A Quick Mini Review And Preview...

[psolk 80]

Guys, I just posted this in the other forums but I know not everyone reads there so I thought I would post it here too...

Wow are you guys in for a treat!!!

I have had the privilege and the honor to Beta Test the PMDG MD11 in conjunction with FS2Crew for the MD11. While I will not be around until later to answer questions (running out for a quick spinal operation) I can tell you that what you are about to have in your hands is unreal!!!

The PMDG MD-11 is the ONLY reason I am flying FSX right now. PMDG has created a masterpiece thats performance is mind blowing considering the complexity of what they produced. Both the AC itself and the entire PMDG team have opened my eyes and I will NEVER EVER look at another MD-11 the same again! She is such a wonderful technical marvel and PMDG and the team have done a job unlike anything I have seen before in the FS world from all perspectives INCLUDING performance

NOW

Combine that with what you guys will get from Bryan and the FS2Crew team and it is going to be like Christmas, Chanukah or Qwanza morning for everyone. Bryan and the team at FS2Crew are going to BLOW you away with the latest release and the integration they had with the PMDG team throughout the Beta process... This is by far the cleanest and most integrated version of FS2Crew I have been lucky enough to test. For me with my limited MD-11 knowledge this has also bee the most useful version yet to me personally LOL. I am actually finishing the tutorial flight right now before I head out to the hospital LOL and I am just blown away by how "natural" the two products play together. This is awesome, I am like a little 34 year old kid right now and I never thought I would be smiling from ear to ear waiting for my ride to the hospital!!!

Guys, this isn't an advertisement, I am not telling you to run out and buy anything I am just telling you that we are lucky as can be to have teams like the guys here at Aerosoft, PMDG and FS2Crew who continue to deliver bar raising add-ons for FS. I WISH WISH WISH I had the rest of the day to play with both these add-ons but while you guys are (hopefully) enjoying I will be under anesthesia so give a little wing dip to me on takeoff and ENJOY!!!

Congrats to PMDG and FS2Crew on years and years of hard work that finally came to fruition in an unbelievable way!!!!

Nothing left to say but enjoy everyone!!!!

Congrats again guys and thank you for letting me such a small piece of such amazing projects!

-Paul

[Rafal Haczek 1612]

PMDG has created a masterpiece thats performance is mind blowing considering the complexity of what they produced

That is very good news to me, Paul!

I was wondering what it is going to be like performance-wise. The Queen is the only bird that happens to give me OOMs even after a total clean-up of the FS.

The virtual memory (page file) use stays around 1.3 GB through all the flight. The gaugess I guess since I've exchanged all textures into DXT.

So, considering the usually high price, I was in doubt. I asked at the PMDG forum but they ignored and then removed my post.

So now I can say I'm also waiting to ruin my credit card on PMDG MD-11, however it will take a month more till they release the FS9 version.

Can I have another question to you, Paul? I was not answered by PMDG. Maybe you can drop a line when you come back from hospital.

Is there an easy (like with the Queen's Menu) exchange of the VC and non-VC models?

And does the non-VC model (in FS9!) have internal wings modelled (for wing views)?

Thanks for your nice mini review.

Good luck with your surgery!

Best regards,

Rafal

[Waleed 29]

Paul, I am sure it is great, but since it is not for Eid, I guess I am not included.

[psolk 80]

That is very good news to me, Paul!

I was wondering what it is going to be like performance-wise. The Queen is the only bird that happens to give me OOMs even after a total clean-up of the FS.

The virtual memory (page file) use stays around 1.3 GB through all the flight. The gaugess I guess since I've exchanged all textures into DXT.

So, considering the usually high price, I was in doubt. I asked at the PMDG forum but they ignored and then removed my post.

So now I can say I'm also waiting to ruin my credit card on PMDG MD-11, however it will take a month more till they release the FS9 version.

Can I have another question to you, Paul? I was not answered by PMDG. Maybe you can drop a line when you come back from hospital.

Is there an easy (like with the Queen's Menu) exchange of the VC and non-VC models?

And does the non-VC model (in FS9!) have internal wings modelled (for wing views)?

Thanks for your nice mini review.

Good luck with your surgery!

Best regards,

Rafal

Hey Rafal, I am home now, 6 hours later and I can't sit but I can drool on myself so please take what I type with a grain of salt...

Performance wise, the MD is much better than the Queen IMHO. I have not seen any OOM's but I did make the change to XP 64 halfway through testing because I was using the /3GB switch and it causes all sorts of other issues with my dual 8800 cards. Under XP 64 I never saw a single OOM and I put her through 12 hour non-stops running on 3 monitors simultaneously....

What blew me away was the level of technology in the MD, it is mind blowing. I too always thought the Queen was very resource intensive but immediately noticed my system sighed a breath of relief when I loaded up the MD.

As for your questions:

I do not think there is a model switcher option but I could be wrong, I will have to double check. There is a Widescreen or Normal 4:3 option which is nice. I will also say flying the MD in FSX in the VC is really unreal and the performance is extremely surprisingly good.

As for FS9 the team has been entirely focused on FSX so I am not permitted to discuss the FS9 version at all. Personally and this has nothing to do with PMDG but my gut says there will not be a separate wing view option because one thing I have learned as part of the PMDG Beta team is how dedicated to accuracy these guys are. The pilots are pretty adamant that they DO NOT see the wings from the cockpit and although we simmers love it a pilot would never see it... PMDG is 100% focused on the most accurate and realistic simulation of the flight deck and there are no wing views on a full motion simulator...

I have Like I said though, that is just my gut , I can't say anything definite nor can I speak for PMDG....

Sorry I can't give you more info.

Waleed, I am not familiar with Eid???

[Rafal Haczek 1612]

Hi, Paul!

Thanks for replying and great you're safe back at home.

Veeery good news again about the performance and I will definitely be getting the FS9 MD-11 regardless of the price.

Although I heard the 3GB switch helps with PMDG OOMs I haven't applied it for two reeasons:

- I heard there are some potential system risks and I use my PC both for flying and for working

- I love AES

PMDG is 100% focused on the most accurate and realistic simulation of the flight deck and there are no wing views on a full motion simulator...

As for accuracy, I'm wholeheartedly for it. Whenever I ask about wing views I have a feeling people see me as a whinning newbie.

On the contrary, I'm a hardcore systemflightplan/weather/checklist/ATC guy. I spend two hours preparing a one-hour flight.

But the truth is I love watching the changing world (including UTE, GE and FSG I paid for) when I fly, especially long hauls.

I know pilots do not see it like that, but we have so many compromises in FS anyway (including being a one-pilot crew)...

Full motion simulators don't have VC or external views either.

What's more the PMDG team themselves seem not to be sure how to treat the wing perspective matter.

They've equipped their 737NG in it and it was their idea proudly shared in screenshots.

Then they gave it up for the Queen irritated that people ask abou it.

Then they again restored it for 747-400 for FSX. So that's why I asked.

I'm a VC flyer (TrackIR4) mostly for GA flights. I fly heavy metal in 2D since there's too much for me to do (panels, papers, online ATC, etc...)

I know there are guys who easily do all that turning their heads in the VC, but I'm not that good.

But there IS a non-VC (for 2D flyers) model to choose, isn't it?

Thanks again for the info and your time and I'm glad you're fine, mate.

Best regards,

Rafal

[psolk 80]

Hi, Paul!

Thanks for replying and great you're safe back at home.

Veeery good news again about the performance and I will definitely be getting the FS9 MD-11 regardless of the price.

Although I heard the 3GB switch helps with PMDG OOMs I haven't applied it for two reeasons:

- I heard there are some potential system risks and I use my PC both for flying and for working

- I love AES

As for accuracy, I'm wholeheartedly for it. Whenever I ask about wing views I have a feeling people see me as a whinning newbie.

On the contrary, I'm a hardcore systemflightplan/weather/checklist/ATC guy. I spend two hours preparing a one-hour flight.

But the truth is I love watching the changing world (including UTE, GE and FSG I paid for) when I fly, especially long hauls.

I know pilots do not see it like that, but we have so many compromises in FS anyway (including being a one-pilot crew)...

Full motion simulators don't have VC or external views either.

What's more the PMDG team themselves seem not to be sure how to treat the wing perspective matter.

They've equipped their 737NG in it and it was their idea proudly shared in screenshots.

Then they gave it up for the Queen irritated that people ask abou it.

Then they again restored it for 747-400 for FSX. So that's why I asked.

I'm a VC flyer (TrackIR4) mostly for GA flights. I fly heavy metal in 2D since there's too much for me to do (panels, papers, online ATC, etc...)

I know there are guys who easily do all that turning their heads in the VC, but I'm not that good.

But there IS a non-VC (for 2D flyers) model to choose, isn't it?

Thanks again for the info and your time and I'm glad you're fine, mate.

Best regards,

Rafal

Hey Rafal,

I would describe myself as the exact same type of simmer and I too like the wingviews so please don't think I am knocking them I am just the messenger

I do all of my flying VC exclusively and the MD is a real gem for this especially but there is absolutely a beautiful 2-D panel as well as undockable 2d panels for multi-monitor flyers such as myself.... Then you have the best of both worlds, VC for its beauty but 2-d popups on monitors 2 and 3 for easy access.

The MD has some other awesome features such as realtime refueling during preflight, door controls via the FMC, pushback via the FMC, the MD team really thought of everything!

Thanks for all the good wishes Rafal, it is greatly appreciated!! The anesthesia is starting to really wear off so the pain is really setting in but at least I am home in my own bed with my laptop next to me

Oh yeah...There is a technical difference between wingviews in FS9 and FSX but I am not coherent enough to remember what it is right now. I know it has something to do with how they are read in the different sims and polygon count I still haven't played with the FS9 version yet though so I am still speculating on anything niner

Thank you again for the good wishes, hopefully I will be enjoying her with the rest of you soon!

-Paul

[psolk 80]

Hey Rafal,

I would describe myself as the exact same type of simmer and I too like the wingviews so please don't think I am knocking them I am just the messenger

I do all of my flying VC exclusively and the MD is a real gem for this especially but there is absolutely a beautiful 2-D panel as well as undockable 2d panels for multi-monitor flyers such as myself.... Then you have the best of both worlds, VC for its beauty but 2-d popups on monitors 2 and 3 for easy access.

The MD has some other awesome features such as realtime refueling during preflight, door controls via the FMC, pushback via the FMC, the MD team really thought of everything!

Thanks for all the good wishes Rafal, it is greatly appreciated!! The anesthesia is starting to really wear off so the pain is really setting in but at least I am home in my own bed with my laptop next to me

Oh yeah...There is a technical difference between wingviews in FS9 and FSX but I am not coherent enough to remember what it is right now. I know it has something to do with how they are read in the different sims and polygon count I still haven't played with the FS9 version yet though so I am still speculating on anything niner

Thank you again for the good wishes, hopefully I will be enjoying her with the rest of you soon!

-Paul

They are both out folks, run don't walk to get both of them!!!

Enjoy!

-Paul

[Waleed 29]

Just a joke in a way Paul.

I hope you get better soon, and are able to move forward and enjoy fs much more.

Eid is a Muslim holiday that comes after spending a month of fasting(nothing consumed from sunrise to sunset), and this year it happened to be on the 1st of this month.

Anyway, the reason I mentioned it is that having lived in the U.S.(in Dubai now) for the longest time, I alwways felt left out as any and everything is celebrated, and I end up with the short end. ( I am a grown up and can deal with it)

As for the md11, I have been waiting for it for a while, but am hesitant right now as my system is not up to the fsx task.

I have a good setup, but for some reason, it is slow, and I have to put the settings way to the left.

Heathrow and London vfr give me oom, and this before I installed GEX, and no ai yet.

I think it is my card.(9800gtx) But I am glad to hear that it is easier on the system than the queen.

My main issue with fs is the lack of time. I got the Embraer series lately, and have only been able to take a quick hop around the new york area in fs9, and got the oom in fsx.

Sadly, I made a mistake and purchased the A380 vol.2, which was rather disapointing, but such is life.

I think I will get the md11 in a couple of months after I get a new video card.

In the meantime, concentrate on getting better so you can enjoy life.