Simviation Forums

although i vaguely remember playing flight simulator II on the c64 back in the 80's,i haven't been keeping up with all of the releases over the years so i'm new to these games. i just bought FS2004 last week and i am thinking about checking out 2002, but i am a little confused on which version i should get. i'm assuming the "professional" version is probably better , but what exactly is the difference between the two? and does the pro version include everything from the standard version?

I beleave....not positive...but FS2002 Pro. just has s a few more aircraft ( available anyware for download)
FS2002 might have some other modification to it but I don't think it is to major

so basically FS2004 is the SAME game as 2002, just with more added?

Pro includes Gmax (for modelers), Image Tool also, I think (for repainters), a few more aircraft as has been mentioned, but otherwise, as far as I can remember, is exactly the same as Std in all working aspects.  I saw no differences.  So if you've got Std, don't waste your $ on Pro.   However, most simmers have gone to FS9 by now, which does not include the extra programs, by the way.  

thanks for the info everyone . i _DO_ get some slowdown with FS2004 but it only seems to be when i start turning the settings too high. default settings are ok though.btw, how can i find out how many frames per second i'm getting?

Hi Brundlefly!
Welcome to SimViation!
I have FS2002 at the moment and I'm wanting to go to FS2004. I hope to get it in the next few weeks. As far as I know there is no comparison between the two. FS2004 is leaps and bounds better. Going to FS2002 pro or standard will be a downward step. The only problem with FS2004 is its enormous appertite on machines, as u mention. But I was told by someone on here that even with the graphis on medium it is much better than FS2002.
As you'll already know if you want extra planes SImV is the place to come... - there are literally thousands here!

Ben

Just to clarify. Flight Simulator (FS) has been an ongoing project since FS1 in 1979. In recent years it has been updated on a biennial basis, alternating with Combat Flight Simulator (CFS). Theoretically at least, each version is a considerable improvement on the previous one. FS2004 (FS9) is the latest in the series & regarded by most people here as the best yet. If runs well enough on your system I see no sense in bothering with FS2002 (FS8 ).

Here's the history of Flight Simulator. http://simflight.com/~fshistory/fsh/start.htm

Guys, I think that this debate is bigger than whether FS9 is 'better' than FS8 Pro. 'Better' is a relative term, and there do appear to be downsides to FS9: there are quite a few planes out there in the freeware world that will not display properly in FS9, but they will in FS8. Those with systems that will just cope with FS8 are unlikely to cope with FS9. FSUIPC and Active Camera are freeware for FS8... The list goes on. In these cases, FS8 is 'better' than FS9 - see what I mean? Horses for courses.

Having seen the screenshots in the freeware forum, the sky shots may be a little further advanced in FS9 but I don't see a huge difference otherwise. I don't hear about improvements in plane handling, and that's one of the main reasons I fly in the M$ simulator - indeed, I spend most of my time in the cockpit. So maybe it doesn't make a great deal of difference for me.

There's some fantastic freeware scenery out there for FS8 which is excellent, and shows FS8 off for what it can achieve - try the Caribbean meshes and scenery packages on the web.

It's a shame that you can't have FS8 and FS9 loaded on the same machine at the same time (or can you? Anybody know?); this might be a good solution.

I'm sorry but I disagree. It is not just a few cloud/sky features that make FS2004 different. The whole game has been improved. I think it is fair to say that nearly everyone if not everyone with both sims will recommend FS2004 over FS2002.  

Ben

I've used FS2004 and own FS2002 and I think FS2004 is better, but I'm not buying it until I'm sure Project Ai has an FS2004 version or just works in FS2004 with the FS2002 version.

Chomp, I use PAI with 2004 just fine.

EDIT:

However, most simmers have gone to FS9 by now, which does not include the extra programs, by the way.

No, but the two programs (ImageTool and gMax) are obtainable in other ways.  gMax is a free download from discreet.com and ImageTool does the same thing as the also free dxtbmp.

Chomp, I use PAI with 2004 just fine.

Then it's settled, I'm getting FS2004 .