FSX Play - Reviews on La Jolla Pines???

[shellman19]

Ok, so if I understand correctly a limited number of FSX Play upgrades were sold yesterday and/or today. I am hoping that someone here at GSF was one of those people and would be willing to give some thoughts about what you think of FSX Play so far including your thoughts about the included La Jolla Pines? I just remember how excited we all were when FSX 2020 came out as an "upgrade" to FSX 2018. As history shows we all quickly found out that unless you were a BIG fan of the new fancy font they used for the name of the golf course you were playing... it was a MASSIVE disappointment!
That said, I only trust those on this forum who chime in on the topic (certainly not the marketing page on the Foresight website) and hoping this can be the thread to get a handle on just how much of an "upgrade" FSX Play actually is.
Thanks in advance to those who give us some insights!

[Baller]

Ok, so... Thursday I messed around with it and wasn't so sure of ball physics because I couldn't believe what the ball was doing. I played Friday and it was sadly similar. Practicing now it seems spot on. It still seems like there is an issue with the Room Setup Tool as it reset my saved settings again, and playing with it off is REALLY annoying, but when it's set up right, I LOVE it. I LOVE how the aim line moves to your exact aim line where your ball it, I think that is so cool. I actually have an aim issue and have a string hanging down my screen on my driver aim line because of my aim issue and I will be able to remove that.

The way the ball flies is different than FSX and I'm not sure I love that yet, but maybe I will love it after I get used to the change. I'm just so used to FSX since I've been using it for so long now. I wish I could have them running simultaneously to compare, but that hasn't worked....maybe I will try some more with all other programs shut down. It does seem to use much more computer resources than 2020 as I have Swing Cat running simultaneously right now and the live video in Swing Cat is not as smooth as it should be. Performance says Play is using 25-27% of my CPU and 85% of my GPU....wow, that's a lot. I'll have to go check what 2020 uses. Swing Cat doesn't use much (10 & 12).

[Baller]

Yeah, FSX 2020 crashes every time if I have Play open.

[Baller]

ok, I just took a swing on Play, recorded it, went into 2020, tried to do a similar swing, recorded it, and watched the recordings and they look exactly the same...so maybe the feel of it is just environMENTAL.

[shellman19]

So, the ball physics are good only when practicing and "off" when you are playing... Or am I misunderstanding what you were saying?
Is it possible that when the ball physics are off it's related to the set up tool malfunctioning?
What graphics card are you running?
Thx for your updates!

[Baller]

No, when I played Friday, I meant that I played in the real world... and yes, when the room config is messed up, it sucks. I drilled down a bit and found that I had 4 different config tools between FSX, FSX Pro, Play....and who knows what other previous versions, so I cleaned it up as much as made sense and we'll see if it sticks this time but good right now.

[Baller]

This is nice too...here's a green shot. I loke the way the greens are done and the gimmie area you can turn on and off, but nice if you want it.

[shellman19]

Ok... so it certainly seems that there is way more good than bad with the FSX Play upgrade.
Seems like the $500 upcharge is either worth it immediately upon being available again to the public or at least worth it after Foresight has some time to use the current user "Beta" testing to make what appears to be a bunch of needed patches and feature additions.
One additional question for Baller or anyone else who has FSX Play... most people have commented on the vast improvement on the ability to see elevation changes on the course. My question is are you able to now SEE undulations in the greens? Undulations are much more subtle vs. elevation changes in a fairway or an elevated green for example. Just curious how intricate the new graphics have gotten.

Of course and other additional thoughts, comments, observations, etc with additional time with the new software is welcome!

[Baller]

Yeah, I feel ya on that question...drives me NUTS on 2020 when they just say the putt is down 10" and you can't tell where...is it at the beginning, end, middle or gradual, cause it matters.

Yes, you can see it on the green. Here are a couple screenshots.

[shellman19]

Wow... that is a huge improvement! Seems like you can "feel" play with the new graphics in ways that were impossible to on previous versions of the software. I would always find myself basically doing math in my head to figure out how I would hit a shot or make a putt. This looks like you can kinda just play golf!

Thanks for posting those pics!

[delaloi]

Those green shots look great! Nice idea using the different colored lines to show slope intensity, rather than just looking at the speed of the tracers on the lines.

@Baller: are you able to run max graphics with your card (I think you said it's a 20 series?). If Play is consuming 85% of that, it sounds like a new 30 series may be in order. My current 1070 Ti apparently will work but at the basic level. Don't want to be putting those army boots on this thoroughbred.

[Baller]

Yeah, it work fine in full graphics mode. It is a lot but I don't notice unless I'm also running Swing Cat, which still works to run them both, but it seems to affect the performance of SC.

Yeah, I was thinking of upgrading at one point and might think about it some more now.

[Grunter4]

I don't currently see them using specific RTX features (DLSS would be nice).
Be careful about GPU names/numbers and expected performance. Examples:
RTX3050 can be slower than a desktop GTX1070ti
RTX2080 Max-Q can be slower than a desktop GTX1070

https://www.gpucheck.com/gpu-benchmark-graphics-card-comparison-chart

[Baller]

Good to know, thanks, will check that out!

[jasonreg]

Yeah, it work fine in full graphics mode. It is a lot but I don't notice unless I'm also running Swing Cat, which still works to run them both, but it seems to affect the performance of SC.

Yeah, I was thinking of upgrading at one point and might think about it some more now.

Baller - May I ask how much RAM you are running? I wonder if it is all GPU or partially CPU/RAM as well.

[Baller]

Pretty sure it's just my GPU. I do tend to run a good amount of stuff at once, but I've got 32GB of RAM.

[jasonreg]

Thanks - that seems to make sense. Would you mind letting me know which card you are currently using? Trying to gauge expectations for my rig.

[Baller]

My Card:

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/GeForce-RTX-2060-VENTUS-XS-6G-OC

[jasonreg]

Thx - I have an RTX2080Super so will be interesting to see if I see similar results once I have Play up and running and using SC.

[Baller]

I'd bet you'd be set with that and I almost got that card when I got this computer but I decided I didn't need it and well, I didn't...until maybe now.

[shellman19]

Baller, Grunter4, jasonreg, preludesam : If I can ask for some help here gents I would appreciate it. Have to admit that computer hardware specs is not my area of expertise in any way shape or form. At this point I would say it is likely that I will purchase FSX Play when it becomes available again. That said, it would be a bummer if to buy it only to learn that I am too lean on the computer hardware side to run it properly and ideally optimally. If you guys would not mind telling me if I am in good shape or not in your opinions I would appreciate it. If there is any info I am omitted below please let me know and I will try to track it down for you. Thanks very much!!!

Here is what Foresight is saying about install requirements:
https://www.foresightsports.com/fsx-...d-installation

Operating System: Windows 10 or higher.
Processor: Intel Core I5 or or i7 processors (AMD processors not recommended).
Memory: Minimum 8GB system memory or higher. We recommend 16GB for best performance.

Video Card Options:
1) Optimal Performance: For optimal performance, we recommend an Nvidia 30 series card. Nvidia RTX 3060, 3070, 3080.
2) High Performance: For high performance, we recommend an Nvidia 20 series card. Nvidia RTX 2060, 2070, 2080.
3) Minimum Video Card: We recommend an Nvidia 1660 Ti, Nvidia RTX 1070 or Nvidia RTX 1080

Here are my computer specs:

• Dell Inspiron 5680
• BIOS 2.8.0
• Windows 10 - 64 Bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700 CPU @ 3.20GHz (12 CPUs), ~3.2Ghz
• Installed RAM: 16.0 GB (15.9 GB usable)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
• DirectX 12

Here are my projector specs:

https://www.benq.com/en-us/projector/gaming-projector/th671st/specifications.html

* I wasn't able to find the "refresh rate" on the spec page???

[jasonreg]

You might find one kicking around new for $250-350. used I would not pay more than $150-$200. The problem is in this market everyone is making a land grab. Maybe try big box (Best Buy) and the like for older inventory and see what you can find.

[Grunter4]

One more thing... check your systems power supply and available GPU power connectors. Adding a more power hungry GPU my overload it. GPU specs list TDP and power connectors required. Might have to upgrade your systems power supply to add a faster GPU.

[shellman19]

Based on what Grunter4 said it sounds like I might be able to have a good experience using the GTX 1070. My inclination is stick with what I have and give FSX Play a shot on my current system. If I have a bunch of problems then I can scramble. Only problem now is that I guess you snooze, you lose... FSX Play is back to "Sold Out"!