56 minutes ago, Bert Pieke said:

Get the (free) Addons Linker, you are going to need it.

I have the standard version as well.. you miss out on the steam gauge C172.. but is saves some money and a lot of disk space.

I have over 550 Gb in my community and one store folders, with 64 gb of ddr 4 ram, it still takes 10 minutes to load into a flight, I do all of my preflight planing in that time.(Simbrief,SKYVECTOR & Navigraph).Wish I had a copy of Airbus EBT software, for my Samsung 10.1 tablet...

AIG (with Traffic Controller or using built-in live traffic)

Navigraph data & Charts

FSRealistic

not really addons but must-have utilities:

Simbrief

Little Navmap

So far these are my only must-haves aside from aircraft addons.

Edited May 24, 20224 yr by molleh

Navigraph & SimBrief

AirManager

Other than Rex Seasons the rest of my stuff is added models.

I do have a few specific addons like Avia for the PMDG 737.

1 hour ago, Shomron said:

Rex weather force - mandatory? I'll be purchasing Active Sky once released

Rex Weather Force.  This is not required because default MSFS Live weather is very good - BUT, I love it and use it every flight.  The benefit of default MSFS live weather is the fact it displays local weather - clouds in the distance with an approaching weather front for example, with the rest of the sky clear.  Rex Weather force uses a global weather model like in all previous sims, therefore you will not see an approaching weather front - the sky will be clear, then it will transition to a high overcast layer as you approach the front.

The real positive with Rex Weather Force is cloud depiction.  MSFS currently displays cumulus type clouds, but struggles with stratus, cirrus layers and in some cases overcast.  Rex on the other hand is great with overcast, and does a good job with other cloud types.  I also find REX very much better when displaying several cloud layers.  On a recent flight in the Fenix A320,  three cloud layers were reported.  MS Live weather displayed  the two lowest layers as cumulus, but the third high layer was a very translucent attempt at a cirro-stratus layer.  REX on the other hand showed a quite spectacular sky!  Cumulonimbus towering into the sky that was extending through a cirro-stratus layer that was much thicker and better defined than the Live Weather depiction.  The high layer was throwing shadows across the CBs underneath that Live Weather wasn't, because it was thin and almost transparent.

There is a second negative with REX in that it can lower FPS during transitions depending on settings.  If you set it up with 'persistent' (slower & smoother) transitions, FPS will drop while the transition is taking place.  However, if it is set up for much faster transitions, there isn't an FPS hit. I personally will take the hit with weather transitions to get better cloud depiction, but if you can't tolerate the transitions, you can stay with Live Weather.

MS/Asobo say there are no plans to open up the weather model to allow third party developers to inject local weather, so ActiveSky, if it is ever released, is highly likely to also have transitions in the weather.

Edited May 24, 20224 yr by MrBitstFlyer

2 hours ago, Shomron said:

Hi,

I'm coming from P3D using complex add-ons used mostly for airliner experience.

I've listed some addons which I would define as a must have in order to get the experience in MSFS as well.

FSRealistic - reminds me of Accufeel back in P3D days but was less suitable for big jets. Is this recommended for MSFS?

Simsounds - for cabin announcements

Simple Traffic - until we get a proper AI tool (which is soon to be released by Justflight so I may want to wait)

Rex weather force - mandatory? I'll be purchasing Active Sky once released

Last question - standard vs. premium assuming I'm only looking for airports, I've noticed most airports missing in the premium were / are being developed by 3PDs so I tend to go with the standard.

Any other add-ons you recommed? What do you say?

Thanks!

FSRealistic NO! The sounds in the payware airliners (Fenix A320) will blow your mind.

Simsounds I use Self-Loading Cargo. You can customize the soundpacks.

Simple Traffic This should have been included with MSFS for Premium users. ASOBO should be ashamed of themselves.

Rex weather force NO! The MSFS live weather feature is good enough.

This is a must for airliners: https://flightsim.to/file/15033/toolbar-pushback

ATC: https://www.stickandrudderstudios.com/fs-atc-chatter-overview/

Get the Premium.

Edited May 24, 20224 yr by DJJose

Addon Linker

Rex Accuseason

AIG ( Yes its a word not allowed royal pain to install but its worth it)

Weather ? Use the built in one

Navigraph (if you dont want to use dated charts)

Simbrief (if you intend to fly the airliners that have just been released)

Awesome to have Toolbar pushback https://flightsim.to/file/15033/toolbar-pushback

Since you are into airliners, don’t forget to check FBW mod https://flybywiresim.com/

 

2 hours ago, BIGSKY said:

I have over 550 Gb in my community and one store folders

Seriously?  80% of that must be in your active Community folder.  I have a Deluxe installation from which I have removed world updates for world regions I do not fly, and have quite a number of unused aircraft uninstalled via Content Manager.  It is by the way a manager. Each aircraft model can easily be reinstalled in a minute or two.  I have also removed those so called free liveries that no one flies with.  As a result my Official folder currently holds only 127 GB.  My MSFS reaches the main menu (World, Profile, etc) in just over 2 minutes. 

I can when the occasion calls for it add an additional World Update in Content Manager in less time than some here say it takes them to start MSFS and load a flight.   

My current Community folder has (2) add on aircraft (Kodiak and Milviz 310 - yes, I found I can install them or move them out of Official and use Addons Linker to position them); a small number of liveries for those; a couple of avionics enhancements (thanks Bert); a handful of scenery objects add ons, and about 25 add on sceneries in the Caribbean region and Florida, USA.  Total storage currently used for Community?  2.19 MB.  Yes, MB/Megabytes.

I have a folder set where I store all my add ons for use with the Addons Linker. Those on on a separate SSD. That folder set holds 264 GB of folders/files.  No way do I need all of them active today for a flight from Puerto Rico to Ft Myers, Florida.  Tomorrow I will fly from Florida to Maryland, using Addons Linker to quickly remove the Caribbean sceneries and add enroute and destination sceneries for just that flight.  I will be able to do that in less than a minute.

I can also fit our three cars easily into our three-car garage......  And I do not have a basement..... (no clutter).

I purchased the Deluxe version not for any additional content at the time, but in case of additional Deluxe content in the future. I seem to recall that was held out there.... I do understand that upgrades are now available, if wished.

 

Edited May 24, 20224 yr by fppilot

The great advantage of MSFS is that there are arguably no required addons for a good experience.   Don't get me wrong, I already have many dozens of addons, but unlike any other sim to date (IMHO), you can have a fantastic flight experience out of the box, in the C172* in default scenery, from default** airports.

*Ensure you download the free G1000NXi from within MSFS's Marketplace.

**Included hand-crafted airports in MSFS are best, but even any default airport will do the job, if you're mainly interested in the flying, rather than looking around the airport.

Here is a handy link that shows all handcrafted airport (check the "World Updates" and "POI" boxes off on the right-hand side options, to see just the handcrafted airports, and not all the POIs (Points of Interest) too.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1KUg5jwyT_9k2A9n5IZ99UChlhfVUfO5S&hl=en_US&ll=46.46248850000001%2C11.329859799999994&z=8

Happy flying!

Edited May 24, 20224 yr by JYW

1 hour ago, JYW said:

The great advantage of MSFS is that there are arguably no required addons for a good experience

Absolutely. The pedant in me wanted to point out that the word "Mandatory" was wrong in the thread title - nobody is forced to use any add-on to use MSFS, which would be the definition of 'mandatory'. 🙂

But there are certainly a number of good recommendations here to enhance the sim.👍

Simple Traffic is just skins for Asobos horrendous models.  Waste of time and money.  AIG is where it's at. A slightly convoluted install process but easy enough if you can follow instructions!

REX Weather...  better in some aspects to the in built live weather, worse in others. Not necessary in the slightest.  I haven't fired it up in months.

I could list a few essentials if you're flying GA, but I gather you're a high altitude button pusher from your post so I'll leave it there.

 

 

None, that's what is amazing about this sim. 

14 hours ago, DJJose said:

FSRealistic NO! The sounds in the payware airliners (Fenix A320) will blow your mind.

Get the Premium.

It's not only sounds but also for other effects, no?

Premium - even if I don't need the additional aircraft? For most airports there are high quality payware (or maybe even freeware) replacements

Thanks everyone for the great info!

I think it's time to 

13 hours ago, JYW said:

The great advantage of MSFS is that there are arguably no required addons for a good experience.   Don't get me wrong, I already have many dozens of addons, but unlike any other sim to date (IMHO), you can have a fantastic flight experience out of the box, in the C172* in default scenery, from default** airports.

*Ensure you download the free G1000NXi from within MSFS's Marketplace.

**Included hand-crafted airports in MSFS are best, but even any default airport will do the job, if you're mainly interested in the flying, rather than looking around the airport.

Here is a handy link that shows all handcrafted airport (check the "World Updates" and "POI" boxes off on the right-hand side options, to see just the handcrafted airports, and not all the POIs (Points of Interest) too.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1KUg5jwyT_9k2A9n5IZ99UChlhfVUfO5S&hl=en_US&ll=46.46248850000001%2C11.329859799999994&z=8

Happy flying!

Wow so they actually add handcrafted airports as they continue releasing world updates?

Hi,

What about replay app ? What is best ? There is now a beta replay when activating developper mode but quite cumbersome to use.

Any advice about something that works with the Fenix at least ?

Pierre