> sometimes they emphasize visuals and cool effects (like 3d cockpits) at the expense of making the planes fun and practical to fly from a normal computer setup

> sometimes they emphasize visuals and cool effects (like 3d cockpits) at the expense of making the planes fun and practical to fly from a normal computer setup They don't really emphasize visuals. Even with X-Plane 12, the graphics will still be far behind those of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Thankfully they will be overhauling the graphics for trees, which currently look like something from the 90's. [0] > it has gotten less and less enjoyable to fly xplane with that kind of a setup because of the emphasis on making it look cool over making it behave realistically As others have said, you might be better served by Microsoft Flight Simulator. It prioritises approachability far more than X-Plane does, and isn't going for the professional/approved flight simulation market. > (I don't consider having to click a graphic of a physical switch on the screen with my mouse more realistic than hitting a key on my keyboard). You can fix some of it with key mappings, but it's clear that this experience is not the priority. I'd be very surprised if it weren't possible to map the button to a key, provided you have enough keys on your keyboard that aren't already bound. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxLqU-NJhbE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxLqU-NJhbE