General question here but I’ve been looking at the topics in the wishlist and bug report and noticed that most of the issues people seem to care about centre around graphics/visual effects, inaccurate weather and sometimes ATC stuff. But flight model and physics seem to rank pretty low on most people list of priorities. Is this an accurate picture? I’m a bit surprised by this.
Particularly it’s been the case for a long time that we’ve had poor ground physics and low altitude physics and I thought this would get fixed by now, but it seems priorities are generally pushing in many different directions.
Most simmers (i would assume) have never actually flown an aircraft. Therefore, they wouldn’t know if the flight physics are correct or not to comment on and request.
To your other points, they are very familiar with weather, visual affects, and ATC so they can pick up on what may be inaccurate with those.
I think perhaps the most basic answer is that flight physics can be tweaked sufficiently so as to closely replicate real flight, even if the actual inputs required aren’t particularly reflective of reality. We’ve seen this with the recent ATR’s lack of drag, and the control improvisations we’ve had to make to compensate (e.g. employing slightly unrealistic measures to slow her down on finals). External factors, on the other hand, can’t be so effectively manipulated and therefore become more pressing issues.
Fine, but I do want the feeling of flying one. Like many others, I came over from the ‘on rails’ behaviour of FS9 and FSX. I was blown away by the physics in MSFS (not a pilot), as time has gone on and the honey moon period ended, I definitely want to see improvements to all things flight and ground physics. I’m sure I’m not alone and my flightsim brethren will join us shortly.
Not disagreeing, the question was why is it not asked for / requested more. That was just my opinion that the majority don’t know that it is incorrect or inaccurate as they wouldn’t have much to compare to.
The real griping comes from those who actually know the subject aircraft.
The rest of us punters want flight physics that aren’t totally science-fiction, but we’re not necessarily familiar with the tiny hairs of performance and handling that a real expert would.
I recently obtained my PPL and I do care about accurate physics in the simulator. Things are improving in the sim, but ground handling, P-Factor and stalls need a bunch of work.
Personally if I want to have perfect (yes I use the word deliberately) flight physics I go to my aeroclub and fly a WT9 or a HK36.
If I fly anything in the sim I do care about the simulated physics (and vote for most of the topics) but they don‘t circle around my mind all the time in the sim. I either look at the stunning scenery or I manage systems.
Neither do I attempt to train or ruin my real pilot skills with MSFS nor do I have a fetish of stalling a 737 on approach to make correct physics for pointed wings necessary. „Close enough to be credible“ is good enough for my personal requirement.
Things that really lack here is a good and correct simulation of adverse yaw and this annoying wind vaning on the ground. Or the inherently wrong taxi/turn behaviour Asobo built in. Or the 10m/s upwinds over dense forest and there we are back at the weather.
My take on this is not that simmers don’t care about physics. But that the ones that do, are also more commonly among those familiar with addons.
So instead of requesting and waiting, they’ve already gone and improved whatever the request would have been about. Addons are uniquely suited for this kind of minutiously detailed tune-up work.
I care very much about physics, personally. My sim has addons on its addons…
Even if I’m a real leisure VFR pilot for 20 years, most of the time I don’t care much of flight physics. Ok, I exaggerate a little bit I have more interest in the avionics and system as well as the weather depiction just to give example.
I’m interested in it being as realistic as possible if for no other reason than I want to be able to land said plane if the pilot and copilot both foolishly have the fish.
I agree… For those of us holding a pilots license and experiencing actual flight conditions, flight dynamics is so much more important, to us, than say… “trains and boats”… but, I will have to say, things seem to be getting better and better. They are doing a great job !
I think it’s important to improve realism in all aspects. Would the sim be much fun if it had 100% accurate flight dynamics/avionics but the graphics of FS5.0? We need the full package, and I think the current MSFS is delivering the best of it.
Yeah that’s a good point. Though it seems that Just Flight for instance have struggled to bring decent ground physics to their PA28 offering not for the lack of trying. At some point the limitations of the platform might not be able to be overcome.
After I started using VATSIM and Pilotedge I have to say that the physics and flight model is less important than before. I love flight simming because of procedures. Having to fight turbulence and p-factors is more of a nuisance than it brings joy to be honest.
This. Once I started flying from Cold/Dark, the OCD parts of my brain began flooding me with endorphins. Honestly at this point the sim is becoming more of an affluent adult busy box where I rattle through the switches and ATC calls than flying, and I’m good with that. My brain gives me happy chemicals when I process checklists and this game is good at giving me checklists to check.
Being a real life pilot, the flight model and the “simulation stuff” is all I really care about. While there have been really good improvements in that regard the last year, there’s still plenty of work to do in terms of helicopter flight model, engine simulation and props, physics (water and ground physics are pretty much completely lacking) and many other areas.
This is the primary reason I’m using XP12 quite a bit, because MSFS currently cannot deliver on things like helicopter flight dynamics, ground and water physics, engine simulation, prop physics and a few other areas.
Or the inherently wrong taxi/turn behaviour Asobo built in. Or the 10m/s upwinds over dense forest and there we are back at the weather.
I have more interest in the avionics and system as well as the weather depiction just to give example.