Level D's or Captain Sim's 767?

[SirBenn21]

Just wondering which is beter.

In terms of "complete package". I love learning systems. Anyway please place your vote and a comment if you wish.

Ben

[some1]

I don't have CS767 but I have their C-130 and 727 plus I have Level-D.

Level-D pros:
-all systems are modeled, (fully functional FMC and Overhead, you can even communicate with ground or flight crew). Hard to say what else can be done in terms of systems.
-very detailed manual with awesome tutorial flight step by step
-extra configuration menus, ability to assign keyboard shortcuts to almost everything, ability to save and load panel state on demand
-very good fps (for a complex aircraft, it's still much less than default Cessna)

cons:
-there is known incompatibility with FSX acceleration: when ground starting, engines spool up twice and performance data in FMC is being deleted if it was set before. Other than that everything works fine. Problem doesn't exist in FSX SP2, and Level-D doesn't have time or will to fix that.
-The model is a bit old, don't forget it was initially made for FS2004. The exterior still looks very good and has FSX features (bump mapping, flex wings and such), the interior has FSX-like night lighting but it has only 2D gauges, overhead is mostly flat (no 3D buttons) and textures resolution is average. However it gives you better FPS (see above).
- not much extra repaints for FSX, most are from FS9 and don't have bumps / specs. But there are several awesome FSX paints avaliable at avsim.
- FMC doesn't work in VC. You have to click on it to bring a 2D panel.

Judging from what I can tell about Captain Sim aircraft I have, they lack detailed tutorials (manuals miss some data like EPR settings for B-727). They don't have complex panel management: no keyboard shortcuts for custom functions, the panel state is saved, however the only way to get C&D setup is to load a C&D preplanned flight and manually move the aircraft to the desired airport because you can't load panel state on demand. CS 767 surely has more fancy animations like engine or radar covers, more detailed cockpit with high res textures, but suffer from low FPS.

You can download 757 demo from their site. The interior is very similar so you can see what they have to offer and what FPS impact you will get on your system.

[Kiwikat]

If systems are any concern to you, go with the Level-D offering. FPS is better too.

There are PLENTY of FSX repaints, you just have to know where to look.

The 757 demo is NOT a good indicator what your FPS would be with the full 757 or 767 product. It is missing a large chunk of the systems. The demo performed flawlessly on my system... locked at 36 fps. The real 757 product gives me 20 fps in the VC if I am lucky. For comparison purposes, the LDS767 gives me 30 or so fps on the ground (VC).

[some1]

There are PLENTY of FSX repaints, you just have to know where to look.
.

Which is where?

[Kiwikat]

I've found plenty of them in here: http://www.leveldsim.com/forums/forum_topics.asp?FID=6 and on AVSIM.

Luckily for me, Andre Folkers' set of 11 FSX repaints cover pretty much every livery I ever use and/or want to use (usually KLM, Continental, and American). Plus he's got reworked VC textures that also make the LDS767's visuals much more bearable. Captainsim's planes do look prettier, but their systems fidelity just doesn't do it for me.

And for payware paints, I do believe McPhat has a bunch of UHDT ones in the works.

[some1]

Apart from Andre Folkers' repaints which I mentioned in my first post, I know none FSX repaints for this bird.

[SirBenn21]

Thanks

[johndetrick]

I've got both products. I also have a type rating in the real airplane. I much prefer the level-D. It replicates the real airplane much closely .