ATC is being completely reworked from the ground up. It is estimated to be ready for version 12.1.3.
With XPlane, a $1000 key will get you XPlane Pro.
No idea what happens behind that door…??
100,000%
I am almost certain that if MSFS or a 3rd party were to build a simulation rig to get MSFS certified, it would once and for all shut up the XP people using FAA as a talking point.
For those who kept using “FAA certified” as the only reason to rate XP as a SIM show how little they know about FAA and the real world aviation.
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I am sure you are right. Whatever the math, I find them both great for different reasons. X-Plane prepped me for my 757/767 type rating to a sufficient level that I felt myself weeks ahead when I arrived at our training center. My many years with the sim made my helicopter training a cinch. I still use X-Plane for two real-world purposes: helicopter currency and IFR currency. MSFS would be fine for IFR currency but I rarely access it on my PC. It is primarily my XBOX flying fix. But helicopters? Nope, it’s not even close. Will it be? Sure, I think so. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.
The “sim”/“game” argument is frankly stupid. Any PC-based flying emulator is a sim if the user is enjoying it realistically. The multi-million dollar three-story marvels on giant hydraulic jacks I use at work can, alternatively, be games. If, after the profile is done and we have only used three of the four hour block, I might ask, “Hey, can we turn the motion off? I want to try something stupid.” Then it’s a game. And at that point I would rate it well below either X-Plane or MSFS ‘20/24
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I am an “IFR Pilot” and have been since 1988. So not quite “all” pilots agree with you on this point. But that’s OK. It’s not a duel. Both games are great and I am grateful that they co-exist. Without competition, no product can thrive.
Having written the above let me add that this is essentially MS/Asobo’s house. I don’t come to someone’s home to proclaim the superiority of their next-door neighbor. I play MSFS far more than I do X-Plane because the overall experience in MSFS is more fun to me. And despite the early missteps, MSFS 2024 is going to mature into a masterpiece.
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I used xplane for 10 years cause it was/ is on Mac.
What a pain to manage the scenery file. Have to do it manually. And the scenery of X-plane is poor.
But the few things I like are particle effects. Flames etc
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Do not get me started on the glories of X-Plane on OS X! 
My goodness that is a great sim!
The ONLY reason I have ONE Windows machine is to fly MSFS 2024.
I still love X-Plane for so many reasons.
But I think I have transferred completely over to MSFS again now. MSFS is far less file management.
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Completely agree here. Both are SIMs. I am tired of the XP people coming here with a complex claiming XP is a SIM while MSFS is a game.
I also agree with you that despite all the nasty issues with MSFS 2024, we are all patiently waiting for MS/Asobo to get their act together to fix them.
BTW, my main point about IFR pilots and XP being FAA-certified as BATD for IFR currency has nothing to do with XP being a superior simulator. Someone at XP years ago decided to focus on that. Many of us do not enjoy flying XP as BATD for IFR currency, just because it is able to do so does NOT make XP more realistic vs MSFS. So the debate of XP being more realistic is nonsense. It was a tool that someone at XP decided to focus on that’s it!!
As we are both pilots, we know how FAA works.
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While by definition both MSFS and XP are games, a ‘game’ (as most people interpret the word) can be played on its highest difficulty settings by an 8-year-old. That’s just not possible with MSFS, without that 8-year-old having a reasonable understanding of physics and avionics.
I’m not sure quite why any of it matters — play whichever you prefer, and allow others to do likewise, without the subliminal suggestion that they’re lesser simmers (I’m not saying you made that suggestion but that’s often where these XP vs. MSFS debates lead).
With the exception of real-world pilots, NONE of us are really aware which has the better physics — and a lot of the criticism of either is little more than conjecture, much of the time.
I think you just hit the nail on the head. I don’t ‘play’ MSFS because I want to 100% simulate real-world flight — I play it because I seek to have fun.
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Perfectly said. They are both very similar. Having used both, I have my own preference for sure.
An 8 year old can play MSFS.
The 8 year old might crash the aeroplane many times. The 8 year old might think that is fun, such are 8 year olds.
Which makes it a GAME.
It’s whatever the person playing it wants it to be. Why does it matter, unless you’ve a subliminal agenda to push? Why would you find the idea of it being a game offensive? Don’t play it, if you feel it doesn’t satisfy your needs.
My opinion is that it’s both a game and a simulator.
Out of curiosity, why would an 8-year-old find crashing in any other sim somehow less amusing?
Strangely enough 
, this same topic is active on the XP org forum. If anyone wants to browse what is said there with what is said here, here’s the link:
https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/322002-fs2024-vs-x-plane121/
(I’ve also provided this MSFS24 forum link to the XP folks as well.)
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MSFS vs XP is like Google vs Yahoo.
Of the many advantages that MSFS has like the digital twin of the earth…
the resources, the revenue stream (store), the development and pace of MSFS is far superior, not to mention a development team (be it good news or bad news) that “actively engages with the users on a regular basis”.
MSFS 2020 advanced (fixes, updates, free content etc.) more in the last 4 years than XP has in its entire 12 versions in total…and MSFS “started out” more advanced than what XP12 brought afterwards.
Regardless of the problems now with 2024, where will MSFS2024 be in the next 2 years? The pace is relentless, and the gap over XP will only widen in many areas. So if history repeats itself, MSFS2024 will be the most used sim in the future.
If the story behind the complaints, the listening, and the response that has culminated into what World Title has brought to the table (as one example) won’t convince anyone of MSFS superiority, I don’t know what will.
To me, you can’t compare the sims without looking at the DEVs behind it. And MSFS/Asobo win hands down…the rest is history.
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Thanks for the link.
But I won’t waste a second reading nonsense…
I already have to read them from time to time… when an XP comes in here and fills his mouth with that FAA thing
In my opinion MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 have a higher overall score and that is why I am here.
I will give a high score to XP so they don’t cry.
XP
Flight model:10
Rain effect:3
(IT LOOKS LIKE THE SPEED OF LIGHT. THE STAR WARS)
Land:3
Clouds.6
Buildings:4
turbulence.4
(EXTREMELY EAGERIZED)
Well, that’s more things that bring the total score down to 6 (at most)
MSFS 2020
Flight model:9.9
Rain effect:9
Land:9
Clouds:9
Buildings:9
turbulence.9
Total score:9
So in my humble opinion I’ll stick with MSFS 2020 or MSFS 2024 with a total score: 9
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I think one of FS2024’s primary goals was to make future provision for some of the more advanced features requested by users, such as double jetway function, in-cloud turbulence, better ATC, etc. What we’ve currently got I consider the fundamental groundwork, from which greater things will emerge. I think it was largely about mitigating the limitations of the older engine and bringing in new features over time.
It also must be borne in mind that any Microsoft project needs to appeal to the widest possible range of people: i.e. gamers at one end of the spectrum, and real-world pilots at the other. For GA flying, I don’t see any other sim bettering MSFS (even in its older 2020 guise).
Asobo have made sure everyone can have a slice of the pie, regardless of their aviation knowledge/experience. And what Asobo can’t or won’t do, the third-party devs have largely addressed. Obviously very few here will be familiar with the new SDK but perhaps that also offers greater provision for third parties, so they can tackle aspects of the new sim that were previously impossible with the old SDK.
I’ve said a number of times in these forums that I’m far more interested in the sim’s state two years from now than I am in its current state. I don’t feel cheated or robbed because I’ve basically bought into a ecosystem that most know takes time to mature.
I ended up uninstalling FS2024 — mainly due to FSLTL and my third-party planes not currently being compatible — but its enormous potential is plainly obvious.
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I like your optimism, but I doubt any of these features will be implemented in FS2024. People have been asking for it since 2020.
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I’d also like to see snow and ice on the runway have more of an effect than just being of aesthetic value. The biggest issues, in both MSFS and FS2024, are lack of in-cloud turbulence, ATC that doesn’t mind landing several aircraft only a few feet apart (or giving the aircraft behind you priority), and snow/ice that only exists to look good.
Surely with MS’ bottomless pockets, they can achieve what XP allegedly does pretty well?
The rain effects in X-Plane are fantastic, so not entirely sure how you can rate them lower than in MSFS where it barely works and in some cases is simply a texture that is removed when the wiper moves. The rain effects in X-Plane are simulated based on wind, airspeed, prop airflow and the shape of the windscreen of whatever plane is being used.
Check this out (all default):
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