We would like to gather specific feedback and questions on the current Missions system to discuss in our upcoming February Development Stream. If you play missions, please feel free to contribute below by answering this poll and using the reply template to respond once.
Poll: How would you rate the current mission system overall on a scale of 1-10 (1 being very dissatisfied, 10 being very satisfied).
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Open Questions
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What are you currently satisfied with in Missions?
What are you currently dissatisfied with Missions?
What do you hope to see in Missions in the future?
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
The variety of missions is quite good and I appreciate the fact youâve recreated historic missions we knew and loved from earlier versions of flight sim.
Too many missions (and achievements in general) are buggy. For example, I have successfully done My Way without assistance MANY times and it has never unlocked. Iâve also done the entire Gold Rush / Nevada bush trip mission without assistance within the last few weeks (although others have been reporting this for ages) and even immediately closing the VFR map at the start of every flight and using nothing except the navlog â not even an autopilot as that plane lacks one â again the achievement never unlocked.
Missions you have already achieved also randomly disappear. For example, I know for a fact that I have completed the Balkans mission as not only do I remember it and have the flights in my logbook, I even have the achievement for it. But in the bush trips page, it now shows as 0% completed.
There are also bush trips with bugs like incorrect formatting of the navlog, such that the time/heading info etc. appear on subsequent lines, not on one line as they should
Also bush trips with missing photos of the destination in the navlog, so you have no visual reference whatsoever on arrival
Also bush trips whose photos look significantly different to the actual destination, and not just in the sense that theyâre shot from a different angle than you may actually approach from or in the instance that a user has custom scenery, as Iâve seen quite major differences in ground textures from the photos even in areas that are thousands of miles from my nearest scenery. I think this is probably an artifact of world updates and that you arenât updating the imagery after a world update takes place. Might I suggest that you create a script which simply regenerates every single photo for every mission after each world update? It seems like this should be quite achievable and automateable on your end.
Also bush trips with simply incorrect and misleading descriptions of the route. For example, on the same Nevada bush trip used for Gold Rush, one destination is described as having a âsingleâ airport, but in fact there are three airports â one with two paved and labeled runways, a windsock and a gas pump (but bizarrely with vehicles driving down both runways), another with two wide grass runways, and a third barely-visible one with just a single, narrow grass strip and no accoutrements â all within less than a mile of each other, and youâre somehow supposed to magically know to ignore the two larger airports in favor of one that (especially in VR) you canât even see until youâre almost on top of it.
It is also sometimes not clear what part of grass strips even counts as the runway. For example, in one stop on the Nevada trip, I had to land three times literally just a couple of hundred feet to one side or other to figure out what was the runway (which actually turned out to be something which appeared to be a curving road in parallel), after first landing on a straighter line to its right and then on the grass in between those two lines, thinking each looked significantly more like a runway than the one with curves in it. It would also be helpful if the actual location of the runway was clearly indicated with an arrow or label on the navlog photo.
Mission flights (and to a lesser extent flights in general) also frequently fail to show up correctly in your logbook, including absurd things like finishing a bush trip flight having started on the ground only to see it indicated in your logbook as having one landing but no takeoff which is clearly a physical impossibility.
In VR at least, I also have to not just close the VFR map but also reposition and rescale the navlog at the start of every leg on bush trips, or every other mission as well. Thatâs particularly fun on things like the Changi mission, where not only am I thrown in the deep end with awful weather and a plane that wants not to be a plane any more, but I get to fumble around trying to close and move windows so I can see where the heck Iâm even going.
Oh yes, and missions often load incorrectly and have to be reloaded. My favorite one this far was a 747 mission that was supposed to start airborne but which actually started stationary. on the ground in the middle of a dense forest. Iâve also had them load in with certain switches or controls inoperable or incorrect but been fine on a second attempt.
TL;dr: Missions are very, VERY buggy as-is and are in desperate need of a play-through start to finish by actual human beings at Asobo.
We should be able to change the aircraft type after each landing, should we want to do so. For the Nevada bush trip, Iâm unlikely to have the time to spend 9.5+ hours re-flying the entire thing to try and get the achievement I should rightfully already have, but being able to switch the longer flights to a faster plane might persuade me to give it one more try.
Iâd also like to see multiplayer support in missions. I want to be able to fly them with my brother who lives overseas and plays more casually so we can share the experience together. We shouldnât have to resort to third-party addons (which weâve yet to try) to achieve that. Disable multiplayer as a default if you like, but give players a quick and easy way to reenable multiplayer with people weâve specifically added to our friends list, at the very least, even if not full-on multiplayer as in free roam mode!
It would also be helpful if there were any indication on completed segments of a bush trip whether or not that segment has been completed in the correct manner to unlock all related achievements, so that if you fail to gain an achievement, you know which individual segment(s) must be reflown rather than having to re-fly the entire bush trip again from start to finish.
Iâd also like to see it made easier for users to create and share their own missions with each other.
Not a question so much as a comment, really. Please donât take all of this as just negativity, because I love the sim and it is great. But please also know that when youâre asking users to spend literally many hours trying to earn an achievement, it leads to major feelings of disappointment and regret when achievement bugs prevent you from earning the reward that was held out to you. Honestly, Iâd rather no achievements at all than buggy ones.
It would also be helpful if you were more crystal-clear about what does or doesnât have any effect on the ability to earn missions, because a perusal of your own forums will show you that a mythology has built up around what might or might not have any effect, with people suggesting things like that you can or canât use VR when earning achievements, or that you can or canât touch the autopilot, or that merely opening this or that panel will prevent the achievement being earned, or that you must hop on your left foot the entire time, or⌠you get my drift.
Thatâs no way to play a game. So please, be very clear that the achievement being earned relies only on XYZ, and that nothing else will have any effect whatsoever, so we can stop beating our heads against mysterious brick walls of our own making as we try over and over to earn unearnable achievements. Pretty please?
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
It is broken since Su5 and not all bugs are fixed since then.
NavLog is still broken, Iâve written about it many times.
No possibility to change the aircraft, we need choose the plane the author wantâs us to fly.
No possibility to change the aircraft in the mission when the mission has more than 1 leg.
No possibility to change the weather.
No possibility to change assistance settings.
Bushtrips has been way better when the sim was released. The 3 initial bushtrips has been really great to fly. Detailed navigation hints in the text. Nowadays they are just boring. Simply fly heading for n minutes, on the next waypoint is xy. Add random description here for the waypoint.
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
No bugs which stay for over 1 (one!) year.
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
@Jummivana The Mission âsystemâ word is a bit confusing, at least from a Dev point of view. There is no system/tool to create missions (has been removed lot time ago)
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
Basically, aerial work. With helicopters finally we can simulate every kind of aerial work, just need a system to do that (winch loads , aerial fighting, search and rescue)
4. If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
I love how the missions are really immersive (like the Rome and Naples airline run) and how the missions are brought back from previous versions. I love it!
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
Performance and FPS can be lacking on missions, but other than that, it is great!
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
Definitely more missions as I am running out of ones to do . I also think that the cover page title (40th anniversary) should be renamed âMissionsâ
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
Are there plans for more missions? Specifically, maybe missions from other versions?
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
Itâs an excellent tool for knowing places where I usually donât fly over.
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
No be able to change the plane
No be able to change mission/bush conditions like no ATC or ability to refuel
Very poor description (if there is one) of the different locations and POIs.
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
First of all, more freedom to modify the aspects Iâve commented in the previous question (change plane, activate options like ATC or refueling).
Some kind of integration in a career simulation system. Not only fly to A to B, but also some kind of random flights with unexpected events.
Like someone has previously commented, more FSX story-telling missions (for example: missions for the Goose emulating Tales of the Gold Monkey).
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
Iâve always thought the missions systems was the most underrated feature in FSX, and sadly I have the same impression with MSFS. I think itâs a very powerful tool to add another layer of interaction beyond the simulation itself and a perfect way to call the attention of other kind of users beyond the hardcore simmers.
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
There are maybe a couple of missions that offer a challenge and give you a sense of self accomplishment when you finish them.
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
Unfortunately the few missions that are in potential somewhat engaging are plagued by quirkiness. There are way too many bugs and too little features. Bugs and quirks have already been described meticulously. Features maybe not so much. In FSX there were some missions that offered a challenge, a backstory and immersion (e.g. dynamic weather or your copilot talking to you or giving feedback) that made it feel engaging and more than just flying from point a â b.
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
Challenging dynamic situations and adventures that are true to life (could happen to an actual pilot) and offer the player freedom to accomplish in their own way.
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
I know that MSFS is a simulator and is a platform but I donât think that it means that one should disregard a âgame elementâ or use systems or methods used in other games. I think missions/bush trips/adventures done in a good and engaging way will please anyone from beginner to âhardcore simmerâ. I would love to hear your thoughts on that.
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
The bush flights bring me to all different sort of places. I like the challenge of pure VFR navigation, with heading, time and good waypoints.
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
The waypoints in some Bush Trips are not described by someone who has ever flown a VFR navigation route I suspect. More likely by someone who is a bus tourguide.
Example. ânext leg brings you to the historical town of blablabla, known for its famous cheese and pancakes.â Well⌠I cannot see the cheese and pancakes from 3000ft in the air. But the odd shaped lake next to the town with a single mountain next to it was not mentioned as the waypoint.
Please ask some bushpilots to describe the waypoints in a way that you can identify them from the sky.
The track is visible on the GPS as purple track or waypoints and can be flown by autopilot in NAV mode, even when the track is not visible from the VFR map. When I open the VFR map it centers on my position, giving away where I am. Both are spoilers.
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
Night VFR flights
VOR to VOR and/or NDB IFR navigation, without GPS, like it was 40 years ago. No GPS.
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
Why the choice for autorefuel after each landing, while we have a realistic refuelsystem in the sim available? Maybe indicate in the flightplan where fuel is available.
Why the âback on trackâ feature while we have a more realistic ATC options âask heading to next waypointâ available in the sim?
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
I think that the missions variety is fairly diverse.
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
Something more âopen-endedâ than what is available out of the box. The Xbox Series X needs a mode allowing the player to start at a meager base and grow through successful flights (and flight management) to take on greater flights and responsibility.
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
I am an Xbox Series X user with full yoke/pedal setup, and would very much enjoy either a) a Microsoft curated career mode, or a 3rd party career mode.
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
The variety of aircraft used & the âre-creationâ of past Flight Simulator missions.
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
They can be fairly buggy, most noticeably with certain objectives not triggering when they should, aircraft starting in wrong places or heights & instruments not being set correctly.
Overall, the missions lack on the detail & story side. A lack of voice-over narration/story &/or sub-objectives is apparent in many missions (FSX did it right).
Some of the shorter missions are meant to feel like an event but just feel somewhat dull & rushed, like the Wright Flyer mission for example. Thereâs no feeling of an amazing event happening, thereâs no fanfare or real sense of achievement, even adding some unique adventurous music upon take off or a bit of animation after landing (like with most FSX missions after completion) with some people standing around cheering would vastly improve things.
There doesnât appear to be much (or anything) in the way of dynamic/evolving weather in missions or in the case of some, the weather engine (whilst brilliant) shows areaâs for improvement which would add to both the missions & sim in general. For example, the Monsoon mission just reinforces my feeling that storm clouds & rain (especially windshield effects) still need a fair amount of work to feel realistic & immersive. Iâve personally flown through rain & Iâve seen many videos from the cockpit with rain in various states & MSFS is a long way off unfortunately. Itâs almost unnoticeable in MSFS & it certainly isnât in real life.
Another big drawback on the mission front is the lack of a meaningful crash or damage system. Flightâs that are meant to feel dangerous or perilous just donât because the only consequence of âcrashingâ is either a black screen or an aircraft bouncing off the ground like a childrenâs toy. I understand the child friendly nature but i still think it could be improved to some degree.
A lot of the âmissionsâ are essentially just bush trips & discovery flights which is disappointing as weâve had plenty of that since release & when missions were announced as coming back in the 40th, most people including myself were thinking about the way FSX handled missions, something more detailed, more engaging & more entertaining. The majority of what has been delivered feels like a big step backwards from FSX. I think that itâs largely down to the mission SDK/creation system probably being pretty undeveloped. The lack of many FSX missions & emphasis on more simple bush-trip, discovery missions points to that also.
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
Basically as Iâve said above⌠more detailed, more engaging, more entertaining & of course less buggy. I was always somewhat into aviation but I strongly believe that playing the FSX missions as a 16yr old played a huge part in vastly growing my love for all things aviation even more & what eventually led me to getting behind the pilot seat in real life & to carry on buying various flight simulators though the years. Iâm not talking through rose-tinted glasses, Iâve gone back & played the FSX missions more recently also. The current missions in MSFS feel more like âjust something to doâ. They arenât really anywhere near as interesting, engaging, immersive & as entertaining as they could be or were in FSX.
As i said i think a lot of improvement could come from developing the mission SDK much more, adding more voice-over, more goals, more entertaining but realistic missions, a better use of the weather engine, a greater feeling of adventure & achievement through music & world animations to bring the world to life.
More variety of missions⌠I designed mission concepts that have been seen by more then a million people on YouTube, had thousands of upvotes & hundreds of like-minded people commenting on the reddit post i made about them. An example of some of the missions included âIsland Sightseeingâ with aquatic animal sightings, an âArctic Expeditionâ which had you going to collect Arctic researchers in evolving weather & getting back to the ship in time, an âEmergency Landingâ with an engine fire (including visual effects) where you land to waiting emergency vehicles, âCosta Rican Coffee Runâ in a DC3 running supplies from an airstrip in the jungle to Panama, âOil Rig Rescueâ essentially just a visual improvement on the FSX mission, âWildlife Trackingâ which had you finding & tracking endangered species in Africa which is done to monitor their conservation, âAerobatics Trainingâ above the gold coast, âTour of the Big Appleâ taking sightseers around NYC in a helicopter⌠i think i made about 30 missions, some of which could be done now, some that couldnât yet like helicopter payload/slingload training, putting out a forest fire, F-18 air-to-air refuelling etc.
Everything Iâve spoken about to now has related purely to the 40th missions. I will say that i think the Top Gun DLC did things pretty much spot on for what it was & i have thought lately, why not add to it in some way.
A carrier, park to take-off tutorial with crew animations.
A mission where you take-off from the carrier, fly to & through a valley in a set time before returning to land on the carrier.
Formation flying with AI thanks to a better developed mission SDK.
Target practice in the desert (like in the film) using dummy weapons/laser confirmation.
Another Darkstar mission, maybe recreating the part from the film using the same or similar dialogue, pushing it past Mach 10. Though a black crash screen wouldnât really be a satisfying mission completion.
Personally i think itâs best to have wide range of diverse missions like those suggested & mirroring FSX but i do also think itâd be cool to choose certain aircraft or categories to bundle like how the Top Gun DLC was. For example a NASA DLC (i know Jorg is keen on the Space Shuttle idea & heâs certainly far from alone). You could have missions consisting of;
Learning the shuttle controls, perhaps going through a particular scenario (whilst on the ground, in a hanger/warehouse & in a simulator. Like a simulator Inception).
A Space Shuttle launch from ground to space with everything that involves.
Controlling the shuttle to dock with the ISS
Re-entry to landing.
Everything all in one.
Hell, why not even stick it on top of the 747 & fly it around California to re-create itâs final Piggyback flight.
Other bundles could be;
Red Bull Air Racing & Stunts DLC with both plane & helicopter Aerobatics Training, Air Races in various locations, a selection of stunts like Racing a Formula 1 Car while inverted, Landing on a Moving Vehicle, Flying Through a Tunnel etc.
(Dare i say it) a Military Aviation DLC consisting of a few new military aircraft & various missions based on (non-harmful) oneâs they take part in. Surveillance Training, Search & Rescue, Transporting, Helicopter Payload/Slingload Work, Air-to-Air Refuelling, Airshow Performances & General Training etc.
Helicopter Bundle DLC including a few new helicopters chosen for the variety of missions & uses theyâre capable with. A military transport/slingload & SAR helicopter like an AW101 Merlin, a HEMS & private luxury helicopter like an AgustaWestland AW169 or Airbus H145 & either a stunt helicopter or vintage helicopter. Could also add new variants to the current 407 like a police/film & tv version with lighting/camera rigs & a water bucket for a firefighting version. You could also a variety of new liveries, helipads & heliports. Missions could range from Carrier & Counter Pirate Training, Slingload Aid & SAR, HEMS, Coastguard Patrol & Rescue, Private Royal & Celebrity Charters, Wind Farm Maintenance, Sightseeing Tours, Airshow, Police Monitoring, Firefighting, TV Broadcasting Motorsports etc.
Another small note, the inclusion of a replay system for missions (& landing challenges) would also be a great addition. Perhaps not very interesting on some longer more basic missions but definitely on more interesting & somewhat entertaining ones like suggested above.
Lastly (& there is a point to this paragraph at the end), Iâll say that i think Reno didnât do as well as probably hoped for as it was charging people for a very focused & niche area. Personally, i got it on sale about a year late just for the extra planes (though most people, myself included only really cared about the Mustang & Texan). I think the majority of Flight Simulator players donât care about multiplayer racing in MSFS, i think multiplayer is great as a choice in the open-world & in various leaderboards but not in a racing aspect. Certainly not enough to pay for it anyway. I think people had the foresight to know that the lobbies would soon go quiet (which they did) & with it only being set around Reno it felt like a waste just to use this new category in one location. I think if it was some sort of Reno/Red Bull Air Racing bundle it wouldâve done better. My point is, free things are great but donât be afraid to charge for something if itâs needed to actually get it developed. People would be much more inclined to spend money on something like the Acceleration DLC for FSX. With a wide range of missions, some new aircraft, airports & world assets etc.
The possibilities for missions & scenarioâs in MSFS are endless & itâs barely been scratched. It would be such a shame to waste this great opportunity & missions have the capability to simulate, educate & entertain in every aspect of aviation.
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
MS/Asobo offers great diversity in this area. The Cummunity is particularly strong and has created a great diversity. It is wonderful to be able to share in the discoveries of others.
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
I think that since SU5 at the latest, the restrictions in the missions became more and more. This led to the fact that, for example, bush trips led more and more a niche existence, because fewer and fewer users wanted to play them. Gradually there are more possibilities again. Thatâs good, but itâs not enough to make it fun for more users. Besides, the system is full of bugs, which is proven by the many entries and requests in the forums.
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
After I bought my first used PC in 1989, I played with Flight Simulator 3.0 on a Monocrom screen. Since that time I have bought every subsequent version. MSFS 2020 is certainly the nicest one I have had but also the one with the most bugs. I wish for the future that MS/Asobo would invest more resources in fixing bugs as far as functionality is concerned instead of making the simulator even ânicerâ. This is especially true for the missions. Drop the restrictions in the missions and let the mission creators decide what restrictions they think are appropriate for their missions. They can all be programmed.
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
What are you currently satisfied with in the Missions system?
It allows us to see many different places in the world without having to plan trips ourselves.
New bush trips are added regularly (with world updates).
What are you currently dissatisfied with in the Missions system?
Unfortunately, the quality of bush trips decreased over time. The original bush trips like Breckenridge to Mariposa were really enjoyable: we had to find our way by looking at various landmarks (following a road, a railway, rivers,âŚ).
Now, we often get instructions such as âFly in this direction for 10 milesâ, âTurn right heading 123â, thatâs really not enjoyable in my opinion.
Iâd like to see bush trips designed with an old aircraft without MFD/NAV displays in mind, requiring the trip designer to find visual references.
About Imported missions: They are not translated into French, thatâs not an issue for me but not everyone understands English.
What do you hope to see in the Missions system in the future?
Bring back quality to bush trips, raise the bar. Even if this means less bush trips. Quality over Quantity.
If you have a question in regards to Missions for the devs, please post it below:
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. I also think that the cover page title (40th anniversary) should be renamed âMissionsâ