Flight Simulator 5.0 (Flight Review and Bug List)
9 /16 /93
Flight Simulator 5.0 - Flight Review and Bug List
by Mike Barrs 72070,1706, Associate Sysop,
Compuserve Flight Simulation Forum (GO FSFORUM)
The review portion of this text will be brief. Most of the text below is a bug list which speaks for itself as a review of the program. Note - the opinions expressed here are my own personal views. If you are interested in FS5, I strongly recommend that you buy it from a store with a good return policy and then form your own conclusions about the program. Not everyone has the same priorities I do, and many of these bugs may not bother you.
I've been a Flight Simulator pilot ever since the FSII version, which I flew on an 8088 machine with CGA graphics. With the new Flight Simulator 5.0, I was looking forward to breakthroughs in both graphics and flight realism. Unfortunately, MS /BAO concentrated on flashy graphics and left the core flight simulation in a crippled, half-finished condition. The graphics are undeniably wonderful, but there's more to a flight simulation than graphics. In its current state FS5 is "all style and no substance".
As I write this, Microsoft has made no commitment to patch the program, and all the problems mentioned below were reported during beta testing. Microsoft's current position (to quote directly) is "If there is enough demand we will fix the problems." So it's up to all the FS5 owners out there. If these things bother you as much as they do me, then make an independent evaluation of the program, decide what bothers you, and then post a message to "Rich Noren 75000,1356" in Microsoft's MSAPP forum on Compuserve, or make a phone call to MS tech support (see the phone number inside your manual). I sincerely hope the potential in this program can be developed. Otherwise, it will remain just a fancy display engine for the new scenery.
CRITICAL PROBLEMS:
* One of the worst bugs is a periodic 1 /2 second pause in the animation as FS5 loads scenery textures. Fly from Meigs to O'Hare and you'll see three brief pauses in the animation, with a fourth slightly longer one as O'Hare pops into view. There's even a pause on final approach to Meigs when the runway texture loads. The pauses can be reduced (but not eliminated) if you turn off the building texture effect. It can only be eliminated completely if you turn off both building and ground texture, and you might still get a pause when graphics load at major airports. Note: a disk cache will not help. The pauses result from BAO cramming too much data through the EMS page frame. To me, pauses in the 3D animation "break the realism bubble" and are totally unacceptable.
* The Dual Player modem feature does not work on my system (VLB 486 /66 with a Practical Peripherals 14.4k modem). MS /BAO, Mallard, and some beta testers have reported successful hookups, although even with solid connections there appears to be a bug in the TRACK mode. which shows your POV from the cockpit floor. Others (including myself) have been unable to sustain a connection past 30 seconds before FS5 drops the connection. I also get a complete system lockup when exiting Dual Player. This may be curable by changing the modem init strings, but as of this writing, MS /BAO was not able to suggest anything that would work. As far as we can tell, the problem is not with the modem inits but with FS5's programming.
* The flight model does not include spins. For me, this is a major disappointment. The description of a spin and spin recovery in the FS5 manual is an inaccurate "kludge" to compensate for FS5's lack of a spin model.
* Power-off stall is too soft in the Cessna and Camel.
* There is no ground cushion effect when landing.
* On fast machines the joystick input is twitchy.... I see the cockpit control indicators and the outside control surfaces vibrating slightly when my hands and feet are off the controls. This twitching is fed directly to the flight model as control input, so it's a serious bug. Instead of smooth flight, you get a "squirrely" response from the aircraft. This problem may only be limited to very fast CPU's. Workaround: if you have a speed-adjustable CH, Gravis, or Thrustmaster game card, you can reduce the twitching by choosing the lowest speed setting. However this probably won't be the best setting for the other flight sims and games on your machine.
* The Aircraft Damage From Stress feature is completely mucked up. Lower the Cessna's flaps while sitting on the runway with this feature active, and you'll explode. In the Lear, you explode in mid-air when horsing the controls around at 100kts or less. This feature is potentially a great addition to the flight model, but only if it works accurately. This stress damage effect needs to be accurately linked to airspeed and G-loading, otherwise it's not worthwhile to leave it turned on.
* If you have the Flight Control Realism slider turned up full and are using rudder pedals, the Camel will not take off in a straight line even if you hold full right rudder. You'll swerve almost completely off the runway before your nose comes down. The Camel has either too much P-factor or else the rudder effect is too weak.
* The new constant speed and "automatic" prop feature are flawed. Quoting Scott Holtzman:
"The prop works fine on fixed, that's the same as disabling the CS prop altogether. Automatic retards the prop to feather when you reduce power to land. The auto mode should be completely eliminated, it's foolishness... the computer would need to evaluate the entire flight profile to determine the prop setting. At low power settings increasing prop RP /M increases drag. Constand speed prop: the prop should not back off to low RP /M at idle. Sound should change with both prop and throttle adjustments. The sound should be geared to the thrust being produced. This would be the easiest fix (although not completely accurate). Also the displayed values for RP /M and MP are way off. MP should top off at ambient pressure -1". You should loose 1" of pressure per 1000' of altitude gained. This max figure is for sea level airports. RP /M should max out at 2700 RP /M."
* There is a bug during turns when winds are active. Quoting Rick Lee:
"I set up a 50 mph headwind from the north running straight down the Meigs runway. I take off and everything looks fine. Ground speed appears to be very low which is correct. I let the airspeed get up to 110 in level flight (rpm 2400) and everything still looks fine. I bank left for a standard rate turn and my airspeed drops quickly to about 60 and I am sinking like a rock. I can't make a standard rate turn at 110. Weird. I get the plane back up and level flying due south now. It seems that my ground speed is high... that's good. I get south of Meigs and bank left again for a standard rate turn and this time my airspeed jumps up to about 140 and I'm climbing like a rocket."
* NAV1 autopilot hold does not work. It will only turn to within 6 or 7 degrees of the selected VOR radial.
* The ILS beacons are not lined up with the runway - they're displaced slightly to the right and parallel with the runway. This is most easily noticed by comparing ILS and EFIS alignment in slew mode at 5 miles.
* There is no separate ground steering mode in the flight model. When taxiing, the plane swerves left and right with the same yaw axis momentum /inertia effects that are active during flight. There is no feeling that your tires are connected to the pavement (as in FS4).
* Sound bugs: My Soundblaster Pro occasionally starts playing a deep rumbling "white noise" instead of the normal engine sound (workaround: hit "Q" twice). This often happens when FS5 memory is pushed near the limit, as when opening a map window over the Lear cockpit. Standard Soundblaster owners have reported a "skipping" sound dropout.
* The map view is a cluttered mess. It's very difficult to see airports if you have ground texture turned on.
* Airports and (especially) runways do not appear soon enough. This is not a major problem for the IFR pilot flying a pre-planned route, but it's a serious handicap for VFR flying and casual sightseeing.
* Thunderstorms are 2-dimensional bitmaps. You can't fly inside them. They have absolutely no effect on flight... no wind, no turbulence. The thunderstorms in FS4 were simple polygon objects but at least they had depth and affected the flight model. The ones in FS5 are just window dressing.
* The standardized interface and file management we were all hoping for didn't make it into the simulation. The interface does not follow current Windows /Dos conventions (i.e. double-clicking does not launch a selected item, hitting a key doesn't jump to the first file with that name, etc.). None of the menus include subdirectory management, which makes scenery and situation (mode) management just as difficult as it was with FS4. FS5 also includes several interface "no-no's" like showing files from two separate subdirectories in the same selection menu.
* FS5 is not very stable under Windows 3.1. Soundblaster owners must disable the "uses XMS" setting on FS5's sound menu to avoid a crash, and the video stability depends on your video card and driver. When I Alt-Tab back and forth between full screen FS5 and the Windows desktop, I see colored confetti all over the cockpit screen. Workaround (for my Cirrus card, at least): hit <Esc> to redraw the screen.
* Last, but not least (in the major problem category): the coastlines in the default scenery are horrendously inaccurate. According to MS /BAO's new and improved Lat /Long coordinate system, my home town Miami is underwater in the Straits of Florida. The entire coastline of Florida is a joke, and the rest of the U.S. and Europe (away from the detailed scenery areas) is no better. It's not even as accurate as the F1 default US background in FS4. If ASD doesn't include a completely revamped default background terrain, then scenery designers will have to create the entire continental coastline of the U.S. and Europe from scratch.
MINOR PROBLEMS:
* There is no wind noise for the sail plane.
* Flashing cloud effect appears inside the cockpit in side and rear views.
* Some runways appear to "float" above the terrain until you get close.
* Runway markings are not painted until just before you touch down.
* Objects poking through clouds (buildings, t-storms) sink as you go up.
* The Camel cockpit graphics should be extended to cover the lower screen area.
* During dusk lighting conditions, your landing lights are shown as a dark spot on the ground instead of a light one.
* There are a few remaining glitches in the horizon display. For example, when approaching Los Angeles from the west (at sufficient distance), you'll see ocean on the eastern horizon behind LA.
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