Is VisualXP Ultimate for X-Plane 12 worth it? | Full Review

[@maddogtungate6740]

The most important thing for a flight sim is the accuracy of the flight model and the ability to do everything a real pilot can do in the cock pit. Only xplane can do that. Period.

[@davidtsw]

True. With that in mind, why not also make it look good? Visual immersion is a part of the realism.

[@mcshiggitypilot5901]

Thank you for all you do! I’m my opinion, I don’t understand why Laminar can’t have X-plane looking like this and automatically make these “add Ons” as standard on the Software.

[@Q8Pilot]

I think their focus is not on eye candy. Never have, and probably will never be there. I am glad we have developers developing for X-Plane.

[@wingedlion17]

Imo they should probably approach the dev for an acquisition or partnership to have these clouds default

[@PixelatedExistence]

​@@Q8Pilot I disagree, Laminars latest offering version 12, has been ALL about the visual eye candy, and they have even been promoting version 12 with videos showing off the new fancy looking eye candy. Such as the new windscreen rain effects, Volumetric 3D Clouds, Physics-Based Photometric Lighting Model, Worldwide 3D Water, Global 3D Forests that move with the wind, and much more. ALL these 'improvements' are purely cosmetic and connected with improving eye candy , which is a good thing. But, ironically, Austin doesn't think we are smart enough to mess around with graphical settings too much, so the GUI graphics options in the menu are very limited, hence why we have to rely on messing with the settings file ourselves, or using expensive 3rd part devs options. We cant even reduce road traffic without impacting other 3d settings, as it is all just called 'Global' settings. Whilst MSFS lets you mess with far more options, X plane is very restrictive. I agree with 'mcshiggitypilot5901', I don't understand why Austin restricts the in menu graphical options, its ironic, as he is promoting version 12 using mainly Eye candy! Great Channel Q8Pilot, I love XP12 and I love your videos.

[@MustafaGT]

@@Q8PilotNah, there must be some other reason. Laminar knows very well that if they ever want to compete with MSFS, they need that eye candy. Cuz let’s face it, majority of the flight sim community is over on MSFS because of its eye candy. Let’s not forget when XP10 and XP11 came out, we also loved it cuz it had better graphics at the time compared to the other flight sims. Only issue now is XP has fallen back on graphics and it is starting to be their downfall I’m afraid.

[@dtrjones]

Austin doesn't think we are smart enough to mess around with graphical settings@@PixelatedExistence ? Personally I think making the UI settings simplier was a great move for X-Plane 11 and this products has so many redundant settings that it could be tidied up as well. I think what Q8Pilot means is that they focus more on simulation and feel than making things look good, but they still have to move with the times of course. You have to play to your advantages and X-Plane is good in these areas.

[@KenVet]

Hello Sir. I'm getting back into X-plane after buying a expensive gaming pc. I have followed/supported you before and will again. Best Regards and wishes..

[@PixelatedExistence]

Laminars latest offering of X-Plane, version 12, has been ALL about the visual eye candy, and they have even been promoting it with videos showing off the new fancy looking eye candy. Such as the new windscreen rain effects, 'Volumetric 3D Clouds', Physics-Based Photometric Lighting Model, Worldwide 3D Water, Global 3D Forests that move with the wind, and much more. So its a shame we have to rely on expensive 3rd party addons to have better control of the clouds! Its ironic, MSFS has far more graphical options in its menu than does XP12. I see DCS world has just upgraded its Air combat sim to use DLSS and offers a huge increase in FPS, just like MSFS. Meanwhile XP12 OFTEN chugs and stutters along with sluggish FPS in the low 30-40's in 4k on High/Ultra settings and 4x AA with my RTX 4090. I hope Austin can start using more CPU cores efficiently and thinks about using DLSS at some point in V12.

[@Kilosim]

I really am happy that someone provided an in depth look at the product, having bought it and not been satisfied with the results, now knowing so much more hopefully it will be much more satisfying. Thanks for your phenomenal work.

[@hassobasso7067]

Thank you for testing it, i went ahead and bought it, after hours of tweaking xplane looks amazing! Im also using xshade, together its a incredible combination

[@Ron-zr6se]

It looks like it improves the clouds in XP12 which though much better than what was in XP11, still leaves much to be desired. If it manages to get rid of XP12's ice wall clouds is worth the price in itself. Thanks for the review, it was quite helpful as to whether to purchase the product or not. Just an update, I purchased the product and it makes a very noticeable and welcome change to the standard weather in XP12. It still has room for improvement but over all I am quite happy with it, no more cloud ice walls.

[@Q8Pilot]

I am glad I waited for the devs to fix things with this addon. I had it for a while, and they really improved it quite a bit. Thanks for watching!

[@Ron-zr6se]

@@Q8Pilot Purchased VisualXP Ultimate and it is well worth the price and it makes a vast improvement over the standard weather of XP12. I am sure they will also improve the Metar function as they are aware of its short comings.

[@the-aviator]

Thank you so much for your in-depth review, this is just what I was looking for! I was really confused if visual XP was really worth it, but after watching your review, I have decided to purchase the basic version and buy activesky for the live weather instead of buying the ultimate version.

[@Q8Pilot]

Glad this video helped you. Thank you for taking the time to write and for watching the video!

[@TheHenkka65]

I have come to the same conclusion; the basic version for me also since I have ASXP12 already. 🙂

[@taurus57]

Thank you for the review Q8. Very helpful as always .

[@Q8Pilot]

Thank you for your kind support as always and for watching!

[@smaze1782]

Excellent review. Do you select custom weather or real weather download in the X-plane 12 start page?

[@ChrisM541]

Please remember, when demoing features, to fully turn it off so that we can all see what VisualXP is doing on the gfx subset you are looking at - in comparison to stock XP. In 07:39 you described water visuals but did not disable that so that we could compare with the stock XP visuals. You do this elsewhere too. You MUST let the user know what the stock XP gfx looks in comparison to what you are focusing on - to not do that brings very, very strong suspicion that you are shilling for the company ;)

[@aerodynamics_sweden]

12:09, just to let u know it does say u need to click the "re-check live weather" button, other than that awesome review!

[@Q8Pilot]

Thanks!

[@leiflavebrink9639]

Thank you mate for another very good review and for your tireless efforts of bringing so much value to the community!! As always you pointed out important facts to consider in the product in a most objective, friendly and educational way. Your sessions are always top notch !!

[@Q8Pilot]

Leif, my friend, thank you for your words of encouragement. I appreciate your endless support and friendship!

[@chrisrose1508]

62 FPS is impressive. What is your system spec and what are your graphics settings? Thanks.

[@aviator8583]

The METAR on the app was a newer METAR as compared to the ones on the website, no ? As long as it can depict the METARs accurately, that should count as a point in it's favor. Would you recommend this over active sky ? I missed the upgrade window, and now have to purchase a new wx software for xp12.

[@mazo2267]

Very helpful and well presented. It certainly gives plenty of scope to tweak and for that reason alone the developer has produced a very intuitive piece of work. Perhaps too many options and maybe a few of these not fully understood by everyone. The auto features are useful. Not sure myself if I will use it at this time but might in the future when the bugs you have identified have been sorted. Thanks again for sharing your expertise and comments which are always a great source for the simming community. 18:36

[@xcrafts_development]

Great video! Does this add-on allow you to increase the brightness of interior cockpit lighting?

[@Q8Pilot]

There is an option to change the ambient light inside the cockpit.

[@MarkoMamula]

And does it help?

[@PezKao]

Looks good! Does this only work on plane 12? Or can it also work on other versions such as xplane 11?

[@szgabor555]

When the live weather refreshes, can you see any sudden change in the cloud representation? I would like to see a slow transitions...

[@Q8Pilot]

The weather update is very smooth and the transition really takes its time. No abrupt changes at all here.

[@ellonysman]

This XP should be a default part of the Xplane 12 family. Is there going to be a new Xplane 12 2024 version to match the cometition? lol

[@ExploringSitkaAlaskausin-wj4wu]

I used X-plane 11 for nearly 15 years. I own the original disks. I misplaced the original disk, and have since never found them. I wanted to install X-plane on my new computer last year. Even though I had an account, and had boughten aircraft over the years, X-plane would not let me install my old version of X-plane 11 without paying them another $29 ! So I got mad then discovered DCS, and I have bad mouth X-Plane every since. I am sure I have gotten more than $29 satisfaction in doing so!

[@Travelife2000]

can u share your x-plane graphic setting? I'm shocked how look georgeous x-plane 12 now. :o do you raccomand the switch?

[@ptrisonic]

Personally I've found that the cloud cover of MSFS always look garish to my eyes as does the ground cover over 1k feet. Cheers, Pete

[@ronaldokuhlmann]

Hi Q8, do you still recommend using Active Sky for XP12 or the default weather system?

[@Q8Pilot]

Active sky still seem to provide the most accurate weather.

[@bantustv1178]

Thank you first of all Qpilot for this preview and now I've one question. Is it better to use Activesky or Xp Visual ?

[@mikecoffee100]

Giving some love to X-Plane is fair .

[@Q8Pilot]

There is nothing about X-Plane not to be loved =)

[@jetcat120]

I bought this and cannot get any settings to look remotely realistic. I tried adjusting my monitors colour settings but still it’s not showing how I’d like it to be

[@kenfriess7508]

Just downloaded and installed and my x plane keeps crashing...not impressed

[@timistar1891]

Thanks so much for the review° I´m really thinking about flying XP12 again with it

[@Q8Pilot]

You will not regret flying X-Plane 12, that I can assure you =)

[@v1rotate815]

Once again a fantastic review of the product. Is it possible to combine Active Sky XP for live weather generation and use Visual XP for visual enchantment only?

[@Q8Pilot]

Yes this combination is possible.

[@v1rotate815]

Thank you Q8Pilot, your videos keeps the flight simming passion alive.

[@tomb8430]

Another great video Q8... you get amazing frame rates... can you share - What is your screen resolution? Looks like you are using very high screen resolution - What is your CPU? - What is your GPU? I have an Intel Core i5-13600K and an AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and I can't seem to get past 40fps on a 1024x768 resolution! Any insights here would be awesome, and I think a lot of people would love to know.

[@burgerpops7182]

if i remeber he play in 4k with 13900k cpu and 4090 gpu

[@Q8Pilot]

Thank you for your kind words. You can find all my specs here www.youtube.com/@Q8Pilot/about

[@randcooley2865]

Good review as always , I am not sure it is something I would buy as the Metar is not accurately represented. However I am not a stickler for perfect clouds, water etc. Well done Sam thank you

[@dtrjones]

I do admit I do like clouds. I have MSFS running with ultra clouds on the Quest 3 at 120Hz and my mind is totally blown, it's a really beautiful experience.

[@and696]

Great addon!! How Is possible that Laminar can not apply themself these amazing feautures to XP??

[@Q8Pilot]

I think Laminar focuses more on the flight model and physics. I am just glad we still have developers developing for X-Plane.

[@and696]

Just a curiosity; if you select live weather in the Visual Setting menu, this will have the priority vs the XP live weather?

[@Gordan1962]

Thank you for the review of the tool, for me the basic would be enough, does the basic has also Live WX ?

[@Q8Pilot]

The Basic does not have live weather.

[@DC3Refom]

more dratic and shiny , does not always mean more reakistic or natural I am in two minds about this addo on. Regarding the fog lights amd the water controls etc I have dome this in data refe editor before

[@juliagulia9073]

When you shut off the real weather in the VisualXP, can you then run X-Plane 12's Real Weather download while still running VisualXP?

[@Q8Pilot]

Yes

[@njflyer]

Does anyone know if this addon is compatible with VR? Thx in advance

[@naturallyherb]

Looks pretty worth buying it based on what you've shown. How is the performance impact like? Is there a significant FPS impact like other weather plugins like xEnviro?

[@Q8Pilot]

Other than the FPS hit I point out related to fog and enhanced clouds, the addon does not affect performance.

[@gwalker3092]

Thx for the review Im beginning to wonder whats happening with Real Weather in both XP & MSFS. I didnt expect there to be such a difference in the METAR and the Sim settings. Obviously the sims carnt represent every type of weather but its hard to figure how level of clouds / winds etc dont match makes you wonder where they get the data from.

[@Q8Pilot]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!

[@TheGbelcher]

Why is it so hard for weather apps to get METAR data correct? That seems like the easiest part

[@maydaygoingdown5602]

Hi mate, very good video from you as always. To me it looks like a really good addon. I actually like the fact you can customise things. A must have really in my eyes. Thanks for showing it.👍

[@Q8Pilot]

Thanks for watching my friend, glad this was helpful for you.

[@cwood7240]

Looks amazing. Does VisualXP work along side of Active Sky? Or to put it bluntly is it compatible with each other? As well you have demonstrated the best review with Visual XP. All your reviews are excellent

[@Q8Pilot]

Yes, you can turn off live weather in VisualXP and use it for visual enhancement only.

[@cwood7240]

In my case I purchased my from the X plane Org store, put in my plugins, start XP 12 and it Crashes to Desktop. No word from support of the developers. Any thoughts?

[@Q8Pilot]

Please open the log in your x-plane folder and see what is causing the crash. It could a conflicting addon.

[@cwood7240]

I did that at first thing. It said XP halted because of Visual XP. I did get it fixed. On the website download section "Use if there is a Connection Issue". 3 files Ultimate Connection, Premium and Basic. I picked Ultimate. It basically overwrites the original default download plugin. They actually should have said if your XP crashes............... But thank you sir.

[@dboss7239]

Does it avoid or eliminate that annoying 1 minute update Xplane's real weather does? Every minute XP12 updates real weather and you see a noticeable shift in clouds, and the CPU (usage) spikes, and often this results in frame dropping especially on short final to land.

[@Q8Pilot]

I haven't experienced this issue. The weather update is actually very smooth.

[@fritsvanlaarhoven737]

Can you combine visualXP with x-plane live weather or active sky, as their live weather isn't that good

[@Q8Pilot]

Yes, just turn off VisualXP live weather off.

[@fritsvanlaarhoven737]

Thanks, you use AS right?@@Q8Pilot

[@slaapzz]

My clouds look much more pixaled then yours using this mod, any help?

[@conanmavericks4044]

In the ultimate version, can I use live weather from asxp or Austin weather pro (default xp weather) ? Thanks

[@Q8Pilot]

Yes you can. Just turn live weather off in VisualXP.

[@conanmavericks4044]

@@Q8Pilot many thanks for the review. Helped a lot !

[@FOBob-sr1fd]

So many of these add-ons don't work correctly in the Mac Version. Hopefully they'll come out with a Mac version.

[@Q8Pilot]

Yes currently only windows is supported. Developing for Mac is another beast.

[@FOBob-sr1fd]

@@Q8Pilot Which is strange since (as I understand it) X-Plane itself is engineered on Mac. 🤨

[@michael_andretti93]

Nice video sir... IMO VisualXp is brilliant addons but not in right situation. XP12 is the next-gen of X-Plane series, kind pathetic we must spend more money for the "Visual". I'm better wait for the Major Update of XP12.

[@Q8Pilot]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!

[@elrodreca]

Hello, is possible to have the activesky with the visualXP active both?

[@Q8Pilot]

Yes, just turn off VisualXP live weather.

[@elrodreca]

@@Q8Pilot great thanks, in ur opinion with is better to have the live weather active?

[@King5Arthur]

Was the scenery vanilla Xplane12 or are you using ortho?

[@Q8Pilot]

In this video, all scenery is default XP12.

[@King5Arthur]

@@Q8Pilot Awesome, thanks!

[@SimAviator]

I am not sure if you are aware, but majority of the things this addon offers is pretty much just tweaking default datarefs. I don't think it is worth paying money for something that can be achieved by a free lua script.

[@Q8Pilot]

Do we have this free Lua script though? The program offers live weather too. For the asking price, it is not bad, but needs work. It is a fair price to ask for the work the developer has done.

[@UrosMaksic]

@@Q8Pilot Both things are great IMO. There are people that can't be bothered to tinker with the datarefs themselves and prefer to just buy an addon that does that for themselves. There are ofcourse, people like me who like to know every bit of detail there is about something that interests me. Dataref editor is the single greatest free addon there is, Lua scripting being the first. But there are dramatic changes to these settings upon every update, holding on to scripts at this moment is not really worth it IMO. Let's see how things work once they do as much changes to the sim that they think is necessary and then perhaps make final touches to the scripts, and the devs of such products as this for that matter. I am sure VisualXP people will update it according to X-Plane development itself.

[@ricardohotbrakes1458]

Thanks for the video looks good

[@davecat1458]

How does this work with Active Sky XP12? Feels like it is simply a coloring tool. $26US Not for me.

[@Q8Pilot]

It works just fine. Turn off real weather in VXP and use ActiveSky. Works beautifuly. This is not just colors. It has real weather too.

[@GiovanniFigoli]

does it impact the FPS?

[@Q8Pilot]

Please watch the video.

[@erikdijkhuizen]

Does this also work on x-plane 11?

[@Q8Pilot]

No not anymore

[@shanebadal305]

Better than Xenviro?

[@Q8Pilot]

In my humble view, yes it is.

[@leonidpolenok]

Work in 12.0.9?

[@Q8Pilot]

Yes

[@darkside7109]

My gpu started smoking as soon as I pulled up this video

[@UrosMaksic]

Yup and the sound mine generates is that of a jet engine...

[@maybe.julius]

Windows Only 😢

[@Q8Pilot]

At this time yes, windows only.

[@CaribFLYChannel]

To me reshade seems abit better than the Atmospheric sky .

[@gemster18]

This is the thing that really upsets me about laminar and x-plane, they expect us to shell out 60 bucks for it, they intend on raising the price at the end of October and now in order to make it look better! We have to shell out another $25 That's just a crock of shit! If this is supposed to be an update from x plane 11, then they should have all these features already in there....

[@thedownwardmachine]

40% of XP users run Mac, which this does not support. And we are more likely to buy this since we can’t just switch to MSFS.

[@pedroisctube]

Lets talk about frames

[@Q8Pilot]

FPS is unaffected except for the situations I have indicated in the video.

[@pedroisctube]

@@Q8Pilot thanks dude

[@rockyrowlands3652]

I changed from Xplane to MFS due to quality of graphics. Xplane is nowhere near MFS in my view.

[@Q8Pilot]

Graphics yes, but flight model and physics XPlane remains superior by some margin.

[@rockyrowlands3652]

I have heard this several times. I'm not a pilot so I cannot tell the difference in flight modelling. Maybe you can do a video to explain these differences that may be useful to understand the different flight models.@@Q8Pilot

[@simwirx]

0:36 Skip the fluff.

[@AquaStevae]

Ya know, not meaning to be offensive here, but the first 87 times you said you preferred to use the auto tab would have been sufficient, without saying it fifty more times...

[@Q8Pilot]

I don't mean to be offensive, but since you have time to count 87 you might as well count the next 50.

[@joshfredr7846]

its ok .... i regret buying it though

[@Q8Pilot]

Why do you regret it? I truly think it revamps X-Plane and makes everything look so much better.

[@joshfredr7846]

@@Q8Pilot it's alright, though clouds contain noise, and night lights really hurt FPS..

[@everythingvideos24]

I wouldn't waste any money on this sim half the planes in this sim look crazy grapically outdated.

[@Louis_Delgres]

Depuis les dernières mises à jours, ça sert à rien.

[@pg.ledesma]

Buy Flight Simulator

[@nukenabber7228]

They don't know what they don't know...let them be ignorant @ceilaz7861

[@tin2001]

I run Linux and considering FSX still doesn't run properly in WINE/Proton, and MSFS didn't either to begin with, and MS already announcing FS2024 after saying 2020 was a 10 year product, and MSFS requires internet access constantly.... Well, I just don't trust MS to allow me to keep using FS2020 in another year or 2... X-Plane will work for me in 10+ years (albeit things like live weather will eventually die, etc).