Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 releases in November. Your thoughts?

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DMD3.

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DMD3.
I haven’t played a simulator since FS9 well over a decade ago. Instead of get the FS2020, I thought I’d wait until 24 drops, which will be November 19th. Since I don’t own a PC, I’ll probably buy an Xbox, as I believe that’s the cheaper option unless you already own a PC capable of running FS2024. I’ll be just a casual gamer playing around 30 minutes or so at a time; I don’t have the attention span that the hardcore simmers have. Just a 2D screen (my TV screen) and a little sidewinder joystick will keep me happy. I don’t need multiple screens or VR. But I do hope to be able to enjoy the graphics in high-resolution without the frame-rate dropping. I’d assume this wouldn’t be an issue with an Xbox (only an issue if you have a PC that’s too slow).

This is not really an advice thread, just a fun discussion about the upcoming game. Though if you do have any advice, it is welcome.
 
What is the peripheral support for Xbox like? I don't like simming without stick, throttle, and pedals, so it's PC only for me.
 
I wish it were available for PS5. Would love to do route recon for VFR while sitting on my couch.

With so much 'work' put into get FS2020 and the innumerable add-ons configured I can't see switching my PC over. Maybe after I get my IFR certificate.
 
Baked Potato said:
What is the peripheral support for Xbox like? I don't like simming without stick, throttle, and pedals, so it's PC only for me.
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They have yoke/rudder/throttle for XBox. I believe Turtle Beach was one of the primary brands. Honeycomb Aeronautical was even better, but they seem to be in a bit of a jamb due to some shady business dealings from a former partner in the company.
 
What will be the minimum hardware requirement be for a PC?
 
Baked Potato said:
What is the peripheral support for Xbox like? I don't like simming without stick, throttle, and pedals, so it's PC only for me.
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Thrustmaster T.flight HOTAS works with XBox MSFS. That's what I use. There are rudder pedals as well but I haven't replaced mine yet (broken) making landing while using the twist-stick rudder control "interesting" in crosswinds.
 
I have MSFS for the xbox with the turtle beach yoke and rudder pedals for the xbox. I ended up building a pc so that I could run DCS but also run MSFS or Xplane with a program called vatsim. Vat sim allows you to talk to people who act as atc. The PC is better geared for flight sims because the xbox tends to be clunky and you can really use a keyboard and mouse as well. I watch a lot of pilot workshop videos and those guys use xplane with vatsim. It allows you to file virtual flight plans while talking to atc which makes good instrument practice
 
MSFS has had better visuals. X-plane has more accurate flight dynamics… at least that’s been the difference historically.

X-plane is more for “pilots” and MSFS has been for “gamers”, although that might be changing.
 
DMD3. said:
I haven’t played a simulator since FS9 well over a decade ago. Instead of get the FS2020, I thought I’d wait until 24 drops, which will be November 19th. Since I don’t own a PC, I’ll probably buy an Xbox, as I believe that’s the cheaper option unless you already own a PC capable of running FS2024. I’ll be just a casual gamer playing around 30 minutes or so at a time; I don’t have the attention span that the hardcore simmers have. Just a 2D screen (my TV screen) and a little sidewinder joystick will keep me happy. I don’t need multiple screens or VR. But I do hope to be able to enjoy the graphics in high-resolution without the frame-rate dropping. I’d assume this wouldn’t be an issue with an Xbox (only an issue if you have a PC that’s too slow).

This is not really an advice thread, just a fun discussion about the upcoming game. Though if you do have any advice, it is welcome.
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If you get an Xbox, make sure you get the Xbox Series X, rather than the rather than the Series S. They released the Series S at the same time as the Series X, as the 'budget' version, but it has literally only 1/3 of the power.
 
I downloaded the new FS2024 Aviator Edition last night. Curious to see some of the changes but the graphics and detail are pretty impressive even on medium settings. Lots of opportunity to make a game that could get kids interested with the challenges like aerial firefighting, sky crane, etc. in addition to the "learn to fly" courses.
 
Does it properly model a Vmc roll if flying a Twin on one engine?
I have MSFS (2020) and a twin will fly on one engine and get slow without ever making a Vmc roll.
 
francisco collazos said:
Good question but generally x-plane has better flight physics and MSFS has better graphics.
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X-plane allows for a lot of customization, and even build your own panel. I have spent a great deal of time fiddling with Xplane's internals, and it is clear that it was designed by an engineer and a pilot.

MSFS is a consumer product. It is easier to get it running, and the visuals are stunning. I use it when I want to fly through canyons in Idaho and Colorado. It can conceivably be used for teaching VFR navigation.

Both are great products.
 
sarangan said:
I use it when I want to fly through canyons in Idaho and Colorado. It can conceivably be used for teaching VFR navigation.
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Yeah, this. I wouldn't use it to build muscle memory for maneuvers or stall recovery, but I do often fly a route in MSFS before doing it for the first time in real life, and the representation of landmarks and the accuracy of the sight picture from the cockpit is quite remarkable.

I'm still a student and get nervous before doing any cross country, and MSFS has helped to give me confidence before a flight. Even things like the roof colors of prominent buildings in small towns, river bends, and quarries look uncannily similar. Of course you should not use MSFS as a planning tool, but I'm just noting that I've been struck by how similar the sight picture of upcoming landmarks looked while in the real cockpit vs how it looked the night before at my desk. There are phenomenon like the shape of a lake in the distance (as compared to its shape on a map), and how the sun reflecting off of it at a specific time of day or in certain weather makes it contrast with the surrounding land, that make this kind of software seem like magic.

Edit - I don't have 2024 yet and don't know if the physics are better in that one
 
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Agreed the graphics are great on MSFS for VFR navigation of visual landmarks to the ground (much more true to life than X-plane).

I used MSFS for practicing the Fisk Arrival to Oshkosh.
 
ChopAndDrop said:
Does it properly model a Vmc roll if flying a Twin on one engine?
I have MSFS (2020) and a twin will fly on one engine and get slow without ever making a Vmc roll.
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It seemed to. I did a very quick test in a G58 Baron. Got up to 4Kft agl and pulled into a power-on stall while pulling starboard engine to idle. It stalled and rolled over to the starboard side onto its back where I had enough altitude to equalize power and pull out of the dive. I'm sure it isn't perfect but it did what I'd assume a Vmc rollover would be. I'm no ME-rated pilot though.
 
What are the improvements over FS 2020? Or is it just a re-release to regen sales?
 
Walking around, a built-in mission system for all different types of aviation work, and a bunch of updates under the hood to improve the flight model and overall functionality. Any purchased aircraft for 2020 will work in 2024. With that said, it seems to have launched in a ****-poor state from most of the reviews I've seen. I'd wait for the first big patch to be released.
 
Sierra_Hotel said:
Walking around, a built-in mission system for all different types of aviation work, and a bunch of updates under the hood to improve the flight model and overall functionality. Any purchased aircraft for 2020 will work in 2024. With that said, it seems to have launched in a ****-poor state from most of the reviews I've seen. I'd wait for the first big patch to be released.
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I think most of the complaints have been with people who tried to download/play in the first few days of the launch. The demand overloaded the servers from what Microsoft stated, so it isn't likely as bad as some of the reports. Typical release of a game that still has glitches and whatnot. I didn't have a single issue downloading/installing, and I was able to run it on medium graphics settings without a single stutter or hiccup. Granted I have only spent an hour or less actually playing it, so I can't attest to some of the grumblings from others. I'm also not running it on multiple 4K monitors at max graphics settings so some of those complaints with visuals may be due to bandwidth issues. Microsoft will no doubt release several patches in the coming months to address the most glaring issues and complaints.

I will say that the Honeycomb Alpha/Bravo flight controls all worked great with no additional setup. Plug-n-play.
 
bflynn said:
What are the improvements over FS 2020? Or is it just a re-release to regen sales?
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The biggest add-on from what I can tell (aside from improved graphics/visuals) is the improvements to the career track. Provides a goal/progression scheme where you start by earning your ratings and then once you have the COM/ME ratings you get paid to run skydiving/sight seeing flights until you start your own LLC. You earn money and hours/credits to buy aircraft, do repairs, etc. until you make your ATP ratings. Lots of challenges and side-quests along the way. Makes it more than just a "fly around with no purpose" game, especially for those who aren't pilots in real life. FS2020 had a career mode, but they added a good amount of additional enhancements to make it a feature.

They made some changes to the flight physics, namely turbulence and wind effects. The weather realism also reportedly got some big enhancements regarding precipitation and convective effects.
 
My take on it is that you're doing it for the graphics and enjoyment, so get whatever has better graphics and is easier to set up.

Microsoft used to have "Microsoft Flight" which was free, and used an ICON A5 as its base airplane. I lost it in the last computer upgrade, and I don't think it is available anymore. These days I'm flying X-Plane 9 and 10 on my Ipad 4 which is rapidly approaching total obsolescence. 10 had nicer graphics and slightly more realistic flight dynamics, but 9 gave you more options for planes and locations and retained the Space Needle in Seattle, which 10 sadly did not even though the buildings around it were semi accurate. Both have come a long way since the first MSFS I played with on a friend's computer in 1986.

Back when I was still maintaining instrument currency but not flying enough to rack up solo approaches in IMC, I would do approaches on a CFII's X-Plane setup with full controls in his living room. The flight dynamics were still not very realistic so he started and terminated approaches in the air to save on time. I thought it was cool, but not cool enough to want my own setup.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I think most of the complaints have been with people who tried to download/play in the first few days of the launch. The demand overloaded the servers from what Microsoft stated, so it isn't likely as bad as some of the reports. Typical release of a game that still has glitches and whatnot. I didn't have a single issue downloading/installing, and I was able to run it on medium graphics settings without a single stutter or hiccup. Granted I have only spent an hour or less actually playing it, so I can't attest to some of the grumblings from others. I'm also not running it on multiple 4K monitors at max graphics settings so some of those complaints with visuals may be due to bandwidth issues. Microsoft will no doubt release several patches in the coming months to address the most glaring issues and complaints.

I will say that the Honeycomb Alpha/Bravo flight controls all worked great with no additional setup. Plug-n-play.
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Glad to hear it. I'm currently playing in the desert for the rest of the year and most of next, so I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet. Really irritated since I have a tote of Honeycomb controls sitting in my apartment back home. May order a cheap setup to have something to play with over here to bide my time.
 
Sierra_Hotel said:
Glad to hear it. I'm currently playing in the desert for the rest of the year and most of next, so I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet. Really irritated since I have a tote of Honeycomb controls sitting in my apartment back home. May order a cheap setup to have something to play with over here to bide my time.
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I've had the Alpha since they were first released. However, the Bravo I bought and only removed from the original packaging once to check operation, lol. It's been sitting in the original packaging for over a year before I decided to impulse-buy FS2024 this past weekend. They are definitely quality units. I need to get a set of rudder pedals at some point, but for now I just fly with the rudder on "auto coordinate". Not sure I'd go with the Charlie pedals from Honeycomb even though they'd probably be fine. The MFG Crosswind pedals are what I'll probably go with, but it's almost at the point of needing a full sim stand/racing stand to hold all of the components to keep from having to convert the desk each time, lol.
 
SoonerAviator said:
The MFG Crosswind pedals are what I'll probably go with, but it's almost at the point of needing a full sim stand/racing stand to hold all of the components to keep from having to convert the desk each time, lol.
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I have mine set up so that it's easily convertible between sim mode and home office mode. The pedals can sit on the floor permanently, that's no issue. The stick is on a detachable desk mount that I can put on in like two seconds, and the throttle is mounted permanently to the chair (shown here under a dust cover) and I just need to connect the USB cable to the front of the PC when I want to use it.
 

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SoonerAviator said:
I've had the Alpha since they were first released. However, the Bravo I bought and only removed from the original packaging once to check operation, lol. It's been sitting in the original packaging for over a year before I decided to impulse-buy FS2024 this past weekend. They are definitely quality units. I need to get a set of rudder pedals at some point, but for now I just fly with the rudder on "auto coordinate". Not sure I'd go with the Charlie pedals from Honeycomb even though they'd probably be fine. The MFG Crosswind pedals are what I'll probably go with, but it's almost at the point of needing a full sim stand/racing stand to hold all of the components to keep from having to convert the desk each time, lol.
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I wasn't super impressed with the Charlie pedals like I was the Alpha and Bravo, just something about the look I don't care for. I elected instead to continue setting my debit card on fire and got the Thrustmaster TPRs :lol: Not sure they're worth the money over something like an MFG or Virpil but I don't regret getting them.
 
Sierra_Hotel said:
I wasn't super impressed with the Charlie pedals like I was the Alpha and Bravo, just something about the look I don't care for. I elected instead to continue setting my debit card on fire and got the Thrustmaster TPRs :lol: Not sure they're worth the money over something like an MFG or Virpil but I don't regret getting them.
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The TPRs are a quality unit for sure. I don't think you'll be disappointed at all when you get back state-side.
 
Baked Potato said:
I have mine set up so that it's easily convertible between sim mode and home office mode. The pedals can sit on the floor permanently, that's no issue. The stick is on a detachable desk mount that I can put on in like two seconds, and the throttle is mounted permanently to the chair (shown here under a dust cover) and I just need to connect the USB cable to the front of the PC when I want to use it.
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My setup is at an L-shaped executive desk which has a lap drawer and side cabinets preventing any quick-clamping opportunities. If I can find a cheap-ish flight stand to mount the Yoke and Throttle quadrant, it would make it easy to roll into place and connect a few USB cords to be off-and-running. I could then store it in the corner out of the way when the wife is doing her work.
 
SoonerAviator said:
The TPRs are a quality unit for sure. I don't think you'll be disappointed at all when you get back state-side.
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Oh I used the hell out of them before I left. Lol. Most of my gear was Covid-era spending. Just been in storage the last couple of years as I've bounced back and forth overseas. Looking to take a break after this trip.
 
Reading through this thread, I'm surprised no company has offered a complete unitized home simulator with a seat and space frame constructed cockpit, controls and screens, and upgradeable CPU. It wouldn't be cheap but give what folks are spending on these setups, getting the ergos right would be a huge value adder.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Reading through this thread, I'm surprised no company has offered a complete unitized home simulator with a seat and space frame constructed cockpit, controls and screens, and upgradeable CPU. It wouldn't be cheap but give what folks are spending on these setups, getting the ergos right would be a huge value adder.
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I'm sure they're out there. I think most of the flight simmers just add/upgrade as they go along, especially given a typical budget. Very similar to hobbies like Home Theater or HiFi when most people just start with some mid-grade components and upgrade over time. However, some rich guys pick up the hobby and drop $20K on a pair of speakers right off the bat.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Reading through this thread, I'm surprised no company has offered a complete unitized home simulator with a seat and space frame constructed cockpit, controls and screens, and upgradeable CPU. It wouldn't be cheap but give what folks are spending on these setups, getting the ergos right would be a huge value adder.
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That's actually kind of what I was working on for a while, I was looking at the low end of the A/BATD market where there seems to be a big gap between casual simmer and flight school. I wanted to pursue the round dial/G5/GNS430 level that seems to be largely ignored by the larger companies going straight to the G1000 sims. Problem I ran into is just the costs of everything now. I may look back into it again once I have work space again after this trip, but I think my rough figures at that time came up to well over $5000 just in parts.
 
DMD3. said:
I haven’t played a simulator since FS9 well over a decade ago. Instead of get the FS2020, I thought I’d wait until 24 drops, which will be November 19th. Since I don’t own a PC, I’ll probably buy an Xbox, as I believe that’s the cheaper option unless you already own a PC capable of running FS2024. I’ll be just a casual gamer playing around 30 minutes or so at a time; I don’t have the attention span that the hardcore simmers have. Just a 2D screen (my TV screen) and a little sidewinder joystick will keep me happy. I don’t need multiple screens or VR. But I do hope to be able to enjoy the graphics in high-resolution without the frame-rate dropping. I’d assume this wouldn’t be an issue with an Xbox (only an issue if you have a PC that’s too slow).

This is not really an advice thread, just a fun discussion about the upcoming game. Though if you do have any advice, it is welcome.
Click to expand...
MSFS 2024 is really nice. The career mode is actually kind of fun, and the graphics are awesome. Unfortunately, it's new software, so there are a ton of bugs. Currently, it's online only and a network hog. I'm digging it, hoping they patch it up to at least MSFS 2020 levels. Besides just flying around and having some fun, I use it for IR practice. In some ways, it's better than flying in a real plane.
 
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SoonerAviator said:
I'm sure they're out there. I think most of the flight simmers just add/upgrade as they go along, especially given a typical budget. Very similar to hobbies like Home Theater or HiFi when most people just start with some mid-grade components and upgrade over time. However, some rich guys pick up the hobby and drop $20K on a pair of speakers right off the bat.
Click to expand...
Sierra_Hotel said:
That's actually kind of what I was working on for a while, I was looking at the low end of the A/BATD market where there seems to be a big gap between casual simmer and flight school. I wanted to pursue the round dial/G5/GNS430 level that seems to be largely ignored by the larger companies going straight to the G1000 sims. Problem I ran into is just the costs of everything now. I may look back into it again once I have work space again after this trip, but I think my rough figures at that time came up to well over $5000 just in parts.
Click to expand...
Expanding on that, it seems like one could procure a junked aircraft cockpit, stripped of everything forward of the firewall and rear of the first bulkhead, and it would probably be light enough to handle with a couple people and a trailer. Mount screens in place of the windows, keep the seats but replace the controls, and you could have a pretty slick setup.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Expanding on that, it seems like one could procure a junked aircraft cockpit, stripped of everything forward of the firewall and rear of the first bulkhead, and it would probably be light enough to handle with a couple people and a trailer. Mount screens in place of the windows, keep the seats but replace the controls, and you could have a pretty slick setup.
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Probably easier just to have a panel laser-cut for your components rather than trying to customize an old glareshield. The other part is that you can configure it to look like one particular kind of aircraft, but it becomes kind of funny having a customized panel for a G1000 182 in your house while flying an A380.
 
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