Flight1/Level-D 767 For FS2004 By Andrew Herd (10 May 2005 / Updated 19 September 2005) here is little doubt that if one was ever to assemble a flight simulation hall of fame, one of the addons which would surely have to take pride of place in it would be '767 Pilot in Command' - a product which, although it was not quite the first of its kind, changed the face of our hobby by inspiring a flood of ultra-realistic airliner packages. Before 767 PIC, it was possible to charge good money for airliner sims that had panels little more complex than Microsoft's default Boeings; but after the package hit the streets, users' expectations were sky high, and many developers found themselves struggling to fulfil them. The problem is that until FS2004 came along, Microsoft's Flight Simulator development cycle didn't allow enough time to conceive, code and debug a big 'procedural' sim; one symptom of which has been the post-release patches that we all know and love. 767 PIC users were spared some of the pain traditionally associated with ambitious addons, because although it was first released as payware for FS2000, the product could trace its roots back much further, to a series of freeware panels by Eric Ernst and Christian Kugler - and before that, to a very popular Boeing 777 panel for FS98 developed by Antonio Ambrosio.
Get link download Level_D_767.zip Download link from urldecript, direct link under maintenance. Level-D Simulations works to bring you the highest possible level of simulation for the Microsoft Flight Simulator platform. April 14, 2017 The version 1.50 compatibility update for Prepar3D and Windows 10 has been released.
This long development history has been one of the addon's greatest strengths. No-one who bought Wilco's 767 PIC when it was first released could have failed to be impressed with it. Although there were (inevitably, given its tremendous scope) several patches, it was about as perfect a simulation of real 767 operation as you could get outside a dedicated level D simulator.
It was also one of the first addons I had seen in which serious attention had been paid to modelling the flight management computer and even inertial reference unit (IRU) initialization was simulated. Sure, other addons had done some of this stuff before, but never in such detail and never in such a balanced package - if you excuse a that could definitely have been improved upon. We devoted a considerable amount of space to and it goes without saying that we liked it - how could we not, when the only way to improve on the experience would have been to get a captain's seat in a real one? There was an FS2002 upgrade, but things went quiet after that. Eric Ernst went on to become a real 767 pilot, which speaks volumes for the quality of the sim, but the eagerly awaited FS2004 version never showed and it seemed that the huge amount of effort involved, compared to the likely commercial return, might have killed the project.
If you ever find yourself developing an airliner simulation with the depth of a product like 767 PIC, don't ever try dividing the time you spend coding it into the profits, because the only possible conclusion is that there are more sensible ways of ways of making money. But now Level-D Simulations have brought the 767 back under the Flight1 label and the good news for fans of 767 PIC is that the FS2004 version is every bit as good as its predecessors. The package is a 173 Mb download, protected by Flight 1's well known key system - I also installed the 74 Mb Service Pack 2, which fixes many minor problems and adds several new features, but this download is only necessary for 'old' users. Hardware requirements are a 1.6 Ghz processor or better, with 512 Mb of RAM and a 128 Mb video card - note that the package will not run on Windows 98 or Me. After the installation had finished, I found a new 'Level-D Simulations 767-300' group nested under the Flight 1 banner in the Start Menu and opening it revealed links to a configuration manager, repaint manager, the operating manual and various other items including the credits.
The latter document makes interesting reading, not least because it shows what a big team was needed to develop the FS2004 version, but also because many of the original members are still hanging in there, which means that Eric, according to my calculations, has been with the project for at least eight years. Development was led this time by Wade Chafe, Laurent Crenier and Pedro Sousa.
Configuration manager must be run to finalise the installation and lets you load and fuel the plane. This applet gives three options for configuring the virtual cockpit (VC): present; present with wing views and window reflections; and absent.
The applet also displays useful numbers like zero fuel weight and total gross, which come in very handy later on when you get around to preflighting the flight management computer (FMC). One very welcome improvement would be a fuel and route calculator, with options for printing off weight and balance and flight plans, as in Lago's Maddog, but as it was I got used to keeping config manager on-screen until I was ready for pushback. The installation also puts a 'Level-D' menu into FS2004, allowing you to customise certain aspects of the addon, such as the rate at which equipment failures occur and it also lets you save panel states.
The manual is a 175 page pdf which takes the reader through each of the 767's many systems in considerable depth. The only possible criticism I can make is that it doesn't include a tutorial flight, nor was one available on the when I checked it out. Given that the simulation is so complicated, this is likely to be problematic for inexperienced simmers, although to be fair, you can fly the plane, as FS2004 loads it, by dropping 15 degrees of flap and firewalling the throttles, though to do so is missing 99% of the work the developers have packed into this giant of an addon. With SP2 applied, the Level-D 767 can justifiably claim to be the most sophisticated and accurate simulation of a large airline ever released for Flight Simulator; virtually every system and feature of the real plane is replicated, right down to accurate EGT peaks during startup and such minutiae as the way low hydraulic pressure will disarm the autobrake only in landing mode and not for rejected takeoff. If you want the very last word in simulation, or are facing a checkride in a real 767 read the rest of this review, because while this simulation might be equalled, but I doubt it will be bettered as far as FS2004 addons are concerned.
The addon has clearly come on a great deal since I last reviewed it, with the visual model having been vastly improved and boasting some of the most impressive flap animation I have seen. The original visual model was done by a different team, as far as I can recall, the result being that many simmers replaced it with Project OpenSky planes, but there is no need for such shennanigans with the FS2004 version of the 767. Here, I have got to confess that once again, life being too short, I haven't actually counted all the cabin windows (didn't do that the last time I reviewed the plane and guess what?), but comparison to the pictures I have to hand confirms that the current plane looks as real as one could wish, one feature worth noting being that other than the cockpit, the windows in the fuselage follow the increasing trend in recent large airliner sims of not being transparent in order to save some frames. The wheels and the fans go round, the thrust reversers open, as does the forward passenger and cargo bay doors and the APU deploys. Eight repaints are supplied with the package, with twenty nine more available as free downloads from on the Level-D site; and you have the choice of whether to install lower quality DXT3 sets, or 'regular' 32 bit textures, which will consume more system resources and are slightly larger downloads. The first time I fired up repaint manager, I found 32 bit Hawaiian and DXT Varig liveries ready for installation, which were processed without any problems, inspiring me to download some of the other 32 bit textures, which are very good indeed, particularly the Gulf Air livery, which features in the screenshots. Repaint manager is an absolute no-brainer to use, all you have to remember being to install the paint sets in the correct folder before running the app, which also makes it extremely easy to remove any liveries you don't happen to like.
The process could not be simpler - when you load Repaint Manager, it displays any schemes it finds in the. Aircraft LVLDB763 Downloads folder with a checkbox alongside them - you left click the ones you want to install, click the 'install repaints' button and that is it. The 'remove repaints' option works exactly the same way and is a welcome addition to the manager app, since most of its kin leave their users with no way of removing unwanted schemes other than deleting and reinstalling the addon. On a 3.0 Ghz Pentium with a couple of gigs of RAM and using an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, which must be a fairly standard setup by today's simming standards, I didn't have any significant problems with frame rates even with the VC enabled and running the cold front weather theme at EGLL.
This isn't to say that I was getting high figures, there being plenty of times when FPS were in the low teens and I experienced the occasional hesitation, but nonetheless the 767 remained very usable. It is probable that with 100% AI enabled drops into single figures would occur on very active ramp areas in complex airports if you use a less powerful system; however, if frame rates are a problem on your system, it should be possible to improve them by loading DXT3 textured planes and by using the non-VC visual model, which makes quite a difference to the fluidity of the sim. Readers who bought the FS2000 version will remember the 2D panel as being one of the best around at the time. The competition has moved on, so this isn't the case any more - and the main panel bitmap is sized at a curious 1280 x 680, resulting in some loss of definition when Flight Simulator resizes it to more standard resolutions, however, it looks much better than any of the default Boeing panels, though it is not in the same class as the DreamFleet and Captain Sim Boeings. The good news is that you can fly the 767 from the right hand seat as a first officer view is now included and you get all round 2D views, instead of the usual VC 'stills'. An impression of the incredible complexity of the codebase underlying this sim can be gained from dropping down the Level-D item that appears on the FS2004 menu. Implemented pages include INT REF (six pages including ident, pos init, perf, takeoff, approach and nav data); RTE; DEP ARR, with SIDs, STARs and approach procedures; 3 pages of VNAV; the fix page; LEGS pages; HOLD; PROG; MENU; and NAV RAD.
The POS INIT page has an iconic status with long term fans of the 767 because this is where you enter the aircraft position coordinates during the simulated alignment of the intertial reference units (IRUs). If you are wondering how this is done, the choices are either to transfer the last aircraft position, to use the airport's ICAO code to get a set of approximate coordinates, or to hit shift-z a couple of times and mentally convert the lat/lon figure FS2004 gives you to decimal before typing it in manually - fortunately, the FMC includes a facility to enable the PC keyboard to be used for data entry, as using the mouse to 'press' the CDU keys can be a little long-winded. In a real 767, the position the IRUs calculate the 767 to be in is updated constantly using navaid fixes - assuming both nav radios are set to AUTO - and the sim models this behavior right down to displaying an IRS NAV ONLY message in the scratchpad if the plane goes out of range of suitable navaids for more than twelve minutes. Depending on whether you go the whole way or not, preflighting the flight management system involves aligning the IRUs, before initializing the CDU with aircraft weight, position and atmospheric data. Interestingly, takeoff reference page two includes the ability to set runway slope and condition, despite the fact that all runways are flat and dry in Flight Simulator, but it is a nice touch.
Once everything is done and the departure and destination ICAO codes entered, a flight plan can be built up, using the time-honored waypoint/airway/waypoint system, before exec-ing that to create the legs page. Ten different types of waypoint are accepted, including published intersections, calculated intersections, VORs, NDBs, ILS ids, airport ICAO codes, place/bearing/distance DME ranges, along track waypoints, lat/long coordinates and custom programmed conditional waypoints. With all the data in place, the speed bugs can be set using data calculated by the FMC and you are ready for pushback. Needless to say, full lateral and vertical navigation (LNAV and VNAV) data is generated by the flight management system, so once the 767 is cleaned up and established in climb, all you have to do is engage the relevant modes in the autopilot and comply with ATC instructions; with all the virtual co-pilot modes set, you don't even have to worry about setting the altitude on the MCP, although you do have to control climbs using vertical speed or FLCH mode. At the end of the flight, the approach reference page can be called up, on which the FMC automatically calculates the gross weight of the plane and derives the Vref speeds from that figure. This page also shows the ILS frequency and course for the selected arrival runway once the plane is either more than 400 miles from the departure airport of halfway to its destination.
I have included a few of screenies of the CDU and panel to show how they work together - pay particular attention to the center pic, which shows off the fix page implementation. Air traffic has a horrible habit of asking crews to report radial or 'abeam xxx' intercepts en-route, because it hands over responsibility to the pilot for reminding the controller that the blip on his radar will need closer attention at that point.
In a light aircraft, the only way to comply, other than keeping a close eye on the chart, is to use a VOR radial intercept, but in an airliner like this one, you just access the fix page, which draws unmistakeable lines all over your EHSI, as shown in the screenshot. The CDU section of the manual is 54 pages long and even then, you will need to read it a few times to ingest all that it is trying to teach you. Impressively, it is capable of handling conditional waypoints, including heading to radial crossings (where air traffic requests you fly a heading until crossing a particular VOR radial, before doing something else, like turn back on course), heading to distance and radial intercepts. And of course, the little piglet does SIDS, STARS and holds, should you be dedicated to making your flights as tedious as reality sometimes makes 'em.
A very large number of procedures are included with the package, but be warned that the database is by no means comprehensive, particularly for airports outside the US. The virtual cockpit is neatly done, with active controls all of which work so long as you don't move the point of view too far back; a common problem with FS addons, that ends up leaving you slightly too close to the panel for comfort if need to pan around and make alterations in a hurry. As you can see, the VC looks convincing, but note that the CDU keys don't work and clicking on the units pops up a windowed 2D-panel style CDU for data entry.
I have never felt that the FS2004 VC quite makes the grade as far as flying complex sims is involved and while you can use it to fly the 767, I wouldn't personally volunteer to do so - but that is hardly Level-D's fault. Given the degree to which type-rated aircrew have been involved with this project over the years, it isn't surprising that the 767 has a very good flight model; one of the best I have come across in an airliner sim, ever. Pitch, in particular, stands out as being better modelled than usual, and while some FS big iron gives the impression that loops might be possible, the 767 rotates realistically and stays where it is pointed, just as it should. The sound set was considerably improved by update 1, although it isn't oustanding by modern FS standards. Curiously, although both P&W and Rolls-Royce engined planes are modelled, there appears to be a common sound set, though to be fair, one jet engine sounds just like another to me, but there may be readers out there who can tell the difference. Well, while there is no way that this addon could have had the impact on me that it did when 767 PIC burst like a bombshell on the FS scene four years ago, I am extremely glad to see it back in such good health. This is a absolutely classic simulation which launched a whole genre and if my FS2004 setup seemed incomplete without it, I am sure there are ten thousand other users getting their credit cards out right now - if you are an experienced simmer and enjoy flying big airliners, you should be thinking of joining them.
One of the advantages of the addon having such a long pedigree is that the code is almost perfectly stable and I experienced no problems running it with Service Pack 2 applied. Okay, so the 2D panel graphics could be improved a little and the sound set isn't going to win any awards, but I suspect that most of the people who want an addon like this one aren't going to be distracted by such things when the prize is getting a nearly perfect simulation of the aircraft systems that really matter. Better panel graphics would get my vote for Service Pack 3, though, guys (-: The times they surely are 'a changing and we are spoiled for choice these days as far as big iron sims are concerned - the Level-D 767 has to contend with the Flight 1 ATR, the Captain Sim 727 and 707, the DreamFleet 727, the PMDG 737 and the PSS Concorde and Airbuses. All those addons take FS2004 to the limits of what can be achieved, but the Level-D 767 is kind of special, because it four years ago it pointed the way to a better future that we are in now. The 767 is the leader of the pack in terms of accurate system replication and flight modelling - which is what most of us were looking for when we got into this hobby in the first place.
As I remarked right at the beginning of this review, it is hard to see how anyone could improve on the Level-D 767 in terms of the depth and integrity of the simulation. The package is not only the best simulation there is of this very popular airliner, but the best procedural simulation of any type available for Flight Simulator and I am seriously glad to see it back in such good shape. If you like your big iron flying to be as real as possible, this is it.
Product Information Publisher: Description: Procedural Airliner Simulation. Download Size: 129 MB Format: Download Simulation Type: FSX Reviewed by: AVSIM Staff Reviewer - September 16, 2007 INTRODUCTION Few in our hobby need reminding of the fact that the transition from FS2004 to FSX has, on occasion, been painful.
Constant tweaking, re-installation, activation issues, perhaps even hardware upgrades in order to get acceptable performance. It is not surprising that for many, the move to FSX is not something they’re willing to consider at this time, and FS2004 remains their main, if not only, flight simulator platform. My own experience is one of spending a significant amount of money on a major PC and hardware upgrade, along with numerous tweaks and re-installations, to eventually have FSX performing reasonably well, only to find a notable lack of enthusiasm towards the default FSX airliners (the smaller aircraft and Ultralite Trike are much better in my opinion), and a drift back towards FS2004 and my favourite bunch of complex procedural airliner simulations for that platform.
(My Wife shouts from the wings; “so why did you spend all that money upgrading?!?”). Thankfully, it was always more of an acute rather than a chronic issue and those of us that are at least attempting to make FSX our new home, are now starting to see some complex airliner add-ons, in addition to the increasing amount of ‘lite’ offerings.
These types of complex add-ons are tending to make their way to FSX in one of two ways; as a ‘port’ of the FS2004 model - the add-on will perform almost exactly as it does in FS2004 (sometimes with less features in FSX than in FS2004), or as a dedicated FSX development that will feature at least some of the new features that FSX can offer. Recent complex Airliner ports to FSX include the excellent Majestic Software Dash 8-Q300 which is an example of a FS2004 aircraft that has been ported very successfully to FSX, with users reporting a great experience in the new sim. This is not the case with all ports as a browse of some of the developer’s forums will show! The latest complex add-on to reach FSX with a dedicated version containing new features and improvements is the Level D 767, published by Flight 1.
I think it is fair to say that this add-on needs little introduction. It is generally regarded as one of the most advanced and high quality releases to hit any version of Flight Simulator. Reviews across the internet universally praise the product and indeed AVSIM’s Maury Pratt awarded the FS2004 version of the Level D 767 with 5 stars in his review of May 2005. I don’t intend to duplicate Maury’s review, so this review is intended to look at the specifics around how this fine aircraft looks, lives and works in the taxing new world of FSX!
INSTALLATION Test System Intel Core 2 Due E6600 2GB DDR2 RAM Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 640Mb Logitech 120w Sound with Woofer 20.1” TFT + 19” TFT CH Yoke, Throttle Quad, Pedals, TrackIR3 Flying Time: 20 hours At the time of writing, the FSX version of Level D 767 is available by download only from the Flight 1 web-site, via their reliable ‘Wrapper’ system. It is good to see loyalty being rewarded by Flight 1 to those who own a previous version of this product. Installation via the Wrapper system is very straightforward if you are using the product on the same PC that you are downloading from, and only slightly more complex if you want to use the 767 on a PC other than the one you have downloaded from. The Flight 1 system allows you to download the whole.exe. File before purchase. Launching the.Exe then provides the payment screen, along with the options to use any Coupons, along with the ‘Re-install’ option (to be used after installation, when you already have a valid Key on your system).
The main advantage of this type of download system is that the user does not have to worry about the download failing or crashing after they have parted with their hard earned cash. You do the downloading before you pay, and then provide your credit card details during the subsequent activation of the.Exe file (Obviously payment requires an Internet connection). A fter completing the payment successfully, the installer will place the necessary files into FSX automatically. As per the FS2004 version, the installer places a 767 Configuration Manager on your desktop.
It is a good idea to run this Config Manager before launching the 767 in FSX to ensure that the aircraft.cfg files are updated with the appropriate payload that you intend to fly with. The Level D 767 for FSX offers several new features and improvements to the FS2004 version. These include: - The ability to load FMC data, within the Panel Import options. FSX pushback truck synchronized with the Level D 767 Pushback dialog.
Various FMC and VNAV improvements. Various VC improvements including gauge illumination and FSX Camera Views (includes VC co-pilot view). An enhanced flight model. A new FSX visual model with Light Bloom (compatibility remains for FS2004 liveries). A FSX specific Enhanced Pilots Manual for the 767. These are only a selection of the full list of enhancements and improvements provided with the FSX version of the add-on.
It is clear that you are not simply paying for a ‘ported’ FS2004 aircraft. Level D has not rushed to release the FSX version.
It has gone through the full testing schedule and has been released as a standalone product in its own right. The Level D 767 for FSX comes with just its House Livery, although it is compatible with the FS2004 set of liveries available from the Level D site. Level D have also started to produce (or commission) some specific ‘FSX only’ liveries.
These make use of FSX specific graphics features. In the 2 months since I first started testing the product, it is slightly disappointing that Level D have not yet released many further FSX specific liveries, via their site. There are no FSX specific liveries in the main ‘repaint’ area of the site, and although the FAQ area of their forum does provide links to some FSX specific liveries developed by the likes of John Tavendale, these are very few and I think it’s fair to say they do not represent a wide continental range of liveries (ie.No European liveries are included, only North American, Australian and Japanese examples. The two things that excited me most about this 767 release for FSX were; The enhanced flight model (The FS2004 version is already regarded as having one of the best flight models in a commercial aircraft add-on), and the FSX Camera views, which I have learned were to include a new VC ‘co-pilot’ view, as well as some tasty new wing views. The thing I was most nervous about was how this extremely advanced, complex simulation would perform, particularly in terms of frame rates, within FSX.
A NEW MODEL The exterior model is complemented by FSX’s “bright new world”. The supplied house livery is the only one supplied with the FSX 767. As already covered, few specific FSX liveries are available from Level D at present but where there are shortfalls, you can use the FS2004 liveries although these did not look as sharp as the FSX House Livery. I confess that I am not the sort of simmer who worries too much about exterior models (I know some will be cursing!), for me 90% of the experience of operating these complex simulations takes place inside the cockpit. Of course it is always nice to glance at a fine aircraft like the 767 from the outside, while parked at the gate, or occasionally whilst in the cruise. Fans of detailed models will not be disappointed with the Level D 767 for FSX. It is a treat to the eyes and is a wonderfully accurate representation of the real aircraft.
As well as the level of detail, one thing that strikes me about the Level D 767 (hereafter referred to as the LDS 767) is that it appears to be perfectly in proportion. There are a number of aircraft add-ons out there where the same can’t be said. I can think if at least two Airbus planes that look far to stodgy and short compared to their real life counterparts! The exterior model of the LDS767 for FSX also seemed refreshingly frame rate friendly on my system, considering the level of complexity. I observed better frame rate performance in spot view in this aircraft than I do with a couple of GA aircraft add-ons for FSX, and comparable results to the FSX stock airliners.
(You must remember that I am talking exclusively about performance while in spot views at this stage). Actions speak louder than words, so take a look at the screenshots of this fine model – she looks good enough for the catwalk to me! A VERY NICE VC? The Virtual Cockpit of the FS2004 Level D 767 is one of the nicest places to pass the time in the whole flight sim universe. The FSX version continues this trend. Although the 2D panel in the FSX version appears 100% identical to the FS2004 version, the VC textures look richer and of a slightly better resolution. 2D panel If you sit in the VC and hit the ‘A’ key you will also see one of the new surprises that this version offers, a first officer seat position within the VC.
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Ah, so this is what FSX is all about! The gauges in the VC are very clear unless you zoom out excessively, in which case they get that grainy look. There are also custom virtual cockpit views of the Overhead and Pedestal.
These are very, very useful and work particularly well for TrackIR users. Overhead Pedestal I used FSUIPC to map a button on my CH Yoke to the ‘A’ key, which meant that with the touch of a nearby button, I could switch between the various new custom views in the VC. At this stage, sitting on the ground at my departure airport, I was becoming very fond of my new office in FSX. The only issue I had was that, in FSX, you cannot properly change your seat height when using the TrackIR (you can in FS2004). This is a disappointing retrograde step for FSX.
To change your view you have to change your physical seat / TrackIR position, or try editing the viewpoints in some cfg files. (Something I’ve yet to successfully do in FSX). Let me be clear in saying though, that is entirely a FSX limitation. It is not a weakness of the Level D 767. One thing I did realize when looking at the ‘Configuration Manager’ for this version of the Level D 767, is that the “include / don’t include VC” section is missing. Therefore 2D panel users have no way of removing the VC from the FSX version in the way that they can in the FS2004 version. This seemed a shame for 2D users, as in FSX you need to take every opportunity to optimize frame rates and having a VC load that you aren’t actually going to use, is highly like to effect performance quite considerably.
(see further into the review for full observations of frame rates). On viewing the Level D support forums, I learned that it is possible to remove the VC by editing a.cfg file. So at least the option is there for those confident to edit.cfg files, but I feel it would be better to have an option to do this within the configuration manager as per the FS2004 version. I’m sure there will be technical reasons for this as I have noticed other FSX versions of existing FS2004 add-ons that appear to offer less options, or a retrograde interface.
(The configuration manager for Flight 1’s own ATR72 appears less impressive in FSX as compared to the FS2004 version). All in all, I would say that the VC in the FSX version of Level D 767 is without a doubt the best virtual cockpit I have yet to see in any version of flight simulator. It is truly state of the art in terms of appearance and resolution. As for function, well almost. This is, in FS2004 at least, one of the best complex add-ons to operate from the VC but it is not without some frustrations. Read on and all will be revealed!
IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT The LDS767 for FSX (like it’s FS2004 counterpart) comes with great supporting features for things like managing Failures, Panel state importing, Carrier options, and Ground crew simulation. The list literally goes on and on. I started my flight parked at the gate with the APU running, most of the overhead panel set-up, but the engines switched off. After some rudimentary switching on the overhead and glare shield (I have around 300 hours in the FS2004 version of this add-on but for those who don’t, this version comes with excellent, FSX-specific documentation that will get you flying in no time, despite the complexity).
Next, it was time to set up the FMC. The FSX version contains some improvements to the FMC although these are by their very nature, quite subtle as this plane already came with a hugely functional and great performing flight management system. There is full IRS simulation, although the engineers had already taken care of IRS alignment and set-up when they passed the aircraft to me. Being a simulation that aims for a high degree of realism, the LDS767 FMC does not have a button that will ‘import FS flight plan’.
The idea here is that you will need to program your route fully in the FMC, unless you have previously saved it using the FMC, in which case you can use CO ROUTE to load it up in an instant (as in the real world). At this stage, I would like to talk about another aspect of this add-on that I think really distances it from most of the competition, Sound.
The quality of the full range of sounds in the 767 is absolutely first class and this really adds to the sense of immersion and realism. Not all developers pay the same attention to the important of sound within the simulation. Developers like Level D and Majestic Software have worked hard to achieve aircraft sounds that really add a huge amount to the realism factor. However, if you take a look at some recent add-ons from PSS (and even to an extent the mighty PMDG747), you have a lot less attention paid towards achieving convincing, immersive sounds. The sound of the LDS767’s electrical and air conditioning systems are just delightful. Even the sound of key presses and button switches are far superior to most add-ons. You need to hear them for yourself clearly, but the word ‘quality’ just comes to mind again and again.
On switching off the Packs and turning the number 2 engine start switch to GROUND on the overhead, you get no sudden, harsh auto start procedure as you’d tend to. Certainly in the default FS airliners. You get a carefully modeled engine start procedure with realistic spool up times for both N2 and N1.
With both engines started, you get a wonderful subtle engine idle sound from within the cockpit. On take off I felt that the FSX version of this fine plane rotated a little lighter than the FS2004 version would. (using identical weights data, trim, flaps, etc). This feeling continued throughout all of the early phase of my departure while hand flying the plane.
My yoke controls just seemed more sensitive in a way that made the aircraft feel a little too light for my liking. After some adjustment of sensitivities and null zones in FSX, I eventually found results that I was much happier with. It is highly likely that the difference in ‘feel’ between the FSX and FS2004 versions of this plane are down to changes within the core simulators.
However, I would have to summarize that in terms of hand flying take-off and approaches, I still prefer the FS2004 version overall. Perhaps I am just institutionalized by having flown so many enjoyable hours in the earlier version! One thing that I have always found a little disappointing, is that FMC in the LDS767 is not usable within the VC. (unlike offerings from PMDG, for example).
There are 2 small buttons on the glare shield in the VC that, when clicked, bring up the 2D FMC and Radio sub-panels. Alternatively, you can simply click in the FMC within the VC and this again will bring up the 2D FMC. Given the quality of this product in almost all other aspects, I am surprised that this shortcoming still exists in the FSX release. On the plus side, it is easier to program and use a 2D FMC, however, it would have been nice to have the option to program the FMC from its proper location in the VC, rather than from a pop-up panel.
The final niggle that has always frustrated me with the LDS767, comes when one needs to make adjustments to the altitude, speed and heading settings on the MCP. These suffer from awful control acceleration the likes of which is not normally seen in other commercial add-ons of this calibre. I use the LDS Key commands page to set up keys for these functions, and when for example, I hold down the ‘Heading Increase’ key, the heading setting will slowly start to increase and then suddenly accelerate madly! This can make it quite difficult and fiddly to make settings, especially during flight phases where the workload is high. I wish LDS could address this, as it slightly lets the side down in an otherwise phenomenal simulation.
I tried making settings with the registered version of FSUIPC, but for me at least, this was not successful in resolving the problem of the 767s “run away dials”. In a recent Service Pack for this release, Level D have integrated a number of further improvements into the product, and one of these concerns was the VNAV performance of the aircraft. All I will say in summary of this, is that this plane really nails the VNAV decent now. It is awesome and tracked the profile like a dream for me.
Thanks for that one Level D! FIGHTING THE FRAME RATES IN FSX! So we know that this is arguably the most realistic and advanced airliner simulation for any version of FS.
Great, but how does that work with a core simulator platform (FSX) that is very stretched on the average system. Well, the answer for me was that compromise was required to get good performance. This is a subjective area. To one simmer, the most important aspect of their setup may be the quality of scenery, autogen, and traffic, etc.
To others (myself included), the most important factor is achieving a silky smooth passage through the virtual air. That demands reasonable frame rates and avoiding stutters. Prior to installing the LDS767 for FSX, I had mainly been flying GA aircraft in FSX (as I passed the time waiting for the complex stuff to arrive for FSX). I had managed to achieve reasonable results flying the likes of the FSX Ultralite, or the ported Caranedo Cessna add-ons, and was able to have some nice FSX autogen (since FSX SP1) and generally quite high settings for scenery, and mesh resolution, etc. When I tried to fly the LDS767 from the VC with the same settings, the results were not good. On the ground with the default Heathrow Airport scenery, I was hovering around single digits and up to around 14 while taxiing.
Some claim 15 FPS is adequate in FSX, but all I can say is that for me personally, it is not. Eventually, I found that I could operate the LDS767 smoothly in FSX with frame rates at a more acceptable 26 FPS, at the expense of having to remove all autogen. FSX does make it easier to save and load different configurations, and the guys at Level D / Flight 1 have even provided some suggested settings as a cfg download on the web-site. (Coincidentally, the suggested settings also avoid using any autogen, so it seems that unless you are running a very powerful PC, complex add-ons like this one are not going to get along too well with high settings in FSX, and particularly not that gorgeous autogen.) Again, this is subjective stuff. If you have the latest quad-core processor and masses of RAM, you may well ask what the problem is.
Check my system specs and you’ll get a good idea on what you can likely expect. IN SUMMARY I can reveal that the Level D 767 is a truly outstanding simulation which raises the bar in terms of function, immersion and down right fun.
But chances are you already knew that right? If I am specifically talking about the LDS767 for FSX, I would summarize by saying that Level D has done a great job at presenting their baby in the bright new world of FSX.
Subtle aesthetic improvements are joined by subtle functional improvements. Essentially however, in comparing the overall experience of flying the LDS767 in FSX as compared to flying the original LDS767 in FS2004, I would have to conclude that I still prefer the original.
That must border on an almost unfair conclusion from Level D’s perspective, as I can categorically state that 95% of my reasoning in making that conclusion is concerned with FSX performance in our present “pre-DX10” world. For me, the compromises involved in flying the mighty LDS767 within FSX, don’t quite win the day as compared to flying this baby in FS2004. Where essentially it doesn’t look any less attractive, operates in more or less the same way, and can happily coexist alongside higher graphics settings on more modest systems.
All that I feel I lose out on, are the new camera views, which are great but personally, a smoother simulation wins the day. I will conclude by saying that if the final question is “Should I buy the FSX version of this add-on when I already have the FS2004 version?”, my personal answer would be “not unless you are running a very powerful system”. However, if the final question for you is “I don’t have either version of this add-on. Should I buy either?”, my answer would be a resounding “Yes of course you should!
Have you not been listening to anything I’ve said! This is the finest complex aircraft add-on released for any version of flight simulator!”. Printing If you wish to print this review or read it offline at your leisure, right click on the link below, and select 'save as' Standard Disclaimer The review above is a subjective assessment of the product by the author. There is no connection between the producer and the reviewer, and we feel this review is unbiased and truly reflects the performance of the product in the simming environment. This disclaimer is posted here in order to provide you with background information on the reviewer and any connections that may exist between him/her and the contributing party. © 2007 - AVSIM Online All Rights Reserved.
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