Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, One year later: How is it?

August 8, 2021Isaiah53sixLeave a comment

Microsoft Flight Simulator (aka MFS2020 or MSFS2020) was released for the PC on August 17, 2020. Now that we’re approaching a one year anniversary for the sim, I thought I’d take a semi-quick look at how it’s been doing since launched on PC. Has it improved? Gotten worse?

Please note this is only one person’s take on it’s current condition after spending more than 380 hours with the game (including update downloads) and 150 hours of actual in-game flight time thanks to NEOFLY.

Visual Masterpiece

MFS2020 is visually hands-down the best flight simulator available on the market today. It was in 2020 and it still is one year later. On July, 27, 2021 the simulator was released for console for landing on the latest Xbox. Although many argue (including myself) that the visuals have degraded on the computer version since the sim was released for the Xbox, MFS2020 still is a beautiful masterpiece. My goal here is not to debate points about why things may or may not have changed for the PC version of the sim since the July 27th release on Xbox, however I will note some of my experiences of those changes.

Photogrammetry is a game changer

You can visit any place on God’s earth you wish. Many updates to the simulator over the past few months have provided some visual upgrades to models of real-life buildings around the world such as Stone Henge, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Pyramids in Egypt and other iconic buildings in major cities around the world. With the use of photogrammetry, the sim can replicate a 3D image of satellite imagery. The satellite images are streamed from the internet within the sim as you fly over! Thankfully this part (photogrammetry) of the simulator has not been downgraded or changed (at least that I have noticed). Apparently however some textures at higher altitudes do appear fuzzier than when the sim was first released. Some draw distances of trees and buildings as you approach them have changed as well. Many users, including myself report noticable pop-in of objects as you pan the camera which I do not recall noticing only months ago.

Performance Boost

Performancewise, the simulator is fantistic, provided you have the computer to run it. I do not have the latest computer with only a GTX 1070ti and a i7-8700k cpu with 16 gb of memory but have been mostly pleased with my overall experience.

Before the July 27th update, flying on high settings was mostly a joy, with smooth panning and banking of the plane, even over major city centers like Los Angeles and New York. However there would be small stutters when landing at major airports like LAX or JFK. And yet I was still pleased with the performance since the visuals were breathtaking and this mine isn’t even a VR experience! After July 27th, flying has gotten smoother and framerates have improved even at major airports. Cleary there has been some kind of performance boost. You would think this would be a good thing, right? And it mostly is in my case, but many users are reporting game crashes (and I don’t mean plane crashes because we’ve all had those, virtually speaking).

More flight time with Neofly

Early this year in 2021, I discovered a free mission based program called Neofly which is run while flying in MFS. With Neofly, you start with a Cessna 172 or other small plane and build up an income doing various missions, passenger flights and deliveries. Neofly tracks your flight in the sim. Currently I am in the process of flying around the world. I started a KACV with a Cessna 172 and now the plane I use is a Cessna Citation Longitude. It’s been a long journey down to South America and back to Alaska as I prepare to head to Asia and Europe. MFS now has a purpose and it’s a great way to visit places virtually even it’s all for pretend. The last fsix to eight months of flying hasn’t seen any game game crashes. Now since July 27th, I’ve experienced two. Hopefully that gets sorted out sooner than later.

Simulator Changes

Satellite imagery has been added to the World Map page in MFS in the July 27th update. This is a great feature but it also has caused game crashes for some, including myself. Currently airports history of last flown from or to are not remembered on World Map as they once were. I would love to say that overall the simulator has grown and gotten better since August 2020 but with some the strange behavior with flight dynamics, rapid speed changes, game crashes and over visuals issues, it’s hard for me to say it’s better. Before July 27th it was better. A month or two after the August 2020 release, I had had some random game crashes during flight (aka CTD’s, crashes to desktop). These were to be expected since the sim had recently been released. Then some updates later and the game settled down. The visuals even increased and I went months without a single CTD. The simulator was improving even if there was only Autogen (not photogrammetry) when flying over my town.

Today the game is working for some and broken for others. For me, it’s still fun to fly in and learn how to fly in, as long as the simulator behaves itself and doesn’t crash to desktop. I have pretty high hopes that future updates will iron out any steps backward MFS2020 might have taken since July 2021.

View my review on Steam

images credit: personal in-game screenshots of MFS2020

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020: How is it?

September 25, 2020September 25, 2020Isaiah53sixLeave a comment

UPDATED 9/24/20

September 16th came and went and we have another game patch (1.8.3.0). The game has been playing better, no crashes while flying and I’m closing in on 50 hours. However, I did have one crash using the fps counter from the in-game developer mode while in the main menu. Odd. For full patch details visit here. Another one is right around the corner.

UPDATED 9/18/20

After more than 30 hours of actual flying time in the game, I can officially report that this sim is both beautiful and exasperating. The game is beautiful because it does contain eye candy and stunningly realistic visuals. And this game has its exasperating moments when it decides to close/crash to desktop in mid-flight while looking at the eye candy. And why does it crash to desktop? In my experience the crashes are occurring randomly so their root cause hasn’t been easy to pin down. I will update this further if/when I find a permanent fix. (Note: The game was running flawless for about one week of off and on flying without any game crashes that is after I uninstalled MSI Afterburner. And so I thought I had figured out the root cause. But as of 9/16/20 the crashes have returned without MSI Afterburner anywhere in sight.)

ORIGINAL POST AND SOME UPDATED CONTENT CONTINUES BELOW

Microsoft Flight Simulator is the successor to FSX the other popular Microsoft Flight Simulator released in 2006. I have been able to spend a few hours in the latest rendition of the simulator and will offer some thoughts and insights on my experience so far with the sim and whether or not it’s even worth your time.

First, I will start off by saying Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is not without it’s faults, graphical glitches and bugs but overall one word describes it for me. Wow. (and I don’t mean “wow”, that sure took a long time to download because it certainly does. Additionally that long download will contribute to inaccurate gameplay hours on the Steam version. I currently show over 110 hours but have only been in game for around 50hrs)

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 or MFS2020 has three tiers of pricing available depending on the package you get. I won’t go into many details of each (as you can find them here) but there are Standard ($60), Deluxe ($90) and Premium ($120) versions. Depending on the version you choose, there are five additional aircraft included along with five highly detailed major airports.

Getting started

Downloading MFS2020 can be a daunting task as the sim is between 90gb- 150gb (depending on the version). I purchased the premium edition from Steam and left it to download overnight. It took at least 5 hours for me but many people have said it can take 9 hours depending on internet speed. (Note for Steam users: After small initial file download of are 1gb, the actual game content downloads within the simulator itself, not Steam)

How well does it run?

Performance wise this game will depend on the power of your system. I have a GTX 1070ti (8gb), i7-8700k (overclocked to 4.7), 16gb ram and on 1920×1080 the game runs quite well on higher settings. I would ignore the system requirements as listed for the simulator because I believe they are too low. Of course, each of our ideals for how a simulator should run will be as different as we are but in my opinion running a smooth a game on low and not being able to see quality scenery is not an option. On my system, the visuals are quite stunning while running near 60 fps in most places and 35-50 fps in larger cities. Certainly there is always room for improvement on performance so a better GPU, CPU and at least 32GB ram is probably recommended. I do not think I could run the sim satisfactory on higher settings using a 4k monitor for example.

Don’t forget one setting

Besides the general graphical options, there is one setting slider that is really important to have the ability to crank up. That setting is the Terrain slider. Everything else should be set to mostly high (if not all) with Terrain at 200%. There is a settings option for buildings but I don’t think this means how many of the buildings or their quality are rendered in the Sim. More on that in a minute.

Best way to fly

I would suggest you use at least a joystick and/or flight yoke to fly in MFS (more expensive). Straight out of the box, I wasn’t able to successfully use a keyboard or mouse for flying an aircraft. However, the keyboard is great for flight systems (gear, lights, trim, flaps, views) and the mouse also works okay for panning the view. A usb Xbox controller works best when using the external drone camera.

The Cloud Connection and Limitations

MFS2020 uses the internet, a lot. In fact, in order to get the graphical map details and live weather data for the location you are flying around, it uses Bing maps as part Microsoft’s cloud server (Azure) and it is used with this sim. This sounds like it should make all the visuals and systems amazing and realistic but sometimes the things in simulator don’t look (or work) right. Sometimes textures flicker under the modeled objects where there shouldn’t be any texture at all. And sometimes rivers and waterways are hundreds of feet off the ground and traffic runs through it. And sometimes the airports and buildings are either nonexistent or misplaced. For example, I was visiting a small town in South Dakota and took off from the grass landing strip as it is rendered in the simulator. The town should have been on the left. I couldn’t find it anywhere near the landing strip. I checked the airport map and found the simulator had placed the runway at least 35 miles south east of where it should have been. This brings to me to buildings and how they are displayed in the game.

How do the buildings look?

It would seem that there are at least two different ways the simulator renders buildings. There are generic autogen buildings which can be found in many rural towns like my own (see KACV and KEKA areas). And in more accurately detailed areas, such as in the larger airports (such as KSFO, KLAX or even Redding near KRDD) the simulator looks like a work of art as long as your above 3,000ft. The buildings appear to be extruded models of the underlining satellite image. Modeling in this way doesn’t make for the best visuals at low altitudes but up in the air couple thousand feet everything can look fantastic and recognizable!

Something isn’t quite right with ATC

ATC in MFS has been a little bit disappointing for me. Compared to FSX, I actually think this simulator has gone back a step or two. FSX had multiple voices to choose from and more than one voice could be heard from other pilots communicating with the towers. UPDATE: A patch has added three more voices to the mix! This is a good sign the sim is headed in the right direction. Although for whatever reason, the person speaking cannot pronounce the number three or five correctly. As far as I know, my call sign doesn’t have a tree in it.

Should you get this simulator?

Apparently MFS2020 is part of long process in continued development. So there are bugs, audio, graphical and data glitches to be expected. And sometimes you can’t tell if your experiencing a game bug or user error. But the question remains. Should you get this sim? If you were a fan of FSX or even X-plane you probably will love this simulator straight out of the box. There are patches being release every few weeks and the development team appear dedicated to improving the sim based on user feedback. Overall, despite some frustrating moments, I certainly have been enjoying it. Additionally if you are a fan of flying, I would not suggest purchasing any version less the Premium Edition because let’s face it, you will most likely want the extra airports that are included. These airports are more detailed than their standard counterpart and you will be glad you have the additional planes that can only be found in the Premium Edition.

If you are on the fence or new to PC flight simulators then I highly recommend watching some videos of people using the simulator to get a taste of it visually speaking. But keep in mind that most of the videos on YouTube feature the simulator running on a high-end computer system. (Higher than what I currently own)

So if you have the money, a little patience, like flight simulation, and have at least a mid to high-end computer, you will probably have a ball exploring and tweaking Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Official

MFS2020 on Steam

Microsoft Flight Forums

Get the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator Patch release

What what hope looks like (FullyFreeFilms.com)

Do Christians hate gays? Watch this movie to find out

Images source: All images are screenshots from my own MFS2020

Did I just experience Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020?

August 21, 2020September 18, 2020Isaiah53six2 Comments

UPDATED 9/18/20

Getting started

How well does it run?

Don’t forget one setting

Best way to fly

I would suggest you use at least a joystick and/or flight yoke (more expensive) to fly in MFS. Straight out of the box, I wasn’t able to successful use a keyboard or mouse for flying an aircraft. However, the keyboard is great for flight systems (gear, lights, trim, flaps, views) and the mouse also works okay for changing views. A usb Xbox controller works best when using the external drone camera.

The Cloud Connection and Limitations

How do the buildings look?

Something isn’t quite right with ATC

ATC in MFS has been a little bit disappointing for me. Compared to FSX, I actually think this simulator has gone back a step or two. FSX had multiple voices to choose from and more than one voice could be heard from other pilots communicating with the towers. However, I have only heard one voice used so far no matter the airport or location. And for whatever reason, the person speaking cannot pronounce the number three or five correctly. As far as I know, my call sign doesn’t have a tree in it.

Should you get this simulator?

Apparently MFS2020 is part of long process in continued development. So there are bugs, audio, graphical and data glitches to be expected. Should you get this sim? If you were a fan of FSX or even X-plane you probably will love this simulator. Overall, I certainly have been enjoying it. And if you are a fan of flying I would not suggest a version less the the Premium edition because let’s face it, you will most likely want the extra airports that are more detailed than their standard counterpart and you will be glad you have the additional planes that can only be found in the premium edition. If you are on the fence or new to PC flight simulators then you will want to watch some videos of people using the simulator. And keep in mind most of the videos on YouTube feature the simulator running on a higher-end computer system than my own.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Official

MFS2020 on Steam

Get the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator Patch release

What what hope looks like (FullyFreeFilms.com)

Do Christians hate gays? Watch this movie to find out

Images source: All images are screenshots from my own MFS2020

Discovering Elite Dangerous in 2019

July 26, 2019August 9, 2019Isaiah53sixLeave a comment

Elite Dangerous is a massively multiplayer online space game by Frontier Developments. Although the game requires a persistent internet connection it also features a solo or single-player mode. Elite Dangerous is the successor to Elite which was first released in 1984 and now 30 plus years later, the game has seen quite a change.

My history with Elite Dangerous is virtually non-existent aside from hearsay about a learning curve and how fantastic the game is to play in Virtual Reality. Now it’s true I have interest in open world simulation games such as X-plane, Microsoft Flight Simulator and both Euro and American Truck simulators but interest in a space game not so much. It seems most space games are about aliens, monsters and mostly shooting other spaceships in an arcadey fashion. Something about the wide open vast nothingness of space travel also hasn’t had much appeal….but then again I have never encountered game quite like Elite Dangerous.

What Learning Curve?

Something about Elite Dangerous seemed different. Oh and there’s that learning curve I kept hearing about. A learning curve to play a game? There is always some learning when you are starting a new game especially in flight simulators but this game simulation was suppose have a notable learning curve and was not meant to be taken lightly.

And so armed with a wee bit of knowledge of what I might be getting myself into only through those online game reviews and gameplay, I took the plunge into beginning my journey into the world of Elite Dangerous. And what a journey it has been.

Read the Manual and Make Friends with the Options Menu

Now I don’t consider myself a very fast learner and besides that I prefer to take my time to make sure I’m understanding what I learn. And so after 14 hours later, I was able to fly my first ship! Did I mention I like to take my time? You see, perhaps Elite Dangerous is a game at heart but it’s also a simulation that takes place in space. It must be experienced and that’s not even with VR! Now I generally do not enjoy multiplayer games and so my time in ED has been spent in singleplayer (Solo) mode, along with training tutorials and the options menu for keybindings and that is probably one of best places to start in Elite Dangerous.

If you aren’t familiar with the game, within the universe of Elite Dangerous there are 400 billion star systems as part of the in game reproduction of the Milkyway galaxy. All these systems can be seamlessly traveled to in a spaceship which you can upgrade as you gain credits. You begin the journey in a spaceship called the Sidewinder. If you die or crash in Elite Dangerous you will get your Sidewinder back but will have to start over. Later, when you buy a different ship, you will need to pay a rebuy amount (5%) of your total ship value should you die or crash it.

Flying and docking is an accomplishment in Elite Dangerous

For me the learning curve in Elite Dangerous has been first and foremost related to keybindings and understanding both the game, menus and ship systems terminology. At the start you will want to take a look or two or three at that Elite Dangerous manual which gives a nice overview of system terms. Of course you will need to learn how to operate your ship and it’s not a point and click operation (at first). Each ship features a six-way on-board thruster system (vertical(up and down), lateral(side-to-side), forward and backward and don’t forget about pitch, roll and yaw) somewhat like trying to fly a Harrier jet in space. But unless you would like to go spinning uncontrollable toward the side of the spaceport you might want to leave Flight Assist on.

If you have familiarity with flight/combat simulators then learning to fly in Elite Dangerous will a piece of cake, maybe. Your ship features thrusters are not unfamiliar but figuring out your keybindings just might be! I am using a Flight Stick with throttle control – Thrustmaster Hotas X (Hands On Throttle and Stick). Also a keyboard, a mouse and a Xbox controller. I have heard you can fly with a keyboard and mouse only but I haven’t tried it.

Moving your ship to another star system is another accomplishment

Moving from one star system to another within the galaxy is also a new experience which must be learned. We just don’t do that kind of thing on Earth!

Likewise docking (landing) in a spacestation-like port is also not like driving to grandmas around the block in your car unless you use AutoDock which is a newer feature of the game. (Note: All ships come equipped with AutoDock, Auto Launch and Auto Cruise. Auto Cruise can be useful when hyper-traveling around the galaxy.)

Doing most anything successfully in Elite Dangerous feels like an accomplishment

So you can move around in Elite Dangerous and you’re learning the keybindings and termology? Good. Now what? As a noob to ED at just over 80 hours (at the time of this post) I have learned about a few things you can do in this vast openworld galaxy. There is a war going on within the game but it appears to me, at least visually speaking, to be a nearly silent war (maybe it’s different in Open mode with human players?). But nevertheless, space is really big and so unless you go looking for a fight you might not find any. Each port features a news and mission board which displays information about the faction war and their particular allegiance (if any). You can choose to do missions for the leaders of the factions to earn credits (in game currency) or go exploring on your own.

I have found that doing Courier jobs at first helps as you are learning how to jump from star system to system and it doesn’t require any cargo space. The data is store on your internal computer and if you get scanned by another ship or pirate they will not try to steal your stuff. NPC’s or none playable characters are all that is found in the solo mode but in Open play mode you will encounter human players.

Explore some Planets with Horizons

Recently I have begun to explore systems and map individual planets using the Detailed Surface Scanner (which must be bought at a Starport). The data you get after mapping a planet and from discovered systems can be sold 20ly (light years) away in a different star system for sometimes hundreds of thousands of credits!) If you prefer combat, you can learn how to shoot other ships down and gain credits for doing it. Besides doing missions, you might try mining an asteroid, landing on a planet and disabling turrets on the base for a particular faction leader. This is part of the war except you won’t encounter actual people or aliens walking around with guns. Maybe you like to free-roam and wish to visit a random planet (not for a mission). You can with the included SRV (Surface Recon Vehicle) that is part of the Horizons expansion pack in Elite Dangerous. Horizons is great especially if you want to be able to land on some of the planets and moons. (Note: As of this post there is no life on the planets and you cannot land on any Earth-like planets)

The Universe in Elite Dangerous is really big

I haven’t really scratched the surface (aside from a few planets) of what this game probably has to offer since I am still quite new. However, I have been able to get a glimpse of what this game is and how vast it is. Elite Dangerous is masterpiece in it’s size and beauty but something more jaw dropping is what this game is based off of. When you go outside on a clear night, look up at the night sky and see hundreds of dots of light and realize those are suns similar to our own—one cannot but ask at least one big question. Who made all this?

I know the Maker of the Universe and perhaps you do as well. But if you do not know the Creator Almighty God, there is a reason why it matters more than anything else on this earth. Elite Dangerous was made by mere men but someday all men will face God. Some will meet God willingly in worship and some will be kicking and screaming but today you have an opportunity to find out who the true God really is and why it matters. Many people believe in Heaven but if hell is real place you need to find out what that means to you. I don’t want anyone to go there. If you haven’t already why not check out the good person test linked at my website or read my post called 5 things you should know before you die. And if you have a Bible start reading in John 1. The good person test and starting with John 1 from the Bible will give you a good start to understanding who God is and why it matters since none of us are promised tomorrow. And in case you wondered, this is a matter of life or death and not about joining a religion or church.

But after all we’ve learned, is the game any good?

You learn quite a bit in Elite Dangerous, you need to even to survive but is it a game I would recommend? And how about that learning curve? I would enthusiastically recommend Elite Dangerous but especially to anyone with special interest in Flight/combat simulators and/or truck simulation games with a twist. If you don’t mind learning and setbacks and frustrations and grind to get a reward (menial at first) then you might like this game. Each person is different but do your research and then if you still like what you see, get it on sale with Horizons. Naturally, you will need to take your time to learn ED but I think it can be a rewarding experience when you learn something new. I know it has been for me (and that’s saying a lot).

My Rating (out of 10) 8.5 out of 10

AreYouGood.us

5 things you should know before you die

My early steam review

Elite Dangerous Deluxe Edition on Steam

Elite Dangerous Official Site

Elite Dangerous Manual

Watch what hope looks like -FullyFreeFilms.com

images are my own in-game screenshots

2 Things that would greatly enhance and improve X-plane 11

January 10, 2019January 9, 2019Isaiah53sixLeave a comment

Cessna_172SP_hum2 — Cessna 172SP X-plane 11 over Arcata, CA

X-plane 11 is a beautiful looking flight simulator and is currently available for computers but there are two things I wish X-plane 11 would fix or implement to make it even better.

ATC Voices

The ATC voices found in Microsoft Flight Simulator from many years ago (2006) are the kind of audio I wish X-plane 11 would use. Having realistic voices would greatly enhance this simulator without the need to use and pay for third party software or ATC systems. There are many users of X-plane 11 including myself who simply use the sim for fun and only wish for some better sounding voices without needing to speak to a real person pretending to be in a tower.

Give Users More Rendering Options in the UI

Another way to improve X-plane 11 would be to add more user interface options for controlling the level of rendering details of autogen. In X-plane 10 there are many options for controlling autogen and visuals (perhaps too many) but X-plane 11 has appeared to dumb down the UI too much and has unwisely (from a customers standpoint) removed most settings altogether or linked everything together.

The main reason X-plane 11 needs to add more options for autogen settings is because it would allow the player to have better control over the visuals when flying over rural vs urban areas. This is not a frame-rate issue (I know X-plane developers have claimed that is the reason they removed it) but in fact for some of us, its purely for realism in visuals. For example, where I live there are no trains and generally minimal traffic. There are not many buildings either but there are lots and lots of trees. In this situation it would be great to be able to lower the traffic, building and train numbers without lowering the tree density. And what if I never want deer or birds in my sim? Currently I cannot remove them. What if I want to have more buildings but less traffic and trees or vice versa? Currently in X-plane 11 all these settings are connected and it’s frustrating! Either you get lots of trees, traffic, buildings and trains or, little to nothing at all. By the way, X-plane 10 handled these decisions much better giving the user better control over these settings and it was awesome. It’s clear that that having more visual options in the UI would greatly improve X-plane 11 realism.

Disclaimer: The opinions and information expressed in this review are my own and are based on my own experience. These views or opinions are not intended to reflect the views or opinions of Laminar Research nor any of the developers of X-plane 11 in any way.

X-plane 11 Official website

X-plane 11 community

X-plane 11 on Steam

Movies everyone should watch before they die

Get Hope

Find me on Steam

My X-Plane 11 Review on Steam

Images are my in-game screenshots from default X-plane 11.05

Is Transport Fever a good game?

September 1, 2018September 10, 2018Isaiah53sixLeave a comment

Is the game Transport Fever any good? Is it for you? Let’s find out.

The year is 2000 and you watch as your stage-coach from 1875 comes rolling into town just past the electric tram. Your fully loaded stage of 4 passengers stops at the airport as the 747 Airline to Dallas is just taking off. Why? Because you can in Transport Fever!

Is this game perfect? Nothing rarely is but if you enjoy Cities Skylines or SimCity you just might really like Transport Fever even more.

The not-so-good (probably)

Before I mention all that’s good about Transport Fever, let’s get some of the basics, technically speaking, out-of-the-way that could be considered negatives with this game.

Tycoon Game?

Users have mentioned that Transport Fever is not a true transport tycoon game because there is no competition with other networks. You are alone in this game as you build your networks and try not to go broke in the process (unless you are using the no cost mod of course).

Learning Curve

There is a learning curve in Transport Fever but it’s mostly due to a somewhat poor designed menu system that appears to be a bit out dated IMO. The fonts in the menus are also smaller than they need to be which can make general navigating a daunting task until you get used to what the options do and where they are located. You will also encounter some redundancy in menu options which can be quite confusing at first. For example, opening up the new line option can be done by clicking on multiple locations. (Note: Fonts can be scaled larger in the settings menu (upper right) but doing this enlarges the bottom task bar and other menus to something too large for my liking!)

Laying Train Tracks

Generally track laying in Transport Fever is fun but sometimes you will find the track (and roads) do not want to go where you want them to due to uneven and height variations in terrain. Using the in-game terrain height overlay option can help. (It is located in the bottom right menu.) Helpful note: A flat terrain works best for track laying but mountains and hills are fun and challenging maps to play.

If your computer CPU and GPU are not very powerful, like mine, your frame-rate will suffer on larger maps and in later years when more transportation networks are working at the same time. (My system: AMD Phenom II 945 x4, 8gb ram, GTX 750ti 4gb)

YouTube Gameplay of Transport Fever can help when you are just starting out or anytime

I highly recommend watching YouTube videos of basic gameplay and read about the game in the steam community for Transport Fever. (On YouTube I suggest Skye Storme or Colonel Failure as great places to start.)

The Good

A little bit like a Virtual Model Railroad

Create Virtual Transport Networks to watch the trains (boats, and planes)

Transport Fever features virtually unlimited track manipulation for creating a simple model rail system. Don’t want to mess with the mechanics of transporting all the goods? In Transport Fever you don’t have to. Want to transport only food? You can. If you just want to transport people from various cities and watch your towns grow, you can do that too. And with the no cost mod enabled you can create rail lines, ship lines and air transport lines galore. While Transport Fever can be a great sandboxy type game for laying rail, it is not a very realistic virtual model railroad because you do not have as much control over your trains as you would in a real model rail layout. Also, Important to note you cannot drive the train but you can ride along with it. Note that in later years, a better computer system will be desired to fully enjoy your extensive transportation network.

Graphics and Optimization

Transport Fever looks and plays better than Cities Skylines and I have an old machine (AMD Phenom II 945 x4, 8gb ram, GTX 750ti 4gb) until you get into the later years especially on the larger map sizes.

Sound

There are lots of sounds in this game. Some are wonderful and some can get downright annoying and repetitive (I’m thinking of the default airport, birds and train stations). But guess what? If you enjoy tweaking game files, (back up originals first) you can remove or even change certain sounds in the sounds folder. (HINT: There is a silence.wav sound which I found came in handy if you simply desire, silence. )

No Cost Mod and No End Year Mod

The Cost option comes included with the game and it makes Transport Fever the ultimate model railish transport sandbox. Enjoy laying train tracks, roads, airports? Lay them at your heart’s content and why not put in multiple tunnels underground or a giant bridge across the lake, because you can.
The game also includes a NO END YEAR mod so you can use that Stage Coach in 2047 and beyond.

Mods

This game uses community mods and they make an already great game expandable. The creators of these models and mods are truly talented artists!

I will list many of mods I use here that I believe are essential to have a great sandbox experience in Transport Fever. (Note: As I live the USA, I enjoy mostly American looking models)

One of my favorite collections featuring Santa Fe and BNSF

A big thank you to the creators of these great models, skins and mods!

Conclusion

Learning curve, room for improvement? yes and yes but I highly recommend this game for the beautiful trams, stage coaches, trains, the sounds, the planes, the trucks, the endless train tracks and the fantastic working mods and models found on the Steam Workshop…….

Need Help?

As always feel free to ask if you need some basic help with Transport Fever and I will try to point you in the right direction.

Transport Fever on Steam

Transport Fever Workshop on Steam

Transport Fever Industrial FlowChart

How Transportation Works in Transport Fever

Transport Fever Wiki

Transport Fever Official Website

Map Creation Tool for Transport Fever

Fantastic video on how to Create your own terrain map for TpF using Minecraft WorldPainter

Image source

Transport Fever: The virtual model railroad (sort of)

August 8, 2018September 10, 2018Isaiah53sixLeave a comment

Is the game Transport Fever any good? Is it for you? Let’s find out.

Is this game perfect? Nothing rarely is but if you enjoy Cities Skylines or SimCity you just might really like Transport Fever even more.

The not-so-good (probably)

Before I mention all that’s good about Transport Fever, let’s get some of the basics, technically speaking, out-of-the-way that could be considered negatives with this game.

Tycoon Game?

Learning Curve

Laying Train Tracks

YouTube Gameplay of Transport Fever can help when you are just starting out or anytime

The Good

A little bit like a Virtual Model Railroad

Create Virtual Transport Networks to watch the trains (boats, and planes)

Graphics and Optimization

Sound

No Cost Mod and No End Year Mod

Mods

This game uses community mods and they make an already great game expandable. The creators of these models and mods are truly talented artists!

I will list many of mods I use here that I believe are essential to have a great sandbox experience in Transport Fever. (Note: As I live the USA, I enjoy mostly American looking models)

One of my favorite collections featuring Santa Fe and BNSF

A big thank you to the creators of these great models, skins and mods!

Conclusion

Need Help?

As always feel free to ask if you need some basic help with Transport Fever and I will try to point you in the right direction.

Transport Fever on Steam

Transport Fever Workshop on Steam

Transport Fever Industrial FlowChart

How Transportation Works in Transport Fever

Transport Fever Wiki

Transport Fever Official Website

Map Creation Tool for Transport Fever

Fantastic video on how to Create your own terrain map for TpF using Minecraft WorldPainter

Image source

X-Plane 11 – Should You Buy It?

December 12, 2017December 13, 2017Isaiah53sixLeave a comment

This post is a quick review of my experience using X-Plane 11. I hope to help you answer the ultimate question of Should I buy it? while I add some personal comments along the way.

X-plane 11 is an advanced flight simulator by Laminar Research which utilizes modern 64-bit architecture found in today’s computers along with the latest GPU’s and CPU’s. I will list the pros and cons I found in using the X-Plane 11 Demo and ultimately purchasing the complete X-plane 11 simulator on Steam.

This review represents my experience after running X-plane 11 on an older computer.

My Computer Specs: CPU- AMD Phenom II 945 Quad Core, MEMORY- 8 gb ram, GPU- GTX 750ti OC 4gb memory, HARD DRIVES- Two 500 gb, One 250 gb

Cessna_172_Hum

Pros/What I do like

User Interface (UI):

Pleasing to the eyes. The UI in X-plane 11 has been given a complete and welcome overhaul from past versions of the sim. Old and new users will find the settings easier to navigate and understand. Whether configuring a joystick, flight yoke or tweaking the sim’s graphics, the simple sliders, added search function and visuals make configuring X-plane 11 to your liking fun and intelligent. I personally enjoy the new layout and views for displaying aircraft, airports, weather and the visual representations of various flight yokes and joysticks simply wonderful.

Lighting:

Impressive. The lighting in X-plane 11 is simply amazing and in my opinion, more realistic than ever. I have been using X-plane 10 global the past few years and after first running the X-Plane 11 Demo, I immediately noticed a vast daylight improvement over the previous version of the sim. The sun is more dynamic and bright, with better rendered shadows–as one would expect on a bright sunny day. At night, HDR lighting adds more realistic vibrant lights on cars, buildings, aircraft and runways. (Note: need a good graphics card with at least 4 gb ram I recommend for HDR and to utilize maximum effects within the sim)

Sound:

Good. Aside from the ATC audio, general environment and aircraft sounds are quite realistic and pleasing. Audio for default X-plane 11 aircraft is generally acceptable. I have found aircraft audio mostly depends on the aircraft you fly and their original quality, whether payware or free. (As expected, payware aircraft tend to be more realistic both visually and sound-wise)

Clouds:

Clouds appear to be softer and whiter in X-plane 11 but my FPS did take at least a 10 point frame rate drop when flying in heavier fog/cloud layers. Clear skies it is.

Frame-rates (FPS):

I have been pleasantly surprised by the improvement in frame-rates in X-plane 11 over X-plane 10. (Settings for my machine are 4x anti-aliasing, HDR High, Shadows on, Scenery Options Medium -Low, Reflections off. ) My system is quite old but even with my older processor and the GTX 750 ti 4gb I was able to hover around 30fps when flying in my hometown (KEKA, KACV)*. At these settings within the Demo Area I was able to get around 22-23 fps, clear day and even better FPS at night. )

Graphics/Autogen:

Overall the default textures for terrain, buildings, road-networks, airports etc. are fantastic in X-plane 11. Days (and nights) are more realistic than ever in X-plane 11 with the new haze (particle system?) that has been added to the atmosphere. As mentioned before, HDR lighting makes street lights, runways, and aircraft lighting look real. Yes I enjoy lights. With a decent graphics card (the more memory the better) visual settings and lights will look great in your sim. The trains/traffic have even been updated in X-plane 11 too!

Addons, Plugins and Tweaking

If you like tweaking, modding and using addons you will love X-plane 11 because adding custom content is a breeze in X-plane 11. (The FlyWithLua plugin is a great example)

An important note about default X-plane Airports for new users: Some default airports in X-plane 11 will not include buildings but updated airports which do include buildings, hangers and terminals are being added to X-plane via updates. Find out about the airport gateway here. Build/improve your own airports with World Editor (WED)

Cons/What I don’t like

User Interface (UI):

While I completely enjoy and welcome the new easier to navigate and appealing layout of the UI, I still find myself wishing I could control certain settings. This of course is my coming from using X-plane 10 which allowed control over those settings in the UI. For example I would like to be able to disable birds, deer and boats. I see no options to disable those. And if fire and balloons still exist within the game (haven’t seen them yet in X-plane 11) a disable option would be welcome for those too. I would also like to be able to control the number of cars on the road, and the number of roads, separate from the number of buildings. For me adjusting them is from a cosmetic and a realistic stand-point. (My town for example has many roads, but very few cars or buildings.)

Sounds:

ATC in X-plane 11 make work more realistically than in it did in previous versions of X-plane but I wouldn’t know because I haven’t tried it yet. I find the synthesized voice that is used completely unbearable to listen to. Some default aircraft such as the helicopter produces some wonky rotor sounds which sound more mechanical than realistic. Screeching tires sounds are better but still exist in the default Cessna 172 which I don’t like.

Steering/ Controls:

It might be just me, but I find the steering/rudder controls of the default Cessna 172 and helicopter erratic and somewhat difficult to control on take-off. New users especially users coming from FSX may have some difficulty at first.

Clouds

While generally clouds and fog in X-plane 11 are good we know they could be improved visually in terms of their shape, definition and overall appearance. Thunderheads and storm clouds should appear like tall menacing thunderheads (cumulus cloud) rather than layers of stratus. Contrails in X-plane 11 need fixing (more on this in the graphics section below).

Graphics:

Of course the visuals can always be improved and I know the X-plane developers are working hard on so many awesome aspects and improvements for X-plane 11, including realistic clouds and autogen. However, aside from unrealistic ATC audio, two areas that really distract my flying is the terrible rendition of airline contrails when viewed at a distance and the deer/birds that pop up when you least expect them. Right now default X-plane 11 is showing black/grey contrails which are hardly realistic. The first time I saw it I thought the plane was on fire. I will be looking forward to new longer and actual white aircraft contrails (as seen in FSX) which would improve the visuals greatly in X-plane 11. Being able to disable unrealistic looking deer and birds on the runway would be fantastic too. Thank you Laminar Research.

Should You Buy X-plane 11?

If you love flight sims such as FSX or Prepar3d, than yes of course you should buy X-plane 11. X-plane 11 runs better and the atmospheric visuals are impressive. In addition, the improved UI and the realistic lighting is enough to give this simulator an emphatic positive recommendation from me. However, I also recommend first trying out the Demo for X-plane 11 before you spend the money on the full version (either on Steam or via X-plane.com). With the demo version you will be able to see how well (or poorly) the sim runs on your particular machine while you experience the new user interface, flight controls, included aircraft, weather and lighting systems this great flight simulator provides. And let’s not forget about the plugins and script addons which help this sim too.

Final note: X-plane 11 is always being updated and improved. Users can opt in or out of beta’s releases of the simulator if that is something that interests you.

*KEKA/KACV – as of this posting these default airports did not feature airport buildings/hangers but I did add custom created content in my game.

X-plane 11 Official website

X-plane 11 community

X-plane 11 on Steam

Movies everyone should watch before they die

Get Hope

Find me on Steam

My X-Plane 11 Review on Steam

Images are my in-game screenshots from default X-plane 11.05

Quick Review: X-Plane 11 (Should You Buy It?)

November 27, 2017December 1, 2017Isaiah53sixLeave a comment

This post is a quick review of my experience using X-Plane 11.

This quick review represents my experience after running X-plane 11 on an older computer.

My Computer Specs: CPU- AMD Phenom II 945 Quad Core, MEMORY- 8 gb ram, GPU- GTX 750ti OC 4gb memory, HARD DRIVES- Two 500 gb, One 250 gb

Cessna_172_Hum

Pros/What I do like

User Interface (UI):

Lighting:

Impressive. The lighting in X-plane 11 is amazing and in my opinion, more realistic than ever. I have been using X-plane 10 global the past few years and after first running the X-Plane 11 Demo, I immediately noticed a vast daylight improvement over the previous version of the sim. The sun is more dynamic and bright, with better rendered shadows as one would expect on a bright sunny day. At night, HDR lighting adds more realistic vibrant lights on cars, buildings, aircraft and runways. (Need a good graphics card for this at least 4 gb of ram)

Sound:

Good. Aside from ATC audio, general environment and aircraft sounds are quite realistic and pleasing. Audio for default X-plane 11 aircraft is generally acceptable. I have found aircraft audio mostly depends on the aircraft you fly and the original quality whether payware or free. (As expected payware aircraft tend to be more realistic both visually and audio-wise)

Clouds:

Clouds appear to be softer and whiter in X-plane 11 but my FPS did take at least a 10 point frame rate drop when flying in heavier fog/cloud layers. Clear skies it is.

Frame-rates (FPS):

Graphics/Autogen:

Addons and Tweaking

If you like tweaking, modding and using addons you will love X-plane 11 because adding custom content is a breeze in X-plane11.

Note for new users: Some default airports in X-plane 11 will not include buildings but updated airports which include buildings, hangers and terminals are being added to X-plane via updates. Find out about the airport gateway here. Build/improve airports with World Editor (WED)

Cons/What I don’t like

User Interface (UI):

While completely enjoy and welcome to new easier to navigate and appealing layout of the UI, I still find myself wishing I could control certain settings. For example I would like to be able to disable birds, deer and boats. I see no options to disable those. And if fire and balloons still exist within the game (haven’t seen them yet in X-plane 11) a disable option for those too. I would also like to be able to control the number of cars on the road separate from the number of buildings. For me this for cosmetic and a realistic stand-point. (My town has many roads, but very few cars.)

Sounds:

Steering/ Controls:

It might be just me, but I find the steering/rudder controls of the default Cessna 172 and helicopter erratic and difficult to control on take-off. New users may have some difficulty at first.

Clouds

Graphics:

Of course the visuals can always be improved and I know the X-plane developers are working hard on so many awesome aspects and improvements for X-plane 11, including realistic clouds and autogen. However, aside from unrealistic ATC audio, two areas that really distract my flying is the terrible rendition of airline contrails when viewed at a distance and the deer/birds. Right now X-plane 11 is showing black/grey contrails which are hardly realistic. The first time I saw it I thought the plane was on fire. I will be looking forward to new longer and actual white aircraft contrails (as seen in FSX) which would improve the visuals greatly in X-plane 11. Being able to disable unrealistic looking deer and birds on the runway would be fantastic. Thank you Laminar Research.

Final Verdict/Should You Buy X-plane 11?

If you love flight sims such as FSX, than yes of course you should buy X-plane 11. X-plane 11 runs better and the atmospheric visuals are impressive. In addition, the improved UI and the realistic lighting is enough to give this simulator an emphatic positive recommendation from me. However, I also recommend first trying out the Demo for X-plane 11 before you spend the money on the full version (either on Steam or via X-plane.com). With the demo version you will be able to see how well (or poorly) the sim runs on your particular machine while you experience the new user interface, flight controls, included aircraft and weather and lighting systems this great flight simulator provides.

Final note: X-plane 11 is always being updated and improved. Users can opt in or out of beta’s releases of the simulator if that is something that interests you.

*KEKA/KACV – as of this posting these default airports did not feature airport buildings/hangers but I did add custom created content in my game.

Disclaimer: The opinions and information expressed in this review are my own and are based on my own experience only. These views or opinions are not intended to represent Laminar Research nor any of the developers of X-plane 11 in any way.

X-plane 11 Official website

X-plane 11 community

X-plane 11 on Steam

Movies everyone should watch before they die

Get Hope

Find me on Steam

Images are my in-game screenshots from default X-plane 11.05

KACV: Welcome to the Airport With a Long Name (That’s Kind of Hard to Remember and Say)

December 6, 2015December 6, 2015Isaiah53sixLeave a comment

Good Intentions and a Long Name

I’m pretty sure when the fine people in my hometown county of Humboldt decided to give the largest airport in the county a new name they did have the best of intentions. I think. For decades, the airport has been called Eureka/Arcata airport or Arcata airport even though it’s not really located in either place but rather in nearby McKinleyville, California. Like most of us who call this county home, we all should be awestruck by and not forget the visual wonders of God’s creation that can be seen here. We do have an ocean, lots of trees, mountains and green or brown hills depending on the season. And like most of us who live here or have ever visited, we realize the folks who chose the new airport name probably wanted visitors (and visitors to be) to know that our airport now called California Redwood Coast Humboldt County Airport, is not just any airport in California. To land at this airport is to land at a different yet special kind of place. Let me explain.

Tall Trees and more

To begin with, with such a long name I think the creators of it wanted you the traveler to know your precise location and to have the chance to make a memory at this place–even if you don’t necessarily remember the name of the airport.

Besides knowing ones precise location from the name alone, one can glean even more from its detailed length. By being in the state of California (which BTW also happens to be a long drive from here to SoCal so maybe flying is a better way) they wanted you to know that once at the airport you will also be among the Redwoods. Yes, these are those super tall trees you may have heard about in your favorite travel magazine or TV documentary! And not only will you be near the Redwoods but those same Redwoods are the ones that occupy the west coast in California. And should you land at The California Redwood Coast Humboldt County Airport would also mean you’d be on the same Redwood California coast as those Redwoods! I don’t think any of us truly grasp the magnitude of what this means.

Let me try to explain further. Once your plane lands on the newly conditioned asphalt runway at California Redwood Coast Humboldt County Airport you will not only have landed on the Northern California Coast but near a cliff that is a drop away from the Pacific ocean! And if this weren’t enough to wet one’s traveling spirit to see and hear all that this place provides, remember you will also be stepping foot in the county known as Humboldt (yes, that Humboldt). This is that Humboldt which is located in California on the coast by the ocean with the really tall trees called Redwood trees! (Yes there are lots of them)

It can be amazing here but I do have a minor suggestion if you are traveling from this airport to see the trees or the ocean or even the coast. Try to overlook any unpleasant distractions or smells one may encounter on the way…. But I digress.

embraer_kacv — Embraer E-175 at California Redwood Coast Humboldt County Airport (Image- FlyHumboldt facebook page)

Long Name and Long Runway means Larger Planes (I hope!)

However, what probably amazes me most about my home county airport is not simply its amazing location of that being near a cliff on a coast with the Redwoods by the ocean in California but of the sheer length of the airport name and tongue twisting characteristics.

(Note: For those who are interested, the name is not the only thing that has been lengthened. The runway now sits at a length of 6046ft! Now let’s see those big jet airlines!)

Having a long runway is good, but I still wonder about the long name? What good is a really great name if it is hard to remember or even say? This is maybe where the name falls short, or long depending how you perceive it. Ultimately of course tourists will get to decide as the airport’s new name becomes more widely known. (along with this post)

For now I think I’ll just call my county airport the Humboldt County Regional Airport or maybe a better fit should be: The Airport With a Long Name (That’s Kind of Hard to Remember and Say), unless you’d rather keep saying California Redwood Coast Humboldt County Airport over and over until it rolls off your tongue like water on your cat’s back.

Either way, welcome to Humboldt!

Related interest:

FlyHumboldt (Facebook)

FlyHumboldt!

California Redwood Coast – Humboldt County Airport

Top Image (X-Plane 10 flight sim night landing at KACV)

Lower Image source