My personal CFS2 vs. CFS3 thread/opinion

[CMINIVSDRACO]

Hi all!

I have spent 2 or 3 days testing, comparing, flying with CFS2 and CFS3, in order to choose which one I will fly in the near future (I have been off flight sims for almost 2 years !)

I was a huge CFS2 before but bought (even if I didnt played it) CFS3 last year...
In my opinion CFS2 is still the best (at least on my computer). CFS3 works ok (not perfect but ok...), but still havent in my opinion the "fluidity" of CFS2.
Dont know why.

Ah, and last thing (and please feel free to correct me if I am wrong), it seems that CFS2 has a lot more add-ons available : missions, campaigns, planes, utilities ... CFS3 is rather poor for that  :-/

In my opinion, CFS2 seems to be a very competitive flight sim, with good features, great add-ons, and still one of the best even if it is now rather old... right ?
What is your opinion on that subject ?

thx for your inputs.

Draco

[Hagar]

Here's my opinion for what it's worth. I was completely hooked on CFS1 for a long time. It took a while but once I got used to CFS2 I immediately realised its potential. I'm still exploring the possibilities some 3 years later. There's plenty of life in it yet. IMHO

CFS3 won't run any sense on my system & I no longer have it installed. Therefore, any comments I make would be unfair. Some people seem to think highly of it so it must have some attributes. I originally had a lot of problems even getting it to run. Once I got that fixed & from what little I saw of it I didn't care for the new spot view which distorts the aircraft. To me it's like looking through a fisheye lens & I prefer the conventional FS/CFS views. The difficulty in creating 3rd party addons for CFS3 is the reason for the comparatively few available examples. These are just starting to filter through over 1 year since its release.The conventional FS design programs are not compatible so you're restricted to Gmax for new aircraft & scenery. Being interested in the development side of things this another reason I dislike it.

[_526th_Fireman]

Well, I don't own CFS3 and don't think I will. This being based on all that I have read and heard. I have own and flown CFS2 for, what?, 4 years now. Still love it and fly on the Zone with it. I guess what makes it so good is the Add-ons available and what I see as still having potential for futher development.

Pilots come and go on the Zone with CFS2. Many return after flying CFS3 or other Flight Sims. The standard reason given for their return is, "CFS2 is STILL the best all around flight SIM". I tend to agree.

I now own FS2k4 and love it. But I still go back to the Zone and fly some combat with friends. Even do some extensive free flights with the Add-ons I (we) have installed.

So, CFS2 still rules in my opinion.

[HawkerTempest5]

I have to say I agree with the post so far. I have had CFS3 for over a year now and only got it to run about a month ago. Although I have it running quite well with good levels of detail, I still don't think it is half the sim CFS2 is. Almost every day I find new addons being uploaded for CFS2 but new addons for CFS3 are few and far between apart from repaints of existing planes that is. Being able to add new aircraft and scenery to the sim is all part of it's appeal and without that CFS3 feels a bit empty somehow. I'm sure as time goes on more new types will pop up (I found a super Beaufighter just the other day) but untill that time, CFS2 will still be king of the combat sims for me.

[1danny]

Hi I have all three (i have IL2 fb also didn't like it)
I haven't played 2 in a while
I am really enjoying a 1% cfs3 campaign with all the add on effects I love it.

I do however like the aircraft damage effects in cfs2 a lot more.

[Smoke2much]

I managed to get CFS3 to work on my system a few weeks ago with a great deal of assistance from Ozzy.  It is fun but CFS2 is a better flight simulator.  In addition since a hardware upgrade CFS2 looks photo real and flies like a dream whereas CFS3 has flashing autogen scenery and no improvement in frame rates whatsoever.

Will

[CMINIVSDRACO]

I guess that CFS3 will be good and playable when CFS4 will come out ?!  ;D

[paulb]

IMHO  ;)..............

CFS2 is the better sim. I have CFS3 (and now run it well on a decent pc) but I still prefer CFS2 for many of the reasons already stated in this thread. I just wish that the scenery etc could be advanced to FS2004 levels..

Currently, I think that IL2 Forgotten Battles is as good as any combat sim around..

Cheers Paul

[Woodlouse2002]

I personally say that CFS3 is better. When CFS3 first came out it was a next generation game and probably ahead of its time. It was M$'s first attempt with a brand new graphics engine and just because of that there were bound to be teething problems. Remember what FS2000 was like? Its the same story with CFS3. I have high hopes for CFS4. I believe that it will blow away all competition. Addons have been few and far between for CFS3 because of its new format and so on. CFS2 has thousands of addons because its been out three years and used the same formats as all the previous sims. Therefore the designers had experiance in making the addons and so they were made quickly. I'm sure Hagar can vouch that addons were slow to arrive for CFS1 and FS98. I think CFS3 is a great sim with lots more potential than people realise. And I look forward to many more sims with the same graphics engine.

[Hagar]

I'm sure Hagar can vouch that addons were slow to arrive for CFS1 and FS98

I actually got CFS1 first. The main advantage was that FS98 aircraft & scenery were fully compatible with it. CFS1 also has the FSFS converter which made it possible to import FS5 aircraft which if nothing else were useful as AI Only drones.

Many aircraft had already been developed in FS2000 for CFS2 before it was released in the hope they would be compatible. Bonzie's amazing B-52 is one example. This was almost finished before he even got CFS2. I converted & tested it for him until then.

This was not possible with CFS3 & it took so long for M$ to come up with the SDKs which made the situation even worse. This & the fact they can only be created with Gmax is the main reason for the comparatively few addons.