Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Some of you are seeing upwards of 29GB system RAM usage? I'm wondering if I should upgrade from 32GB to 64GB.

Has anyone seen more than 8 CPU cores being used more than 50% each at the same time?

Any word on SLI use/support? Is the game DX12 only or is there a Vulkan option?

SLI's dead and nvidia has no intention of ever supporting it again so that should answer your question. as far as i've seen i've never gone over 25GB of memory usage but it tends to just leave textures in memory and eventually offloads unneeded textures when there isn't enough space for more, most of my flights are only 2-3 hours though so maybe you'll get up to 32GB on a 6+ hour flight... the game ran just fine with 16GB as it does with 32GB going to 64 should just allow it to store more textures but not really needed.. as far as the cpu side goes it almost mimics exactly how forza horizon 4 works but yeah even on my 2600x i don't see full usage.

other than that their posted specs don't make any sense at all. it's a mish mash of 1080p spec suggestions and 4k suggestions without any real indication of whats for what.. also their cpu suggestions are outright stupid and makes me wonder if the person that made that has ever used anything other than an iphone.
 
https://www.flightsimulator.com/
  • WEEK OF MAY 11th – Alpha Build Update 1.3.X.X.
    • Release Candidate in build release preparation.
    • Build notes in final review phase. Prepped for release.


ALPHA INVITATIONS
The team has completed step 1 of the process outlined below. We have started working on step 2 and will be releasing a new round of invitations starting next week in tandem with the release of the updated Alpha build.

  1. Ensure that everyone that received an acceptance email has access to the Alpha.
    • Status – Complete
  1. Assess Alpha participation options for adding more people as quickly as possible.
    • Prioritize access for those that registered early for pre-release build testing.
    • Status – Prepping for release
 
new Thrustmaster-Airbus partnership...flight sticks...

http://www.thrustmaster.com/products/categories/joysticks-0

i'm waiting to see if there's any release date given for the new honey comb throttle quadrant. the prototypes so far look pretty damn nice. haven't been a huge fan of anything logitech in years as far as flight controls go.. only decent one they had was the Cessna yoke but they quickly replaced it with a garbage version for more money.
 
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The scenery graphics are awesome but what's really impressive to me is the weather depiction. The look of towering thunderstorms and weather fronts and all that is fucking amazing. This is from a trusted source ;)
 
Release date: August 18

Preorder:
Standard($59.99)
Deluxe($89.99)
Premium Deluxe($119.99)

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https://www.flightsimulator.com/mic...-for-pc-also-with-xbox-game-pass-for-pc-beta/
 
Big question for me will be VR support. After playing VTOL VR and it actually feeling like flying, there's no going back to flat earth flight.
 
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Big question for me will be VR support. After playing VTOL VR and it actually feeling like flying, there's no going back.

I would bet my life on it. They are a very smart, savvy team of developers and they know damn well the demand for VR in this. I'm sure they just want to do it right and are waiting to announce/show anything until they are confident in its performance and functionality.
 
I want this game.... hope my xbox 360 controllers work with it, or I guess I'll just buy an xbox one controller. Or a joystick. Hell, I might as well jut build a simulator rig. In which case, I'd better get a 2080ti to make it worth it. Well that escalated quickly.
 
Why not? I mean speaking rhetorically of course. You think they won't make a VR update?
As of now the only mention of VR was the alpha tester survey. There has been nothing about VR on the forum or in the discord nor has there been any VR testing. They could be testing internally buttttt idk. Id bet no VR on release. Might be something added later on.
 
oh shit, this comes with xbox game pass for PC? I have that already. Even though I hate it. I guess I can reinstall xbox app to install this game when it releases.
 
As of now the only mention of VR was the alpha tester survey. There has been nothing about VR on the forum or in the discord nor has there been any VR testing. They could be testing internally buttttt idk. Id bet no VR on release. Might be something added later on.

Well yeah, I meant something added later on, not on release. I'm 1000% positive they are working on it behind the scenes.
 
Double the price for a few more planes and airports? Doesn't seem like a good deal.

Depends on who you ask. To a casual player, it's a pretty poor value. I don't think MS is eyeing the casual player with the higher tiers, they are going after the hardcore sim players. Are you aware of the third-party scene that exists for FSX and X-Plane? You'll find people selling a single aircraft for $25-$50. By comparison, $60 more for 10 of them is a tremendous value to the right person. Many sim games are like this. Train simulator is a $30 game with like $10,000 worth of DLC. They charge $20-$40 just for a single new train or line. IL-2 gets $20 for a new aircraft and $50 for a new scenario. There are many others like it.

I certainly wouldn't be paying that much for a single piece of content, but plenty of people obviously are, because this is the way it's been for a very long time. I expect Microsoft intends to do the same. I wouldn't be surprised to see this get loaded with $10-$20 DLCs for a single aircraft. You and I will call it crazy. The sim elites will go nuts over how cheap it is.
 
I hope so. VR needs to be in some of these AAA titles. This one and Forza from MS imho.
Nevermind that MS has the WMR platform in Windows 10, but with no content or apparent interest in creating any. The new Flight Simulator, Forza etc would've been the obvious firstparty titles to elevate WMR. Their new Xbox also has no sign of VR strategy, while Sony keeps doubling down on theirs.

From a business standpoint it was correct for MS to focus the FS release on conventional, flat monitor gaming - the goal is selling as many copies as possible. But if it wants to be king of flight sims, VR will have to happen or it'll get left behind.
 
Nevermind that MS has the WMR platform in Windows 10, but with no content or apparent interest in creating any. The new Flight Simulator, Forza etc would've been the obvious firstparty titles to elevate WMR. Their new Xbox also has no sign of VR strategy, while Sony keeps doubling down on theirs.

From a business standpoint it was correct for MS to focus the FS release on conventional, flat monitor gaming - the goal is selling as many copies as possible. But if it wants to be king of flight sims, VR will have to happen or it'll get left behind.

My prediction is that we will see it eventually, but not at launch. Microsoft has already said that the game is coming to both PC and Xbox, but Xbox is entirely absent for the August launch. A strange move, but it means MS still has work to do on this title. Perhaps they are shooting for an XSX launch title? Either way, following release on PC, i'm sure that finishing it up on console will be the next priority. Once that's launched, they can focus on DLC and other game enhancements, which would be a good time to implement VR.

X-Plane has it, so we know there is a demand, and like you say MS has the entire WMR platform that they have done absolutely nothing with. It's logical to assume it's coming, but given their stance on VR, I just don't see it as a priority to them.
 
How do you push buttons and twist knobs in VR? I can imagine a lot of butterfinger moments when you keep pressing wrong buttons!
....And aircraft have a lot of buttons! If current VR is any indication of object interaction accuracy, it'll be jolly fun time!!😁😁😁
I guess they could do something where as you look around, each object gets highlighted as it enters the center of the field of view, and once highlighted, you only need one 'action' button. Obviously game developers will have a better idea than I can come up with, but seems fairly simple that way.
 
How do you push buttons and twist knobs in VR? I can imagine a lot of butterfinger moments when you keep pressing wrong buttons!
....And aircraft have a lot of buttons! If current VR is any indication of object interaction accuracy, it'll be jolly fun time!!😁😁😁

I'd be all about a Flight Sim version of Surgeon Simulator :D
 
How do you push buttons and twist knobs in VR? I can imagine a lot of butterfinger moments when you keep pressing wrong buttons!
....And aircraft have a lot of buttons! If current VR is any indication of object interaction accuracy, it'll be jolly fun time!!😁😁😁

I would've assumed the same as you, that the idea of interacting with knobs and switches in VR would be comedy disaster, until I tried VTOL VR - you feel like you're actually sitting in a cockpit, you're reaching your hands out flipping switches and pressing buttons and its actually very efficient versus memorizing a bunch of keybinds on a keyboard. It's amazing. The experience also demonstrated to me how properly implemented VR controls can not only be as good as a HOTAS but can surpass it. There's a ton of fidelity in the motion controls that can be leveraged for more precise flying.

Prior to playing VTOL VR, I regarded Flight Sims as a genre as painfully boring and not my thing. But my mind's been blown by the fact we have technology now that sufficiently tricks your brain into feeling like you actually are flying, meaning the simulation of the sensation of flight. It's amazing, words can't describe it, you have to experience it. This is why - as pretty as FS2020 is - I won't even bother with it until VR support is added. VR has basically ruined me at least for flight sims.
 
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I would've assumed the same as you, that the idea of interacting with knobs and switches in VR would be comedy disaster, until I tried VTOL VR - you feel like you're actually sitting in a cockpit, you're reaching your hands out flipping switches and pressing buttons and its actually very efficient versus memorizing a bunch of keybinds on a keyboard. It's amazing. The experience also demonstrated to me how properly implemented VR controls can not only be as good as a HOTAS but can surpass it. There's a ton of fidelity in the motion controls that can be leveraged for more precise flying.

Prior to playing VTOL VR, I regarded Flight Sims as a genre as painfully boring and not my thing. But my mind's been blown by the fact we have technology now that sufficiently tricks your brain into feeling like you actually are flying, meaning the simulation of the sensation of flight. It's amazing, words can't describe it, you have to experience it. This is why - as pretty as FS2020 is - I won't even bother with it until VR support is added. VR has basically ruined me at least for flight sims.

I've always felt games like this are ahead of their time. I remember trying PCars in VR and simultaneously thinking it was groundbreaking and hating it. What I mean by that, is actually sitting down in the drivers seat of a car is absolutely badass. That first few seconds of just sitting there looking around is a very huge "whoa...." moment. But, as soon as I started actually racing, that moment was lost. The performance was abysmal and the game looked terrible. I found that the low resolution made everything outside of my car look like soup (played on both Vive and Rift S). Combined with the fast pace of a racing game, I found it very frustrating to try and keep a handle on what was going on, and ultimately ended up feeling sick. At the end of the day, cool as the concept of VR was in this game, I would never choose that experience over playing at 4K and 60fps with clear, clean visuals.

I think a game like Pcars and VTOL have incredible potential to be the absolute best experience VR can provide, if only we had the hardware to do them justice. A super high res HMD (4K-8K), and a GPU capable of pushing that to 60fps... and I think you'd have something really special. Hopefully in a few years we'll be there, but for now I tend to avoid games of this nature in VR.
 
Shame the 787-10 isn't included in the base version. Same with SFO.

Double the price for a few more planes and airports? Doesn't seem like a good deal.

Typically a single plane costs $40-100. Development time, cost and of course low sales due to the niche nature of the product mean prices are high. Obviously the planes that come with the game won't be the most detailed, once 3rd party developers get onboard you'll see the more authentic and detailed planes come out with the price tag to go with them.

This reminds me, bought DCS F-18 for $35 on Steam last week. Haven't even activated it yet.
 
I think a game like Pcars and VTOL have incredible potential to be the absolute best experience VR can provide, if only we had the hardware to do them justice. A super high res HMD (4K-8K), and a GPU capable of pushing that to 60fps... and I think you'd have something really special. Hopefully in a few years we'll be there, but for now I tend to avoid games of this nature in VR.
Won't require years though. We're right on the verge of the mythical "I'll wait for 4K / 8K" and "I'll wait for next gen" point that the fence-sitters often mention. Example HP just announced Reverb G2 ($599) with 2160x2160 per eye (that's 2.5x pixels more than Rift S), and Samsung and others are expected to follow this summer (Odyssey 2, etc). The "through the lens" preview videos of the Reverb G2 show no perceptible pixelation - its going to be remarkable for flight sims (and HL:Alyx and everything else).

Also an insane GPU isn't required. Hell, a 1060 will run VTOL VR at 90FPS right now, and my 2080Ti runs it at over 6.4K (3212x4012 per eye SuperSampled 500%) @ 90FPS with room to spare.

So what many don't realize is the tech's already at a point that a mind-blowing simulation of the experience of flight can be had today with a cheap $300 HMD.
 
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Just preordered the ultra super duper edition. Been a plane fan my whole life even though I'm not a true pilot (got about 60 hours behind a Diamond DA-20 though, but never finished my private pilots license). It was the original Flight Simulator 95~98 that brought flying as a passion into my life as a child. It was also the first true "open world" video game I ever played which also brought on my passion for PC gaming and ignored the console peasants.

I current work at Allegiant Air (based out of Las Vegas) which has around 100 A319/A320's so can't wait to try out the A320 in the game.

I'll probably get the new Thrustmaster Airbus A320 HOTAS set as well (I know it won't be fully complete until the end of the year). Looks a bit plastic-ey but they're also the same people that made the infamous Thurstmaster Warthog so I guess it can't be that bad.

Edit: No helicopters huh? That's kind of a first for the series. I can't imagine the $1000's of dollars worth of DLC's this game will have within a year.
 

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Excited and disappointed at once. I would have hoped for a wider detailed airport selection out of the gate at each tier. Finding that listing rather limited. Considering the history of the game in Chicaco sad to see even ORD is not included at the base level. I know the auto tech will help fill on anything found from the images in but c'mon. I'm used to buying DLC and still play FSX but at least with FSX the game came with a nice selection of functional airports and you could get some decent packs to expand several to much much higher or crazy detail level as with other sims. Makes the 60 dollar price sting a little bit from a major distributor with an audience ready to start spending cash. At least offer some as free DLC down the road.
 
crazy that it's going to be available on Game Pass PC on Day 1...
no reason not to.. allows people to try it first then buy it later.. it's essentially monetizing demo's.

Excited and disappointed at once. I would have hoped for a wider detailed airport selection out of the gate at each tier. Finding that listing rather limited. Considering the history of the game in Chicaco sad to see even ORD is not included at the base level. I know the auto tech will help fill on anything found from the images in but c'mon. I'm used to buying DLC and still play FSX but at least with FSX the game came with a nice selection of functional airports and you could get some decent packs to expand several to much much higher or crazy detail level as with other sims. Makes the 60 dollar price sting a little bit from a major distributor with an audience ready to start spending cash. At least offer some as free DLC down the road.


considering the average price of full airport sceneries in XP11 go for 20-30 dollars a piece 120 bucks for all those airports before even considering the planes you get is cheap. the autogen airports are still good though, you just don't get all the auto gate features and what not that come with the scenery airports. there will likely be 3rd party freeware stuff down the line though, it's the only way they'd be able to survive against XP11. because the reality is the vast majority of enthusiast in this market are the same people using bestbuy prebuilds that won't be able to play FS20 at the graphic settings that'll make the sim look any better than xp11 and the many freeware scenery addon's available to it.

Edit: No helicopters huh? That's kind of a first for the series. I can't imagine the $1000's of dollars worth of DLC's this game will have within a year.

considering i'm well over 2k dollars spent on xp11 sceneries/planes at this point it won't be that surprising. flight sims are an expensive hobby. also helicopters are coming, realistic flight modeling for them is just insanely hard and why even xp11 doesn't have that many of them either.
 
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