Microsoft Flight Simulator X

Microsoft Flight Simulator X

Developers
	ACES Game Studio
Steam Edition	Dovetail Games
Publishers
	Microsoft Game Studios
Release dates
Windows	October 17, 2006
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, DLC
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time, Relaxed
Perspectives	First-person, Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Simulation, Open world, Vehicle simulator
Vehicles	Flight
Art styles	Realistic
Series	Microsoft Flight Simulator

Warnings

GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

Microsoft Flight Simulator X is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person and third-person simulation, open world and vehicle simulator game in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series.

General information

AVSIM - a very active fan forum.

FlightSim.com - a very active fan forum.

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
Amazon.com		Gold Edition.
Steam		Steam Edition
Games for Windows Marketplace (unavailable)

Version differences

The Gold Edition includes the base game and the Acceleration expansion pack.

The Steam Edition is a digital variant of the Gold Edition which includes a few exclusive bug fixes and Steamworks multiplayer. This version of the game has a wide variety of DLCs made specifically for it.

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Acceleration	Included with the Gold Edition and Steam Edition. The expansion also comes with both Service Packs.
Around The World In 80 Flights Add-On	Steam Edition only.
Early Years of Flight Add-On	Steam Edition only.
Discover Arabia Add-On	Steam Edition only.

Essential improvements

Service packs

After installing the retail version of FSX, download and install Service Pack 1, then Service Pack 2. The latter is available here. Gold and Steam Edition users do not need these updates, as they are already fully updated.

Game data

In-game general settings.

In-game realism settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Flight Simulator X\FSX.cfg %APPDATA%\Microsoft\FSX\FSX.cfg
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/314160/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Flight Simulator X Files\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/314160/pfx/

Screenshots are saved in %USERPROFILE%\My Pictures\Flight Simulator X Files\

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game general video/options menu.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor			See Widescreen resolution.
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		Set Widescreen resolution aspect for a slightly wider (but still fixed) FOV.
Windowed		Alt+↵ Enter toggles.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Built-in antialiasing is generally bad. Use Nvidia Inspector or similar for best results.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		As with antialiasing, built in V-Sync is generally bad.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		FPS cap can be removed.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

• 

  In-game advanced video settings (Graphics).

• 

  In-game advanced video settings (Aircraft).

• 

  In-game advanced video settings (Scenery).

• 

  In-game advanced video settings (Weather).

• 

  In-game advanced video settings (Traffic).

Widescreen resolution

Enabling wide view aspect also increases the in-flight FOV.

Set WideViewAspect in FSX.cfg[citation needed]
Edit %APPDATA%\Microsoft\FSX\FSX.cfg. Change WideViewAspect=False to WideViewAspect=True Save the changes.

Input

In-game control calibration settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion		X-axis can also be inverted.
Controller
Controller support		Compatible with Xbox 360 controller for Windows.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion		X-axis can also be inverted.

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers

DualShock 4 controllers

Tracked motion controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

• 

  In-game key/button remap settings.

• 

  In-game axes remap settings.

• 

  In-game force feedback settings.

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Airplane's engine, cockpit, environment, and voice.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		Can be enabled in settings.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French				Retail only.
German				Retail only.
Italian				Retail only.
Japanese				Retail only.
Polish				Retail only.
Russian				Retail only.
Spanish				Retail only.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Notes
Local play
LAN play
Online play		The official GameSpy service has been shut down; the Steam Edition uses Steamworks.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	3783, 6500, 6515, 6667, 13139, 27900, 28900, 29900-29901
UDP	6073, 6515, 13139, 23456, 27900

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		Fix: Helix Mod by Bo3b, some lights do not render.
TriDef 3D		DirectX 9 only.
iZ3D
vorpX		G3D Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Headsets
SteamVR		Use FlyInside.
Oculus VR (LibOVR)		Use FlyInside.
Windows Mixed Reality		This game might be playable with the Revive Compatibility Layer, or Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR.
OSVR

Devices
Tracked motion controllers
Traditional controller		See Input for details.
Keyboard/Mouse
Tobii Eye Tracking		Use Tobii Game Hub. Supports: Extended View - Eye & Head Tracking.
TrackIR		Supports: Yaw, Pitch, Roll, X, Y, Z.

Play area
Seated
Standing
Room-scale

Issues fixed

"1628: Failed to complete installation" error when installing

Force Windows Vista compatibility mode
Run Setup.exe on the installation DVD with the Windows Vista (Service Pack 1) Windows Compatibility Mode.

"Error Code 1-80004005" on launch

Error message: "We're sorry, an unexpected error occurred which is preventing product activation from being completed. ERROR CODE: 1-80004005"

Change registry setting
Run the Registry Editor. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e967-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318} Open UpperFilters Change the contents to PartMgr (this is case sensitive). Run the game normally. The activation window should appear.

Audio becomes too quiet/ducks

The game is meant to reduce the game's audio levels but not the dialog, this might be a bug.

Change Windows audio communication levels
Open the old Sounds Control Panel by either right-clicking the speaker icon in the taskbar or by going through Control Panel. Under the Communications tab, set "When Windows detects communication activity" to "Do nothing" or 50% Resume playing the game. The setting may have to be changed again if the game refuses to recognise the current setting.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c, 10
Shader Model support	1.1, 4	[citation needed]

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Multiplayer	GameSpy, Steamworks	GameSpy no longer available. Steam version uses Steamworks.

Game settings tweaks

Click Expand on the right to show the section.

Graphics

• Set resolution to your monitors default resolution.
• The frame rate can either be locked with the internal limiter or an external limiter. External limiters may yield higher performance but have been linked to blurries and stutters
• Anti-Aliasing is dependent on whether you are using another utility such as Nvidia Inspector to force higher anti-aliasing
• Global texture resolution should be set to Very High. This will allow FSX to load texture sheets up to 1024x1024
• Preview DX10 enables DirectX 10. Many addons and even default objects will not display properly and anti-aliasing does not work. Advantages are increased performance, enhanced lighting, and cockpit shadows
• Lens flare enables a camera-like flare when looking at the sun
• Light bloom adds a subtle bloom but decreases performance. A better option is the ENB Series mod
• Advanced animations allows many object animations to display, leave this checked

Aircraft

• High resolution 3-D virtual cockpit should be left enabled for best detail
• Aircraft shadows add depth to the sim but are somewhat bugged and decrease performance
• Aircraft self-shadowing is also bugged and decreases performance but adds depth and shading to aircraft

Scenery

• Level of detail radius impacts the sharpness of terrain around the user. The higher this is set the less blurry distant terrain will be at the expense of increased memory usage and decreased performance
• Mesh complexity impacts how far away mesh will retain a high resolution. A lower number will load lower resolution mesh at a distance
• Mesh resolution is the resolution of the terrain mesh itself. Many addons require a certain resolution but there is no default FSX mesh of a higher resolution than 10m
• Texture resolution determines the maximum resolution that terrain textures will be loaded. Set to 7 cm so that all terrain textures and photoreal overlays will display at their highest potential resolution. Default FSX terrain textures are 1m
• Water effects controls the wave action and reflection in water. Higher settings impact performance but look better. Low 2.X or higher is advised for best graphics. Max 2.X is known to be bugged
• Land detail textures, leave this checked
• Scenery complexity determines how many non-autogen objects are loaded. Extremely dense can be used on most systems
• Autogen density determines how much autogen is loaded by FSX. This setting will have the most impact on performance. Adjust accordingly to your system
• Ground scenery shadows allows objects to cast shadows. This setting takes a heavy toll on performance and is very buggy
• Special effects include moving waves, fireworks and other effects.

Weather

• Cloud draw distance determines how far away clouds are displayed. The highest setting is often beyond what a human eye can see in real life. Between 60 and 90 mi is a realistic setting for most conditions
• Thermal visualization will show markers for thermals. If enabled either natural or artificial markers are used. Natural markers are birds flying in the thermal while artificial markers show a coil following the thermal upwards
• Simple or detailed clouds affects the quality of clouds. Detailed clouds appear much better but take a harder hit on performance
• Cloud coverage density will set the number of clouds to be displayed. A higher setting will decrease performance
• The simulations settings box adjusts the affect of weather on the users aircraft and how often real world weather is downloaded

Traffic

• Adjust traffic settings according to your system. All AI traffic requires CPU power and will decrease performance.
• Road traffic should be kept at a low number or disabled as it is a heavy performance hit.

CFG tweaks

To reset the settings, delete the FSX.cfg file and launch FSX. A new configuration file will be generated.

Multi-core Fix[citation needed]

Changes how FSX uses multiple cores. Open the configuration file (.cfg) and add the following: [JOBSCHEDULER] AffinityMask=n Where n is a number that will depend on the amount of physical CPU cores you have: 3 for a dual-core CPU. 7 for a tri-core CPU. 15 for a quad-core CPU. 63 for a hexa-core CPU. Notes This tweak will move FSX's main thread from core 0, where the OS puts most processes, to core 1. This tweak is reported to improve performance. Removes core 0 from use and so fewer threads are available to load scenery and textures. FSX does not support simultaneous multithreading (e.g. Intel's Hyper-threading), so virtual cores are not to be factored in to this tweak. Simultaneous multithreading has been reported to increase stutters and decrease performance.

HighMemFix[citation needed]
A recommended tweak from Microsoft for all FSX users. Open the configuration file (.cfg) and add the following: [GRAPHICS] HIGHMEMFIX=1

Turn Off Red Warning Messages[citation needed]
Open the configuration file (.cfg) and change the following lines from True to False: InfoBrakesEnable=False InfoParkingBrakesEnable=False InfoPauseEnable=False InfoSlewEnable=False InfoStallEnable=False InfoOverspeedEnable=False

Bufferpool[citation needed]
Open the configuration file (.cfg) and add the following: [BufferPools] PoolSize=0 Notes Set "Water Effects" to High 2.X or higher to prevent flashes with this tweak Setting to 0 bypasses the internal bufferpool and sends data directly from the CPU to the GPU. This tweak improves smoothness while turning in flight. Some users may experience artifacts from this tweak. The default value is 1000000.

Texture Bandwidth[citation needed]
Do not modify this line of the configuration file! In Flight Simulator 2004 it was recommended to change this value to 400 but this does not apply for FSX and will degrade performance. [DISPLAY] TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=40

Increase Maximum Texture Size[citation needed]
By default FSX will only display textures up to 1024x1024. Any larger textures will be downsized. Open the configuration file (.cfg) and change the following line to 2048 or 4096 to use higher resolution textures. [GRAPHICS] TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=4096 Notes Any size larger than 1024 will be reset to 1024 if settings are changed in-game.

Sharper Distant Textures[citation needed]

This tweak forces FSX to load textures that are farther away, making them appear sharper. It places a heavy load on memory and may result in out of memory errors. [TERRAIN] LOD_RADIUS=4.500000 Notes The default maximum in FSX is 4.5. Settings beyond 6.5 were shown to cause a drastic rise in errors and artifacts during FSX beta testing and user testing. This value will also be reset to the default maximum if settings are changed in game.

Autogen Density[citation needed]

Autogen is the trees and buildings automatically generated by the game engine. Autogen is resource intensive and so decreasing it will increase performance. Open the configuration file (.cfg) and add the following lines to the [TERRAIN] section. The default values are as shown. TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=4500 TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=3000 Notes These two values work very differently from each other. For buildings the in-game autogen slider loads autogen in intervals of 20% meaning that the highest setting loads 100% of autogen available and the lowest loads 0% available. If there are 1500 buildings on the terrain tile then a setting of Very Dense will load 80% of the 1500 buildings or 1200 buildings. Recommended values for TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL are between 700 and 1000. Autogen trees may be placed in the sim in different ways but the number of trees can override the TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL line. For those seeking more performance it is best to create an artificial cap for buildings and use the autogen slider to adjust trees.

Scenery Loading and Blurries[citation needed]

Open the configuration file (.cfg) and add the following to increase CPU time dedicated to loading scenery data: [MAIN] FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.33 Notes This variable determines the amount of CPU time given to loading scenery data as a fraction of the time spent rendering. The default value of 0.33 means that for ever 3 milliseconds spent rendering, FS will give 1 millisecond to the scenery loader. If this value is set to 0 scenery will not be loaded. The lower this value is set the higher performance will be, but at the expense of blurry terrain and autogen loss.

System requirements

Retail version

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	XP SP2, Vista
Processor (CPU)	2.0 GHz dual-core
System memory (RAM)	256 MB for XP SP2, 512 MB for Vista
Hard disk drive (HDD)	14 GB (Acceleration expansion [Included in Gold Edition] requires an additional 4 GB)
Video card (GPU)	32 MB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible Shader model 1.1 support

Steam version

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	XP SP2
Processor (CPU)	2.0 GHz Single Core
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	30 GB
Video card (GPU)	256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible Shader model 1.1 support