Best realistic graphics mods?

[ʙᴜɴ.ᴇ]

I have seen videos on youtube where the graphics look amazing and real but my game looks very unrealistic at max settings.

so I want to know what the best and most realistic mods are people use? I have powerful computer so I think I can run them and I can try.

Also where can I buy or download new planes?

[mikeytwc]

do a google search for FSX freeware planes
downloads at avsim,simviation,fspilotshop..google Dino Cattaneo, the list is literally mind boggling,fsdreamteam website for airports among other things
also search STEAM, look under the pinned topics at the top of the page, BEST PLANE ADDONS....

[Thunder]

this topic has been going on for 9 years , you'll all sorts of things, take a look at youtube videos just type fsx graphics and you will see that you will get more confused as you go alolng !! its just impossible to say what is right , its all trial and error i'm afraid.

[Morag]

Originally posted by ♥1D♥ Mimi ♥:

I have seen videos on youtube where the graphics look amazing and real but my game looks very unrealistic at max settings.

so I want to know what the best and most realistic mods are people use? I have powerful computer so I think I can run them and I can try.

Youtube videos usually say in the video description which add-ons were used. More often than not it's a combination of add ons, some of the really pretty videos will be running weather engines, texture packs, terrain data, mesh data, custom scenery and they're flying about in a $60 aircraft.

That said, you probably saw stuff by these guys
https://www.fullterrain.com/
they do very pretty global and regional scenery, there's other options ofc but I expect it's ORBX which caught your eye.

There's some free stuff on there you can try it out but there isn't just one thing you can download and install to make your flight sim look like the youtube videos.

If you're a bit more specific about which sort of planes you'd like to fly then people can help you find what you're after, free or payware.

[ʙᴜɴ.ᴇ]

I found out these mods are nice

ORBX YBRM
PMDG 737 NGX
REX Essential
EZdok Camera

I will buy orbx but not sure which one as there are lots of choose I think the global one is texture for whole world?
don't know difference between normal 737 and PMDG 737 NGX. is it just better textures or is there more additions?
Rex I will also buy that does weather and clouds.
umm I don't know about the camera, does anybody have that and can tell me what it does for the money?

one video also mentioned sweetFX. does anybody use that too?

if anyone uses these mods tell me if they are good to buy :)

[mikeytwc]

sweetfx is free and it basically enhances your shaders, allowing for crisper graphics
http://sweetfx.thelazy.net/
there is also a 2.0 alpha, 1.5.1 is the current build

[ʙᴜɴ.ᴇ]

I have a question about orbx, if you use orbx please answer.

if I buy global does that improve airports and regions the same as the individual airports and regions you can buy or are they different?

also is global vector and opencl worth buying and what do they improve?

[RoY]

Orbx FTX Globla base + Orbx Vectors + REX SoftCoulds

[RoY]

Originally posted by ♥1D♥ Mimi ♥:

I have a question about orbx, if you use orbx please answer.

if I buy global does that improve airports and regions the same as the individual airports and regions you can buy or are they different?

also is global vector and opencl worth buying and what do they improve?

The Orbx Global base is not as detailed as an individual region pack but it vastly improves the overall game (entire globe) compared to the bland sterile default FSX. Global base and vector improves the entire world. The airport and region packs add even further detail.

[Kapustick]

Ok, IMO...
1) REX4 + Soft Clouds: Sky, Sun, Clouds, Water, Waves, Runway/Taxiway/Ramps w/lighting (The default weather engine appears to be working)

2) Photoreal scenery such as MegaScenery Earth 2: No autogen to slow framerates and looks beautiful (look for 50cm resolution or better...IMO). This is what makes me fly more. I can tour and see real places. Makes me forget I like to shoot things while flying. Also, it's only $5 for Hawaii. It makes the islands look exactly how they do in real life...I live there. It's only $5 because there's still clouds showing on some of the islands...but I can get past that. Flying over the Hawaiian scenery with REX4 and Soft Clouds looks exactly how it did when I drove home just before I started the simulator.

3) FScene Terrain Mesh: gives better surface topography/"relief". Not necessary, but what the heck...Mountains look really beautiful when photoreal scenery is drapped over it.

4) 3D Lights Redux: Makes lights look waaaAAAAAAY better - not big blobs everywhere.

5) Ultimate Traffic 2 or other AI Traffic package: IMO, I prefer to see real airlines and their fleet aircraft. I turn off the default fantasy AI.

I haven't had luck with the few airports I purchased. They make my system unstable with their addon/upgrade managers, even if I'm no where near the ones I purchased.

Then, when everything is stable...look to take advantage of the DX10 Scenery Fixer and run DX10: Minimize the excessive water shimmer, Water isn't a washed out white at night, interior aircraft shadows act and look realistic, most of the flashing textures gone, puts the graphics load on GPU instead of CPU for higher FPS (DX10 function and not the tool).

BUT, as all the other posters have emphasized...you have to read about them in all the forums and heed the years of wisdom and experience of posters on other forums. If you don't, you're in for a lot of frustration and reinstalls. Also, read the manuals for the software you decide to purchase.

[firafrog]

Hi, for FTX/ORBX Global it cover whole world texture, to replace fsx texture, as for airport addon is different, it just an airport.

FTX Global = Texture replacement that cover nicely, so not much repeat texture like default.
FTX Vector = Correct all coastline and road.
FTX Open LC (currently only europe) = a good landclass that that differentiate which area rock which area grass
REX = Texture replacement/enhance for cloud, water , runway, apron, lightning, sky.

as for me, ftx global and rex is good enough for me at least to change surrounding,

[RoY]

FTX Vector, All vector based scenery, such as roads, railways, coastlines, beaches, power lines, rivers, streams, glaciers and lakes (to mention a few). it also adds features such as the ability to "freeze" lakes into a solid frozen surface during winter months. Lastly, FTX Global Vector also adjusts thousands of airport elevations to their real world elevations, correcting many elevation mistakes and inaccuracies found in default database.

[jon157uk]

Originally posted by ♥1D♥ Mimi ♥:

I have a question about orbx, if you use orbx please answer.

if I buy global does that improve airports and regions the same as the individual airports and regions you can buy or are they different?

also is global vector and opencl worth buying and what do they improve?

Hello Mimi... I have Orbix Global installed, for me it works really well in this Steam version and it's a real massive improvement visually. It's not very geographically correct and buildings are placed a bit random around towns but for me it's way better than Photo Real, Photo Real looks fantastic from around 5000ft up but it's very flat and plain and boring low down or at grond level. I've started adding some airfields and airports along with quite a bit of freeware from Simviasion and so far they added even more realism so I'm well impressed (for small UK airfields, Alf Denham is awesome, I love his stuff). As far as aircraft go my two most favorite ever planes (this will depend on taste of coures) are, one freeware - Aero Commander by Milton Shupe, there is a whole range of these in one download, every single one looks and performs really well. Equal favorite is a payware from Aerosoft - DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver, this little beauty is just around awesome.

[MAD Pigeon]

start of with DirectX10 fixer. that gives shaders, anti-alaising fixed shadows and much more with little price. I think its still not availible cuz SteveFX, the creator took it off from all shops for a short time. look at this video if you are interested in it, take a look at this video :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSrObxJaJD8

[Morag]

There's a free Dx10 shader fixer here
http://library.avsim.net/search.php?SearchTerm=shader_release_v3.2.3&CatID=root

which is by the same guy as the paid version and addresses most of the Dx10 issues like missing textures and flickering runways.

Get the paid version if you want to tweak further but you'll have to be prepared to roll your sleeves up and brush aside a lot of "warning! fiddling with this might wreck your FSX" type messages in bright red bold text in the manual...

The paid version installer is aware of the free fixer if it has been installed.

[side-fish]

Real life.

No really. I've bought add-ons such as REX and ORBX to make the game as realistic, but no matter what I do, it never quite compares to the real thing. Has anyone ever felt this? Watching real life video vs an FSX one. There's something the game doesn't quite catch. I personally think aside from the autogen pop-ins, texture blurries, there's little interaction with the clouds. When you pass by a cloud, they just fade away and become transparent, unlike in real life where it doesn't. Good thing REX made clouds volumetric.