FSX Gold or FSX Steam?

[menef]

Hi mates, my brand new PC is coming and I'd need as usual some wise suggestion :
1- I've chosen to stay with FSX, mainly because I've tens of payware
addons for FSX .
2- I've both Windows7 and 10 licences included in the New machine so the old FSX Gold could be installed but I don't know
if it is still possible having MS ceased the support for this product.
By the other side, FSX Steam seems to require Internet connection
every time you run it and this is a problem because I don't have
internet ( only to activate new software I use an internet USB key) on the PC for my virtual flights.
Of course I have internet but only on a small laptop.
The best thing for me should be manage to install the old FSX Gold
but I don't know how to activate it at the end o the install process.
Suggestion are very welcome!
Thank you in advance. ( and happy landings :-)

[hairyspin]

Gold will install just fine, I bunged it on my new rig a month or so ago. Steam edition can be run offline too, and is easy peasy. Your choice!

[warchild]

It's really going to depend on your priorities. Gold isnt attached to steam, which has its positives and negatives. Owning your own copy is owning your own copy which is always nice, but it also means that if anything goes wrong, its up too you to fix it. Steam on the other hand has a lot of advantages such as the ability to check files every day if you wish and it'll automatically reinstall any file thats become corrupted ( that was a part of the original steam install that is ), and lets you delete and reinstall the entire game with just the push of a button. Surprise to me was that my copy came with REX Texture on demand with softclouds, as well as other nice DLC ( although i really dont like RAAS ). Downside is, unless your in offline mode, steam has to be running for the game too work..

[CaptainMal]

Menef:

I made the switch to FSX:SE about two years ago, and have been so pleased with the decision that I would never consider FSX boxed again. Like you, I use a small laptop for FSX, and I do not usually go online to fly. The good news is that, one you have installed the Steam client and downloaded FSX, you can fly offline and not really have to link to Steam again, as long as the client is running in the background. In the Steam client, click on "Steam" then "Go Offline...". The bad news is that one has to be online whenever one opens the client.

As to add-ons, every one of the dozens of payware add-ons I have works with FSX:SE except for the PMDG Jetstream 41, which can be made to work in Steam if you're willing to fuss with it. Most of my add-ons are not the Steam version.

With FSX:SE I get much better performance out of my laptop, and fewer of FSX's known problems, and have yet to have an OOM error, even with ORBX Global and OpenLC NA installed. And I have it run in Windows 7.

FSX:SE is my preference for now. I may go to P3Dv4 if and when I get a new computer, but for me, FSX:SE is the way to go.

Hope this helps, and all the best with your decision.

Douglas

[PhantomTweak]

Hi!
I got FSX:SE the day it came out. I really just wanted to see what all the to-do I read about FSX was about. $5.00 was just too good to pass up, as well. Now, I almost never go back to FS9, which was all I had before the advent of SE.
I've had a total of one OOM fault in all that time. Also, you can, as has been mentioned, use FSX:SE in off-line mode.
Many of the edits out there for the FSX.CFG work quite well on my computer as well. Same for the edits for the NVidea Inspector work very nicely as well.
Uninstalling, if necessary, is very easy. Same with installing to different computers. Simple and easy. So is repairing, and backing up the sim on the computer.
Most of the add-ons I've seen work very nicely on SE, although often auto-installers have trouble finding the right folders. I always, if forced to use an auto-installer, install to a temp folder, them just move the results into SE manually. Maybe a bit of a cumbersome method, but I've never had any problems with auto-installers that way.
Overall, IMHO, FSX:SE is the way to go. Again, just my opinion, for what it's worth.
Pat☺

[Daube]

If it's a new machine, and if your internet connection is not too slow, then try FSX-SE first. If you experience any issue (and you probably won't), you can always try to install the Gold version that you have.
Installing and uninstalling FSX-SE is done with just a few clicks.

[vortex]

FSX Steam seems to require Internet connection
every time you run it and this is a problem because I don't have
internet ( only to activate new software I use an internet USB key) on the PC for my virtual flights.
Of course I have internet but only on a small laptop.

If you can, definitely go for FSX:SE - https://fsxinsider.com/fsx-steam-edi...he-difference/. You only need the Internet connection to download FSX:SE (but it's a big download). Once installed, you can run it in offline mode.

[stansdds]

If I was going to do a fresh install of FSX today, I would install FSX Steam. FSX Steam has some improvements in coding and was recompiled. Fewer OOM's and smoother performance are the main benefits.

[menef]

Thank you to all of you for the answers.
FSX Steam should be nice, but download it for me is a problem.
First of all I don't have much time for this hobby, so I'm looking for the solution simpler and faster. I've found on Amazon a boxed version
of FSX SE, but not available for shipping in Italy :-(
Thanks one more time to all

[ncooper]

Hello.

There is no boxed version as far as I am aware.
There are versions advertised with a picture of a box but I believe it is
download only.
FSX disk version should be perfectly fine and suitably managed will do just as well as the Steam Edition.
All Dovetail have really done is change the multiplayer method and make it Steam compatible.
They have made a couple of tweaks default to make it appear to work better.
If the same tweaks are applied to FSX, it works pretty much the same.

[vortex]

I've found on Amazon a boxed version of FSX SE

You just get a code which you then use on Steam to download FSX.

FSX disk version should be perfectly fine and suitably managed will do just as well as the Steam Edition.
All Dovetail have really done is change the multiplayer method and make it Steam compatible.
They have made a couple of tweaks default to make it appear to work better.
If the same tweaks are applied to FSX, it works pretty much the same.

Whilst you are correct that DTG have made improvements to multiplayer, there is quite a bit more that they have also done. You can't just "apply the same tweaks" to FSX to make it the same as FSX:SE. FSX:SE is now built using the VS2013 compiler for better optimisation and performance with modern hardware. It also includes a number of bug fixes - for example it now includes a fix to flush all levels of detail in the terrain cache which helps reduce OOM errors. See https://fsxinsider.com/fsx-steam-edi...he-difference/ for full details (including subsequent updates).

[huub vink]

This is typical a mater of personal preference. I currently have FSX installed from the disk, but based on my experience with other steam based programs I will most probably purchase the steam version for my next computer. For me the main advantage from steam is the fact that steam keeps my back-up.

Cheers,
Huub

[ncooper]

Whilst you are correct that DTG have made improvements to multiplayer, there is quite a bit more that they have also done. You can't just "apply the same tweaks" to FSX to make it the same as FSX:SE. FSX:SE is now built using the VS2013 compiler for better optimisation and performance with modern hardware. It also includes a number of bug fixes - for example it now includes a fix to flush all levels of detail in the terrain cache which helps reduce OOM errors. See https://fsxinsider.com/fsx-steam-edi...he-difference/ for full details (including subsequent updates).

Yes, I reread all that too before I replied.

It is indeed all a matter of personal preference but I thought it worth pointing out that FSX
and FSX Steam Edition are not very different, especially when one leaves out the long
list of "updates" that refer only to multiplayer and Steam.

If the flight simulator PC is not to be connected to the internet, the Steam Edition is not an
option, is it?

It is probably also worth pointing out to the OP that FSX, already owned by the OP, will run
very well under Windows 10 and although no longer supported by Microsoft, is very well
supported by after market developers.
The activation process is unchanged and although there is sometimes a small problem with
activating the Acceleration part, there is a working fix that is easily applied.

[zswobbie1]

Just an aside here, not to hijack, but...
Have you had a look at the free FlightGear sim?
It's actually very good, great scenery, as well as a huge range of aircraft, including a space shuttle that is super detailed.
& a new version has just been released. (1.4GB in size)
http://www.flightgear.org/
Runs in Windows 10, side by side with any existing sims.

Sorry for interrupting.

[vortex]

Yes, I reread all that too before I replied.

It is indeed all a matter of personal preference but I thought it worth pointing out that FSX
and FSX Steam Edition are not very different, especially when one leaves out the long
list of "updates" that refer only to multiplayer and Steam.

I fully agree that the boxed version of FSX should run well in either Windows 7 or 10. In my first post I did say "if you can, definitely go for FSX:SE".

I also agree that, superficially, the boxed and Steam versions look the same. But, quite apart from the entire core program being built with a much more modern and efficient compiler, if you follow the links on the FSX Insider page for the "Post-Release Optimization" updates, you'll see that many of them are not for either multiplayer or Steam and couldn't be implemented manually to the boxed version. There were several bugs which existed in the original code which have been fixed in the Steam version and several improvements have been made:

• Fix to particle emitter controllers which were not being updated properly.
• Fix to flush all levels of detail in terrain cache.
• Fix to Texture Composition preventing fail and crash.
• Fixed issue where the application’s taskbar preview window displays no content on Windows 8 and above.
• Prevent default colour mode for Windows 7 and above (enable automatic display composition).
• Improved vertex and index buffer handling defaults and a few other things to give up to 10% framerate improvement (as long as vsync is not enabled/forced).
• Resolved - If the Special Effects setting was set to HIGH, some special effects like external lights, landing/water effects would not work.
• Potential cause of the terrain.dll crashes experienced by some users has been corrected.
• Some compatibility issues encountered by third party add-ons that use SimConnect have been resolved.
• Fixed crash in G3D.dll caused by certain add-ons.
• Fixed crashes in UI.dll.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that everyone using the boxed version of FSX should immediately change to the Steam version, just that there are real improvements to be gained by doing so (not to mention the ease of installation and lack of potential activation issues).

[menef]

Ok friends, one more time THANK YOU for having filled this
thread with your opinions and suggestions.
SOH is a very precious place for me.
HAPPY LANDINGS

[Stefano Zibell]

Not sure they fixed it by now, but if they didn't, you'll need these:



Install all 3 and then all will be business as usual.