Elvensmith

Little update - I just logged into my Zendesk activity log and the bug I filed about the A320 FMC is now showing as status "Solved". So let's hope that means what it says and a fix will be forthcoming in the next patch cycle (or two).

Running this sim is probably the closest any of us will get to flying or jetting off on holiday for quite a few years, given the pandemic does not seem to be receding any time soon. :)

I actually relish the challenge of flying with the old style autopilot, used to love firing up the Captain Sim 707. So long as the integrity of the flight plan is preserved on saving/loading (something I hope Asobo and MS are working on anyway) that may be the quickest way of getting a third party tube in the game.

Let's just say at this stage it is very scenery and non AP GA flight orientated, preferably finished in one computer session. I do like FS20 so far as it goes but IMHO is over priced and over rated for what we got at the moment. I freely admit to buying into the PR hype not to mention the carefully sanctioned YT video clips created by the alpha and beta testers, when what they should have been doing in no uncertain terms was telling MS/Asobo - your AP doesn't work properly, resuming a saved flight is a complete lottery as to what state it loads in (with no flightplan in the jet FMC's), et al. Then maybe we might not be having so many of these bantering conversations on the board these last few weeks. If you want to do a serious long haul flight in a vintage jet, then FSX is still the goto sim for the foreseeable future. (I find the default tubes in XP11 come with their own baggage when considering a long flight that can't be flown in one sitting).

My smart money is on Just Flight churning something out first. Their "Flite" range may not be study level but were nice enough to fly in FS9/FSX etc.

Can't say I noticed much difference with the XP11 Vulkan graphics. I did the same flight as I'm currently doing in FS20 (take off from Newcastle and visit all the houses I've lived in over the years) and XP11 is just so bland. The scenery texture reminds me of that washed out look original FSX had, Newcastle and Gateshead consisted of a few generic European buildings slapped down at random. By contrast FS20 has rich and vibrant colours, okay the houses may not look exactly like reality but the streets are in the correct place and a red brick old council house does look the part. Flying up over the Pennines towards my next location (Kendal), the moor and upland textures are spot on, by god it looks real. So yes I've done my fair bit of (justified) moaning about the incomplete features and bugs MS shipped the game with, but visually it continues to impress.

I'm itching to fly a big 10 or a Tristar in the new sim but realistically expect it will probably be well into next year at the earliest. I suspect the main issue for developers is not so much converting their 3D models, sounds or adapting flight physics as how systems are integrated. The big jets in the game by default use a FMC to drive the autopilot (which is kind of broken at present) as opposed to the legacy "Acme" system in FS of old, which freeware developers in particular could just bolt on their aircraft with a few well placed buttons.

Default XP11 graphics are way better than FSX but can't really touch FS20. Haven't taken a flight with the Vulkan upgrade (11.5) which is now live, may take a look shortly.

I think the earliest you would see any significant discount on price would be Christmas next year. I doubt it will be in the Steam Thanksgiving or Xmas sales this year and if it was, only going to be a token discount (IMHO).

I actually thought I had cracked this with the TBM 930 at least, still having the flight plan active on loading a saved game and no drama from the AP re-engaging NAV and ALT. Unfortunately on a second reload not so fortunate - the FMS was blank and aircraft just flying on a northerly heading. So at present we have the Garmin 1000 fitted GA aircraft which retain the flight plan but default back to a previous leg. AP more often than not inducing a diving spin which is unrecoverable. The big jets - A320 and 747 which do not save the flight plan in the FMC. And sadly now the TBM with it's FMC (Garmin?) which also has issues. Is this something wrong with the individual aircraft or is it a core issue in the save/load routines which MS/Asobo need to look at? Hopefully it might get addressed in the next patch but not specifically on the list that I can see.

On a more positive note I took my first flight in the TBM 930 last night. Now maybe I was just lucky, but they seem to have hit the sweet spot with this in terms of save/load integrity. When I resumed the flight, plan was still sat in the FMC. The current waypoint was still the active one from earlier and hitting AP/NAV/ALT everything lined up nicely, no swerving dive into the ground. So it looks like for now the TBM is the goto aircraft for longer (non jet) flights where you want to use the AP, with the Cessna 152 and Icon reserved for the find your house type of expeditions.

The Steam element is only about 500Mb. The rest comes from the MS server so in the same situation as everyone else. Good news re the patch, though can't see anything about the save/reload issue with the FMC on the big jets (loses flightplan). Let's hope it's buried away in there or on the radar for Patch #3!

Yes but this sim caters for all manner of virtual pilots. If I sat at the PC for a constant 10 hours flying from Seattle to Heathrow, I = 1. Probably wouldn't have a wife left at the end of it. and 2. Do it too often not much eyesight left either! Even the PC game publishers say (or they used to in the manual) you shouldn't sit too long at the monitor. Sadly this is exactly the sort of spurious argument which appears to being used both here and at Avsim by a small contingent to shoot down valid concerns and feedback about bugs and missing or incomplete features. Frankly it's getting tiresome. I actually do want to enjoy this new FS20 and much of it is indeed great, but there are certain key areas where the developer must set to work and fill the holes. You don't fly a real plane looking at a 21" monitor with a plastic joystick and keyboard/mouse either?

I remember the manuals from some of those old Microprose and EA sims (Longbow 2 for example). They were great, could lose yourself for hours studying all the detail. Of course with Microprose you needed the manual for when it occasionally asked the anti-copy question and wanted you to identify a particular aircraft silhouette! Re the AP, yes it was definitely a mistake in hindsight to drop the old default "Acme" (as I have christened it) system in favour of Garmin and FMC. Sorry to disagree with Kapitan but both systems have issues, particularly when resuming a saved flight. The Garmin often defaults to an earlier leg and can lose control of the aircraft when you try to re-engage. And on the passenger jets, the FMC has lost the flight plan when you load the saved game. The latter in particular makes emulating long haul IFR flights pretty much impossible, unless you are able to sit at the PC for an entire 5 - 12 hour session.

Have they overcome the issue of the default plane not having your flight plan in the FMC, when reloading a saved game?

The one thing XP11 has that FS20 doesn't is that lovely little jet GA aircraft that looks like a V1 rocket with a passenger cabin attached. Cirrus Vision SF50. Been flying that a lot rebounding into XP11 and it's a really great aircraft. Hopefully we will get one for FS20, eventually.

The FMC on the A320 or 747 not retaining your flightplan when you re-load a saved game is a pretty major bug, IMHO, one that makes it impossible to recreate long haul IFR flights in more than one sitting.

Well just tried to resume a flight with the A320neo and, same as happened with the 747, when the flight finally appears the FMC is blank, having lost the previously active flightplan. FWIW I've Zendesked it but I am beginning to despair again...

Well it would be nice. LVD767 probably my most used aircraft in FS9 + a fair bit in FSX.

No I learned the hard way (as we all did) that active pause is not (currently) fit for purpose and delved into the commands to enable the traditional inflight pause/unpause. I have had the same result of a dive whether making the adjustment whether the game is running or paused.

Update. On a hunch I went to the middle MFD (this is on the Caravan). That did allow me to scroll through the legs and has an "Act Leg" button. So that possibly solves the GPS setup, now let's just see if it will get back on course without augering in... Edit: No straight into the ground again. What a crock of poo.

None of that worked. Configured joystick, still went into a dive turning back to the earlier WP while I was trying to set up the Garmin. Still can't get "Direct To" to work either even following the above process. Really beginning to get annoyed with this half finished game, now.

Well we are not flying a "real" plane here and trying to balance workload with twitchy controls and a temperamental autopilot means the ability to enter a value with the keyboard would be most appreciated.

I certainly think people should be cautious about criticising something they don't own but it is not out of order to offer a view on or ask questions about genuine issues that people are reporting. I am quite enjoying FS20 but there is no doubt the game has issues and many areas (such as the AP, Garmin and passenger jets) are still something of a WIP.

No I think you are correct Mac. While playing around trying to get the Garmin to work I accidentally deleted my entire flight plan. Not only could I not enter the destination to fly direct, there is no way to retrieve and reload the plan either. Obviously another Asobo "WIP"...