I see a lot of discussions bemoaning the lack of ‘reality’ in certain aspects of the sim, i.e. lack of proper updraft/ downdraft wind speeds when flying into a towering cumulonimbus cloud, unrealistic icing, and poorly implemented stall behavior.
I get that some simmers want to challenge their ability to fly into and out of situations that can result in crashing to earth. But experienced real life pilots always want the most boring flight available. Storms? Avoid them. Divert to an alternate airport if necessay. Icing? Get thee to a safer altitude, instead of complaining that they don’t see realistic icing effects. Stalls? Sure, pilots need to practice recovery, but no one wants to stall an aircraft in real life.
So why do (some) simmers want MSFS to be their playground for risky behavior, when a good pilot always tries to avoid risky situations?
I guess it’s a question of whether you want the sim to be a challenging videogame, or a simulation that can teach us how to be better pilots. And how should AsoboSoft balance the sim to offer both without making one or the other faction feel neglected?
I feel like you mean one or two wishlist topics I created
Because they can’t always avoid them, otherwise there would be 0 crashes caused by pilot error.
If the Sim doesn’t simulate it you will never know when you did something wrong.
It’s an entertaining aspect, having to take care of the weather conditions around you adds another real life gameplay dimension to the sim.
The answer to this is: make realism optional, so people who don’t want to deal with real life things can turn them off. (That’s what they are currently doing with turbulence in Simupdate 12)
I think some people just like to see if they can “beat the game” with the difficulty turned up to eleven.
Others think they’re Ted Stryker (without the emotional baggage) and can actually take over for a sick pilot, bring the crippled plane in through a hurricane, land it without a scratch, then take a bow for the cameras with an adoring Elaine Dickinson at their side.
I really enjoy practising my emergency procedures. I find bad weather to be very well done for immersion in VR. When you actually start sweating while looking for the airfield, then you’re having fun!
Weather and aviation are inextricable from one another. Avoiding realistic weather, operating on the boundaries, or actually attempting to fly through it are more paints on the pallet of realism. Depending on the mission, the aircraft, and the qualifications and proficiencies of the pilot, the boundaries can be quite varied.
What’s the point of simulating the atmosphere if you only simulate part of it? Avoiding CB and icing are basic piloting skills. But if the consequences are totally absent, why bother? Why bother practicing emergency procedures or have failures? Just get Otto to do all your flying.
I agree with you. It’s a simulation. Go play Granturismo or forza (not horizon) OMG I can’t drift every corner and win the race. If you want that in a flight sim go play ACE Combat or something. Maybe a good compromise would be an option for arcade-style playing/full realism. I like both but this game is where I try to make it realistic (I actually fly airplanes). I almost wish they got rid of anything easy in here if you suck well good luck no option to simplify it.
Now I will say there are issues with the things you quoted. Flying out of Denver on a low humidity day, no clouds, but 19 degrees. Let’s ice the whole front window because that’s what happens I feel some effects are a bit overdone. I get at times people get caught in bad weather, and it’s nice to be able to see the effects, or fly into icing conditions to be able to use the deice stuff and watch it work.
I think part of the issue might be with this being on xbox. IMO FSX/P3D, XPlane most of the guys that played those older sims, tended to go full sim, were/are real pilots. I think going to the console invited more arcade type players. Not that it’s an issue, but I feel now they have to cater to more diverse audience.
I feel some effects are a bit overdone. I get at times people get caught in bad weather, and it’s nice to be able to see the effects, or fly into icing conditions to be able to use the deice stuff and watch it work.