Microsoft Flight Simulator returns to the skies

[wlbragg]

I think it must be a limitation of METAR and/or how FlightGear translates the data into sim weather.

I think so, but that is really disappointing if you compare that result to the advertising about it! I somehow feel my $120 just got depreciated.
I think you meant MS2020 and not FlightGear in the quote.

[montagdude]

I think it must be a limitation of METAR and/or how FlightGear translates the data into sim weather.

I think so, but that is really disappointing if you compare that result to the advertising about it! I somehow feel my $120 just got depreciated.
I think you meant MS2020 and not FlightGear in the quote.

Oh, I thought you were talking about FlightGear since the previous couple posts were about flying through the hurricane in FlightGear. Maybe they both have similar limitations, then, or maybe I'm doing it wrong. Or maybe they're both actually right and my expectation of what it should look like is wrong. At least I don't feel like the $0 I spent on FlightGear got depreciated.

[wlbragg]

Oh, sorry, I didn't catch that you did this in FG. Well then it's interesting we had basically the same experience in both sims. I would rather pay nothing for that same experience!

[StuartC]

after seeing many prominent landmaks being converted by its AI ito office or flats etc, I cant help thinking about the great wall of China. Im curious to see if its been developed by the AI into the worlds longest block of tenement flats...

[massima]

I see this video of a flight inside the hurrican Laura, and my thought is: "stunning graphics, but no turbolence/icing inside the hurrican a smooth flight with winds which blow at 250 km/h with a propeller plane". So, wonderful graphics and nothing else. Verdict: failed.

I was interested so I tried the same thing in FlightGear last night. Granted, Laura is just a tropical depression now, but I didn't see much of anything that looked like thunderheads or even precipitation, just basically dark overcast skies. Possibly changing some display settings would have helped? I couldn't really judge the wind or turbulence because I was in a hurry and flying through it in the F-14 at Mach 1.5.

Next time we will get hurricane hunters, we must wait for the next thunderstorm or hurricane. i think a shake inside a depression should be great but not for real neither with the Tomcat .

[Hooray]

I am pretty sure we can find/download the corresponding METAR data online, which should give us plenty of time to work out the visuals/flight dynamics

[Grumpysanta]

Ok, been testing MSFS2020 for quite a few days and thought some of you might be interested in the results. My kit is fairly old by today's standards but it is very reliable. MSFS2020 Standard Edition via Xbox Pass. Once installed and set up I have been flying around for several hours over the last few days, the program has not frozen or bombed out to desktop, it has ran flawlessly. The following information might be useful to those of you with kit as old as mine.

Intel i7 4790K 4Ghz (not overclocked)
32GB DDR3 Ram
Nvidia 1660 Super (6GB DDR6)
2TB Sata3 SSD

I'm running my display at 1920 x 1080 resolution
MSFS2020 recommended settings, High (but I turned Vsync off).

Using
Thrustmaster T.16000M Hotas with Thrustmaster Pedals (Totally Recognised in MSFS2020)
Also XBox One controller for the Drone Camera (I don't have an Xbox, just the controller)

Ignoring the base loading for the starting point from the main menu when you set start and destination the results are as follows :-
CPU 60% Average use
GPU 70% Average use
33fps Average

MSFS2020 appears to be running very smooth, overall very happy, I never expected to be running Ultra anyway, medium to high at best so to be running high settings in everything is more than good enough for me. I could tweak the settings a bit more maybe heading towards Ultra but from what I hear there's not a lot in it between High and Ultra and I'd rather have a bit of leeway in case the GPU does need a bit more processing power

As far as accurate detail is concerned, yes I have flown over my house (I recon we've all tried that), the town I live in is not depicted totally correct, but then it never has been in any flight sim without add-ons, however it is recognisable in terms of layout. Yes, there are some issues like bridges under water in London, some motorway junctions are not exactly correct, roads going under instead of over and vica versa, we know some buildings are not quite right but they are still recognisable in most cases, but to be fair these things we find are so miniscule in comparison to the fact that the database the sim gets it's information from represents the whole world, overall, it's not a bad representation.

Putting aside the fact that most of us are sitting in a room which looks nothing like a cockpit, using controls that are nothing like the real thing, in terms of flight dynamics I feel FlightGear does a far better job than MSFS2020. The big hype about MSFS2020 regarding clouds etc in the end are not much better than FlightGear. I think that the anticipated osm2city overlay will dramatically make a difference when it becomes available, lets face it, it's only apparent when flying low altitude.

I normally fly helicopters, so MSFS2020 is already behind, it doesn't have any at the moment, they say because they want to get it right, they haven't with what they've already brought out. When they do then it still won't be right, I fly to multiple points in a trip, which is difficult to do in MSFS2020, done with ease in FlightGear.

Seems odd to compare a simulator written by enthusiasts against one written by a big company that have spent millions doing it but in truth FlightGear is a proper, real, flight simulator whereas MSFS is really a game with lots of pretty things in it. I like it, I will continue to use it but if I really want a proper simulation then I will use FlightGear instead, so I'll use both.



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1If8oYv04MOGZlM9eQW8w0vA0zaQVIrmV/view?usp=sharing
The Estate where I live as viewed in FlightGear


https://drive.google.com/file/d/10NMPlDRZDiXDl9Z_Iov87CJULPL-NyjO/view?usp=sharing
The same Estate as viewed in MSFS2020, which obviously is much closer to the real thing

[wlbragg]

Thanks for that critique Grumpysanta, I think your impression is about the same as mine so far. I still want to do some more detailed comparisons and under the hood investigation.
I'm going to do a comparison of the area around me like you did, using the Kansas custom scenery and osm2city data.
But I have to stress again, I don't ever want anyone to complain about loading time with me again, You want candy and realism, you have to wait for it to load. Of course you should cut the load time of any MS product ever made in half to even be close to what it should be.

[Hooray]

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 finally realizes the true next-generation potential of Azure cloud computing in PC gaming

Despite Microsoft’s Game Pass and its Play Anywhere initiative possibly ushering the future of game distribution, its first party offerings have suffered significantly this year. Compared to Playstation 4 exclusives like Last of Us II or Ghost of Tsushima, the house that Windows built feels bare. There are some quality titles available including Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Tell Me Why, Battletoads, Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Gears Tactics.

So far, however, the 2018 acquisition frenzy hasn’t bore much AAA fruit. Ninja Theory’s Bleeding Edge came and went while Obsidian Entertainment failed to excite many through the Grounded beta. The delay of Halo Infinite until next year left Microsoft Gaming Studios without a grandiose AAA title for Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC for 2020.

Then out of nowhere, Microsoft Flight Simulator unexpectedly becomes one of the defining experiences of 2020 without being your typical blockbuster fare. Besides landing challenges, the flight sim manages to be one of the best reviewed games this year by simply letting users fly aircraft literally anywhere on planet Earth. Visiting islands owned by criminals , 16 hour flights from Los Angeles to Dubia and flying through real hurricanes has become a new pastime now that commercial flights have been restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Though Microsoft hasn’t released user data or sales figures, reports have mentioned that Microsoft Flight Simulator could produce $2.6 Billion in hardware sales due to accessories. Don’t believe it? There’s currently a shortage of flight sticks

Flying through the cloud

The core of Microsoft Flight Simulator lies within Microsoft Azure. From its hyper realistic flight handling to gorgeous visuals, Microsoft’s cloud computing elevates the game into a technical marvel. In order to “somewhat accurately” create every inch of the entire globe with incredible detail, Microsoft Flight Simulator uses data from Bing Maps to generate 3D models including terrain, roads, vegetation, buildings and other real world materials. Using an internet connection, the game streams all of these two petabytes worth of data in real time.

https://www.techradar.com/news/microsof ... -pc-gaming

[StuartC]

And it still has a sub 3* rating by the players on the Xbox game pass for PC.

[Johan G]

Which kind of proves, like with other parts of the entertainment industry, that professional critics and regular Joes do not always agree.

[wlbragg]

I cant help thinking about the great wall of China. Im curious to see if its been developed by the AI into the worlds longest block of tenement flats...

Close...

https://i.imgur.com/HrnMndu.png

https://i.imgur.com/CXSjQ4K.png

https://i.imgur.com/i7cZP55.png

https://i.imgur.com/58A4GfI.png

https://i.imgur.com/LRy8EFu.png

https://i.imgur.com/6PPNTam.png

https://i.imgur.com/blhZBqQ.png

https://i.imgur.com/JvCwU2E.png

[StuartC]

lol, ok well, its good too see its found a new purpose as a mass housing project in todays world.

[Johan G]

Im curious to see if [the great wall of China] been developed by the AI into the worlds longest block of tenement flats...

Close...

Ugh.

[Hooray]

lol, ok well, its good too see its found a new purpose as a mass housing project in todays world.

And you thought you were joking:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -move.html