I’m hoping for there to be an online marketplace we can access on a website. It would be helpful for browsing third-party addons without needing to launch the sim and use the UI in there.
Is there a site where we can see all the items available in MSFS without launching the simulator?
No, it can only be accessed via the sim.
I’d also love to check prices and sales via a web browser, not sure why they are hiding that.
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So stubit not to have a site just to see what is available and then you can purchased it via the Marketplace inside the sim.
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Add a website like marketplace.flightsimulator.com where we can check the prices, sales, images, etc. of the ingame marketplace. No need to be able to buy things there, but it would be great to be able to check whats on there without firing up the sim and waiting each time.
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Great idea
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I think you can see it only via the sim.
It would be nice if there was a store tab link on flightsimulator.com that allows you to browse the hundreds of marketplace items without running MSFS. As this marketplace continues to grow, I would love to be able to slowly go through the products on my cell etc. without having to run the simulator. Not to purchase obviously but to be able to look through things wherever you are.
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Voted +1 
Indeed, that would be great to be able to browse the marketplace outside the sim
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Definitely.
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This is a very niche idea. But it would be amazing if you had a website store-front where we can visibly see DLC/Add-ons without having to launch the game every single time. Maybe like https://store.flightsimulator.com/
This store-front would be identical to the one in-game although just easy access for those who want to see or look at add-ons before purchasing them in-game.
A web-based clone of the store, linked to your account, would be great. Obviously not to install things, but browse, make purchases, and offer a receipt that names what you bought.
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A place on this website where users could browse, and buy addons. There would need to be a login for this page, but the advantage is that one could browse all current available addons, and purchase them without firing up MSFS 2020.
Alternately, another site with this information, that uses the MSStore/Steam login as default.
I may be missing something but what would this actually bring of benifit?
Your point about not loading the app. Very few products are only on the actual marketplace. Only carenado I can think of isn’t on places like Just Flight or SimMarket ,which is just as easy to search, while there are many products not on the Marketplace.
This essentially would be the in game marketplace (it’s an offical forum so would be a similar process most likely to the in game store) but you have to install the product manually so I don’t see user benifit? Essentially given its as easy to type a sites name on google as find a topic here.
There’s no benifit for developers compared to using own site and having a forum topic under product announcements or using established well known and liked sites that are out there, which we can trust to release quality products like Orbx and JustFlight and I don’t believe that it would be a regulated site given the state of marketplace.
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Yes, it would duplicate the in sim experience, but would be far more accessible as there would be no need to open the sim each time you wanted to browse the marketplace offerings.
Why would you have to install products manually? You’re logged into the same account as flight sim itself, so any addon you purchase from an outside store point should install in the same way as any other. It’s not rocket science to do that.
And I’m not looking to benefit developers, other than to make their wares more prominent to simmers.
It’s fine that they have their own sites, but that proposal leads to manual installation, which you just said wouldn’t be a very good idea. Make up your mind, please.
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To download if was via the forum right into the game. You’d still have to load the game up to have it download. There’s whole forum areas and other sites to look at DLC. I just genuinely don’t see why this would be worth staffs to take time away from other things just to basically have a page that does what can already be done…
The reason said isn’t a good idea is because it’s yet another page that does what can already be done elsewhere, without any clear benifit and would take time to make and opposite that I believe is better served elsewhere.
The make up my mind comment is unnecessary and patronising as I clearly was asking what this offers that isn’t already possibly by other means because if going to divert staff time and attention then to me it needs to be worth it and just having another place to look at products and buy to pre-load isn’t worth the effort in my opinion.
Nothing says anyone has to agree with me. I just wanted to voice my opinion on and ask if genuinely missed something which from what said and what I already understood I didn’t
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Yep, I think that you’ve missed the point.
Think of the software as something you’ve ordered from Amazon.
You’ve used a credit method, and are logged in to the Amazon site, and you purchase the item. You don’t rush out to collect it. It’s either delivered electronically or by courier / mail.
With me so far?
Now, look at Marketplace addons. Again, you purchase it on line, and pay for it. That’s the last action you should have to take. The addon knows who purchased it, and as soon as you log in to flight sim, it will be “delivered” and installed along with all the updates that MS shovels out to us.
No more difficult than the current process, but a lot more convenient. Being in a web site while outside the sim gives you more opportunity to investigate your options, and decide whether you really want that particular addon before you purchase it.
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Okay I’m not going to continue this conversation as you have just become twice as patronising, mansplaining what I have clearly recognised you mean and the issues while respectfully explaining why I disagree. I’m not going to be treated like a 5 year old by a stranger over this.
Have a nice day.
It’s actually a really good idea, so much so I recall seeing another #self-service:wishlist topic on this issue.
If you want to buy something from the official marketplace you need to have access to a PC with the simulator installed, and you have to have enough time for the simulator to load, which can take a while even if you have a good system.
A proper online marketplace is one of several web assets this simulator has been missing since the sim launched, and there are a few other services that would be really useful, another example being a status monitor for the various online servers that the community relies on - this perhaps being a discussion for another topic.
A proper online web store would allow you to log in with your MSFS account, meaning that any purchases would unlock the addon in the simulator for you to download and install when you next played. It would also carry the following advantages:
- It would be faster to load (several minutes for the sim, vs a few seconds for a website) - don’t underestimate the importance of speed.
- You can’t run MSFS on your cellphone, whilst at work, on holiday etc, but you can a website meaning you can quickly nab something that is on sale, or that piques your interest
- By using the same API it wouldn’t duplicate the work for the marketplace ingestion team, nor would it create extra work for third-party devs
- Could provide extra facilities, like an ability for developers to update their store pages (descriptions, images etc). Currently, the process is quite painful
In theory it shouldn’t divert any time or attention away from simulator development, after all, most web developers aren’t actively employed by game studios to develop games, or vice versa.
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I know it’s different staff but if taking so long to get freeware sections and they can’t maintain an adequate level of quality control I just find hard to see how yet another store makes sense, when the only difference is you don’t need to download but would still have to let install on boot. Obviously some people see a point in this, I just don’t when ultimately is just yet another site which honestly, many of us wouldn’t use because of the lack of quality control.