Post by Tom Constantine on Mar 11, 2012 0:58:25 GMT -5
or is it the other way around?
Let me get this out first: Flight is fun! No tweaks, no compromises, no sweat. I click the icon and in 2 minutes I am taxiing to the runway from a saved flight and off into the blue. I may be on a journey of discovery, chasing an aerocache. Perhaps I will spend an hour or so just practicing landings. Maybe I will try one more challenge. Lately I have been hitting the job board and hauling people and freight all over the islands. I've even done some smuggling It is FUN.
The scenery is excellent. In places it rivals the big boys of FSX in quality, but it doesn't crush my frame rate. I have fluid movement and the only stutters are when the 7th or 8th flyer joins multi-player.
The aircraft so far are the best I have seen in any sim. The Maule and the Vans are as good as any comparable payware in FSX. The flight models are excellent. Everything works together to create an immersion level that I have never had before.
There are a few features still absent like GPS & Flight Planner and the big airports especially could use either AI traffic or some statics parked around. BUT did I mention that it's fun?
I remember once Roger asked me about an FSX payware aircraft that I had purchased and he was considering. I told him that the flight model was very good, the visuals were perfect and the system modeling squeezed every little bit of fun right out of it. It was drop dead gorgeous but would probably never get flown again. That is not a problem with the Icon, it is a hoot and my favorite ride when stalking the wild aerocache.. The Stearman became almost a religion during the beta. I began every beta session with a Stearman flight in the early morning mist and sunrise. The Vans RV-6A is a hotrod. My favorite aircraft for punching holes in the sky. The Maule is a truck. Great for hauling contraband from one island to another at a 250 ft altitude. The odd plane out is the P-51. Its an experiment by Microsoft to see if an "economy model" (no cockpit) will sell as DLC. I would not have purchased it since I like flying from the VC but a free copy was part of my reward for being an active beta tester. No cockpit but it can be flown with the HUD. It will get from one end of the islands to the other in about half the time as the Vans. It climbed high enough to nab an elusive aerocache and it is a beautiful model.
So, after 12 days I'm a happy camper with the release version. I can't wait to see what comes next... Alaska! But what new aircraft? Maybe a Beaver? Twin Otter? A hand full of Cessnas? Time will tell. Gotta get some beauty sleep because tomorrow I reach level 19 (and I haven't collected a single gold coin.) ;D
Let me get this out first: Flight is fun! No tweaks, no compromises, no sweat. I click the icon and in 2 minutes I am taxiing to the runway from a saved flight and off into the blue. I may be on a journey of discovery, chasing an aerocache. Perhaps I will spend an hour or so just practicing landings. Maybe I will try one more challenge. Lately I have been hitting the job board and hauling people and freight all over the islands. I've even done some smuggling It is FUN.
The scenery is excellent. In places it rivals the big boys of FSX in quality, but it doesn't crush my frame rate. I have fluid movement and the only stutters are when the 7th or 8th flyer joins multi-player.
The aircraft so far are the best I have seen in any sim. The Maule and the Vans are as good as any comparable payware in FSX. The flight models are excellent. Everything works together to create an immersion level that I have never had before.
There are a few features still absent like GPS & Flight Planner and the big airports especially could use either AI traffic or some statics parked around. BUT did I mention that it's fun?
I remember once Roger asked me about an FSX payware aircraft that I had purchased and he was considering. I told him that the flight model was very good, the visuals were perfect and the system modeling squeezed every little bit of fun right out of it. It was drop dead gorgeous but would probably never get flown again. That is not a problem with the Icon, it is a hoot and my favorite ride when stalking the wild aerocache.. The Stearman became almost a religion during the beta. I began every beta session with a Stearman flight in the early morning mist and sunrise. The Vans RV-6A is a hotrod. My favorite aircraft for punching holes in the sky. The Maule is a truck. Great for hauling contraband from one island to another at a 250 ft altitude. The odd plane out is the P-51. Its an experiment by Microsoft to see if an "economy model" (no cockpit) will sell as DLC. I would not have purchased it since I like flying from the VC but a free copy was part of my reward for being an active beta tester. No cockpit but it can be flown with the HUD. It will get from one end of the islands to the other in about half the time as the Vans. It climbed high enough to nab an elusive aerocache and it is a beautiful model.
So, after 12 days I'm a happy camper with the release version. I can't wait to see what comes next... Alaska! But what new aircraft? Maybe a Beaver? Twin Otter? A hand full of Cessnas? Time will tell. Gotta get some beauty sleep because tomorrow I reach level 19 (and I haven't collected a single gold coin.) ;D