First time I have heard MSFS has major issues, recommend this late in the game you subscribe to xbox game pass as MSFS basic version is included for a small monthly fee as you don't want to spend $$$ on MSFS2020 then have 24 come out not long after.

Edited February 25, 20242 yr by jason74

Those who are reporting 'major issues' with MS2020 will find 'major issues' with MS2024, guaranteed. Listen to the majority, not the vocal few. 

It would be great if MS offered a direct update from MFS 2020 to 2024.

Most of the base platform is probably common to 2024, and for users not willing to maintain both versions that could be a rather interesting way of updating, although I am aware they said that they wanted to port a huge deal of 2024 into the cloud and make it even more "stream"-based...

We will see... but since we really don't know when 2024 is coming out, and 2020 offers a nice experience to most simmers, opting for the Standard version for now would probably be the best option.

I started with the Standard version, but a few months ago I upgraded into the Premium Deluxe, and it was the best option for that platform, giving me access to a marginal price to pay for the ATR-72, and a few more enhancements which were welcome.

You will surely not feel disappointed with MFS 2020 !

 

Edited February 25, 20242 yr by jcomm

MSFS is both a wonderful and, sometimes, an aggravating game.

It is the best simulator I have « flown » in 40-odd years. No doubt about that. I love it. I suspect that that you will too. Specially if you are the adventurous type flying all over the world. 

It is also a work-in-progress and the lack of attention of the developers to the user experience including minor bugs and regressions can be irritating. Insufficient quality control of the upgrades is a hallmark of the product. 

Now lets talk about what you call the reputation of major issues . There are two reasons for it : 

- The sim core is rather stable. But being a WIP, the 3rd party addons can be out of sync with the last iteration for a few days and crash it. User thinks that the sim is bugged when it is the addon which is at fault.

 - MS Store had, in the first months after the release, convoluted procedures which made, for many users, a nightmare to use the version they sell. As an user of the Steam version I never encountered these issues. 

Bottom line : don’t worry.

Microsoft has said that the MSFS addons will be compatible in MSFS 2024. We’ll see…

Should you buy it ? It was recently on sale at 40 bucks on Steam. I’d say go for it.

Edited February 25, 20242 yr by Dominique_K

We do not know when 2024 will be launching other than before the end of the year, hopefully.     My personal guess will be about August (like the original MSFS2020) if they have no problems.  So it could be six months away.
There is also an MSFS2020 improvement timeline that seems to demonstrate this timescale.

As others have stated, addons should be compatible, and any time spent / invested in 2020 can be carried over to 2024, as the control system etc. should be 95% the same.  So you can get used to the systems in that time. 
This is worthwhile, as it can be a fairly deep learning curve from FSX / P3D /X-Plane etc.  (Or in your case probably FS2004! )  Some things will be familiar though.

There may or may not be a discount for moving over to 2024 from 2020.  X-plane don't offer it (do they?  If so I stand corrected), but it would be a nice gesture to at least get a token amount of the 'upgrade' when going from 2020.
They say it is not an upgrade, but a complete new stand-alone sim.    I would say they just need to come clean and say "OK, it is 80% the same, but after four years of free content, we just need people to pay again" - I am totally fine with that.

If you are a bit bored, just go for it.  As far as I know we might only get one life, so enjoy it.  MSFS will take up the hours, and you will get frustrated at times, like I have with all sims over the years, but I think you will end up buying it - you can wait forever for new versions of things if you think like that, cars, phones, flight sims!    So my advice is, if you have the money, just go for it.  You don't have to buy any add-ons for it if you don't want.  There is so much free content included you may well be shocked. 
Then there is flightsim.to free content, so much for free it is overwhelming! 

 

Edited February 25, 20242 yr by bobcat999

54 minutes ago, Dominique_K said:

MSFS is both a wonderful and, sometimes, an aggravating game.

That about sums it up for me. Heads up, no really simple pause that any fool could understand that simply stops everything, fuel and time. And what could be described as some funky flight and ground handling dynamics. But we could all be walking through the Louvre commenting on paintings, the beauty or greatness is in the eye of the beholder. The numerous issues can be seen in these forums, but whether they're major or not is entirely subjective. I consider myself among the biggest haters of MSFS 2020, and still say go for it now, don't wait!

It'd be different if you'd already had a top PC over the past years and had X-Plane 12 or maybe the top P3D V5 with Active Sky weather, and tons of addon scenery and aircraft, and everything was working to your satisfaction, and you suddenly just decided, should I also get 2020 now, or wait til 2024. In this case you're getting a brand new PC and getting back into simming after a long absence, you won't find a better out of the box experience to just get started again.

I'd recommend starting with very low graphics settings, just to fly around a bit, make sure you can just takeoff and land any default plane, make sure everything's working alright and then gradually boost the settings. I'm a sucker for the photogrammetry, seeing my own home and garden in quite stunning detail. Just fly some small plane with relative STOL capabilities in an area you're familiar with. Plop down in a field, or a park, or on a road. Get out and have a look about in the outside view drone mode. Really quite amazing what you can do without having to buy any extra addons.

 

13 hours ago, Hauptmann said:

 I've read that simmers are having major issues with MSFS 2020.

Think you've been mislead by someone who has a bee on their bonnet about MSFS.

Like everyone says here, jump in, you won’t regret it. It can be phenomenally realistic, immersive and thrilling… but of course inevitably, far from perfect.

In my experience crashes and performance issues are typically caused by these situations:

- a dodgy or outdated addon (most common for me)

- something up with your PC, hardware or Windows (memory, system or graphics errors)

- major issues - thankfully v rare in the Sim itself - and mostly they fix things reasonably quickly. There are some long standing annoying non critical bugs.

I have a relatively modest machine; i7 1170k, GTX 1080ti and get 30 ish fps, with traffic (FSTL) at a major airport eg KSEA in the Fenix or PMDG and eye tracker.

NB You may find it helpful to be aware of how to tweak your machine for best performance (there are many YT videos that can help) and generally keep your machine/ windows up to date and in good condition.

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

There have been suggestions for the OP to purchase the Premium Deluxe version. However, I would suggest the Standard version this late in the day (I did the same thing last November). The additional aircraft and hand crafted airports are hardly what I would call essential, unless you have no intention of buying any addons.

For the record, I purchased the Steam version.

Edited February 25, 20242 yr by Christopher Low

16 hours ago, Hauptmann said:

I've read that simmers are having major issues with MSFS 2020. 

Are you to be a "tweaker"?   Going under the hood so to speak to squeeze out that last frame per second?  Or overclocking to see how close you can get to frying your system without actually doing so?  Or attempting or insisting to run with graphics settings considerably higher than what your system can handle?  Do you plan to jump all over each and every beta that comes along?  And if so, will you at the same time also be flying the most sophisticated addon aircraft model into the most detailed payware international airports surrounded by addon photoreal city scenery?

1,170 MSFS hours so far here with 621 flights.  Had one period in 2022 over a six week time span with occasional CTD's.  Never did determine the cause.  They just went away....  259 flights in 2023 and no CTDs that I can recall.  My four year old system specs are below in my message footer.

Graphics cards have become quite expensive.  Go for the best card you can reasonably afford (and explain to your wife).  

As Arnold once said so eloquently:

Do it! Do it now!! What are you waiting for???

 

16 hours ago, Hauptmann said:

Should I wait for MSFS 2024? 

Born on the 25th of January 1942?

Yeah, I’d get it right now.…

36 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

There have been suggestions for the OP to purchase the Premium Deluxe version. However, I would suggest the Standard version this late in the day (I did the same thing last November). The additional aircraft and hand crafted airports are hardly what I would call essential, unless you have no intention of buying any addons.

For the record, I purchased the Steam version.

I couldn't imagine having MSFS and not having access to the Working Title SR22T.    I feel sorry for anyone who is missing out on this amazing "default" aircraft.   I'd pay £30 for that aircraft alone.  And then there are the others; if you like flying LSAs, the Pipstrel Virus is the best LSA in the sim.   And for airliner folks, there's that Working Title re-engineered 787 (made even better by some stable, mature mods).

Nah, not in a million years.   Get Premium Deluxe.   It's so worth that one off extra bit of cash.  The difference is less than an average meal for two. (Or one in London!).

....and I haven't even talked about the additional handcrafted airports.

Nobody knows when MSFS 2024 will be released, or how usable it will be at launch. You could be waiting a long time. 

I'll echo some here and recommend the Premium Deluxe too. The price difference is more than worth it for the extra aircraft you get that have now greatly increased in fidelity (unprecedented for default aircraft). When MSFS 2024 comes out you're likely gonna have to wait a couple of months likely for things to settle, so by all means go for 2020 now. And welcome to flight simming in the modern age :), MSFS certainly is all what I imagined future simming would be like 20+ years ago.
 

Edited February 25, 20242 yr by lwt1971