Which Version Is Best MSFS 2020?

[Gary1124 181]

Is there a PC only download that does not require a Live account?

[Gary1124 181]

Is there a PC only download that does not require a Live account?

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,799]

13 minutes ago, Gary1124 said:

Is there a PC only download that does not require a Live account?

Even if there was you need a Live account to log in and play.

[omarsmak30 4,068]

I recommend Steam as well! 

[Gary1124 181]

That truly sucks. If I ever fly MSFS it will be someone else's copy. I'm permabanned on Live.

My nephew and a army buddy of his used to platoon in World of Tanks xbox. We are all veterans and know how to team and coordinate so we used to do really well. Until over a succession of high kill games a bunch of young ones filed complaint accusing us of cheating. We weren't but Enforcement denied any appealing. They went to World of Warships. I had no PC at the time so I just messed with mobile titles until I bought my PC last year and started simming FSX-Steam. So, because I can't log into Live I can't even play solo or offline. Or vatsim even. 

I guess that will mean LM or Xplane if I want updated platform.

[dogmanbird 269]

16 hours ago, jimcarrel said:

 The only thing to be aware of on  Steam is to NOT  do the "verify files" thing. 

As Jim mentions ^  I made that mistake back when the game came out. It re downloads everything.

Edited May 7, 2021 by dogmanbird

[Gary1124 181]

Well, can't use it anyway with a permanent suspended Live account. It would be a waste of 60 dollars.

[jimcarrel 688]

oops......

[Gary1124 181]

Sad thing is, was suspended for playing WoT too well and because butt hurt kids accused us of cheating. Live enforcement doesn't follow innocent until proven guilty.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Gary1124

[enright 496]

19 hours ago, Gary1124 said:

Is it best to purchase MSFS 2020 straight up from MS or another retailer or is Steam okay? Disc or download better? 

Thanks

One final thing to keep in mind is potential cross-play / compatibility with the XBOX. I'm not 100% sure about MSFS, but with other MS titles such as Forza - if you purchase a game on the PC, you also have access to the XBOX version. Your achievements, save files, and add-ons are also synced between the two platforms. This functionality is called "Play Anywhere" and is supported on the MS Store, but NOT Steam. 

I have a feeling that people will be surprised by the performance of MSFS on the XBOX Series X - it's much easier to optimize code when you are testing against a very specific amount of RAM, CPU/GPU cores, (e.g. see the amazingly rock solid 60 FPS achieved with excellent visuals on a wide variety of titles).   etc.. So even if you've never considered playing MSFS in your living room, it might be more of a viable option in the future than people think and something that might tip the scales in an otherwise 50/50 choice. 

[loge 42]

Note that only MS Store users can sign up for the beta program currently - May 6th, 2021 - Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) - The AVSIM Community.  This may well change, but I wouldn't be surprised if occasionally there are minor limitations like this with the Steam version, given that it's a MS product.  Probably not a strong reason to choose MS Store if you have a specific reason for using Steam, but worth bearing in mind if you can't decide between the two.

[Gary1124 181]

1 hour ago, loge said:

Note that only MS Store users can sign up for the beta program currently - May 6th, 2021 - Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) - The AVSIM Community.  This may well change, but I wouldn't be surprised if occasionally there are minor limitations like this with the Steam version, given that it's a MS product.  Probably not a strong reason to choose MS Store if you have a specific reason for using Steam, but worth bearing in mind if you can't decide between the two.

I have decided neither. As I explained above my Live account is forever frozen. I wouldn't be able to use the sim if I had it on my PC. Probably can't even download it because I can't sign into Live. ☹☹☹

[Bobsk8 12,847]

I used Steam only once when I was running Trainsim. There would be a problem with one item in Trainsim, and you could tweak it to get it working correctly. And within a week or two, Steam would take away the modification and put the faulty default file back. That was enough for me. 

[pmb 5,138]

Gary, if I were in your position and would really want to get it, I would contact community manager Jayne Ivana at the official forum. If you can't get access to the official forum you may try one of the other channels (e.g. Instagram or Twitter where she is active). If anyone can help you I feel she could at least try. 

Kind regards, Michael

Edited May 7, 2021 by pmb

[Gary1124 181]

5 minutes ago, pmb said:

Gary, if I were in your position and would really want to get it, I would contact community manager Jayne Ivana at the official forum. If you can't get access to the official forum you may try one of the other channels (e.g. Instagram or Twitter where she is active). If anyone can help you I feel she could at least try. 

Kind regards, Michael

I can't even log into the Community Forum. 

There was a problem. Account may be restricted.  Oh well, there is always Prepar3d and Xplane. No one ever got me banned from them.