Alfalfa

You want to see what orbiter is capable of: http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=20&page=399 There are some really good screenshots there. The texture are the responsability of the add-on, and not orbiter itself. If the add-on is well-made, orbiter will look nice, if not, then... The big problem in orbiter's graphics is the planets, but the scale is so big that it is hard to get something good. But there are some skins like the L11 Earth and those kind of add-on.

That is not a stock craft, it is the XR2 Ravenstar... But it is a re-texture.

Well you definatly don't know where to look... There is the Orbiter 2010 version, that was good in 2010 and not in 2004. Also keep in mind that the developper of this simulator is all alone and do it for free. You can't expect the level of polishing from one man on his free time vs a team of programmers paid for it. There is a new client for improved graphics, most of the main vessels have good skins and textures. The devlopper is even adding terrain fom the various sattellite images availables (by terrain I mean elevation and texture) but that will be for the next version of orbiter. Keep in mind that the scale is the actual scale of the solar system, and the physics are more realistic so you cannot expect too much realism for the graphics. Also, I doubt about the 8 years update for some add-on, since most of them are not compatible with the 2010 version of orbiter... So please don't bash something if you don't know what you are talking about... That being said, it is true that there are a lot of unfinished add-ons, but the good ones are good and fairly well polished. As for myslef I play both in and out. I prefer KSP for the building part and the terrain when you land somewhere, but I like Orbiter better for the realism of the simulations (and especially the MFDs). I can fly the whole mission from the cockpit without having to switch to a map every time I want to set up a manoeuvre. EDIT: And my I had, about the graphics and eye candy thing. The closer you are to reality, the uglier it gets. If a simulator is a little off reality it will look wrong. KSP is meant to be cartoonish, obviously the art style will look a lot better. But I agree that KSP looks a lot better than Orbiter.

Too bad you have to be a US citizen or permanent resident... I tried to apply for one but it's pretty dead for me since I'm Canadian. Do you know if they even consider applications from non-US citizen? After my studies, I would be happy to relocate and I have done a lot of extra work in school (Formula SAE and other projects).