What's fundamentally lacking in current MSFS ATC?

[Noel 4,572]

I posed this question at the end of a reply in the MSFS 2024 core features thread but will try again w/ fresh focus on the question. 

When MSFS launched ATC frequently would vector you into mountains, yo-yo you where possible with frequent calls to change altitudes where it didn't seem to fit conditions.  My sense now is those two aspects have improved substantially though still need tuning.  I'm not happy at all w/ the male voice who is a co-pilot that is called up when you select AI Radio Communications--he sounds likes he's overly excited that he's able to read a script and just sounds like no other RW pilot I can imagine.  The female pilot voice at least sounds somewhat better.   So I'd like to see a much greater variety of voices available thru Azure.

So in terms of default ATC what do you believe needs improved to make default ATC decent to use, where you would be less inclined to look outside the sim to a 3rd party ATC?  I ask in part because I'm not knowledgeable enough to know how deeply it's falling short other than the glaring things everyone notices.

Ah, one big annoyance is ATC's inability to determine if it's really necessary to descend to X, having blown past it, and after getting approved to climb to a step above the one blown thru.  A "smarter" ATC in that regard.

Edited June 18, 2023 by Noel

[Mace 1,966]

You can't talk to it.

[Bobsk8 12,934]

It is useless, other than that, it is OK...😉

[tup61 1,657]

You are sensing wrong. Afaik nothing has been improved when it comes to ATC. It still sucks big time as it did on release day. But I don't care anymore now I've got FSHud.

Edited June 18, 2023 by tup61

[scotchegg 4,270]

Never piloted in real life so can't do the specifics, but intuitively it seems like quite a lot is wrong. One of the funnier ones is it asking me for traffic sight reports of planes at my 6 o'clock when my plane type clearly has no rear visibility.

[icewater5 181]

I have always found atc a bit rough, because it has to be there for a realistic flight. But i like background realistic chatter to keep the immersion tbh.

A buddy of mine is an audio consultant in the uk and could probably build a program to do this. That said background chatter programs may already exist anyway. Until speech recognition tecchnology gets better (i know its complicated with actual atc procedures), i would build audio files myself or use a program that already does this.

Procedure wise i would like a distance alert, when around busy airports.. 

[Bobsk8 12,934]

8 minutes ago, icewater5 said:

I have always found atc a bit rough, because it has to be there for a realistic flight. But i like background realistic chatter to keep the immersion tbh.

A buddy of mine is an audio consultant in the uk and could probably build a program to do this. That said background chatter programs may already exist anyway. Until speech recognition tecchnology gets better (i know its complicated with actual atc procedures), i would build audio files myself or use a program that already does this.

Procedure wise i would like a distance alert, when around busy airports.. 

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

[Sky_Pilot071 590]

ATC has always been fundamentally OK and decent to use for me so no changes are requested here.

I guess that is the answer you should expect from a NOOB.  🤓

sp

Edited June 18, 2023 by Sky_Pilot071

[BrammyH 479]

I can generally get it to "not completely useless" by using FSLTL and also loading my flight plan via the World Map. I use it a lot these days. Here are my current annoyances. It is aslo hard to decouple

It needs to understand vectors and holds. It needs to understand SIDs and STARS better, as well as understand when a runway has changed. It needs to understand descents and not decide on approach I should expedite to FL20.

It also needs to control the AI traffic. I have had it correctly call out a plane about to land on me to do a go-around, but the AI plane decided to YOLO and land anyway.

Actually, thinking about it, the biggest thing is it needs to not running some sort of script where deviating from the script just causes it to give up. I've had it not fully get me back on the approach after a missed. There needs to be a better way to jog it into knowing where you are.

[icewater5 181]

16 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

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

Thanks much mate, ill look this up.

[Bobsk8 12,934]

Just now, icewater5 said:

Thanks much mate, ill look this up.

He updates it all the time with new chatter files, so it never gets boring. 

[GuyFlyer 34]

Effective vectoring and some sort of traffic management, like the ability to manage the speeds of traffic for better sequencing so aircraft don't contantly go around on each other, or even fly holds would be great. There are many SID's and STAR's that require vectors, especially missed approaches. If you go missed, more often than not you're just left on your own to get back onto final. The ability to be able to vector you back onto final would be nice.

[icewater5 181]

3 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

He updates it all the time with new chatter files, so it never gets boring. 

Wow, thats a realy good plus point i hadnt considered..

[Zcott 55]

20 minutes ago, GuyFlyer said:

Effective vectoring and some sort of traffic management, like the ability to manage the speeds of traffic for better sequencing so aircraft don't contantly go around on each other, or even fly holds would be great. There are many SID's and STAR's that require vectors, especially missed approaches. If you go missed, more often than not you're just left on your own to get back onto final. The ability to be able to vector you back onto final would be nice.

Definitely this - when you’re told by ATC to expect vectors which never arrive is a bit disappointing. 

[robb13 22]

Whats fundamentally lacking is the ATCs ability to control traffic. I always get told on the taxiway to hold for other traffic and then the ATC allows AI traffic to approach me head on and it then stops in front of me. The only way out of it is for me to go off into the grass.