https://flightsim.to/file/28581/egsu-duxford-airfield-complete-edition

https://flightsim.to/file/5784/gatwick-egkk-ultra-star-edition-phase-1-0

I quite like SamScene's payware NYC.  The animated Roosevelt Island aerial tram looks cool.

https://samscene.com/products/new-york-city-times-for-msfs

NZA simulations started as a freeware dev,  they released a few payware airports after their discord forum asked for a way to give back.

https://nzasimulations.com/

This weather preset is from MSFS's first Halloween landing challenge.  Angry red skies near dawn and dusk.  https://flightsim.to/file/2620/halloween-creepy-weather-preset

I know I posted a link to Bijan's Islands and Boats payware,  but I forgot to mention his business model.  If you buy a copy,  you can email him your order number and request one small area of the sim for basic improvements.   I got him to put some docks and boats at Cape May,  New Jersey.    Someone else had him do Key West,  Florida.    When you buy a copy,  you get to benefit from your request and everyone else's too.   I just think that's cool.

https://flightsim.to/file/23760/f-a-18-super-warrior

 

Edited March 29, 20224 yr by Waldo Pepper

The fact is there is SO MUCH GREAT STUFF happening with and in an for MSFS it's getting hard to keep up.

7 minutes ago, Noel said:

The fact is there is SO MUCH GREAT STUFF happening with and in an for MSFS it's getting hard to keep up.

I will agree with you on that point.  Lots of great addons coming soon TM!

Top shelf quality,   https://secure.simmarket.com/paulo-ricardo-santos-dumont-airport-(sdu)-rio-de-janeiro-city-(de_15904).phtml

I recommend loading Henrik's shipping mod,  We Love VFR,  and the Project Lift's mod.  Then start a flight from Emmen Airport on Lac Lucerne in Switzerland.    Find the 120 year old paddle steamers on Lucerne,  then head off toward the Sphinx and Gornergrat observatories,  the Matterhorn, a hundred dams,  and a land full of breathtaking glaciers.

Also, https://flightsim.to/file/19475/functional-funicular-railway-stoosbahn

Edited March 29, 20224 yr by Waldo Pepper

1 hour ago, Noel said:

This is the reality of it in spades--and it just keeps getting better.  I predict MSFS will morph towards a total global simulator over time, that 10y time frame.  After all, getting the SDK up to par is just a matter of time and much progress has already been made and updates happen frequently.  Where there is potential for 3rd party content may have to do w/ making MSFS more than 'only' a flight sim--instead, a total global sim:  birds, bird strikes, trains, more dynamic oceans/waves--life and activity happening all over.  These are well within reach and as hardware improves more complexity can be accomodated.

 

Totally with you on this! The globe simulator as base platform just opens up a whole new world of simming and unlike ever seen before where trains, driving, and boating can be brought into the fold in one environment.  I wouldn't be surprised if the beloved MS Train Sim is reincarnated in this new world platform some time in the future 🙂

As to the differing opinions here on weather... just to be clear, the MSFS weather engine itself is very capable of handling and rendering all types of weather, but it is the post-SU7 live weather orchestration that has regressed in a sense (but not necessarily in all locations/times and appears to be under certain conditions?).. in that it is not properly rendering global/regional (i.e. beyond METAR) as well as it used to pre-SU7? And this was due to SU7's first attempt at METAR integration. Weather add-ons like Rex are just utilizing the core weather engine right? That said, per what was divulged in the last Q&A, Asobo's longer term goals are to provide even better weather than pre-SU7, both for live depictions and manually preset ways.

2 hours ago, Noel said:

This is the reality of it in spades--and it just keeps getting better.  I predict MSFS will morph towards a total global simulator over time, that 10y time frame.  After all, getting the SDK up to par is just a matter of time and much progress has already been made and updates happen frequently.  Where there is potential for 3rd party content may have to do w/ making MSFS more than 'only' a flight sim--instead, a total global sim:  birds, bird strikes, trains, more dynamic oceans/waves--life and activity happening all over.  These are well within reach and as hardware improves more complexity can be accomodated.  Here are some shots from FSBirds, of which I bought one geo segment as a trial.  These sorts of things add immersion and life to a flight simulation bigtime.  And this is why the migration out of P3D will only accelerate over time unless LM rethinks their archaic platform.

Ducks from your living room wall, photo-shopped in.😄

 

Edited March 29, 20224 yr by Ray Proudfoot
Multiple quoted images mostly removed.

32 minutes ago, IanHarrison said:

Ducks from your living room wall, photo-shopped in.😄

 

I bought the US East Coast.  Pretty nice addition, imo.   

https://www.southoakco.com/fs-birds

Side note: I highly recommend flying from Bolzano to Locher,   the approach is through a tight valley with several high voltage lines spanning the valley at different elevations.

https://flightsim.to/file/4253/bolzano-airport

https://flightsim.to/file/1811/locher-sarentino-airfield-loch

 

Edited March 29, 20224 yr by Waldo Pepper

2 hours ago, IanHarrison said:

Ducks from your living room wall, photo-shopped in.😄

 

South Oak Co - FS Birds

I had a flock fly across the end of the runway at about 1000' and it was fabulous!  I agree, THAT photo, you know the one that Ray didn't crop out, did look like it came off a living room wall I agree 😉

3 hours ago, lwt1971 said:

Weather add-ons like Rex are just utilizing the core weather engine right?

Yes, and that is why it is mystifying how MSFS default weather in so many cases is inferior to the depiction by Rex.  If the sky contains just cumulus then there is little difference between MSFS or REX - both will blow you away with lighting and cloud forms.  Where REX is doing a much better job is when the sky contains multi layers of different cloud types.  REX does a good job of depicting each layer, and this affects lighting to the ground.  MSFS on the other hand does a poor job of non cumulous cloud types.

No doubt MS/ASOBO will blow us away with weather development in MSFS so that is exciting to look forward too.  XP12 is around the corner with a new weather engine so we live  in such a good time for flight simulation!

24 minutes ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

Yes, and that is why it is mystifying how MSFS default weather in so many cases is inferior to the depiction by Rex.

Let me take a stab at that one:  they're not done yet!  I think there is WAY MORE to come, but they do a lot more than just develop a weather engine, whereas REX not so much by comparison.   I see improving depiction already happening presumably in the background.  I think MS/Asobo is constantly evaluating where to allocate resources on a week by week basis and they have announced they are workin. on multiple cloud morphologies etc.  I think they have it to a place it can sit for a bit until they get back to serious focus on it.  It's a well-developed placeholder, IOW.  Of course I don't know, but this is my sense for certain.

3 hours ago, Noel said:

Let me take a stab at that one:  they're not done yet!  I think there is WAY MORE to come, but they do a lot more than just develop a weather engine, whereas REX not so much by comparison.   I see improving depiction already happening presumably in the background.  I think MS/Asobo is constantly evaluating where to allocate resources on a week by week basis and they have announced they are workin. on multiple cloud morphologies etc.  I think they have it to a place it can sit for a bit until they get back to serious focus on it.  It's a well-developed placeholder, IOW.  Of course I don't know, but this is my sense for certain.

I think your right.  The weather has improved from the low point a few months ago - the haze addition was a nice step in the right direction.  Baby steps at the moment, but no doubt in my mind there is a lot more improvement to come.  Even in its current state nobody could deny just how good it looks, but REX, despite its own drawbacks, has a part to play on my system when default weather (popcorn clouds, no clouds etc) doesn't quite hit the sweet spot.

Three cloud layers below - low cumulus, mid level stratus and high level cirrus in the distance.  MSFS can certainly blow your socks off!

Edited March 30, 20224 yr by MrBitstFlyer
added picture

3 hours ago, Noel said:

South Oak Co - FS Birds

I had a flock fly across the end of the runway at about 1000' and it was fabulous!  I agree, THAT photo, you know the one that Ray didn't crop out, did look like it came off a living room wall I agree 😉

I have FS birds and love what it brings - quite unnerving when you realise a bird is circling on final approach or a fast flock pass by.  It adds that little extra realism when you delay the take off while waiting for a flock to pass by.  The only negative are the stationary birds flapping their wings but never go anywhere!

4 minutes ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

I have FS birds and love what it brings - quite unnerving when you realise a bird is circling on final approach or a fast flock pass by.  It adds that little extra realism when you delay the take off while waiting for a flock to pass by.  The only negative are the stationary birds flapping their wings but never go anywhere!

Hopefully that will get better 🐦

5 minutes ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

 The only negative are the stationary birds flapping their wings but never go anywhere!

We have that in real life -- windy day, the bird is flapping but he isn't moving forward   😵

Possibly one origin of the word, "birdbrain".   

I'm pretty amazed at the quality of the MSFS freeware which just seems to be coming from all directions at the moment. I can't help but think that payware makers will be forced to bring their prices down over time to respond to this huge quality jump in a lot of freeware coming through.