I've flown G3 for about 2 months now, G2 for 2 years, AFP for over a year, XTR for a few months, and AFP Deluxe for a couple days.

I think the trend is STILL that AFP (deluxe OR standard, I can't really tell the diff) simulates larger models better, but G2 or G3 actually is better for smaller ones (40 to 90 size).

G3 is vastly improved 3D over G2. I'll never fly G2 again.

XTR had a very bad physics problem on my machine, but I don't think it's AS noticeable with faster systems. That by itself bothers me, as I'd rather see the frame rate slow down rather than slowing down my control inputs. I totally lost the "connected" feeling with XTR. Your mileage may vary.

Believe it or not, I think G3 makes me a better pilot than AFPD. Going from G3 to AFPD is easy. I look like a pro. When I go the other way, I have to take the time to re-learn how each plane "snaps" (as do smaller planes in real life).

Also, I kinda like the eye candy of G3 better than AFPD. The photorealistic postcard stuff wears on me after a while. Plus, it's not as tailorable, or at least I haven't found out how to get rid of all the tents and telephone poles that clutter up AFPD. With G3, I can get rid of any bush I want, or move it someplace else. The smoke is also much better on G3 than AFPD.

Oh, my current system is a 1.8 GHz P4, with 384K RAM, and a GeForce 6 "Verto" graphics card. I did upgrade from a Geforce 3, and that made all the difference.