Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Wolfala on June 03, 2004, 10:13:27 AM
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Here's a question for you guys. Is there ever going to be an occasion where this bloated byzantine piece of **** (the code that is) is going to be put out of its misery? I say this as each revision is a build upon the same code from BAO over 20 years ago and it runs worse each new version and new module.
Wolf
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Worked great for me. I want to buy some Flitsim stuff just becuase it runs so well on my limited harware.
But X-Plane looks way better, so who knows.
(http://webpages.charter.net/ck2112/xplane.jpg)
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xplane is teh gay!
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I like MS Flight Sim 2004 a lot. Didn't much care for previous versions. The external views are the most fun pure flying in any sim I've seen. (And I have X-Plane too, and like it okay.)
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FS is also fun in VATSIM multiplayer network... as a pilot and ATC :)
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Can you blow watermelon up?
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Originally posted by Fishu
FS is also fun in VATSIM multiplayer network... as a pilot and ATC :)
i used to do that.
thinking of going back over there when AH2 is released.:(
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I've never understood the interest in MS series of flight sims. Fly from point A to point B in a 747 and land. Where's the interest? I need stuff to blow up.
Always thought bus driving would be boring enough in real life let alone simulating it on the computer.
...-Gixer
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Originally posted by Gixer
I've never understood the interest in MS series of flight sims. Fly from point A to point B in a 747 and land. Where's the interest? I need stuff to blow up.
Always thought bus driving would be boring enough in real life let alone simulating it on the computer.
Well it isn't that simple, if you want to make it as realistic as possible.
It's actually something relaxing to do when doesn't care for shoot 'em ups.
It requires its own to create a flightplan, before you even get up in first place.
Then possible notes for the flight and depending on the panel, you have to set up certain things.
Properly coded FMC is always a fun toy to play with ;)
In VATSIM it also gets interesting if theres lots of planes where youre flying at.
ATC goes nuts shouting out instructions to every one :>
...and that ATC part, now thats an another point of interest.
It isn't easy at all if theres many planes with you - it will make you sweat! :D
(http://koti.mbnet.fi/fishu/temp/efhkmor/Image6.png)
(Apologies for any heart seizures caused by my radar screen colour settings :D)
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Fun things to do in X-Plane:
Land a 747 on an aircraft carrier
Get in an X-15, drop from a B-52 above Idaho and do a boost to 350,000 feet, re-enter over southern california and do energy management to land at Edwards Air Force base.
In an XB-70, blast across the Baltic at just under Mach 3 about 20 feet above the ocean, cross into the gulf of Finland and turn in towards Moscow, staying below radar...
Take an F-35 JSF, Marine version at LAX, and do vertical take off. Hover on the thrust, then transition to forward flight, then transition back to hover over downtown LA and land on a helipad without falling off the building into traffic.
Take an Osprey from Santa Monica municipal to San Francisco, doing a low pass under the Golden Gate, maybe landing at Alcatraz why not.
I enjoy doing suborbital hops from LAX to Sea-Tac in the National Aerospace Plane that was cancelled during the 1980s, precision helicopter flying.
One very cool thing in X-Plane you can't do in MSFS is a full simulated Shuttle Re-entry from orbit, with real energy management consoles and apparently realistic handling.
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One gripe I have with MS Flight Sim 2004 is how easy it is to stress business and commercial jets. Can't do max throttle very long or aircraft is "overstressed."
Are business and commercial jets really that fragile? Seems like can do max throttle only for climb, and then have to throttle back to cruise.
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Those are fun things in X-Plane, Chairboy. Some spectacular flight effects, including northern lights at night.
But I wish they'd tweak the ground handling characteristics. I get a little embarrassed going off the runway, through the perimeter fence, up and down hill and dale and eventually getting airborne. Those are some kinda tough planes.
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I haven't flown Aces High much in months. Flown much more MS Flight Sim. It's a different thing... as Fishu says. I like the navigation aspect. I don't use GPS.
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I think being able to switch back and forth from internal to external views is vital for max enjoyment of any flight simulator.
After all, computer simulations are wonders in themselves. Because they can never replicate the entire live experience, they need other compensation for the most appeal and benefit.
Ironic that Aces High stopped external views on line while still allowing gameplay enhancements like Exorcist head, eagle-eye magnification, and all-country radio chat. I'm all for these enhancements and want on-line external views restored too.
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Originally posted by Halo
Those are fun things in X-Plane, Chairboy. Some spectacular flight effects, including northern lights at night.
But I wish they'd tweak the ground handling characteristics. I get a little embarrassed going off the runway, through the perimeter fence, up and down hill and dale and eventually getting airborne. Those are some kinda tough planes.
Ground handling has been completely revised in recent releases. It's now a lot better, also models hydroplaning, skidding, blowing out tires, everything. The developer did a small x-car sim (w/ anti-lock brakes, etc) to develop the physics, then applied it to X-plane.
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http://www.westcoastatc.com
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Of X-plane and FS9, X-plane does surely have better flight models etc.
Problem with X-plane however is lack of addons etc., which why most people tend to fly FS2002 / FS2004
Originally posted by Halo
One gripe I have with MS Flight Sim 2004 is how easy it is to stress business and commercial jets. Can't do max throttle very long or aircraft is "overstressed."
Are business and commercial jets really that fragile? Seems like can do max throttle only for climb, and then have to throttle back to cruise.
Yes, real jets do have speed limits and those values are put into aircraft flight model flights.
You aren't supposed to fly commercial jets at full throttle on cruise - not even when climbing.
Big factor in this is engine wear and fuel efficiency.
These commercial jets aren't really made for super sonic flight, but for comfty cruise somewhere around 0.75-0.9 mach.
Too fast and you'll be wearing out the engines and then the structure.
Passengers wouldn't be too comfortable at high speeds with non super sonic jet :D
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I've read that a 747-400 was pushed past mach 1 in level flight by Boeing engineers on purpose once, can anyone corrobarate this? I understand that the plane couldn't safely fly like that for long, but the point was that the 747-400 has enough raw horsepower that it could make the push.
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wolf no offense but to me a exvatsimmer easysky seems. well a bit to funky on the system for me.
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Originally posted by Chairboy
I've read that a 747-400 was pushed past mach 1 in level flight by Boeing engineers on purpose once, can anyone corrobarate this? I understand that the plane couldn't safely fly like that for long, but the point was that the 747-400 has enough raw horsepower that it could make the push.
Many planes do have enough power to make it
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Originally posted by Chairboy
Fun things to do in X-Plane:
Take an F-35 JSF, Marine version at LAX, and do vertical take off. Hover on the thrust, then transition to forward flight, then transition back to hover over downtown LA and land on a helipad without falling off the building into traffic.
Had a go on a real JSF flight simulator last week! Very, very cool! Shot two aircraft down and managed a vertical land! :)
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Tonight managed my most spectacular flight sim achievement in X-Plane. I landed a Mig-29 upside down. Then, upside down, I maxed the throttles for takeoff, flew it through the hangar fence, across a field, and into the water where as speed picked up it totally submerged, then peeked through the surface, and finally broke free enough I could turn it right side up and head for the stars.
I know the Mig-29 is rated tough and manueverable, but I didn't realize it was that good! :rolleyes:
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What version do you have? 7.41 is the latest official release.
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I have 7.30, Chairboy. Just ordered 7.41 tonight (X-Plane download is massive and slow, so I'm settling for a disk in the mail).
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I think they have an incremental update to go from your version to 7.41 without having to do the whole big download. Did you check for the mini-update? They're about to release a new one.
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Chairboy, how did you get an incremental download for X-Plane? The only option I find is the whole 140 MB for whole thing AND upgrade. Seems awfully cumbersome and wasteful to me when all I need is a comparatively brief upgrade from 7.30 to 7.41.
I like X-Plane, but to me this is typical of its quirkyness. I have a fast cable connection, but X-Plane downloads only at a primitive 10 KB or so. There is some add-on extra cost speedier download option that provides additional complication, frustration, and cost.
For all its supposed technical genius, I think X-Plane could greatly increase its appeal if it integrated a faster and simpler download process.
So I'm out another ten bucks for a disk upgrade that should have been available as a no-cost simple high speed on line upgrade taking only a couple minutes. That kind of logic eludes me.
Makes you really appreciate the genius of HiTech and Co. with its great product, fast service, and bonuses like this unequalled bulletin board.
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Hmm, I guess the incremental updates are just for people in beta test, sorry.
If you have a fast connection, why not use the BitTorrent option? It's usually a lot faster because it's a distributed download system. They have links on the same page as the normal downloads, just below.
(edit) BTW, when doing the BitTorrent, it starts slow but gets faster the longer it runs. My transfer started at 2K/S and within two minutes is now at 98KB a second and rising.
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Yeah, I guess I should do the BitTorrent. I think I did it once before. I got put off this time by the demand for a donation for something that ought to be bundled in the X-Plane software.
And, I get tired of messing with such tedious admin support for what is heralded as such a brilliant flight sim, e.g., the upgrade should have been an easy separate download the way Aces High works.
If X-Plane is so brilliant, why do common folk have to work so hard to get it? I guess it's some sort of initiation. Doesn't seem like the best way to optimize appeal and profits.
MSFS 2004 can be similarly vexing, although not as much as X-Plane. Hate to admit I finally succumbed to the main add-on site blackmail of $18 a year to get expedited download access worthy of cable connection instead of phone modem.
Kinda feel as if I've just been mugged in both simulations. No wonder many average customers appreciate Microsoft's increasing bundling of integrated seamless features instead of making people chase all over and pay more separately for independent augmentation that may or may not work as well together.
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Originally posted by Fishu
(Apologies for any heart seizures caused by my radar screen colour settings :D)
Very strange color set. And greetings from neighbors ;-) UUWV_V_CTR.
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Originally posted by Halo
Yeah, I guess I should do the BitTorrent. I think I did it once before. I got put off this time by the demand for a donation for something that ought to be bundled in the X-Plane software.
And, I get tired of messing with such tedious admin support for what is heralded as such a brilliant flight sim, e.g., the upgrade should have been an easy separate download the way Aces High works.
If X-Plane is so brilliant, why do common folk have to work so hard to get it? I guess it's some sort of initiation. Doesn't seem like the best way to optimize appeal and profits.
MSFS 2004 can be similarly vexing, although not as much as X-Plane. Hate to admit I finally succumbed to the main add-on site blackmail of $18 a year to get expedited download access worthy of cable connection instead of phone modem.
Kinda feel as if I've just been mugged in both simulations. No wonder many average customers appreciate Microsoft's increasing bundling of integrated seamless features instead of making people chase all over and pay more separately for independent augmentation that may or may not work as well together.
What in blue blazes are you talking about? You don't have to pay more seperately for anything, not unless you REALLY want to. I've gotten all my X-Plane updates for free, no hassle.
?!
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Originally posted by Estel
Very strange color set. And greetings from neighbors ;-) UUWV_V_CTR.
Hallo there ;)
I do like the colours in fact..
Does not cause that much eye strain and everything is clearly visible.
Sort of neutral background colour.
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I'm complaining about slow regular download speeds for X-Plane and FS2004 additional planes or upgrades, Chairboy. Like phone modem speeds even with cable connection.
But pay extra for Bit Torrent (you haven't seen the latest donation plea with picture?) for X-Plane or subscribe to faster third party download speeds with Surclaro for FS 2004 and that's the only way you get the fast download speeds we have been accustomed to with Aces High.
I suppose it's free enterprise at work. I'm not totally ungrateful --yes, plenty of wonderful additional planes are free if you accept phone modem speeds and not for too much more ($10 to $20 or so) if you pay for the fast downloads.
And I still think X-Plane 7.41 should have been a separate easy free upgrade for 7.30 instead of having to face the massive 140 MB download for both full version and upgrade or pay another $10 for disk.
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Well, it's a free download, and I got it at 120 K per second, so if that's dial-up speed for you, I'm awful jealous.
If you're using Bit Torrent for one download, you can choose whether or not to donate to the author, I'm sure he'd understand. Plus, there are bit torrent clients out there that are totally free w/ no donation requests.
Please understand that I mean no offense, but you sound kinda like a martyr. It might be my imagination, and if so, I apologize, but that's my perception based on your posts.
I'll take the 140 meg download any day if it means I get a flight sim that's updated so proactively with exciting new features and technologies. With Microsoft, you're lucky if you get a plane and a bug fix in an update, while the author of X-Plane might introduce whole new features that change the whole sim for the better.
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Chairboy, our systems and experiences seem quite different. I would never complain about a 120K sec download speed. My download speeds reduced at these sites were around 13k or less, and you must admit that is primitive.
It seems like a deliberate slow tease to coerce into buying higher speed downloads that are a routine feature of most current competitive programs. If anything deserves pricing, it is the individual donated add-on vehicles, or even the site, but not just an expedited download speed routinely supported by other internet sites.
And yes, my system is fine and runs other programs and downloads at cable speeds.
I cheerfully admit to being a routine average computer consumer. I'm not that technically competent, but I'm a lot more experienced than many people I know.
Hence I think I represent a substantial number of consumers who ought to be listened to by some of the more technically inclined who think people shouldn't drive cars unless they are mechanics.
I think I've pointed out some legitimate areas that need improvement, and if that sounds like martyrdom, so be it.
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Have you tried http://www.avsim.com ?
AVSIM has a huge selection of addons.. only other site I've used is fsnordic, mostly for local scenarios.
Download speed is almost always 90-110kb/s, which pretty much tops my bandwidth.
Nowadays it does require registration, but it's for free and will remain that way. (they changed download systems to some less resource hogging one)
Never had problems downloading addons.
If any site advertises some kind of premium download account for $$, I usually boycott the site and wonder why bother, when theres plentiful of other sites for free with a sufficient bandwidth!
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Thanks, Fishu. Hadn't registered there before but will give it a try.
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If I could ever get my X-45 throttle to hold FULL THROTTLE in F2-2004, I'd be a happy camper.
Since the local Cessena 172s are $81 per hour (wet, hobbs meter), I prefer shooting touch n goes with the Lear at my airport online (BGR). The graphics arent bad, the seasons/effects is slick.
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Still can't beat MSFS 2004 for all-around user-friendly noncombat fun. Downloaded the little Curtis pusher-prop putterarounder that was an everyperson plane in the '30s before Depression zapped it.
That, the Piper J3 and the cropduster are such pleasant surprises. Makes you feel like everyone could go chugging around a thousand feet or so above the terrain.
As for X-Plane, just received the $10 X-Plane 7.41 disk for supposedly either upgrading earlier 7s or total new load. But no instructions, just four files, guess where and how to install.
Haven't found the solution yet. So far I have my old 7.30 and a separate 7.41 that requires transferring all my 7.30 settings and plane additions. And ... 7.41 planes still run blissfully through ground obstacles. X-Plane is definitely a tough love simulation with its quirks and unfriendly setup.
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Originally posted by LePaul
If I could ever get my X-45 throttle to hold FULL THROTTLE in F2-2004, I'd be a happy camper.
Have you checked joystick sentivity settings or something like that?
Should be pretty easy to find from the options.
Make sure there is no deadband for throttle or anything alike, it doesnt need such things.
Kind of familiar issue to me, especially with rotaries, which by default has deadband and so on.
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Originally posted by LePaul
If I could ever get my X-45 throttle to hold FULL THROTTLE in F2-2004, I'd be a happy camper.
Try to play with FSUIPC settings. I had the same problem with trottle on my Gravis Firebird 2. Due to noise it wasn't get down to idle and as a result I couldn't apply reverse. After adjusting in FSUIPC it's ok.