The XP10 x64 Demo help?

[Ryan B]

Yes yes.... FSX fanboi here!

Now that I got that off my chest. I downloaded and setup the XP10 demo (64 bit) just to try out some night flying (because Keith mentioned it in an email and I flew it for about 1 minute total last time I played). Wow. The night lighting with HDR and FXAA is incredible! I've got a few questions about XP in general

1) If I wanted to buy the paid version where would I get it from? I don't care about global scenery because I only want it for Pilot Edge and USA flying.
2) In the default C172, my plane is pulling to the left while throttle is idle... almost like it's spinning about the yaw axis. This inst left turning tendencies... it's on the ground with brakes on, no power (at least I think no power???) Help?
3) Default C172.... yikes the flight model is twitchy as heck. Now before you reem me out I don't have a lot of high wing time in real life. But I did fly one a few months ago (right seat), it was a 172N. And it WASN'T EVEN CLOSE to this XP version. The real one, in a trimmed setting, was exceptionally smooth and easy to handle. This leads me to believe it's a classic case of PEBKAC and hardware setup problem.
My hardware:
Microsoft sidewinder 2 FFB stci (without the FFB enabled)
CH throttle
Saitek Combat Rudders Pro

I've calibrated the axises and none are showing any twitchy problems. Do any of you XP masters have some tips or guidance on how to better setup the controls to get a smoother feel for the stock C172?

4) Seattle, in the demo, looks impressive. I know that the rest of the world is pretty much void of scenery (mainly airport scenery and some sort of landclass that defines the geographical area) in the full version. At night, how are those void areas? Are there still roads based off of aeronautical charts like in real life?

5) Reality XP - Who uses either the 430W or 530W in XP10 64? Do they even work in 64 bit? This is extremely important to me since I fly almost all GA FSX planes, and they either have a Navigraph subscription or I'm RXP capable. Without up-to-date navdata I'm filing /A (or worse). And often I prefer small strips that are only served by RNAV (GPS) approaches in the real world.

6) Track IR plugins? I selected the default option within XP and found their TIR version to be super touchy and nothing like the FSX version. I can't tilt my head and wondering if 6DOF is modeled in XP? I can adjust my curves for sure but that won't solve the missing degree.

7) Since I saw the XP list of cool 3rd party scenery for socal I'll skip this question for now

8) 3PD Airplanes. I like going fast. Some of my favorite FSX GA planes are the RealAir Legacy, Turbine Duke, Baytower RV7A, A2A P51 Mustang Civilian, Flight1 Citation Mustang. Can you list some comparable XP10 planes? I enjoy eye candy and the plane should have at least acceptable night lighting in the VC (I don't like 2D panels except for the occasional popup).

Long list... but I wouldn't mind starting to fly on PE in XP10 x64 at night.

[Cyrus]

Hi Ryan,

1) Amazon have the North America-only version for $30.

For many of your other questions, there's lots of discussion in the X-Plane section about this. I shared some of your angst as well (this thread really heats up on page 2; and look for Keith's post that starts "I've seen this happen probably close to 100 times....someone downloads X-Plane, spends one night with it, then uninstalls and goes back to FSX.")

It does seem to be a great piece of software, but I just wasn't ready for it (and I'm quite hardware challenged as well).

Good luck,

C.

[Keith Smith]

Sorry I haven't been participating more...can't swing it right now.

[JN_]

x-plane.zip

My trackir5 profile for x-plane

(986 Bytes) Downloaded 408 times

I'll give some of those questions a try.

2. Maybe weathervaning? Turn off wind to confirm this. I don't like the stock C172 (read #3).

3. I gave up on the stock C172 as it was just too twitchy and unlike the real thing for me, even after tweaking the control sensitivity. I bought the Carenado C172N whose flight model feels way way better. There are a few issues: (1) /U (no DME), (2) comm/nav selector switches seem broken in XP10 so I've mapped these to keyboard keys, (3) only active (no standby) comm/nav radios; if you use saitek radio panel you will still have the standby. An alternative is the (now apparently free) Chandler C172, but I personally prefer the flight characteristics of the Carenado.

4. They use publicly available data, such as roads, land classes for generating and rendering buildings, fields, etc. So the scenery should somewhat resemble the real world.

6. Which axis do you mean by "tilt"? In addition to moving forward/backward/up/down, I can "yaw" and "pitch". I'm pretty sure I turned the "roll" way down since I really have no need to "roll" my view. I'm not using any plugin, just the built-in support. Without exaggeration, I've tuned the sensitivity way way way way down. I constrain the range of motion to the absolute minimum necessary, and use curves which ensure that near the center position, there is very little motion. For me, this eliminates twitchiness and any potential motion sickness. For example, when moving forward/backward/up/down, the max range of motion I can achieve is just 1 or 2 feet even when stretching in my chair -- which is close to real, and keeps me inside the cockpit. I've tuned the "pitch" to have a max range of perhaps 45-60 degrees up/down, and "yaw" to perhaps 150-180 degrees left/right. The trackir curve editor didn't make it easy, but getting the settings right was definitely time well spent.

x-plane.zip

My trackir5 profile for x-plane

(986 Bytes) Downloaded 408 times

[Ryan B]

By tilt I meant roll, yes.

Would you be willing to share that profile?

Thanks for the links too guys

[c.b.powell]

Ryan, a few years ago I produced a freeware C172 in response to the very complaints you voice. All I did was take the stock XP 172 and 'tune' it until it behaved more like the real plane. I still hear frequent positive feedback from folks who tell me the new plane is much nicer to fly, so why not give it a try: https://cbpowell.wordpress.com/2010/09/ ... r-x-plane/

Second, a big part of the flying 'feel' is how you set up the yoke sensitivity. I've attached a screen shot of my own settings; obviously YMMV, but these work really well for me as a guy who habitually flies 172, 182 and 177 a/c in XP. These settings help make the planes feel 'heavier' and less twitchy, like in the real world. I hope this helps.

Chris

[JN_]

Would you be willing to share that profile?

Sure. I just attached it to my previous message.

[Ryan B]

Thank you I've downloaded the profile and the Cessna... will check them out soon (I ended up ordering XP10 North America)

[arb65912]

Second, a big part of the flying 'feel' is how you set up the yoke sensitivity. I've attached a screen shot of my own settings; obviously YMMV, but these work really well for me as a guy who habitually flies 172, 182 and 177 a/c in XP. These settings help make the planes feel 'heavier' and less twitchy, like in the real world. I hope this helps.

Gentlemen, I might be posted somewhere else but would you mind share here your settings for X-plane and comment.? Thank you. Cheers, AJ

[Jeff N]

Just wanted to chime in and say I've been using Chris' 172 for a couple years now and love it. So much more realistic.