I was trying to summarize your review, and to me it looks like your major complaints are revolving around IFR and avionics side of things.
I have some questions to ask about this part:
You said this because of the issues you are having with - again - the IFR+Avionics side of things, as you explained in the previous paragraph:
So when I add two plus two, I end up with the conclusion that according to you and your review, if X Y or Z flight simulator has hiccups with simulating IFR and IFR-capable avionics but does simulate VFR flights with little to no issue, it is not simulating flight, the process by which an object moves through an atmosphere without making any contact with the surface.
Therefore, according to you, MSFS 2020 is not a flight simulator simply because its simulation of IFR and IFR-capable avionics have issues and/or unusable to you, although it simulates VFR flights well, as per your own admission:
So my questions now are:
-
When a MSFS 2020 user (such as you) performs a VFR flight in the C152 for example, is he going through or experiencing a simulation of flight (in the default C152), the process by which an object moves through an atmosphere without making any contact with the surface?
-
When hundreds of thousands of Private Pilot License (PPL) holders without IFR rating perform thousands of VFR flights all over the world everyday in real life, are they conducting and experiencing flight, the process by which their chosen aircraft moves through an atmosphere without making any contact with the surface?
If according to you the answer to question no. 1 is ‘Yes’, that means MSFS 2020 simulates flight, and therefore is a flight simulator, and the VFR fliers in this sim are participating in a computer simulation of flight, (flight as in the process by which an object moves through an atmosphere without making any contact with the surface) and not playing Battlefield or COD.
If according to you the answer to question no. 2 is ‘Yes’, that means all these real world VFR-only pilots are performing flight (flight as in the process by which their chosen aircraft moves through an atmosphere without making any contact with the surface) and not playing hockey or baseball.
It gets more confusing because in the conclusion you state:
So basically, if in a flight simulator the IFR and IFR-capable avionics have issues and/or are unusable to you but VFR and VFR-capable aircraft in that sim are okay and useable, the sim magically ceases to simulate flight and the airplane?
And if a PPL pilot without IFR rating hops in to a VFR-only aircraft that has no IFR-capable avionics and then takes off, he magically ceases to perform a flight?
PMDG’s CEO Robert S. Randazzo agrees when you mention the “world simulation” part in your irrational rant, although in a completely different and more appropriate way:
MSFS is providing to us is a world simulation into which we can insert some truly incredible simulations.
Microsoft and Asobo are about to bring to market a fully modern simulator that leverages the data driven
world in order to create a magnificently beautiful simulation world in which all of us can exist and fly
Don’t go into MSFS expecting it to be like FSX with a better graphics engine, because you will be disappointed if you do. This is an entirely new world simulation and with this new world we are all going to spend some time adapting to new ways of doing things.
P.S. I’ve done 40+ hours of autopilot-assisted IFR flights in MSFS 2020 so far, and never had a CTD while using the avionics. There were only two times when the autopilot decided to do a full 360 degree during approach, but not anymore after the patch prior to the latest one.