Coming back to MSFS after a few years immersed in DCS. I saw the Fenix BFU being advertised and am really tempted to buy it and get back into long range IFR commercial simming again but I see that MSFS2020 and 2024 are still running side by side.

Is this like the old days when everyone ran different versions of P3D alongside each other because some addons were only available for certain versions? Or have things changed up a bit?

I still have MSFS2020 installed but I can't tell whether MSFS2024 is worth it or not. It appears that most or all addons have been developed to be fully compatible with both sims so... what's the advantages and disadvantages?

8 minutes ago, lambourne said:

Coming back to MSFS after a few years immersed in DCS. I saw the Fenix BFU being advertised and am really tempted to buy it and get back into long range IFR commercial simming again but I see that MSFS2020 and 2024 are still running side by side.

Is this like the old days when everyone ran different versions of P3D alongside each other because some addons were only available for certain versions? Or have things changed up a bit?

I still have MSFS2020 installed but I can't tell whether MSFS2024 is worth it or not. It appears that most or all addons have been developed to be fully compatible with both sims so... what's the advantages and disadvantages?

We will surely find out which is best after SU16 releases....😅

18 minutes ago, lambourne said:

I still have MSFS2020 installed but I can't tell whether MSFS2024 is worth it or not. It appears that most or all addons have been developed to be fully compatible with both sims so... what's the advantages and disadvantages?

MS2024 has vastly superior ground textures that give immersion a whole new feel compared to MS2020. There are other advances as well, described in detail in many earlier threads, but for me the difference in low-altitude VFR flight, even without addons, is really the ballgame. No comparison. 

Edited August 2, 2025Aug 2 by cobalt

For me I have FS2024 graphics turned down to the point it looks like FS2020. Still moans about VRAM every flight.....

..... plus ChasePlane works in FS2020. So for me, absolutely no advantage in 2024 at this time.

G

5 minutes ago, cobalt said:

MS2024 has vastly superior ground textures 

On my system, the ground textures are absolutely horrible for the last 1-2 weeks. Totally blurry. So bad that I bought X-Plane 12 today. 

2 hours ago, lambourne said:

this like the old days when everyone ran different versions of P3D alongside each other because some addons were only available for certain versions?

At this point, yeah - it pretty much boils down to this. 

Flight models/physics, lighting, etc, are all significantly improved in v2024  

I never launch v2020 any more, even tho my 737 BBJ1 is still stuck back there…😩

Edited August 2, 2025Aug 2 by UrgentSiesta

1 hour ago, qqwertz said:

On my system, the ground textures are absolutely horrible for the last 1-2 weeks. Totally blurry. So bad that I bought X-Plane 12 today. 

If you think the ground textures are bad in MSFS, your eyes will melt out of their sockets when you see XP’s ground textures. 

Don’t get me wrong, XP is great and I frequently fly it  - but certainly not without aftermarket ortho. And even then…

1 hour ago, UrgentSiesta said:

Flight models/physics, lighting, etc, are all significantly improved in v2024  

Clouds are worse on my system, and while I appreciate the potential of 2024, the selection of native 2024 airplanes is still rather small.

1 hour ago, UrgentSiesta said:

If you think the ground textures are bad in MSFS, your eyes will melt out of their sockets when you see XP’s ground textures. 

😄

Good point. I certainly didnt'y buy XP 12 for the looks, but the lack of it in 2024 was an additional incentive to broaden my base 🙂

This topic has never really come up here?  Doesn't seem to interest anyone.  😘

If you like waiting a long time to load the sim and to a flight stay with 2020. For load times under half of that, go for 2024. 

Unless you already have :

1. Lots of planes and scenery for 2020 and generally time and money sunk into it 

2. Lots of time invested in 2020 - you know it well, you have figured out any quirks, you are generally really happy with it

3. Some sort of personal aversion to 2024 for reasons that are only really relevant to you (some people hate the 2024 UI, for example, and really can’t deal with it) and simply can’t get over  

You should use 2024. It’s the newer sim, developers are switching over, and there’s little point in starting as a brand new user in 2020 now. 

 

Please note that this is my personal opinion, offered in that spirit.
 

I hate the tribalism and “my sim is best yours is terrible” attitude and will not engage with this. If you don’t like my opinion, feel free to cheerfully (or not) ignore it! 

I am really starting to dislike MSFS 2024. Yesterday, it deleted all my presets, including my hardware assignments and even the stored flight plans for the magnificent Blacksquare Starship. This sim has so much potential and Microsoft keeps messing it up.

Sorry for my rant. I was an early adopter, found the sim unacceptable for the first 6 month and then was happy that it was getting somewhere. And now this ....

I still agree with Jonathan: there is no point in starting with 2020 now, MSFS 2024 will be the one that gets further developed. But I almost would advise you to wait for 2 months until MS has fixed their latest blunders.

24 minutes ago, qqwertz said:

I am really starting to dislike MSFS 2024. Yesterday, it deleted all my presets, including my hardware assignments and even the stored flight plans for the magnificent Blacksquare Starship. This sim has so much potential and Microsoft keeps messing it up.

Sorry for my rant. I was an early adopter, found the sim unacceptable for the first 6 month and then was happy that it was getting somewhere. And now this ....

I still agree with Jonathan: there is no point in starting with 2020 now, MSFS 2024 will be the one that gets further developed. But I almost would advise you to wait for 2 months until MS has fixed their latest blunders.

I experience non of the Fs24 issues you mentioned…. 

11 minutes ago, GSalden said:

I experience non of the Fs24 issues you mentioned…. 

So, you didn't have a mandatory update in the last 1-2 days?

 

Whenever someone mentions that they have problems with the 2024, that the performance is bad, that the textures are blurred, I wonder if I am blessed or if I am running a different 2024 🤭