Sloping Off - December 2004
Chips With Everything
The Reflex XTR Flight Simulator
by Neil Longman
Overview:
First may I start with an apology: it is a long time since I have written anything for the newsletter, however this time off has encouraged other members to contribute rather than the same members each issue. It has been some time since my last Chips with Everything article and I will continue from this issue to provide product updates.
This time around I would to review one of the many available model flying simulators for the PC written by Reflex Products and published by Hobbico. Reflex has been in production for many years and has been respected as having the best flight physics available, in this review I will cover the latest version named Reflex XTR (next to reality)
Reflex XTR is a departure from any other simulator on the market; it uses its own Panolusion engine to manipulate true photo realistic graphics which is even better than its nearest rival from Realflight G2. The interface used is USB to your buddy socket and a corresponding fly lead for your make of transmitter should be ordered with the product. All major transmitters are covered i.e. Futaba (new and old style) JR, Sanwa/Multiplex, Hitec, JR/Graupner (MC). There have been some communication problems with the USB interface but to be honest most of these problems are Microsoft based and not the fault of Reflex, oh IT engineers like myself just love Microsoft Products!
Out of the Box:
One Cd Rom and one USB interface not much else.
First Impression:
Just looking at the screen shots included in this review cannot do Reflex justice. It really does move as good as it looks, the flight physics are superb, the visuals are stunning but it has to be said the mono sound is poor, hopefully this will be improved in the future.
Reflex provides the user with a wealth of options to change for the simulation graphics colour depth, resolution and individual settings for each Aircraft or Rotary wing. I will not cover these options individually as there are too many to cover in a short review such as this.
The selection of these parameters can also be combined with the settings on your transmitter. If you are using a computer transmitter you can assign memories to the Reflex simulator and these setting will be picked up by the program such as switch settings and mixing settings, very useful for the Rotory wing pilots.
Reflex is provided with a good choice of Fixed Wing and Rotory wing but there are now many free downloads available including more sceneries and I will include link information later in the review. If you already own an older version of Reflex you can order the upgrade to XTR for free or you can opt to make a donation payment to the programmer for his hard work.
Just to give you a taster of what features have now been programmed in to this product - there are too many again to list them all so here is a selection:
- Fly from real club airfields
- Fly real Fixed wing and Rotory wing models
- Collision detection at Pixel level
- Material Properties, such as Grass, Bushes, Concrete, Meadows
- Light deflections, such as Direct light, Ambient light, Fog
- Glare effects including backlight
- Hovering Trainers
- Torque Trainers
- Flight Recorder
Why do I need a simulator?
So I hear you ask the question "can you really learn to fly on one of these simulators?" Well the answer is "no" not completely, nothing can ever prepare you for the full terror and butterflies in the stomach when having your first flying lesson. But with a simulator there is no risk of damage to your pride and joy that you have had to justify the cost of to "er indoors" who still thinks after you have been flying most of your life that you partake in an insane sport! However, that said, the simulator does provide essential stick familiarity and orientation that you would not have without it, this is without a doubt a great help, even for experienced pilots, we still use are simulators regularly to perfect new maneuvers and keep practising, flying model aircraft is all about stick time the more you get (simulated or real) the better pilot you will become.
Eye Candy:
Ok, time for some Screenshots these are genuine action shots during flight and not still photographs.
Get the Idea?
Oooooh what do I need?
Ok now for the boring tacky stuff "what do need to run this and how much does it cost?"?
Minimum specs:
- Pentium 4 1.2 GHz or equivalent AMD
- 256 mb ram
- AGP x2
- Video card min 32mb ram
- USB ver 2
- Recommended specs:
You do not need a monster pc the above specs will work but the real work is undertaken by the video card, you really need a card of at least 64mb ram and using an FX 5200 or 9200 gpu using an FX 5700 or 9700 and upwards will provide the best performance. I currently use an FX 5200 with 128mb ram and get very good frame rates. - 256 mb ram
Cost (this is the bit you massage for "er indoors!"): £125.00 (not much really it will save you that in your 1st Heli crash)
I hope this has provided you with a short insight into the latest model flight sim technology. If you are still undecided why not come along to the flight sim club night early next year to see them in action .
Where do I get a copy?
Here are the links to the author web site and also the hub for all rc simulators, the hub site contains many downloads all free.
Local dealers selling Reflex XTR and other sims
That's it for this time
Neil
(That's him on the right, with a virtual pupil on the left.....Ed)
