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Behind the Screen : September 2024


Stephen

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Behind the Screen : September 2024

 

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The great thing about the X-Plane Simulator it is all things to different people. In reality there is no one X-Plane installation, unless you just install the clean "DEMO" version and only fly with that. Very quickly you can metamorphose your own personality and needs by adding in almost everything. Instantly that individual stamp on your computer screen is then reflected back at you, your own unique characteristics all there and available. X-Plane users all fly differently as well, again our individual journeys are reflected in our flightlogs.

 

In this very wide spectrum, there is a sort of central look and feel to the Simulator. As the years go by your tastes and interaction with the simulator change, and that is besides the overall version revisions you get along the way. Another area is that X-Plane covers a huge diversity of hardware, and even operating systems, as X-Plane can cover all OS systems in Windows, Apple and Linux, even VR Support with SteamVR or Oculus PC. Again a huge spread of diverse requirements.

 

But it all works doesn't it, somehow all these very different complex elements can allow you to fly aircraft around the world, and right down to the complex systems that make these aircraft virtually fly. I think deep down that is the core attraction of X-Plane, but also the ability to also create, adjust or mod (modify) not only the aircraft, the environment it flies in, "Tinkerers" we call them, that ability to shape everything to your our own personal perspective.

 

Again that is great, but it also creates complexity on top of complexity. That aspect can create breakthoughs in ideas that can benefit all, it also can send you down a rabbit hole of pain and to the endless chases of problems. 

 

You can spend even a huge amount of your time just managing it all, "Housekeeping" I call it, just updating and refining the Simulator to keep it running smoothly within those particular constraints. Actually the flying part is only 25% of the running the Simulator, the rest is just plain keeping up and fixing all the consistent changes and settings, it can be a lot of work sometimes. Yes I am a reviewer, and my wings are spread a lot wider than the home casual Simmer user, but there is still a huge amount of change to absorb week after week, you welcome it all, as that is why you love it all so much, as it goes deeper than just being a hobby, it is a consistent force in your life and your day to day activities.

 

But it is very easy to go down that rabbit hole and very quickly, one area in say crook hardware or a bad bit of software, and the fixes and pain can be overwhelming in trying to not only find the cause ("is it hardware or software?"), very time consuming as well, worse when it is only you in having the problem, while everyone else to gliding merrily along, your in serious pain in trying to find a fix, time consuming, frustrating, and usually always expensive to fix.

 

But you can make it harder on yourself than it really needs to be. The one main aspect that I have learnt, is that sometimes a simple approach is the better approach, it won't fix everything, but it can make your Simulation life a bit easier. That does not say you have to lose the quality in your Simulation, in fact quite the opposite in using the right elements to deliver the right Simulation. This is something I have learned over the decade, the more I simplified my set up, the better it became, but also in not losing the essence of what X-Plane delivers.

 

I want total X-Plane Simulation in quality, and the reviews reflect a richness of not only scenery, but detailed aircraft as well. If you browse through the forums, you can usually find everyday a cry for help, it is usually like this "My computer keeps crashing!!!", and so you ask them to put up the log.txt. You would be horrified to read these logs, fifty or more plugins, 4TB of  different formats of scenery, modifications on absolutely everything, errors, errors and errors fouling the data, it is a nightmare to decipher, never mind to rectify the problem. It is a miracle the juggernaut even ran in the first place, it's messy, complicated, and impossible to fix.

 

I started to do this in my cadet years, actually I got banned on the X-Plane.Org on the second day for downloading WAY too much, as I was like a kid in a candystore grabbing everything I could shove into those folders, it so all very easy to get carried away, even then over the next few years I downloaded almost everything that set my eyes alight. So yes I am guilty of mass X-Plane consumption as the best of them, it's free obviously, so why not have it.

 

But if you look at my current set up, it is very, very far removed from my gluttonous beginnings, and I am quite proud of that achievement. It means I learnt (from my mistakes), but more so made my Simulation life far, far easier. I won't fix every problem that comes up, but I can resolve it without it getting bizarrely out of hand, certainly with settings.

 

Here are a few rules: Rule No.1 - keep it simple, Rule No 2, see rule No 1. Here is the point, you are only flying one aircraft usually between two points on the globe, so you only need those basic elements in place to do that route. Simple isn't it...

 

I have a saying, "Value is found in something you use". Meaning you can spend $400,000 on a Lamborghini, but how often do you actually drive it? Your $5000 Toyota is however used everyday for running your life, so which car is actually more valuable, point also, take the Lambo to local shopping centre, then be terrified of parking it there, it won't carry the groceries home either, and don't even think of the insurance cost of living with it. Yes I admit of that one Lambo day is incredible! but in reality it is a total waste of money, that $400.000 dollars can be spent in a better way. Same with everything in your life, right down to most cheapest and simplest item, if you use it, it has value, nice to have is all very nice, but if you don't need it or use it in your life it is a waste of money.

 

The same perspective can be found in X-Plane, just have what you need, or what you use. I'm not saying to indulge or even to try out something new, because that is also part of the X-Plane spirit of finding new adventures and knowledge, as you can't take that aspect away from the Simulator, but keep it lean.

 

I have only 23 aircraft I fly...  yes other aircraft rotate in and out, or are updated or deleted if too old or not able to be used in the new version. Plugins, 11 (I counted them), yes only 11 plugins, and tested, and even then I will pull out none needed plugins if those aircraft are not being flown, say JET, CEF or Gizmo. lua I have to have installed (OpenSAM), but I totally don't like it, I understand that a lot of users love it to death, but it is core aircraft code and it can seriously drive you mad if it starts interfering your aircraft lua codes, which I have found it does on numerous occasions.

 

Scenery will always be a big folder, but the reason this month's dialog is here on BtheS is that I realised that how small my Scenery folder now actually is. It is a quarter of the size of X-Plane 11, and X-Plane 11 was half of X-Plane 10. That is not because of the roll over of upgraded scenery, as most scenery will work without the effects in X-Plane 12. So I thought about that?

 

I'm not missing anything even with this condensed Scenery Folder. What I have done is created (over the decade) a tight network of scenery that works, so basically I'm flying from one quality X-Plane scenery to another quality X-Plane scenery. I have a few times had to install a freeware scenery because that destination was not available as payware, and I totally hated it, in fact I scrubbed the whole review because it looked terrible in the images, and started over again at a more quality destination. Users are quite adamant that because the scenery is free, and yes the X-Plane Global Scenery has come along really well, but it is still mostly cardboard unrealistic scenarios. Yes you have the right to totally disagree with me on the statement, wax lyrically on how good it is in X-Plane 12, but I never use Global Airport scenery for the reason as noted above. But more and more users are relying more on the Global for their flying. In my mind they are missing something by doing this.

 

"Can't afford payware scenery", neither can I, but I do still fill up my quality portfolio, sales can be very handy in getting what you want, but saying that I also believe the developer should be rewarded for creating something you use, contributing allows them to do more. The above mantra is strong here. "Buy only what you use". So actually my custom quality scenery folder is actually not that big, but I use consistently almost all of those quality sceneries within it, no point of having 2Tb of scenery as there is no way you can benefit from it, in fact the odds are you will get a poorer experience because most of the downloads in there are just junk. Volume does not translate to Quality, even if you think that a massive Custom Folder will deliver that, chances are you are getting a much more inferior simulation, not to mention the amount of scenery errors you are creating.

 

It's curating something special, yes even your own personal perspective of the way you perceive the world through the X-Plane lens. I got got a lot of brickbats last month on the scenery debate, most couldn't understand my perspective of collecting quality scenery to fill my needs. That is okay, everyone has their dues, but that is the X-Plane world I want to fly in.

 

Oddly if read last month's BtheS, I ranted over there in being no YMML Melbourne in X-Plane. Almost a week later Orbx releases...  you guessed it a quality YMML - Melbourne, it was a roll your eyes moment, or even a thanksgiving from the gods on high... if a bit late.

 

We all have unique perspectives on what we want from our Simulator experiences, but the over reaching point is on how far the Simulator has developed. Yes we complain that we want more, but we are also getting a lot for our buck...  bang as well.

 

The Rotate MD-11 Passenger showed the amount of change we are getting. For me doing the review it was a few days, I thought, "Hey, it is the MD-11F with a cabin", that would be quick and easy. But it was eight days later that I finally completed the review. The biggest reason were the changes in the two years since the original MD-11 Freighter to the MD-11 Passenger, the same aircraft really, but the work in there that I had to list was quite comprehensive, added features and refinements, and the flying was glorious from the dark wet northern Europe to the bright desert of Eygpt, I seriously would love to extend the time to do it all again...  but I had to move on, X-Plane waits for nobody... ever changing, ever developing...  it is a life force.

 

See you all next month

 

Stephen Dutton

4th October 2024

Copyright©2024 X-Plane Reviews

 

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Nice write up Stephen, you capture most of what I like about X-Plane, including the ultimate ability to tailor it to what you want…it provides an excellent platform to build on, or enjoy mostly in its basic form as I do.  I happily fly a handful of aircraft with minimal add ons.  Keeping it simple keeps it working.  9 out of 10 times a poster on the forum pops on complaining that XP won’t work it’s an add on or “tweak” by the user that’s the culprit, not the Laminar product.  
 

As always, Thanks for taking the time invested in X-Plane Reviews!

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  • Stephen changed the title to Behind the Screen : September 2024

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