Jocko Flocko

Just an FYI, for anyone that didn't know, the ground textures in both FS2020 & FS2024 are now capped at Zoom Level 18 since FS2020's Sim Update 16. Both sims now use the exact same ground imagery source data from Microsoft Azure, Flight Simulator 2024 NEVER supported source ground imagery beyond Zoom Level 18. Before Sim Update 16 FS2020's ground imagery textures were streamed in at Zoom Levels of up to 20, Asobo/Microsoft DELIBERATELY disabled the coding to allow zoom levels beyond 18 because it bottlenecked inferior consoles that can't handle those texture sets in the same way PC's are able to. For this reason I refuse to even consider purchasing FS2024 and haven't even fired up FS2020 in over 6 months. Yes, it's had that massive of an impact on my flight experience. Before SU16 flying at 4K on my PC with my RTX 4090 in FS2020 was absolutely remarkable and gorgeous, it was like a dream come true. Now FS2020 is nothing but a shadow of it's former self, the graphics quality doesn't even resemble anything close to what the product was when I purchased it. Downgrading a product in the way Asobo/Microsoft has must violate some U.S. and/or International laws that are supposed to protect consumers, however I would assume the people now pandering to the massive console market will hide behind their pathetic EULA's and other excuses.

It's been reduced to zoom level 18 and the tile sizes have been reduced from 512X512 to 256X256. What they've done to the former sim is an absolute disgrace and highly noticeable on high end PC's that are running the game in 4K with maximum settings on RTX 4090's. Those playing FS 2024 never noticed it as you've been capped at Zoom Level 18 since that game was released. In FS 2020 For example, before SU16 the south of France was being streamed in at Zoom Level 20, not all places were, many were Zoom Level 18 and 19. However popular areas like European alps, New Zealand, South Western California, The U.K., etc were streamed in at Zoom Level 20. The disgraceful silence from the developers is the most telling and off putting, I paid for a simulation that looked better in 2021 than it does now in 2025.

What's absolutely infuriating for me is the fact that Asobo/Microsoft absolutely refuse to comment on the downgrading of the ground imagery in SU16. For example, The Caribbean update in FS2020 was a whole waste of time for whoever worked on it in Asobo, apart from the horrible tile LOD so many buildings and POI's no longer align with the "new" ground imagery; it looks terrible. I would just like some guidance from Asobo/Microsoft on whether or not this is permanent and if I should begin removing a sim that is now a shadow of it's former self.

Microsoft/Asobo disabled streamed ground texture tiles higher than Zoom Level 18 in Sim Update 16. FS2024 has *ALWAYS* been limited to Zoom Level 18. Why did they do this? Xbox. Before SU16 FS2020 was streaming in ground scenery tiles up to Zoom Level 20, especially in places like the South of France, Los Angeles, The Greek islands, Many European alps, etc. The source imagery isn't solely the problem, it is in many areas where coverage is lacking or none existent but the main issue is the deliberate disabling of ZL20 tiles. This is why the developer of MSFS Map Enhancement had to release an update over a week ago as "high LOD" tiles were no longer supported in the SU16 beta (over on flightSim.to you can check the latest change log of the MSFS Map Enhancement Tool) . This was/is one of the reasons I never purchased 2024, I simply didn't like the way the ground imagery looked, however the biggest reason was because everything including aircraft was being streamed into the sim; that's a no go for me. I have always flown MSFS 2020 on my 70” QLED 4K Samsung tv/monitor in it’s native 4K resolution, this Zoom Level/LOD limitation in SU16 sticks out like a sore thumb for me.

I don't remember Hawaii looking this blurry, it was always a stunning island chain to explore. When Asobo limited the aerial imagery zoom level to 18 from 20, it has had a major impact on the places that were being rendered at the ZL 20. Hawaii and Monaco are a perfect example. https://ibb.co/bR83Pq7y https://ibb.co/M5MPL4XF

IMHO, it's one of the greatest applications ever created for the MSFS series of sims.

Cheers Bert! Much appreciated. 🙂

Very cool! Hey Bert, what LIDAR data are/were you using for the Vancouver region is MSFS 2020? I *LOVE* flying in that area of Canada as it's absolutely gorgeous.

The streaming of almost everything really irks me. There's a reason why many of us own very fast M.2 drives and aren't really bothered by having to download update packages every now and then as well as world updates. I'm fairly certain this was done for Xbox users to save space, however I wish there was an option to do a permanent install like 2020 is, hopefully Asobo/Microsoft offers that option as I would imagine hundreds of thousands of users downloading the exact same files every time they fly will end up costing Asobo/Microsoft quite a bit of money in server bandwidth. I'm just grateful I decided to give this new sim a "grace period" until after Christmas; let Asobo & Microsoft iron out the major bugs for several months.

Take me back to the days of the big wide body jets like the L1011 and the roaring sounds of the Boeing 707 & DC-9. Aircraft that burned so much fuel that air pollution wasn't even a consideration, where the black smoke billowing out of your engines on takeoff meant they were working right. Aircraft that I have to fly, not program for 30 minutes like we're making a trip to the Sea of Tranquility on the moon. Big heavy wide bodies that behave like an ex-wife does when you're late bringing back the kids from a fishing trip late at night; pure dread, white knuckle time... Hours of absolute boredom interrupted by seconds of sheer terror as you look over at your 24 year old co-pilot with a look on his face like he just messed his shorts.

Nevermind, need to make sure these work correctly.

Thought you guys might appreciate a few screenshots taken using Nvidia's 4K DSR setting in P3D 2.5. You will have to click on the images to get the full resolution. This is an excellent aircraft and I am highly pleased with it, it's unfortunate that I only now just learned about how good it is. The on-board systems and engines simulation and flight model are outstanding and it actually "feels" like I'm in the middle of two very powerful Garret Turbo's. Cheers Andrew EDIT: Oh, and btw, the sounds that come with this aircraft are some of the *BEST* I have ever heard since I started flight simming back in 1995 when I was 20 years old. Who ever sourced and/or recorded the audio did a fantastic job! The "other" guys always tend to do a very half assed job on audio, so much so that they can't even bother to make an audio loop longer than 5 to 8 seconds for an engine high RPM file. On top of not trimming the audio files loop points properly, this gives a very repetitive fake sounding cockpit environment. The sounds in this aircraft addon are on par with A2A's, and that says a lot!

I would love to purchase this, however I've seen no half decent VC screen-shots anywhere on the internet, including the online shops... :/ Nevermind, I found your online HD video's. What a change from the "all gleam and no machine" dev's. I like it.

Well the issue seems to have strangely sorted itself out by disabling the icing effects with the external config, starting a session with FSX, exiting and then re-enabling the icing effetcs with the config application. Great aircraft, I just need to learn to be careful with these powerful turbine engines as they can very easily be "melted" to a crisp. Andrew Walker

Yeah, so I purchased this aircraft tonight thinking I would be purchasing a quality product as it's a PMDG aircraft. I load up the plane, enter the serial and all is well, go into the virtual cockpit and emanating from the center of the dash is what appears to be a flashing something or other, it's hard to explain. I did a Google search and this issue dates ***BACK TO 2010???*** The solution is to disable the icing effects by selecting medium quality cockpit? Huh? One of the the selling points for me for this aircraft was/is the icing effects on the windshield. Is this acceptable? Please tell me I haven't just wasted money on this software? Andrew Walker