I’ve read a lot about a lighter client for FS24 with things being streamed from the cloud only when needed.
This is a good idea but I would like to ask that you also provide as many options as possible for the user to choose to install or cache assets locally, this is particularly important for those of us with poor internet connections (with the current version I already get loads of bandwidth warnings!)
I would much prefer a large and unwieldy install (even if it means spending £50 on a new hard drive in some cases) than the alternative of getting a suboptimal streaming experience on every single flight, or worse not being able to play at all.
In addition to aircraft assets being installed via content manager or similar, It would be great to see an improved rolling and manual terrain cache system - perhaps we could have the option to pre download routes on the flight planner screen or similar?
Thanks !
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I posted similarly in this thread some time ago. There were but few responses and most of those who did respond seemed to think there was almost universal access to gigabit connectivity. However, as one respondent did point out, MS must be aware of the global situation with regard to the bandwidth issues and would most assuredly take this into account. I live in hope.
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In one of the FSExpo interviews with Seb and Jörg, they said they even think that the new system will be more effective and thus likely even cut the bandwidth requirements… I assume, every one able to play MSFS2020 will be able to play MSFS2024…
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I heard them mention downloading only what you need, I think they were talking about not downloading an 8k texture if your settings are only for 2k. But I understood that this still meant streaming a 2k texture at runtime. My request is that they give us the option to have large one off downloads (at installation point or otherwise), so those of us with slow connections are not severely limited by our connections at runtime.
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I assume that MSFS2024 will also have the local cache. So I assume it will be possible to download data for offline use at it is possible today.
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Content packages like expansions & dlcs & previously provided content, can be provided optionally to download.
but i guess since they are talking about restructuring the sim architecture like in world updates assets, i dont think those assets can be available for pre downloading, because @ some point, you will have to use a muti tera ssd, & even if you do, this wont be wise for marketing for a new sim.
in the other hand, this new streaming changes, wont make any additional cost to bandwidth, as what they described “only download what you need”, means if you wanna take a flight above UK, then the streaming will happen for the assets while you in fly, & all the pressure on the local storage will be gone by this change.
suggestions about cache for pre set routes seems ideal suggestion @ this point.
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I have a high speed fiber connection in Ecuador and even MSFS updates go fast for me. BUT I do agree that this is a practical and reasonable request of the Devs. I have many friends in the US who have terrible internet (fast connections are not universal) and it would be wise for the devs to keep this in mind when putting 2024 together.
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If it were a thin client for those that can use it, but offer the option of caching locally if they can’t, it would hopefully support all usage cases.
Even if they are using new tech, think of the cached option as yet another “Legacy” mode.
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This may be an unpopular opinion, but…
If you want to play a game that relies on a fast internet connection, but have a slow internet connection, maybe the game isn’t for you.
I compare it to wanting to do 3D modeling on an $800 laptop outfitted only with a very basic GPU.
Can you do it? Sure. But it won’t be a very satisfying experience.
As a user with mostly less than 10Mb Interweb speeds i thino that MS should address this. Not everyone lives in a city, not everyone has access to a fibre install to their home.
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If they lean fully into this the only alternative you may have is to stick to MSFS 2020.
I disagree with this analogy. To run 3d modelling you need to buy the right equipment, and spend (roughly) the same £2,000 as everyone else to do it. However, the availability and cost of fast and reliable connections varies MASSIVELY between locations. To give you an example, I am often in a town in the UK with around 10mb download and sub-1mb upload speed. BT have just quoted me £320,000 for a fibre internet install! (Luckily I qualify for the £2,000 government grant towards a “minimum” internet level or it would have been £322,000 
)
I don’t see any reason why it harms anyone to provide options for users to cache/install as much data as they wish. It may even reduce server load for everyone, whilst making the game accessible to as many people as possible. They did try to do this partly with FS20, but the offline manual map cache has never worked well, and if they are looking to stream even more assets with the new game, this seems like an ideal time to address it.
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Solidworks can be bought for $60 per year, and works in a web browser. You can even run it on a tablet.
https://www.solidworks.com/product/students
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I really hope you don’t mean that. Everyone deserves the chance to play.
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I agree. But if you can’t match the minimum hardware requirements then you can’t play either. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before some games have a minimum internet speed requirement as well.
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I would spend up to 500 GB of space on ssd for local cache if my network don’t support streaming or the waiting is too annoying. If it’s not enough, I would consider a raid 0 of hhd for a few TB.
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You wouldn’t need RAID 0, as even a single disk will offer speeds way about almost anyone’s broadband bandwidth. Better to use RAID 1 at the very least for redundancy.
Sure, but I don’t need such security provided by raid 1 though. I just want some more space if it’s required.
Hope there’s some settings like ‘how many disk space you would like to provide to local cache’
I almost never say things I don’t mean. If I do it’s becasue I’m joking. In this case I’m not joking.
Does everyone deserve to have a Corvette C5 as their daily driver?
You simply can’t expect a program like this to run on any PC, with any internet connection speed.
Some do. Reality differs.
I feel for those folks who really want to enjoy this great game, but don’t have the computer/network capable of running it. The fact is those folks are going to be left out.
Xbox offers an alternative, but even those users are constrained. If their internet connection is circa 1980, and caching huge amounts of data is the only solution, then where will they cache it?
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Let’s just wait and see what is officially said before alienating a proportion of the userbase as well feathering your ‘Full Fibre’ ivory towers. The fact is, we don’t really know what “thin client” means until we get some official info. For all we know, it could be a hybrid of what is offered with FS2020, or toggles to turn on or off data streaming of different items.
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