Tweet
29 October 2015
I think the video below is a good place to start. After you watch the video look over the notes of my opinion at the bottom.
The bottom line is that flight sim is like any other hobby. You start with the basics and tailor your hobby to your interest level with the amount of money that you wish/are able to put into it. We have folks that fly with basic PC's that show up on occasion when they have time. We also have folks who are here routinely and have been able to make some pretty snazzy set-ups for themselves. It's all up to you. You don't have to decide anything right now except whether or not to get started.
I think the video below is a good place to start. After you watch the video look over the notes of my opinion at the bottom.
https://youtu.be/53N7euBbX5A" data-vcode="53N7euBbX5A" data-vprovider="youtube_share"
>
SOFTWARE
- I have not heard of AeroflyFS other than a brief mention here or there.
- The boxed Microsoft FSX Gold* is still the standard here at msFlights.net Most have the older box version. More users are using the version available on Steam**.
- *There are many copies on Ebay for the $20 US price range. Don't pay much more than that.
- ** The standard price for the Steam version is $25 US. From time to time it will be on sale for $5 or $12 US.
- Prepar3D, currently at version 3.0 is used less commonly than the others. At $70 US, it would not be a best choice for beginners.
- We use Teamspeak for voice communications. If you're short a microphone, you can type there as well. Nobody really uses the chat or voice features within FSX itself.
HARDWARE
- The video covers controllers well enough though there are options available from manufactuers other than Saitek.
- As far as the PC goes, that is too broad of a subject to cover here. In general the Intel quad core processors are slightly more stable than the multi-core AMD processors. They do however cost more. A graphics card that costs a little over $100 should provide good results.
- A good headset/microphone really helps with enjoying your time at msFlights.net. It is a nuisance for you and everyone if you have to routinely repeat yourself because of a bad microphone. Good ones are relatively cheap. Worse case scenario, Amazon has some lapel mics for $7-10 that are pretty good.
The bottom line is that flight sim is like any other hobby. You start with the basics and tailor your hobby to your interest level with the amount of money that you wish/are able to put into it. We have folks that fly with basic PC's that show up on occasion when they have time. We also have folks who are here routinely and have been able to make some pretty snazzy set-ups for themselves. It's all up to you. You don't have to decide anything right now except whether or not to get started.
