I bought a new 15in HP gaming laptop to run this sim. Ground scenery is incredible. Not too impressed with the clouds but I have my settings on medium. Anyway the graphics is not the problem. The laptop is running it fine and I'm impressed with it. The main problem with this sim for me is the keymaps. I'm a old time simmer from FS98,  FS2004 and FSX days. The problem is the keymap here is nothing like those sims. A lot of the keys simply do not work. I get the warning about the barometer and I press b but it doesn't change it. I  go into the controls and look at the keymap and things are so arcane. I don't know if I have it in me to learn a whole new keymap system. What were they thinking? I also don't care for the outside cameras. They aircraft don't look right in proportion. I miss the spot plane camera. The cockpits? I cant's see inside them. They are too dark. I realize this is a new sim 15 years after the last one and probably a lot of newcomers so it's all new to them. But the sim feels more like a game than a sim. Ok, I've only had it for two days so I am being patient and hoping things get encouraging here soon. Any thoughts? I have a feeling a lot of people went through the same feelings as me.  One last thing. No B73?, arghh.

New sim, new keymap, that's just something you're going to have to get used to. Cockpit too dark, turn on the lights. I've never had a cockpit spot dark I couldn't see unless it's dark outside and when that occurs I turn on the light. As far as the altimeter goes, there is a bug so if it doesn't work sometimes , find the local altimeter and set it manually 

The key settings are discouraging, no doubt. I guess most of us found this, and at least I did. Not sure why they douldn't adopt the FSX settings as far as they apply. Who knows.

Basically, you have two options. (i) Reset at least the keys you use often via the Controls Menu. It's not fun but it can be done. (ii) Get used to the new settings. There are several variants of key settings tables, e.g. here

https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/24781/msfs-controls-keyboard-commands/

I opted for (ii).

Kind regards, Michael

6 minutes ago, pmb said:

The key settings are discouraging, no doubt. I guess most of us found this, and at least I did. Not sure why they douldn't adopt the FSX settings as far as they apply. Who knows.

Basically, you have two options. (i) Reset at least the keys you use often via the Controls Menu. It's not fun but it can be done. (ii) Get used to the new settings. There are several variants of key settings tables, e.g. here

https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/24781/msfs-controls-keyboard-commands/

I opted for (ii).

Kind regards, Michael

Thanks Michael. Yeah those are too arcane for me. I think I'm just going to set the keymaps to my liking. I still use FSX a lot and going back and forth between the two will just confuse me. Hopefully there is a way I can save the file should I ever have to do a reinstall. 

timknco,

As you have so rightly pointed out, the controls/key mapping is indeed very different. Further there is no manual supplied which can give you the slightest hint on what to do.  My best advice is that you should go through all the assigned key mappings as many (I am not joking) are mapped to different functions simultaneously.  I have no idea how that snuck through, but it took me a long time to sort it all out.  There are no shortcuts to this either.

These aspects ... no manual and key mappings, were far and away, my biggest problems with MSFS, as none of it was really intuitive. To this day, however, once I had it all working correctly (ie to my satisfaction) I have not had to adjust anything and it is all working very well.  I do not know if any of these default mappings have been changed in subsequent updates.

However, a lot of people initially had to work through huge problems just to install the programme and then had other problems subsequently.  There was a lot of bad interaction with a lot of unhappy simmers and gamers which did not reflect terribly well on us a community generally.

Fortunately, this has all seemed to calm down considerably and whilst there are still some frustrated users out there, it all appears to be very much more positive. 

In summary, once you sort out what you need to sort out, and bear in mind that everybody has different ideas on how to, or, what to, areas of key mapping you will very quickly find that we do, in fact, have a vastly superior sim platform (as a default) than any before it.

Persevere and you will be rewarded, and I wish you the best in your future with MSFS

Regards

Tony

The are other options some people use:

- with a laptop  buy one of those little external numpad things and map your main keys onto that. 

- plug in a USB Xbox controller

- there are apps that let you display the main switch gear etc remotely on a pad (usually android) 

Curiously, the 'b' key is one of the few that hasn't changed. And works fine for me.

Edited November 12, 20205 yr by odourboy

1 hour ago, timkmco said:

Hopefully there is a way I can save the file should I ever have to do a reinstall. 

I think they are saved on the cloud and there is no current way to export them, which is unfortunate as otherwise someone would have uploaded an "FSX Keybind" mod by now.

However hopefully if they are saved in your profile there is a chance they will come back with a reinstall.

1 hour ago, timkmco said:

Any thoughts? I have a feeling a lot of people went through the same feelings as me.

I think you are correct!  It's a case of learning a few of its setup quirks which aren't bad once you understand them, and it's also a case of trying not to expect exactly what you were already used to.  Be sure to use the easy to program user views attached to each plane--just Ctrl-Alt-1, 2, 3 etc for any view you want to program in-cockpit, then you can execute them by hitting Alt-1, 2, 3 etc.  From the in-cockpit view simply hit the Insert key on your Win 10 keyboard, then hit W key to slide forward.  Now you can aim down or sideways w/ the numpad arrow keys for an unobstructed showcase view.   The End key gets you to the external camera and you can zoom w/ your mouse wheel.

Hang in there!  There is a whole lot of goodness already in the sim and you just need time to get it sorted out, and especially axis sensitivities.   I love the TBM930 and use it almost exclusively.  I'm a veteran simmer since 1982 logging 20h/week since then and right now my main joy is MSFS, though still use P3D on occasion for the great aircraft.

So in few words:  just be patient ;o)

Edited November 12, 20205 yr by Noel

2 hours ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

However hopefully if they are saved in your profile there is a chance they will come back with a reinstall.

Glenn,

I have no idea where these mappings are actually stored or filed, but I have now done 3 complete reinstalls and I have not had to go back and set it all up again.  This is a huge advantage to P3D although you can actually save your mappings to another folder or drive in P3D, and then re import them at will. 

One more thing for the OP to note, is that the MSFS community, contributed so very much in figuring out the initial quirks and problems that occurred (probably due mostly to the lack of a manual) and whilst there are still some issues occurring, that same community is still involved and in addition,  now busily modding the default aircraft. I would like to shout out a special thanks to Robert Young for his Bonanza G36 and the soon to be modded DA62, to the Working Title group for the G1000, G3000 and the CJ4, as well as FlyByWire Simulations for their work on the A320.  All of this is free and there are numerous others working on sceneries, utilities and aircraft. I was amazed at the XPlane community for their free contribution to XPlane, but that does not compare (in my opinion) to community involvement in MSFS.

In hindsight, one has to admit that the initial MSFS offering was GodAwful in many respects, but it has made incredible progress in just on 3 months. 

As has been stated, patience, perseverence and the community will solve most of the issues that the MSFS/Asobo don't. This platform has the potential to become the number one GoTo platform in a very short time, and then  we have the P3D and XPlane platforms which, I believe, will have to go, and will go, streaming way.  Maybe, with their huge advantage working with P3Ds for so long, they will regain the lead. Whichever way it goes, we, the consumers (simmers or gamers) will be the winners.  I wish I was 10-20 years younger to see what exactly lies in our future. It sure as hell is very, very good.

Regards

Tony  

 

9 hours ago, timkmco said:

 Any thoughts? I have a feeling a lot of people went through the same feelings as me.

No, it took me under an hour to figure the mapping out, a little longer to come to grips with the new camera system. The latter is good enough, no need for Chaseplane or Eazy-Dok.

The problem is that a lot of folks can't be bothered to carefully reassign controls, keeping in mind the double-mapping. Hence, you get a lot of posts like: why do my reversers deploy when I lower my landing gear.

11 hours ago, timkmco said:

The main problem with this sim for me is the keymaps.

The keyboard controls are indeed fairly awful in comparison to many other PC games and apps, but I should imagine it is part of the mechanics of making things a bit easier development-wise for a game which will also go onto a console, and the GUI is certainly reminiscent of this. And whilst that might make things a little bit easier development-wise, frankly it is putting form over function, and is therefore among the worst aspects of the sim. It is true that you do 'get used to it', but from an GUI/controller design standpoint, creating something which people 'get used to' is not what you should be aiming for and it certainly is not what I would call the ideal approach.

11 hours ago, timkmco said:

One last thing. No B73?, arghh.

Several theories on why no included default 737, ranging from 'leaving the field clear for PMDG' (not very likely since its inclusion in other MS sims never stopped developers making one for those sims), or to avoiding potentially adverse publicity for the Boeing 737 MAX.

Personally, I'm inclined to think it was neither of these which was the main reasoning behind the absence of a 737, rather the fact that Asobo, being French, simply found it easier and more accessible to make an airliner built in their country, albeit particularly one currently free of controversy in comparison to its Boeing rival.

 

1 hour ago, Chock said:

Several theories on why no included default 737, ranging from 'leaving the field clear for PMDG' (not very likely since its inclusion in other MS sims never stopped developers making one for those sims), or to avoiding potentially adverse publicity for the Boeing 737 MAX.

Personally, I'm inclined to think it was neither of these which was the main reasoning behind the absence of a 737, rather the fact that Asobo, being French, simply found it easier and more accessible to make an airliner built in their country, albeit particularly one currently free of controversy in comparison to its Boeing rival.

 

I'm inclined to be a tad more mercenary about it...   default version  Airbus..  French/European company etc etc etc..   pay a bit more.. get the popular Boeing 747  pay even more and get the Boeing 787..  and I suspect the 787 replaced the 737 as being more modern, but I suspect there was a percieved need for Boeing tubeliners, so they were added to the pay a little more versions.  If the 787 didn't exist then I suspect the top version of the sim would have had the 737 instead  🙂

Graham

16 hours ago, timkmco said:

I bought a new 15in HP gaming laptop to run this sim. 

HP Omen? That's what I bought. I'm very impressed with how it runs MSFS on an RTX2060. Never thought it would run on Ultra settings at all, but it does and frame rates are smooth.  Now if I could only get rid of those dam stutters....

You'll get used to the new keys. I played FSX etc. for 20 years and I'm terrible at adapting to new things. But I'm already using the keys in MSFS like it's second nature. I was cussing the first few days like you are now.

On 11/13/2020 at 9:08 AM, NightOfDreams said:

HP Omen? That's what I bought. I'm very impressed with how it runs MSFS on an RTX2060. Never thought it would run on Ultra settings at all, but it does and frame rates are smooth.  Now if I could only get rid of those dam stutters....

You'll get used to the new keys. I played FSX etc. for 20 years and I'm terrible at adapting to new things. But I'm already using the keys in MSFS like it's second nature. I was cussing the first few days like you are now.

I got the HP Pavilion i5 GTX 1650 Gaming Laptop. It has an  Intel® Core™ i5-9300H and a GTX 1650 card, IPS screen. Got it on sale for $450. I received a free laptop for a site to do a review but wasn't happy with it, so I sold it for $300 on CL and put that towards this. So I figure I got the laptop for $150. Not bad huh? I wasn't willing to spend a fortune for one game.  It's a lower end gaming laptop but it can run Flight sim pretty smoothly on medium settings. I haven't tried bumping it up to higher settings yet as I'm trying to learn the key commands first. It's super frustrating to me. The brake and barometer keys rarely work. Basic controls just show a big question mark. It asks me to press 8 to take off. What the heck? And pressing 8 lifts up the plane but the number pad 8 doesn't. I find it crazy. Sometimes the F3 doesn't work. Something is seriously wrong with the keymap system. They all work fine on my other sims. As I said frustrated but I'm hanging in there. Can't expect to learn a new sim in a week. At the same time it should be much easier than this.

Edited November 17, 20205 yr by timkmco