Winter is coming... should I upgrade to Foresight FSX Play?

[shellman19]

So basically my sim sits unused for most of the warm weather month's here in New Jersey. I love to be outside and rarely use the sim from Apr to Nov for that reason. However, the weather has been crap the last couple of days and for the first time since March I have been thinking about my sim. When FSX Play was released it coincided with the return of warm weather in NJ and with all the complaints about all the problems with FSX Play I decided it was not worth my time, money, energy and blood pressure to consider it.
That said, in about a month I will once again be returning to my sim to get me through months of terrible weather and I am asking all of those on GSF who have had FSX Play for their opinion. Should I stick with FSX 2020 or make the jump to FSX Play?
For the most part I use my sim for practice 90% of the time and round playing 10%.
Thanks in advance to all those who chine in to help me with my decision... much appreciated!

[siebo]

For me, I personally like FSX Play when playing. The graphics and putting are a big improvement. That being said, I am very disappointed in the lack of updates both in the program and the courses. There is no excuse for the delays. For practice, I still use go to FSX 2020. I feel it is much better then Play. I hope this helps.

[PracticeTime]

Similar to siebo. If practice, then I go to FSX 2020. If playing a course, then FSX Play.

Main reasons for me are:
- can't use swing camera on FSX Play which I want for practice
- FSX Play doesn't have within 6 feet, skills challenge, or glass break

Not sure if the above is due to my setup (BushnellLaunchPro), but it's why I tend to use FSX 2020 more.

[sinkingputts]

If you want to play sim golf from graphical perspective it far superior. Easier on the eye and easier to see the shot you have to hit. There are a bunch of threads on here that point out all the downfalls to the software you should be able to read enough to see if its right for you. If you have the computer, screen and projector to produce a quality picture then I'd go for it. I have a 4k projector with a so so computer and I still get the wow factor from friends when they come over and see the clarity. I cant even run 'best graphics' setting.

[shellman19]

Thanks for the input I have received so far... much appreciated!
I thought I would explain in a little more detail how I like to practice on my sim currently running FSX 2020 (which again is like 90% of what I use my sim for). Perhaps understanding how I usually practice will give you all a better idea of what I am looking for FSX Play to be able to do:

I like simulate shots that I am working on. For example, I use the "IMPROVE" option, then "NEW SESSION" and then select a course that is visually what I am looking for. Then I find a specific hole/shot that meets the criteria that I want to work on. If I want to work on a high draw/mid iron shot I will look for a green that has a back left pin and work on hitting high draws from long iron distances from the fairway or tee box to a back left pin. Anyway, I find a hole on one of the 20 courses I own that suits the need for the type of shot of what I want to work on. I get REALLY bored just hitting shots on the range. I want to look at something that will reward a good shot and punish a bad shot. Anyway, I just thought I would add that and see if FSX Play would do a good job at that kind of practice. * I do not use a camera with my sim
siebo sinkingputts PracticeTime Baller

[sinkingputts]

You can do exactly that on FSX Play but with better graphics. Obviously you would only get the courses you already own that are also available in FSX Play. The one thing you won't get is a way to kick all your session data out to a PDF and email it to yourself. You will get the data to read while you're practicing but no way to download it. At least not the last time I was practicing.

[shellman19]

sinkingputts Great info... Thanks for the insights.

[shellman19]

Okay, so it seems like I will be able to do what I want to do practice wise so that is a big step in the direction to go ahead and upgrade to FSX Play.
I have one remaining question that I still have in my head from when FSX Play was initially launched....
I recall that one of the complaints upon FSX Play launch was the "Golf Ball Physics" or "Golf Ball Dynamics" seemed to not be as good as FSX 2020. One of the things that I really like about FSX 2020 is that for the most part the ball seems to do on the screen what a golf ball does IRL (for the most part). Do you guys feel the "Golf Ball Physics" in FSX Play are comparable to that of FSX Play?

[sinkingputts]

Everything seems legit to me. I think on of the major things you’ll notice during play is the rough doesn’t have much penalty when hitting out even when it’s maxed out but when your ball lands in the rough it’s sticky like the rough is maxed out. When i have the rough dialed all the way down and hit a high ball that lands on a green side slope that would normally kick your ball on the green in real life and FSX2020 it’s like the ball only bounce a couple feet and stops. Putting through the fringe is was sticky compared to FSX2020.

[mderksen282]

My $.02, Foresight isn't going to support FSX2020 forever. I've been told it will always be there, but will at some point no longer receive support. Which makes sense, much in the same way FR1 probably stopped receiving support after the release of FSX2020. Not to say you couldn't keep with FSX2020, but to me I don't think there's too much to think about whether or not you should do it because of that. In fact, without getting back into the promises of the free upgrade the Play etc etc, if you were going to have to upgrade at some point anyways, you might as well have done it when they were throwing in a couple freebie premium courses.

[shellman19]

My $.02, Foresight isn't going to support FSX2020 forever. I've been told it will always be there, but will at some point no longer receive support. Which makes sense, much in the same way FR1 probably stopped receiving support after the release of FSX2020. Not to say you couldn't keep with FSX2020, but to me I don't think there's too much to think about whether or not you should do it because of that. In fact, without getting back into the promises of the free upgrade the Play etc etc, if you were going to have to upgrade at some point anyways, you might as well have done it when they were throwing in a couple freebie premium courses.

Yeah... I hear what you are saying but I was more or less trying to decide if my blood pressure was going to take a hit while Foresight goes through the often painful process of de-bugging their software. I was just trying to hold off until FSX Play was not such a steep drop off on everything other than the drastically improved graphics. In other words there are plenty of things I can look past regarding software bugs with FSX Play but there is a limit to what I can take before I would just want FSX 2020 back.

[sinkingputts]

This seems like a high stress decision for you. You could always wait until this next update then we can tell you how if anything has been fixed

[shellman19]

sinkingputts Sorry if it's being talked about on other threads but is there an FSX Play update rumored to be coming out?

[Dax]

I can’t remember where I read it, but believe it was this weekend. I think what I read also said that Pebble Beach is now available on Play.

[shellman19]

Yes, I did some reading and the FSX Play upgrade was released yesterday. I just posted the patch list and download link here:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/foresight-sports/376018-initial-impressions-of-the-latest-version-of-fsx-play-v1-4-0-4

[Baller]

Hey @shellman19,

Sorry, I'm a bit behind on the replies. As far as dropping in a certain spot and hitting like you do on 2020, I think you can as someone else mentioned but with better graphics and either way I do think it's worth the upgrade to experience the better graphics but even though you do get better graphics I feel that practicing is still better in 2020. No, that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy the upgrade. You don't lose 2020 when you upgrade. I use both but still use 2020 for practice mostly. I do find the ball physics and elevation profiles to be more accurate in 2020 unless they've fixed that in the latest release. I found PB pretty accurate with elevation but haven't played any other courses on Play since the upgrade.

Just know that it is different, but I do think it's worth getting. You'll have to decide yourself which is better for your own practice.

Hope this helps!

[shellman19]

Hey @shellman19,

Sorry, I'm a bit behind on the replies. As far as dropping in a certain spot and hitting like you do on 2020, I think you can as someone else mentioned but with better graphics and either way I do think it's worth the upgrade to experience the better graphics but even though you do get better graphics I feel that practicing is still better in 2020. No, that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy the upgrade. You don't lose 2020 when you upgrade. I use both but still use 2020 for practice mostly. I do find the ball physics and elevation profiles to be more accurate in 2020 unless they've fixed that in the latest release. I found PB pretty accurate with elevation but haven't played any other courses on Play since the upgrade.

Just know that it is different, but I do think it's worth getting. You'll have to decide yourself which is better for your own practice.

Hope this helps!

Baller Thank you for taking the time to reply... I tagged you in my OP because you have always given me great insights in the past so was hoping to get your input on this topic too. At this point I am all but certain I am going to take the plunge and get FSX Play and probably also pull the trigger on Pebble too. What I am contemplating at this point is possibly trading in my GC2 with HMT for a GC3 which comes with FSX Play. So I am going to have to reach out to my rep and see what kind of numbers I would be looking at and compare what my out of pocket looks like. Anyway, thanks again for chiming in!