Steve Troughton-SmithNov 19, 2024
MSFS2024 is pretty realistic so far; it fully simulates the pre-flight interminable airport waiting experience
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024

That thing where your gate information changes but still doesn't have any actual information on a delay or a boarding time, but hopefully progress is being made?

At least I've beaten the login queue!

Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024

I'm in!

This is a very elaborate character creator for a Flight Sim

Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
Quick test flight over Dublin. Performance and loading times are leagues ahead of FS2020, even at 4K(DLSS)
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
It certainly uses every last little bit of my internet connection (which admittedly is not great in the first place) to stream in the game world. I started a download in the background and it immediately complained at me 😂
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
This is the killer FS2024 feature: how quickly you can load in/out of the map (for regions you have cached) and jump around the world at will. Gone are the bonkers loading times of the previous version
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024

I made the mistake of updating my graphics drivers and now I'm back at the login queue for the next few hours 🥲

Early impressions from my very brief playtime: loading is fast and painless, performance is near-60 most of the time, and it looks every bit as good as the last game and more — but it feels so much more playable because all those pain points have gone away

Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024

'We built our infrastructure to scale beautifully to 200,000 users, but we got a lot more than that so the servers melted’

Maybe you shouldn't have launched on PC, Xbox, and *Gamepass* at the same time? 😅 That's a lot of users who could kick the tires for 'free’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuMd7udCyFM

Developer Launch Day Update | Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

YouTube
Show threadSteve Troughton-Smith
Bing's photogrammetry remains… poor. Infinite Loop is ‘here’, if you could call it that, but Apple Park is still missing. And still, a far cry from the procedurally-generated wildernesses in the rest of the game
Nov 20, 2024 at 3:19amIvory for Mac
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
Flight Simulator 2024 is *really* bandwidth-heavy. They weren't kidding about the minimum internet speed requirements — my home internet is barely enough to keep the terrain LODs fed
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
Starting Career Mode. Excited to see how much of a difference a structured mission/leveling system makes. There's a (mediocre) text to speech model here that does voiceover for all the procedural missions from the perspective of randomly-generated NPCs, and you get to choose your 'home' regional airport to begin your career at (so thousands of potential locations for your first flight — each unique)
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
There's something special about seeing your training/certification missions take place in your real-life home town. Because the entire game world powers the main menu on down, you can do some really neat interactive UI screens without lengthy black loading screens
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024

Mission Failed Successfully?

…I think the servers still need a bit more work before I can play 😅

Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
We're back. I discovered that from the main menu you can zoom all the way down to earth close enough to see simulated cars and water effects, which is a very neat bit of engineering
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
Much like Flight Sim 2020, FS2024 excels the further you go from civilization, as anywhere Bing has photogrammetry data kinda brings it down and takes away the procedural beautification (albeit for more-realistic landmarks)
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024

FS2024's new photo mode has me scratching my head. It has very basic options, but doesn't provide a ‘hide UI’ toggle for you to use your own screenshot program to save a capture. You have to capture it in-game instead.

Beyond that, nowhere in the game does it tell you where those captures go. There's a viewer to view them in-game, but no ‘show in Explorer' or ‘share’ options.

'All photographs are saved in: Local path’

Checked all the usual places and I have no idea where that's supposed to be

Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024

I had to use windirstat but I found the FS2024 screenshot path location.

Could you have guessed this one?

Fucking hell.

Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
With that out of the way, I actually upped my graphics settings to 'ultra’ and turned off the dynamic framerate target and I'm still getting a smooth 50fps at 4K, which is so much more performance than I could ever get out of FS2020. I kinda wish I had a 40-series card with frame gen just to multiply that, but I would say this finally solves Flight Simulator's performance for me
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
‘On foot' mode doesn't quite work with photogrammetry or hand-modeled landmarks. The on-foot stuff is pretty janky overall, but I like that it exists. Realistically, you have an entire earth filled with content (and collision meshes) designed to be viewed from the air, not hiked, and that doesn't really change with this game
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
Is the sim more detailed in general for on-foot gameplay? For sure. Like I said, it's when you go out to explore the wilderness that this game comes alive
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
It's far too easy to become jaded to incredible things just because you've seen them before
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
Picking random spots to just land and see what the terrain looks like from human level. The detail is not bad at all; textures are sharp up close and the ground uses tessellation instead of flat surfaces. Grass inherits the color of the base satellite imagery, which provides nice variation
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
If your internet can't keep up, photogrammetry areas look a mess until they load in
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
Even in Flight Simulator, Rome's historical buildings are under construction 😛
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
Rome, though, is still one of my favorite cities in the world, in-game and IRL
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
I should emphasize, Flight Simulator 2024 is available on Game Pass, so if you have a gaming PC or an Xbox and $10 to spare, you can play it too
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
Bing's photogrammetry brings you the N64 version of Galaxy's Edge
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
I guess that's what the focus blur is for
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024

You can get a sense of Asobo's photogrammetry priorities

Disney World: 👎
Paris: 👍

The locations that sucked in FS2020 aren’t any better in this game

Show threadStuart GibsonNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith can you fly under the cranes in Belfast?
Show threadPedro FernandesNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith FS is amazing but, I have been using x-plane on macOS for ages and it also is superb.
Show threadChristian Kent   𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥Nov 21, 2024
@stroughtonsmith And if you pick any two random locations, you can turn on “AI Pilot” and let the computer worry about flying the plane. Focus on the scenery for yourself.
Show threadAlex RosenbergNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith They shipped untextured content?!?
Show threadChristian Kent   𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥Nov 21, 2024
@stroughtonsmith Then what about Barcelona’s famous church that’s been under construction for 400 years
Show threadD. Griffin JonesNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith Nintendo Flight Simulator 64
Show threadChristian Kent   𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥Nov 21, 2024

@stroughtonsmith This is what happens if Neo runs or flies too fast in The Matrix

Not so much “a glitch in the matrix” as “a performance bottleneck in the matrix”

Show threadKaspar (allegedly not haunted)Nov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith Do they use different plant models in different climate zones, or is it always the same, just coloured differently?
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
@xeophin different models, and variations for season too
Show threadKaspar (allegedly not haunted)Nov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith Oh, very nice, I'm impressed.
Show threadBrian GrinterNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith would be interested to compare small regional airports to real life. In the past you’d need add ons to get stuff right
Show threadJoe ChottNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith I haven’t played the game so bear with me, but everything you’ve shared seems to just make me wish they took the flight sim OUT of it and just let me use it like google earth.
Show threadChristian Kent   𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥Nov 21, 2024
@stroughtonsmith I’m dying to revisit a few of the scenic lookouts that I enjoy in real life (and for photography). They were a bit average in v2020 although the sky simulation was incredible — now it looks like the land simulation has caught up
Show threadSteveNov 21, 2024
@stroughtonsmith meanwhile the only on foot activity I want to do in game is preflight the aircraft 😂
Show threadChristian Kent   𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥Nov 20, 2024

@stroughtonsmith The goals for future releases in 2028 etc can be seen already

What I do wonder is whether a spinoff “Earth Simulator” will come out of this

Show threadSteven HuggNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith I wonder how feasible it is to bring back MS Train Simulator as a plugin
Show threadMichael RoweNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith how's the fan on your computer.. I had built a custom machine for FS2020 and after a year the fan would blow out and over heat the CPU crashing my machine. I'd really like to get back in to FS
Show threadJoe ChottNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith I must be remembering wrong but I thought you’d had a 4090 for basically EVER…
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 20, 2024
@Verxion 3080ti, since recently! Was on a GTX 1080 before that
Show threadJoe ChottNov 21, 2024
@stroughtonsmith I definitely remembered wrong then, sorry!
Show threadJason Petersen (he)Nov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith windows store or game pass apps are in these weird container folders
Show threadSörenNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith ah, the joys of sandboxing
Show threadChristian Kent   𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥Nov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith Microsoft does be Microsoft
Show threadWowSuchCyberNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith just do millions of them then look for the heavy folder 😃
Show threadJiří Fiala Total LandscapingNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith Asobo can't do UX. It was atrocious the last time also.
Show threadHanno ReinNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith I've flown that route! You're in class BRAVO and requesting flight following... You need to stay lower if you want to fly in the VFR corridor. 😉
Show threadBrian GrinterNov 20, 2024

@stroughtonsmith lol - reminds me of checking flights in Flight Radar 24

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0efe5cLNr9Cuq0ng57qa0VeOg

iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud

View, organize, and share photos and videos with iCloud Photos on the web. Changes will sync across your devices with iCloud.

Show threadAmethyst 🌸Nov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith but do they let me start from Meigs Field?
Show threadEverton FavrettoNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith SBCX is available?
Show threadJeff C. 🇺🇦🇬🇱Nov 20, 2024

@stroughtonsmith What’s your Internet speed like?

Maybe I’ll need to upgrade…

Show threadEverton FavrettoNov 20, 2024
@stroughtonsmith I want NUMBERS
Show threadRushabh VoraNov 22, 2024
@stroughtonsmith You can't say that and not share what your home internet speed is! 🥲
Show threadSteve Troughton-SmithNov 22, 2024
@rushvora 40Mbit on a good day
Show threadRushabh VoraNov 22, 2024
@stroughtonsmith Thank you!