Microsoft Flight Simulator [PC/Xbox]

[fear]

I was stuck at 97% twice and I just gave up now. I'd rather wait for them to fix the servers rather than making the issues worse by overcrowding the servers. I reckon it's going to be worse come the weekend.
Needless to say this is a big fail by Microsoft. Imagine paying £220 and not be able to even go into the main menu. Imagine paying £220 for a new washing machine that doesn't work. Consumer rights have gone down the drain regarding videogaming and the industry needs some strict regulations. Consumers should be compensated for each hour the game isn't widely operational.

 

[Tom]

What a load of wank. Haven't been able to get into the menu let alone a flight even once. I give up for today.

 

[el niche]

came home, downloaded and got stuck in a queue. left it there, made dinner and I'd say around an hr and a half later came to check and it had downloaded. This is all from an xbox series X perspective:

- I don't know anything about servers, but wouldn't it be better to do a time-zone rollout?
- 11gb? I think that is the size taking up in my xbox. That is a far cry from the 100GB+ form 2020
- Much better loading times.
- XSX, some stuttering, kind of when pausing and changing menus it lags a bit. Could be servers are still getting hammered
- Improved lighting, sky looks nicer than FS2020
- Annoying bug, loaded up Airbus 321 and 330, they both loaded with screens turned off (this bug had been fixed in 2020). When I reloaded the flight they were OK.
- Map photo telegraphy (or whatever it is called) is still old , I think it is the same as 2020. However terrain looks better, trees for example
- Far away in the distance , the buildings in cities can still look like pyramids (I will install tomorrow on PC to see if it is just on xbox)
- Why oh why did Microsoft change the layout of the controller. now I can't find or do shit.
- No marketplace yet, I thought there would be more liveries but still 737 only had one, and A320 had the same default from msfs2020
- DId do a quick trip around Miami in a Cessna to check the terrain, still played nice.

I hope they can figure and fix servers soon, I decided to turn off and not even do more flights as I was ticked off about spending time re-binding my controller. I had already uninstalled MSFS2020 so tomorrow I'll give it another go. For now I would take the lower install size, better looking sky and improved ground physics. Id be happy with that to start off vs MSFS2020.

 

[bsmaff]

Never got to play it last night and will try again today.

It seems that companies just never learn from Online only games and launches.

Sim City for EA was the first online only game I remember and couldn't play that for about 2 days after launch.
Helldivers 2 was unplayable back in March/April was it was the biggest game on the planet.

You would of thought by now companies would know how to do an online only launch and game.
Microsoft have data for FS2020 and probably know the average traffic for the service to fully function - But they clearly didn't realise that on launch there is going to be 10x the traffic wanting to play the game.

 

[fear]

I have the day off today. Managed to get quickly into the menu without issues. First flight it was me and the co-pilot floating in the sky without the Cessna with world textures from 1989. Quit. Since then no flights can be created (for almost everyone), the servers are completely nuked.
That said, can't wait for the second disappointment in a row with Stalker 2.

 

[el niche]

Logged in before going to work just to check out how loading was. Was able to get in the game without major problems (I had left it in quick resume and it crashed, but then was able to log in pretty fast no queue).

This was a better experience than yesterday as for some reason now tool tips are showing up (yesterday it didn't show me how to get the cursor back on the controller) which made things much easier. Some of the lagging is improved but not 100% there.

Loaded up an A330 to do a Tampa - Miami flight which I know by heart. Everything went smoothly, sometimes when switching cameras the textures take half a second to load, could be the first time you change cameras while it caches the view, so not a big deal. I remember them saying the airplanes are also streamed, but I wonder if you can download the planes you use the most so this reloading doesn't happen

No problems for the first half of flight, so went to shower and when I got back and my flight had completely frozen. No buttons worked. Had to hard close the program....

I'll keep trying tonight maybe with Gamepass PC, but if I just want to make a flight I'm heading back to X-plane which I'm greatly enjoying. Hope MS can fix whatever they need to soon

 

[fear]

Logged in before going to work just to check out how loading was. Was able to get in the game without major problems (I had left it in quick resume and it crashed, but then was able to log in pretty fast no queue).

This was a better experience than yesterday as for some reason now tool tips are showing up (yesterday it didn't show me how to get the cursor back on the controller) which made things much easier. Some of the lagging is improved but not 100% there.

Loaded up an A330 to do a Tampa - Miami flight which I know by heart. Everything went smoothly, sometimes when switching cameras the textures take half a second to load, could be the first time you change cameras while it caches the view, so not a big deal. I remember them saying the airplanes are also streamed, but I wonder if you can download the planes you use the most so this reloading doesn't happen

No problems for the first half of flight, so went to shower and when I got back and my flight had completely frozen. No buttons worked. Had to hard close the program....

I'll keep trying tonight maybe with Gamepass PC, but if I just want to make a flight I'm heading back to X-plane which I'm greatly enjoying. Hope MS can fix whatever they need to soon

At least you can get into a flight. This thing just crashed my whole PC while loading and my PC has never crashed before while running even more demanding games and apps.
I see people defending MS and Asobo and I can't understand how on earth someone can tolerate this. It's totally against the consumer rights, the product must be effective and operational.

 

[nikolapfc89]

I am suspicious of how streaming will work. It doesn’t look good at startup, and also I am not optimistic about this at all.

Could be great, but most importantly, we have more to lose. I mean, what if we can’t play a game at all?

Imagine flying a long-distance flight and near the end, yoy get a low bandwidth connection message with bad textures or the plane going turned off. I would smash my XBOX.

 

[bsmaff]

Well least some people had it loaded - I got to 97% and was there for 20 mins and gave up.
One day I might get to try it.

 

[bsmaff]

Finally got in this morning and took off from Gibraltar to have a look and then do a free flight round New York which didn't load.

Graphically couldn't tell a single bit of difference between them, which is why I wanted to try New York.
The game seemed to run at a higher frame rate though but can't test this as the game just won't even load.

Obviously due to issues with the servers the game just takes so long to load - Maybe it is better to just have 150GB on the SSD rather than this.

 

[ryudek]

Finally got in this morning and took off from Gibraltar to have a look and then do a free flight round New York which didn't load.

Graphically couldn't tell a single bit of difference between them, which is why I wanted to try New York.
The game seemed to run at a higher frame rate though but can't test this as the game just won't even load.

I just saw a video where 2020 and 2024 were compared and the difference in graphics can be noticed, but mainly when you use the new function that lets you step out of the plane (which is funny since 95% of the time you'll be in the air)

 

[bsmaff]

I just saw a video where 2020 and 2024 were compared and the difference in graphics can be noticed, but mainly when you use the new function that lets you step out of the plane (which is funny since 95% of the time you'll be in the air)

Looks a bit of a difference when on the ground and the trees don't look anywhere near as generic as they do in FS2020.
I only had a look from a point of taking off from Gibraltar as nothing else after would even load.

 

[el niche]

Looks a bit of a difference when on the ground and the trees don't look anywhere near as generic as they do in FS2020.
I only had a look from a point of taking off from Gibraltar as nothing else after would even load.

Terrain to me looks the same as in MSFS2020. Same as plane models. Where I do see a difference is in lighting, I think they improved the sky/clouds and some of the shadows inside the cockpit aren't as "wiggly" This is on XSX, so maybe PC users never had the wiggly shadows. I do have to say that when it works it looks great, but I already thought 2020 looked fantastic

Had a full flight yesterday with no problems, but I do feel it's very studdery , doesn't feel smooth moving thru menus and around the cockpit.

I did check my addons and see everything is set to stream, even the airplanes. I really hope they enable the marketplace in order to download what you need in hopes it improves the laggyness which appears sometimes. I would think they would enable this before release, I'm thinking this would alleviate the servers if less people are streaming items.

 

[PRO_TOO]

Launch day I wasn’t able to login. Yesterday evening I had my first flight.
I don’t mind too much it’s not working day one. 🤷‍♂️
They had server problems… I have mine. 😂

life goes on… it’s just a game.

 

[bsmaff]

Comparison - Not Side by Side:

Gibralter:




New York:

 

[el niche]

Comparison - Not Side by Side:

Gibralter:




New York:

That NYC video of 2024 is rough as f.

Streaming and graphics aside, I don know if its possible to compare as one is being streamed, but do you notice difference in fps? cpu utilization?

 

[Bing Bing Wahoo]

- 11gb? I think that is the size taking up in my xbox. That is a far cry from the 100GB+ form 2020

The new game doesn't come with offline terrain data anymore, everything has to be downloaded from their servers now when you start a flight.

 

[bsmaff]

That NYC video of 2024 is rough as f.

Streaming and graphics aside, I don know if its possible to compare as one is being streamed, but do you notice difference in fps? cpu utilization?

Will check FPS tomorrow but FS 2024 seems to run smoother than 2020.
But graphics are very similar but 2020 does seem better graphically.

I get the feeling it is streamed to help the consoles with large installs and smoother gameplay.

Was hoping the game would push the boundaries further as FS 2020 was one the very few games which absolutely blew me away graphically first time I played it.

 

[fear]

Will check FPS tomorrow but FS 2024 seems to run smoother than 2020.
But graphics are very similar but 2020 does seem better graphically.

I get the feeling it is streamed to help the consoles with large installs and smoother gameplay.

Was hoping the game would push the boundaries further as FS 2020 was one the very few games which absolutely blew me away graphically first time I played it.

The graphics are just phenomenal and I'm not even playing on the highest settings. 3060Ti, 1080p, medium textures, TAA, 100 lod, everything else on high, this thing blows out of the water the ultra settings I was running the 2020. Idk if I should try high textures but maybe it's going to be much for this GPU. Maybe with DLSS but this DLSS is not well implemented in the game.

 

[el niche]

The new game doesn't come with offline terrain data anymore, everything has to be downloaded from their servers now when you start a flight.

Yeah I know. But actually checked and I think its taking up 28 (I think it installed 11gb + 17gb of cache.) Im saying they cut a good part of the fat. but way too much. I really hope they can enable the marketplace so I can at least download and not stream the planes I fly. ALl the trainings and challenges can stay on the cloud for me.

The graphics are just phenomenal and I'm not even playing on the highest settings. 3060Ti, 1080p, medium textures, TAA, 100 lod, everything else on high, this thing blows out of the water the ultra settings I was running the 2020. Idk if I should try high textures but maybe it's going to be much for this GPU. Maybe with DLSS but this DLSS is not well implemented in the game.

Good to know. I might install this weekend on PC as I think some mods like FBW380 are working. I agree when the game works it looks fantastic. Is your install footprint on PC the same? roughly 30GB?

EDIT: tonight was not the night. Tried multiple times to get a flight going on... changing livery-> CTD; pause the game ->CTD.
Will gry again tomorrow. I dont want to waste my afternoon waiting for this to work on XSX.

 

[fear]

Yeah I know. But actually checked and I think its taking up 28 (I think it installed 11gb + 17gb of cache.) Im saying they cut a good part of the fat. but way too much. I really hope they can enable the marketplace so I can at least download and not stream the planes I fly. ALl the trainings and challenges can stay on the cloud for me.


Good to know. I might install this weekend on PC as I think some mods like FBW380 are working. I agree when the game works it looks fantastic. Is your install footprint on PC the same? roughly 30GB?

EDIT: tonight was not the night. Tried multiple times to get a flight going on... changing livery-> CTD; pause the game ->CTD.
Will gry again tomorrow. I dont want to waste my afternoon waiting for this to work on XSX.

It's just 11.5gb. Everything is streamed so putting precaching on ultra helps with a good Internet connection.

 

[Tom]

Flying in a hot air balloon in VR over the Atlantic while there's a thunderstorm going on and you're slowly descending towards the roaring ocean waves unlocked a new mortal fear. 10/10, would shit myself again.

 

[el niche]

Well, I was waiting this game with great expectation, but after a few weeks I can say it just needs a few updates to make it playable.
I haven't touched career so I can't speak about that gameplay (it worked fine in the beta but I see a lot of complains of bugs in the release).
The game is just very clunky, I'm almost sure because of the streaming, it studders, terrain sometimes doesn't load, liveries sometimes cause a CTD, some planes just act weird (looking at you MAX8)

When the game works its fantastic, the lighting is on another level. I'm not a pilot so I cant talk about the flight model, but for now I just went back to 2020 with the 3rd party airplanes which work perfectly (even the default 787 works better in 2020)

I don't even want to talk about performance in XSX. 80% chance of a CTD at any given moment.

I hope they can figure it up in the coming updates. The game looks great, plays like ass. MSFS2020 and XP12 will hold me for now

 

[fear]

Well, I was waiting this game with great expectation, but after a few weeks I can say it just needs a few updates to make it playable.
I haven't touched career so I can't speak about that gameplay (it worked fine in the beta but I see a lot of complains of bugs in the release).
The game is just very clunky, I'm almost sure because of the streaming, it studders, terrain sometimes doesn't load, liveries sometimes cause a CTD, some planes just act weird (looking at you MAX8)

When the game works its fantastic, the lighting is on another level. I'm not a pilot so I cant talk about the flight model, but for now I just went back to 2020 with the 3rd party airplanes which work perfectly (even the default 787 works better in 2020)

I don't even want to talk about performance in XSX. 80% chance of a CTD at any given moment.

I hope they can figure it up in the coming updates. The game looks great, plays like ass. MSFS2020 and XP12 will hold me for now

Strange because for me it's more stable and smooth. Running everything on high and some settings even on ultra (clouds), 100 LOD and I only have a 3060TI. I must say it looks at least 40% better than 2020. I guess it has to do with the Internet speed and servers because now the game streams almost everything? It seems my PC doesn't struggle at all with this version compared to the 2020 one.

 

[bsmaff]

I have only tried for about an hour or so and personally don't think it is worth the purchase for anyone with FS2020.
Graphically it seems identical - I really can't see much of a difference (Maybe because I have a 4090 and everything was on Ultra anyway)

The gameplay is definitely smoother though with a higher framerate but not the WOW I was hoping for when I first played FS2020 - 2024 was more of a meh.
The textures load now for me all the time but I just feel a modded 2020 is better.

The best way to describe it - Feels like Cities Skyline 2, you bought a new game expecting it to be much better but it wasn't it felt like you were playing the exact same game as before but with loads of content ripped out.

 

[el niche]

Strange because for me it's more stable and smooth. Running everything on high and some settings even on ultra (clouds), 100 LOD and I only have a 3060TI. I must say it looks at least 40% better than 2020. I guess it has to do with the Internet speed and servers because now the game streams almost everything? It seems my PC doesn't struggle at all with this version compared to the 2020 one.

Yeah I dont know what it is. wild differences in experiences. One friend doesnt have major problems, another one already uninstalled due to being unplayable. Like I said when it works its great, the lighting and clouds look fantastic. Graphically Im somewhere in between you and bsmaff: not 40% better, but not identical. Id say a 20% improvement.

I don't know if its my internet or their servers, however I do not think I have slow internet and never had problems streaming games (xcloud/geforce/stadia)
I do think they will end up fixing it and crossing fingers I can download some of the content so its not all streamed (one of my better flights was with a downloaded plane; the PMDG 737, until landing a its not optimized for 2024).

I also think most of my problems seem to be bc of airliners. GA aircraft seem to do a bit better. And I was really trying to do 737max flights and that one in particular seems its a bit bugged at the moment. anyway I am expecting an update this week, crossing fingers

 

[fear]

Clouds, grass, trees and overall textures are surely better. It depends on the area you're flying. If there's photogrammetry there's still this WOW factor for me. Ofc if someone has terrabytes of high quality photogrammetry downloaded in the 2020 version there's no big incentive to make the switch yet.

 

[PRO_TOO]

Clouds, grass, trees and overall textures are surely better. It depends on the area you're flying. If there's photogrammetry there's still this WOW factor for me. Ofc if someone has terrabytes of high quality photogrammetry downloaded in the 2020 version there's no big incentive to make the switch yet.

Don’t forget the lighting.
I just love that game. 🥳

 

[bsmaff]

2024 probably does look better.
I just found it disappointing - FS 2020 was absolutely out of this world when it first came out.
I remember it pretty much bringing my system to it's knees and I was hoping FS2024 would do the same with a complete new level of textures and detail and only given my 4090 30FPS in MED/HIGH 4K and then needing another generation or two to experience it in all it's glory.

I guess I was hoping too much, but understand why they done it as they had to make it work on consoles too.