FS9 was better, Although when Steve’s DX10 fixer came out FSX was magic. Otherwise meh!
X-Plane updates are not mandatory. Many pilots are still using X-Plane 10. The program is not webbased, you can use it without being on the internet just like FSX could and does. X-Plane can still be used without updates which allows a pilot to sign on for a flight AND do the flight without updating and can then update overnight for example. 
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I hope you’re right. I think you might be.
Like many I’ve invested a fair amount in MSFS, not just the program itself. Which I don’t regret. But if they did do a flight on it I’d be miffed.
If they can get it right, which I think they can given time, it has the potential to really be something ; getting the rest of it up to the standard of the visuals.
I genuinely hope the WT Garmin appearing in the marketplace is the first of many. Some of the mods to aircraft are excellent, and many of them aren’t code changes so there’s no CTD risk. They just model the aircraft better.
If I was Asobo I’d be half inclined to just give up on their A320 and let FlyByWire do it, and just monitor it for compatibility and so on, as long as there’s no GPL leakage issues. The model is in X-Plane’s airports , which were done by the community. I live near EGSV (Old Buckenham) which is not quite right (the inevitable tower block !).
I’d happily spend an hour or two making it perfect (there’s not much of it) and I’m sure other MSFS users would join in. Probably most small airfields and strips have someone. Some people might do many just for fun.
I thought, perhaps wrongly, that X-Plane would only run for so long without checking the anti piracy ? Does it not update then ?
I had to move to X-Plane Steam - problems with the installer which we couldn’t figure out despite lots of packet dumps and so on - I think it was something to do with the multiple cores and timing, and that doesn’t give you the option.
Indeed. Having been in the same position myself years ago, trying to develop on a moving target, I can understand why PMDG et al have held off and released things like the DC6 which is just a huge C152 in many ways 
The companies must be desperate to get stuff out there. The first quality 737 or 330 is going to sell absolute shedloads (not knocking the A320NX here at all).
I think it will stabilise sooner rather than later. Now X-Box release is out of the way, there shouldn’t be the date pressure there was on Asobo.
IMO Microsoft should let FBW finish the sim and buy it off them for a fair price making everyone happy … and then do their magic to make it run absolutely smoothly with little overhead because only they have the Windows source code. A percentage on sales would provide a nice income for some people.
Maybe.
I think it’s a good to encourage the community input as much as practical as long as it doesn’t clutter up actual development. Make it “our” sim rather than Microsoft/Asobos.
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I know what you mean, it must feel like when it comes to selling or scrapping your first car. However there’s little to stop the community relationship with all the many other aircraft that are out there. Might even get pole position too (well after Asobo, Carenado etc. 
).
People can have differing experiences. I fly with a group that uses both X-Plane 11 and MSFS. We have been using X-Plane 11 for many years and we all have the full download, not Steam, and have never had the program check for any anti-piracy stuff so to answer your question, no you never have a mandatory update. I go away caravanning quite often and I use X-Plane 11 and I am often out of internet range without trouble. Of course some addon software requires X-Plane 11.55 but it is not mandatory unless you want ti use the addon.
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While reading the thread, i know 
. But, in my defense, i was also at newbie age (13 ish?, somewhere in 90/91 ?). I already had interest in aviation and to find out it included a flightsim (it was a gift which included a lot of 3.5’s), i was in heaven. And i did my first ‘development’ on this machine.
Kind if correct, i think they said 10 year support. So I don’t think it would be 10 years hardcore development in the same magnitude as now. But i can be wrong.
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There is another major difference between FSX and FS2020:
Prior their next launch in 2007 Microsoft invited nearly all the 3rd party dev community to Seattle for engaging with us, and also giving us an opportunity to socialize and meet our peers and ACE Studio devs. This was a great opportunity to discover what’s coming up, to learn directly from the ACE Studio devs for questions related to the SDK, and to be able to discuss and make suggestions for our needs. They’ve kept their channels open directly between their developers and us afterward, the 3rd party devs. For FS2020 they have chosen to invite Youtubers instead.
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I like the way FBW do their updates…small but constant. This way, small bugs are fixed faster.
But…for sure, we know it never gonna happen lol (but MS could copy their update mode…)
Well, why to say “was” about FSX? I currently use it instead of MSFS2020 and supposed to continue, by published bug fixing plans it seems to be at least this and few next years, yet.
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That would be a good question for the dev Q&A (i know, visibility could be selective). Not only in relation between Asobo and 3rd parties, but also towards the community. With Asobo explaining with in fact ‘leaning’ on 3rd party developers (not as in base but as in content in whatever form), it would be nice for the wide sim audience (3rd and users), how they stand towards this and how they see the third party relations.
Ofcourse keeping in mind the 3rd party market volume.
It also depends on project magnitude, in relation to the sim, the fbw project is really small (code/people/etc.) which simplifies release management and much more other variables
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Yes, you are right
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The updates are not mandatory
You can even have multiple copies of the sim on your computer. Each one can be a different version if you so desire.
I do this each time an update comes out. Make a copy, apply update only to the copied one and then test it thoroughly. On another drive is the previous stable version. Once Im happy that the new one performs well I delete the old one.
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It‘s funny… just a few years back many developers said they were still developing in FSX and porting or expanding to P3D as FSX was stable and P3D such a moving target.. MSFS really must be a nightmare to develop for xD
Also there’s no money involved and it always looks good to be community inclusive
I’ve been flying (and owned) ever version since the sub-LOGIC days, so this question is taxing my memory, but I can vaguely remember the issues starting at version 5.1 - every new release brought a few bugs that would get patched and then the next new version would come out. I have to agree with others here that FS2004 (aka FS9) was the best version. The 3rd party folks went all out with improvements to scenery, mesh, and tons of add-ons..it was flat out fun! FSX was to us as “pretty” as MSFS 2020 is now, but with tons of issues.
Somehow every time they tweak something here they break something there. For those of us who have been flying the desk since the 80’s, it’s just another day in the cockpit
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@Invader137
sub-LOGIC simulated the heavy “feel” of airliners extremely well. Despite the dated unconvincing graphics the feeling that you were flying something big with a lot of mass was very well implemented in the controls.