14 minutes ago, B777ER said:

Been at it since 1997, hopefully I know how. 😉

I do not believe there is any harm in using the default 8 GB Rolling Cache.. Everyone has their home airport and any amount of streaming you can avoid from the always busy MS servers is a benefit IMHO.

3 hours ago, MarkW said:

If you are into jets, I would start with the PMDG 737-800

If that were the case I would choose the PMDG 600 in this case. Exactly the same functionality and complexity as the 800 and at $34.99 the price cannot be beat

-B

15 hours ago, B777ER said:

I've finally uninstalled everything to do with P3D and going all in on MSFS (don't have time to manage 2 sims). Will install it tomorrow likely. Plan on buying via Steam as the evidence shows that is the most trouble-free way of going vs. the MS Store. Having said that, I hope some will indulge some questions I have to help point me in the right direction. 

1. Rolling cache - on or off? What is the best setting? If needed, I have a 9900k, 3090 gpu and 64GB of physical ram. 

2. Shader tool recommended, or no? From reading, I see most use GeForce Experience or ReShade. I'm thinking of just going with GeForce Exp. as it is already on my computer if one is needed.

3. Other than Lorby AOL for putting scenery on a different SSD and AAO which I plan on getting so I can run all my controls through along with Streamdeck and Guenseli's profiles, is there any other must have add-on's that I should use? 

4. I forever have flown big iron. With this sim, I plan on a RTW flight with a GA starting at my homebase here in Florida. I've read that the Milviz C310 and the FSW C414 are top notch. Are there any others out there that I should consider? I want glass and not steam for gauges. I plan on just picking one and spending about 2 or 3 months seeing the world with it. 

5. Lastly, any other tips or tricks for MSFS that you have said to yourself, "I wish I knew about this a long time ago" as far as sim quirks / workarounds?

Thank you all for any input you might give, appreciate it. 

1. I think rolling cache is better on, as it caches areas that you frequently fly in, and may help if you have internet connection problems later (assuming you cached the area the first time you flew there). For me, I set a rolling cache file of about 10 GB, but to be honest, I mainly fly in a few areas.  Don't make the rolling cache file too big though - I wouldn't go beyond 35 GB (I think at a Twitch Q&A, Asobo recommended no more than 30ish GB).

2. Personally, I like MSFS just as it is. Maybe you should just try MSFS first.  Give it a go for a few days.  After that, if you don't like what you see, then consider a shader tool.

3. Yes. The add-on linker: https://flightsim.to/file/1572/msfs-addons-linker.  This way, with a few clicks, you can decide what to load into the Community folder for each session of MSFS.  I don't recommend that you store your add-ons in the Community folder.  By using the add-on linker, your add-ons are stored outside of MSFS in a safe folder, and you never have to worry about losing your add-ons to an MSFS reinstall, or something wonky causing you to lose your add-ons in your Community folder.

4. I heard the Milviz 310 and the C414 are good. Also, the Sting done by Simbol here at Avsim  (you should know Simbol if you come from the P3D forums) has had very good reviews and is pretty high fidelity.

5. Just the add-on linker, from 3. The best part about the add-on linker is, you can speed up your MSFS loading time by only selecting the add-ons you want for a specific session of MSFS.

Edited October 15, 20223 yr by abrams_tank

1 hour ago, abrams_tank said:

2. Personally, I like MSFS just as it is. Maybe you should just try MSFS first.  Give it a go for a few days.  After that, if you don't like what you see, then consider a shader tool.

+1

Some people can't let old habits go. There is no shader tool necessary.

Edited October 15, 20223 yr by rka

Instead of jumping on the PMDG plane {s}, try the freeware FBW A320 Neo first, to get you started. One of the greatest freeware planes on MSFS

Must have addons are FSLTL for AI, Henrik's Nielsen's Global Boats for AI in the ocean. LittleNavMap, SimToolKitPro.

Welcome to MSFS finally. Glad to see you're finally moving on!

1 hour ago, ZKOKQ said:

Instead of jumping on the PMDG plane {s}, try the freeware FBW A320 Neo first, to get you started. One of the greatest freeware planes on MSFS

Oh ya, for sure she is on my list to try out. Probably will be the first big iron I get acquainted with. 

Forgot to ask in my OP, regarding TrackIR, any quirks with that software and MSFS? I know with P3D one had to install the files from the redist folder to get it to work. Also, does TrackIR need to be started before or after MSFS is running?

21 hours ago, Daube said:

I don't know about these programs/modules, but If I'm not mistaken, if you get MSFS by Steam, then you can freely choose the location of your Addon folder ( "Community" ) upon install of the sim.

I bought my MSFS from the MS Store.

In my installation directory - 

C:\Users\Me\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache

  (in my case) - there is a file called

UserCfg.opt

, the last line of which reads (in my case)

InstalledPackagesPath "F:\FS2020\Packages"

My main installation is on my C:\  drive, the Community and Official folders (most of the sim, by file size take up) are on F:\ You can move these files as long as you change that line in User.CFG.opt

Edited October 15, 20223 yr by The_Flying_Potato
typo correction

7 hours ago, abrams_tank said:

2. Personally, I like MSFS just as it is. Maybe you should just try MSFS first.  Give it a go for a few days.  After that, if you don't like what you see, then consider a shader tool.

I arrived here as a long time user of the other sim. (Did you know there's a new version out 🤐) One great benefit of FS2020 is that it works rather well straight out of the box, without much need (IMO) for lots of addons.

5 minutes ago, The_Flying_Potato said:

I arrived here as a long time user of the other sim. (Did you know there's a new version out 🤐) One great benefit of FS2020 is that it works rather well straight out of the box, without much need (IMO) for lots of addons.

Very true, and welcome with the casual gamer kiddies that only fly 747s inverted over their house 😉

45 minutes ago, B777ER said:

Forgot to ask in my OP, regarding TrackIR, any quirks with that software and MSFS? I know with P3D one had to install the files from the redist folder to get it to work. Also, does TrackIR need to be started before or after MSFS is running?

No quirks, just works and it can be started at any time, so even with the sim running. Even better: MSFS has its own TrackIR on/off option so you can pause TrackIR itself and remain your current view, or you can 'pause' TIR with the MSFS option and get the default view. It's nice to have both options at hand and use them all the time: I've programmed both to my joystick.

7 hours ago, rka said:

+1

Some people can't let old habits go. There is no shader tool necessary.

Everybody has a different monitor/screen setup.  Some people have cockpits that are too dark that can be fixed with Nvidia profiles.  So I would say we shouldn't paint with a broad brush. 

40 minutes ago, tup61 said:

No quirks, just works and it can be started at any time, so even with the sim running. Even better: MSFS has its own TrackIR on/off option so you can pause TrackIR itself and remain your current view, or you can 'pause' TIR with the MSFS option and get the default view. It's nice to have both options at hand and use them all the time: I've programmed both to my joystick.

Do you have to select MSFS in the games drop down in TrackIR? I know in P3D that was not required. 

25 minutes ago, B777ER said:

Do you have to select MSFS in the games drop down in TrackIR? I know in P3D that was not required. 

Can't remember, but no big thing if you initially have to update TrackIR and then scroll thru the list of games. Pretty sure it just worked from the getgo.