Ok IMHO AFPD & Reflex kick G3's butt in the "eye candy" dept -but thats where it ends. I think the 3D planes in G3 fly way more realistically than AFPD (stock vs stock) the AFPD Extra and Giles are filled w/freakin helium and are totally un-realistic IMO. You must admit they are floaty like crazy? Have either of you tried G3 on a fast PC w/latest updates? Have you flown online with a greoup of 7-8 flywers?? G3 online is not crap, anytime I use G3 I always hook up online and connect w/others in a few seconds. Yesterday I hosted a room and had like 3-4 guys flying with me in less than a minute! I have AFPD installed on my PC right now -but it gets boring real fast playing w/yourself. Evertime I pull off a nice move theirs nobody their to see it. I sometimes fire up G3 and just sit on the sidelines and watch (and learn) from others, sometimes really awesome pilots come in and put on shows in G3 that are truly spectacular. I had a guy show up and just do amazing thing w/his Raptor for about 45minutes while everybody else just watched! What about limbo contests, landing contests, freestyle events and last but not least Pylon racing all onine!
How is that "useles crap???"
*edit: this post was intended for aviti
ORIGINAL: GCL
ORIGINAL: peefiddyonefan
Bottom line is this, if you got a fast gaming rig and an internet connection you will get more bang for your buck w/G3! 8 guys flying together, chatting and helping eachother out is way better than flying solo. Photorealism is cool no doubt -but all your doing is moving an object around in space with a pretty photo behind it -no wonder AFPD runs at over 500fps on my PC, the plane is the only object being rendered!
I took a Panoramic background out of Reflex and mapped it on to a sphere in 3dsmax and within minutes had one of my planes flying around so good I could win the VTOC!
I agree that flight simulators are to teach a new pilot skills and keep veteran fliers in top form.
However, I've found that the debate rages on concerning the "graphics". Yes, eye candy does make the scene "lifelike" but at the expense of the PC and components. That is, I would like to see a good scene and true aircraft physics.
I downloaded, installed Relex and impressed by the scenes and planes, etc. I just ordered AFPD (not yet received) and expect the scenes to be as "eye candy" as Reflex. The AFPD demo reel does look *good* but not like having the program in front of you playing (even as a demo).
Any thoughts out there about *your* impressions graphically as well and aircraft flying characteristics, etc.
Thanks and will wait for feedback.