Hi all. I am brand new here and brand new to sims, so please be gentle!

 I’ve just started playing MFS 2020 through the $1 Xbox game pass trial. I love it and will likely fork out for the Premium Deluxe version.

 Question I have - I’m pulling my hair out deciding whether to purchase from Steam or Microsoft. Are there any advantages to either?

I feel I’m in over my head. I heard that the Steam version allows you to tweak graphics settings in the Nvidia control panel in ways that you can’t in the Microsoft version, is this true?

I want to get past this first “simple” step and just buy the game but would be great to know the advantages of both in layman’s kinda terms if anyone is able to help?

 Jordan

Edited September 3, 20205 yr by Jordan85

Not much in it really as far as I can tell, although I understand there were some initial issues with Steam copies, where buyers of the fancy Premium Deluxe version were only getting the Standard version on their download. Presumably it got sorted out, but it was because of the possibility of such things maybe occurring when going indirect via Steam (before I knew that had occurred with some Steam buyers), that when I pre-ordered the Premium Deluxe version, I decided to go with getting it direct from the MS store, even though I do like Steam and do use it a lot.

I've not really had any cause to regret buying it direct from the MS Store. It has worked flawlessly for me in both normal use mode, and whilst using it in developer mode to make scenery, and it patched no problem yesterday. Can't speak for those who bought it via Steam personally, but based on my experience, I can recommend getting it direct from the MS Store.

I went ms store despite having a lot of games on steam, had no issues and I can get to all the files I need, all money also goes to developer. At this point I think it's really personal preference. 

I used the gamepass to find out if I liked it  then just brought the Microsoft version. I didn't have to download anything else as I already had it. I don't know if you get that advantage with Steam.  Apparently prices within the marketplace are also cheaper if you have the microsoft version, though this could change.

Also works for me without any issues at all. (no better or worse than Steam).

Good luck.

Brendon

 

 

just be cautious,sometimes steam version's may not be compatible with add-ons . DCS world did this, and if you buy from MS I think you'd be better supported should that happen . I've personally lots of games through steam ,except DCS World .Once my xbox trial ends I'll buy from MS .just to be sure 

I bought from Steam as I didn’t want to have yet another launcher and for just one product. I’ve had no issues with the premium deluxe version though I bought it a few days after launch as I first tried it out on Xbox with the remains of a 3 month gamepass that came with a cpu purchase. I fully uninstalled that version first though. I don’t see how there would be compatibility issues with addons as they go into the community folder. I’m not too worried about the marketplace as I likely will buy direct when possible for easier support and faster updates. 

11 minutes ago, flyinion said:

I bought from Steam as I didn’t want to have yet another launcher and for just one product. I’ve had no issues with the premium deluxe version though I bought it a few days after launch as I first tried it out on Xbox with the remains of a 3 month gamepass that came with a cpu purchase. I fully uninstalled that version first though. I don’t see how there would be compatibility issues with addons as they go into the community folder. I’m not too worried about the marketplace as I likely will buy direct when possible for easier support and faster updates. 

you can still just buy from MS and add the game to steam to launch it .............your call .......

 

What are the differences between the Standalone DCS World and the Steam version?

Steam Version:
- Auto-Update without launching the game (as long as steam is open)
- Faster Download/Update Speed
- Steam In-Game Overlay
- Steam Friend List Notifications
- Quick Repair
- DLCs not present on Steam are unsupported

Standalone DCS World:
- Get all the modules as soon as they are released
- Does not require any extra program to be launched
- Has every single modules available

If you are fine with waiting for most product to be available on Steam and like most of the Steam feature, the Steam version might be for you.
If you own unsupported products such as Upgrades / FC3 or do not care about the Steam functionalities, Standalone DCS World might be for you.

Edited September 3, 20205 yr by Blade_au

I bought it on MS Store since it's a MS game. I do have a lot of games on Steam though. Didn't have any issues installing or otherwise.

3 hours ago, Blade_au said:

you can still just buy from MS and add the game to steam to launch it .............your call .......

 

 

You can buy MSFS 2020 from the XBox store and add it to Steam?  How would you do that?  I don't actually use Steam a whole lot, but I do have some things in it (Destiny 2, Doom (2016), 3dMark, FSX:SE, Half Life 2 from way back when it came out, etc.) but I play a lot more things on Battlenet so I'm much more familiar with that platform.

 

edit:  NM, just noticed the "+" with the "add a game" at the bottom corner, huh, just never noticed that before.

4 hours ago, Blade_au said:

just be cautious,sometimes steam version's may not be compatible with add-ons . DCS world did this, and if you buy from MS I think you'd be better supported should that happen . I've personally lots of games through steam ,except DCS World .Once my xbox trial ends I'll buy from MS .just to be sure 

Nonsense, you can install any addons to steam folders. It's rather the opposite as I've heard you can't find *.exe in ms store and alike. No problems with steam here.

Both versions are fundamentally the same, everything that matters happens inside the program itself, and isn't affected by Steam or the MS Store.

A few differences that might be interesting:

• Wether you prefer to use the Steam overlay functions for chatting with other people you might have friended, including using Steam voice chat.
• The Steam overlay also has a handy screenshot function that you might already be used to, compared to the screenshot and recording functions of the Windows 10/Xbox games overlay.
• If you plan on using VR down the line: It's currently unknown if the sim will use the Steam VR framework on the Steam version. If it does, that might mean that it's compatible with all the other Steam VR-compatible headsets, not just the Reverb G2.

53 minutes ago, flyinion said:

You can buy MSFS 2020 from the XBox store and add it to Steam?  How would you do that?  I don't actually use Steam a whole lot, but I do have some things in it (Destiny 2, Doom (2016), 3dMark, FSX:SE, Half Life 2 from way back when it came out, etc.) but I play a lot more things on Battlenet so I'm much more familiar with that platform.

 

edit:  NM, just noticed the "+" with the "add a game" at the bottom corner, huh, just never noticed that before.

That isn't physically adding the game to Steam though, it's basically so you can use the Steam interface while playing for chat etc. Depending on permission issues where MSFS is installed, it might not let you add the .exe to Steam anyway.

4 hours ago, Blade_au said:

just be cautious,sometimes steam version's may not be compatible with add-ons . DCS world did this, and if you buy from MS I think you'd be better supported should that happen . I've personally lots of games through steam ,except DCS World .Once my xbox trial ends I'll buy from MS .just to be sure 

I don't know why people keep spreading this. They have just stated in the Developer Live Q&A, that there will be NO difference between the Steam version and the MS Store version! Updates, Add-ons, Marketplace, 3rd party content will act, install, and be used the exact same way, no matter what version you choose. It's all down to personal preference. 

And - no, you cannot add a game, that you haven't purchased in Steam, to Steam. Done. Adding a non-Steam game to Steam, is not the same as purchasing it through Steam. The only benefit from adding a non-Steam game to Steam, is utilization of the Steam overlay.

As far as i know...you have access to the .exe file with the Steam Version.

30 minutes ago, travelabroad said:

I don't know why people keep spreading this. They have just stated in the Developer Live Q&A, that there will be NO difference between the Steam version and the MS Store version! Updates, Add-ons, Marketplace, 3rd party content will act, install, and be used the exact same way, no matter what version you choose.

Doesn't matter what the developers said, what matters is what occurred, and what occurred is that it didn't turn out like that. There were a number of people experiencing problems with the Steam version, such as not getting Premium Deluxe content when they ordered it. This was a problem unique to those having bought through Steam as far as I am aware.

I just checked, and I've got 210 titles listed in my Steam library, including XPlane 11, FSX-SE, FSW and a number of train and truck sims as well as shooters, MMOs etc, so it's not like I'm anti the notion of using Steam for things, but I weighed up the possibility of potential issues with it for purchasing MSFS and decided it added an unnecessary link in the chain which might potentially cause issues, and it seems this did occur for some buyers.

If it works great for Steam users, then I'm glad for them, but I personally think it isn't the best option for purchasing the new sim for the above reason.