Our suggestions for Christmas 2017

By this I mean something beefy with a lot of RAM, and a killer card. My suggestions are either the nVidia 1080, or the Radeon RX 480. For memory, no less than 16 Gigs RAM. Your CPU should be ideally an i7 chip (the faster the better), with about 6 or more cores. I know the bare minimum is 4 cores, but you'll thank me later for adding more. You may also want to get an SSD drive. Make sure you put your windows on a partition and leave that as the only thing on there, then the rest of it, you can use for wonderful sims like X-Plane, Aerofly FS2, DCS World, FSX-SE, and P3D v4.

Whether you choose the Oculus RIft, the HTC Vive, or any number of the new mixed reality headsets being beta tested now, making sure your computer can handle it is the MOST important thing for the VR experience.

One final thing that most people tend to overlook... Especially if you get an Oculus Rift. Invest in some VR Covers (Virtual Reality Hygiene Solutions makes one). It is cheap, and it does an amazing job at not only sopping up forehead sweat, but making your head more comfortable, when doing those long DCS missions, or those X-Plane long hauls. Some VR cover makers give you two in one package, and they are easily washable to keep them germ free. It makes a WORLD of difference!

Happy Holidays all, and see you next year. Ciao!

Holiday wish list you say?

Tristan Ayton (Novawing24)

So its that time of year when we get asked and ask ones self what do we want for the holidays? As a simmer it can sometimes be hard to sift through all the fabulous things available to us; the virtual smorgasbord of choices we have is really astonishing. From new and reinvigorated core simulators to a wide variety of addons to make it all so much more immersive; the struggle to choose is real. So I am going to pick my two, one for a perhaps mor advanced simmer and one that is equally applicable to new comers and old hands a like.

For the newcomer, or the old hand with older equipment, a good value set of controls is a must have. Some of the hardware in the market – while great quality – comes in at an eye wateringly high price. Thrustmaster has come to the rescue with a quality mid-range product that is extremely versatile and still affordable. The T16000M FCS Flight pack includes all the controls you need; Stick, Throttle and Rudder Pedals. The build quality is reasonable and the price of the whole set is less than US$200.00. This represents a great value “starter kit” for a new simmer; or for a more experienced simmer who wants to upgrade to a new full set of hardware without breaking the bank.

The second I have is something that is great for what it does to your sim, and its something you may not even realize is missing. The FS Global Ultimate Next Generation Terrain mesh will breathe an incredible amount of life into your flying experience (sorry X-Plane users this isn’t for you guys). In a nutshell terrain mesh is how pointy a mountain is, how deep a valley is and everything in between. This may not sound too important until you relaize that cliffs, mountains are just not rendered as well as they should in all flight sims. Enhancing these gives your experience a whoile new level of depth and complexity as you navigate around a far more dynamic and closer to real workld onditions in your sim. The great thing about this product is that it works across FSX, FSX:SE, P3Dv1-4 and FSW. So the main and upcoming polatforms can all take advantage of this incredibly detailed and in my opinion essential element of the flight simulation scenery build up. It compiles the latest refined data from around the globe to make your scenery far more representative of the real thing. It comes at a bit of a steep price but one that is worth it I believe!

Well they are my ideas for some Simulation Holiday cheer!

Safe Skies