We are now living in an era where no product is ever really “finished”. It’s released in a premature state and then development continues for its full life span… until everything is reset with the “next-gen” release. 

This phenomenon is not unique to MSFS… nearly every game released in the last several years is fairly broken when it is released way too early, and the studios then spend the next two years fixing issues while selling more “DLC”.

It has really discouraged me from being an early adopter of any game and actually almost any new product. For games, I usually wait at least 6 months or ideally a year for the big issues to be ironed out. But if you really want the best experience, you’re best to wait until 2 years after launch in my experience. 

It’s shameful, but the new reality. 

 

Wow, do we enter now the era where the past was soooooo much better? 😀

Wasn't it, that we still accepted what we got with FS9 and Fsx, because there was no chance that there will be more then two updates (which by far haven't covered all bugs)?! 

Wasn't it fun to buy and download dozens of addons like Ultimate Terrain or FTX. And arranging them in the exact right order otherwise it was a mess? 

Don't forget reinstalling the sim took a day or two. Not speak about starting it. 

Seeing airport sceneries through thick clouds and bright against the surrounding as their ground tiles never have matched. 

Talking about clouds: these nice textures, turning around me when flying through. 

Buying extra addons to have VC shadows. 

Being more then glad to get 30 frames, which have never been really fluid. 

Enable and disable sceneries for the region where you fly to gain performance and other stunts in the cfg. 

FSX was never save for CTDs. That was just achieved by Lockheed Martin. Oh yes, the great debate about "entertainment" and doubled up prices by some companies, because it's now "not for entertainment anymore". 

 

Yes, yes... good old times! 🤔

 

Sure MSFS2024 isn't perfect, simply it delivers so much more features and details. And I still miss some features from FSX/P3D (additional views, weather radar), but hell, never would look one second back to that horrible software! 

1 hour ago, Virtual-Chris said:

... But if you really want the best experience, you’re best to wait until 2 years after launch in my experience. 

That's a young man's game. Lazy a$$ $eniors (I suspect most DIE hard simmers) don't have the time to play that game.

Edited August 20, 2025Aug 20 by bofhlusr

43 minutes ago, bofhlusr said:

That's a young man's game. Lazy a$$ $eniors (I suspect most DIE hard simmers) don't have the time to play that game.

Isn't that what they did for FSX waiting for SP1 and SP2? and the same for FS9?

 

2 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

We are now living in an era where no product is ever really “finished”. It’s released in a premature state and then development continues for its full life span… until everything is reset with the “next-gen” release. 

I think this a rose-tinted outlook towards games of the past, focusing on the good releases and ignoring the less than preferable. There was a plethora of games that released with a multitude of issues and bugs which we didn't see rectified until a year or even 2 later. Just look at Skyrim, one of the largest releases of its era, rife with bugs that ended up mostly being fixed by the modding community, or GTA IV which to this day, still continues to perform poorly. 

It's really easy to remember what was good and just forget about what was bad. The only difference now is gamers don't necessarily have to wait 2 years to see some updates but rather games are receiving continuous updates. Do I like the current situation? Not particularly, but I wouldn't say its worse than what we used to have.

Edited August 20, 2025Aug 20 by Lucky38i

A CTD near the end of a flight in FSX was the straw that broke the camel's back and I gave up simming for a decade. FSX was stuck together with glue and sellotape where add-ons had to be installed, configured and loaded exactly right, then there was the daily tweaking of fsx.ini to gain a frame or two.

I came back in March 2024, fired up 2020 and was totally gobsmacked how good 2020 was out of the box, and it was still getting free updates years after its release.

Sure, 2020 and 2024 aren't perfect, but I think this is the best era of flight simming I've experienced.

 

4 hours ago, guenseli said:

Wow, do we enter now the era where the past was soooooo much better? 😀

 

Or in other words, the majority of flightsim users is getting old now.😀

Bottom line for me: FS2024 has been my worst gaming purchase I've ever made. I'd instantly refund my $200 if they wouldn't deny me.

The sim future for me will remain with the mature features of FSX and superior flying of XP12.

FSX actually pushed me right out of the hobby for some time.  CTDs, stutters regardless of how much hardware you threw at it, terrible visuals, overall low FPS.  The good old days?  Not for me.  

I dabbled in Xplane a little (which I actually liked, but I think I was burnt out), but it was years where I never flew a flight sim.  Then 2020 came out and my passion for the hobby came right back.  

That's another point though that I think might help people - take a break.  Not years or anything, but try other games that have nothing to do with simming.  There's so many great indie and other games out there too, I think that's why I don't get frustrated with 2024.  

During the summer, I don't stop flight simming, but I fly a lot less.  Not that I'm unhappy or anything, but taking some time away really helps to keep my interest.  

The "getting there" thing isn't limited to flightsims or games in general.
It's been part and parcel of our existence for a long time. It's non-stop evolution which has accelerated in pace. There is constant upgrading/updating, as there should be. In all facets of our lives.

Why should our hobby be any different?

I have to agree with Craig's (kerosene31) take. Frustrated? Take a break.

Although it's constantly evolving and improving, MSFS2024 is already the greatest sim I've ever seen or experienced. I've no doubt 2028 will be even better. The journey is the best part and it's a privilege to be involved. 

8 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

We are now living in an era where no product is ever really “finished”. It’s released in a premature state and then development continues for its full life span…

Tbh, this state of product is only widely accepted in the IT world. I know no other business branch with final products where it is comparably accepted what we see regarding software. Somehow most people are still so unbelievably naive regarding software and IT in general that those companies can basically behave like they want and only little pushback is visible. Many reasons lead to this: mostly, people are in desparate need of the software and accept even half finished products, they have no idea whether or not it would have been possible to have a better product or not, there is no real competitor left after the pitch is done, and and and.

All I am saying is that if our company would release products with a comparably non-existent QA and in a comparable non-finished state, we would disappear from the market pretty soon. 

So this is an INTRINSIC problem of the whole IT world. It is for sure not limited to MS and Asobo. And it is generally an accepted situation, that is why it wont change, no matter how loud some of us complain. Sadly. 

9 minutes ago, AnkH said:

Tbh, this state of product is only widely accepted in the IT world. I know no other business branch with final products where it is comparably accepted what we see regarding software. Somehow most people are still so unbelievably naive regarding software and IT in general that those companies can basically behave like they want and only little pushback is visible. Many reasons lead to this: mostly, people are in desparate need of the software and accept even half finished products, they have no idea whether or not it would have been possible to have a better product or not, there is no real competitor left after the pitch is done, and and and.

All I am saying is that if our company would release products with a comparably non-existent QA and in a comparable non-finished state, we would disappear from the market pretty soon. 

So this is an INTRINSIC problem of the whole IT world. It is for sure not limited to MS and Asobo. And it is generally an accepted situation, that is why it wont change, no matter how loud some of us complain. Sadly. 

True. I feel it’s gotten particularly worse in gaming since pre-ordering games became a thing. (And according to a quick search… guess who started that? Microsoft with Halo). When a company can announce a product and rake in hundreds of millions in pre-orders before the product ships or has legit reviews, what’s the incentive to deliver a finished product?

It’s now to the point where several studios  are selling “alpha” versions… like Star Citizen and Arma Reforger… and the money people throw at these projects (not products) is ridiculous. 

As long as people throw money at these companies things will never change. Only get worse as they figure out new ways to make more doing less. 

Edited August 20, 2025Aug 20 by Virtual-Chris

Rgr so still can't see other aircraft.  Cool got msfs 2024 myself.   Going back to 2020 😉 kinda like seeing the ships and other nav lights in the air.    Beside's MSFS 2020 has gotten some of 2024 physics now and I can shut off all the ships and ai traffic on msfs 2020 and have msfs 2024 performance.    Cool its getting there.  

No complaints what so ever.  Just keeping it real

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2025Aug 20 by jwhak

21 hours ago, SayAgain said:

Curious, why the FE?

It will be my last PC upgrade ever. The FE fits in my case and its the least ridiculous price.

On 8/19/2025 at 4:38 PM, MrFuzzy said:

I read this sentence on the forums hundreds of times in the last 5 years. I wrote it myself at least once.

But I wonder "where" it's getting and "when" exactly it will happen.

Until a few years ago a videogame came out and we played it with peace of mind, we enjoyed it if it was good or dumped it if it was bad, but that was it, we knew what we got. And before the pervasive broadband era, the developers knew that they could not screw up too much with a release. 

That was the case of FS2004 and FSX for me... for many of you with the previous versions as well. And a ton of games of other genres as well: "triple A" productions were usually good from day one.

Now we are constantly in a state of expectation, always waiting for the next update that will get it "there", only to transition from anticipation to dissatisfaction. 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy flying virtually and in FS2020 and FS2024 only I have more than 2,000 hours. But the feeling above has become a relevant part of the experience, along with the time spent ranting on the forums 🙂 and I'd rather do without it.

I distinctly remember the emotion of returning virtually to North Cape in FS2004 (visited when I was 16 yo), with the snow and the aurora in the sky. Surely the sim was ugly compared with today's visuals and far from perfect, but it was zero stress, just fun and wonder.

What do you think? Were you happier before the MSFS revolution?

Maybe I'm just aging... I'd better go to bed🙂

Cheers

This is really well said and those of us who grew up with video games that were never updated after they were released aside from an entirely new version of the game being released might appreciate the “finished product” aspect a little more.  The games( sims) nowadays are constantly being updated with new features and new aspects that I totally agree with your sentiment- it’s very hard to just appreciate the “now.”  That leads to a psychological condition we’ve all been forced to encounter which is, “well if they are going to make it better why should I be content now?”  The truth is we all should appreciate the now way more in our everyday lives but especially in our hobbies and passions.  This is time we choose to spend doing something we enjoy- so why be miserable or not content with what you are choosing to do?!?  
 

I enjoy flight sim when I have the time and as long as the sim is stable and looks decent, I’m a happy man!