New Microsoft Flight Simulator

[Steven Pendleton]

So I apparently forgot to give my thoughts on the DF video. This game looks like a computer melter, which is awesome. I only have a GTX 1080 and a 7700K, so we'll see, and it does depend on how well optimized the game is. For me, Battlefield V runs at like 25~40 FPS at the lowest settings while Death Stranding runs at 60 at maximum settings, so...

Edited August 1, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[Bill Loguidice]

I'm definitely down for this. Even though I tend not to play them much or even actually like them when I get them, I always have a fascination with realistic simulators like this. Of course, I'd love a more "arcade" mode where I can tool around in the lovingly modeled real world environments without needing a pilot's license. Hopefully they'll have some modes like that, especially ones with simple objectives. I guess there's always the potential for DLC that fills in those gaps as well.

 

[Steven Pendleton]

33 minutes ago, Bill Loguidice said:

I'm definitely down for this. Even though I tend not to play them much or even actually like them when I get them, I always have a fascination with realistic simulators like this. Of course, I'd love a more "arcade" mode where I can tool around in the lovingly modeled real world environments without needing a pilot's license. Hopefully they'll have some modes like that, especially ones with simple objectives. I guess there's always the potential for DLC that fills in those gaps as well.

 

According to the DF video, there is something like a simplified flight mode option or something like that. I'd have to watch it again to know exactly what it says, but it's in there somewhere.

[0078265317]

Is there a PC version also?

[Bill Loguidice]

2 hours ago, 0078265317 said:

Is there a PC version also?

It's only Windows 10 to start.

[Keatah]

Windows10 is PC ?!?

[Bill Loguidice]

I just set it to preinstall on my main gaming PC with Xbox Game Pass. It's only the standard edition, but should be interesting to see. Of course they restrict some of the cooler airports to the $120 edition, but so be it for now.

 

My main gaming PC "only" has a 2560x1080 resolution so I definitely look forward to trying on the Xbox One X or Xbox Series X once available to see it on a big 4K TV screen. I do have another good gaming computer with a 4K monitor, but I'm skeptical it could run the game quite as smoothly at that resolution.

[Bill Loguidice]

The more I watch the videos and the more I read about the tech that goes into this, the more I feel like this is one of those classic "wow" moments in technical gaming history, which is so rare these days because so many games over the past decade or more have already showcased impressive visuals and scope that it's become rather routine. I feel like this is next generation stuff with how it handles the petabytes of data and just the real-time processing that's going on that takes advantage of some of the best technology that's out there. And the fact that this will get better over time and is actually arguably one of the reasons why someone might want to upgrade to a better machine and/or display(s) is all the more reason to like it. Hopefully the play is there too.

[Keatah]

We thought the same with A2-FS1 back in the day. It kept getting better and better with each version.

 

Flight Simulator is one of the franchises I followed since the 16K cassette version.

Edited August 3, 2020 by Keatah

[godslabrat]

On 8/1/2020 at 4:16 PM, Bill Loguidice said:

I just set it to preinstall on my main gaming PC with Xbox Game Pass. It's only the standard edition, but should be interesting to see. Of course they restrict some of the cooler airports to the $120 edition, but so be it for now.

 

My main gaming PC "only" has a 2560x1080 resolution so I definitely look forward to trying on the Xbox One X or Xbox Series X once available to see it on a big 4K TV screen. I do have another good gaming computer with a 4K monitor, but I'm skeptical it could run the game quite as smoothly at that resolution.

That's another solid reason to get this game now... knowing I could start playing it on my XB1S and eventually play the same purchase on a XSX I might buy down the road.  

[HammR25]

I'm mostly looking forward to this game because of all the new Airforceproud95 Youtube content it will allow.

[Agamon]

On 8/1/2020 at 4:50 AM, digdugnate said:

looking forward to the XBox release as well.  My toaster computer would burst into flames and throw itself out a window if I tried to run it on that. 

Right? The middle-of-the-road PC I built last year is a bit better than recommended, but not much.  Optimal settings is for enthusiasts that like to throw around $5k every couple years to play 300 fps at 8k for some reason.

[HammR25]

I played with it some tonight since I have Game Pass.  It's definitely a simulator with great graphics.  I think it's probably exactly what enthusiasts want.  I was hoping there would be a way to make the flight model easier but the only "easier" is it tries to give you more advice or something.  I was still able to break my airframe and die on easy mode.  It's learnable but I'd recommend a joystick.

 

The game lets you set a departure point from pretty much anywhere on the map even if there isn't an airport there or at least the game doesn't recognize one.  However if you attempt to depart from 37N, 115W it won't let you drop a departure point there. Being around Area 51 might have something to do with that.  Makes me wonder what other places around the world it won't let a person take off from.

[Steven Pendleton]

So my friend just sent me a screenshot of my house in FS 2020... and it's just an empty lot. What the hell. I want a refund and I didn't even buy the game yet!

 

Anyway, I don't have the game yet, but it seems everyone is having fun with it so far. I might buy it next week, but I do have plenty of other games to play right now and I really don't need to add another one at the moment.

Edited August 20, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[Keatah]

On 7/13/2020 at 9:47 PM, Steven Pendleton said:

Is anyone planning on getting this? It looks really good so far, but we'll see. I'm kind of worried that it will turn into DLC Simulator, though. The 150GB of storage space is also a concern since my SSD is 260 GB and almost full, so I'd have to put the game on my HDD or delete almost everything on my SSD/move everything to my HDD just to fit this one game.

 

Still, I love Flight Simulator, so I will probably end up getting this anyway.

 

Hynix is coming out with a 1TB SSD for $135 this summer. NVMe. Or even cheaper if regular SATA III 2.5 style. And 512MB variants for $65. So absolutely no excuse not to upgrade! As a matter of fact, roll that cost into the game.

 

I think this a great value considering especially it's using older, more reliable, tech from the 1970's EEPROM's - called Charge Trap Flash. It's a fancy way of saying the individual memory cells are bigger and have a geometry shaped like the first EEPROMS. And that means better data retention and less internal error checking and correction.

 

All you need to know is Samsung, Hynix, and Intel are finally making drives worthy of the consumer and all the abuse said consumer dishes out.

[Razzie.P]

I figure I'll give it a shot today, since I have GamePass and it's on there.   So far, though, we're getting off to a bad start.   It said it's installed and ready, so I started it up and now I have to listen to some lame-ass hold music loop while its "content manager" downloads 91.36GB worth of something. 

 

I don't mind the install space and time so much, if it would just download that mess in the background.  But since I can't shut that music loop down and do other things on my PC, it puts a pretty hefty restriction on my using my PC for other things (anything with sound) while it chugs along.

 

What I'm trying to say is -- I wanna watch me some Squidbillies while it does its thang and I can't, so waaah!!!

[Keatah]

Doesn't Win10 let you set volume per-app?

 

[Razzie.P]

9 hours ago, Keatah said:

Doesn't Win10 let you set volume per-app?

 

 

In theory, yes.  I've not used it before, to the best of my recollection, but when I tried it during the content download, it didn't work properly and I didn't bother troubleshooting.  Just walked away and let it do its thing.

[Steven Pendleton]

On 8/23/2020 at 2:35 AM, Keatah said:

 

Hynix is coming out with a 1TB SSD for $135 this summer. NVMe. Or even cheaper if regular SATA III 2.5 style. And 512MB variants for $65. So absolutely no excuse not to upgrade! As a matter of fact, roll that cost into the game.

 

I think this a great value considering especially it's using older, more reliable, tech from the 1970's EEPROM's - called Charge Trap Flash. It's a fancy way of saying the individual memory cells are bigger and have a geometry shaped like the first EEPROMS. And that means better data retention and less internal error checking and correction.

 

All you need to know is Samsung, Hynix, and Intel are finally making drives worthy of the consumer and all the abuse said consumer dishes out.

I've been considering a complete rebuild for some time, so I might get a larger SSD. I'd honestly much rather use about half of the cash of a complete rebuild to get 1941 Counter Attack on the SuperGrafx or a PC Engine LT, though...

 

Still, I'll definitely look into it!

[Agamon]

Finally got some time with this. Did the Cessna tutorial (the landing one a few times, lol) and then went to open world where I could fly anywhere...and proceeded to start at the airport I can pretty much spit on from my place (Edmonton International) for a short commute flight to Calgary.  Very interesting mix of relaxing and stressful.

[Keatah]

Most any pilot will tell you that flying is long hours of boredom punctuated by moments of terror (or excitement).

[jhd]

On 8/24/2020 at 9:49 AM, Agamon said:

proceeded to start at the airport I can pretty much spit on from my place (Edmonton International) for a short commute flight to Calgary.  

 

Is the Edmonton Municipal Airport/Blatchford Field still included? 

Edited August 26, 2020 by jhd

[ChildOfCv]

5 hours ago, jhd said:

Is the Edmonton Municipal Airport/Blatchford Field still included? 

Probably not, if the game expects to be current and use current maps.  A quick lookup says that that airport closed in 2013 and is now being redeveloped.

[jhd]

 

Yes, I am aware that the former airport is currently being redeveloped. I was (essentially) asking how up-to-date the maps are that the flight simulator is using.

 

I would not be surprised if the maps for smaller/less significant/non-American airports are not as completely up-to-date. 

[ChildOfCv]

1 hour ago, jhd said:

 

Yes, I am aware that the former airport is currently being redeveloped. I was (essentially) asking how up-to-date the maps are that the flight simulator is using.

 

I would not be surprised if the maps for smaller/less significant/non-American airports are not as completely up-to-date. 

The way they described it in the videos, all terrain data comes from Bing, so it should be as up-to-date as the last aerial surveillance photos.  In the US, that seems to depend on how rural the area is, but you can usually find images less than 4 years old even in the most unpopulated areas.  Not sure how often it happens in Canada, but I'm guessing it's on par.

 

It would be interesting to find out how current its list of "functional" airports is though.  Like, does it trawl through each country's version of the FAA to get a list of registered airfields?  Or just rely on occasional gathering of data?  If the latter, I anticipate that a large percentage of bug reports will be defunct airfields.

But since the terrain maps are supposedly current, you might have fun trying to land at an "airport" when it's showing buildings where the runway should be.