Navigation and Instrumentation lacks fidelity, accuracy and precision

I am feeling like the sim lacks fidelity, accuracy and precision when it comes to navigation and instrumentation. I can’t quantify my feeling with numbers, but it just feels like MSFS is “imitating” navigation rather than “simulating” navigation. I’m hoping that the devs will take this issue seriously and listen to the many many simmers (simmers, not gamers) who have brought this topic up. I’m hoping that MSFS is not just a pretty scenery game, but something more, something that flight simmers are yearning for. Remember “As Real As It Gets?”. This was the mantra long before PCs were able to simulate pretty clouds and beautiful vistas - “real” meant something else.

So specifically, I feel like the navigational instruments; OBI, HSI, ADF and GPS are “mushy” and not a “precise” as in other sims. Autopilots cannot seem to follow a course. I’ve noticed that the VOR and HSI needles cannot show the slight deviations that are important to navigating and making course corrections. The needles seem to jump from dead-center to a degree or two off - I’m wondering if this is indicative of the level of fidelity that underlays the sim and part of the reason the autopilots cannot stay smoothly on-course. Another gripe of mine is that the GPS displays are not “crisp” - as if the fonts are blurry and too big, the lines depicted are very wide…just look like they were drawn by a grade-schooler with a box of crayons.

These are my observations and my feelings - totally subjective, but I know I’m not alone in feeling that the sim currently lacks the realism in navigation instrumentation, GPS functionality, and FMC systems.

If the devs are weighing a balance between realism and fun, between a product for simmers or for gamers, between advanced and basic, complicated and simplistic…my thought is you can always scale it back with menu options and configuration, but you cannot scale it up.

I have been simming for 35 years and have flown GA aircraft IRL for almost as long - I think the core of this community wants “As Real As It Gets” and that means simulating real world navigation, aircraft systems and instrumentation and all the complexities that it entails. This requires PRECISION and FIDELITY and that, to me, is lacking currently.

I am hopeful that the devs understand this and continue to improve the sim in that direction and keep listening to the community.

This sim is stunning and amazing and I have faith that in the years to come it will be refined into the sim that it could be. I applaud MS and ASOBO for the work they have done, just hope that they keep listening to us and implementing our suggestions for improvement.

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Seeing that part is based on FSX code (going by a dev comment where they talk about FSX code they are working with, fixing and extending) I assume you think the same about FSX?

I think you need a video showing how a real instrument moves (I don’t care how other sims do it, I care about how real aircraft do it) then comparing it to MSFS. You should also list all you hardware and settings.

It is hard to take it seriously when you already say it is subjective and can’t put your finger on it. “It doesn’t feel the same as other sims but I’m not sure why” really isn’t a great bug report.

If you really want any issue fixed you need to put effort in getting proof. They are not going to waste hours trying to work out what you are might be trying to say. They have better things to do.

In order to identify and address shortcomings, it’s important to be as objective as possible. Ideally concise as well.

Like reading this is a lot of text that isn’t saying much to me. But I’m guessing part of what you’re experiencing may be the bug where OBS clicks in 10 degree increments rather than 1?

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&, don’t forget, it was made for the X-Box where fidelity makes lack of controls problematic.