Such a sexy aircraft! Served in the SwAF as the J 34.
It seems to me that a lot more freeware addons are coming to FS2020, than previous versions, and faster too. The core software already supply enough detail that many amateur developers can fill in the last remaining details, so to speak.
I mean, the last two mentioned addons here are freeware, and at a level of detail previously found in payware addons. No need for large ortho terrain and meshes to buy anymore.
And I donât think the beta testers were naive. They were comparing the new MSFS to older versions. And compared to FSX, youâd need nothing added, where earlier you needed large ortho and mesh files. So what they were saying is that FS2020 looks better than FSX with a ton of addons. I think that still holds true.
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I know at least one developer whoâs told me that MSFS addon sales are collapsing. Too much excellent freeware, for one, and too much already in the sim that is so acceptable that people are being very stingy with purchases.
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I bought exactly 2 terrain addons for FSX, mega scenery for Texas my home state, and the OrbX landclass update for the US that was it. I dropped easily a grand on air craft however. MSFS out of the box is better than what you can accomplish in FSX with scenery and terrain addons (again I never spent that much on them so maybe you could make FSX comparable). I think that the AC market will really drive the payware market place in MSFS.
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I agree that the base sim is already gorgeous, and the community add-ons make it even more so. I think there is still room for quality add-on scenery. We also may see some reduced enthusiasm for buying scenery add-ons as people gauge interest and defer making purchases to make sure the platform will survive. I think everyone would be nervous about a MS Flight scenario where they ended up with an unsupported sim.
This is all very interesting to watch though isnât it? 
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It depends on the scenery and how the currently-in-flux prices eventually shake out. If Flytampa is offering me the entire Las Vegas downtown as well as the airport for $19, and Company X is offering me a small nearly-unknown airport in the boonies for $17âŠ
Guess what?
Iâm one of those people who rarely ever used scenery addons at all.
I always thought that halfway good ATC, good weather, and decent terrain should be part of the stock game. Especially because addon terrain - even if it looks good - often doesnât cover enough to be worth it for me, or (even worse IMO) has ugly borders. My home airport EDSB is near the border to France, and it drove me nuts that my nice VFR Germany south terrain for FSX had a horribly ugly border right next to the Rhine which never fit to any France scenery. Watching that was worse than having no scenery addons at all.
Same for some airports. They often didnât blend in well.
I think thatâs where MSFS really delivers without addons. It is âgood enoughâ and at least the addon airports I have seen so far fit almost seamlessly into the stock ortho, which is great.
But for me the main thing was, and still is: planes.
I donât really remember the beginnings of FSX but I think there were a lot more freeware planes and even some payware planes for FSX than there are now for FS2020 because you could rather easily import them from earlier versions.
Granted, many of them were pretty crappy. There was a huge market of free/cheap crappy planes for FSX. The real gems were rare and probably always will be.
And I think thatâs what everyone expected since Asobo/MS said right from the start that 3rd parties will play an important role.
Many people just doubted that scenery addons will be as successful as for FSX, just because the base game looks so much better. I am not sure whether they will be right in the long term. Maybe. But I kinda doubt it because especially for everyoneâs favourite airfields or VFR object packs there can always be a more lifelike version. Products similar to OrbX global terrain though? Not sure.
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The thing is, that Microsoft/Asobo have apparently identified many of the most (potentially) popular airports and made a commitment to do bespoke versions of a lot of them for free, even when they are aware that addon developers were already in mid-development for said airports.
Not surprisingly, this has set the cat loose in the henhouse.
Of the Asobo bespoke airports already available, I suspect strongly that even if they donât quite match top-drawer payware quality, they are more than enough for the vast majority of users not intimately familiar with them, or who do not visit them often enough to make absolute fidelity a necessity.
Itâs a very up-in-the-air situation.
I feel bad for the cheap/mediocre scenery makers. They will have to either increase their quality or die.
For the really high quality stuff Asobo is no competitor, but for everyone elseâŠ
I, for one, think that even though this sim is fantastic out of the box there are still many areas that could benefit from 3d party addons:
- aircraft
- landmarks incl. city skylines
- airports of all sorts
- weather
- atc
- mesh
Some of the freeware is excellent. But it always has been. Perhaps the commercial addons market will have to change focus slightly?
Iâve got a different worry: In case Microsoft decides to pull the plug and will abandon the platform (again), bing ortho and autogen (buildings and trees) are gone. Weâd be left with ugly looking sim 
Who has ever lost a connection to their servers knows what I am talking about (me already on a couple of occasions).
I am not sure whether our purchses include some sort of a guarantee for being provided these online data at least for sime time. Anyone?
From the PROJECT MEGAPACK Discord Discord
First off, Merry Christmas to all. Thank you so much for being part of our project and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a very happy new year. A special thanks goes out to the entire Project Mega Pack team, without them none of this would be possible.
Now, hereâs my Christmas gift to all of youâŠ
Announcing the Airbus A321-200 Version 2 Public Beta!
Itâs been weeks in the making, but our A321-200 Version 2 is now available! The plane features a brand new flight model, accurate IAE engine sounds, improved lighting, accurate door positioning so jetways connect properly, brand new 4k textures, and more!
Better yet, the plane works with either the default A320 cockpit or any version of the FBW A32nx, and will automatically use what you have installed.
Due to a lack of support from FBW, we can not address any bugs that arise due to its use. We havenât seen any in our testing though so it works great as of now!
A321-200 Available Here: See New Version Below
More Info: https://aircraftmegapack.b-cdn.net/A321Version2.3.zip
To Install, simply download below and drop AMP_A321 into Community.
Liveries
As for Liveries, we have two Livery Templates available for Livery Creators to start making Liveries, they work exactly the same as with base game aircraft. And yes, a paint kit is coming soon. If you make one lmk!
Livery Templates Are Available Here: https://aircraftmegapack.b-cdn.net/A321LiveryTemplatesVersion1.zip
Instructions:
Once we have a few liveries made, we will be releasing a Liveries Mega Pack for the A321!
Release Livestream
Join us for our release livestream:
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Wow⊠I have not heard from Zinertek in a loooooooong time.
Worth it?
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I should probably split off my posts to a PNW area specific threadâŠbut maybe Iâll tackle that project another day. In the meantime - here is a nice 4S2 (Ken Jernstedt Airfield, Hood River, OR)âŠ
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YeahâŠ! I think I had one of their packages for P3D that improved the look of ramps and buildings and stuff. Seemed like a good improvement for P3D - Iâm still unsure of what I think of this offering for MSFS. Definitely gives the runway markings a more âlived inâ feel. Probably wonât drop any money on it just yetâŠwill wait to see what the community comes up with maybe.
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Here is a nifty oneâŠa touch up of Foula Airfield (EGFO) - Shetland Islands. This guy reworked it and made it better (I guess)⊠Looks like a fun place to visit. Recommended aircraft is @Scoopâs well loved BN-2 Islander (guess we will have to wait for one of those for MSFS!)âŠ
https://flightsim.to/file/5419/foula-airfield-egfo-egzr-foa-heading-to-the-edge-of-the-world
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I second that, since it is obviously one of our favorite areas to fly and this thread is going to get very long in a hurry.
Appreciate Hood River 
https://skyvector.com/airport/4S2/Ken-Jernstedt-Airfield-Airport
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The green is a bit excessive as the ms brown was. The fields are green, the rest is heather The island was never that green. The top half of the island was more commonly in cloud .
There is an excellent optical illusion. Leaving Fair Isle the sea 2/3 towards the horizon was a shade of grey, an identical colour to the sky but distinct from the nearer sea. This gave a false horizon much nearer than the invisible real one. As a result Foula appeared to float several hundred feet above the sea. I mentioned this on their RT frequency when I flew in later that day. They replied that the island is floating in the sky.
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FREE : Lorby MSFS Addon Organizer (PROTOTYPE!)
With this small tool you can manage the addons in your MSFS installation.
- Add, remove, enable, disable addons
- Create groups of scenery addons that are to be enabled and disabled at the same time
- Physically move addons out of the Community folder
- Temporarily move addons so they donât interfere with simulator updates
- Export airports to GoogleEarth
THE APP IS STILL IN PROTOTYPE STATE!
msfs_addonorganizer_1_00_b07.zip
Password: LORBY
File integrity hashcode (MD5): ceee1718cd4794ec7f3b25cac115b131
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Another factor is likely the lack of heavy-hitting add on aircraft (no PMDG or A2A on the field yet). The two sides of the market go hand-in-hand for a lot of people; if youâre already flying around Orbx enhanced P3D with your study level 737, youâve little motivation to jump ship just yet.
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