Vista always gets ragged on. It worked just fine when I had it on my laptop. The “nags” were annoying, but now those things are in every version of Windows and no one complains about them like they did when they first arrived in Vista.
When that last part happens is the day I just switch to something else. Either that or I will be dead by then.
To be honest if it’s a choice between “no FS” or “subscribe to FS”, I’ll happily subscribe. I get a lot more value and joy out of it than a Netflix subscription or similar.
As long as the actual compute/rendering still happens locally so it can support high fidelity VR without latency. I would not want the whole thing to be streamed.
I might just go back to FS9/FSX. They are still installed on a PC i had built just for FS2020.
The beauty of FS9 and FSX is, they don’t need any thing from the outside world to work. The only thing i might be missing is real world weather if activeSky can not be interfaced with them.
Sure their visuals are far from what is served regularly with FS20 or FS24. But on the other hand i still remember very well how to fine tune the FDE of an aircraft, and I can still swap sound files and in some cases individual gauges.
So i may give up a few visual thrills but i got my real world licenses with these two sims, and the real aircraft i used are still alive and well on that partition, as well as a whole Series of Constellations…actually one that we never released 
Nice that you see it as a viable alternative but I literally couldn’t do that since the older versions don’t have VR! Plus the near-photo realism is an important aspect for me.
On a tangent, but Geforce NOW will alleviate some hardware challenges on PC and that will help a good number of users in a positive way.
A couple of interesting articles about Microsoft teasing new Xbox hardware…
… as well as the recent management shakeup at Microsoft Games, with Asha Sharma as the new lead (relevant because MSFS falls under Microsoft Gaming division).
I hope all of these new devices don’t need any memory – or storage… 
Can’t make ‘em without, so prepare for 
Also see this article:
Satya Nadella denies Xbox death rumors, insists Microsoft is “long on gaming” | TechSpot
I find this comment of interest:
"Despite the speculation, Microsoft recently confirmed long-standing rumors that its next Xbox will be a hybrid between a console and a PC, capable of running both Xbox and Windows games. "
Thought: If one can run a Windows (i.e. PC) game on this new Xbox hardware, perhaps their will be no need to compile the code base for the next version of MSFS for Xbox & PC - a single PC compile might work for both platforms.
It may also significantly simplify development work for 3rd-parties who sell on both Xbox & PC.
Goodness, yes, as long as the handheld and playstation versions keep up.
Looking good
Actually, Xplane is offline so other than live weather there would be no issues using the sim. And even my satellite imagery is stored locally on SSD so that wouldn’t be an issue either.
Proper multiple jetway support in the SDK is a must!
That has always been the case with FS. You say that VR is important to you. To me it is not at all. I have tried it and in some racing simulators i do enjoy it a lot. In FS i still need to touch too many things that are not in VR and that kills the immersion.
But even back with the very first versions of FS, and I have used them all, there were these discussions as soon as everyone was over the initial giddiness of being able to fly at home, when ever we wanted.
And i would guess that even some hardened VR flyers would consider going back to a older version that runs without a monthly charge and top notch internet service.
PAPI not showing two whites and 2 reds even when I am established on glideslope is so off. I always have to come a little under to cross threshold at 50 feet. It is the basics of aviation and I cant think of a reason why has this not been address almost a year and a half after the release.
My personal experience started in VR around 10 years ago. I would still fly 2d with msfs20 because the VR headset I had was not high resolution enough (Valve Index). I could not even read some smaller gauges. Awesome headset for its time and the knuckle controllers are still awesome. There were god rays, there was glare, there was SDE, and the aforementioned low PPD.
Now I have a very powerful PC with a Pimax Crystal Light. I have had it for over a year. I have around 400 hours in msfs24 in this headset. I, personally, have zero interest in flying 2d. The thought never even enters my mind. I have a Turtle Beach Flight yoke and have every button assigned and memorized. All reachable. I could also make some physical controls and interface them with an arduino if I get tired of using the mouse. In fact, a couple years ago I 3D printed a bunch of gear and had it all interfaced and working in msfs20. Dual radio stack, xpndr, AP, flaps, custom knob board. Once I upgraded my PC and bought my PCL, 2D was a thing of the past for me. My ultimate goal, 5-10 years out, is to buy whatever hi-res headset is out there with a beast of a PC, and a DOF H6 or similar motion rig.
I think people get their “immersion” in different ways. Some want the “I’m actually in the plane and in the world” and will sacrifice some of the touch controls, and others get their “immersion” from the actual physical controls, using a real ipad and/or kneeboard, etc, etc. In sims I get the immersion from the visual, much more than the physical controls.
When it comes to flight sim, VR is not a fad for me, it is the only way I will fly. If you took vr away from me I literally would not use any flight sim. I want to be in the plane/world, not just watching the plane/world.
This is just my opinion and there is no wrong answer for how people flight sim.
Thanks for reading my Monday morning, half asleep, rambling post. lol.
100% this. There is no one true way to sim. I love VR for some experiences, but I intensely dislike flight simming in VR, and that’s OK, just as long as Microsoft keeps enabling us both to do what we like.
My main concern about the future for MSFS is if it begins to cut out existing ways to sim - for example, because I need a ton of mods and external software to run my home cockpit, moving to a cloud-gaming-only model as some people have suggested or advocated would be the end of the road for me. I doubt that would happen but the possibility does make me nervous, given how many tens of thousands of £££s I have spent on this hobby over the years.
To be honest, the sim in its current state has already cut out some of my existing ways to sim, because with P3D I used to have a wrap-around 180 degree projector system, which you really can’t do with MSFS (you can get closer now, but with significant compromises); I used to have outside views free of the virtual cockpit, which you still can’t do reliably with MSFS; I used to have multi-PC rendering, which you can do with MSFS but it’s a HUGE pain to do and requires extra software and multiple Xbox accounts. I used to have the ability to put instrument and switch panels on other monitors without needing to use Air Manager. I used to have touch enabled everywhere. All these things you can’t do with MSFS today, and there’s zero sign that you ever will be able to. I’ve already lost a lot, as have others like me. We’re a tiny fraction of the audience, sure, but it feels bad to be constantly ignored.
Open and extensible architecture is the key, and unfortunately it seems like Asobo makes things closed by default and only opens them up if we make a huge amount of noise, and then often not anyway (weather API, anyone?). Open by default is the way FSX was and P3D is, but it feels too late for that now for MSFS.
That’s what I worry about.
You’re generally right, however threshold crossing height is not the same at every airport, with regard to both the VGSI and the electronic glideslope. And many VGSI and GS aren’t even harmonized/coincident (which is usually noted in the approach chart). So speaking of a specific TCH in a global way (without specifying a particular airport/runway) is going to lead to false expectations.
However, at procedurally-generated airports, VGSI always default to a certain distance beyond the threshold, which further skews the TCH. Long and short - they aren’t always installed in the same location and that affects TCH. In this, the sim is incorrect in a very broad manner and you’re correct.
Bug report thread about it here.
The only way to fix it in the base sim that I know of is to use the World Hub, which we’re still awaiting.
I wondered if at some point I would not be able to use all the gear I created. You definitely have valid concerns.
At the moment, thankfully, msfs24 is working very well for me. SU4, VR, and BATC.
The only real issue I run into is the popping terrain. Sometimes it’s great, and then the next time I fly the same flight I might have lots of popping.