Career mode exams are a joke. The original FSX type ratings were way longer and harder (especially that IFR one which was almost impossible if you didn’t know your way to enter a hold - those of you who were here 20 years ago would know 😉). I was hoping they’d have difficulty level of the exams similar to that, but I guess this is more catered for the general public than the hardcore simmers.

Despite that, it’s quite satisfying to load the sim, watch the pretty scenery, fly some low and slow things that I normally don’t fly.

Grinded for the sim credits with missions, started my company and finally managed to get my ATPL for jet airliner. Not bad for 1 week since release… 

Time to get that turboprop section… then maybe some helicopters for me…

On 11/29/2024 at 12:59 PM, Bobsk8 said:

Is your monitor capable of HDR?

Thanks for asking, I didn't know that the monitor mattered. No, it is not. Well, I prefer VR anyway.

Anybody tried helicopters? I passed the first exam and did one sightseeing mission. It's silly.... ATC is instructing me to taxi to rwy xx and hold short!? What do you do in a Cabri? So I lifted off the ground and slowly flew towards the Hold Short spot.Sure enough, taxi overspeed quickly followed and when I lifted just a tad more, I was shouted at that I was not permitted to take off. My good ATC man, I am in a helicopter! The sightseeing mission was even worse. No spot marked where to land after being instructed to fly the traffic pattern. When I touched down I was berated for landing at the wrong spot and then instructed to taxi to H1. So, I took off again, flew really low and slow towards the designated spot, got shouted at for entering two runways without permission and then I had enough. I really hope helicopter career gets fixed soon!

On 11/29/2024 at 4:05 PM, VeryBumpy said:

The amount of glitches, bugs, incompleteness and bogus scoring is astounding.

How do you tolerate it?

Stockholm syndrome is the gaming norm now or what?

Not gonna touch it with a ten-foot pole for the time being:

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/level-78-and-oh-god-i-have-grievances-with-you-people-sarcastically/678445

On 11/29/2024 at 2:54 PM, Langeveldt said:

When FS2020 came out it was revolutionary.  We were relieved and amazed that there would be another flight simulator.  So we could put up with the glitches.  

Now FS2024, although it offers a few new things, is mainly an irritation rather than something groundbreaking and exciting.  It's a real let down. It's just like Cities Skylines 2 was to Cities Skylines.  Game devs really struggle to follow up on a superb initial release.  

And that is, ALL ABOUT THE MONEY at forefront and just nothing else..

As things stand ( the reports you read around and see everywhere in the form of videos), this new Simulator would have taken at least 2 years more of development time before a release - just my 2 cents..

cheers 😉

Edited December 1, 20241 yr by pmplayer

Quote

On 11/30/2024 at 12:06 AM, Funky D said:

The main lesson in career mode: Abort abort abort! There are no penalties for aborting a mission. Very similar to the get-there-itis of real life, but you can call it the complete-mission-itis in the sim:

 

If you load and your plane is in or too close to a hangar, abort.

If you load and your plane is in a foot of water, abort.

If you're in an X Cub and halfway through the mission you can't make your destination without entering IMC conditions, abort.

If you get dinged for a bunch of things you didn't do (extending flaps overspeed, deviating from the runway, flying through clouds when there is no other choice to complete the mission, no communications when there was no option for communications, etc.), abort.

If you reach your destination and the sim wants you to land in a 20kt tailwind, abort.

<snip>

 

 

All good points, and matches my experience so far.

For the landing in a tailwind problem if it's a unicom firld you are free to change the runway. The 'mission goals' thing' picks up the change.

In ~Europe just recently I've had to abort several missions due to conditions on arrival. I kind of like this - I've had an enjoyable time planning and flying there and learned some stuff about coping with conditions that I would not have tried in Free Flight. And the added jeopardy with owning one's own planes is tasty. Although I would like an option to divert with no rep penalty.

The trick in career mode is not to care too much about getting everything perfect, and forgiving the irritating nags and bugs - they don't get in the way of making loadsa  money and no one else can see your reputation which is pretty easy to fix with a few low-risk missions.

Personally I'm happy to stick with GA but can understand frustration for those wanting an airline career. And I would not try career on a console or without external tools (especially Little Navmap).

Taking a step back what we have here is incredible - the whole world generating daily flyable missions in a fairly realistic natural environment complete with a simulacrum of a day's weather in variably realistic aircraft with patchy ATC. The whole rendered in what at its best can be near-photorealistic visuals (but please tweak the trees).

It reminds me of the software development Talking Dog analogy. He may not speak perfectly but frankly it's impressive he does it at all.

On 11/29/2024 at 6:18 PM, Ident said:

I did 25% of my needed 40 hours (just over 10 hours logged) ferrying an instructors plane from Nantucket to Jacksonville in one day with no autopilot in his C172

Wait a minute... you ferried an airplane from Nantucket to Jacksonville on a Student Pilot ticket?

Impressive. Most impressive...

48 minutes ago, b1bmsgt said:

Wait a minute... you ferried an airplane from Nantucket to Jacksonville on a Student Pilot ticket?

Impressive. Most impressive...

Just to be clear, I was a Student Rated pilot but had the instructor/owner with me. I would never of done that solo. But yeah, I was stoked about that as it saved me a lot of money in plane rentals and it was great experience and in one day knocked out 25% of the needed flight hours for the PPL. I did all the flight planning. Called up the FBOs to make sure they had fuel, working fuel pumps and would be open. Called for a Flight Services for NOTAMs on the VORs I would be using. We did about 3 hours legs, would land, refuel and then head right back up. One leg we used to finish my IFR portion of the PPL. We were lucky to have a great weather window for the whole east coast. 

Edited December 1, 20241 yr by Ident