pc or xbox??

[nonflyingdutchman 40]

Would you prefer running the new fs on a pc or (optimised for) xbox (preferrably the project scarlett)

[PWJT8D 446]

Only PC for me. I don't have an xbox anyways. I've always been on the Playstation team for consoles. Any xbox titles I play such as Forza, I just use the PC version.

[ricka47 611]

PC only as I don't have an xBox.  Plus, I use a second screen for a moving map and other navigation tools.  Also, the sound of "opimized for xBox" makes me think that something will be left out or lowered in quality.

[jcomm 5,882]

No xBox here, or plans to get one - same applying to any VR hw...

 

[kingm56 1,023]

Does this question really need to be asked?  Essentially, you're going to McD and asking its customers if they prefer BK or McD.  Obviously, most AVSIMs users are going to say PC.  I'm having a hard time imagining what a 'proper simulation' would look like on an XBOX.  I'm not opposed to the notion as I hope it brings more fans to the genera; I just don't believe it will be an option for those of us who want to truly immerse ourselves into the flying experience.   

[Paraffin 2,197]

Without knowing more, PC for me.

I use LittleNavMap as a flight planner, and load that into the plane's GPS. Most of my flights involve an hour or more in the cruise phase, so I tab over to a Chrome browser to surf the 'net and watch YouTube videos. Then back to the sim for step-down and landing. I have a Warthog HOTAS and Saitek pedals for flight controls, and use TrackIR when flying helicopters. VR may be in my future but not yet. So there are some hardware control input requirements. 

I'm not sure how much of that would be supported on the next Xbox. If the built-in flight planner is good enough, then it might replace LittleNavMap. I'm pretty sure the browser wouldn't be Chrome 😉, but that's not a deal-killer.

It's an attractive idea to buy the next Xbox (which I don't have) to avoid upgrading my current PC. It probably won't cost more than the higher-end GPU I would need for the upgrade on my PC. Those 2080 Ti cards ain't cheap! But I'd have to know a heck of a lot more than I do now, before making that decision.

[simmerhead 885]

I've never owned a console, and probably never will since I don't play games (not even flight sims for a couple of years now - grew tired of P3D, tweaking and constant updates). So PC only for me...

[nonflyingdutchman 40]

I'm a pc person myself but considering the specs on that scarlett xbox and overall stability of consoles I'm tempted to go that way.

[Superdelphinus 718]

I’d be interested in the new Xbox if the two versions have parity. Doesn’t make much emotional difference to me what the name of the square box is that’s supplying me with flight simulator. 

[mpw8679 428]

More then likely when the new Xbox is released PC hardware will have already surpassed it.

[Superdelphinus 718]

No doubt, but in the ‘old’ days, new consoles were much more at the bleeding edge when they were released, than they have been recently. The signs are that Scarlett is going to be a bit of a beast. 

If I can get an Xbox Two that’s as fast or faster than my pc with an upgrade gpu (say an rtx 3080 or something) but half the price, and runs the same or better version of msfs, that’s the scenario where I’d consider it. I am more comfortable with thinking of myself as a gamer than others though 🙂

[Paraffin 2,197]

35 minutes ago, Superdelphinus said:

I’d be interested in the new Xbox if the two versions have parity. Doesn’t make much emotional difference to me what the name of the square box is that’s supplying me with flight simulator. 

Parity is an interesting question. It could go (at least) two ways:

"Scarlett" Xbox will be released during Holiday season 2020 if it stays on schedule. With the beastly specs that have been previewed, many PC users will have to upgrade their hardware to match the console's ability to run maximum eye candy. 

Scenario #1: After 2020, the MSFS developers continue to add features that can take advantage of the new hardware available to PC users. The Xbox falls behind, due to the long life cycle between console versions. This is the traditional way AAA games vary between platforms, with PC users often (but not always) able to show more eye candy than consoles after a couple of years go by.

Scenario #2: After 2020, the MSFS lock in the CPU, GPU, and RAM-intensive features to provide a stable platform for 3rd party development. Sort of a repeat of FSX, where 3rd party devs enjoyed years of a stable platform with no advancement. Good for the devs, not so good for end-users. With this scenario, there wouldn't be a new PC version of the sim until the next Xbox version after Scarlett, maybe in 2025. PC users won't be able to take advantage of any new hardware-intensive features introduced in the sim after release, but at least they'll get faster frame rates with every hardware upgrade. 

I know which version I prefer -- the first one, which is basically what X-Plane does. It's harder on the 3rd party devs but the platform keeps moving forward. MS has a foot in both camps and is heavily invested in making the new Xbox a success against Sony. Anything is possible; this is just pure speculation about the future until we know more about MS's plans.. 

[Superdelphinus 718]

Interestingly they’ve been talking about the parity issue in relation to their own systems, so I don’t think they will lock in one version just so it runs the same everywhere. This is about games that are released that will work on Xbox 1, 1 x and Scarlett. “No one is left behind” but Scarlett will continue to give the best experience.

 

I can imagine something like this with msfs too. Initially you could get the best experience with very top end PCs and Scarlett - 12-18 months later, top end PCs are clearly ahead of Scarlett in terms of raw gfloppage and so everything will run better and potentially new graphical tricks are added or refined into the PC version. Until Xbox Scarlett x is released which introduces some of these additions too. 

So maybe they design some core elements of the game to be quite scalable purely for this reason, and because it allows 3pds to not have to future proof their software too much (although cynically I’d imagine they’d rather like to be able to repeatedly charge for essentially the same product...)

 

i hope this is coherent. 

[Jude Bradley 659]

Don't you think you should at least wait for the product to be released?

 

[overspeed3 410]

To paraphrase Churchill:  "Never!"  (to XBox)