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I agree DesertPilot. Not a replacement sim but an additional sim. So it appears the benefits relate to loading time and "switchability" which I am assuming are 64 bit capability related rather than "performance" related in flight in relation to photoscenery in for example P3D.

Also photoscenery is absolutely huge in Gigabyte terms compared with a FTX Region in all it's detailed glory.

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Don't forget that the great performance is also due to the lack of system depth. It is a very bare game and almost nothing is simulated. No ATC, no AI, afaik no real weather, VC's look good but there isn't much you can do with all those knobs, I doubt if they have traffic on the roads already (?), only very small parts of the world are simulated, in short, it is very basic. In a lot of places (within the few simulated parts of the world) textures are not very high res and autogen is low or sometimes completely lacking so, well, no wonder if performs well. Add everything to this game that for instance XP11 offers and then see how well performance is. 

 

Of course all all of this can also be a benefit! A simple game with not too much depth is indeed great for VR, so they might as well keep things basic on purpose for those who like sightseeing in VR and leave the depth to sims like XP11 or P3D. I myself prefer a sim that has it all (which IMHO is XP11 which, so I am told, works great in VR and which has so much detail by default already... just look at those highways at night: no other sim even comes CLOSE to that staggering amount of detail).

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Hi. I have just bought the sim on Steam but then thought what about when Orbx starts doing items for it, will it be for the Steam version or would I better to get the non Steam version. Hopefully it will be for both formats. Derek.

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2 hours ago, J van E said:

Don't forget that the great performance is also due to the lack of system depth. It is a very bare game and almost nothing is simulated. No ATC, no AI, afaik no real weather, VC's look good but there isn't much you can do with all those knobs, I doubt if they have traffic on the roads already (?), only very small parts of the world are simulated, in short, it is very basic. In a lot of places (within the few simulated parts of the world) textures are not very high res and autogen is low or sometimes completely lacking so, well, no wonder if performs well.

 

I'm not so sure all that is completely true. It seems more based on extrapolation of the performance of older software onto a newer platform. For instance, I have both Aeroflys New York and Drzwiecki designs New York, and have run them both in X-plane and in FSX and received FPS at most the 50/60s in Xplane and much less in FSX, and that's with AI and etc turned off and flying the simplest "plane" possible, which is the Kite in FSX and a very simple 3rd party plane in XPX.

 

And this is definitely with shadows off in both sims or else it would have been completely unusable. 

 

Even with most of those sims functions turned off or down to lower settings, much less with several high-detail airports in the area, in no case at all was I able to achieve the multiple hundreds of FPS I can currently achieve in Aerofly with the same visual results, and that's with shadows active. You simply do not zip over those scenery's at greater than 100fps.

 

I think the jury is still out, and for myself, I'm going to keep my eyes open and see what actually happens with this, especially with Orbx in the picture.

 

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Neither Orbx nor the AeroflyFS2 developers see this sim as a direct competitor to FSX/P3D or X-Plane in its current form. The main attraction is the "quick fix" nature of how it loads almost instantly in 2D or VR, has superb native TrackIR, Rift and Vive support, amazing lighting and PBR and runs at over 400fps in some instances. So it's a supplementary sim which I think most people should at least investigate.

 

Having that much fps overhead allows for the introduction of new systems and tech and much more detailed and sophisticated regions and airports, which is where Orbx comes in.

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Which seems like a reasonable medium ground to take. None of the sims we revere now evolved in a short amount of time, and if I remember correctly, many pointed to the relative sophistication of FS9 at the time as a reason to avoid FSX, and that was for several years.

 

I don't think anyone would think of Aerofly as a replacement for our current sims now or in the immediate future, but I am very interested on seeing where this journey could go. Its the same reason I purchased Xplane11, even though I have several long term issues with the franchise.

 

Insatiable curiosity and enthusiasm about Aviation simulation in all its many forms.

 

(Rubs hands together) Lets see what happens! 

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13 hours ago, scottharmes6 said:

 

If it is Aerofly FS2, which most people including myself seem pretty certain it is, then yes it is compatible with HTC Vive already.  It has native VR support for the Rift and the Vive, and also OSVR, which I don't know a lot about.

 

 

It appears D'Andre of AirDailyX confirmed yesterday (here) that Orbx is indeed "leading the charge" on addons for AeroflyFS2.  :D :)

 

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I suspect as a kick in the pants to any potential modding community, the just released public SDK includes a fully working DR400 that can be introduced into the sim with very little work. It comes with a very nice cold and dark setup, if anyone is interested....... :D

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Ok, I see we already have a lost lamb or two from here straggling into the Ipac website with questions. 

 

I think a good heads up to leave here is that Ipacs has been pretty aggressive with updates, sometimes responding to user requests for fixes by the weekend, and any issues you have might already have been addressed.

 

The accumulated fixes to date are on the sims beta channel, and you will need to join the beta to get access to that. To do that:

 

A: Go to GAMES (On top of the main menu in Steam)

B: Then right click' your mouse button on AeroflyFS 2

C: Select 'Properties''

D: Select ''Beta's'' and select Beta.

And then you can see AeroflyFS 2 automatically updates to the newest beta version, and will keep you updated thereafter.

Another thing to know is that after the initial download of the main program, you are also given the option of downloading a high resolution texture pack that is VERY large. Look for this and make sure you have opted in for it, if you have the space and are interested.

 

Also, here's the instruction manual: http://www.ikarus.net/en/manual-aeroflyfs2/

 

Have Fun!  :smile:

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As fantastic as the pictures are they always looked stretched and slightly disproportional as when I fly for real and take pictures they don't have this effect but I suppose this is a simulation so it's a small price to pay for pretty awesome scenery ;-)

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17 hours ago, John Venema said:

Neither Orbx nor the AeroflyFS2 developers see this sim as a direct competitor to FSX/P3D or X-Plane in its current form. The main attraction is the "quick fix" nature of how it loads almost instantly in 2D or VR, has superb native TrackIR, Rift and Vive support, amazing lighting and PBR and runs at over 400fps in some instances. So it's a supplementary sim which I think most people should at least investigate.

 

Having that much fps overhead allows for the introduction of new systems and tech and much more detailed and sophisticated regions and airports, which is where Orbx comes in.

Now we're talking :D especially the last sentence in JV's quote.

I started my Aerofly download at 9.01 Friday morning UK time and as of today Sunday, I am only 10hrs to go. God bless rural UK internet. I recall someone posting that the download was large so they suggested doing overnight ! I have been doing it for all day, all night, all next day, all next night and the rest of today until early evening. It had better be worth it !!!!!!!

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10 hours ago, antonvs said:

Wolfgang, did you see this.... 

 

 

Yes, Anton, I have seen it. Alcliff has already linked it in his post # 62 in reply to my question. But honestly, I'm not too impressed by this video.

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I made my first flight this morning from South County Airport to Hollister,Municipal in California ( default start is at South County) in the Cessna 172.  Both airports are decent representations of the real airports but the scenery in between has some issues with resolution.  It appears to vary depending on the quality of the source data.  I didn't see any controls for setting dates and the Hollister area scenery is obviously midsummer.  The scenery was more than adequate for flying VFR and i flew at pattern altitude. since the distance is so short.  All the landmark i see in real life for my pattern are there, so looks like a good simulation for pattern familiarization.   I am using a 2560x1440 monitor and it is adequate.  Now I just have to save up for a VR headset to get the full effect.  As others have mentioned, it is a quick way to get flying, 12 seconds from starting the simulation to ready to taxi.  Now all we need is the Orbx magic to flesh out the scenery.

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2 minutes ago, Dusterman said:

I made my first flight this morning from South County Airport to Hollister,Municipal in California ( default start is at South County) in the Cessna 172.  Both airports are decent representations of the real airports but the scenery in between has some issues with resolution.  It appears to vary depending on the quality of the source data.  I didn't see any controls for setting dates and the Hollister area scenery is obviously midsummer.  The scenery was more than adequate for flying VFR and i flew at pattern altitude. since the distance is so short.  All the landmark i see in real life for my pattern are there, so looks like a good simulation for pattern familiarization.   I am using a 2560x1440 monitor and it is adequate.  Now I just have to save up for a VR headset to get the full effect.  As others have mentioned, it is a quick way to get flying, 12 seconds from starting the simulation to ready to taxi.  Now all we need is the Orbx magic to flesh out the scenery.

 

Make sure you download the high resolution update if you have not already.

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2 hours ago, Jack Sawyer said:

Interesting video.  But I have a question as I know nothing about this sim.  If it's all photoreal does it change with the seasons like P3D does?  Or do they have the same scenery taken at four different times of the year?

 

 

 

All photoreal, only (around) summer. Some places have autogen or 3D landmarks. Resolution depends on the location: you can download higher res textures but in places it will still be not really very high res. Usually you will see higher res and 3D objects around airports while other parts are lower res and lack buildings. If you don't mind flat photoreal then this sim can be interesting. I would get interested if Orbx creates photoreal regions (not just airports) with 3D objects/autogen.

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48 minutes ago, J van E said:

 

All photoreal, only (around) summer. Some places have autogen or 3D landmarks. Resolution depends on the location: you can download higher res textures but in places it will still be not really very high res. Usually you will see higher res and 3D objects around airports while other parts are lower res and lack buildings. If you don't mind flat photoreal then this sim can be interesting. I would get interested if Orbx creates photoreal regions (not just airports) with 3D objects/autogen.

 

I'm with you....I need autogen buildings and trees to make things really come to life for me.  But I suspect Orbx will help in that department - hopefully we'll see our "regions" again.

 

Steve

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Hi Guys,

 

I bought this on impulse the other day, it took me just over 6 hours to download the game (overnight) and then another 9 - 10 hours to download the HD scenery add-on DLC...at a couple of thousand feet, graphics are amazing, planes are simple but well done, the only fault I have is no trees displaying in scenery away from airports, even though my tree settings are set to ultra, so I don't know what's gone wrong there! HD space used so far is 80 odd gig! Can't make my mind up really, although it's good to just have a quick VFR flight around...

 

Cheers,

 

 

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12 hours ago, Republic DC-9 said:

 

I'm with you....I need autogen buildings and trees to make things really come to life for me.  But I suspect Orbx will help in that department - hopefully we'll see our "regions" again.

 

Steve

 

Regions again...? FTX regions are mostly generic textures: wouldn't want that in Aerofly...

 

1 hour ago, anfield ace said:

Hi Guys,

 

I bought this on impulse the other day, it took me just over 6 hours to download the game (overnight) and then another 9 - 10 hours to download the HD scenery add-on DLC...at a couple of thousand feet, graphics are amazing, planes are simple but well done, the only fault I have is no trees displaying in scenery away from airports, even though my tree settings are set to ultra, so I don't know what's gone wrong there! HD space used so far is 80 odd gig! Can't make my mind up really, although it's good to just have a quick VFR flight around...

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Nothing is actually going wrong there. This is by design. To keep things simple and light they didn't add autogen to area's outside of airports. This is my main problem with Aerofly. Well, apart from the lack of depth.

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I am extremely confused. I bought the programme and all 3 DLCs. My total download was 53GB. My steamapps folder for AF2 shows 53GB. I look up in Steam GUI under my DLCs and it states the Hi Res pack as Complimentary and a tick by the install ( as it does for NE USA and Switzerland, but then says Not Installed against the HiRes. But it shows all 3 DLCs as In Library.

What have I done wrong as the total GB is not like others are reporting, and why if the HiRes is "in library" is it not installed.

?

I know this isn't the Aerofly forum but at present I cannot start a topic despite registering and activating an account.

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2 hours ago, jjaycee1 said:

I am extremely confused. I bought the programme and all 3 DLCs. My total download was 53GB. My steamapps folder for AF2 shows 53GB. I look up in Steam GUI under my DLCs and it states the Hi Res pack as Complimentary and a tick by the install ( as it does for NE USA and Switzerland, but then says Not Installed against the HiRes. But it shows all 3 DLCs as In Library.

What have I done wrong as the total GB is not like others are reporting, and why if the HiRes is "in library" is it not installed.

?

I know this isn't the Aerofly forum but at present I cannot start a topic despite registering and activating an account.

 

This might help

 

https://track4.mixtape.moe/yrwtay.webm

 

https://track4.mixtape.moe/lvdpiw.webm

 

Edit: also make sure you are doing this from within Steam and not from your browser!

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On 24.12.2016 at 10:47 AM, DesertPilot said:

To be clear, I'm not replacing P3D with Aerofly. Rather, I'm having P3D and Aerofly complement each other depending on the type/depth of flying I want to do any given time.

I downloaded the HD texture pack long ago, however, I recall, you had to opt out for beta updates to get it at that time. Not sure if this is still in effect, but might be worth a try. The HD pack makes quite a difference in the corresponding area.

 

My AeroflyFS2 folder with all DLC installed is 106GB right now.

 

Kind regards, Michael

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1 hour ago, pmb said:

I downloaded the HD texture pack long ago, however, I recall, you had to opt out for beta updates to get it at that time. Not sure if this is still in effect, but might be worth a try. The HD pack makes quite a difference in the corresponding area.

 

My AeroflyFS2 folder with all DLC installed is 106GB right now.

 

Kind regards, Michael

 

Yes, the "Aerofly FS 2 - High Resolution Texture Pack for Southwestern USA (Free DLC)" is available from the Steam store as a free add-on (65GB in size!). It does need to be selected in the Steam store and installed in addition to the main Aerofly FS 2 program.  I didn't realize this until a day or two after I purchased the main program.

 

I also purchased the New York City and Switzerland addons, so my Aerofly FS2 folder is also 106GB at this time.  When additional DLC (including Orbx content) comes online, I'm pretty sure that size will increase quite significantly, might eventually have to get a separate SSD for Aerofly if I still enjoy it down the road! :)

 

For now, I'm having P3D and Aerofly share the same 1TB SSD.  And removing certain content (such as Drzewiecki Design's New York City X) from my P3D installation, to make room.

 

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I am so happy that ORBX is finally going to make products available for other sims. Modern sims run so much better than the old coded ones. I'm not saying the older sims are bad it's just newer sims run smooth! And work great in VR!

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1 minute ago, cabnz said:

I am so happy that ORBX is finally going to make products available for other sims. Modern sims run so much better than the old coded ones. I'm not saying the older sims are bad it's just newer sims run smooth! And work great in VR!

 

Well, I read posts from people who installed the new New York DLC and it hurt performance already... and that is without AI, ATC, real weather, deeper systems... This sim mainly flies smooth because it is basic. The overhead in fps which JV talked about is gone pretty quickly, so it seems.

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This thread is making for extremely interesting reading and the enthusiasm for this sim so far is enticing... just thinking, but I'm wondering if it's feasible that ORBX will do a "port" of Global, Vector, and OpenLC areas for this sim as addons to the base scenery. Then, photoreal airports and city areas will be offered as additional DLC (obviously NYC and Chicago scenery for starters) as they are produced. Is that a possible scenario, or defeats the purpose of this sim?

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We have no idea what they have in mind....everyone is just speculating. If they have invested hundreds of thousands and hired new staff i highly doubt its just a scenery addon for Aerofly FS2. I think its a lot bigger than that. They spoke about partnerships etc etc....just wait and see :)

 

 

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40 minutes ago, J van E said:

 

Well, I read posts from people who installed the new New York DLC and it hurt performance already... and that is without AI, ATC, real weather, deeper systems... This sim mainly flies smooth because it is basic. The overhead in fps which JV talked about is gone pretty quickly, so it seems.

 

Quote

 

Aerofly FS 2 Update Version 2.0.1EA3.66

 

DECEMBER 21 - IPACS AEROFLY

 

Dear Aerofly users, 

we are happy to announce that we have a new update shortly before christmas. The major new feature in this update is the F-15 fighter jet. We also made some minor fixes to the tree and shadow rendering, that might result in better performance. We hope you enjoy this update. 

Also new is the New York region as a DLC. This region features over 10 new airports in and around New York and also adds new high resolution aerial images. 
Important note: This new region requires a VERY GOOD and powerful 3D graphic card. Please reduce the graphic setting 'Building density' to lower values if you do observe performance issues. When flying over New York in VR, we strongly recommend to use a NVIDIA GeForce 10x0 type card for smooth performance.
 


Thank you everybody for supporting us so far during the Early Access phase. This release option here on Steam really helped us to better shape our flight simulator. So stay tuned for more updates in 2017. 

 

 

:lol: Aerofly is not magic: the question is not whether the scenery requires a powerful machine; that's a given. The question is how much more powerful a machine would you need to run equivalent scenery at the same polygon densities using current software. I've run at up to 500fps in Aerofly fs2, but its not a shocker that I would be dragged down to 200 over New York. (Shadows off and pretty much at street level)

 

Nor that in my other sims that that same area averages about 25. (With weather and just about everything turned off)

 

This isn't shocking, its pretty much what I would expect.

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36 minutes ago, J van E said:

 

Well, I read posts from people who installed the new New York DLC and it hurt performance already... and that is without AI, ATC, real weather, deeper systems... This sim mainly flies smooth because it is basic. The overhead in fps which JV talked about is gone pretty quickly, so it seems.

 

Perhaps I'm off base here, but it looks to me that Aerofly FS2 is intended to be a VFR flyer's dream only, and you are not going to see AI, ATC, real weather, etc. added to this sim. Perhaps some weather improvements might be coming, but turning it into a full fledged simulator with deep system integration is not in their game plan. And, I can fully understand that: this sim may not be meant to be those things and will fill a niche for VFR flyers who enjoy "just flying and enjoying their surroundings" without all of the heavy overhead of a full flying simulator. I can see that, and that is making FS2 a possible nice addition to have to use for that purpose only.

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40 minutes ago, J van E said:

 

Well, I read posts from people who installed the new New York DLC and it hurt performance already... and that is without AI, ATC, real weather, deeper systems... This sim mainly flies smooth because it is basic. The overhead in fps which JV talked about is gone pretty quickly, so it seems.

I know what you are saying but I guess I'm only speaking for myself. I have a powerful machine and run the new NY Scenery very well. Time will tell when it comes to adding AI and ATC etc and that is my worry which I have mentioned a while back in the Aerofly forums. I love how smooth it is and happy if it stays a more basic sim as I think it's the best sim for giving you the sense of flying in VR. For a more complex flight, I think it's still hard to beat P3D and X-Plane 10/11.

 

I'm so looking forward to what 2017 will bring for us :)

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There have been questions about exactly how good the framerates are in Aerofly FS 2 over its recently released New York Scenery.
 
So lets take a look! (1440p with all settings on "Ultra" except shadows. Framerate counter is on the lower left Corner.)
 
System specs: Are in my signature.
 
Sorry about the faint barks, the dog was excited about the graphics. :lol:
 
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With respect to the New York City scenery, as I only have a 980Ti (one of the best a year ago, but not today), I simply had to change my Aerofly "Building Density" setting to "Medium" from "Ultra", and that resolved my NYC performance issue.  There are a variety of Graphics settings (Texture quality, Terrain image quality, Shadow quality, Building density and Tree density) that can each be set to Low, Medium, High or Ultra to accommodate a given CPU and graphics card.

 

I can say that Aerofly makes heavier use of the graphics card (GPU) than P3D does, based on my observations in Process Explorer.

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1 hour ago, DesertPilot said:

With respect to the New York City scenery, as I only have a 980Ti

 

Who would have thought the words "I only have a 980Ti" would ever be uttered so soon after the cards introduction......... :huh:

 

My 1080 will probably be a relic in a month, or something.

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