thread 4 FSX enthusiasts & flight simmers.

[Soya]

Greetings fellow simmers & flight enthusiasts,

It was suggested to me in several other threads to make a proper thread concerning most things FSX related such as:

1) Screenshots (perhaps showing of your latest addon(s), some cool looking shots or just shots you want to share with fellow simmers, please keep them in compressed JPG format, the original 8MB BMP files that FSX produces is just too large, I also highly recommend resizing them to @1280x720, it will make their viewing much better & nicer when people browse these forums)
2) Tips, this can be on addons, freeware or payware, stuff you felt was really good and how to get the best out of a certain addon or general tips on how to improve hardware/software or the overall running of the beast that is FSX!
3) Comments/suggestions/questions & replies to posts are welcome, but please make them constructive and/or positive.
4) No loitering and definitely NO TRAIN or BOAT simmers allowed in here
5) Enjoy the view, tips & comments in this thread.

EDIT:
Current hardware list - OCUK Intel Sugo, E8600 4Ghz, 4GB DDR2 RAM, until recently was using a ATI 4870x2 2048mb now using a 480GTX, 2x 75GB Raptors Raid0 system drive 4x 128GB SSDs Raid0 FSX drive, Win7 64bit
Main addons payware - REX2.0, McPhat UHDT paints for CS 757 & Super 80 Pro, Earth Simulation's Alderney & Isles of Scilly.
Main addons freeware - ENB series mod, FPS Limiter, Ezwalk Camera, NL2000v4 Scenery, Blue Sky Scenery, many excellent freeware aircraft & paints from Ozx/McPhat.

So let me kick start this thread with both a valuable tip and my latest series of screen shot captures.

Tip, best link so far I have found concerning the running of FSX in both hardware & software would be this one: http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=29041
It is kept pretty up to date and there is tons of info as there are many sub links there that will show you how to improve setup in pretty much every area concerning FSX. Read carefully though and always remember that you must be patient, test your changes carefully and see the results for yourself to make sure if it has either a positive or negative impact!

And here are my latest screen shots from FSX, Pick & Mix - Part 1, enjoy:

Thanks for viewing, hope you enjoyed the selection here.

 

[muttclugg]

Nice pics. The scenery looks great. Using any addons?

 

[Droolinggimp]

Ok.... I am now wanting to play this.

Last flight sim I used was FS98 iirc. What spec do I relalisticly need to run this at full wack? What addons are needed to make such amazing pictures?

 

[Soya]

Thank you both, glad you enjoyed the view. I use many addons, mostly payware but there is also lots of freeware. If there is anything specific that catches your eye in one of my screen shots just point which screen shot and what peeked your interest in that shot. IMO the most essential addon is REX2.0, payware, ENB Mod series, freeware, and NL2000v4 also freeware. The rest is personal preference, depending on your taste and willingness to spend money on payware or time on looking for freeware. Hardware wise, I am running FSX on a Dual Core E8600 4Ghz with ATI 4870x2 2048mb, although I just installed a Nvidia GTX 480 and Nvidia cards tend to be better with FSX due to shader handling. FSX is mainly CPU dependant, so the faster your processor will run, the better. If you follow the link I gave above, it does discuss the hardware requirements to run FSX reasonable. IMO I would say at dual core at 3.2Ghz or more + Nvidia GTX260+ at least.

Hope that answer your questions. Cheers.

 

[neoboy]

How good is it at utilising multi core CPUs particularly quads?

 

[OzZie]

I know it isnt FSX, but when i used to play FS9 back in 2005 it looked really nice:

 

[Soya]

How good is it at utilising multi core CPUs particularly quads?

Ever since FSX SP2 which is also included in the Acceleration pack, it does utilize multi core. How effective a dual core would over a quad core or indeed a six core I am not sure, if they all run at the same Ghz, I think there is very little difference, FSX is after all a rather old 32bit app.

I know it isnt FSX, but when i used to play FS9 back in 2005 it looked really nice:

*snip*

Thanks for sharing.

 

[lukefinch]

Definitely going to post some of my own screenshots when I get my new PC built.

Those screenshots look fantastic!

 

[Soya]

Thanks Luke, will look forward to your future shots. Do make sure when you get your PC built, to check out the above link on how to get the most out of your system with FSX, there is much to setup/tweak, so make sure you read up on it.

In the meantime, let me share my very first video making attempt on FSX, it pretty basic but gotta start somewhere. Hopefully I shall improve on these videos as I have done with screenshots.

Enjoy the view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwQXT6GmmR8&hd=1

Cheers.

PS does anyone know how to properly embed a video in a post? I thought it was simply a matter of taking the embed code from the video and pasting it in the post but it just comes out like it does below:

EDIT: Thank you Chris, I think I got it now. btw living in Jersey 2 I see.

 

[ChrisJSY]

Hey Soya,

Type

[.youtube]VwQXT6GmmR8[/MEDIA] without the . at the start

Take the jumbled letters from your full link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[b]VwQXT6GmmR8[/b])


Turns into;

 

[Soya]

Hey folks,

I managed to squeeze out some spare time to make up another pick and mix selection of screen shots from recent flights.

Please do enjoy:

If you enjoyed the above shots you may also enjoy some of the left overs, they can be viewed in a slide show here: http://s264.photobucket.com/albums/...2010/Pick and Mix/Part 3/?albumview=slideshow

As always, thanks for viewing.

 

[GothicCorpse]

Really nice pictures,
im a bit of a noob i just finished the mission named
( paris airshow Demonstration flight)
and i did do it right and thats why i love fsx so much.
( pretty hard with a xbox controller tho)

Them pictures make it feal more real for me, very nice.

Thank you
I did note you have the hercules any other more military planes you can show off?

Abit out of place here but forgive me

 

[picnic]

Inspirational shots Soya, I'm always left in awe of the visual treat that is your pictures. The video's damn good to for a 1st attempt. Me thinks I need go investigate the NL scenery and the ENB Mod series which I've never heard of

 

[gnetx]

Thanks for sharing, Soya. It's great to see what FSX can achieve, and your shots always prompt me to go off and find new add-ons that I've gotta try. Which AI Traffic addon do you use?

I hadn't heard of the ENB Mod either, so I'll check that out. The tweaking guide that you linked to in your first post was also really useful - thanks! Once I get stuff tweaked I'll try to get some shots on here of my own...

 

[Devrij]

Inspirational shots Soya, I'm always left in awe of the visual treat that is your pictures. The video's damn good to for a 1st attempt. Me thinks I need go investigate the NL scenery and the ENB Mod series which I've never heard of

+1

Always love your shots Soya, will definately check out those freeware addons you mentioned (the ones I'm using are rubbish ) and maybe even... payware!

My best effort

 

[Soya]

Greeting folks,

Thank for the above comments & praise, glad you folks enjoy my work.

Let me update you with with 3 new FSX videos I recently made. The first 2 videos are identical apart from the time of the day but it shows you how different the sunlight reflections are on the fantastic UHDT skins. Anyways, here are the link, they are best viewed at their full 1080p full screen, enjoy:

Super 80 Pro with UHDT liveries on parade at Manchester @noon:

Same video but taken at @Late afternoon:

And finally some more complex tarmac action with the MD-80s:

Thanks for watching.

I did note you have the hercules any other more military planes you can show off?

Abit out of place here but forgive me

I do have many shots that I have taken over the past year involving military planes. Will post some of my best here over the next few weeks but in the meantime simply browse my Photobucket folders, all my images are stored there, simply pick a relevant directory. Here http://s264.photobucket.com/albums/ii172/Soya4me/TV Setup/FSX/FSX Resized/ and here http://s264.photobucket.com/albums/ii172/Soya4me/TV Setup/FSX/2010/

Here are just a few in the meantime:

Inspirational shots Soya, I'm always left in awe of the visual treat that is your pictures. The video's damn good to for a 1st attempt. Me thinks I need go investigate the NL scenery and the ENB Mod series which I've never heard of

Thanks and yes you must check those both out, the NL2000 scenery is free, just very large in size and the ENB mod is something you won't be able to live without once you used it a few times.

Thanks for sharing, Soya. It's great to see what FSX can achieve, and your shots always prompt me to go off and find new add-ons that I've gotta try. Which AI Traffic addon do you use?

I hadn't heard of the ENB Mod either, so I'll check that out. The tweaking guide that you linked to in your first post was also really useful - thanks! Once I get stuff tweaked I'll try to get some shots on here of my own...

Thanks and I use Just Flight's Traffic X although I recently purchased AirtrafficFX from Flight1 as they has some neat features. Look forward to your shots.

 

[Soya]

Greetings fellow simmers,

Where would the FS community be without the enormous amount of freeware software for flight sims? Whether this freeware software is made by talented individuals or a company, they all enrich the world of flight sim. These talented people give up their passion, skills and free time to give us hours upon hours of enjoyment for our flight sim world. My humble appreciation goes to all of them and in tribute to them, I will be doing the occasional freeware spotlight pick and do a series of screen shots on it.

So here is my second freeware spotlight, this time showing off the wonderful FSX KLM Lockheed Electra II by the very talented Team FS KBT & paint job by Fabio Cabral. I fell for the beauty of this aircraft as soon as I loaded it up in FSX, it is elegant, it is a classic and it is shiny! The model and paintjob are excellent, IMO nearly payware standard. Also in the spotlight is a freeware scenery package that is fast becoming my favourite scenery, from the NL2000 team, the excellent NL2000v4 photo-real Netherlands. Other addons used were REX2, FSWC & ENB mod and all shots are unedited apart from resize & JPGed.

So please enjoy this series:

Thank you for taking the time to view these.

 

[rebel rebel]

Fantastic pictures, really good quality. I used to play FSX when it first came out, but my pc then wasn't a very good spec. Now I can run it and do it justice I cant find the disk doh! I've moved home twice since I last played it so it could be anywhere lol.

I dont know much about the add-ons, but as soon as I find the game again I'll take a look at your links and give it a bash.

Have you got any London docklands or Ibiza night shots?

 

[ralv585]

@Soya

I remember in the screenshot thread you posted pictures of f-14 tomcats, you said they were freeware and i was just wondering where i could get them.

Also, i like doing the carrier mission, is there anyway i can choose the f-14 and use the carrier, as i can't find it when i want to do free flights.

Cheers

 

[lukext]

That c17 looks fantastic! Who made it and is it payware or free? Thanks for posting!