FSX Steam Edition On Sale

[strikehawk]

Steam is having their Summer Madness sale and FSX-SE is half price until the 22nd of June. While it's not $5 like it was on the past two sales it's still something. There are also bundles with the Sim and select payware addons starting at $17.99 and up. Looks like most of the DLC is on sale also.

[Hdguy]

As of today I have not made up my mind about Steam..

FSX runs very good on my system with all my addons. I really don't know enough about the Steam Edition to purchase it... I have read that its advised to remove the boxed version first. Soooo.

[txnetcop]

I run both and I now prefer the STEAM edition...much faster because of the new compiler Dovetail uses.

Here are some answers from Just Flight on STEAM and BOX FSX:

Q: If I do buy the Steam Edition, do I need to uninstall my current version of FSX and install the FSX Steam Edition?

A: No. However a message does appear at the end of the FSX SE installation process advising that it may be a good idea to remove the old version. Our advice at Just Flight is to remove the boxed version of FSX prior to installing as this will give you the maximum amount of backwards compatibility with add-ons that either pre-date FSX Steam Edition, or have not been released with specific Steam Edition compatibility.

If you need more information about this, please contact Dovetail Games support directly.


Q: Can I install the Steam Edition of FSX and still run my current version of FSX without conflicts between them?

A: The FSX Steam Edition page on the Steam website includes the following comment: "If you already have MSFSX Gold Edition installed on your PC and are concerned about running the two games alongside each other, you may wish to consider installing FSX: Steam Edition on a separate PC."
If you have the original boxed version of FSX installed at the time you install FSX Steam Edition then FSX:SE will create its own separate versions of important files such as FSX.cfg, Dll.cfg etc which can cause installers problems when you are adding third party products.

NOTE – uninstalling the boxed version after installing the Steam version will not reset these paths back to the original Microsoft version. Nor will reinstalling the Steam version after removing the boxed version if the boxed version was originally present when first installing Steam.

[Dumonceau]

I concur with txnetcop.

I would like to point out the following however:

• FSX Boxed edition is a dinosaur that is quickly and consistently surpassed by modern sims like P3D v2.5 and FSX:SE
• people who insist on continuing using FSX should move over to FSX:SE because it is the version that still evolves.
• There is no longer any support whatsoever for the boxed version by Mickey$oft

IMHO the future of flightsim lies with P3D. If only because it will inevitably turn 64 bit.

Live long and prosper!

Johan

[Wizard]

Does Steam come with the complete SDK - so I can continue to develop C gauges?

[fsafranek]

Does Steam come with the complete SDK - so I can continue to develop C gauges?

No. it does not.

It includes the documentation but none of the actual tools. You may be able to find those on the web if you search.
You can find them on your old boxed FSX CD's. And anything developed for boxed FSX will (should) work with FSX-SE.

[harrybasset]

Does Steam only create accounts during office hours?

[Bjoern]

Does Steam only create accounts during office hours?

24/7/365

No. it does not.

It includes the documentation but none of the actual tools. You may be able to find those on the web if you search.
You can find them on your old boxed FSX CD's. And anything developed for boxed FSX will (should) work with FSX-SE.

The freely available SDK for P3D 1.4 can also be used for FSXSE.

[Tim-HH]

FSX is now on sale for $4,99: http://store.steampowered.com/app/314160/

Greetings
Tim

[manfredc3]

Yes Tim, you beat me to it. I saw it two hours ago at work. I sent the link to a friend who is interested in getting in to flight simming. What a starters deal

[n4gix]

Does Steam come with the complete SDK - so I can continue to develop C gauges?

Since nothing SDK related has changed, why be concerned that FSX:SE does not have a complete SDK?

Simply keep on with the FSX/A SDK you have been using.

[gavinc]

As of today I have not made up my mind about Steam..

FSX runs very good on my system with all my addons. I really don't know enough about the Steam Edition to purchase it... I have read that its advised to remove the boxed version first. Soooo.

Following on to what everyone has said...

I have Steam and Regular FSX both installed on my system. They run fine together. Steam is definitely faster than "regular" for an equivalent setting. I like having both as it allows me to separate my Orbx environments from my MS default areas.
If they are both installed then you have the "regular" FSX and another version referred to as FSX-SE with its own config files and registry entries.

2 Caveats
1) Helitraffic 2009 doesn't appear to work on the Steam version of FSX
2) Some apps insist on installing into the version referenced by the "FSX" registry entries (won't recognized the FSX-SE registry) (ORBX being one) so I have to use a registry adjustment tool periodically to switch the directory pointed to by the "FSX" registry entry then remember to switch it back afterwords. It is a minor irritant

Gavin

[Navy Chief]

As an aside, if not already mentioned.......if you own the VRS Superbug, it will not install to steam if you still have FSX-O installed. NC

[SabreAce]

Was waiting for the $5 pricetag to come up again, and snagged this earlier today. Just flew a quick test flight out of KACK, and can definitely vouch for the better framerates in the Steam edition. Steam was hitting around 26 FPS, occasionally jumping up to 35 (it's a relatively low-end system, btw). The last time I tried running the disc version, I think that same flight was averaging 6 FPS. May have been 6 SPF, actually.

If there's anyone still hesitating on making the jump from FS9 (and not quite ready to leap all the way to P3D), you can't go wrong for $5.

[RobH]

Thank you very much for the heads up on this. I have been waiting for the steam edition to go on sale again. I just now purchased it! Thanks again!

[manfredc3]

JUst purchased as a gift for a friend.

Guess I need to visit him for an afternoon of installing and flying, lol

[donnybalonny]

If I buy FSX steam now, how long can I wait untill I install it. Can I wait lets say 3 month?

[Hdguy]

Alrighty then.

Just bought this on sale.. Made my Steam account and have the download all set to go.

Now. Just to think this over and see how I want to proceed. Uninstall my boxed edition or just run the new installer and see how it all goes.

I run SSD drives and space is a premium on these... So. Going to just take a few days and figure this out.

Thanks for the heads up on the sale.

[Ferry_vO]

If I buy FSX steam now, how long can I wait untill I install it. Can I wait lets say 3 month?

Once you've purchased, it will appear in your Steam list and it is yours. It will not disappear, even if you never install it.

[donnybalonny]

Thanks Ferry_vO
I bought the steaming fsx and will wait with the install untill I´m ready to give it a decent chance.
I have a P3D install that I´m not to fond of and a FSX without Acceleration that has a tendency to do CTD here and there.
I will most probably format my whole flightsim PC (3 harddiscs) and start from scratch with P3D on one drive and steam on another (box fsx out) But right now I will continue flying untill the next CTD+fatal error, which might be tomorrow or within 2 month. Who knows.

[UKVoodoo]

Can FSX:SE and FSX be inter-connected multiplayer wise?

My friends all use the boxed version but I was thinking of going from FS9 to FSX and the SE version seems more appealing

[Hdguy]

Well. I bought Steam just to give it a shot after reading how well it was.

Migrated all the good things over, GEX, UTX, REX, etc only to discover that indeed it does run as smooth as my boxed version. Only problem is that I get screen tearing bad . V Sync or any other numerious things I have tried seem to fix it.

I even tried Open GL but that seems to make it worse. So it was then writting three frames. frontside showing, backside written to show next and then one to backup the backside one.

It leaves me with one conclusion... My Vid card is faster than my monitor.

So.. Its a deal breaker for me.. happy it was only 5 bucks.. Well worth the try.

It seems that something they wrote into their new compiler is not quite the same as far as displays are concerned.

[glh]

Is FSX:SE a stand-alone application installed on my hard drive that can be played just like the old boxed FSX --

or do I have to be logged in and on-line and play it via the Internet in order to use this simulation ??

[ncooper]

Can FSX:SE and FSX be inter-connected multiplayer wise?

My friends all use the boxed version but I was thinking of going from FS9 to FSX and the SE version seems more appealing

No I am afraid they can't.
Steam have their own multiplayer network that FSX cannot access.
I think you can still use the third party multiplayer sofware.

Nick.

[Hdguy]

Is FSX:SE a stand-alone application installed on my hard drive that can be played just like the old boxed FSX --

or do I have to be logged in and on-line and play it via the Internet in order to use this simulation ??

Just installed it.. But as far as I can tell its stand alone. It is a full install.

I get a pop up stating that I can hit this and that key to go on the Steam forums... But not sure its online till that