Recently bought X-plane 11.50 and a Microsoft Force Feedback 2 to get back into flight-simming. I used to play a whole lot of Flight Simulator 2000/2004 when I was younger and miss it. Still haven't gotten my way around it yet, so I've either not found, or not learnt, how to use all of its features.
So if you have any suggestions for free or absolutely must have payed add-ons I'm all ears!
@leovinus, I bought the game last holiday season. The game wasn't optimized very well in macOS back then. I tried with Red Devil RX 5700 XT which is the best gaming card in macOS until Navi 2 arrives. I will give it another try around Thanksgiving! 😀
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@itsage, awesome! I think it runs... decently. But I have little to compare it to. Everything is running on stock and in 4K with between 30-60+ frames per second (Highest quality settings, but medium to low on ground clutter and water). It would probably do a solid 60+ if I deigned to lower the resolution to 1440p. Which I might. We'll see. I might also buy the X-Visuals plug-in for better eye candy, but I've no idea what that'll do to my performance hehe
Currently what I miss from FS2004 is the easy to use Flightplanner and simple ATC. Though these might exist and I just haven't found them yet... hmmm...
Currently what I miss from FS2004 is the easy to use Flightplanner and simple ATC. Though these might exist and I just haven't found them yet... hmmm...
Just registered to answer you!
If I remember correctly in X-Plane you have a very basic ATC (just press RETURN and you will see the ATC window), for flight planning I simply use simbrief.com (you can prepare the plan online and, optionally, you can download an application that store the flight plan in your X-Plane directory).
I also tried to use LittleNavMap (but currently there are some problems in Big Sur).
I'm following the eGPU world because I hope that one day in the future I'll be able to improve the graphic performances of my MacMini 2018, mostly for X-Plane (but with current prices of the eGPU and the cards...)
Ciao,
Mr Hyde
MacMini 2018, i7 32G, no eGPU (yet...)
@mrhydeit, thank you! I'll have to check those out. Means I can keep the flight plan in my iPad too. Sweet!
Using an eGPU has its ups and downsides. You're in the right place to get informed though. Hope to see you around! As you can see we discuss a lot more than simply the hardware here.
Hi @itsage,
I’m an X-Plane enthusiast since vers. 7 or 8...
I'm sorry but I would like to update what you write ... x-plane was born for MacOs and then ported to Win and Linux. the problem of poor performance with MacOs is the fault of the poor quality of AMD drivers. with my current configuration the difference between MacOs and Bootcamp is 20fps with the same settings and Vulkan / Metal
Hi @leovinus,
I suggest you, in graphic settings panel, left side (GPU preferences) all the bar one step under max. Right side (CPU preferences) the first one step under max and water reflection at half.
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@geppo1965, Thank you for the correction. I will try the game again soon with your recommended settings.
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• external graphics card builds
• best laptops for external GPU
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2021 14" Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio [11th,4C,H] + RTX 2080 Ti @ 32Gbps-TB4 (WD_Black D50) + Win11 [build link]
@geppo1965, I have noticed that water really, really, lowers your frame rate. I'm sort of at a loss as to why really.
I'm still experimenting with settings though. I'll have to keep at it this weekend (I have to unplug the HDMI on the mini for maximum performance, and honestly I hate plugging and unplugging it. Feels like I'll ruin the connection. Gotta find some dongle or something a intermediary... that I don't mind plugging and unplugging without disconnecting directly from the Mac)
Do you have any suggestions for higher resolution textures? Plugin-ins you think are worth getting?
Hi @itsage, thanks to your kindly reply. as soon as possible I will update the settings screenshot to include other important information as well. 
Hi @leovinus, I’m not an expert graphics promammers but what I know, about X-Plane flight sim, are that use for every object, air/water/terrain, a physics description this to have a simulation as close as possible to reality. in fact it is widely used to carry out test tests for new airplanes.
as soon as possible I will update the screenshot to include other important settings.
About your question for HR texture or plug-in I suggest you to visit website forum/shop https://forums.x-plane.org or one of the many x-plane facebook groups 
iMac 27” 2019-i9-9900k-40gb-Vega48-NVMe 1tb
2 Tekq Rapide TB3 NVMe 1tb - Mantiz Saturn Pro MZ03 v2-PNY XLR8 3090 - Apple Led 27” Cinema Mini DisplayPort
@geppo1965, thank you for the suggestion! I've been browsing it a little bit since I got X-Plane. There are a myriad of additions to choose from! But that's, in part, why I ask here. To see if someone with more experience than me could suggets some "gold nuggets" already sifted from the pile as it were.
What's your favourite plane/route?