OurColony.net

Great Program

Customer Rating:
Great Flight Sim, so many choices, great variety of planes and geography. I really am enjoying the flights.

Microsoft Flight Simulator X

Customer Rating:
I do not look at Flight Simulator X as a game as such. I look at it as a wonderful teaching and learning tool. The graphics are very realistic and the product is terrific.

I would love to see Microsoft come out with a steam engine train Simulator with many of the Union Pacific routes especially those over Sherman Hill in Wyoming where the Big Boy's were used. That would be awesome.

I would also highly recommend an automobile learning DVD whereby it would take one through all aspects of auto operation and safety. This could even be expanded to include skiing, snowmobiles, skateboarding , skydiving, surfing, sailing, etc. etc.

Please include me for free copies when they come out.

Best regards,

Bill

Still As Real As It Gets!

Customer Rating:
Flight Simulator X is a giant leap forward. Many people initially reviewed this simulation without giving it a fair shake. Yes Microsoft went overboard and this offering, but what they created is pure gold! Yes the simulation is beautiful, but yes it also will bring a computer to its knees. There are ways to calm the beast though, and getting to know FSX takes time.
First off, you should be aware that this is not the last item you will need to buy for this simulation. It might be hard to accept, but Microsoft overdid it by not giving enough! How is that? The aircraft in this simulation are stunning! Maybe it's buggy initially, but there are ways to fix it. First, the artificial flights you will see while flying are beautiful airplanes too. They are too beautiful actually. By purchasing an add-on traffic package you can make your system run the simulation faster with aircraft that are slimmed down for that purpose. The same goes for terrain, weather and even communications.
Thankfully, there are many many companies producing add-on packages for flight simulator. Do some research on google for Ultimate Terrain, Ultimate Traffic, and check the reviews for other packages too! Aerosoft, Abacus, Flight1, Just Flight, and many others have excellent add-ons that will boost the performance of FSX. I believe Microsoft did this to save on packaging costs and to deliver a product that we could afford. That is becoming a very lofty goal!
Hopefully, the soon to be realized release of FS11 will have some new solutions. Knowing that you will want to spend more money won't make it easier to initially purchase this product, but it will make the product more enjoyable and more appealing to the eye as well once you do make those purchases and see how real flight can really be!
Enjoy!

As Expected....Solid flight sim capabilities!

Customer Rating:
This is a simulator, not a game; as such, the controls, weather, topography, aircraft performance and more are all realistic enough and appreciated. This could be a frustrating simulator experience without a full-on investment in some flight-sim controllers, namely a yoke, pedals and a throttle quadrant. Combine a 3D graphics card, 2+ monitors and a some controllers and you have an excellent representation of the skills required to control a simple airplane. The variations in the skill-levels (e.g. Hard, Easy, realistic, etcetera) make for the difference between a game and a simulator; turn the settings to 'Hard' or 'Realistic' and you do, in fact, have a simulator! This software is only for those interested in flight, not entertainment.

Excellent graphics, BUT very slow

Customer Rating:
Even with a fast chip and 3GB of memory, you cannot choose the high settings, as the game becomes impossible to play, due to the slow speed and very jittery motions. Too bad, it could have been an amazing experience, otherwise. Given the slowness, I actually enjoy FS 2004 more than this one, as this version can be quite frustrating, despite the very detailed and beautiful graphics. I use Windows XP, service pack 3.