This shows how peoples expectations differ. I am happy that SIDs and STARs are incorporated. No vectoring into terrain plus real world call signs and I would be satisfied!

I’m also not exactly blown away by what we’ve seen of the ATC (looks very similar to FSX except that the voices are worse), BUT — and it’s a big but — the TTS nature of those voices opens up a world of possibilities.

Appropriate accents is a huge one. It was always a huge immersion killer to have Midwest US accents everywhere in the world. If that’s not in the base game, seems a good one for a paid addon.

Another one is that it makes it much easier to have new airline, airport, etc. names than the very cumbersome splicing process to do that with the FSX voices. And you can also change phraseology much, much easier.

James

1 hour ago, tweekz said:

This shows how peoples expectations differ. I am happy that SIDs and STARs are incorporated. No vectoring into terrain plus real world call signs and I would be satisfied!

Indeed. I seem to have similar expectations to you. I'm very pleased that SID's and STARs are included. It was my biggest complaint. As long as the vectoring is no longer absurd I will mostly be happy. Although, I would like more appropriate accents throughout the world. I don't expect this to be 100% accurate but the really could be an improvement. But who knows? Perhaps there has been.

Edited May 30, 20206 yr by Jazz

6 minutes ago, Jazz said:

Indeed. I seem to have similar expectations to you. I'm very pleased that SID's and STARs are included.

That was basically what spoiled FSX ATC for me. Otherwise it was quite OK. That and funny approaches into locations like Innsbruck or Aspen. 😄

I hoped for better ATC but my expectations were not too high so my dissappointment is not so big.

When last year some of the details of the sim were published, I remember noticing that ATC was missing. Only later it was added to the wishlist, perhaps because we clearly wished to have some form of ATC. My guess is that until then the code for it just didn't exist and Asobo had to choose between spending lots of resources and perhaps delaying the sim or re-use the FSX code and improve it somewhat.

I am glad we have ATC in the sim, it's vital for those not wanting to use vatsim, PilotEdge or similar options. It may not be what we dreamed of, but it's not worse than what we already have. The quality of the voices could be improved even in alpha or beta stage. An improved ATC core probably needs to be addressed in the next update of MSFS.

1 minute ago, tweekz said:

That was basically what spoiled FSX ATC for me. Otherwise it was quite OK. That and funny approaches into locations like Innsbruck or Aspen. 😄

Yeah, those turn left, turn right, turn left, turn right commands were the ones that irritated me the most. As if I am a sailing ship tacking my way into the runway. It was absurd.

50 minutes ago, honanhal said:

BUT — and it’s a big but

He likes big BUTs and he cannot lie....... 😋

As a mostly VFR bush pilot, the ATC seems more than adequate for me.  It's an improvement over FSX / P3D and that's enough for me to be happy.  Plus I think it shows a lot of promise to be improved down the line.  The foundation of the new ATC looks solid, polish and flair can be added later if they choose to.

I think people are asking for too much. Fs2020 would become fs2030 and it would cost 5 times as much. Why do you think they are courting the addon community? It looks better than the current ATCs within existing sims so its enough.

Edited May 30, 20206 yr by sanh

29 minutes ago, sanh said:

I think people are asking for too much.

Depends on what is being asked. If people want it to be some kind of super-duper AI with all kinds of amazing features where you think it is actually a human talking to you, then that may be too much, and I'd agree it is perhaps unrealistic to expect this amongst so many other innovations. But in practical (i.e. just working how it should) terms, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect an improvement on the way the AI ATC in FSX and P3D is at the moment. At the moment FSX/P3D ATC will constantly vector you left, then right, then left, then right again so you end up going along like some kind of demented sidewinder missile before it finally puts you into the side of a mountain, at which point it is more of a blessing in disguise than a tragedy that your ordeal is over.

If I had a quid for every time I've had to ignore the FSX ATC vectors whilst descending in cloud for Almeria Airport, in order to avoid being directed into the side of a mountain by the appalling AI instructions over the fourteen years I've used FSX, I'd be able to buy an airliner for real.

So for me, if they sort out the vectoring, which presumably the addition of SIDs and STARs will do, and add the odd bit of spit and polish, I'll be fairly happy. Thus I'm not really asking for too much personally, because in all honesty it sounds like I've already got what I wanted so long as those SIDs and STARs play nicely with the ATC vectors.

Edited May 30, 20206 yr by Chock

Just now, sanh said:

I think people are asking for too much. Fs2020 would become fs2030 and it would cost 5 times as much. Why do you think they are courting the addon community? It looks better than the current ATCs within existing sims so its enough.

The ATC looks like the old one with some welcome improvements : speed restrictions, standard procedures of departure and arrival.  Is it enough  ? Of course not . As  customers it is our sacred duty to ask for more. 😁. That would be voice interaction for me. That being said, the main choices are made whatever we may ask. And yes, let' be busy to prepare FS30 !

Edited May 30, 20206 yr by Dominique_K

3 hours ago, Jazz said:

Indeed. I seem to have similar expectations to you. I'm very pleased that SID's and STARs are included. It was my biggest complaint. As long as the vectoring is no longer absurd I will mostly be happy.

+1. When I started to use addon aircraft, I stopped using default ATC for that very reason. The SIDs and STARs are a welcome addition.

I agree with the op to an extent. I will probably never use the online ‘real’ versions as, personally, I feel it’s a step to far and it’d feel a bit sad. Definitely a bit of the immersion pie that’s been missing for ever though. 

Coming from XP ATC I thought the latest episode ATC shown was very nice and advanced, and I don't think there is anything to worry about the voices - it can be replaced.

Greazer.

I'm with the OP on this one - beyond just an amazing sim, this is absolutely a technology demonstrator for Microsoft (the amount of press this is getting outside of sim community is astounding). As others have noted, the tech to generate realistic intonations and even accents is already there, and owned by Microsoft, so it would be much better if integrated into the core. It would be a real shame if every youtube video showcasing the sim was jarringly brought back to 2006 once the ATC kicked in... 

Why this discussion is great is because we know Asobo is listening - so it's a pretty unique time to get long-standing wishlist items addressed, be it ATC voices, or the realistic size of a Japanese maple...🙃