Just installed MSFS2024 but compared to MS2020 seems very washed out and overexposed - rather disappointing and unimpressive.  Is there something I am missing here that the MSFS2024 enthusiasts on this forum are seeing but I am not?  Thanks.

Bruce

1 minute ago, brucewtb said:

Just installed MSFS2024 but compared to MS2020 seems very washed out and overexposed - rather disappointing and unimpressive.  Is there something I am missing here that the MSFS2024 enthusiasts on this forum are seeing but I am not?  Thanks.

Bruce

Hehe, well if you're basing it off of 2020, which I think was totally over exaggerated with colors (which were very wrong and unrealistic), then yes it probably seems that way.  For instance 2020 was far too yellow or warm of a color tone.  The trees, grass, and even sky had a yellow tint.

However if you're using HDR you might be getting washed out screenshots.

I think that it is the new lighting engine that he is seeing.

dd

I switched over in the last couple of weeks as well but think the colours look more lifelike. Having been on a plane maybe a hundred times I would say it's more realistic in 2024 compared to 2020. In 2020 everything seemed more colourful and didn't reflect the harsh sunlight beating down on the ground like you see in real life.

Slightly off topic I did my first night flight and the lighting is just incredible.

Edited December 18, 2025Dec 18 by sanh

2024 looks so much more realistic. 'Washed out and overexposed' is what looking out of an aircraft window actually looks like. Unless that is not the look you are going for? 

Try the EV setting in the display settings, it can look washed out if the exposure is set too high. 

In some parts of Germany and Austria it's very washed out.  Try a flight from Munich to Salzburg as an example.

In most places MSFS2024 is far superior though.

It's winter. Of course the colours will be mor subdued.

I wonder how many people claiming msfs of any variety has a colour tint are using a calibrated monitor?

37 minutes ago, Farlis said:

It's winter. Of course the colours will be mor subdued.

Is it some sort of sarcasm or Fs2024 lighting does really depend on a season?

3 minutes ago, G-YMML1 said:

Is it some sort of sarcasm or Fs2024 lighting does really depend on a season?

I find that it does. I have been doing some extensive close ground sightseeing in July and August and now everything seems more muted in colours.

54 minutes ago, Farlis said:

It's winter. Of course the colours will be more subdued.

 

Absolutely agree.
No sarcasm here, just a demonstration.
EGNM, no addons, today's date and time, both simulators set to clear skies:

Edited December 18, 2025Dec 18 by Reader

3 minutes ago, Reader said:

 

Absolutely agree.
No sarcasm here, just a demonstration.
EGNM, no addons, today's date and time, both simulators set to clear skies:

Yeah that's 100% adjustable through the EV slider in the display settings in the game. Just bump it up a little and it will match to 2020. 

EDIT: I know you're demonstrating the difference with winter, but my point is that if this is what OP is seeing and not liking he can adjust it. 

Edited December 18, 2025Dec 18 by Georgleboui

1 minute ago, Georgleboui said:

Yeah that's 100% adjustable through the EV slider in the display settings in the game. Just bump it up a little and it will match to 2020. 

EDIT: I know you're demonstrating the difference with winter, but my point is that if this is what OP is seeing and not liking he can adjust it. 

To be honest, I am no more than thirty miles from EGNM and today is one of the shortest of the year
with the sun never being high in the sky and shadows being long all day.
My opinion is that the MSFS 2024 image looks far more like what I can see out of my window than the 
MSFS 2020 one does.

Appearance is so subjective that the first impression by anyone is fairly pointless, as there will never be a consensus.
One man's poison is another man's drink and so on.

12 hours ago, brucewtb said:

Just installed MSFS2024 but compared to MS2020 seems very washed out and overexposed - rather disappointing and unimpressive.  Is there something I am missing here that the MSFS2024 enthusiasts on this forum are seeing but I am not?  Thanks.

Bruce

You have been seeing a very saturated and incorrectly coloured image in 2020. 2024 is far more lifelike. I thought the same when I first moved, but after 3-4 days, your eyes kinda reset and you can see how much more realistic 2024 is. 

This assumes that your setup is actually not broken in some way. Look at some 2024 videos on YouTube - if your image looks like that, then you're good. If your colours are WAY off.. something is wrong (is HDR on?)