FSX-MS Future of FSX

[blueshark747 1,843]

Crazy how some folks want to dictate what is now unplayable just because something new and a bit more shiny is released, as if all of a sudden all sims prior to MSFS have to be horribly outdated and suck.

Enjoyment doesn't have an expiration date and none of these sims replace each other. They are all different sims imo.

As for seeing the same repetitive "FSX has always ran and performed and crashed like trash" argument over and over.

These are the very users who simply bought FSXSE for pennies for weak pc/laptop systems and  lack very little knowledge of getting the most out of the sim, no experience in cfg editing, scenery prioritization, basic tuning and tweaking and never invested in addons to better the FSX experience. FSX has always been very rewarding for those who invest in it.. via tweaks and payware addons.

Yes vanilla default FSX feels like a stubborn old mule as it was produced 15 years ago and also because you simply  lack the attention span know how to shine a stubborn old mule.

That's why MSFS is better suited for you, everything is ready to fly with a couple of sliders to adjust. No cfg nor internal tweaking necessary, no outright payware addon purchases needed.

I currently enjoy FSX alongside MSFS both in VR. I feel they are two different sims with two totally different moods,feelings and visuals. FSX has a ton of more freedom and possibility than MSFS currently.

FSX is also my time capsule back to 2006 as it has a ton of airports and bases that no longer even exist in the world.

FSX still has my favorite fixed wing and rotary aircraft, still runs much more solid in VR than MSFS for now.

I still prefer FSX handling and aerodynamics feel over MSFS( "but.. but Blueshark MSFS has more modern actual real scientific modeled wind,aerodynamics,physics systems blah blah") yes we know none of this means the aircraft are actually fun to fly though.

In which in my case they simply do not. I'm not a fan of the twitchy bouncy nose trim and several other issues with the vanilla heavy tubeliners in MSFS.

So for now FSX is still my go to for serious long haul flights and rotary fun.

MSFS as it sits currently is for my low altitude VFR scenery exploration enjoyment as it has some stunning places to explore up close due to the improved much more modern visuals in the smaller GAs(which work better than the heavies atm)

So I say again...enjoyment doesn't have an expiration date and none of these sims replace each other.

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by blueshark747

[polosim 837]

2 hours ago, jbdbow1970 said:

anyone claiming this was a great sim needs their head checked.

I'll make an appointment with my doctor.

No doubt, FSX isn't for everybody. On my side, some issues yes, but still a lot for enjoy.

Back to OP topic, new investment or start on it , not  so smart.

[Dazkent 113]

I still fly FSX regularly and am very happy with it, some the system depth you get still amazes me to this day, It all really depends on what sort of aircraft you want to fly.

 

[hornplayer 1]

I started simming when FS9 was released several years ago...Then, FSX...I had to upgrade my desktop. I bought all the PMDG and Aerosoft aircraft that were available for FSX. The day MSFS2020 was released I purchased that product. I have read so many complaints, but never forget FSX had there share of problems, as most of you know about. I love to fly VFR with MSFS2020...It's fun to fly into areas of the world that I will never visit in my life time. I am waiting to see what PMDG and Aerosoft will do with MSFS2020. I don't want to invest over $200.00 for PMDG 777 and 747 for P3D. At the moment, I am having more fun playing Trainz with friends and designing new train layouts. Also, farm simulators. I used to be a air traffic controller on Vatsim, but was tired sitting around waiting for traffic to appear on my scope so gave that up...So PMDG and Aerosoft hurry up and make some decisions about what you plan to do with MSFS2020, I am running out of life at 82...I believe MSFS2020 will be the wave of the future....

[millsgf 13]

Just one guy's opinion, but the future of FSX is whatever you want it to be.  I have years invested in FSX, not in terms of dollars but in terms of hours spent enjoying a hobby and knowledge gained about how everything worked.  I'm certainly no expert, but I learned how to do things like manually create and flight plans as well as how to edit the aircraft.cfg to make tires look right on surfaces as examples.  

I attribute what I've learned to the many pioneers of the flight sim community.  I read, I searched and research, and I learned by trial and error but not without the help of so many of flight sim forums.  Their contributions have been invaluable and there's not enough thanks to them.  Many are still active on several forums.  When I see an op ask where they can find something or how to make a configuration change, my first instinct is to advise them to search for themselves.  Not to be mean or insensitive, but to encourage them to look for themselves and maybe learn something else in the process.  I think many of us learned that way and I'm happy I did.

Sorry, off my soapbox now.  I've been simming since 1985 with SubLogic's Flight Simulator and have gone through every version of MSFS and even used ATP back in the day.  I'm retired now and use my FS hobby as a way to keep my mind sharp.  One man's dandelion is another man's yellow rose so only you can determine your future with FSX.  Happy flying, my friend.

Gary

[Nurmblitz 59]

I made just a little jump ahead from FSX ACC to FSX SE. I was technically prepared for a bigger jump to P3D and MSFS 2020 but that got delayed due to lack of graphic cards on the market. Now with my favourite planes and sceneries installed again I don't mind the wait. Its fun! One of the latest addons from two years back is the Simstarter NG and with help of this addon I'm almost free from OOMs. So, the platform that was ordered to pension took control over again.

[RayHff 6]

FSX has been a great success; but, like all good things, it too shall pass as other, more sophisticated products make their way to market.

To some it's been a technical flight simulator, to others it's been a touring scenery simulator and/or just a game.

I've always enjoyed the scenery of places I'm familiar with; but, other than those, my interest has been more focused on the technical side of understanding the aircraft, flight and navigation techniques. It's also interesting to modify them with other gauges and such.

As we all wait for the next best flight simulator, few will continue to spend money on any more FSX additions and the support for such will certainly dwindle.

While improved scenery is the big new deal, it's not my primary interest.  As a result, I'll be one of those "hanger ons", no pun intended, that will continue to enjoy FSX for quite some time to come. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by RayHff
spelling

[WallysWorld 4]

Until the virtual airline that I fly for converts more of its planes to MSFS, I'll be flying FSX for a long time to come and buying addons for it. I just 'upgraded' FSX using Steve's DX10 fixer and couldn't be happier. MSFS for me is a few years off for sure.

[blueshark747 1,843]

7 hours ago, RayHff said:

While improved scenery is the big new deal, it's not my primary interest.  As a result, I'll be one of those "hanger ons", no pun intended, that will continue to enjoy FSX for quite some time to come. 

The release of MSFS has taught me the same about my flight sim preferences and modern realistic eye candy graphics tech isn’t as important to me as I’d thought. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by blueshark747

[Elvensmith 165]

Basically what others have said - there is heavy iron for FSX which probably won't be available to fly in MSFS for years, if ever. The view from 30,000 feet is not all that different, albeit you do notice the tiling more in generic areas. That aid, modern PC's with FSX even the SE version do have a few issues running some of the planes and saving your panel state - as I alluded to in the Captain 757 thread (to which no one has replied) and also hinders the Lvl D 767 one of my all time favourite aircraft. However I have a hangar full of pretty good Just Flight aircraft plus other stuff acquired from VA's over the years which flys pretty good just using default Nav.

The only tricky bit with FSX is having to use the Windows screen magnifier when starting the programme on a 4K monitor, as the non scaleable menu is otherwise too tiny to read.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Elvensmith

[FederFlyer 26]

I'm coming back to FSX after a two months of frustration with MSFS 2020.  As mentioned in earlier posts, MSFS is in its infancy and has some significant growing pains.

Firstly, I found that, overall, MSFS is an amazing advancement.  The graphics capabilities are stunning.  The menu and user interface are intuitive and easy to navigate.  Addons are ridiculously easy to add; just copy them into a folder named "Community."  It is obvious that a lot of lessons have been learned from previous versions.

Unfortunately, the development dollars appear to have been heavily weighted towards graphic design and not so much to software engineering.  So here are some things to be aware of if you are asking yourself, "Should I abandon my investment in FSX and spend my buckaroos on MSFS?"

• MSFS is big.  Huge.  The basic download is approx. 130 GB.  Addon aircraft and such are also big.  Some are 1 GB or larger, each.
• Being such a big and complex application, it has a very long load time for startup, and takes a long time to start each flight.  And don't expect to have the awesome graphics you see in the video trailers unless you have a PC that's a brute.  I have an i7 6-core CPU, GeForce RTX2070 GPU and an SSD drive.  I found that I had to reduce a lot of settings to get a stutter-free flight.
• Live streaming the satellite imagery, weather, etc. is what makes MSFS what it is.  Translation: requires a lot of bandwidth and uses a lot of data usage.  It can be run in offline mode, but that negates the value of having it, because then it looks a lot like FSX. 
• MSFS on Windows is essentially an XBOS software-as-a-service application.  You cannot start the application if XBOX service is down, which I experienced a couple of times, once lasting a couple of days.
• The file structure is convoluted and some things simply are not discoverable.  Many of the functional files are encrypted, presumably to protect intellectual property.  That's a valid vendor concern, but it means that MSFS cannot be tweaked like FSX.
• Here's the biggest issue, and what led me to abandon MSFS and return to FSX: Crashing to Desktop (CTD).  It happens a lot (a lot!).  Search the MSFS forums for "CTD."  It's a rampant issue.
• Why so many CTD's?  I'm glad that you asked.  Microsoft outsourced MSFS to Asobo Studio.  They are a high-end design group and MSFS reflects their capabilities.  Software engineering, not so much.  They frequently push updates, often weekly, and the updates typically break things.  Allegedly, in a recent "MSFS Insiders" call with Asobo, they stated they don't do testing before pushing updates.  That's either an outrageous rumor or an outrageous practice.  After many days of being unable to start flights without CTD's, my opinion leans towards the outrageous practice argument.

Overall, MSFS was usable about 85% of the time.  While it was usable, it consumed a huge amount of data, with click-and-wait being an ongoing experience.

So, when it works, it is an amazing product.  I'm sure that significant improvements will be implemented over the coming months and years.  But for today, FSX continues to be my simulator.

 

[stans 702]

Welcome to Avsim, FederFlyer.  For those of us stuck with old equipment, FSX will continue to soldier on.

[W2DR 1,859]

Welcome to the forum(s) from me too. And, you're right on. A really good analysis. Come back and share things often.........Doug

[VeryBumpy 272]

On 3/1/2021 at 11:02 AM, blueshark747 said:

The release of MSFS has taught me the same about my flight sim preferences, and modern realistic eye candy graphics tech isn’t as important to me as I’d thought. 

Ditto. Seems beauty is only skin deep.

 

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

The only reasons for sticking with FSX are that your hardware really can't run anything else and you can't afford replacing all your add-ons, both of which of course, are excellent reasons. 

Posts like that of @FederFlyer also showed up when people were looking for a rationale to not switch to either X-Plane or Prepar3D. The "new" flightsim just had all kinds of "issues". But you know what's interesting? Despite all these "issues" with XP and P3d (and now MSFS), people switched from FSX. Every online poll shows MSFS dominating the flightsim market with XP and P3d splitting up what's left. FSX has but a tiny sliver of the market and that's reflected in how many add-ons target FSX. 

MSFS has a way to go but if one can afford the cost of upgrading, there's really no point in staying with FSX. And saying that study level airliners don't exist in MSFS is not a reason to stick to FSX, because they exist in P3d, which is    at least 5 major revisions beyond FSX and to a lesser extent, XP11.