Extremely slow and fluctuating download speeds

[Hester40MT]

This was brought up in the last Developer Update on Twitch in November under the section: “Content Manager Download Speeds”:

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/november-dev-stream-2023-transcription/619372#content-manager-download-speeds-17

@Jummivana

Content Manager download speeds often fluctuate from less than 1 to 150 and back, repeating the cycle over and over, leading to long installation times. This appears to happen even if there’s no current SU or World Update release and is independent from actual user ISP speed or VPN use. Is this issue being looked into, especially considering Microsoft’s status as a major global cloud provider?

Yes, we are looking into that. It’s quite complicated because it doesn’t consistently happen in the same geographic area. I can tell you that it’s almost never an issue here in the Bordeaux area. We rely on two systems for data distribution. The first one is the CAB deposits, and to spread the data globally, we use a CDN. It’s a complex method, and it’s challenging for a client like us to enhance that system. This addresses the distribution aspect.

Regarding package distribution, specifically in the Content Manager, it’s an area we aim to improve. We’ve already made several enhancements to the installation process, the initial process you experience when launching the game or updating. We implemented a process with eight different loads and completions simultaneously, optimizing the load by a factor of five. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be directly applied to the Content Manager due to the existing architecture. Downloading packages, compressing them, and installing them concurrently while performing other tasks is challenging in our current system. However, we are committed to improving this aspect. The good news is that the architecture for distributing packages has been completely rewritten for Flight Simulator 2024. We hope this will eliminate the complexities and reduce the waiting times during updates and package installations, significantly improving the overall process with Flight Simulator 2024.

Until this is fixed for those who experience this, try using a VPN to bypass this server/area.