So, I bought FSGlobal2010. I paid the extra money to get the DVDs, just in case the download didn't work. They had lots of dire warning about that. But (of course) my download went just fine, with a couple “by the ways”:
They say to use WinRAR or WinZip to unzip, and NOT to use the Windows built-in zipper/un-zipper, which, they say, won't work. I had WinRAR installed so I was golden, right? Wrong... WinRAR insisted the files were corrupt. The flightsimstore download page lists the MD5 checksum values that you can use to verify a good download, provided you have an MD5 checksum generator to use on the downloaded files. I downloaded a free one called WinMD5, which said my downloads were intact, checksum values matched. But still WinRAR said the files were corrupt. So I downloaded WinZip, which un-zipped the files with no complaining.
Then I installed it. Before installing 2010, I flew around a couple spots while 2008 was still installed, so I could compare with 2010. After installing 2010 I flew over the same places, and I'll be darned if I can see any difference. Apparently some coast lines have been made more accurate, and after Googling this, the differences are most apparent over desolate places like Greenland. In other words, 2008 didn't cover 100% of the planet, despite the word “global” in the title, and 2010 does.
File the above under the “For What it's Worth” department.
They say to use WinRAR or WinZip to unzip, and NOT to use the Windows built-in zipper/un-zipper, which, they say, won't work. I had WinRAR installed so I was golden, right? Wrong... WinRAR insisted the files were corrupt. The flightsimstore download page lists the MD5 checksum values that you can use to verify a good download, provided you have an MD5 checksum generator to use on the downloaded files. I downloaded a free one called WinMD5, which said my downloads were intact, checksum values matched. But still WinRAR said the files were corrupt. So I downloaded WinZip, which un-zipped the files with no complaining.
Then I installed it. Before installing 2010, I flew around a couple spots while 2008 was still installed, so I could compare with 2010. After installing 2010 I flew over the same places, and I'll be darned if I can see any difference. Apparently some coast lines have been made more accurate, and after Googling this, the differences are most apparent over desolate places like Greenland. In other words, 2008 didn't cover 100% of the planet, despite the word “global” in the title, and 2010 does.
File the above under the “For What it's Worth” department.