So we are to believe that a product called “Microsoft Flight Simulator” is something else? If they intended on it being something else, they should have called if “Microsoft Flight Emulation Game” or something. It’s amazing that a year into this thing, people are still willing to give one of the most advance software, if not THE most advanced, a pass on this program. When MSFT updates other programs, I’m pretty sure they don’t find a way to break what they already have as often as they have with FS2020 and their other programs run on just as vast and differentiated group of PC’s as this one.
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… and that is good, the more users, the more money comes in from the market place… and the more developers will get involved. Also expensive developers. Money=Focus in software land.
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The radar in MSFS was updated in SU4 several weeks ago so it now shows only precipitation (as it should). The problem is that weather data of that sort is only accessible in aircraft that use javascript/html displays. It cannot (yet) be utilized by any aircraft using WASM displays.
I very much doubt that. Case in point: within the first few weeks over a million (!) gamers had played FS 2020 [Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020 video game) - Wikipedia]. Now the way this is formulated this probably also includes XBox game pass subscriptions (means: not necessarily one million sold copies, and a good percentage of gamers may have already „left“).
But that figure is excluding XBox gamers. In fact, some estimates expect over two million copies to be sold within the first three years.
So what‘s my point then? My point is that I dare to say that among those one million initial gamers the majority (I just add a number here: I dare to say 75%) of buyers where attracted because of the stunning graphics, the weather/clouds rendering, the possibility to fly everywhere - literally everywhere! - and the outlook to an ambitious flight simulation, which at the same way would pave the way for beginners or 90ies flight simulator enthusiasts that wanted to return to flight simming, but never really bothered to „study a flight simulator“, but were now pulled into it - because of the graphics!
And that‘s me! One of those 75%. I believe in the potential of FS 2020, I know that an enthusiastic and vocal „core flight sim community“ (coming from X-Plane, Prepar3D, …) will make sure that it gets more realistic than before, and yet FS 2020 offers the exact „(re-)entry drug“ in terms of complexity and - again - visual fidelity that I was (unknowingly ;)) looking for all those years since Falcon 3.0 on my 486!
And I can assure you that I had never heard of REX or HIFI ever before. Maybe they would attract an additional 10‘000 „hardcore simmers“ - but that is not where the sale figures are coming from.
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This doesn’t sound the same as what they sold us back then.
Go to 15:32 if the link didn’t automatically take you there:
“We got to get this right with you guys first, and by you guys I mean the people that really have been propping up this thing for the past 35 years”
In retrospect “get this right with you guys first” can have a different meaning: “When enough licenses are sold to simmers in order to sustain financing the additional year of development needed for Xbox, then Market Place sales will be 20x more on Xbox than PC and we’re good for 10 years.”
Nothing really wrong with this, but to stay on the topic, and on focus, this raises the question of what direction the game will take if 20x more Xbox users concerns are different than 20x less PC users. I’m not saying here something about gamers vs simmers, but to illustrate:
- How many Xbox users are concerned with multi-screen so that it finally gets supported?
- How many Xbox users are caring about slandering a “vendor propping this things for the past 20 years”?
- How many Xbox users are caring about more serious VR support?
Nothing wrong with the Xbox in itself, but if this is so huge a success, and given the limited resources available, the game can only be focusing for the largest population using the game, an in this case, it is not a question of gamers and simmers (although it could), but I have a strong feeling from the initial Xbox feedback it will be a question of how you use the game and for what reasons. This can be diverging greatly from the traditional “simmers” usage scope (offering in-game purpose in the form of missions which is good in my opinion, instead of letting people learning on their own). But on the other hand, for the last 20 years I’ve been contributing to building this industry, the goal year after year was making the simulation closer to reality from an operational standpoint, not just a visual standpoint. With FS2020 I can’t help seeing, just taking the avionics as an example, a decline in fidelity to the point what you do on the game is no longer equivalent to what you’d do IRL sometimes.
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What I do not understand about this, is why does the Weather Radars etc work on other planes?
Sounds to me like you are a scenery sight-seer, not a sim pilot.
Nothing wrong with that, just not what a true ‘flight simmer’ is in the eyes of most of us who go back to Sub-Logic flight sim in 1984, later to become MS Flight Simulator,
Incidentally, Google Earth is a far superior scenery simulator and has a flight sim built in. Perhaps you should give it a try. It really is very good if you are really interested in scenery across the world.
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If you never take the CJ4 above 3,000ft but take the 172 above 3,000 I am very sorry but you are not a simmer at all, you are a gamer!!. If I have read that wrong then apologies!!!
However you are kind of making it easy. The CJ4 is THE ONLY PLANE IN THE SIM that can truly fly full IFR, and that is bad for nearly year, Nope not even the CRJ, its has issues (But we cant talk about that).
The sim is amazing, and is getting better…But it has many small things that if fixed would make it Amazing and a worthy of being called a SIM.
FYI Most CJ4 flights over say 400NM are at 41,000ft
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Pick and choose your argument, did you?.
I’m sure a “scenery sight-seer” will select his flight, create a Flight Plan,
and fly it IFR/ILS on a Cessna Citation CJ4 (WT CJ4) jet.
Good argument.
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It’s all relative.
There is a definition of: egotistical, arrogant.
Then, I confess. I am a “gamer”.
I am not interested in flying at 41,000ft and looking at clouds.
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Yes, a relaxed PR exercise really and nothing much gritty covered as far as I can see.
I doubt any of my questions would be asked either.
I’m a real pilot and a sim to me is when your simming every switch has a function that in essential to the operation of the sim, that is the challenge. Nothing more disturbing then going to a switch and it say’s INOP bogus. Flight operation doesn’t achieve the real deal of flight like A2A. I get that MSFS Ron likes the magic carpet ride, it really is a wonder. There focus is on the scenery and not the craft, and to me simming is a craft. A craft is a skill you develope and challenges you, this is just a magic carpet ride.
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Surprised to hear this from you 
I recall very clearly that you were a strong supporter of the sim like me. Sorry to hear that you’ve now uninstalled it.
The Q&As a lot of times do more harm than good in my opinion. Many times they have been misleading in things they have said and other times they set false expectations when they can’t deliver something they have said they would. It’s nice to get direct answers about topics people are wanting but not if they won’t level straight with the community.
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Yes, I agree with you
I’m inclined to believe that the purpose of the forum is to establish what Simmer’s would like with there Sims. Didn’t you invest money in this intelectual property hopping to get your buzz out what it supplies? So do you get what you were hoping for, my comments are aimed at pointing out what direction should be taken, the choice is theirs. Don’t worry the Na Sayer’s will be gone, and probable the sim to if enough leave.
Okay.
-
IFR/ILS takeoff and landing at an airport 18 miles away at max altitude 3,000 ft.
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IFR/ILS takeoff and landing at an airport 400 miles away at max altitude 41,000 feet
What is different?
- Can’t see the ground
- longer flight (maybe boring ?)
- vast and complex systems activated and managed to get there (doubt it)
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That’s fine… But I am not being horrible. If I turn up at a race Track and say I am a racer I drive at a maximum speed of 20MPH I am not a Racer…
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Respect. At least you are honest.
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Sure, so if I show up at an airport and fly to another close airport
at low altitude and low speed, then I am not a flier?
Call the FAA…
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