Going to be interesting to see what full ray tracing does for the sim. It can be a huge resource hog but at the same time it’s not being simply ‘added on’, as they’re reworking to engine so it’s hard to say how much the core engine was leaving on the table for the basics. They seem pretty confident, and of course this all needs to be squeezed into a XBSX at 4K forcing optimization. Yet it has to still look good(aka 'better than it already does now) for the vast majority of their user base that isn’t going to have a 4090 or any RT ability at all.
Could be a scenario that what we see isn’t actually all that complex but using code going back to FSX was a massive roadblock in itself, as if 2020 really could have been a 200fps+ game. We’re currently in the thought process that the current 2020 FPS per setting is somehow directly correlative to a modernized engine. Is what we expect to ‘frame’ in the FS FOV at any given moment as ‘complicated’ as say Cyberpunk or only a fraction of it?
The RT aspect surely puts hedged bets on going Nvidia, but is it REALLY transformative or is the 7900XTX’s gobs of VRAM going to be a hero to itself in the world of everything ‘not a 4090’. I think 2020 looks great even without being a RT ‘masterpiece’ to throw into benchmarking legends. So if it’s hooray for RT, but it takes your FPS from 100 down to 42 for that one box checked, and without it a 7900XTX blows away a 4070ti super… Difficult call. I’d be in the wait and see club for now TBH. I went 4080s over 7900XTX in April knowing I’d be ‘okay’ because FG is a 2020 hero bandage and it’s surely going to be ‘good nuff’ for 2024. But having to pick one NOW with 2024 on preorder, not nearly as confident to make a throwaway ‘it’s better’ comment. If RT steals enough to notice in 2024, I’m simply turning it off.