[WheelSpin]

I've been doing the console gaming thing for a few yrs, & am going to be in the market for a new PC soon, & have been tempted to go back to the "dark side" after learning abou tthese fantastic FS2 mods.

- Is there a link to a single, all-inclusive download to get all of the game content & updates, or must they be had individually.  If the latter, then where can I find everything to get the complete game?
- For the system reqt's, what issues - if any - might there be with current-gen PC's running the newer hardware?  Are there compatibility issues with newer versions of Intel processors &/or Invidia cards?
- Are there any compatibility issues regarding the Saitek X45 or X52?

Thanks in advance,
WS

Ps.  I'm also interested in leanring about the "Babylon 5"-based mod, if that's also available.

[jg18]

I've been doing the console gaming thing for a few yrs, & am going to be in the market for a new PC soon, & have been tempted to go back to the "dark side" after learning abou tthese fantastic FS2 mods.

- Is there a link to a single, all-inclusive download to get all of the game content & updates, or must they be had individually.  If the latter, then where can I find everything to get the complete game?

There's a complete download from the release thread and also a patch.

- For the system reqt's, what issues - if any - might there be with current-gen PC's running the newer hardware?  Are there compatibility issues with newer versions of Intel processors &/or Invidia cards?

I don't know of any compatibility issues with newer hardware, although someone can correct me with I'm wrong.

- Are there any compatibility issues regarding the Saitek X45 or X52?

The only compatibility issue I know of is that those are HOTASes and the game can only use up to one controller. Here's a solution.

Thanks in advance,
WS

Ps.  I'm also interested in leanring about the "Babylon 5"-based mod, if that's also available.

I'm less familiar with The Babylon Project (TBP), so I'll have to let someone else answer that. From what I know, you'll need TBP 3.4b final, the Zathras mod (current version is 2.6), and the 3.6.18 build of the engine.

[MatthTheGeek]

- For the system reqt's, what issues - if any - might there be with current-gen PC's running the newer hardware?  Are there compatibility issues with newer versions of Intel processors &/or Invidia cards?

It's not because it's based on a 13-years old engine (with bits that may date back from Descent) that it's gonna be incompatible with recent stuff. In fact, after all the development work done on the engine in the past decade+, many of the higher-end features require recent hardware to run at all, while the engine remains mostly compatible with FS2-era hardware.

As far as Diaspora is concerned, the quality of the assets involved put the requirements a bit higher up than your average FS mod, but it's for the best.

[FreeSpaceFreak]

- For the system reqt's, what issues - if any - might there be with current-gen PC's running the newer hardware?  Are there compatibility issues with newer versions of Intel processors &/or Invidia cards?

Make sure you have a discrete graphics card, and a recent one too (preferably compatible with OpenGL 4.x). Intel HD graphics are not powerful enough to handle some of the newest mods (most notably Diaspora and Blue Planet). NVidia is probably the best option, since ATI have a habit of breaking their OpenGL drivers every once in a while.

Apart from that, the game is still single-threaded, so it will depend on the performance of individual processor cores rather than the overall amount of cores in there. Depending on your budget, a high-performance i5 may get you better performance than a low-performance i7 - of course, a high-performance i7 is always the best choice, if you can afford it.

[WheelSpin]

- Are there any compatibility issues regarding the Saitek X45 or X52?

The only compatibility issue I know of is that those are HOTASes and the game can only use up to one controller. Here's a solution.

Regarding the info in that link about assigning control axes, since - in the case of Saitek HOTAS controllers - directional control (normally) can be handled with the joystick alone, what axes assignments would there be for the throttle - or do "axes" refer to more than just directional control here?

[MatthTheGeek]

NVidia is probably the best option, since ATI have a habit of breaking their OpenGL drivers every once in a while.

As far as I've heard Nvidia is as much guilty of this as ATI. It's just that some of the most cutting edge features were coded by Valathil, who runs on an Nvidia, and hence could ensure compatibility with Nvidia drivers better than with ATI.

[newman]

The only compatibility issue I know of is that those are HOTASes and the game can only use up to one controller. Here's a solution.

I'd just like to point out that the solution linked there is only necessary if the HOTAS itself declares itself to Windows as separate devices (stick, throttle, pedals, etc). There are HOTAS systems that declare the stick and throttle - not sure about pedals - as one device to Windows, so those should work out of the box. As for the others, there's always a workaround.

[Parias]

The only compatibility issue I know of is that those are HOTASes and the game can only use up to one controller. Here's a solution.

I'd just like to point out that the solution linked there is only necessary if the HOTAS itself declares itself to Windows as separate devices (stick, throttle, pedals, etc). There are HOTAS systems that declare the stick and throttle - not sure about pedals - as one device to Windows, so those should work out of the box. As for the others, there's always a workaround.

Yes, exactly - sticks like the Saitek X52 function with no problems whatsoever on their own.

[FreeSpaceFreak]

NVidia is probably the best option, since ATI have a habit of breaking their OpenGL drivers every once in a while.

As far as I've heard Nvidia is as much guilty of this as ATI. It's just that some of the most cutting edge features were coded by Valathil, who runs on an Nvidia, and hence could ensure compatibility with Nvidia drivers better than with ATI.

Idk, in the FSO support board 9 out of 10 bad GPU driver issues seem to be from people running ATI - even before Valathil joined. Mind you, I haven't done statistics, it's just the impression I have.

Regarding the info in that link about assigning control axes, since - in the case of Saitek HOTAS controllers - directional control (normally) can be handled with the joystick alone, what axes assignments would there be for the throttle - or do "axes" refer to more than just directional control here?

The engine throttle, perhaps?

[WheelSpin]

The only compatibility issue I know of is that those are HOTASes and the game can only use up to one controller. Here's a solution.

I'd just like to point out that the solution linked there is only necessary if the HOTAS itself declares itself to Windows as separate devices (stick, throttle, pedals, etc). There are HOTAS systems that declare the stick and throttle - not sure about pedals - as one device to Windows, so those should work out of the box. As for the others, there's always a workaround.

Yes, exactly - sticks like the Saitek X52 function with no problems whatsoever on their own.

So the Saitek X52 (Pro?) stick+throttle combo registers as a single peripheral object to Wyndoze?

[torc]

all hotas systems will be reconized as single controller. If you wanna use more than one peripheral(rudder pedals as istance) you should take a look at Xpadder or PPjoy and play with them a bit until you'll find a good configuration for you

[WheelSpin]

all hotas systems will be reconized as single controller. If you wanna use more than one peripheral(rudder pedals as istance) you should take a look at Xpadder or PPjoy and play with them a bit until you'll find a good configuration for you

I wasn't going for pedals, since the Z-axis twist on the stick covers the yaw function.  I was under the impression that the stick+throttle = 2 registered devices, but if they are a single device then that's perfect.

[newman]

I wasn't going for pedals, since the Z-axis twist on the stick covers the yaw function.  I was under the impression that the stick+throttle = 2 registered devices, but if they are a single device then that's perfect.

That depends on the model of the stick. I think Saitek X-52's and such declare themselves as a single controller, you may want to double check that if you were planning on buying one. My Logitech G940 declares itself to Windows as 3 separate devices, making it a royal pain to configure properly for Diaspora.

[torc]

i had saitek x56 and now a saitek x 65f....both were seen as a single controller for Diaspora...don't worry

[Al-Rik]

The Saitek X52 and X52 pro is under Windows 7 one device, I use a X52 pro for Diaspora and any other Freespace MOD, and it works well.

Regarding the X45: This joystick is out of production, did you mean the X65 ?

[WheelSpin]

The Saitek X52 and X52 pro is under Windows 7 one device, I use a X52 pro for Diaspora and any other Freespace MOD, and it works well.

Regarding the X45: This joystick is out of production, did you mean the X65 ?

I meant the X52 Pro.

[Swifty]

As far as I've heard Nvidia is as much guilty of this as ATI. It's just that some of the most cutting edge features were coded by Valathil, who runs on an Nvidia, and hence could ensure compatibility with Nvidia drivers better than with ATI.

it's a moot point because The_E and I have AMD cards and are able to fix any vendor specific issues that arise.

[MatthTheGeek]

It's not a moot point, because my point was that Nvidia isn't necessarily better than ATI. And you're just helping confirming it.

[Swifty]

Christ Matth, do you think every message responding to you is in disagreement with you or something?

[MatthTheGeek]

They usually are, although I see none of this in this thread. Chill out, dude.