rooitou

Hi David, if you're using TrackIr, you must put that in virus exclusion as well. In fact, I had exactly the same thing a while back which also affected DCS World and yes anti-virus exclusion is definitely step one. But put everything else that run in or hook into MSFS in the exclusion list as well. If you have spam software such as Malwarebytes, that needs to have exclusions also. You need to exclude EVERYTHING that may interfere with the running of these flight sim programs. I typically exclude the whole folder of these programs, not just the single exe files and my micro-stutters are completely gone.

I know this is about add-ons, but I'm a faithful user of CH Products devices (Fighterstick, Pro-Throttle and Pro-Pedals) and find that their software called CH Control Manager doesn't work properly in Win10. I believe the reason is that Win10 is a 64-bit operating system whereas CH Control Manager is 32-bit. It works about 50% of the time and the other 50% would simply freeze up. The compatibility settings trick doesn't really help.

Yeah this is where I am with MSFS too, but I'm somewhere in the middle of the FS landscape. Haven't bothered to install FS9 or FSX on my new PC build, as they are now getting very old. But also too frustrated with MSFS 2020 to adopt it (still only using my XBOX GamePass subscription to try it out.) At the moment I have P3Dv4, XP11 and DCS World and that is enough. Also sick and tired of the (1) huge and frequent updates of MSFS 2020, as well as the (2) enormously long start-up time, (3) still no fly-by view after more than a year and (4) inability to switch aircraft, liveries or airfield in-flight

The opening question of this thread was literally "Any non VR flyers left?" So, you essentially invited the guys with the negative attitudes to comment here, right? ;-)

I use VR on-and-off and while enjoyable for short periods and the novelty of it, I still prefer my 1440p monitor and Track-IR for "serious" simming, where I need to see all the keys, a second screen and/or the odd note. The most frustrating thing in MSFS 2020 in VR is the lack of a VR keyboard to type the name of an airfield to depart/arrive. Perhaps someone can illuminate me on a method besides having to lift the headset and physically type it on a keyboard? The most frustrating thing in P3D v4 in VR, is that I have to physically lift the headset and look at the 2D screen to change the aircraft or airfield with the drop-down menu, not accessible in VR. Again, would appreciate if anyone can tell me what I'm doing wrong. The most frustrating thing in DCS World in VR is the overwhelming number of commands needed to properly execute a mission. Even with a CH Products HOTAS (and secondary functions), I also need two Thrustmaster MFD's (not visible in VR) and the odd keyboard command to quickly and effectively manipulate all of the weapons, views, labels, aircraft functions, wingmen commands, comms, etc. Doing everything in VR is certainly possible, but feels clumsy and not nearly as slick as a quick button or keypress on a physical real-world device.

The default haze or fog setting is too high in X-Plane. Have a look at the following forum where it describes how to tone down the haziness, with a "fog-be-gone" setting: https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/124546-haze-issue-solved/

Also have a look at FPS Monitor (https://fpsmon.com)

I agree with this. I was also a real life pilot (Cessna 172 and Tiger Moth). I used FSX to practice circuits and cross country flights (P3D wasn't available back then) and I could emulate closely what my upcoming flight in real life would be like, eg speeds, times, altitudes, checks, turning points, radio frequency changes and calls. So I was well prepared and there were seldom any nasty surprises. FSX/P3D simply has the best combination of flight dynamics, ground handling, ATC, etc. Ground handling and ATC in X-Plane is a joke, especially for tail-draggers and MSFS simply has too many issues at the moment, plus the camera system is atrocious and frustrating. While I like the nice scenery in MSFS, whenever I want to do a few circuits or feel what an aircraft really flies like, I go to P3D.

Maybe in the 10th year we'll get a flyby view?

Does anyone have the Milviz PC-6? I would like to know how the Asobo one compares, given that it is free vs $30 for Milviz.

Yep I'm 100% with you on this and while I was very impressed with MSFS when it just released, I was disgusted with the large number of glass-cockpit aircraft. Luckily I decided to just "try-out" MSFS with my XBOX GamePass for PC, so for me it is a relatively small monthly cost so far, plus I have access to a very large library of other games. I will wait another year before even considering paying full price for MSFS and hopefully by that time there will be more steam gauge aircraft, a flyby view, and significant discounts to upgrade to the Premium version or perhaps even a merging of versions. Even in real life I far prefer steam gauges, to the extent that when I recently did a conversion to a Sling 2 (a slick little LSA), which comes equipped with EFIS instrumentation (essentially an iPad screen, cluttered with an enormous amount of information squashed into a tiny space), I almost always switched the EFIS to a mode which only displays the usual "six-pack" dials on the glass screen. That was the only way I could enjoy flying instead of trying to manage a computer.

The other thing that irks me is the long time it takes from clicking the "play" icon to start the game and something appearing on the screen for the first time (about 36 seconds for me despite having a fast SSD). Often I click two or three times and the game starts two or three instances with a warning box (unknowingly) remaining in the background. If I then get the prompt for an update, the store app simply wouldn't update and it is only when I close everything that I discover the little box saying "another instance is running already". Close that down and I can proceed with the update. This update system of MSFS is utterly clumsy and frustrating and I hope it is high on the priority list to fix.

As Skywatcher said, the SSD should vastly improve disk access and transfer times, ie eliminate stutters and pauses. Don't forget to do exclusion for your FS9 folder in anti-virus and anti-malware software. That was always the solution to pauses in FSX and DCS World for me.

I thought Microsoft/Asobo did say that it was still in development when they launched it last year. That is exactly why I did not pay the full price upfront, but rather accessed it through my XBOX Game Pass for PC subscription (which I use for a multitude of other games as well), so that I could TRY IT OUT first. It does seem to be a new disease of all software companies, to release a beta product and then fix and refine it over the next two years. That is why I generally wait with AAA titles and then buy the GOTY version (Game of the Year) version two years later, with all the updates, fixes and DLC, at a large discount. I will do exactly the same with MSFS and will only buy-to-own the full version in another year's time and only after they added the FLYBY VIEW, which is still sorely lacking after a year. Having said that, I'm glad that Microsoft/Asobo released it when they did, as there was so much hype and innovation involved and the flight-sim world was overly curious and well-overdue for a new product. At least we could see for ourselves what this new technology was all about and I think it impressed most of us. It was a fully-functional product from day one for me, but I also find myself reverting to old FSX and P3D more and more often again, due to the deficiencies in MSFS (mainly the lack of a flyby view, extremely long loading time and inability to switch aircraft/liveries in mid-flight.)

I think the webstore has a built in currency converter, but doesn't show the denomination correctly. For example I'm in South Africa and the price shows as R221, which is about right for the Rand value. Perhaps you're in Canada or Australia and it shows that currency instead of US$. Just a theory...

Yeah, I agree with the other guys about the CPU and possibly the RAM being bottlenecks. It's like putting a V8 in a Toyota Corolla. If you don't upgrade the chassis, gearbox, clutch and tyres at the same time, that Corolla is not going anywhere. Always best to keep motherboard, CPU, RAM and GPU within the same generation or two, otherwise they become bottlenecks.

Are you guys talking about the top-down (satellite map) which you get when you press the F12 key? In that case yes I miss that too. Other things I sorely miss from FSX is: 1. Flyby view 2. Flyby view 3. Flyby view. 4. Ability to change liveries or entire aircraft in mid-flight. 5. Ability to jump to another airfield in mid-flight, instead of having to go all the way back to the main menu

Also ensure that you have excluded the MSFS folder from your anti-virus and malware software. I had an identical problem to you (frequent and regular short pauses) with FSX and DCS World and put exclusions in the Windows Security app (used to be called Windows Defender) as well as Malwarebytes and the problem disappeared. So I nowadays exclude everything that needs to runs fast and unfettered like flight sims.

Hey JohnnyJohnJohn, I'm not a prolific poster (especially not of screenshots), but I've sort of gone off flight simming for a bit and I think MSFS is to blame. Before, I used to lap up everything the community threw out there (eg freeware aircraft & airports, reviews, opinions, screenshots) and rushed to try it out in FSX or P3D. However, since the release of MSFS it feels kinda redundant and I've lost my enthusiasm for the "old stuff" to some extent. I'm even holding off on most MSFS add-ons as well (especially payware), while the sim is still evolving. So, I'm in a sort of no-man's land with flight simming at the moment and been returning to my Steam games backlog. (Also picked up "IL-2 Sturmovik: Desert Wings-Tobruk" on sale recently).

Do you perhaps have manual trim wheels on the joystick/yoke, that have been bumped or moved unintentionally? I have a CH Products Fighterstick and next to the joystick handle are two "rotary trim wheels for precise adjustment of ailerons and elevators". They are meant to be adjusted once and then left alone, as it sets the precise neutral point. Once or twice I found my aircraft doing what you're describing and after hours of troubleshooting, discovered that "someone" moved the trim wheels when cleaning my desk or playing around on my PC.

That looks excellent, I actually have that PZL-104 Wilga 35A tow-plane for FSX and rate it highly. Hopefully Aerosoft will bring World-of-Aircraft prices down to comparable MSFS peers and not stick to their high FSX/P3D price levels.

Herc79, at the risk of going off-topic here I would like to share my real-life experience with glass vs steam-gauge cockpits. About 15 years ago, I did my PPL on a Tiger Moth. Perhaps 80% of it - had to do some time in a C172 for cross country & navigation etc. I absolutely loved the open-cockpit flying of the Tiger Moth but also enjoyed the longer legs and "comfort" of the C172 and eventually racked up about 200 flying hours in the two aircraft. Then life happened and my pilot license lapsed. About two years ago, I decided to revive my pilot's license and to spice it up by doing it on a modern LSA aircraft called a Sling 2. It is a beautiful little aircraft with an EFIS glass cockpit. Long story short, I absolutely hated the EFIS instruments. The information presented on it was so small and cluttered that my brain (and eyes) just couldn't process it properly. I spent 90% of the time trying to figure out what was going on there and 10% of the time flying the aircraft. In other words, it became a story of managing a system, rather than flying the plane. With the old "six-pack" it took my eyes/brain a 2-second glance to know exactly what the aircraft was doing. Eventually I found a way to switch the EFIS to a mode which presented the more familiar "six-pack" instruments. Bottom line is that I dislike glass cockpits with a passion and love steam gauges. With MSFS being a modern flight sim, Asobo is really pushing the glass-cockpit theme down our throats. Like you, I am longing for my comfort-zone of vintage aircraft with "proper" instruments where one can truly fly the aircraft rather than manage a system. But I do understand that there are people who like it the other way around and then there is also the new iPad generation who like to fly with a screen in front of them.

I'm more into the smaller vintage aircraft and no-one has mentioned the KINNER B-2 SPORTWING by GOLDEN AGE SIMULATIONS yet. It is listed at SimMarket (https://secure.simmarket.com/golden-age-simulations-kinner-b-2-sportwing-msfs.phtml), but oddly cannot be purchased at the moment. There are two reviews already which means it must have been available at some point, but I suspect the developer has pulled it temporarily, perhaps to address the issues mentioned in the reviews. I have several GOLDEN AGE SIMULATIONS aircraft for FSX/P3D and while they lack some graphics/texture quality, they are such interesting aircraft of the 1930's era that I tend to overlook that and enjoy the uniqueness of flying some long-forgotten aircraft of the golden age of aviation.

I kinda agree with this. The camera system is ok once you played around with it and you can get something that kinda works. But it is not the simple, smooth and effective camera system of other sims, especially FSX/P3D/DCS World and it removed a lot of my initial enthusiasm for the product. I desperately miss the fly-by view which every other sim has. So, I'm finding that I spend less and less time in the new MSFS and returning to the older FSX and P3D. Fortunately I'm using MSFS on my gamepass account and haven't spent the big bucks on it yet. Will be while until I do so, and definitely not before they add a flyby view.

Mac6737, I agree with just about everything you say, especially the cameras. I have now finally found some way to use the cameras effectively and it's ok. However, I don't like the drone views and believe it is only really useful for youtubers wanting to make videos, not the majority of us who want to FLY THE AIRCRAFT, not the drone. For me there are three things wrong with MSFS: 1. no flyby view 2. no flyby view 3. no flyby view And please don't tell me to go and set up some convoluted way of positioning the drone camera. I just want to press a button and see my plane fly past, like it does in FS9, FSX, P3D, X-Plane, DCS World, Aerofly FS2, IL-2, Wings over Flanders Field, Combat Flight Sim, Combat Air Patrol, Rise of Flight, Strike Fighters, FlyInside. Just about every flight sim ever created had the flyby view, yet the one with the biggest budget and most brain-power ever known to man doesn't...