You’re right that it is a bit unfair, but it’s really about how it’s almost impossible for a team like Laminar to progress all this stuff all the time.
Scenery is far better with 3rd party stuff like Orbx, but that’s $50 an area. Weather is still pretty ugly in XP 11, but a $80 package makes it better. ATC is crazy disorganized in default XP, but you can knit together other various packages, with the problem being that the ATC ones don’t really talk to the Traffic ones etc etc. Let’s say a $100 for those.
Of course, then then all break when XP 12 comes out next March.
I am conflicted because it is great that these aftermarkets exists in some form, as in the alternative is just getting what we have by default. I do think though that a gorilla with lots of cash and time will improve the base standard of the market though. I mean, if you can get a fully rounded flight sim with world-wide scenery, traffic, ATC, weather, good GA and tubes, multiplayer, decent flight models etc then why should we feel loyalty or obligation to things not as good? These aren’t soccer teams.
True. They might not do them or walk away, as in they did do it before. They also will never do things at a level of detail that some ‘boutique’ outfit could provide. I mean, that 747-800 that comes with it is supposedly meant to have an authentic Boeing FMS (according to the avsim hearsay). But does that mean full SID/STARs? Does that mean NAV cycles to import? MSFT might take a view where they cover 95% for hobbyists and there will always be a gap for those that want more.
My contention is the current products have used that gap a bit too much, and the MSFS has the potential to reset that a bit.
Is critiquing alpha level scenery footage the new “rivet counting” of flight sims?
I’ll wait for release previews/review to make a solid judgment of it. I like to fly in some areas that are not well represented in flight sims. Generally featureless terrain and bad landclass. If this MSFS20 can offer good scenery in the hinterlands, I’d welcome it.
Agree’d, I want to see how the terrains handles the areas that most people don’t fly over unless we’re doing the Air Race or Christmas flight stuff. The Philippines or Indonesia looking like Western Europe in the default FSX landclass is just weird.
It is certainly looking like a competition killer isn’t it? I mean…think of all the add-ons that might become irrelevant if this comes out (or evolves into) what we are hoping and what they seem to be showing. Wow.
All true. And if it were JUST the money…I’d be fine with it. But as you know…it is the the screwing all those parts together to work correctly (and then having one single unrelated plug-in break it all) and figuring out the load order…and adding each card to the deck makes it more unstable. I’d sooooo love to play a GA sim out of the box. Which, well, you can do with FSX, P3D, or X-Plane…but they sorta look doggie-dodo out of the box.
I will say that I don’t really need full fidelity aircraft in my base program. For instance, the MD88, and 737 in X-Plane are not full and faithful replications, but they are darn good. The lack of a real FMC is what severely cripples them. But there is just enough button pushing and feel there to make me feel like a Delta MD88 pilot.
My take is- even if at launch this game doesn’t outright kills all its competitors… It doesn’t matters.
It’s laying down the foundations for the true “next-gen” content of civilian flight simulations.
I’m not sure it can get to MilSims but the next five years will be an absolute blast to observe.
If in the next five years Microsoft will actually work on improvements and refinements that will kill any competition.
IMHO.
The line-up of the stock aircraft from the preview videos is (I think) something like this so far:
Airbus A320 NEO
Boeing 747-8
Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000
Cessna C208B Grand Caravan
Cessna Citation CJ4
CubCrafters CC19-180 XCub
Dyn’Aéro CR.100
Diamond DA-40
Diamond DA-62
Icon A5
Robin DR400
SOCATA TBM930
They’ve confirmed manufacturer specific FMC’s on the tubeliners as well.
Plus there be a set missions, with various landings graded with lots of typically hard places to make approaches. No word of a career option as yet, but as long as there are nice missions then that will be cool.
Also, there was a bit of a rumor that there is/was a 737x in the stock aircraft as well, but as it was the MAX they have pulled it until, well, whenever King County stops looking like a full parking lot.
Developer interview, with some previously seen footage.
TL:DR They heard feedback on VR and Seasons and are actively looking at it, and want to do those things well rather cram them in and be rushed. Have talked to about 60 partners (e.g. PDMG etc) on things like 3rd party aircraft etc, so keen to make a healthy ecosystem.
The recent show XO19 hands-on demos used i7’s with 32 GB, using 2080 Ti’s, and apparently kept a 4K resolution locked at 60 fps. If that’s true, I don’t think any current civil sim can do that reliably, so sounds promising for non sci-fi PC specs as well.
