I want to buy MSFS 2020

[kalizzi]

As the proverb says, "The Only Stupid Question is the One You Don't Ask." here goes:

 

I am building a high end system and want to buy MSFS 2020. I definitely want the Premium Deluxe edition. and after doing some research I found out that there is a certain "Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition" which is premium deluxe but with 12 extra aircraft and other extras. My question is:

 

What format to go for? tin-DVD or download? whats the pros and cons of each version? apart from getting the print manuals, that is,

 

I see Microsoft currently offers the download version of the 40th anniversary edition at a discount price of $77, should I go for that?

 

I also learned that the 40th anniversary upgrade is freely available to all current owners of the premium deluxe version. 

 

A tad baffled I would love to hear the advise of you folks who are better learned than me in this undertaking?

 

Thank you in advance,

 

Khalid

 

[mrzippy]

I would stay away fro the 10-disc version and see if what you want is available from the Steam Store.

[Nels_Anderson]

Unless you really enjoy sitting by your computer, slowly feeding it many CD's one at a time, just get the download version. As updates come out, you're just going to end up downloading it anyway.

 

You're going to end up with the latest version, so don't worry about the "40th anniversary edition" you've heard about, you'll get that and all the updates as they come along.

 

Your real choices are:

 

Buy from Steam or from Microsoft

Which one of the 3 levels to buy

 

Just be aware that the actual sim you get is the same no matter which of these choices you make. The premium levels just get you additional aircraft and airport scenery, so you only need those if the included airplanes or airports are something you feel you must have.

 

My personal choice was to buy from Steam, as I've had good experience buying other sims from them, and getting the basic level, figuring money I saved could later be applied to specific add-on aircraft that I really wanted.

[loki]

Nels' reply covers the main points.

 

Regarding the difference between Steam and the Microsoft Store, the Microsoft Store will also allow you to install the sim on an Xbox X or S console.

[kalizzi]

18 minutes ago, loki said:

Nels' reply covers the main points.

 

Regarding the difference between Steam and the Microsoft Store, the Microsoft Store will also allow you to install the sim on an Xbox X or S console.

 

Thank you Charlie, Nels, and Loki for your valuable inputs. 

 

Loki: I already have a steam account where I bought the steam version of FSX, if the price is the same ($77.99) I would definitely go with steam. I do not see myself using a game console for flight simulation in this life.

 

I presume I will get pdf versions of the guide book(s) along with the downloads?

 

Khalid 

[JSkorna]

There are no guidebooks with any of the default versions.

[Nels_Anderson]

There is no manual included.

 

A company called Sofly produced a guidebook such as should have been included, and has probably sold a million of them. If you feel the need for a manual, that's the one you want.

 

In reality, though, you can largely learn to use the sim just by using it.

[dnpaul]

In addition to the Sofly manual, there are lots of tutorial videos on Youtube.

[budreiser]

Please, correct me if I'm wrong. Unless a manual is updated, doesn't some info become obsolete with some updates?

[Nels_Anderson]

52 minutes ago, dnpaul said:

In addition to the Sofly manual, there are lots of tutorial videos on Youtube.

 

Indeed there are, and some are very good. And some are very bad!

 

A while back I watched one that was supposed to be a tutorial on how to start up the default Guimbal Cabri C5 in MSFS 2020. After 20 minutes, the guy doing the tutorial had gone through the built-in checklist...and failed to get the copter running! And yet he posted this as a tutorial...

 

One thought is that reading the comments section before watching might be useful...in this case a number of the comments pointed out the failing, though I only read them after watching. There are also people who've developed a reputation for quality videos, so try and find them.

[Nels_Anderson]

29 minutes ago, budreiser said:

Please, correct me if I'm wrong. Unless a manual is updated, doesn't some info become obsolete with some updates?

 

Indeed true, which may explain why Microsoft chose not to include a manual with MSFS 2020.

 

Sofly has updated their book numerous times since the original release and seemingly have done a pretty good job of keeping up with all the changes.

[KiloWatt]

16 hours ago, kalizzi said:

As the proverb says, "The Only Stupid Question is the One You Don't Ask." here goes:

 

I am building a high end system and want to buy MSFS 2020. I definitely want the Premium Deluxe edition. and after doing some research I found out that there is a certain "Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition" which is premium deluxe but with 12 extra aircraft and other extras. My question is:

 

What format to go for? tin-DVD or download? whats the pros and cons of each version? apart from getting the print manuals, that is,

 

I see Microsoft currently offers the download version of the 40th anniversary edition at a discount price of $77, should I go for that?

 

I also learned that the 40th anniversary upgrade is freely available to all current owners of the premium deluxe version. 

 

A tad baffled I would love to hear the advise of you folks who are better learned than me in this undertaking?

 

Thank you in advance,

 

Khalid

 

 

I feel obligated to also mention that MSFS2024 will be released next year, in case you didn't know and want to save your money. See here:

 

 

[kalizzi]

2 hours ago, KiloWatt said:

 

I feel obligated to also mention that MSFS2024 will be released next year, in case you didn't know and want to save your money. See here:

 

 

Thank you  KW

3 hours ago, Nels_Anderson said:

I am quite aware but I already bought my hardware and it doesn’t make sense to halt everything till 2024 arrives. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. In fact I just bought the sim (premium deluxe 40th anniversary edition, the top of the line) from Microsoft store as they have a special offer on it $77.99 -saving $43 off list price! Steam wanted the full list price. Thank you once more and all the best.

 

Khalid

 

[kalizzi]

3 hours ago, Nels_Anderson said:

 

Indeed true, which may explain why Microsoft chose not to include a manual with MSFS 2020.

Microsoft and bad choices, a very firm pairing! Wot?

 

Khalid

[KiloWatt]

3 minutes ago, kalizzi said:

Thank you  KW

 

I am quite aware but I already bought my hardware and it doesn’t make sense to halt everything till 2024 arrives. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. In fact I just bought the sim (premium deluxe 40th anniversary edition, the top of the line) from Microsoft store as they have a special offer on it $77.99 -saving $43 off list price! Steam wanted the full list price. Thank you once more and all the best.

 

Khalid

 

 

Fair enough and happy flying! I'm sure you'll enjoy the sim.

 

What hardware did you get, out of morbid curiousity.

[kalizzi]

3 minutes ago, KiloWatt said:

 

Fair enough and happy flying! I'm sure you'll enjoy the sim.

 

What hardware did you get, out of morbid curiousity.

Nothing too exotic yet reasonably powerful: Asus ROG z390 mobo with i7/9700k 9th generation 8-core cpu running stable at 4.7 GHz with Corsair liquid cooler and 32gigs of vengeance RAM.  2tb ssd as well as Asus ROG rtx2070super graphic adapter with 8 gigs video memory.  I find this a great value for the money in terms of performance. I don’t intend to use 4k only 1440. 

hope this works well.

 

Khalid

[Nels_Anderson]

37 minutes ago, kalizzi said:

Microsoft and bad choices, a very firm pairing! Wot?

 

 

Not that I'm a fan of Microsoft, but not including a manual seems to be the norm these days. One argument for doing this is that software should be designed so that it's so intuitive that no manual is needed. In reality, you should be able to use MSFS 2020 pretty well just by going in and actually using it

 

Then consider what a truly thorough manual would entail... Where I find a need for a manual is not so much for setting up the sim itself, but for how to fly a specific aircraft. In reality, there should be a manual for each aircraft, similar to the POH that comes with real planes but also covering flight training and using the systems, i.e. the GPS or FMC and other avionics specific to that plane. To really fly any of the planes properly you have to seek out and learning this information from somewhere...

[KiloWatt]

44 minutes ago, kalizzi said:

Nothing too exotic yet reasonably powerful: Asus ROG z390 mobo with i7/9700k 9th generation 8-core cpu running stable at 4.7 GHz with Corsair liquid cooler and 32gigs of vengeance RAM.  2tb ssd as well as Asus ROG rtx2070super graphic adapter with 8 gigs video memory.  I find this a great value for the money in terms of performance. I don’t intend to use 4k only 1440. 

hope this works well.

 

Khalid

 

Solid choices, I'm sure you'll have lots of fun! Congratulations!

[kalizzi]

4 hours ago, Nels_Anderson said:

 

Not that I'm a fan of Microsoft, but not including a manual seems to be the norm these days. One argument for doing this is that software should be designed so that it's so intuitive that no manual is needed. In reality, you should be able to use MSFS 2020 pretty well just by going in and actually using it

 

Then consider what a truly thorough manual would entail... Where I find a need for a manual is not so much for setting up the sim itself, but for how to fly a specific aircraft. In reality, there should be a manual for each aircraft, similar to the POH that comes with real planes but also covering flight training and using the systems, i.e. the GPS or FMC and other avionics specific to that plane. To really fly any of the planes properly you have to seek out and learning this information from somewhere...

Nels you hit the nail on the head, when buying payware aircraft you get big manuals packaged. These stock models that come packaged with the sim surely need manuals to fly, imagine having to use own intuition to fly the Airbus?

[tiger1962]

Search YouTube for MSFS, everything you need to know about anything MSFS-related is there.

[jgf]

5 hours ago, Nels_Anderson said:

not including a manual seems to be the norm these days

 

Absolutely.  Comprehensive manuals are but a fond memory.  We all recall those 100+ page manuals for DOS games that came on four floppies;  there was an rpg, on CD, that included a hard bound novelization of the plot;  but for thoroughness nothing beats the 300+ page manual for EF2000, and you needed to memorize every word of it to be proficient in combat.

 

Today about the best you get is a brochure on how to install, and/or, more importantly (to the devs), how to register.

[rrroberttt]

You can get some manuals for some of the most recent planes made available and "refurbished" by Microsoft.

 

Here: https://www.flightsimulator.com/aircraft-manuals/

[kalizzi]

22 hours ago, rrroberttt said:

You can get some manuals for some of the most recent planes made available and "refurbished" by Microsoft.

 

Here: https://www.flightsimulator.com/aircraft-manuals/

Awesome Robert... that link is simply brilliant! Many thanks 

[kalizzi]

On 7/26/2023 at 9:54 PM, tiger1962 said:

Search YouTube for MSFS, everything you need to know about anything MSFS-related is there.

Very true Tim, YouTube is now as indispensable as Google! Yet it doesn't replace a good "old fashioned" manual. 

[JSkorna]

What happens when your old fashioned manual is out of date?