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Post by sgtmajor on Aug 18, 2020 20:57:09 GMT -5
Well....it's out and after the brutal download (4.0+ hours)....it's now installed and I've just completed my first flight. Some thoughts; Setting up my joystick was somewhat of a challenge for me....however, it would not be anymore of a challenge than walking around a dark "unfamiliar" home with a bag over my head. I fumbled around for quite a while before actually watching a video on YouTube by "Squirrel" that really helped me figure things out. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DXdGaRgnhUI finally got the joystick (rudder, ailerons, elevator & Trim) under control.....added the flap up and down buttons and I'm now in business for the time being but will need to do additional mapping in the future for other functions. Mixture I'm just dragging with the mouse.....throttle I've found using my F1 - F3 keys work the best for the time being. All in all.....I'm happy with my purchase. MSFS has come a long way since my original purchase back in 1982 etc. (smile) I was surprised the program runs pretty darn smooth on a computer that is pushing 3 years old. Granted...I have weather turned to Clear Sky's, no multiplayer or air traffic and I'm away from all major cities. I took off out of Hemet, CA. airport (KHMT) and YES!!! It looks amazingly accurate. Flew over my house...it look correct including the yard & pool. (keeping in mind it's not high detail, however, very recognizable. I also took a flight over my childhood home town...that wasn't even close to what it looks like. So...I think it just depends on where you fly. I think this will be a great work in progress and as always....it's what the 3rd party developers do with it which will make the program. As compared to my X-Plane 11? Not enough data to make a comparison as yet...other than it does seem to flow more smoothly then my XP-11. More to follow......love to hear others reviews. Cheers!
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Post by sgtmajor on Aug 19, 2020 15:41:23 GMT -5
Further Updates;
I'm still sorting out joysticks, yokes & switches, however, I'm slowing getting things tweaked that's making this sim ever more enjoyable.
My biggest complaint (personal complaint)....while I don't have a lot of REAL flying time, I did manage to log about 21 - 24 hours in a Cessna 152 many years ago. It's my personal opinion that FS2020 aircraft bounce around the air WAYYYYYY More than any real aircraft ever did. I know the developers spent a lot of time with air currents and airflows etc., however, I think they have some of that overly active.
Now with that said......is there a way to turn or tweak that down some? Honestly.....I haven't gotten that far as I'm still playing around with joystick settings. I will say with the autopilot on, the bouncing and flailing around the skies has gone away. And speaking of flailing.......I'm sure glad none of my TOH friends can witness my take off rolls.....I'm all over the place as rudder control is too sensitive at the moment. (smile)
I did a flight this morning from Hemet (KHMT) to Chandler, AZ. (KCHD) in the single engine Bonanza. Beautiful flight.....the scenery was breathtaking. Looking forward to heading up to the Grand Canyon in the next day or so.
The biggest complaint I've seen on the internet has been the VERY Long download time. I didn't go through Steam for my game.....I purchased directly from my Microsoft account. (I have an Office 365 on this computer for MS Word & Excel) From some of the reviews I've seen on Steam....it doesn't sound like folks are too happy with the download process. Just a comment as I'm not sure which was better.
To be honest though.....When I purchased my copy, the Steam version had not been announced yet or I might have purchased that way. One of the reasons I liked the Steam FSX was for the automatic updates. (Remember the old boxed version of FSX....if you had to reinstall, you had to hunt down SP1 & SP2 etc....which was always a pain.
With that said...my copy through MS has a "Auto update" search each time it boots up which I kind of like....even though it chews up about a minute or two on load up to search for updates. As long as MS supports the Flight Sim, I suppose this will be good. If they ever drop it...well.....I'll cross that when the time comes.
I'll write more if anything else comes to mind.
BTW....I haven't really tried any of the Turbo-Props as yet. Once I get things dialed in, I'll give that a try I suppose.....but I'm more of low and slow and sightseeing. With the scenery now this beautiful, I can't image ever wanting to fly high again. (smile)
Cheers!
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Post by bhk on Aug 19, 2020 16:07:12 GMT -5
Steve..... I greatly appreciate your initial comments and opinions; many thanks for taking the time to do so. My purchase has been deliberately put on hold for maybe a week or two for the simple reason that I am buying the boxed version and the supply point I use has yet to get it in. COVID-19 has a lot to answer for! I will also be buying my new joystick/throttle from them - I haven't used a j/s for years....haven't got one, in fact. (I've been using a Logitech gamepad for FS2004 but the new version deserves better!) They have the j/s but I will bundle that and the sim at the same time. Any further input you can provide as you go will be most appreciated, mate.
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Post by sgtmajor on Aug 20, 2020 10:05:15 GMT -5
No worries mate!!! I spent yesterday trying various forms of control devices I have around here. Tried my Saitek Pro Yoke: www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/sep/5471 Mine is an older version....No digital readout on Yoke but say's "Cessna." The throttle mixture assembly worked really well and the three buttons on the bottom of the assembly I was able to map to lights. (Landing, Taxi, Beacon, Strobe, Glare shield & dome.) However, it has to be connected to the yoke to operate and I don't care for the yoke that much. (could never get it dialed in properly) I have another throttle quadrant I purchased around the same time.....It's heavier built and seems to have smoother action. There are also 9 toggle switches on the panel and the switches never worked. As I remember....that was a Major Complaint folks had. I did read in forums years ago where there was a work around....but it required some programing skills....or skills that I didn't feel like messing with so this has laid in the closet all these years. Anyway.....I found my favorite set-up is my original MS Thrust Master Joy stick with this heavy duty throttle, mixture prop levers. I have everything about 98% dialed in....still working on the rudder some. Still WAY TOO sensitive for my liking, however, I can probably live with it if I have to. Did a flight in the yellow cub like aircraft this morning from Bremerton Washington (KPWT) to Diamond Point. (Sorry...forgot the ICO code) That was the VERY BEST FLIGHT I've ever had in the history of my Flightsimming.....hands down!!!! I had heard and/or read folks complaining about having to use the mouse to look around.....well....that's not the case. I did figure out how to set up my hat switch on the stick to look around just like in FSX. As far as turning scenery stuff off......I really haven't to speak of. I'm still running FS2020 in the default installation as it did on install....but I did turn down Airport traffic, Parked aircraft and people wandering around the airport. Installation had them all set at 50% (I think)....but I turned down people to 20%....airport traffic to 30% and parked aircraft to 35%. On my flight to Diamond point....the flightsim ran as smoothly if not smoother than anything I've ever had before. I did see a few areas which appears as a slight dark line in the scenery....but as you get closer the elevation corrects and things look fine. That wasn't an issue with me.....in fact.....if Micro Soft never does anything to fix that.....it won't make a difference to me either way. Okay....breaks over and back to another little flight before I actually have to get something going around here today. (smile) Cheers!! Sorry....I meant to note my computer specs just for comparison. This computer will be 3 years old this November but seems to run everything really well in "HIGH" mode.....Not "Ultra". I can sure here the CPU fans working though. (smile) Now if I get around a major city....that may change everything, however, I tend to fly a lot in the back country. Also...I forgot to mention I have multiplayer turned off....as well as real air traffic and I had to set my weather this morning to "clear skies" as when the program started there was less than two miles visibility due to fog. One last note:....I've had two crashes to Desktop. Both times, I tried to adjust the weather while sitting in the cockpit. My Specs: Processor: Intel i7-6700 CPU @ 3.40 GHz Installed Memory (Ram) 16.0 GB System: Windows 10 64-Bit.
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Post by bhk on Aug 20, 2020 21:42:23 GMT -5
All good info....thank you, Steve. Incidentally....there is a bit of negative feedback floating around the 'net and a lot of it is to do with the sensitivity of the various control inputs. Nothing negative (that I've seen) about the world itself.
If it's running okay on your specs then maybe it'll be okay on mine too:-
CPU = i5-9400F @ 2.9Ghz RAM = 16Gb GPU = GeForce RTX 2770 Super
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Post by sgtmajor on Aug 21, 2020 5:11:44 GMT -5
Yes Bruce.....I have seen and/or heard of the negative feedback, which in my opinion is too bad. I also do understand some of the frustration some folks are having....on the other hand, I've read just a couple comments and wondered about the person writing the complaint. They obviously didn't know much about the program before their purchase. With that said, I'll stand by my feelings that this is the VERY best flight sim Microsoft has put out...even with a some bugs that will eventually be addressed I'm sure.
I've waited over 30 years for a simulator "Just like this one" where you can explore via VFR and at least I've gotten one. Now....am I 100% satisfied. No...I don't like the very long load-up times. I'm pleased the program checks for updates etc., but does it HAVE to do it every single time you open the program? I wish it would check perhaps once a day?....maybe monthly?....who knows. But then on the flip side of that....if MS has a bunch of updates would that mean that a "once a month" check for updates would then make the update and download of said update 2 or 3 hours?
Bottom line....I think I'll let the developers stick to the developing and I'll stick to my enjoyment of the fruits of their labor. (smile)
Okay...it's 3 A.M., and I think my coffee has just finished brewing. Off for a cup and a flight. Hmm...maybe Coff's Harbor to Yamba. (smile)
Cheers Mate!
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Post by sgtmajor on Aug 21, 2020 5:12:34 GMT -5
Yes Bruce.....I have seen and/or heard of the negative feedback, which in my opinion is too bad. I also do understand some of the frustration some folks are having....on the other hand, I've read just a couple comments and wondered about the person writing the complaint. They obviously didn't know much about the program before their purchase. With that said, I'll stand by my feelings that this is the VERY best flight sim Microsoft has put out...even with some bugs that will eventually be addressed I'm sure.
I've waited over 30 years for a simulator "Just like this one" where you can explore via VFR and at least I've gotten one. Now....am I 100% satisfied. No...I don't like the very long load-up times. I'm pleased the program checks for updates etc., but does it HAVE to do it every single time you open the program? I wish it would check perhaps once a day?....maybe monthly?....who knows. But then on the flip side of that....if MS has a bunch of updates would that mean that a "once a month" check for updates would then make the update and download of said update 2 or 3 hours?
Bottom line....I think I'll let the developers stick to the developing and I'll stick to my enjoyment of the fruits of their labor. (smile)
Okay...it's 3 A.M., and I think my coffee has just finished brewing. Off for a cup and a flight. Hmm...maybe Coff's Harbor to Yamba. (smile)
Cheers Mate!
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Post by sgtmajor on Sept 8, 2020 10:11:01 GMT -5
Three weeks after release and over 60+ hours of flying time.....here are a few of my thoughts.
First.....I should have only purchased the "Standard" version of MSFS 2020. (smile) I think at the time there was one of the aircraft you could only receive with the "Premium" version so I purchased that....(maybe the steam gauge of the 172?)....don't remember now. Anyway...since my purchase I only fly two aircraft....the Savage Cub and the Cub Crafter's X-Cub. Both of those aircraft are a joy to fly and I can't imagine me WANTING to fly anything else. Wonderful aircraft!!!!
Second...I had read some negative comments several weeks ago upon the release of MSFS. To be honest.....I quit reading those. I too was not happy about the 4+ hour download of the program. Whew...that was exhausting and I hate to think of the nightmare that might cause some with poor internet connections or slow speeds. In addition.... I'm not fond of the slow startup and the checking for updates etc., however, have now gotten use to it and to be honest.....the joy I get from the program FAR EXCEEDS any discomfort on startup speed etc.
Third... I am very fortunate to live in an area where "Bing" maps are pretty good. I cannot begin to explain how VERY pleased of the Southern California area. The quality of the sim is so good that I can actually spot intersections several miles in the distance that I recognize and know EXACTLY where I am. I did a flight a week or so ago from my house over to Disney Land. (about 78-80 miles west of my home) Since I drive that way frequently throughout the year for both work and to visit my eldest daughter.....I was amazed at seeing landmarks from the air I recognized from my driving trip and knew where I was at all times. I was even more amazed after my flight over Disney Land to fly up along the I-5 freeway and see one of the buildings I visit in my work. Not only was the building perfect....it had our company name on the side as well as the owner of the buildings personal logo. Yes....it was somewhat pixelated....but I knew exactly what I was looking at as I've seen it often these past 20 years. (smile)
In closing. I was a little hesitant when MS announced the new sim. Mostly because I had gotten away from FSX and had seemed withdrawn from flying with only an occasionally short flight. However, I guess the fact I've had so much time invested into Flight Sim over the years I was curious and thus purchased the program.
With that said.....I'm thrilled with my decision and am totally hooked into flying again!! I especially love the Pacific Northwest and seeking out these little out of the way airstrips to squeeze the little cub on to.
Thirty plus years ago I purchased my first MS Flight sim. (FS3) It filled my unreachable desire to own my own aircraft and to explore the world....as restricted as it was back then. Over the years there has been improvements with each new version of the simulator and the add-on's while becoming expense seemed to revitalized the process. However, with that said...I felt I was slowly losing interest in flying....after all, you could only spread so much lipstick on the old pig to make her tolerable I suppose. (smile)
This newest version has rekindled my desire to fly and explore once again!! Sure....there are area's that can and I'm sure will be improved. I still see some tree's that are floating above the ground a few feet....I see tearing in the mesh or the adjusting of the scenery as I get closer....however, I no longer see the repeating textures over the ground as I fly and it seems while the view out the window is far superior to any flightsim I've used thus far, it runs surprisingly smooth on this old machine. I now feel I'm actually seeing real terrain as it should be seen and the experience is sometimes breathtaking.
Anyway....I do like and enjoy the sim. It runs very well, even with a few stutters from time to time....but it is a game and I'm enjoying it immensely. I'm hoping with my next computer upgrade in a year or so....and continued work and updates....this will only get better in time. For now...I'm VERY Pleased!!
Cheers,
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Post by bhk on Sept 8, 2020 16:05:33 GMT -5
That was an instructive and enjoyable read, Steve. Thank you for taking the time to write all that....one of your longest addresses to the forum ever! I haven't bought it yet because I can't get it over-the-counter here. The physical copy is not yet available from the two computer-game stores in this region (one at Grafton, the other at Lismore). Stock is scarce, apparently. Not a priority item on the limited cargo aircraft coming into Oz at the moment. It looks as if I'll have to buy it on-line.....there is a shop in Sydney which has it in stock and following your comments I will buy the standard version and also get a HOTAS unit at the same time.
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Post by sgtmajor on Sept 9, 2020 9:55:00 GMT -5
Thanks Bruce!! (smile)
I really am enjoying this sim, even though I'm still getting use to some of the changes. From what little I've read and/or seen via YouTube, I think you'll also like the HOTAS. That seems to be the route to go. I'm still using one of the original MicroSoft Thrustmaster original sticks. The only down side of that...there are not that many switches and buttons, but then again flying simple aircraft like the X-Cub and Savage Cub, not much is needed.
Most of my Flying, I just toodle around sightseeing....nope....I don't worry about Class, A, B, C or D airspace and requesting permission to enter, exit, flight follow etc. (smile) Occasionally I do mess with the radio's etc....if I do, it's more on the Navigation side, which is why I probably prefer flying the Savage Cub the best. Only a Com radio and an IFF. No navigation....all strictly IFR (I follow roads)
BTW.....I'm going to start a new post for SkyVector.... as I think others might enjoy that web-site. Comes in handy when you're just looking around and looking for somewhere to go.
On a different note.....the wife tried Vegemite a very long time ago....didn't care for it much. A few days back she tried a bite of my cheese bagel with some of it smeared on. Her eyes lit up and she commented, "That's not half bad." Who knows....I may get her converted yet. (smile)
Cheers mate!
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Post by Tom Constantine on Sept 24, 2020 23:09:29 GMT -5
Thanks for all the good info, Steve. I'm still holding off at the moment. I went for a flight recently in FSX and the old girl still has some charm. Plus I am still driving Trains and Trainz. Bing maps covers this area very well too so I expect the new sim may be my Christmas present to myself. Interesting that you mentioned the Cubs. They are all I am likely to fly.
On the "culinary" front, Amazon has Vegemite. I wonder how much it is like Marmite? I think I sampled Marmite years ago, had forgotten that. I guess I'll try Vegemite next Amazon order.
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Post by sgtmajor on Sept 25, 2020 6:50:41 GMT -5
On the "culinary" front, Amazon has Vegemite. I wonder how much it is like Marmite? I think I sampled Marmite years ago, had forgotten that. I guess I'll try Vegemite next Amazon order. Marmite, huh? Now that's something else I've never tried. Guess I'll add that to my Amazon order and give it a whirl. (smile) Yes....FSX still has some charm still left in her. I had the boxed version of FSX....but later switched to the Steam version. A month or so before MSFS 2020 was released I went to take a short flight and it would no longer boot up. Not sure what was wrong....running the diagnostics from Steam to verify all the files were correct turned up nothing. Uninstalling and reinstalling still didn't help. Frankly at that point I was too lazy to dig out the box version so just waited. I'm still very much in love with the sim. Had a little issue this week with a CTD....but got it sorted out. I have heard others complaining of problems with crashes.... but I really haven't had many. Most of my crashes it was because I went in poking around where I probably shouldn't be. (smile) I will say this......the old way of painting aircraft textures and adding aircraft has completely changed. I don't think I'll ever be able to paint another texture again....at least not anytime soon until someone comes out with a simple tutorial etc. Adding aircraft is a bit of a challenge for me too. However, I'm now perfectly fine with the aircraft I'm flying. One other note I did not realize until just a couple days ago. There is yet another type Cub aircraft that comes with either the deluxe or premium version of the program. You don't need it. There is a video on YouTube where a guy is comparing the add-on Kit Fox to the aircraft. It is pretty much like a home built Kit Fox.....at least for me the Cubs are fine.....although I recently started flying the Cessna 152 some and am enjoying it also. (smile) Cheers!
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Post by Iron Mike on Oct 7, 2020 18:24:50 GMT -5
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Post by sgtmajor on Oct 17, 2020 1:02:34 GMT -5
. Maybe I get my old Stinson converted and back in the air. That's one think I'm still wanting.....some classic aircraft. Now wouldn't that be a joy!! Cheers,
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Post by Iron Mike on Oct 19, 2020 12:09:05 GMT -5
. Maybe I get my old Stinson converted and back in the air. That's one think I'm still wanting.....some classic aircraft. Now wouldn't that be a joy!! Cheers, There is a lot for me to learn with this new file structure..but I'll give it my best shot.
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