As the Maps Enhancement download numbers are quite significant, which do you prefer?  Bing or Google

Default Bing is optimised for msfs and is therefore better in many ways.  However, in some parts of the world, Bing coverage is not great, but Google has better images, so it depends where you fly.

Google images do tend to be more up to date.

 

Edited December 13, 20223 yr by cianpars

very important to understand the 'bing' imagery you see in the sim is not the same imagery you see when accessing bing maps online.  So actually you have options of - in-sim, bing, google.

i wonder if there are any figures for amount of data in all these methods?

If I’m flying in the US or Japan I always use Google. If I’m flying in the UK or Western Europe I always use Bing.

Everywhere else is….variable.

I would probably use default maps more if I didn’t get constant MSFS map connectivity issues whenever I fly.

Map Enhancement always delivers flawlessly for me.

2 hours ago, rayharris108 said:

I would probably use default maps more if I didn’t get constant MSFS map connectivity issues whenever I fly.

Map Enhancement always delivers flawlessly for me.

I don't think that it would be pretty if everyone just used the default tile servers.

sp

Depends on the area but overall I like google more. Goggle is more up to date and higher resolution in my neck of the woods.

1 minute ago, reignman40 said:

Depends on the area but overall I like google more. Goggle is more up to date and higher resolution in my neck of the woods.

For those who have not tried alternatives to MSFS default, how much goes into accomplishing either Google or Bing (beyond MSFS).  18 months ago it appeard complicated so I held off, wishing to fly more and tweak less.  So what about today?  I fly exclusively N. America and Caribbean.

2 minutes ago, fppilot said:

For those who have not tried alternatives to MSFS default, how much goes into accomplishing either Google or Bing (beyond MSFS).  18 months ago it appeard complicated so I held off, wishing to fly more and tweak less.  So what about today?  I fly exclusively N. America and Caribbean.

I have tried MSFS2020 Map Enhancement several times in the last 8-10 months? I'm not sure of any others. The program is rather user friendly and really only takes a couple clicks and then you start MSFS. It is always trending at the top of the list at flightsim.to.

https://flightsim.to/file/19345/msfs-2020-google-map-replacement

 

I just stick with default data, the sim terrain looks beautiful enough for me as is.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time with all 3 (Latest Bing Maps included) and my current feeling is default is best for a consistent experience, and in many areas of the world is actually the best. 
 

There are some areas where Google really shines, especially in the US with high tree density. In most areas though, Google is inconsistent and even when it does look good you can quite often see its watermarks plastered all over the fields (very noticeable in France), or even big white text telling you the name of a road.

For the parts of Australia where I fly Bing is actually the better maps.

I do not think there is a simple "one size fits all"  answer, It really depends where you fly.

I think if you fly airliners you'll really only see the detail difference for a couple of minutes as you climb out and then again as you finally descend into the airport. During these times I rarely have time to look around to be honest and if I do it's not enough to really wish I was running a better map option.

I am not tinkering with satellite imagery or anything like that. After a few terabytes of building and color correcting some tiles for others sims, I am done with this. Bing is not the best in some parts and sometimes google is not either. I would just deal with some inconsistencies of Bing so I can just fly the darn planes. No more tinkering for me.