I have been using these forums for years and have received lots of valuable help. But recently I have been noticing some strange tones when reading some posts. I confess that I am not a flyer but rather a spotter or watcher of ai planes and following them from gate to gate. When MSFS was released there was an ai control option which lets the sim do all the work and I can just sit and watch. But sadly that feature hasn't worked anymore  and may never work again.

The issue that I am seeing is a sort of discrimination from people that enjoying flying the plane themselves towards people that just watch. I have asked valid questions about problems that I am having and lately I get people writing why did you spend money on a flying sim if you just want to watch them or go learn to fly and watch some you tube videos.. First of all, if I could find what I was looking for then I would not ask in the forums. Also, I am not interested in learning how to fly because it doesn't interest me and is for more experienced pilots which is fine for them. The way I enjoy the sim is my own business and I don't need someone telling me "how" I should use the game. Most of these criticizers do take the time to post but sadly the people with real help don't post as much. i don't know where this distaste is coming from but I really hope it changes so I can keep asking for help and not being criticized for those questions. Thanks

26 minutes ago, bosflo said:

The issue that I am seeing is a sort of discrimination from people that enjoying flying the plane themselves towards people that just watch.

Yes, this discrimination has been going on for other "activities" as well - some people just like to watch! 😆

You did not give any correct answers to me and In fact you turned a post that was helpful from another member into an unhelpful one. You just criticized me for not using the sim the right way and insulted my intelligence by saying that learning to fly is too much of an effort and calling me hopeless. That's a real nice response from someone who claims to offer advice.  It's none of your business what I do with my sim. Furthermore it may not be an important feature to you but everyone has their own features that are important to them. Some other people may actually use the sim the same way I do. You are exactly the kind of person that I was referring to in my post. This should be an open space with helpful advice but instead you criticize and think you know everything because of how you enjoy your sim. 

Thanks for your helpful advice, I won't be taking any of it.

I think you just need to accept that some people have a weird prejudiced idea about the "correct" way to use the product and just ignore them.

To some extent I get the same reaction as a mainly VFR pilot, I have no interest in learning the intricacies of flying IFR in an airbus and mainly want to fly aircraft I have flown or in some case might one day fly. if other people want to pretend to be airline captains and that is their passion I am all for them going for it but it has little interest to me at all. However some of the airline IFR vatsim types seem to feel theirs is the only way to fly.

Two comments:

1. If you want to buy the sim and even just use it to display pretty scenery on a big screen TV as a mobile wall decoration it is your purchase go for it.

2. that said if you are wanting to watch ATC traffic this is the wrong sim at present there is a limited number of aircraft and very few liveries and you do not even get the correct airlines flying out of the right airports, might change eventually but it is nowhere near there yet

 

 

Edited November 2, 20205 yr by Glenn Fitzpatrick

2 minutes ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

I think you just need to accept that some people have a weird prejudiced idea about the "correct" way to use the product and just ignore them.

you think piloting a plane in a flight simulator is a "weird prejudiced idea"?

27 minutes ago, AmeliaCat said:

you think piloting a plane in a flight simulator is a "weird prejudiced idea"?

Well to be honest I would say flight simulator is a bit misleading, these products are more ATC/IFR/look-at-all-the-cool-gauges simulators  with MSFS adding "/ooh-look-pretty-scenery " to the list 😄

yes, the flight dynamics are close enough that supervised use with an instructor occasionally pointing out any issues with either the FM or just bad habits the student is developing can be useful. but it is nothing like , as you are probably aware, walking around just after dawn doing a pre-flight on a real aircraft, waiting for the fog to clear enough to taxi out to take off.  

if anything the flight dynamics are worse in this game compared to the others but the visuals are much more immersive and more than make up for it, and VR will make it even more so ... but you are still not actually flying.  You do not feel the temperature drop as you climb, that subtle sideways force if the ball is not centred, the roller coaster effect of an over abrupt stall recovery etc etc

In the end that is all irrelevant to the issue at hand. If I have the money to buy a Ferrari Portofino convertible and want to park it in my front yard and fill it with dirt and plant petunias, it is a rather odd use for a Ferrari and probably would attract some disapproval from elitist Ferrari fans but in the end it is my Ferrari and if i want to use it as an oversized planter I can. if someone wants to buy a flight simulator with all sorts of livery addons just for plane spotting that is their choice.

Edited November 2, 20205 yr by Glenn Fitzpatrick

The best advice I can give (and I believe I gave it in another thread) is to make a ZenDesk ticket documenting what you think should be happening and what is actually happening.

In the last developer Q&A they mentioned that they will be adding a new 3rd section to the Feedback Summary to address accessibility concerns that might prevent all users from enjoying the sim. I would expect the AI Copilot would fall into that type of a category, so maybe your concern will get some more attention that way.

I think what got lost was OP origninal post and issue which was he wants to use ai pilot 100 percent of the time and when he put the plane on nav autopilot and I beleve he did nothing else.. It flew tot he airport and right past it,,

And so he waned to know why and how to make it auto land I guess.. SO besides stating i thought it was kinda weird no buy a flight sim and not fly and I did say whatever to each his own,  I said go to youtube and look for auto pilot tutorials,,,

So I dont think he has an autopilot doesnt work right issue, he just doesnt know how it works or what to expect it to do and for some reason he is unwilling to learn,, as qouted above,

9 hours ago, bosflo said:

I have been using these forums for years and have received lots of valuable help.When MSFS was released there was an ai control option which lets the sim do all the work and I can just sit and watch. But sadly that feature hasn't worked anymore  and may never work again.

 I don't need someone telling me "how" I should use the game. Most of these criticizers do take the time to post but sadly the people with real help don't post as much. i don't know where this distaste is coming from but I really hope it changes so I can keep asking for help and not being criticized for those questions. Thanks

MSFS was the first sim that I know of where you had an actual ai pilot that would try to do the work for you.  So I'm not sure what Flight Sim you used in the past to "just watch".  Nor am I sure what help you would need to "just watch" as that is an entirely passive activity.   On earlier versions of this software you could go into external view, activate the chase camera and cycle between AI aircraft.  As you stated, that is not a feature set of this program at this time.  So again, other than stirring the pot, I'm not sure what your purpose for being on THIS forum to comment on a feature that isn't a part of this program, 

49 minutes ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

In the end that is all irrelevant to the issue at hand. If I have the money to buy a Ferrari Portofino convertible and want to park it in my front yard and fill it with dirt and plant petunias, it is a rather odd use for a Ferrari and probably would attract some disapproval from elitist Ferrari fans but in the end it is my Ferrari and if i want to use it as an oversized planter I can. if someone wants to buy a flight simulator with all sorts of livery addons just for plane spotting that is their choice.

Yes, you could use the money to buy a Ferrari Portofino and use it as an expensive planter.  But as you stated, I would think it would be rather foolish to go onto a Ferrari forum and ask people there on ASSISTANCE on how to use it as a planter.  The OP seems to indicate that he wants assistance with a feature that isn't in this program.  That is, the ability to jump from AI plane to AI plane.  Or he is unsatisfied with the level of intelligence of the AI pilot as it seems that the virtual "otto" is about as helpful as the one in the movie, to which I would respond that he goes to Zendesk and submit a bug report regarding the lack of fidelity of the AI pilot.

But it is a little bit more than just a bit disingenuous to ask members of a flight simulator forum HOW to use the product for a purpose for which it wasn't intended, and then criticize those same people because they direct you to instructions on how to use the product for the purpose for which it was intended.

Don't go to a Tools forum and expect people to tell you how to hammer a nail with a screwdriver, or screw in a screw with a hammer, and then cry "discrimination" because they have the nerve to tell you that hammers are for nails and screwdrivers are for screws, and neither tool is really useful for just looking at it.....Unless, of course, your actual purpose is to just drop a grenade into the room, and start a ruckus, and we know what that makes you.

Edited November 2, 20205 yr by wthomas33065

@Glenn Fitzpatrick

I agrr witht he not a true flight sim sentiment but thats a whole other ball of wax and not relavent to the OP..

Sure buy a car plant flowers in it  , but OP then asks for advice/help ont flowers but then doesnt want to learn about flowers.. And wont go do his own research to help himself.. I just dont get it,

PS i hope he is using game pass and didnt buy deluxe premium,,hhahhahahahaa

Guys, it's a game. an entertainment product from a gaming studio. The OP is not a lesser user, just because he wants to watch the game in action. Nothing wrong with that.

There are other options as well, YouTube is free to watch as well, and there are many flight movies there.

Please don't be judgmental just because there are some that enjoy different things that you do.

24 minutes ago, Wobbie said:

 

 

24 minutes ago, Wobbie said:

Guys, it's a game. an entertainment product from a gaming studio. The OP is not a lesser user, just because he wants to watch the game in action. Nothing wrong with that.

There are other options as well, YouTube is free to watch as well, and there are many flight movies there.

Please don't be judgmental just because there are some that enjoy different things that you do.

No one said he is a lesser user, Unfortunately, to watch the game in action, he has to learn how to get the game in action.  

As I stated in an earlier post, this game doesn't allow you to hop between AI traffic like previous versions, and the AI pilot isn't up to scratch.

So he's going to have a tough time doing what he wants without spending time learning how to operate the program in the way that it was intended.

If all he wants to do is watch, FSX is more than capable to do that.

Edited November 2, 20205 yr by wthomas33065

Ok, the OP has an unusual mode of use. No need to kink-shame them.