I don't think option 1 is really a valid option.  The nature of PC based software requires extensive configuration and load testing.  It is different when you are testing on a platform that you have complete control over regarding hardware, operating system and driver set used.

And for that reason, I think the Xbox Version will be relatively bug free when it releases.  

When you work on the assumption that everyone will be running the same platform, then all you need for widespread testing is for load testing, to test the servers.  

But that's not what we have here.

So I am not sure this product would have "matured" without the participation of us "early adopters" as guinea pigs.

This is the first time a simulation product has attempted to offload the majority if it's scenery data into a server, and rely on nearly constant client server communications.  

We already see the unintended consequences of that.  Take a flight in a 152 vs a faster turboprop.  On my system, photogrammetry ALWAYS looks better in the smaller plane, because the simulation has more time to load and render the scenery.  

This is not FSX, FS2004, or even XPlane or P3D.  It's an completely new paradigm, and one that requires extensive participation in the flight sim community to evolve.  

I voted number 2, only because I think that number 1, is no longer a viable option in todays environment.

I wish it would have been delayed for a few weeks so that they would fix the awful installation manager. 50 hours trying to get the game downloaded properly was exhausting, and it would have probably prevented the review-bombing on Steam.

Otherwise I'm happy it was released when it was, I could finally stop waiting for that Alpha invite and I got a couple of months to enjoy the simulator before my GPU was rendered incompatible. Plus it probably was a good idea to open the simulator up to the entire community so that Asobo could acknowledge what would be best to do next. Maybe they should have called it an early access programme though.

Number 2. I didn't expect to be a beta tester now, but it's ok. Better than having to keep using one of the other sims for 18 months more while watching others posting amazing screenshots of this sim.

I picked (1).  If there had been another option I would have picked that:

Quote

(3)  The sim should have been released, but with a clear and honest assessment of the current state of the sim as "Early Access" (honest advertising) as far as many aspects of the software

Personally I made a rule after the debacle that was Star Citizen and getting burned on a couple other things where the developer evaporated completely or cancelled the project after taking my $$$ to never buy another Early Access title unless I was satisfied via reviews with the current state of the software. 

I have some emotional attachment to the MSFS brand from when I was a kid, this pandemic sucks, and all the marketing hype looked really exciting, so I bought MSFS expecting it would live up at least mostly to the hype.  I did not seek our posts from people who had violated the Alpha or Beta NDA because it didn't cross my mind the reality could be so different from what was being advertised, given the readily available reviews from major sources heaping on praise and the value of the MSFS brand and the consequences to that brand of releasing something with so many issues....

Edited November 30, 20205 yr by marsman2020

Can we have a third button Noel? As that is a bit of a polarised survey. I can see what you are trying to do you trixy-trickster!  😁

If you had an option...

I am glad MSFS was released when it was, with an expectation it's shortcomings will be address over time, but I have concerns over the quality of some of the updates since launch.

I would vote for that one 👍, and I think quite a few more would as well. 🙂

Funny when you click to see who voted for what it’s no surprise based on everyone’s comments over the last four months... we’re so predictable! 🤣😆😅

So 120/250=48. That means I have paid 48 cents per hour of entertainment to MS/ASOBO with lots more fun to come.

#2 for me.

1 hour ago, rtodepart said:

I like others knew what i was paying for from day one

I voted "no" and genuinely have no regrets.  However, I think the above quote falls a little short of reality.  Given the very impressive pre-launch publicity and the absolutely incredible videos and screenshots which in reality, had little to do as far as portrayal of the launch product, I believe very few people had any idea of what we were paying for. Expectations and reality were very different. 

A lot of words have been generated here about being a "beta Tester" and "released too early", but, in truth, we were given an incredibly good default platform. With all the periodic updates, it could be said that we are actually behind what was released some three and a half months ago. For some this might be true, and I have been one of the lucky ones with very few problems with either installation or the inherent "bugs"

A lot of people here will probably disagree with me on this, but I believe the solution could well be, the whole team, temporarily working on the SDK, releasing that to the  third party developers (let them fix the core problems LOL) and then just concentrate on the scenery updates, which appear to introduce fewer problems than the updates. 

Now before I get shouted down, I am well aware that this aint, not, never, ever, going to happen and is more a "wish" than anything else. I am just looking forward to them stopping the "fix" on things that are not yet broken, and to some semblance of quality in the update releases, which will also be beta tested before release.  ie less haste and more taste. Improvements are and always will be very welcome, but not at the expense of everyone elses' work.  

Lets not lose sight of the fact, too, that all this screwing around with existing 3PDs may well be intentional as well and that is my "conspiracy" theory. LOL. This "conspiracy" has been mentioned before, so I cannot claim originality with it.

Despite the alleged backward looking updates, we still have an incredible platform and if we have to wait another 6-18 months for something which comes close to perfection, that is an aspect I am happy to comply with.

Given the enormous amount of comment regarding the use of other platforms, those of us lucky enough to maintain them still have very good flying prospects, which do not involve navigating around the "MSFS/Asobo fixes" 

A great poll (probably because most respondents agree with my "no") 

Regards

Tony

1 hour ago, ChaoticBeauty said:

I wish it would have been delayed for a few weeks so that they would fix the awful installation manager. 50 hours trying to get the game downloaded properly was exhausting, and it would have probably prevented the review-bombing on Steam.

100% agree, Maybe they could have rolled it out in a small region, although I am not sure it would have given them a good enough sample, plus we would have been angry about that too. Why is it rolling out slowly, etc, etc, I want my sim now 🙂 Doesn't matter now though, it is, and was, the way it is. No take backs 🙂

Edited November 30, 20205 yr by in2tech

6 minutes ago, in2tech said:

100% agree, Maybe they could have rolled it out in a small region, although I am not sure it would have given them a good enough sample, plus we would have been angry about that too. Why is it rolling out slowly, etc, etc, I want my sim now 🙂 Doesn't matter now though, it is, and was, the way it is. No take backs 🙂

I think they should have simulated a launch day by opening up the Beta to all members of the Insider Program that signed up for Alpha access, which would have stressed Microsoft's CDN a lot more than the entire Alpha process. A week's worth of reports would be enough to patch the most outstanding issues right before release, effectively what 1.7.14.0 did later.

I think they should have waited until the sim was more complete, however it's easy for me to say this as I was in the Tech Alpha.

Is this really a question? This is the best thing that happened to me and many others in 2020. 😍

Unless you are incredibly strapped for cash there is always the option to buy it now and install and run it in 18 months once you feel it is stable and ready.  Or just buy it in 18 months.

Though to be honest any large software project is always a work in progress and the last 5% to 10% of any given project generally takes about 50% of the total man hours.

My personal impression is, most of the bugs introduced seem to have resulted from knee jerk reactions to community demands for stuff like different night lighting, simple easier more stable auto pilots and better water. 

They need to stop listening to the community throwing tantrums and stick to a rational achievable schedule.

 

Edited November 30, 20205 yr by Glenn Fitzpatrick

As it was on original release and still is (in my opinion) an order of magnitude better than any other flight sim, I'm pleased they did not wait even one more day to release it. Nobody put a gun to head and makes you fly it just because you have it. So if you wanted them to wait, thent you can just pretend it hasn't been released and not fly it until it is up to your standards.

I’m glad it was released! I hadn’t simmed in a decade, and the prospect of MSFS had me building a new PC this spring. The pandemic has turned my job into a living work from home hell (absurd deadlines and workload). I’m stuck at home by myself, my other passion (working out) has been taken from me, and I’m pretty convinced that MSFS is largely responsible for me maintaining my sanity. It’s not perfect, it has annoying issues, but it’s a fantastic sim that will get even better with time. I just took a flight into KIAD with real weather and Robert’s modded Bonanza. I was zipping in and out of some very dynamic cloud layers, it was raining, and the approach was almost down to minimums. I broke out to see the runway lighting just as I was about to initiate a go around. The light was reflecting off the raindrops on the windscreen, coloring them red as they were pushed in various directions from the slipstream. Just about took my breath away.