Game Discussions Microsoft Flight Simulator

[Faded Glory]

It's fantastic in VR, especially cloud surfing. I took out of the POIs first thing, it is so much more immersive without them.
I landed in Aspen yesterday, it was quite scenic!

BTW the game feels more fluid since the last update, especially noticeable are the CPU-related stutters that are largely gone.

Agreed, I was surprised just how smooth it was flying over London. Previous flights had felt much less comfortable, and I also noticed that the buildings were better textured - on the past they've often appeared to be a bit monochrome. That's without me changing any settings or drivers as yet, so presumably they are doing a bit of optimization which is very welcome.

Aspen of course is beautiful and a nice challenging landing. If you haven't, try out one of the Roaring Fork Visual approaches, they are very cool, picking up the river as a visual guide through the mountains into runway 15.

 

[AkenBosch]

Don't know how much merit goes to recent optimizations, or to the new CPU (5600X), or the slight tweaks I made to Oculus/video settings (I guess CPU takes the cake though ), but I've finally been able to get both a passable VR performance, and a proper recording from the Oculus mirror window. Ludicrous reprojection all over the place, but what's to expect from a poor 1060? It was well acceptable once airborne though, and smooth and clear enough (even at 80% downsampling) to spot major reference points and enjoy the short roundabout flight I did over my place.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epR4XGB9jhY


...on a previous test (no AA, so awful jaggies but actually good performance) I turned a bit high on final so had to get a bit more...flamboyant, with my flying

Spoiler

Source: https://youtu.be/8zlOqWq6W9I

 

[Juniper]

World Update IV has been released.

Had a brief 'play' with it last night - which involved basically just setting a flight plan to take off from Schiphol, fly across Amsterdam, and then do a 180 and fly back again and land. All using the AI because I couldn't be bothered re-arranging my desk & hauling out the HOTAS. Seems pretty good. And the AI looks like it's been fixed & less keen to try and land in a field.

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

World Update IV has been released.

Had a brief 'play' with it last night - which involved basically just setting a flight plan to take off from Schiphol, fly across Amsterdam, and then do a 180 and fly back again and land. All using the AI because I couldn't be bothered re-arranging my desk & hauling out the HOTAS. Seems pretty good. And the AI looks like it's been fixed & less keen to try and land in a field.

I'm still in the U.S. and haven't checked even UK out. Will fly to Ireland soon.
I am flying regularly, it is my go-to VR game and I am enjoying the heck out of it. I just don't get why the mods are not working (namely the WIP CJ4 and salty 747).

 

[Juniper]

I'm still in the U.S. and haven't checked even UK out. Will fly to Ireland soon.
I am flying regularly, it is my go-to VR game and I am enjoying the heck out of it. I just don't get why the mods are not working (namely the WIP CJ4 and salty 747).

I'll be honest, mods are flaky.

I'm putting that down to the fact that the SDK is still a work in progress, and each release seemingly brings breaking changes. Many of the patch notes in this release refer to the SDK primarily.

So for now, I'm taking the view that I'm not going to use any addons until the SDK is in a more stable state.

 

[AkenBosch]

For now, I'm just taking in the views.

 

[Juniper]

For now, I'm just taking in the views.

That's exactly what I'm doing, and the AI control is great for that. Can't even be bothered flying most of the time.

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

That's exactly what I'm doing, and the AI control is great for that. Can't even be bothered flying most of the time.

I do enjoy start-ups, takeoffs and most importantly landings. For longer cruises autopilot is essential.
I haven't done bush-trips or true VFR yet, but that'll come.

 

[Faded Glory]

I'm still in the U.S. and haven't checked even UK out. Will fly to Ireland soon.
I am flying regularly, it is my go-to VR game and I am enjoying the heck out of it. I just don't get why the mods are not working (namely the WIP CJ4 and salty 747).

Which bit about the WT CJ4 mod (I assume that's the one you are talking about) isn't working for you? I had some issues with one of the earlier versions in that VNAV wouldn't stop descending, but the most recent (v0.12) seemed to fix that and I had a couple of nice VNAV descents transitioning into an ILS approach.

Unfortunately not flying just at the moment as I discovered the new motherboard had an OEM BIOS version that it shouldn't have, preventing me updating to the latest version that supports things that the new Nvidia drivers seem to need to perform well (in ED) - been a nightmare trying to get the new cards to work well in both MSFS and ED, first world problem, I know... Hopefully be back in the VR cockpits in a week or so, when the motherboard is replaced.

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

Which bit about the WT CJ4 mod (I assume that's the one you are talking about) isn't working for you? I had some issues with one of the earlier versions in that VNAV wouldn't stop descending, but the most recent (v0.12) seemed to fix that and I had a couple of nice VNAV descents transitioning into an ILS approach.

Unfortunately not flying just at the moment as I discovered the new motherboard had an OEM BIOS version that it shouldn't have, preventing me updating to the latest version that supports things that the new Nvidia drivers seem to need to perform well (in ED) - been a nightmare trying to get the new cards to work well in both MSFS and ED, first world problem, I know... Hopefully be back in the VR cockpits in a week or so, when the motherboard is replaced.

Yes, I am. I'm just unsure as it supposed to fix the the cabin pressure alert bug above FL44, but it doesn't. I checked in dev mode and I am using the right folder, also installed a single livery to check if it loads... it did, so I am now slightly lost.

I recently swapped my PSU and it reinforced me to have my next PC custom (i.e. I chose the components, and have it assembled) built as well. The store does it for about $40 incl. mobo BIOS update.
But for now the PC is performing well, the 7700k is still enough. Oddly, whenever I have FPS issues, I am RAM bottlenecked in Flight Sim. I don't want to spend on RAM on this PC as I now it is expensive and I will buy a new platform next year anyway, but I am considering buying a fast M.2 and use it for my page file needs. Is it a good idea? My mobo has -in theory- very fast M.2 interface (MSI Z-270 A-Pro).

 

[Juniper]

But for now the PC is performing well, the 7700k is still enough. Oddly, whenever I have FPS issues, I am RAM bottlenecked in Flight Sim. I don't want to spend on RAM on this PC as I now it is expensive and I will buy a new platform next year anyway, but I am considering buying a fast M.2 and use it for my page file needs. Is it a good idea? My mobo has -in theory- very fast M.2 interface (MSI Z-270 A-Pro).

If you have the slot for an M.2 you should definitely utilise it.

Make sure you double-check the mobo manual on exactly what kind of SSD it supports (2242, 2260, 2280, NVMe, SATA) before purchasing a drive though as not all M.2 slots are equal. If you have lots of other drives connected to your SATA ports, it can stop the last two working due to bandwidth limitations.

But as long as all that is OK - yes. On average about 3-4x faster than a regular SATA SSD.

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

If you have the slot for an M.2 you should definitely utilise it.

Make sure you double-check the mobo manual on exactly what kind of SSD it supports (2242, 2260, 2280, NVMe, SATA) before purchasing a drive though as not all M.2 slots are equal. If you have lots of other drives connected to your SATA ports, it can stop the last two working due to bandwidth limitations.

But as long as all that is OK - yes. On average about 3-4x faster than a regular SATA SSD.

Thanks, I really thought on it as a stop-gap solution to provide a faster page file buffer on top of the 16Gb RAM.
So in theory the mobo has an m.2 turbo PCI-E Gen 3 slot, and I found a cheap PCI-E SSD that reads at 1700mb/s and writes at 800 mb/s (there are better ones but the business case has to be good against simply buying RAM) - I know it won't be the same as outright memory, but perhaps it would be great for MSFS as I learned it even munches 32Gb RAM (i.e. even at that capacity page file is used).

 

[Faded Glory]

Yes, I am. I'm just unsure as it supposed to fix the the cabin pressure alert bug above FL44, but it doesn't. I checked in dev mode and I am using the right folder, also installed a single livery to check if it loads... it did, so I am now slightly lost.

Ah... Never noticed that bug as I haven't been to that altitude (recently). I've been enjoying playing around with VNAV, so don't really want the flights to be so long as it's the descent and landing that interest me (although from what I understand that is the altitude that those kind of jets usually fly at), and I'd be starting my descent before I got to that cruise altitude. Their Discord channel can be quite helpful if you haven't already given it a shot.

All I can say about the M.2 SSD is that they are very fast! My new PC came with one and it really is very snappy, the PC boots up in seconds. Will it help with MSFS? It's a tough one as it really is a demanding sim / game, even with my PC (i7 10700K, RTX3080, 32GB RAM and the aforementioned SSD) I can't say I'm getting a wonderful experience in VR (with the G2). I mean it's good, feels smooth and some detail is very good and sharp, but still have to peer or zoom in on some of the cockpit instruments and after landing it feels like it gets pretty blurry for a while.

 

[Juniper]

Thanks, I really thought on it as a stop-gap solution to provide a faster page file buffer on top of the 16Gb RAM.
So in theory the mobo has an m.2 turbo PCI-E Gen 3 slot, and I found a cheap PCI-E SSD that reads at 1700mb/s and writes at 800 mb/s (there are better ones but the business case has to be good against simply buying RAM) - I know it won't be the same as outright memory, but perhaps it would be great for MSFS as I learned it even munches 32Gb RAM (i.e. even at that capacity page file is used).

I have 32GB of RAM in mine, and you're right to say that a fast drive as an interim upgrade (if you're planning a bigger one later) is a good idea. Chances are you will be able to take that M.2 drive with you to your new system, whereas it's not definite that would be the case for RAM. This is accepted wisdom.

Although...

Saying that, I have used those same 4 x 8GB RAM sticks in a few different systems now... going from Threadripper, then Threadripper 2, down to Ryzen 7, then Ryzen 5, then back to Ryzen 7 again. All in, at least three completely different motherboards. All worked fine. Gone are the days where a systems upgrade always meant "new mobo, CPU and RAM". DDR4 means that most RAM will still work - even if it could be faster and potentially a bottleneck in your new system.

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

Ah... Never noticed that bug as I haven't been to that altitude (recently). I've been enjoying playing around with VNAV, so don't really want the flights to be so long as it's the descent and landing that interest me (although from what I understand that is the altitude that those kind of jets usually fly at), and I'd be starting my descent before I got to that cruise altitude. Their Discord channel can be quite helpful if you haven't already given it a shot.

All I can say about the M.2 SSD is that they are very fast! My new PC came with one and it really is very snappy, the PC boots up in seconds. Will it help with MSFS? It's a tough one as it really is a demanding sim / game, even with my PC (i7 10700K, RTX3080, 32GB RAM and the aforementioned SSD) I can't say I'm getting a wonderful experience in VR (with the G2). I mean it's good, feels smooth and some detail is very good and sharp, but still have to peer or zoom in on some of the cockpit instruments and after landing it feels like it gets pretty blurry for a while.

I have a 7700k at 4.8 Ghz, 16Gb RAM at 3200 Mhz and a 3080 at 2100 Mhz, and now the only time I'm getting occasional stutters within reprojection (also G2) I noticed that neither my CPU or GPU is maxed out (70-80% usage), but my RAM is pegged at 15Gb plus with an extensive page file usage North of 30 ( ! ) Gb. So yeah, I'd hope m.2 would be a cheap solution with other added benefits.

I agree that it is disappointing that we still have to downscale (to 80% if I recall correctly), but otherwise it looks really good, cloud surfing is wonderful, I may say next gen experience. Smallest letters or numbers aside, most of the instruments are readable and OK. My only gripe is that occasionally the VR viewpoint drifts, but I'm starting to figure out the appropriate lighting conditions for it.

I have 32GB of RAM in mine, and you're right to say that a fast drive as an interim upgrade (if you're planning a bigger one later) is a good idea. Chances are you will be able to take that M.2 drive with you to your new system, whereas it's not definite that would be the case for RAM. This is accepted wisdom.

Although...

Saying that, I have used those same 4 x 8GB RAM sticks in a few different systems now... going from Threadripper, then Threadripper 2, down to Ryzen 7, then Ryzen 5, then back to Ryzen 7 again. All in, at least three completely different motherboards. All worked fine. Gone are the days where a systems upgrade always meant "new mobo, CPU and RAM". DDR4 means that most RAM will still work - even if it could be faster and potentially a bottleneck in your new system.

I would certainly look into it, but I figured the system would be great for the kids once I upgrade (without the 3080 obviously, that one will migrate to the new system - if they want to game perhaps I'll get a 1030 for them ).
I am aiming for a DDR5 system, but considering how many claim that 4-core CPUs are dead, the 7700k holds up surprisingly well for sub 100 fps gaming, so otherwise I'm not in a hurry.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Are there still issues with the bush trips? Am on leg 7 of the Nevada one and have tried to complete this twice now - seems the landing doesn't register i.e. the menu doesn't pop up. I've read older posts (from shortly after launch/September last year) where these might bug out for trips started before a patch, is that still a thing?

Never mind, could be this: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1250410/discussions/1/2800630252897796623/

 

[Deleted member 182079]

This sim, and particularly the weather in it, continues to wow me.

Decided to go for a little trip from Brussels to Geneva in the CJ4, sunny start with clear skies at BRU, which turned into a carpet of thick clouds when crossing into French airspace. Approach through clouds around 8,000ft, landed at an overcast but still occasionally sunny Geneva airport (full and smooth ILS landing which didn't glitch out for once due to naughty USR waypoints messing things up).

Then looked at the map and thought - Courchevel airport of landing challenge fame (which I haven't actually tried so far) is about 30 minutes away from there in the 172S. Switched planes, and went on my way, only to realise the direct GPS sent me straight through the mountains, problem being the thick cloud cover there. I thought I might scrape through but as soon as the ice built up on the windows I aborted, went down to ground level to melt the ice off, and went towards my destination via manual VFR by navigating through the valleys (including passing over Albertville).

Getting closer towards Courchevel (which I had no idea how high it's situated!) snow cover set in, which made finding the runway that bit more difficult. Absolutely picturesque approach and landing, the detail at the airport is a nice touch also. Love it.

 

[Hairychest]

I did Courchevel and really enjoyed the winter scene, as I've been at that time of year and ski'd all round the airport, watching the planes land...

 

[WeComeInPeace]

So the last couple of days i have had a fever and I've been coughing, so I'm in isolation, being tested today. I have mild symptoms, so no worries, but I needed something to entertain me, so I bought M$FS 2020 for my "new" VR rig, R3950X, RTX-3070, Reverb G2 and X52 Hotas.

I took some time to download and install the current 160+ GB (at 250 mb/s), so I spent a couple of hours watching some Squirrel videos, that were excellent (subscribed). After having watched those, it was a walk in the park to set up the sim. I certainly don't get 90 fps, but the resolution is awesome, and once I get the settings tweaked, I'll be fine. It's not an alpha FPS, cough, running at 5-20 fps

First thing I did was get a tiny Cessna, set everything to EASY and took of from the nearest airport to where I live IRL. Then I did a few loops and barrel rolls over my RL home before I crashed into the street at way to much speed at an almost vertical angle >>

This sim is amazing. I've only flown a few hours, and I still twist yaw and fly like I do in ED, but I see the potential once I learn that the thrusters are gone. Also the community and the dev enthusiasm seems good. I might miss the frag cannons though...

Time to get into one of those aerobatic planes and find an airport in the Alps...

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

Yeah, great game and absolute daily driver for me. Complex planes are still lacking though. I tried to fly today with A320 (downloaded the community mod as well, as always I'm unsure if it is actually loaded by the system), but it failed to climb above 35k feet and even there it barely kept 200 kts at full throttle. Oh yeah, and I crashed my landing gear while taxiing at Charles de Gaule, a premium airport in France which was part of the latest world update - again, this is a beta version at best...