Having watched all developer streams I’m convinced that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is not ready for release, and it would need several months of development and polish. Just a few takeaways from the streams:
The SDK is still in “alpha” — this alone makes it reasonable to think that the “final” sim is not in a more complete form in any way.
Every stream has been full of bugs: choppy framerates, avionics not loading (black screens), disfunctional clickspots in walkaround, rocks generated on gravel airstrips, avatars popping up at completely wrong places and in wrong poses, various system bugs, etc.
There will be no marketplace at launch.
No Red Bull content at launch, even though it’s on the key art. (Not clear whether the Challenge League will be functional at all.)
Add-on compatibility is in limbo, with many developers warning us that their content may not work, or not work properly in FS24.
We also have little insight about how all the different development partners progress with the default aircraft. Who knows how many bugs are still in there, with everyone rushing to send a build for the deadline.
A few days from release and we have not seen a single frame of gameplay from the Xbox version.
Absolutely no marketing from Microsoft/Xbox.
All my gaming experience tells me that this simulator is simply not completed. Most of the dev streams have been equally promising and suspicious. I’m not buying the “it’s an early build” card. We’re at the release point. It’s an alpha, and will probably be released in this incredibly rough state. It feels like a few more months of development is needed, of course, it should be completely rebranded to MSFS 2025 at that point which is not possible. So everyone’s hands are tied but this way, I’m afraid the launch will be a disaster. This has all the hallmarks of an incomplete, rushed product.
I didn’t expect MSFS24 to be a completed game upon release, or even four years from now, but I do agree with you that more and more things you’d expect to be ready at release are appearing to be very clearly not ready.
I’m sure it’s probably not true, but it feels like half of the new things promoted for MSFS2024 have eventually turned into “wont be ready at launch but will come later”.
This is like the 5th or 6th thread we have going on this theme, and I don’t think OP is way off base or being hyperbolic, and the fact that the mods are really staying out of these discussions and don’t seem to be able to offer anything to assuage people’s concerns isn’t a good sign. There are very few AAA titles that have launched without advance reviews, and almost all of those launches have been rocky.
Nevertheless a somewhat smooth launch and a very playable and enjoyable sim on day 1 are still very much possibilities. We just don’t know and can’t know so long as MSobo continues to hold its cards as close as it is.
Also in msfs 2020 are still landscape bugs. I played the very limited alpha version a few weeks ago and that was a real pleasure. Sure there are bugs and not all the features are working, but still a great sim. So i will pay for any “early acces sim”.
Jorg also mentioned this evening in the latest dev stream that the marketplace indeed is delayed 2 -3 weeks, but the Mylibrary (your old marketplace content) and community directory are present so you can copy over your own add-ones and test if they will work or not…
Will VR be ready at launch? I have Quest 3 and a Predator laptop that I’ve been informed will run the game. What other hardware is needed? Also, are there any good reference sites for how to use the game in VR?
Well there was some content online from the preview launch (the Grand Canyon event) that used the Pimax Crystal Light and obviously that’s now been adopted as the ‘partner’ headset. I’m in your boat (plane?) with the Q3 but using a desktop so i’m anticipating medium-high performance (based on 45fps) at launch with improvements through patches. ‘Anticipating’ is doing some heavy lifting here
Thanks for sharing your opinions and conclusions. Feel free to not buy. Anyone else convinced, feel free to cancel your pre-orders.
Now that said, FS2024 is the future, and the future starts in <6 days. It’s coming eventually, one way or another. You can join early and figure it out with the rest of us; sit it out and stick with 2020 for a couple more years while all the developers and simmers move on without you; or take up knitting instead (*).
The great thing about it, however, is that the choice is YOURS. So you do you!
() Insert any other time-consuming and satisfying personal hobby or pastime here.*
Well, i don’t care how buggy it is. At the moment I only have the Xbox and Game Pass. Next year I’ll get a gaming PC.
But what I want to say is, who saw the Dev Stream last week where the A330 was finally shown. I immediately fell in love with it.
Will delete MSFS 2020 from my hard disk before I start MSFS 2024. It can’t get much worse than MSFS 2020. MSFS 2020 has been a huge beta test for 4 years.
Does anyone remember the transition from FS2004 to FSX?
There were these little things, features, gimmicks that FS 2004 didn’t have. It was just nicer, lively and refreshing, and after a while the last ones switched to FSX.
And as someone has already written above, from Tuesday there will be millions who can test it.
Will FS2024 have many bugs? Certainly.
A330 from Inibuilds Cant wait haha
Hi, i use a stick and throttle, no pedals. I’d suggest you get the sim working first to your satisfaction and then consider peripherals second, it’s no good having a blinging HOTAS on the desk if the sim’s not working.
‘Being ready to release’ is very subjective. Everyone has their own criteria as to what is ready for release. There are people who think it should be delayed for months to fix a single bug that they consider ‘extremely important’ to fix. While there are people who are happy to have something unfinished in their hands and help with its development.
The truth is that nobody is obliged to buy MSFS 2024 when it’s released. MSFS 2020 servers will not be shut down on the 19th and you can continue to use it for several months or years to come. You can subscribe to Game Pass and test MSFS 2024 to see if it’s in an acceptable state for you.
Cant wait haha