Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

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Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,389
1,777
126
no the honeycomb alpha is a flight yoke model, i have heard good things:


they were supposed to have the bravo throttle ready by now, but COVID has delayed it somewhat so i might go with a cheaper logitech g throttle
Both of those look really sick. I remember and arcade-style simulator I saw years ago in an arcade. It had 3, 32" screens or so that were setup like the windows in the cockpit. If you're dropping $500 on controllers, why not buy some 32" 4k TVs and connect them with HDMI to make a proper cockpit. I think that'd be a fun project if I had extra cash...of course, for all that money, it makes me want to get back in the real skies.

I did maybe 15 hours in training back around 2007/2008, but never tried to solo because I would have had to buy my own insurance. I knew I'd run out of money trying to hit 40+ hours to complete the license at the time. I probably should have stuck with it.
 

brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
24,194
5,602
136
If you're dropping $500 on controllers, why not buy some 32" 4k TVs and connect them with HDMI to make a proper cockpit. I think that'd be a fun project if I had extra cash...of course, for all that money, it makes me want to get back in the real skies.

you know, i am seriously considering that now
BLOW5do.png


it's been a decade since i bought a monitor so i'd love to get something better (HDR, 4k, high FPS)

due to medical reasons i am ineligible to fly a plane, which kind of sucks because when i was a kid it was what i wanted to do more than anything

so might as well get the next best thing. probably a lot cheaper too!
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,389
1,777
126
you know, i am seriously considering that now
BLOW5do.png


it's been a decade since i bought a monitor so i'd love to get something better (HDR, 4k, high FPS)

due to medical reasons i am ineligible to fly a plane, which kind of sucks because when i was a kid it was what i wanted to do more than anything

so might as well get the next best thing. probably a lot cheaper too!
So I work for the gubment in a sector that could lose funding due to COVID. We've gotten a pass for now, but there's a good chance we'll see job cuts in the next year. We're definitely not getting any cost of living adjustments. I'm not generating money, so I'm trying to be cautious with my own spending and pay off debt, just in case so I can weather the storm. I'm shifting my expectations to definitely check the Xbox version since I have the hardware and 3 nice big TVs in the house.

It's not quite the same, but will keep me from having to invest $800+ in a decent computer + monitors + controllers. I could see myself dropping $2k on all that before it's over. I'd much rather put that money toward paying off debt or saving up for a small sailboat down the road if everything returns to normal.
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,389
1,777
126
This article brings up a good point. 10 DVDs of around 100GB is a lot of data and can take a while to download. Of course most systems don't ship with optical drives anymore...just something to consider. I'm sure there are options to install more libraries to have better detail, etc..

 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
136
I got windows 10 on a thumb drive.
If MS insists on using physical media thats something to consider.
(not exclusively, in addition to downloading)
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,389
1,777
126
I got windows 10 on a thumb drive.
If MS insists on using physical media thats something to consider.
(not exclusively, in addition to downloading)
Who knows if other options will be available. We'll see when they start making it available to order and ship in physical copies.
 

KentState

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2001
8,397
393
126
100GB doesn't seem that large considering everything else that's been released the last few years. Something like Gears 5 (104GB), Forza Horizons 4 (76GB) or Halo 3 that launched on PC weighing in at 87GB. The good thing is that MS seems to have a good amount of bandwidth so it should take 20 minutes or less to download it.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
136
100GB doesn't seem that large considering everything else that's been released the last few years. Something like Gears 5 (104GB), Forza Horizons 4 (76GB) or Halo 3 that launched on PC weighing in at 87GB. The good thing is that MS seems to have a good amount of bandwidth so it should take 20 minutes or less to download it.
I dont even know what Elder Scrolls Online looks like today.
 

brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
24,194
5,602
136
just got the yoke and played with it in FSX - holy cow this is such a great way to fly my cessna

tempted to get a throttle and pedals now
 
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brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
24,194
5,602
136
i want to see FS2020 benchmarks... not sure if my 16GB RAM and 1070 is going to cut it

hard drive space definitely isn't going to work, i better swap my tiny SSD for a 2TB
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,389
1,777
126
i want to see FS2020 benchmarks... not sure if my 16GB RAM and 1070 is going to cut it

hard drive space definitely isn't going to work, i better swap my tiny SSD for a 2TB
You should just add a smaller drive and install the whole game on there so it doesn't interfere with your OS disk IO. I was thinking 256GB would be plenty of space considering the disks were supposed to be 100GB of data.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,173
620
126
just got the yoke and played with it in FSX - holy cow this is such a great way to fly my cessna

tempted to get a throttle and pedals now
Thrustmaster has some pedals but they are plastic. Not as smooth as some other options out there but they work and it's currently what I have. They should be called TFRP.
 

brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
24,194
5,602
136
You should just add a smaller drive and install the whole game on there so it doesn't interfere with your OS disk IO. I was thinking 256GB would be plenty of space considering the disks were supposed to be 100GB of data.

well i have 4 drives, but they're almost all full :(
 

brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
24,194
5,602
136
I started backing up and consolidating stuff a while back. I offload things to a backup drive and a NAS....photos to cloud storage.

oh i have backups... but then i need to have backups of the backups. and then online backups as well. everything i've ever done on a computer since the early 90s is replicated numerous times.

i'm like my hoarding grandma, but virtually instead of physically.
 

KentState

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2001
8,397
393
126
With the 2080 Ti being in the mid 30's @4k, I don't have much hope for the upcoming Ampere products being able to get 60 fps. Crazy to think that it may take a few generations to play this at 4k in all it's glory.
 

HeXen

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2009
7,829
35
91
I wonder how many people will buy this game because of the graphics? I mean if you're not into piloting aircraft or an airplane enthusiast then this game will be just as boring and slow to play as any other flying sim. I think a hyper realistic 18 wheeler with a world size map would be more entertaining. Maybe even simulate flipping off other drivers.
 

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
16,068
7,380
146
I wonder how many people will buy this game because of the graphics? I mean if you're not into piloting aircraft or an airplane enthusiast then this game will be just as boring and slow to play as any other flying sim. I think a hyper realistic 18 wheeler with a world size map would be more entertaining. Maybe even simulate flipping off other drivers.
I'm not a huge flight sim person (I've played a couple WWII fighter games in the past), but this game sounds kind of neat.
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-played-th...lator-for-a-week-and-i-cant-believe-its-real/
Some parts of the world have been crafted by hand, including airports and recognisable landmarks like the Pyramids, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Tokyo Skytree. Bigger cities have been generated using photogrammetry data, meaning they look just like the real thing. Others, like the small city where I live in the north of England, aren't quite right. In many cases the algorithm tries to guess what a building looks like and gets it totally wrong. But again, you'll rarely be close enough to notice this during regular play. The important thing is that, from a height, the layout of any city you happen to be familiar with will be correct, and you'll feel like you're really flying over it.
Now I would never fly over the Atlantic Ocean for 8 hours, but in this game you can just fly around landmarks, or jump straight to taking off and landing. I think it would be pretty interesting to fly small planes in things like the Grand Canyon, Egypt, Chernobyl, etc.