Xbox can't cope with MSFS 2020

User Support Hub Install, Performance & Graphics
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UPDATE: In doing web research I have come across something called “Scenery Pop-In”. Is this what I am experiencing? Most of the “fixes” for this problem aren’t available on the Xbox.

I am running MSFS 2020 on an Xbox Series X with latest updates and am experiencing serious screen anomalies. See the video for example.

I first noticed this while flying down the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon where I live. When I got a little off center from the Gorge, landscape from the bluffs on the edge of the gorge would appear as screen glitches. Then when I landed at Hood River and was taxiing back to the ramp, the trees alongside the runway showed up as glitches.

I have tested 12 other games on the Xbox and none of them do this. Everything I do on my Samsung QN65S90 tv other than MSFS runs fine.

I have researched this at length on YouTube, Google AI, and Copilot AI. Google gave me a one page list of things to try. Copilot gave me a 4 page list of things to try! I have checked them all out and none of them were incorrect or made a difference.

I am convinced that this is not a matter of TV settings or Xbox settings. Out of many games I’ve tried MSFS is the only one with a problem. It has existed with everything at their default installation values on Xbox and MSFS. Also it is not a random problem, it is consistent and can be recreated. Many of the suggested settings are irrelevant to Xbox version of MSFS 2020 because there is only one setting for Graphics – HDR10. It was off in the demo video just to eliminate it.

Everything that would consume CPU/GPU cycles in the game have been turned off, like POI’s ATC, automatic weather, etc. I have gone to great lengths to insure all of the “extra curricular” options are off. I want a very minimalistic simulator for SEL scenery and aerobatics flying.

In the video I purposely taxied near trees because that makes the issue always happen so that I could record it. But the problem occurs while flying near obstacles and happens on both sides of the screen. I once had a screen shot of it covering 1/3rd of the screen with a dark green opaque triangle in the upper right corner but accidently deleted that image (it was while forcing the trees thing again).

I am willing to try anything to solve this issue as it is very distracting while using MSFS. I have flown MSFS 2020 on my PC for years and have never had this problem.

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After extensive research and time on this issue I’ve come to the conclusion that the Xbox Series X does not have the horsepower and torque to cope with MSFS 2020. So I’m giving up on pursuing a solution as it’s the “nature of the beast” and I just have to live with it. Dozens of adjustments as recommend by AI searches and forum searches have not made a difference. Here is a video that accurately demonstrates the problem. This video was created with every option that would affect graphics turned off, or minimized if it can’t be turned off (CPU/GPU load). Also, Xbox is set for 60 FPS. The game is configured as a simple arcade game. Other graphics intensive games such as Forza racing run fine at 120 FPS and 4K. They have figured out how to make it work.

– AI’s opinion –
Which agrees with mine if you read all of it!

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This issue has caused me to wonder if I should go back to what I initially tried on Xbox – 2024, or stay with 2020. This AI query has made me decide to stick with 2020.

https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares/CCmMogSpowkotFHTkzoNE

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I’ve played 2024 since release day on Xbox X and never experienced what your video depicts. However I haven’t specifically tried it near any trees. Perhaps I’ll give that a shot and see what happens.

It does appear to me that your camera position is zoomed out some from the default and you’re getting a bit of the fish eye lens effect. Perhaps this is causing the Xbox some confusion as to what to show. It seems as if your camera position is passing behind some trees as you pan about and it’s attempting to display those trees between you and the aircraft. Have you adjusted you default zoom level in the external view under the Camera settings?

Another thing that may help with scenery pop-in is increasing the size of your rolling cache. Have you tried that? The default is 16 GB. Try at least 32 GB and see if it helps.

I don’t think the tree issue has anything to do with your download speed, but scenery pop-in during flight might. What speed is your internet connection?