Maybe this is a good time for Laminar (XPlane) to buy out an addon or two, integrate into their core program and call it XP13 the MSFS-killer. I mean with all the issues with MSFS I don’t know why more summers aren’t checking out XP
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I assume because they’re content with MSFS.
For GA and VFR flying MSFS is far better. Landmarks are there and scenery looks real. This is what immersion is all about. XP 11 looks like an early version video game. Even the stock airports in MSFS are modeled very realistically. As far as procedures go, both sims have all the depth you could want. It is true at 35,000 feet , the graphics don’t really matter.
People talk about flight model…as if any simulator can get close to the feel of a real aircraft.
Does the plane hit the numbers from the POH? Does it stall at the proper configuration? If you’re really technical does it burn fuel the correct way. Does the plane have failures if not setup correctly.
MSFS matches any other sim in this regard. Certainly not all developers create planes of the same depth in both sims.
I used XP11 for many years and it is certainly a fine sim, but looks outdated to me.
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I just finished an IFR flight in this in MSFS 2024 and the flight was peachy. Will I buy the X-Plane 12 version? Probably not.
Yes, scenery enhancement addon only adds terrain mesh and satellite ground textures. Trees, grass and the rest of flora is still stock and looks like from FSX era. Water surface also looks better in MSFS.
MSFS has better library of landmarks, even without photogrammetry.
XP11 certainly is outdated - XP12 has been out for years.
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A while back I was running Prepar3D and X-Plane side by side. I eventually dumped Prepar3D because its terrain textures and lighting looked flat compared to X-Plane’s more dynamic visuals, so I stuck with X-Plane. I won’t bore you with the countless hours I spent tweaking datarefs to get it to behave just right or the disk space and time devoted to generating orthophotos with Ortho4XP, nor the money I poured into airports, aircraft and scenery add-ons.
Then MSFS 2020 dropped in 2020 and our jaws hit the floor. The initial hype has settled, but after the closed beta I decided not to invest any more in X-Plane and its add-ons - MSFS already offered everything I was looking for.
So these days I’m exclusively flying MSFS 2020/2024. The only thing I really miss from X-Plane is night flying - MSFS still can’t hold a candle to X-Plane when it comes to nocturnal ops and that’s a real shame.
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Hi,
As of lately I am using Xplane again since I can now fly it in VR.
What really hit me is how STUTTERFREE Xplane is. No micostutters etc., just smooth flying.
As for scenery I use XP Map enhancement, which loads quicker than my ortho4xp tiles.
Having said that, I still enjoy MSFS 2020 as my daily driver.
MSFS 2024 is taking a break, I just wait for it to get updated.
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When I built my latest sim rig (rtx 5090/ 9950x3d) I had to re-install MSFS2020 and 2024.
The curiosity bug bit me and I took the leap and installed Xplane (latest x12 beta version. For me it is a very steep learning curve after using MSFS for so long. BUT I am determined to give it a go.
Presently have a TB yoke throttle setup so setting up Xplane has been a bit of a challenge. An Alpha and Bravo yoke and throttle are inbound this week so I’ll wait on the setup in Xplane.
My one impression is that Xplane seems more realistic in the flight performance of aircraft.
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Why is that?
I would agree, I think flight modeling works better in XP. Let’s not forget it is a professional-level simulator. I would disagree with the idea that no simulator can simulate real flight. Yes it can. That’s the point of certified FAA flight simulators*. Is is the same “feeling” as being airborne? No, obviously not if you’re not in a moving simulator with full-screen immersion but, you could get to that if you so desired and IF you had the right simulator.
- Note: this is not to imply Xplane is a standalone, certified simulator in the absence of the correct edition and compliant hardware.
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There has always been too much emphasis on this ‘certified FAA flight simulators’ part in my opinion.
Yes, you can get your combination of xplane and peripherals ‘certified’. Any software update, or change of peripherals will void this certification though. I’m sure that if MS wanted, they could get MSFS to be certified in combination with peripherals as well. It likely just doesn’t make financial sense for them since it’s not their core business (they don’t even offer a ‘commercial’ license allowing the sim to be used in commercial applications as far as I know).
xplane in isolation is not FAA certified.
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Sure, but the fact that it can be certified with the correct peripherals means there’s some weight behind it being a decent simulator; that they’re able to provide a commercial offering (as now used by Airbus with the ToLiss systems) at all means it must be good enough for major players in the aerospace industry and that is excellent news for us virtual pilots.
Honestly, it’s because they’ve seen what a next-gen platform looks like in 2024. X-plane nails the physics, but everything else feels stuck in 2015. It’s missing that global immersion. 2024 is a bit messy at the moment, but extremely ambitious and pushing the envelope. X-plane is tidy, but safe..most choose ambition.
P3D can be FAA certified which can easily be traced back to FSX. FSX can’t be FAA certified. Many addons from FSX were brought into P3D. With the right addons (COWS, A2A, Black Square, FSReborn, ect) MSFS 2024 is really good in my opinion. Laminer Research aircraft leave much room for improvement. Take the SimCoders Reality Expansion Pack for the Cessna 172 and King Air C90 overhaul from IBAV8N.
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You can only certify the full setup, hardware software flight sim hardware etc.
no software alone can get faa certification.
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Another interesting comparison for me is ATC which for now is much better both interface and interaction wise on XP12. It’s still not fullproof though. An example being this morning where after receiving clearance to descend via the STAR to 6000ft, when I do this and get to about 6400ft ATC has me climb back to 7000ft, just before descending me to 6000ft again.
I’ve also been left high on final or having decided to meet the target alt on final, get ATC telling me off for descending ahead of time (it would have been a steep above G/S descent if I hadn’t) and landing without permission. But not on every flight.
So ATC is complex and XP has it’s ATC issues too, just not as widespread and obvious as MSFS2024 ATC which just seems to have been neglected or deprioritised or pushed out to SUx (wow I just stumbled on a great acronym lol).
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I have MSFS 2024 and X-Plane installed alongside for any Aerobask aircraft, eg. the still coming 8X.
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Correct. Thank you.
The thing I like most about XP ATC is that it can be operated with your joystick. No mouse or keyboard needed.
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