Unless Asobo doesn’t review the forums and community feedback, and I know they do, there’s absolutely no way they’re not aware of the ongoing issues with achievements. It’s therefore incredibly frustrating that the Achievement bugs have not been acknowledged and as of right now, there seems to be no plan to fix the issues. What do I need to do to get Asobo’s attention? I’ll fly to Bordeaux and picket with cardboard signs if that’s what it takes to get attention to this issue.
I shouldn’t have to spell this out: achievements are part of the modern gaming experience across all the major platforms including PC. It’s reasonable to expect that they work properly, and if they don’t that they are quickly patched.
Microsoft/Xbox invented the concept of gaming Achievements; well before Sony/PlayStation ripped off the concept entirely. It’s beyond the scope of this post to explain why achievements matter to some people, but what is important is they do matter.
Yet here we are in late 2021 with Microsoft Flight Simulator (a franchise 8 years older than the Windows Office Suite) unable to deliver what hundreds of game developers can easily accomplish as mandated by Microsoft before a game is released. If that’s not ironic, I don’t know what is.
Where to start.
“My Way”
More an insult than an “Achievement.” My Way requires something thousands of sim pilots do on a daily basis; complete a flight of 300 miles or more from parking spot to parking spot. I’d love to hear Asobo’s explanation for why only 0.07% of Xbox users have completed this achievement. Here’s a hint: it’s not the users. The achievement is broken.
I’ve personally attempted this achievement several dozens of times. It was bugged before SU5 (Xbox Launch), and the only fix then was to land and have the AI pilot park the plane. Since SU5, this no longer works because it’s considered “assistance.”
In summary:
- Pre-SU5: The achievement can’t be achieved without AI Pilot assistance
- Post-SU5: The achievement can’t be achieved with or without AI Pilot assistance
This leaves everyone in Flight Sim hell as we go back and forth and debate clouds looking too soft, or mountains not being pointy enough, or the moon looking too big in VR, or boats not leaving wake in their trail. W. T. F.
Please do something to fix this. I’m not a coder. I didn’t create the achievement, so I don’t know what code went into it, but the code DOES EXIST. Maybe there is a lack of detection at the point of arrival? Do the wheels of the plane need to be within an inch of some imaginary line? Does it need to be completed in a specific airplane? A specific time or season? Can the achievement only be completed in a category 5 hurricane? Do I need to sacrifice an animal to an unknown god? Please let me know. I’m willing to do whatever.
Here are some quotes from other frustrated sim pilots:
“Looks like this achievement is not working. I should definitively have it by now.”
“No go. Thanks for trying to help us though. Flew from ATL - DFW via high altitude IFR. Let AI taxi to parking, shut down, completed flight but no achievement.”
“I’ve done two 400NM flights now without any assistance, other than talking to ATC and using the autopilot on the A320. I didn’t unlock the achievement. I even have the taxi ribbon and checklist evaluation options disabled.”
“I guess it’s glitched for most people… Hope there would be a hotfix from devs, or guides, or explanations etc…”
“no luck here. Did a 300+ nm trek from Tucson to San Diego, gate to gate nothing popped”
“Still no dice for me I’m afraid. Made sure I had a ramp spot selected at my destination and made doubly sure I was parking at the correct one - still no achievement after shutting down. I am on the Xbox store version FWIW, the guide seems to have had success with Steam.”
“The achievement is definitely glitched. I followed the TrueAchievements guide basically exactly as written, but with the A320 (Hoping not to do this with a Daher). Went with a high altitude IFR. Started and ended in parking, no gates. IKK to ICT. No achievement.”
“Just did a 340 mile trip in the TBM930 and it didn’t pop. Did True to Life, ran through all the checklists, selected a parking spot on each end of the flight plan, handled all communications, no joy.”
“Working for the Weekend”
“Complete a Weekly Activity”
I’ve been online virtually every day since Xbox Launch. I have not seen a single weekly activity. I don’t even know what they look like.
Why is it called a weekly activity if activities are not available weekly? If you don’t want to do that, then please change out the achievement for something else, or…release weekly activities.
If it’s too much trouble to make new activities; please release “old” Weekly Activities so that Xbox users can catch up. Is this too much to ask? We’re not asking you to paint the Mona Lisa. Just re-release what you’ve already done. Is it so difficult?
“Decathlon”
The frustrations above X10. Literally. We need 10 “Working for the Weekend” achievements to get this. There is not a single Xbox user that is not an Asobo employee that has this achievement. I guarantee it.
“Journeyman”
“Accumulate 500 hours of flight time in a single pilot profile.” (0.09% achievement rate).
After flying 249 hours; this achievement has progressed 49%.
Because of ANOTHER glitch with the Bush Plane Achievement (Patagonia; I could not start the first leg of the flight…I would spawn in a forest in the mountains, slide downhill and crash), I deleted all my flight data and reset my logbook, therefore resetting the achievement.
I restarted my progress and flew another 256 hours, 30 minutes, and 38 seconds.
I’m not a mathematician, but 256/500 X100 = 51%. Why is the achievement not updating?
“Wing Commander”
Same as above. It’s not updating. What do I need to do?
Bush Plane Flights
I haven’t even seriously attempted the bush plane achievements given the current chaos, but from what I’ve read, they’re also broken. Personally, I’ve tried to load them and have spawned into a forest and instantly crash and die. Not fun. Not polished.
In summary:
Asobo, PLEASE…IM BEGGING YOU…PLEASE AT LEAST AKNOWLEDGE THIS POST AS “BUG LOGGED” and commit to looking into achievements within the next several updates. This bothers me more than you know. Please do something to fix this.
