2 hours ago, ATRguy said:

This is pretty spectacular, I must say

Indeed it is but I’d like to see scattered fair weather cumulus seen from above. I always felt any weather engine never did that justice. It’s perhaps the hardest to create given it’s as close to chaos as you can get.

The sharp edges and detail within the cloud has always been lacking.

43 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Indeed it is but I’d like to see scattered fair weather cumulus seen from above. I always felt any weather engine never did that justice. It’s perhaps the hardest to create given it’s as close to chaos as you can get.

The sharp edges and detail within the cloud has always been lacking.

Agreed, that's a tough one.  The computing power to model big towering cumulus clouds and the associated weather systems with them would be pretty huge, I suspect.

18 minutes ago, ATRguy said:

Agreed, that's a tough one.  The computing power to model big towering cumulus clouds and the associated weather systems with them would be pretty huge, I suspect.

I’m not referring to towering cumulus aka cumulonimbus. Those are storm clouds. I’m referring to fair weather cumulus that forms as the ground warms on sunny days. These aren’t frontal clouds, just random clouds formed when conditions are suitable.

Those angry cumulonimbus ones seen in the early days of 2020 were more typical of Armageddon. 😁

7 hours ago, fsiscool said:

But, of course "work how they did in 2020". So there will be no door, just the camera workaround and so on.

Aircraft are probably the hardest to make compatible. So if they manage to make 98% of all airports compatible but only 50% of all aircraft, percentage wise what they said would still not be totally wrong, that "with very few exceptions, ... all add-ons".

That’s not how it works. If that were the case they’d very rightly be accused of being misleading, unless we think they’re really that stupid?

12 hours ago, ATRguy said:

Agreed, that's a tough one.  The computing power to model big towering cumulus clouds and the associated weather systems with them would be pretty huge, I suspect.

Alpha effects (aka partial transparencies) and volumetrics are very computationally expensive.  It's a big part of why it took so long for real volumetric effects to show up in games or sims in a big way to begin with.

MSFS seems to be evolving into a global simulation platform where you could apply any form of game. Ground improvements mean you could drive a vehicle or train, skipper a ship, or just walk, anywhere in the world.

 

What is the general consensus amongst those switching to 2024 are you still buying any 2020 aircraft?

As I return to my simulator now autumn is here having spent the summer months motorcycling there a few aircraft I’d now like to get, mainly the black square dukes.

I’m thinking though what’s the point with the new sim less than a month away, I may as well just wait and get the 2024 versions.

I know most of my 2020 fleet will need updates as I’ve been away since spring , but again I probably won’t bother spending the time to download updates to aircraft in a sim which will shortly be deleted.

13 minutes ago, jon b said:

What is the general consensus amongst those switching to 2024 are you still buying any 2020 aircraft?

As I return to my simulator now autumn is here having spent the summer months motorcycling there a few aircraft I’d now like to get, mainly the black square dukes.

I’m thinking though what’s the point with the new sim less than a month away, I may as well just wait and get the 2024 versions.

I know most of my 2020 fleet will need updates as I’ve been away since spring , but again I probably won’t bother spending the time to download updates to aircraft in a sim which will shortly be deleted.

A consensus is hard to find on AVSIM, but I personally wouldn't hesitate to buy a 2020 aircraft that has active developer support. I believe that most will work in 2024 with little to no modification, but it could be a while before '2024 versions' are released that will be updated and include new features.

I would consider a new aircraft only if at this point a free update to 2024 was included.  TBH, I'm not sure any planes are coming out in the near term prior to 2024 that I'm even interested in.  I plan on holding in 2020 until 2024 has most of the planes I care about working good.  (Fenix, MD-80, PMDG 73/77, A300).  

1 hour ago, jon b said:

What is the general consensus amongst those switching to 2024 are you still buying any 2020 aircraft?

my "consensus": with MSFS 2024 only 3 weeks away, I am enjoying flying MSFS2020 in fall weather with fog, low visibility, mostly IFR conditions. challenging enough without even more aircraft purchases. what I did purchase instead was:

 

Ferry Pilot: Nine Lives Over the North Atlantic.  Kindle edition. by Kerry McCauley

"What could possibly go wrong? A LOT, if you spend 30 years flying small airplanes over the North Atlantic!

Join Kerry McCauley in the cockpit as he battles a fuel system malfunction over the Atlantic, a total electrical failure at night over the Sahara, being struck by lightning off the coast of Portugal and losing his engine in a thunderstorm. As an international ferry pilot Kerry’s almost insatiable, reckless quest for danger and adventure also led Kerry to put international smuggler and bank robber on his resume. Kerry’s skill, ingenuity and a heavy dose of luck were what allowed him to survive the countless mishaps, catastrophes and a nearly fatal plane crash. A true tail of adventure and courage, this harrowing account will have you on the edge of your seat wondering how Kerry is still alive.

Kerry McCauley has the job most pilots only dream of; delivering small used aircraft to locations around the world. In his 30 years an international ferry pilot, Kerry has delivered almost every kind of airplane you can name to almost every location you can think of. In his long career Kerry battled fuel system malfunctions over the Atlantic, a total electrical failure at night over the Sahara, getting lost over Africa and being struck by lightning off the coast of Portugal. Kerry's almost insatiable, reckless quest for danger and adventure also led to putting international smuggler and bank robber on his resume. Kerry found the answer to the question "what could possibly go wrong?" time and time again. But his skill, ingenuity and luck were what allowed him to survive the countless mishaps, catastrophes and close calls including a nearly fatal plane crash.
While "Ferry Pilot" is an account of one man's crazy thirst for thrills and adventure, his coming to grips with the dangerous nature of his career and just how much he wants to test the depth of his luck bag. It's also a portrait of the perseverance and bravery of a devoted family man who lost many close friends and his first wife to the dangerous skies."

 

On 10/24/2024 at 1:55 AM, Ray Proudfoot said:

Clouds would be the area that could improve but that is really difficult. Look out of the window next time you fly and compare that view to what any sim deliver

With regard to cloud definition/sharpness we're stuck with what amounts to low resolution rendering because we simply do not have the computing power to deliver this yet and unless there is a major jump in processing power, or a new software trick to change this, it will probably be beyond my lifetime that we get something like this:

1 hour ago, Noel said:

With regard to cloud definition/sharpness we're stuck with what amounts to low resolution rendering because we simply do not have the computing power to deliver this yet and unless there is a major jump in processing power, or a new software trick to change this, it will probably be beyond my lifetime that we get something like this:

And we never get this in a Sim, real live is real live over all and Flightsimulator is more ore less a Computer Game ore Simuation made with Pixels..

cheers 😉

2 hours ago, pmplayer said:

And we never get this in a Sim, real live is real live over all and Flightsimulator is more ore less a Computer Game ore Simuation made with Pixels..

cheers 😉

Never is a very long time 😉.

FF to 2038 when your Quantum Gaming PC arrives it will be a piece of cake to render those clouds 😄.  

On 10/24/2024 at 5:30 PM, Allard said:

Exactly. I would not be suprised if they are only selectable for Free Flight mode and have none of the new features.

I assume that MSFS2024 will recognise that an legacy aircraft is selected and switch to a legacy mode where not all of the new features are available. That way most stuff could function just as it does in MSFS2020 but we would still have the advantage of the new lightning, cirrus clouds, some of the ground effects but probably not the better ground handling.

Not only you wouldnt be surprised, but you shouldn't be. ALL 2020 aicraft brought in the sim as "compatible" will ONLY work in free flight. All otherfeatures, activities, or anything 2024 related to planes will work if the plane is upgraded to the new modular system, and THATS what takes a lot of effort and will most likely be a paid upgrade for most devs 

Looks like I'll be sticking with 2020 for some time yet!