[HOW-TO] How to actually PAUSE the sim!

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22

When you lost the audio the workaround that works for me is to change camera to external view

23

I donā€™t claim to be a programer, but if the ablility to do a complete pause exists in the developer mode, how hard could it be to link this to the general menus? Just sayinā€™.

1 Like
24

I agree, this is what should have been done right from the start. I dont like that gimmick ā€œactive pauseā€. They have used the wrong name for that because it is not a true pause. It should have been called Freeze Aircraft Position or something like that.

I have a gaming PC with MSFS on it . However Iā€™m traveling at the moment with an old laptop that cannot run any modern games. But it runs FSX:SE and using it has made me realize how much I miss the ā€œSā€ and ā€œAā€ view keys along with the ā€œPauseā€ from MSFS.

25

Now if only I could have it do this by default with ā€œPause at Top of Descentā€ with my payware aircraft :confused:

26

Thanks for the tip! I canā€™t believe the FSX-style pause doesnā€™t even have a default binding. That should be the action for the [Pause] key, rather than the basically useless ā€œActive Pauseā€. Iā€™ve been so frustrated with trying to get action shots. I canā€™t wait to try it out!

I do wonder, since it illogically requires 2 key commands, if I bind Pause On to [Pause], will [Ctrl+Pause] or [Shift+Pause] work for Pause Off, or will those trigger some sort of system functions?

27

I have two buttons on my controller for Set Pause On and Set Pause Off. Works like a charm.

1 Like
28

I hate active pause the only reason ill use it, is when testing high demanded planes on ultra settings in high demanded scenery. Using active pause itll let the LOD do its work before continuing however i only use this when a new version of a plane comes out and or new plane in generalā€¦ after that active pause is useless and was meant nothing more than an exploration tool for the general public

29

Hereā€™s the way I see Active Pause.

This is how Active Pause is alright:
Wife comes in the room to ask you a question
(You turn Active Pause ON)
ā€œYeah, what is it?ā€
ā€œI was thinking about pizza for dinner tonight. What do you think?ā€
ā€œYeah, that sounds good to me.ā€
ā€œOK, thanks.ā€
(You turn Active Pause OFF)

This is how Active Pause is not so good:
Wife comes in the room to ask you a question
(You turn Active Pause ON)
ā€œYeah, what is it?ā€
ā€œDid I catch you looking at my sister at dinner last night?ā€
(Three hours later, you turn Active Pause OFF)
You have crashed.

BTW I just use ESC but Iā€™m going to try that Developer optionā€¦ thanks.

4 Likes
30

Brilliant thanks, wish I had seen this much sooner. Perfect or taking screenshots. I have now set up a toggle button on my Stream Deck so now I only have to push one button to switch between pause on and off. I will probably add a command to VoiceAttack to do the same and maybe a combined pause with screenshot action.

31

A return of a proper FSX pause would be useful.

Here is what I usually do if I have to pause the game when I get the usual ā€˜dinner is readyā€™ call.

Pausing the game:

  1. Make a note of the time of day in the sim.
  2. press active pause (this will freeze the aircraft position)
  3. Press ESC to bring up the main menu (this will stop fuel being used)

Returning to the game:

  1. Press resume
  2. Click on the weather icon and scroll back the time to that when you paused the game.
  3. press active pause to resume the game.

Not perfect but a work around. I will try some of the other suggestions above.

1 Like
32

Yup. It will be OK. Works for me.

33

Have used active pause few times to let aan AI plane in front of me vacate the runway before I am told to go around. For that it was quite handy. Of course this is from before FSLTL remove nearby traffic option existed. With BATC coming the pause option to avoid this will hopefully be a thing of the past.