Overall, I am very impressed with the released state of this simulator. Of course there are some issues, which are to be expected, but nothing too ground-breaking. With that all being said, here’s my take on everything:
Flight Dynamics
I believe this simulator by far, has the most realistic flight dynamics and physics. I have only flown GA aircraft so I am in no position to judge the airliners, but it really does feel like the real thing! Well, as close as we can get for a simulator. There are some things you just can’t recreate through a virtual program. I do appreciate GA flying in this simulator. Its very fun and allows for a proper simulation experience. I could take the 152 and do patterns all day long.
Attention to Detail
There are so many little details that add even more immersion to the game. For example, the directional sounds are amazing. In external view, you can hear the wind coming from its respected direction. You can really tell the amount of time the Developers have put into this simulator. Its unbelievable how many hand-crafted models have been designed.
Performance
Definitely needs some work. Though, I have to say I am impressed with external view performance. Flying the A320 over Seattle and I was getting 60fps solid. I run 1080p, medium-high settings, you can view my system specifications under my profile. Now, I can’t say the same for cockpit performance unfortunately. And thats where I spend 99% of my time. Apart from some smaller GA aircraft, my cockpit performance is not very good. The GPU and CPU are underutilized in some scenarios, which I feel is contributing towards this. My frames in the airliner cockpits are simply too low, regardless of graphical settings for a smooth experience. Good thing is that its playable, apart from the 787 which definitely needs some optimizations. I drop 20fps just from switching the battery on. All those displays and reflections are the culprit im sure.
Conclusion
We are very early in release! All of this is just feedback, and I have no doubts whatsoever that things will improve vastly over time. I think this simulator is a fantastic base package, considering we get amazing physics, graphics, and features right out of the box! Third-party developers can develop new plugins better than ever! We will be up to speed with other alike Simulators in terms of functionality in no time. We have never received this much from a vanilla, non-modded simulator.
Thank you Microsoft + Asobo for all the work you have done!! I am super excited for the future of this simulator 