In FSX, are you the only a/c flying around in an empty but real-life map of the world area?
You can increase the AI traffic, but you're mostly alone when offline. It gets busier around airports.
No other pilots online, no shooting or damage possible to a/c?
You can fly online with others. I've only done it a few times though. If I remember right, other players can only see your custom plane if they too have it installed. There's no shooting.
I suppose if they don't have to worry about the complexity of multiple planes and players and combat, they can devote alot of resources to the player's plane?
I reckon so, and you still need a much heftier computer to run FSX than AH. I bet it would be virtually unplayable if you were online with 20+ other planes of this detail all in the same area. I have to play at a lower resolution with some of the details turned down and I still get a low FPS, and I still have to avoid the more congested and detailed airports. I can run AH with everything full, at huge resolutions, and still maintain a top FPS. Air combat is a lot less fun with a low FPS.
How is the flight model?
I'm not knowledgeable enough about such things to give a credible answer, but I think it's pretty poor. The good news is that 3rd party add-ons, like this P-47 and that P-51, can be coded with their own rather than relying on some default FSX flight envelope. I'm very happy with how the P-47 flies and feels, but I really dislike how the default planes fly when you try and push the limits.
A2A Simulation's P-47
Truly beautiful inside and out. Of course your guns don't work, but every other button does. I play FSX when I need my button pushing fix. I'm one of the weirdos that would love to have an option for a long drawn out start-up, mixture, cowl flaps, etc. That would drive away the other 99% of players here though.
