**** Official Microsoft Flight Simulator Thread ****

[Zeeflyboy]

I bet the new game of the year edition is an excuse to put the price up for new buyers

Bit overly cynical perhaps when they celebrate the announcement by putting the game on 20% sale.... (both steam and windows store)

I wonder why they can't do updates without affecting the community folder, everybody seems to rename or move the folder and then replace it back again, so there can't be anything in the update that is needed there because it gets deleted.
They obviously know about it because in a link in one of the previous posts Microsoft say to move the contents before updating, so what's the point of them updating it in the first place

The whole update process is, to be honest, a mess. There are usually at least 3 different downloads that all have to be initiated manually (launcher, game, content) and even now unless you lock your frame rate during the download process it runs your system at high usage during the whole process.

But aside from that, the reason for the community folder issue is more that the sim starts to load details of your content from that folder during start (you'll note with loads of content the startup gets longer, and of course you can't add stuff to the community folder while the sim is running and have it show up in the sim - it needs to be loaded at the start).

So if something in there is incompatible due to the changes made in the update, it could hang the update process or cause the sim to crash during loading. As a precaution they advise to rename/move the community folder as a result, because of course they have no way of assessing compatibility of user community content with each update.

 

[robfosters]

I haven’t updated yet. I’ve got everything on ultra and LOD at 200. Getting solid 28-30fps (A320nx over cities), LOD at 400 could be taking liberties.

 

[Brun]

The LOD slider now goes up to 400.

Proper Spinal Tap.

 

[phil-k]

Bit overly cynical perhaps when they celebrate the announcement by putting the game on 20% sale.... (both steam and windows store)



The whole update process is, to be honest, a mess. There are usually at least 3 different downloads that all have to be initiated manually (launcher, game, content) and even now unless you lock your frame rate during the download process it runs your system at high usage during the whole process.

But aside from that, the reason for the community folder issue is more that the sim starts to load details of your content from that folder during start (you'll note with loads of content the startup gets longer, and of course you can't add stuff to the community folder while the sim is running and have it show up in the sim - it needs to be loaded at the start).

So if something in there is incompatible due to the changes made in the update, it could hang the update process or cause the sim to crash during loading. As a precaution they advise to rename/move the community folder as a result, because of course they have no way of assessing compatibility of user community content with each update.

Thats a comprehensive reply thanks.
I asked the question because I will be getting the sim shortly and want to be prepared for what I will have to do.
I take it any add-ons are not just installed in the community folder in their own sub folder so you could just move them out and replace them one by one to see if they cause problems after an update.

 

[Zeeflyboy]

By far the best way if you intend to have anything more than a few items in the community folder is to use a content manager imo... That allows you to store the content wherever you want, even on a different drive, and the content manager will create symbolic links in the community folder.

That makes it as simple as a click next to a check box to enable or disable content, and depending on the manager you can even set up preset groups etc to auto select multiple items at a time - for example if you have a load of content you can load just what you need - flying in the UK today? Load your UK preset with a click and all your UK based community content will be put into the community folder instantly with symbolic links, so no transferring, renaming or moving of files or folders needed.

 

[phil-k]

By far the best way if you intend to have anything more than a few items in the community folder is to use a content manager imo... That allows you to store the content wherever you want, even on a different drive, and the content manager will create symbolic links in the community folder.

That makes it as simple as a click next to a check box to enable or disable content, and depending on the manager you can even set up preset groups etc to auto select multiple items at a time - for example if you have a load of content you can load just what you need - flying in the UK today? Load your UK preset with a click and all your UK based community content will be put into the community folder instantly with symbolic links, so no transferring, renaming or moving of files or folders needed.

That sounds an easy way Thanks

 

[willhub]

Anyone play this with controller? Always need to have a mouse and keyboard handy due to the way the UI is, but it's annoying when on the sofa, any apps to make the controller function as a mouse? I tried controller companion but it doesn't really work in game.

 

[ODuffer]

Yeah I bought this especially. Great for sitting back and buzzing landmarks!

 

[OverDrive]

I’ve set my LOD slider to 400. So far it still seems very smooth, perhaps a little less so than 200 though - I’ve not actually checked the FPS. I’m going to do a night flight in the FBW A32NX from EGLL later and see how things look/perform. I may ultimately settle for 300. All my other settings are default for the ultra graphics profile. Really looking forward to next months update and DX10 preview - it sounds great!

 

[andy_mk3]

I take it you mean DX12 preview?

I hope DX12 brings some good performance gains with it. Not sure how much it'll help on some older cards, but anything will be a bonus.

 

[picnic]

If it's called Preview I guess it'll not be complete, will it be a user selectable option to use the Preview or not do we know?

 

[willhub]

Is it possible to access DX12 preview?

 

[picnic]

Not yet it's slated for inclusion in the November update I believe.

 

[willhub]

It's a shame Microsoft don't have an insider preview for FS2020 as they do for Windows.

 

[picnic]

They sort of do but it's limited access. You have to register when they announce a beta, and agree to an NDA.......

 

[Zeeflyboy]

If it's called Preview I guess it'll not be complete, will it be a user selectable option to use the Preview or not do we know?

Could be referring to a closed beta flight beforehand I guess… they’ve been doing that for recent updates and I don’t see why this one should be different. They are usually very limited in number so not like an open beta.

However regarding the latter part in the sense of DX12 being in a “preview” state (rather than just a beta flight), it will be user choice at first and they won’t force everyone on to DX11 immediately… the plan is to initially keep DX12 optional at first and then at some point in the future once they are happy with how stable everything is they will likely make the switch mandatory.

Edit - dev Q&A at 6:30pm on twitch, could be an interesting one this month with all the upcoming content in November and should probably answer quite a few questions.

 

[chrismscotland]

I’ve set my LOD slider to 400. So far it still seems very smooth, perhaps a little less so than 200 though - I’ve not actually checked the FPS. I’m going to do a night flight in the FBW A32NX from EGLL later and see how things look/perform. I may ultimately settle for 300. All my other settings are default for the ultra graphics profile. Really looking forward to next months update and DX10 preview - it sounds great!

How did you get on? I tried taking off from Heathrow at 400 and it was like a slideshow; this is with a 3080TI and 5800X

 

[robfosters]

Still say they are missing one vital option in this game and that’s multiple graphics profiles. It would be lovely just to switch between settings with one click depending on which aircraft you’re flying, just like you can do with controls.

 

[willhub]

After the update, I noticed 2 new options, the LOD slider and a cube map slider, maxed these out and at 4k with a 3080ti flying over Berlin was down to 27fps.

Is this normal and expected in FS2020 for such a card? If so fair enough, just paranoid my PC isn't performing correctly.

And if it's normal what level do you think LOD and cubemap should be set at for minimal changes in detail? The new settings really do seem to improve the quality, looked better than it ever did.

 

[Brazo]

After the update, I noticed 2 new options, the LOD slider and a cube map slider, maxed these out and at 4k with a 3080ti flying over Berlin was down to 27fps.

Is this normal and expected in FS2020 for such a card? If so fair enough, just paranoid my PC isn't performing correctly.

And if it's normal what level do you think LOD and cubemap should be set at for minimal changes in detail? The new settings really do seem to improve the quality, looked better than it ever did.

Iirc LOD used to be 200 and I set it to 100 after reading some stuff online that said it barely made any visual difference but higher resources.

I have a 3080 and have everything at 80% of 4K ultra, 100 lod and get a solid 60fps in most areas but not all and even then it’s mainly cpu limited.

I suspect with every update of this game the minimum requirements move northwards and I honestly think a 3080/3090 isn’t remotely good enough to play this game at max settings. That’s good news though because it’s like the new crysis.