Could be at some point once it’s fixed and maybe more is added in the near/distant future
Ok, putting aside the bugs that need to be fixed, what is missing that needs to be added, either by 1st party or 3rd party if that opens up to vendors?
According to posts, it’s very bland. Needs more variety. RNG
1 Like
I understand your frustration, and I think some of the design choices in Career Mode are meant to simulate real-world aviation processes in a simplified way.
Flight Planning
The flight planning in Career Mode is intentionally streamlined so you don’t have to create the flight plan yourself—just like in real-world commercial aviation, where pilots often rely on pre-generated flight plans provided by dispatch teams. However, if you’d like to take more control or modify your flight plan, here’s a detailed procedure:
- When starting Career Mode, delete all waypoints from the in-game tablet before launching the flight.
- After launching the flight:
- Modify or input your detailed flight plan directly into the avionics. You can, for example, use SimBrief to create a detailed flight plan to input here.
- Open the in-flight tablet and select “Request Route from Avionics” to synchronize the plan.
- Adjust the desired altitude on the tablet to match your preferences.
- Transmit the updated flight plan to ATC, then contact them to confirm and receive clearance.
This approach simplifies the interaction between the tablet and avionics while giving you the flexibility to use advanced tools like SimBrief for planning.
Weather Challenges
The weather in Career Mode is real-time, so if conditions change in the real world—such as a wind shift or unexpected storm—the ATC will adjust your approach instructions accordingly. It’s up to you to adapt your avionics to follow their instructions.
Additionally:
- More complex weather scenarios become apparent after earning your instrument rating.
- Night operations are not yet implemented but could be added in future updates to enhance the realism further.
Linear Missions vs. Open World
The open-world design aligns with the core identity of MSFS, providing players the freedom to fly anywhere while still having structured objectives. A linear mission structure might appeal to those looking for more direct challenges, but Career Mode offers improvisation and customization through the tools and systems available.
Career Mode isn’t perfect, but it’s a solid starting point for structured aviation experiences with room for growth. The integration of tools like SimBrief and flexibility with in-flight modifications can help enhance your experience.
What’s your favorite part of Career Mode so far? I’d love to hear your thoughts! 
2 Likes
Career mode needs a bit more realism in terms of some flights. VIP charters into the alps iin winter makes sense. Cargo missions between North amd Sout Korea? Not so much.
I’d love to see more variety in missions with different difficulty levels available across all different flight types. Firefighting missions could have you doing more than putting out 1 small fire. Some ferry flights could be multi sector intercontinental missions. I’d love to see missionary and bush pilot style missions. I was hoping the search and rescue would give me some of the bush flying thrills but most of the time the missions are impossible plane breakers.
I’d really like to see type ratings that teach you the unique aspects of each aircraft so that people know how to operate and look after the aircraft. At the moment wear and respecting an aircraft is measured but not explained.
I like the idea of career mode, i just wish the implementation was better.
I hope they open the structure to third parties so they can do it better.
2 Likes
Better mission filtering and/or aircraft or airport selection flexibility in freelance mode. I don’t want to see the parachuting missions, or missions using the optica or any number of broken airplanes, or anything that’s over 90 minutes. Boil it down to what I want to see, or give me the complete flexibility to choose. Preferably both.
Then, simply, they need to pair airports and missions better. Many of the pairings don’t make sense. There are so many realistic, missed opportunities that people would absolutely enjoy.
2 Likes
on one occasion, completely by accident, the RNG cargo mission algorithm came up with a really memorable and interesting flight. this is from hundreds of flights, most dull as ditchwater.
the flight was LESU Andorra–La Seu d’Urgell to LETL Tenuel
LESU is a very picturesque airport in Catalonia perched on top of a steep hill with a GA-version of the famous LOWI RNAV departure through a steep valley to the north. it has custom scenery by default.
LETL Tenuel is a high-altitude storage airport for airliners, with hundreds of mothballed jets parked high on a cold, dry Spanish plateau. payware custom scenery is available.
this really stood out amongst the morasse of same old, same old, and showed what MSFS could do if it really leveraged the fact that it has the whole fricken world to choose routes from.
TL;DR: a curated or AI-driven route selection procedure would make Career so much more rewarding.
4 Likes
What does that mean? Blacklisted, as in a scam website? It’s hard to believe they’d be allowed to show their wares at FlightExpo24 if that was the case.
It doesn’t use career mode, it tracks your flights in free flight which honestly feels a lot better having real time, date, live traffic and other players and night flying works too.
The best part is no loading screens, you can chain missions together and just keep flying from airport to airport and keep refueling.
1 Like
I’m enjoying career mode. I don’t really have access to the external career modes as I play on Xbox.
I had hoped for more of a role playing element, maybe that will come. I chose a home base airport that I wanted to be based at, however apart from the first few missions I haven’t flown from there. I guess I envisaged running a small charter flight business flying people from major international airports to the various private game reserves in Southern Africa. Instead I’m flying 3 people (who get out of a two seater car) from a military base in Italy to a small airstrip in the Alps with a VFR flight plan in IFR conditions.
Overall though I am hopeful that they will bring improvements to career mode, maybe there will be third party mission types that can be added, maybe more curated route types that make more sense, or even a tightening up of the RNG so it makes more sense. Certainly they need to bring flight planning into it.
As it is though, and for me who only plays a few hours a week, it gives me a bit of structure and some routes to fly so my limited time feels a bit more purposeful.
Although, you can just ask Chat GPT to make routes for you, with a backstory for a bit of roleplaying and fly them in free flight. Here’s one it made for me while I was typing this reply.
Flight Plan: Johannesburg to Cape Town
Flight Overview:
- Departure: OR Tambo International Airport (FAOR), Johannesburg, South Africa
- Destination: Cape Town International Airport (FACT), Cape Town, South Africa
- Flight Type: Scenic, cross-country, with a hint of adventure
- Aircraft: Cessna 172 Skyhawk (ideal for a leisurely flight, great for scenic views)
- Flight Distance: ~800 km (~500 miles)
- Estimated Flight Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Backstory:
The Story of the Lost Treasure of Table Mountain
In the early 1800s, a Dutch merchant ship named The Vrouw Maria set sail from Cape Town, carrying a valuable cargo of precious metals and gemstones. As the ship made its way to Europe, it was caught in a violent storm and wrecked off the southern coast of South Africa. Despite several attempts by treasure hunters, the wreckage was never found, and many believe the treasure lies hidden somewhere along the Cape Peninsula.
Fast forward to today: a modern-day treasure hunter, an ex-South African Air Force pilot named Lukas Pretorius, has recently uncovered an old map believed to show the location of the wreck. The only problem? He needs to retrace the ship’s likely path and explore the southern coastline from the air. He believes the treasure is somewhere near the cliffs of Table Mountain, south of Cape Town.
In this flight, you will take on the role of Lukas, flying from Johannesburg to Cape Town in a Cessna 172. Along the way, you’ll follow key waypoints that lead to the legend of the lost treasure, and you’ll be tasked with checking for any signs of shipwrecks along the coast.
Flight Plan Details:
1. Departure: OR Tambo International Airport (FAOR), Johannesburg
- Runway: 03R (departure towards the east, then a left turn for heading south).
- Route: Takeoff from FAOR and climb to cruising altitude (about 6,500 ft) heading southward.
- Waypoint 1: Tshwane VOR (TVR)
- From OR Tambo, head towards Tshwane VOR, approximately 30 miles southeast. This waypoint marks the boundary between the bustling city of Johannesburg and the open terrain of the Free State, where vast plains stretch out before you.
2. Midpoint: Kimberley (FAKM)
-
Waypoint 2: Kimberley (FAKM)
- A small diversion towards Kimberley will add scenic variety, taking you over some of South Africa’s iconic agricultural regions. Kimberley is known for its rich history in diamond mining, and from the air, you’ll get a glimpse of the famous Big Hole—one of the world’s largest hand-dug excavation sites.
-
Flight Tip: At this point, begin descending slightly, as you approach the more mountainous terrain near Cape Town. Prepare for a gradual descent as you cross the mountainous regions of the Western Cape.
3. Arrival Near Cape Town:
- Waypoint 3: Saldanha Bay (FASD)
- Heading southwest, you will pass over the coastal town of Saldanha Bay, known for its deepwater port and pristine beaches. The bay marks your approach into the Cape region, and on a clear day, you’ll see Table Mountain rising from the coastal flatlands in the distance.
4. Final Approach: Table Mountain
-
As you fly south, the famous Table Mountain begins to dominate the skyline. Lukas believes the shipwreck lies somewhere along the cliffs beneath the mountain. Keep your eyes peeled for any signs of wreckage or unusual patterns in the water.
-
Waypoint 4: Table Mountain (S33° 56.0’ E18° 25.0’)
- Circle around the iconic peak of Table Mountain and descend slowly to get a closer look at the coastlines below. Scan the waters for signs of the Vrouw Maria’s wreckage—perhaps a glint of metal beneath the waves.
5. Arrival: Cape Town International Airport (FACT)
- Runway: 19
- Upon reaching Cape Town, begin your descent towards the city. Cape Town is renowned for its dramatic scenery, and flying into FACT offers a spectacular approach, with views of the bay, the city, and the iconic Table Mountain.
- Perform a landing on Runway 19, ensuring you follow the landing procedures for the coastal airport.
Route Summary:
-
Route (IFR):
- FAOR (Johannesburg) → TVR (Tshwane VOR)
- TVR → FAKM (Kimberley)
- FAKM → FASD (Saldanha Bay)
- FASD → FACT (Cape Town International)
-
Flight Altitude: 6,500 ft during cruise (descending as you approach the coastline for better visibility of landmarks).
-
Airspace Considerations: You will be flying through some controlled airspaces, particularly near Johannesburg and Cape Town. Ensure you’re in contact with ATC for clearance.
Scenic Highlights to Enjoy During the Flight:
-
The Golden Fields of the Free State: As you depart Johannesburg, the flat plains of the Free State will stretch out before you. Look out for the patterns of farms and towns scattered across the landscape.
-
The Southern Coastline: As you fly closer to Cape Town, the cliffs and beaches of the Southern Cape are breathtaking from the air. Watch for the rugged terrain that gives way to the calm waters of False Bay.
-
Table Mountain from Above: Arguably one of the world’s most iconic views, Table Mountain presents a stunning sight as you fly in from the north, with the city of Cape Town laid out below it.
-
Saldanha Bay: A beautiful coastal bay where the ocean meets the land in dramatic fashion, perfect for a few moments of reflection on the treasure hunt ahead.
Final Notes:
As you land in Cape Town, Lukas is not sure whether the treasure is still out there, or if it’s simply a legend. But one thing’s for sure: he’ll keep searching. Maybe the real treasure is the adventure itself.
Will you find any clues about the Vrouw Maria’s lost cargo? Only time and further investigation will tell, but for now, you’ve successfully completed a beautiful and historical flight across one of the most scenic regions in the world. Safe flying!
3 Likes
I have zero interest in career mode. However, I love missions (well, not these buggy and boring ones), and access to helicopter missions is the only reason I’m playing the career mode. To me, career mode is just an obstacle to get to the content I want.
Even if I was interested in career mode, not sure what would I do once I have all the certifications? After I flew the exact same sling load mission a hundred times, heard the idiot who supposed to be my copilot making the same lame and stupid remarks hundreds of times (instead of helping me), or the same cargo mission, then what? Create another company? Make another zillion credits?
I think the worst aspect of the design is the penalties (reputation and/or repair costs) combined with generated missions. Nothing is more frustrating then being penalized based on a stupid algorithm’s judgement or just because of a stupid bug.
I don’t think they’ll ever be able to make their evaluation intelligent enough (and don’t bring up AI please, the current LLMs are just plain stupid) that they can rightly penalize someone for anything. Flying in the current career mode implementation is not about flying safe or economically, it is about working around bugs and satisfying the algorithm, which has very little to do with IRL flying. So penalties must go.
Based on what I see, they’ll never be able to create realistic, interesting, random missions, either because they don’t have the resources, or the will or the vision. It is possible, just look at the H145 and their action pack, and look at the HEMS anywhere missions an enthusiastic user created in his free time. It has 100 times more intelligence and realism than all Asobo missions combined. So yes, it is possible, was already demonstrated on 2020.
Asobo created a great platform which allows for a lot of sophisticated features and missions, now step back, fix the bugs of the platform, open up the missions to third party devs so we can enjoy the fruits of their creativity.
3 Likes
Haven’t touched it - I like challenges but no way am I going to grind myself for ‘fun’ - I get to do that at work everyday.
I want to be able to pick a challenging flight setup for me - rescue, fire, offshore, short haul - set it up and fly. But I can’t do any of that unless I accept grinding away just to ‘get’ to do what I wanted to do in the first place. Nope. I’ll stick to my Hype 145 for those.
2 Likes
Career Mode is flawed on multiple levels.
Surface level, the implementation is a buggy, incomplete mess of course.
But as the OP describes, the design of the missions themselves is repetitive to the point of being boring. Do you remember the hype leading up to No Man’s Sky? For those that don’t, the game was being sold as this revolutionary experience with an infinitely huge galaxy you could fly your spaceship through and endless opportunities to explore. Then when you actually played the game, apart from the shoddy half baked state it was in at release, you found that there were indeed an infinite number of randomly generated planets, but because they were all randomly generated from a simple template, they all felt incredibly repetitive. An endless ocean to explore, but one that’s about ankle deep.
Career Mode is the same way. Once you fly 2-3 missions of each type, you’ve pretty much seen them all. They’re all randomly generated, and they all feel the same. So the mission content is not what keeps you in Career Mode. Instead it’s the progression. Getting to the next level, buying that next plane, unlocking the next thing. But that leads to Career Mode’s deepest flaw…
The design of the Career Mode itself emphasizes money over simulating safe and realistic flying. This is the most fundamental flaw of the Career Mode and ultimately what moves it solidly into the “video game” category (I’d even dare to say arcade game), and not a simulation of real world commercial flying. In Career Mode you are rewarded for checking off some arbitrary objective, using dangerous flying to take risks and complete the mission, while you are often penalized for using safer aeronautical decision making.
Since the goal is money, and time is money, Career Mode trains you to complete the missions as efficiently as possible, cutting any and every corner you can. Sure, you can self impose discipline to your flying, but this has little consequence to the gameplay itself. It’s like stopping at the traffic lights when you’re playing Grand Theft Auto. Sure, you could do this if you want to pretend it’s real driving, but if you’re trying to play the game, why would you?
And so it goes for Career Mode. Why would I do a full walk-around if there’s no actual consequences? That’s a waste of time, and I need 99 million to get that 737. Sure, you might think there are consequences, like what if I crash and lose my expensive airplane? I better be careful! But then you learn this isn’t actually the case. You can always just Abort the flight when you start to get in trouble, or ALT-F4 just before you crash and it’s like it never happened. Aborting a problematic flight wastes less time than going through all the pain staking lengths to realistically ensure a safe flight, such that you might as well just skip all that stuff.
But even if you let the aircraft crash, you just pay some money and you’re back in business. Then you fly one more mission and your reputation is back to the highest level, so again it’s like it never happened. Zero consequences. Why would I respect restricted airspace, especially if I don’t have the proper tools to plan for that, and the only thing the sim is going to do about it is nag me? Why would I ensure I have enough fuel for my flight, especially if I can’t refuel once the mission starts, and fuel starvation has no consequence in the end?
In real life, the pilot isn’t solely focused on money. Reputation actually matters. Conducting a flight in a safe and professional manner is the goal. I’m not saying the sim needs to simulate death, but it has prioritized the wrong things and not properly facilitated the need to do the right things.
So the design of Career Mode winds up being flawed on every level, from it’s implementation, to its game play components, and to its entire core.
No Man’s Sky wound up having a happy ending though. The developers perspired to build the game into something that actually worked. I think its launch did permanent damage, however, and maybe it never achieved the revolutionary levels to which it aspired. But it does give me hope for Career Mode, that some day it may be a pretty solid game.
I’ve shelved it for now too. The one thing that kept me going after exhausting the progression levels, was that I was also progressing from place to place. But I kept running into dead ends there too, and because the missions are shallow and randomly generated, the only option was just to bounce around the globe at random with no rhyme or reason, and that’s when I lost interest.
10 Likes
Yes flawed. Here’s why
-
it limits who can experience real career missions. The trailers should have had an asterisk that said career mode only. Many users like me wanted to do a firefighting activity upon loading but nope.
-
it doesn’t have sandbox missions
-
its overly time consuming to earn credits
-its too regimented on punishment
- Xbox career mode often doesn’t register controller inputs so you’re penalized
-you use a dumb Cessna 172 for way too long. Boring.
- things are too expensive. Be it planes or certificates.
I dont really like carreer mode too but your points, i cant agree to most of em. I have a very different experience.
- The design of the Career Mode itself emphasizes money over simulating safe and realistic flying / Since the goal is money, and time is money…
While the core is probably true, the practical usage in this mode is a different one. Lets say you have a mission that pays 25k credits.
If you skip all the points, doing it as fast as possible, you will get 5k instead of the 25k you would get, if doing all the steps and not skip over it.
- Sure, you might think there are consequences, like what if I crash and lose my expensive airplane?
There are very big consequences. I just lost my 200k plane yesterday, the insurance paid like nothing for it. What means i have to start over more or less, grind again for 20h to be able to go into freelance mode again.
Not sure how you come to your conclusion of no consequences tbh.
Even Dark Souls is more forgiving.
- Reputation.
The mentioned loss of my plane also had the consequence that my rep went from nearly A max to A benginning. Over 15h rep grind lost in a single mistake.
How harsh you want it to be?
But overall the design is flawed and has many bugs. I just dont see your points in my playthrough.
1 Like
IMO, the concept and design of Career Mode are excellent. The issue is implementation. By summer I expect it will operate at a higher level and people will see the value.
I don’t think it will rival virtual airlines, but I also don’t think it’s designed to. Thats not to say it’s not a fun/interesting mode in the sim.
To the complaint that its gamification, I don’t buy it. Simulating a career path is still a simulation, it’s just not the one MSFS started with in the 80’s.
I didn’t mean using the Skip To feature. I meant, not doing things that realistic flying would entail. Like, just pulling the chocks and covers and then getting in the plane and flying. In real life you could kill yourself doing that. In the sim, I might be minorly inconvenienced a few minutes. In the sim, I didn’t walk around and poke all the control surfaces or click on the tires. And in the end there isn’t a consequence. Sure, something might break in flight. But then I just end the flight, and that winds up being less of a hassle overall.
Another example, I could do a full briefing for the flight and make sure the weather conditions are appropriate, avoiding flights with dangerous weather conditions. Ooor I could just jump in the plane and go for it and fly VFR direct straight into IMC conditions, use the vectors to final to land. Illegal af, very dangerous, but guess what gets me more money in the sim, and money a lot faster? I get a bonus for flying into bad weather, and no penalty for shirking all the rules.
Because it only takes me a few employee missions to get 200k. And once you make it to that level and fly a few missions, you have enough buffer to just buy a whole new plane. Yeah it sucks if you spend some time grinding and bought the most expensive thing and then immediately lost it, but that’s like the worst case scenario. But even then you’re just back to the grind like you always were anyway. I’m not trying to be inconsiderate, but shortly after launch, there were people totally distraught who had wrecked their aircraft. The game had only been out a few days, just play it a few more days.
Once you start flying medium cargo you can wreck five Cessnas after every flight just for fun if you want.
And the only real consequences here are because the game is bugged and you might lose your plane for no reason or because the insurance just doesn’t work.
So what? You just fly a couple more missions and your reputation is back. There’s no actual consequences for it. In real life if you belly land a multi-million dollar jet, and then try to get hired at another airline, good luck with that. But in the sim you can just go and fly whatever mission you want anyways regardless of how bad the last one went.
2 Likes
I can’t even make sense of this, some kind of FS pyramid scheme?
1 Like
It’s akin to Bored Apes NFTs except with a third party Flight Simulator career mode. Imagine if your literally worthless Career Mode credits had an actual dollar value affixed to them that was inflated through artificial scarcity and hype.
Exactly. Way too long and tedious and penalizing. Not fun. There should also be an arcade career mode, with career meaning the user can immediately try a real world career. There are those who wish to infer career to be that vs a Managerial long road tedious route.
You get to try careers is very different from go do a career