New MSFS User - What to Know/Beginner Guide?

[Orlaam]

I have a GTX coming from Jetline.  Specs: Intel i9 13900KF, GTX 4090 24GB, 64GB of DDR5.  I chose some higher specs for other activities (video/photo editing, et cetera). 

I know they optimize the system and I assume MSFS.  Are there any add-ons I should make sure to install?  I want AI traffic and it seems like FSLTL is mentioned the most, but others are good with FS Traffic??  I'm more concerned with current airline liveries and 737s not landing at regional airports.  I know I'll be getting PMDG 737's because I know them best and they seem to get good feedback in MSFS2020.  The Fenix is a later date purchase I think.  My decision to buy planes will be easier to make, but it's the other add-ons that take more investigation.  I likely won't use third party ATC.  I want the best visuals with decent air traffic.  I'm going with the deluxe version of MSFS.

What other tips/tricks are people using on high end systems?  DLSS versus TAA, rolling cache...These are settings we never had before.

Also, I do need a new monitor.  I didn't buy one from Jetline, as I wanted to just get one locally.  Is there a major advantage to certain resolutions or monitor types?  I have an older LG 1080p monitor with only a 60hz refresh rate.  I'm not hard up for a 4K monitor, but if it'll make things look a lot better without degrading performance, then I'm wanting that.  I want the text in cockpits to be readable, for example.  No tearing or such.  But not at a loss of frames, despite having a fast computer. 

Anything else I should be installing/tweaking to enhance the simulator or overall experience?  I know after FS9 and FSX I need to fiddle around, as we all do, but in general things to do or stay away from.  My controllers are the Boeing Thrustmaster set and their cheaper pedals.

And yes, I feel really guilty about spending so much money 😬

Thank you!

Chris

[Bigbluss]

Don't feel guilty my friend, compared to what many people spend their time doing (watching TV and scrolling social media), this is a fantastically social and brain engaging hobby that goes as deep as you like. Congratulations on a beast of a PC!

 

Your system is screaming out for a high quality 4k monitor, so absolutely pick one up if you have the funds available 🙂

Another thing to think about is peripherals. I have the TCA Captains Pack but then I'm an airbus guy - I'm sure others will chime in with recommendations.

 

You won't really need to do any tweaking on your system in my experience. MSFS is far more stable and optimised than P3D and FSX, and tends to work well on modern hardware. Just adjust expectations vs other software. You wont be getting 144hz here - and though I love high FPS, I'm yet to really notice anything above around 50/60 in sim!

[btacon]

My only advice is to buy the Premium. Now with the implementation of AAU1 the Longitude is worth the cost of upgrade alone. The Longitude is now a top notch, study level aircraft that comes with Premium for free but could easily retail as an addon for forty to fifty dollars.

From Google:

The Deluxe Edition ($89.99) includes 42 planes, 40 handcrafted airports, 4 classic commercial airports, 15 glider airports, and 14 heliports. The Premium Deluxe Edition ($119.99) includes everything from the Standard Edition plus 10 additional planes and 10 additional handcrafted airports.Nov 14, 2022

[Bert Pieke]

If I were you, I would start with your existing monitor, DX11, and default TAA.

Install MSFS on a separate SSD drive if possible.

Then get your favorite PMDG plane and get to know your new sim, before obsessing with addons..

The CJ4 and Longitude are both great if you are into jets.

The G36 and TBM930 are both great if you want to fly GA.

One freeware item I would invest some time with up front, would be the Addons Linker.  You are going to need it as your collection of addons grows, as it surely will..

Enjoy!

[Bert Pieke]

deleted

Edited February 25, 2023 by Bert Pieke

[Orlaam]

25 minutes ago, btacon said:

My only advice is to buy the Premium. Now with the implementation of AAU1 the Longitude is worth the cost of upgrade alone. The Longitude is now a top notch, study level aircraft that comes with Premium for free but could easily retail as an addon for forty to fifty dollars.

From Google:

The Deluxe Edition ($89.99) includes 42 planes, 40 handcrafted airports, 4 classic commercial airports, 15 glider airports, and 14 heliports. The Premium Deluxe Edition ($119.99) includes everything from the Standard Edition plus 10 additional planes and 10 additional handcrafted airports.Nov 14, 2022

I meant the premium   The Longitude does look nice.

[Orlaam]

7 minutes ago, Bert Pieke said:

If I were you, I would start with your existing monitor, DX11, and default TAA.

Install MSFS on a separate SSD drive if possible.

Then get your favorite PMDG plane and get to know your new sim, before obsessing with addons..

The CJ4 and Longitude are both great if you are into jets.

The G36 and TBM930 are both great if you want to fly GA.

One freeware item I would invest some time with up front, would be the Addons Linker.  You are going to need it as your collection of addons grows, as it surely will..

Enjoy!

Sounds good.  It does seem like the monitor I have will be fine for the immediate future.  Not crazy about the idea of spending more money yet.  I saved the link for the add-on manager. Thx!

[ryanbatc]

2 hours ago, Orlaam said:

Sounds good.  It does seem like the monitor I have will be fine for the immediate future.  Not crazy about the idea of spending more money yet.  I saved the link for the add-on manager. Thx!

4k is cool but I'm very happy with 1440p and a nice monitor.  Don't forget to at least get a Gsysnc compatible monitor to pair with your RTX 4090.  

I also VR though so buying an Uber nice 4k monitor wasn't high on my priority list.  If you have zero interest in VR perhaps a 4k monitor would be something of interest.

Don't forget to HAGS for frame generation but maybe Jetline will do that for you.

What sort of flying do you prefer?

[David Mills]

2 hours ago, Orlaam said:

Sounds good.  It does seem like the monitor I have will be fine for the immediate future.  Not crazy about the idea of spending more money yet.  I saved the link for the add-on manager. Thx!

I feel like you're my lost twin brother. I too just purchased the identical rig from Jetline systems, which for me arrived a week ago yesterday. Trust me, you'll be thrilled with the product. I can run true 4K (3840 x 2160) at 60fps with all sliders on Ultra. It looks spectacular and the performance is perfect -- no stutters, glitches, etc. Tony & Ken are a pleasure to deal with at Jetline. They use only the very best components, and they burn test everything a couple of days before shipping it out to you.

As for your monitor, you might consider buying a cheap 4K TV at some place like Walmart or Best Buy. That's what I use. A few days ago, I started a thread on this identical subject -- using a 4K TV with the new 4000 series cards from Nvidia. Here's a link to that thread. I also give my personal settings for the Jetline machine I'm using, which is absolutely identical to the one you'll be receiving. You made the right decision.

 

[eslader]

3 hours ago, Orlaam said:

Are there any add-ons I should make sure to install? 

I'm more concerned with current airline liveries and 737s not landing at regional airports.

I want the text in cockpits to be readable, for example.  No tearing or such.  But not at a loss of frames, despite having a fast computer. 

Anything else I should be installing/tweaking to enhance the simulator or overall experience? 

Addons:

Navigraph if you're into accurate navigation.

Sky4Sim is becoming a popular integrated EFB. It's quite good.

If you want to gamify MSFS by running your own air-transport business, Neofly is free (with some paid addons) and it's fun. Version 4 is about to come out, and it integrates with Sky4Sim

Airportwise, anything from Flightbeam is great. 

If you enjoy flying the St. Bart's landing challenge (which is a lot of fun in the TBM), there's a free addon called "TFFJ St Bart's Fix" that removes some misplaced trees from the glideslope.

Airplanewise, there are a number of really good addons to check out:

Freeware:  anything from Gotfriends. Vertigo is fun. A turboprop that runs with bizjets. It's based on a real airplane, Turbulence built by Mike Patey. The Gotfriends Savage Grravel is also based on a Patey creation. Basically a ludicrously overpowered bush plane. Lots of fun.

FlyByWire A320-neo is a must-get. It replaces the default A320 and makes it nearly payware quality. Honestly, it's plenty good enough that I personally see no reason to buy the Fenix.

The Hjet and the Visionjet by Flightfx are both stellar, and a real bargain at their asking prices. Some of the best non-PMDG payware I've seen.

Spad.next is a controller bridge that lets you create (or download) custom profiles for each individual aircraft, then autodetects them as you load them to switch the profiles. It's a lot more robust than the internal controller settings in MSFS.

 

737s at regional airports:

Yeah, that's gonna make you mad. There's a bug/oversight right now. I've seen 777s at gravel strips before. It's... Silly. Hopefully that gets fixed before long.  Also, just go in knowing you're gonna have to ignore the ground crews, because they're all stupid and will walk right in front of your moving airplane. 

Readable gauges:

I find it readable on my 32" 1080 screens. You should be fine. There's also a auto-zoom function that works pretty well if something's particularly small.  

I'll also put a bug in your ear - the rig you've built would make a great VR platform for MSFS, and that's a whole level up for immersion. Just sitting in an airplane looking down at the ground while parked gives you a much better sense of being in a plane than having it on a flat screen. I don't fly without VR anymore, and my system isn't nearly as good as yours. You can get a Reverb G2 for pretty decent money these days, though I'm considering replacing mine with a Pimax 5k at some point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Orlaam]

All very good information!  Thank you all.  My monitor is a good monitor, but I think an upgrade is in the cards.  It's a nice LG IPS 27" display, but I am considering at least a 1440 resolution display.  I tried looking at the difference between a TV and gaming monitor and most people seem to suggest a gaming monitor is still a better choice.  I have limits.  I don't wanna spend a lot of a new monitor.  The computer was very expensive and after add-ons it's gonna be a huge chunk of change.  I can't bring myself to spend more than 400 or possibly 500 on a new screen.  I'm also limited in desk space.  Anything over 32-34 would be too big I think. I like to also use Photoshop, Topaz video/photo programs and Vegas for occasional projects.  It's not just flight simming, but for gaming the sim is really all I do in that realm.

[Orlaam]

1 hour ago, ryanbatc said:

4k is cool but I'm very happy with 1440p and a nice monitor.  Don't forget to at least get a Gsysnc compatible monitor to pair with your RTX 4090.  

I also VR though so buying an Uber nice 4k monitor wasn't high on my priority list.  If you have zero interest in VR perhaps a 4k monitor would be something of interest.

Don't forget to HAGS for frame generation but maybe Jetline will do that for you.

What sort of flying do you prefer?

I'm still on FSX.  I didn't want to spend for constant P3D updates and didn't think it would run well on my system in that time period.  But I do both airlines and GA.  I don't do helicopters, as I find them more of a struggle than they're worth.  I also don't have the right hardware (no joystick, only a yoke).  I will tinker with a glider or something, but it's mostly split between jets and GAs.  I currently fly the A2A Comanche, Bonanza, PMDG 737 (all variants), Majestic Dash-8.  I do have the Leonardo MaddogX, and I like it, but the flight dynamics bother me.  And the RealAir Duke, but again, the FDE are amazing in the air on that plane, but the ground handling is pretty sketchy, so it kinda ruins it.

I don't know that I would do VR, at least not as often.  I prefer to use an EFB on the iPad and have that for navigation.  I pay the expensive price for ForeFlight, and it has spoiled me for navigation and flight planning.

Edited February 25, 2023 by Orlaam

[Cargostorm]

You have excellent specs (4090, 13900KF) that would allow to use MSFS in VR. Instead of upgrading the monitor, I would buy VR glasses. Same costs. The whole immersion is so much better in VR. To be honest, if you have ever experienced VR on a high end PC you will rarely fly on a monitor again.

If you nevertheless go the 4k monitor route, you also need a head tracker like TrackIR for serious flying. The monitor should have G-Sync.

TAA is most recommended in 2D. In VR I would use DLSS/Quality if FPS are an issue.
 

MSFS does not require a lot of addons to improve the immersion. But FSRealistic is one that adds feel and sound to it (e.g taxi roll, touchdown). And buy Multicrew Experience if you are into serious airliner flying.

My specs/software:

13900/4090
FSUIPC/SPADnext for the controllers
Navigraph
FSRealistic
Addon-Linker
Allinone tablet (great for VR)
FSTL Traffic
Multicrew Experience (which will add a copilot for handling flows and switches or for checklist reading; great if you fly airliners.)
 

VR:
Pico4
Virtual Desktop
SteamVR
OpenXR Toolkit

Also consider to join a ATC network like VATSIM, which makes the whole flying experience much more realistic.

Good luck
Chris

[Orlaam]

On 2/25/2023 at 4:24 AM, eslader said:

 

737s at regional airports:

Yeah, that's gonna make you mad. There's a bug/oversight right now. I've seen 777s at gravel strips before. It's... Silly. Hopefully that gets fixed before long.  Also, just go in knowing you're gonna have to ignore the ground crews, because they're all stupid and will walk right in front of your moving airplane. 

Readable gauges:

I find it readable on my 32" 1080 screens. You should be fine. There's also a auto-zoom function that works pretty well if something's particularly small.  

I'll also put a bug in your ear - the rig you've built would make a great VR platform for MSFS, and that's a whole level up for immersion. Just sitting in an airplane looking down at the ground while parked gives you a much better sense of being in a plane than having it on a flat screen. I don't fly without VR anymore, and my system isn't nearly as good as yours. You can get a Reverb G2 for pretty decent money these days, though I'm considering replacing mine with a Pimax 5k at some point.

That's a bummer about AI. FS9 and FSX/P3D all have good AI abilities.  At least in the sense that you didn't have big jets in places they didn't belong.  I feel like Asobo is just ignoring any ATC, AI, and certain weather issues (radar).  The Visionjet and HJet do look like nice products.  I also like the looks of the offerings at that Gotfriends place.  Do those freeware planes have cockpits though?  I do miss a couple of the older FS9 bush planes that were too slow but could sight-see so well and allow you to go anywhere.

[Bert Pieke]

11 hours ago, Orlaam said:

  I feel like Asobo is just ignoring any ATC, AI, and certain weather issues (radar).  The Visionjet and HJet do look like nice products.  I also like the looks of the offerings at that Gotfriends place.  Do those freeware planes have cockpits though? 

We all are only too aware that Traffic and ATC leave much to be desired at present (glass half empty)..

I would strongly suggest to accept that for now,  and go and explore what MSFS DOES have to offer.

The GotFriends Carbon Cub is a blast to fly and most certainly has a (very nice) cockpit 🙂

Edited February 25, 2023 by Bert Pieke