Which Version of MS2020 Would You Buy?

[Charlie Bravo]

Does anybody have any advice regarding whether to buy via Microsoft's own store vs. Steam (or any others) please???

I do buy most things via Steam these days, but I'm hesitating in case it impacts my ability to install addons and make modifications... Any perspectives on this please?

Many thanks

Andy

I know people who purchased X-Plane via Steam always get their updates after those who purchased direct so maybe MS will be the same?

[TSR2]

From what I can tell, developers who are selling their wears through the Microsoft store might need a separate approach for Steam. Not sure though.

[DogTailRed2]

I've waited umpteen years for FS2020. I'll wait a few more for the bugs to be ironed out.
I will purchase whatever version will give me stable game play using VR. No VR then I'm out.
Once you go non-flat you can't go back.

[TSR2]

It looks like the release build on the 18th will be the same build as the current Beta. They also updated their insider pages last night saying that they were greatly increasing focus on the SDK and expanding the SDK team over the coming months.

[Rick Piper]

xbox Gamepass for PC beta is £1 for the first month and FS2020 is free to use in that month.

you can actually cancel in seconds unlike Amazon etc..

save your money and try a £1 one month test.

[TSR2]

I agree Rick. My gut feeling is its very early days. Not withstanding the work that's needed on the SDK, there seems to be a number of silly little things that I feel need to be ironed out. I think the world environment is superb, and a great basis on which we can all build (I hope) - but there are silly things. I think the significance of the SDK has dawned on them quite late in the day, but it does seem like they've realised this and are resourcing it up now.

[Nigel H-J]

Just watched 2 videos from MS2020 showing the default airports for Cardiff, Inverness and Luton. Now when that is compared to airports of X-Plane 11 which uses Gateway Sceneries (even though Orbx True Earth is installed) which does not overwrite these airports, you can see a massive difference.

This will probably be the one thing that really will put me off from buying MS2020, I know they have created X number of airports that have been hand crafted but what of the rest? I cannot imagine anything worst than doing a flight from A to B with excellent scenery and clouds then drop into an airport such as Inverness as shown below. After all, airports are the start and finish of a flight and there is nothing worse than finishing at a bare boned airport that does not resemble the one you either took off from or landed at!!

All very well for Orbx and others to provide 'igh class airports but they do for only one thing.......Moneeeeeeey which would work out to be very expensive if you want to cover the whole of the UK with small and large airfields!!

Sorry but unless MS2020 can improve their default airports to some sort of acceptable degree then it may very well put me off buying.

MS2020 Cardiff Airport.


Verses X-Plane 11


MS2020 Inverness


Against X-Plane 11


Finally MS2020 Luton Airport.


Taken from the same area with external view


Regards
Nigel.

[TSR2]

As I’ve mentioned before, it will encourage 3rd party developers and the community to build these imho. The number of airfield in 2020 is impressive. Langford Lodge, Crail , Charterhall etc. Langford has never existed in any sim as far as I know. Charterhall was in the Scotflight scenery.

I think Rick is on the money, for the sake of £1 you can try standard for a month. Worth a punt, but if it were me, and I wasn’t sure, I’d wait 4 or 5 months to try it, because there’s clearly a lot of development still to come after release.

[Nigel H-J]

Thanks Ben, I had thought with the release of the SDK that some talented people may very well start to fill the gaps with (hopefully) free-ware sceneries. I will definitely be waiting to see where MS2020 goes sometime next year.

Regards
Nigel.

[spatialpro]

I have to say I feel very differently Nigel. The key word you used in relation to X-Plane was "Gateway". X-Plane's Gateway airfields are those which are developed by both amateurs and professionals as freeware and submitted for a vetting process. If accepted they are made available via the one-stop-shop portal i.e. the Gateway. Without such freeware contributions X-Plane airfields would be very sparse indeed (some might argue far worse than in ESP-based sims?) and I reckon worse than MSFS.

MSFS also has the added benefit of having buildings, trees, bridges etc. etc. etc. all rendered in 3D in the correct locations, for the entire planet. No other sim has this, even in this age of OSM. Why is this important? Because (and I speak from my own experience of 1. airfield development work as part of the now-disbanded Airfield Construction Group; and 2. learning to fly with the RAF) adding such details is very laborious (e.g. "hand-planting" each tree around an airfield) and yet necessary for not only for creating the correct "feel" for the place but also for flying correct VFR circuits (e.g. making an overhead join, turning onto the downwind leg, base and finals, all at the correct locations based on local landmarks... such as a prominent building or cluster of trees). I'd argue that having the correct runways and taxiways, plus local "landmarks" in the circuit, covers most requirements for most of the people for most of the planet... but what is more, having such basics sorted in the default scenery will make the development of freeware airfields very much easier and quicker than ever before. We've already seen innumerable freeware airfields developed for ESP-based sims by a huge community of enthusiasts (I've argue the X-Plane community has only just reached parity in this respect). I see no reason (especially now that the SDK is a priority for MS) that we won't see the same happen with MSFS. Indeed I can already see MSFS recruiting legions of new very talented freeware developers. Sure, vast numbers of "gamers" will quickly fall by the wayside... but out of the chaff (pun?!) will come a harvest of wheat in terms of fresh, dedicated simmers and developers (incidentally this is also a situation CBFS would do well to capitalize on)

Further, it seems MSFS will operate a similar "Gateway" portal. This seems to be for payware, but may also be for freeware. If so, just like X-Plane the contributions will be vetted for quality and will be easily discover-able and downloadable by everyone.

Finally, as Rick and Ben have already pointed out, you can try it for a month for £1. Therefore the only thing you stand to loose is that £1