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]

I paid for the upgrade and waiting for my license. Totally agree about the let down from 18 to 20. I do think there were some good upgrades, but not even enough to warrant a name change, just a version change. Really hoping this one is worth it.

[shellman19]

Baller I will be very interested to hear what you think. Thanks for taking the plunge on FSX Play! I know you and I have voiced our frustrations with Foresight software many times before on GSF so I know your opinions will be spot on. Thx in advance for anything you share with us!

[Baller]

Installed it as well as the courses that are available and I have.... The file for La Jolla is corrupt but will let them know about that after I'm in. Hope this is worth the upgrade fee and the headache of installing courses one by one all over again.

[shellman19]

Baller Unreal... They still have not coded in an "upgrade all" function??? Not the end of the world but my god it's 2022. If the upgrade is great of course I'll suck it up and do it but if it's boarder line the fact that I have to spend literally hours upgrading all my courses is enough to make me think twice. You would think Foresight would make it as easy as possible for me to want to give them MORE of my money.

[Baller]

I expected that on the 2018-2020, but on this one it's a completely different platform so not surprising that you can't. But...would be nice to be able to just download and then have the program install all the course files from the DL folder. Either way, fingers crossed it'll be worth it. and La Jolla is now fixed.

[Michael Chen]

I bought it this afternoon but still waiting for them to process it....

[tkvaughn999]

I jumped at FSX Play. Have activation code now and will report back after I get a chance to give it a try.

[shellman19]

Anyone up and running yet?

[Baller]

Finally up and running although it was a chore.... Seems to not work properly, at least for me on ethernet and it would say connected but not register any shots. I tried all connection methods and was able to connect once somehow but the room config was messed up so I went out, fixed it and back in and then it wouldn't work. FS Support was quick to help me with a remote session and got it working on USB (which worked after he asked me to disconnect ethernet from the quad). Speaking of room config...info does not move over, gotta redo it and recommend admin since that's prob why mine wasn't sticking as someone reminded me.

It's clear why it wasn't released fully...it needs work and a lot of people having trouble getting in, so I think they did the right things by limiting this release.

The courses are stunning. Even PnP is stunning, imo. I use that course all the time as a little pre-round the day before I go out and play and while it always worked, it sucked. This new PnP on Play is really nice, you can see all the undulations.

Things need work and getting used to and it's all very basic. I don't even see a "Save Game" option. La Jolla looks much more like the real course...even though I already owned it, I hardly ever played it cause it was just blah and now it's nice and actually feels like you're there, imo.

I did a little on the range and it was a nice twist. Would be nice to have a normal range, but I'm sure it'll come.

That's all I really have time for today but will mess around more and report.

[Michael Chen]

How did you activate Paris & La Jolla Pines? The email says I need to activate thru FSX2020 first... But I don't see those courses there.

[Michael Chen]

Nevermind. I got it working. You just activate them from FSX Play. Not sure why the email says to do it from FSX2020.

[Phish828]

I would love to see any screenshots you could upload, your review makes this sounds promising and finally a good graphics solution for Foresight.

[Scotsgolf4]

Thanks for the update

[tkvaughn999]

I'm beginning to think this forum is stupid. I have post that go unapproved for days. Likel I've done something wrong. Been a member here since 2016. What bullshit

[shellman19]

Baller
I must admit, Baller's first impressions are very encouraging! I suspected with all the "back-end" upgrades behind this software that FSX Play would be a potential game changer from what we have been used to with prior versions of FSX.

I do have another very specific question:

I am a golfer first and foremost and certainly not a gamer (nothing against gamers by the way). That said, I have always resisted switching to other golf sim software platforms due to the fact that my research has always concluded in that although there were/are significant upgrades in graphics and visual esthetics with these other platforms, I would ultimately be disappointed because Foresight has arguably the best ball dynamics algorithm in the business. * For beginners who might be reading this and not sure what I am talking about this basically means that what you see the ball do on the screen is as close to what would happen in real life (think true golf play simulation). So, I was hoping that Baller, or anyone else for that matter, has been able to determine if the Foresight ball dynamics have been maintained and or perhaps even improved when integrated with FSX Play. This would be a major factor for me in deciding on whether or not I take the plunge and upgrade to FSX Play.
That is my main remaining question at this point but would also welcome anymore insights anyone has since some more time has elapsed now since yesterday's launch.
Thanks gents!

[tkvaughn999]

Baller
I must admit, Baller's first impressions are very encouraging! I suspected with all the "back-end" upgrades behind this software that FSX Play would be a potential game changer from what we have been used to with prior versions of FSX.

I do have another very specific question:

I am a golfer first and foremost and certainly not a gamer (nothing against gamers by the way). That said, I have always resisted switching to other golf sim software platforms due to the fact that my research has always concluded in that although there were/are significant upgrades in graphics and visual esthetics with these other platforms, I would ultimately be disappointed because Foresight has arguably the best ball dynamics algorithm in the business. * For beginners who might be reading this and not sure what I am talking about this basically means that what you see the ball do on the screen is as close to what would happen in real life (think true golf play simulation). So, I was hoping that Baller, or anyone else for that matter, has been able to determine if the Foresight ball dynamics have been maintained and or perhaps even improved when integrated with FSX Play. This would be a major factor for me in deciding on whether or not I take the plunge and upgrade to FSX Play.
That is my main remaining question at this point but would also welcome anymore insights anyone has since some more time has elapsed now since yesterday's launch.
Thanks gents!

I could help you with this question but golfsimulatorforum.com won't let me post because I don't know why. Its dumb.

[Baller]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I had TGC way back when...and there are some great things about it and I almost got it again, but it is much more of a game to play that simulates golf, whereas FSX, although not pretty, was much more like playing golf and so I just dealt with the sub-par experience. It absolutely drives me nuts when the ball doesn't do exactly what I know it should do from feeling what I felt from the club's interaction from the ball. I had a short stint with an ES product and sometimes the ball might have ended up in the same place, but the way it got there was so wrong I would scream...I can't handle it.

BUT...first off, I've only started with FSX Play and it is bare bones. It's not perfect and likely why it's not fully released, but multiple times playing, I'd say to myself, wow, that looks nice instead of (with 2020)...what, there's a slope there? It looked flat. Or, what, that's water?

Physics are not exact, but I can't say they aren't better. Hole physics are supremely better so far. Putts I expected to go in, went in, putts I hit too hard bounced out, but realistically so...I like to hit the back of the cup, I don't like the flag in the hole. I know what the ball does when it's right, and I've hit my fair share too hard. In 2020, if I hit it slightly too hard, it would shoot off like a rocket and go 4-5 feet away, which is so unrealistic. Play seems right.

Not sure if I'll play today or not, since I just got home from playing outdoors, but I will post more opinions (I've been known to have them).

[shellman19]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I had TGC way back when...and there are some great things about it and I almost got it again, but it is much more of a game to play that simulates golf, whereas FSX, although not pretty, was much more like playing golf and so I just dealt with the sub-par experience. It absolutely drives me nuts when the ball doesn't do exactly what I know it should do from feeling what I felt from the club's interaction from the ball. I had a short stint with an ES product and sometimes the ball might have ended up in the same place, but the way it got there was so wrong I would scream...I can't handle it.

BUT...first off, I've only started with FSX Play and it is bare bones. It's not perfect and likely why it's not fully released, but multiple times playing, I'd say to myself, wow, that looks nice instead of (with 2020)...what, there's a slope there? It looked flat. Or, what, that's water?

Physics are not exact, but I can't say they aren't better. Hole physics are supremely better so far. Putts I expected to go in, went in, putts I hit too hard bounced out, but realistically so...I like to hit the back of the cup, I don't like the flag in the hole. I know what the ball does when it's right, and I've hit my fair share too hard. In 2020, if I hit it slightly too hard, it would shoot off like a rocket and go 4-5 feet away, which is so unrealistic. Play seems right.

Not sure if I'll play today or not, since I just got home from playing outdoors, but I will post more opinions (I've been known to have them).

I knew this about you Baller from some previous discussions we have had or at least from some post of yours I remember reading. I knew we were on the same page with this. Your input is really great! Thanks so much! So if I summarize what you wrote... the ball/shot physics are at least as good as FSX 2020 with the potential of being better due to the improvements of the ball/hole interactions? Does that kind of sum it up at this point?
If you had to rate the graphics alone... how would you rate them compared to TGC & ES (is ES the same as E6?)?
Would you mind posting some pics or vids whenever you happen to have some time?

[Baller]

I was just saying I wasn't sure yet about the ball physics. The flight of the ball is different and I'm not sure about it...like the follow cam and I don't see anything to change that so still forming my opinion. I think the result is accurate, but gimme more time on that.

One thing that I do like, is that your aim line changes based on where the ball is in the hitting area, which is really cool. In 2020, it stays the same, so whether you're hitting driver on the far end of your hitting are or a wedge on the close end, start is the same. This actually moves after recognizing where you place the ball.

[Baller]

Also...looks like someone did a couple videos and posted on YT. If you search FSX Play and sort by upload date.

[shellman19]

Gotcha... Sorry... I'm a little overzealous about this. Feel like I've been waiting forever for this upgrade... Potentially that is. Anyway, thanks again for the input and I'll wait to see what you think after you've had some more time with it.
T Thanks for the heads up about the YouTube vids... I'll check it out.