MSFS: A Victim of Its Own Huge Success

[SierraDelta 1,342]

27 minutes ago, Nemo said:

Edit: Right now, MSFS hangs at syncing data, which is usually caused by server/cloud issues.

Just fired up MSFS to check - no issues

9 minutes ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

No issues.

I concur.

There is no doubt that a lot of users suffer with data streaming issues, but please consider that all the data has to make its way from the MS/Azure servers to your router. Given that we have at times seen geographically defined problems (Germany/Netherlands, maybe Central Europe) the problem might be national/local infrastructure.

Another thing to consider is whether your ISP might be throttling data from the MS/Azure servers related to MSFS? We are talking huge amounts of data, I just checked in the MSFS Options/Data section and since I built this machine in November I have downloaded 1.16 Tb - yes Terabytes, and that's just me ...

[Fiorentoni 4,253]

8 hours ago, A330B747 said:

Are you serious? What's the best part of a Flight "SIMULATION"? it's the TOUCHDOWN&LANDING. and what miss? SUSPENSION PHYSICS and GROUND PHYSICS. Then will be perfect.

Indeed, I forgot that point somehow.

[abrams_tank 7,426]

8 hours ago, lwt1971 said:

as is the way MS/Asobo constantly engages with the community and just overall behaves entirely unlike the legacy "old guard" ways of flight sim devs..
 

I agree with you. I like the way Microsoft & Asobo are communicating with the community and acting on our requests.  While it's not perfect, overall, they are listening to the community and they are also responding to our requests with the changes you see in the subsequent Sim Updates.

They are pretty responsive to the community and it shows in the improvements to MSFS over the last several years.

[Ricardo41 5,955]

10 hours ago, Silicus said:

Well, there is a real leadership problem within msfs/asobo, key issues have not been addressed more than 2 1/2 years after release. If it only would be growing pains, they should have been resolved by now.

There is no "leadership problem" at Asobo and/or Microsoft. To the contrary, Asobo has delivered the best flight simulator in the history of flight simming.

This is due to (at least) three simple facts:

1. Out of the box MSFS 2020 delivers a complete experience. No expensive addons needed. Since the inclusion of the inibuilds A310 and WT' AAU1, it also delivers a "study level" experience right out of the box.
2. MSFS 2020 looks good on lower settings and runs well even on low-end PCs.
3. There is a vast (and continuously) growing ecosystem of freeware mods and utilities.

Obviously, not everyone's pet peeve is going to be addressed right away.

Whether Asobo and Microsoft can sustain this successful run is another question.

[lwt1971 7,420]

5 hours ago, H_Slughorn said:

FBW = Farmers Bank of Willards??  As a new user, I am having trouble keeping up will all the abbreviations.

:) ... https://flybywiresim.com/
 

[bvdboomen 260]

14 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

I predict a subscription model is just around the corner.

If that would mean quality, stable service, ala Netflix, I would pay a monthly fee.

Unfortunately that would not be an option for me. I fly too little to justify the fee.

[eslader 1,786]

The subscription model prediction has been going around since before the sim released. MS has shown no indication that they're even considering this and if we consider their other flagship product, has shown indications of the opposite. I bought Windows 7 when it was released. I haven't had to "subscribe" to Windows since, and they upgraded me to 10 for free and would do the same for 11 if I let them, which I might once they get the kinks ironed out. They're not only not charging me a monthly subscription, they're not charging me for major product upgrades to the software I bought 14 years ago.

I find predictions of impending subscription models to be equally based in reality as chemtrail theories.

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by eslader

[Noel 4,507]

2 hours ago, eslader said:

find predictions of impending subscription models to be equally based in reality as chemtrail theories.

I'd happily pay for a subscription if that's what it takes to continue developing and streaming MSFS.   Your Windows analogy is crazy flawed because of scale--there are ~1.4B copies of Windows in use currently and more billions of copies sold since inception of Windows.   MSFS?...not so much.  I think the take home message is not will they need to rely on a subscription basis or is one coming,  but rather that many users will be willing to pay for it.   

[conundrum 49]

15 hours ago, Stoopy said:

To me, MSFS is more like Robin Trower than Taylor Swift.  Totally righteous and twice removed from yesterday, man.

So Taylor Swift, then.

[BufordTX 51]

Funny how while they need to ask for understanding that the game is popular and servers are too busy, but their credit card servers work just fine.

 

[JacquesBrel 639]

8 minutes ago, BufordTX said:

Funny how while they need to ask for understanding that the game is popular and servers are too busy, but their credit card servers work just fine.

Payment gateways and MSFS servers aren't exactly handling the same type of data traffic and workload...

[David Mills 4,774]

I've seen many complaints that Marketplace purchases didn't go through. As a merchant, that's the last thing in the world you want. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by David Mills

[Tuskin38 6,532]

I've only bought 2 things on the marketplace, FSDT's CYVR when it came out, and the An-225. Had zero issues. Steam user. 

23 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

I predict a subscription model is just around the corner.

They already have one, it's called 'Game Pass'.

Edited March 29, 2023 by Tuskin38

[Krakin 5,775]

MS doesn't need us to pay a subscription to get the kinks ironed out. What they really need is time. Azure is owned by MS so they're saving a ton of money there. I've seen way less successful games keep the servers running for years and years. Money is not the issue here and the guys at the top have said nothing to indicate that that's the case while they continue to give us a ton of free content. Kinks just have to be ironed out. We have to also keep in mind that the way MSFS uses servers is not typical of most games so they're probably constantly playing catch-up as changes are introduced.

If you're willing to pay a sub, that's good for you but it won't make any difference. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Krakin

[eslader 1,786]

3 hours ago, Noel said:

I'd happily pay for a subscription if that's what it takes to continue developing and streaming MSFS.   Your Windows analogy is crazy flawed because of scale--there are ~1.4B copies of Windows in use currently and more billions of copies sold since inception of Windows.   MSFS?...not so much.  I think the take home message is not will they need to rely on a subscription basis or is one coming,  but rather that many users will be willing to pay for it.   

So you don't figure providing regular downloads in the form of software updates, antivirus definition updates, etc, puts a strain on servers and costs Microsoft money? If they're not going subscription-based with a product that has 700 times the number of users as MSFS, why would they do it here?

I think the takehome message is that it is wholly irrelevant if you or any of us are willing to pay for a subscription if there are no plans to institute subscriptions in the first place.

 

After all, when FSX stopped being updated, just about everyone here was willing to pay for the next version but that simply didn't matter because that next version did not exist. 

Nattering on about things that aren't happening and show no indication of happening seems... Strange.