Microsoft Flight Simulator

[Mole HD]

The 'basic' clip is just a frame with three reflective blobs. The pro clip is the one that has IR lights, and needs a cable. I've used the basic clip for years, and the only time I've ever had issues is when the sun is shining directly into the room when I'm using it, which isn't normally an issue due the cunning way I've aligned the house (realigning the Sun was an option, but I think the neighbours might have objected).

Considering I have one...albeit not used for some time, I seem pretty dumb about Track-IR and pro-clip

 

[Mengy]

I have a very strong feeling that MSFS will replace ED in my life as my "number one" flying game. A VERY strong feeling...

It absolutely will for me, but then I already am flying P3D more than Elite today.

Elite has gotten stale for me, and it's not progressing along the path I hoped it would. Odyssey will likely be heavily slanted towards first person combat which holds zero interest for me. I'm an explorer at heart, always have been, and while the possibility of exploration in Elite was always tantalizing FDev have not developed it with enough zeal. I've grown bored exploring in Elite, and frustrated by the FSS direction, and I honestly don't think it's a very big priority for them.

NOW, exploration in the new MS Flight Sim? Oh Frack Yeah!!! I doubt I'll buy another game this year because I'll be too busy with MFS.

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

It absolutely will for me, but then I already am flying P3D more than Elite today.

Elite has gotten stale for me, and it's not progressing along the path I hoped it would. Odyssey will likely be heavily slanted towards first person combat which holds zero interest for me. I'm an explorer at heart, always have been, and while the possibility of exploration in Elite was always tantalizing FDev have not developed it with enough zeal. I've grown bored exploring in Elite, and frustrated by the FSS direction, and I honestly don't think it's a very big priority for them.

NOW, exploration in the new MS Flight Sim? Oh Frack Yeah!!! I doubt I'll buy another game this year because I'll be too busy with MFS.

Very much the same regarding Elite, at this point I don't even care about it. Will follow the news, but remained on the forums only because of these discussions about other games.
My space combat fix will be covered by SW Squadrons, exploration/travelling by FS.

How are the official MS flight sim forums, is it worth checking in - literally?

 

[Ralph Vargr]

I just had to replace my old cell phone. The cost was about double what MS FS2020 costs on PC. Ouch.

 

[Mole HD]

I just had to replace my old cell phone. The cost was about double what MS FS2020 costs on PC. Ouch.

Last time I upgraded my phone...the shop girl showed me the infernal contraption and I had images of having to buy a manbag to carry it around in...damned thing had a bigger screen than the first TV I ever had.

Last time I saw it, it was in the kitchen drawer where I left it...my friends always ask me why I don't answer my phone or reply to the 100 texts they send every 5 minutes...I always tell them to keep trying, maybe one day, one of the house mice will be brave enough to pick up.

 

[Jenner]

Mod hat is permanently off now?

'Fraid so.

I just did a flight from Seattle to Vancouver in the rain with the Diamond. Couldn't figure out the ILS landing, so I just went for it visually. Manged to line up pretty well even with zero visibility, but then I was surprised when I touched down and realized I'd forgotten to deploy the landing gear.

Yeah, I guess checklists exist for a reason.

 

[PiLhEaD]

I doubt this will change any minds but there's quite a reassuring tone to this video.

Source: https://youtu.be/Tpf2XEzr76k

 

[Fishy]

With the PR about it all over the place, I am so looking forward to the outcry of the gaming community when it discovers that there are no unlocks/achievements/leaderboards/combat/leveling/progression and that as pretty as it is, it is a flight simulator whose point is to, well, simulate flight.

(I might be wrong on achievements though, looks like they might have pushed that one in)

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

With the PR about it all over the place, I am so looking forward to the outcry of the gaming community when it discovers that there are no unlocks/achievements/leaderboards/combat/leveling/progression and that as pretty as it is, it is a flight simulator whose point is to, well, simulate flight.

(I might be wrong on achievements though, looks like they might have pushed that one in)

Just like damage/crash modeling that was expected by so many. I am so glad it is just a black screen and they didn't waste precious resources on stuff that don't improve the experience in any way.

But they did implement leaderboards for landing challenges, so there's that. Otherwise I'm pretty sure the community will organize short/long distance races, even round the world trips. And reach Easter Island with planes that don't have the range for it.

 

[avow555]

Anyone know if you can buy the Standard edition then just pay the extra to upgrade to the other 2 editions?
Hoping to just get the Standard to begin with.

 

[[VR] Kemo]

Anyone know if you can buy the Standard edition then just pay the extra to upgrade to the other 2 editions?
Hoping to just get the Standard to begin with.

I'm sure I heard one of the YouTube'rs mention that you can do this. Not looked in to it myself, but sounds like a sensible option.

 

[Cmdr Mander]

Anyone know if you can buy the Standard edition then just pay the extra to upgrade to the other 2 editions?
Hoping to just get the Standard to begin with.

Via the MS store, yes.
No indication that it's possible via Steam though.

 

[Codger]

I've got a couple hundred hours in single-engine planes (in real life) and I've always loved flying. It's not something I can do any more due to financial (and age) reasons, but yeah, I'm looking forward to this new flight simulator. I hope it's as good as it looks

 

[Fishy]

Anyone know if you can buy the Standard edition then just pay the extra to upgrade to the other 2 editions?
Hoping to just get the Standard to begin with.

If you're new to flight sims and just want to test the waters, it's probably worth signing up for the Microsoft gamepass thingie. Think it's a fiver a month at the start, so you can try it out for a few months on the cheap. You should know afterwards how much you're into it and pick up whichever standalone copy feels appropriate.

 

[Cmdr Mander]

I've got a couple hundred hours in single-engine planes (in real life) and I've always loved flying. It's not something I can do any more due to financial (and age) reasons, but yeah, I'm looking forward to this new flight simulator. I hope it's as good as it looks

Same, about 500+ hrs. Stopped flying when I knocked the commercial training on the head due to the bank manager insisting I re-evaluate my career choice

Is it as good as it looks? Visually, yes, in places, but not everywhere. Limitation of Bing probably. But as a scenery simulator it'll tick a lot of boxes for a lot of people.
As a flight simulator I think it will have a mixed reception, those who just want to have a bit of a jolly (absolutely nothing wrong with that) will be fine with it, the serious simmers and irl pilots may not be as impressed a month after release. There are several issues which have been getting continually raised in the alpha/beta forum but are still to be addressed. I have no doubt they will be, just not by release date.

I completely understand the excitement for MFS2020 (I'm excited for its potential too) and the fact people want to get their hands on it as soon as possible but, and this is just my ill educated opinion, I don't see the sim being a valid replacement for any current sim until at least early/mid next year when quality third party aircraft are available to replace the default ones. The issues with wind effects, trimming, controller handling I'm hoping will get sorted a lot quicker and should make the default aircraft a bit more tolerable.

I've been simming for donkeys years and desperately want this sim to be the best thing since sliced bread, but I also think it's important to temper expectations and be realistic about when it'll get to the point of being the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

If you're new to flight sims and just want to test the waters, it's probably worth signing up for the Microsoft gamepass thingie. Think it's a fiver a month at the start, so you can try it out for a few months on the cheap. You should know afterwards how much you're into it and pick up whichever standalone copy feels appropriate.

It is what I planned to do - as a noob anything over the standard edition is surely an overkill. However, I am absolutely certain that I will love it and I will regret not taking the best package, especially as some of the airports I visited are in deluxe premium, and would definitely trigger nostalgia.

I read somewhere, that you can buy the extra content later, but it costs more than taking it right right off the start.

Same, about 500+ hrs. Stopped flying when I knocked the commercial training on the head due to the bank manager insisting I re-evaluate my career choice

Is it as good as it looks? Visually, yes, in places, but not everywhere. Limitation of Bing probably. But as a scenery simulator it'll tick a lot of boxes for a lot of people.
As a flight simulator I think it will have a mixed reception, those who just want to have a bit of a jolly (absolutely nothing wrong with that) will be fine with it, the serious simmers and irl pilots may not be as impressed a month after release. There are several issues which have been getting continually raised in the alpha/beta forum but are still to be addressed. I have no doubt they will be, just not by release date.

I completely understand the excitement for MFS2020 (I'm excited for its potential too) and the fact people want to get their hands on it as soon as possible but, and this is just my ill educated opinion, I don't see the sim being a valid replacement for any current sim until at least early/mid next year when quality third party aircraft are available to replace the default ones. The issues with wind effects, trimming, controller handling I'm hoping will get sorted a lot quicker and should make the default aircraft a bit more tolerable.

I've been simming for donkeys years and desperately want this sim to be the best thing since sliced bread, but I also think it's important to temper expectations and be realistic about when it'll get to the point of being the best thing since sliced bread.

I've seen these debates elsewhere, but the conclusion is always that even as-is, the scenery, details and the overall visuals are far superior to anything you can make from the current sims.
As for the complexity of the planes, so far what I've seen they are easily more sophisticated than 99% of the players will use. This game afterall has become the third most sold game on Steam and will bring in loads of outsider like I am.

At the end many are probably salty because an $60 sim just made their $1000 worth of add-ons on X-Plane obsolete.

Perhaps the handling is not as good as X-Plane yet, but I can live with that easily.

 

[avow555]

Via the MS store, yes.
No indication that it's possible via Steam though.

Cool that will do me.
Not fond of steam tbh.

 

[askavir]

Same, about 500+ hrs. Stopped flying when I knocked the commercial training on the head due to the bank manager insisting I re-evaluate my career choice

Is it as good as it looks? Visually, yes, in places, but not everywhere. Limitation of Bing probably. But as a scenery simulator it'll tick a lot of boxes for a lot of people.
As a flight simulator I think it will have a mixed reception, those who just want to have a bit of a jolly (absolutely nothing wrong with that) will be fine with it, the serious simmers and irl pilots may not be as impressed a month after release. There are several issues which have been getting continually raised in the alpha/beta forum but are still to be addressed. I have no doubt they will be, just not by release date.

I completely understand the excitement for MFS2020 (I'm excited for its potential too) and the fact people want to get their hands on it as soon as possible but, and this is just my ill educated opinion, I don't see the sim being a valid replacement for any current sim until at least early/mid next year when quality third party aircraft are available to replace the default ones. The issues with wind effects, trimming, controller handling I'm hoping will get sorted a lot quicker and should make the default aircraft a bit more tolerable.

I've been simming for donkeys years and desperately want this sim to be the best thing since sliced bread, but I also think it's important to temper expectations and be realistic about when it'll get to the point of being the best thing since sliced bread.

That is something I have wondered about., All the talk about MFS is about the visuals and scenery, which is undoubtly miles ahead of anything else in the market currently, but what about the actual flight model? How does the flight dynamics "feel"? How does it compare against the current flight simulation top dogs?

IMO it doesn't have to be as good as X-Plane to be a major success, just as long as it isn't nowhere near as bad as the last 2 microsoft flying games, "Microsoft Flight Simulator X" and "Microsoft Flight!"

 

[Cmdr Mander]

How does the flight dynamics "feel"?

There's a massive thread on the 2020 forum about this very issue. A lot of testers are unhappy about it's current state and feel not enough focus has been given to the flight model compared to the visuals. Although, to be fair, there are quite a few who also feel the flight modelling is anything between ok to spot on. Maybe some testers get different builds because what I've experienced is a flight model which is very twitchy in pitch, roll and yaw and overly sensitive with trim. For me personally, I currently find it lacking any sort of fluidity (is that a word?) you're constantly fighting the aircraft when trying to hand fly it.

There are a few who speak with great authority about how everyone is doing it wrong or are haters. Maybe they're right, I guess we'll all find out on the 18th

 

[VR StarLightPL]

Eh... if FS and DCS had a (genetically engineered) baby ;-))) One can dream, one can dream...