cobalt

I have flown maybe a dozen bush trips, and have many more installed in MSFS that I plan to fly when time permits. For me, these have been a great way to really appreciate the feeling of immersive flying in MSFS. The priority, of course, is sightseeing in low-and-slow aircraft, and the scenery is generally fantastic -- and REAL, being based on satellite imagery. Among others, I have done trips across the U.S., Norway, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, and California. I have found the instructions generally not hard to follow (I will admit I use Little Nav Map to keep track of where I am and to find airports). As to installation, you just stick the unzipped file in Community (I use addon Manager), and the trip should show up in the Bush Flights in MSFS. Finally, keep in mind that the addon bush trips are freeware and must take a fair amount of work to put together. Therefore I don't want to be too critical of "imperfections" some have mentioned. Have fun!

Why would you want to load European or African scenery if you are planning flights in the U.S.? Or Australia? Or Japan? I guess you have your reasons, but it makes no sense to me.

Flyby view is available using the drone set to a fixed location. Loading times are very dependent on add-ons and can be kept to a minimum (2-3 minutes) by use of an addon manager. And while it's not exactly realistic(!), for those who want to, aircraft can be switched in mid-flight using dev mode.

You are absolutely right -- it was made very clear, well before the rollout of MSFS, that this was to be a 10-year project with continuous updates and corrections. The fact that many simmers were apparently unaware of it doesn't change this. As far as I am concerned, the current state of MSFS, while certainly not perfect, is pretty amazing when one looks at what has been accomplished in just a year. Watching it grow and evolve over time is great to see, especially as there is nothing else remotely like it on the horizon.

Hit F12. Works every time.

I believe the OP I quoted made changes in the MSFS Options, not in his .cfg file. He also emptied his Community folder of addons and gradually put them back in. I agree that messing with .cfg is not a good idea unless you know what you are doing.

Amen to this. A different thread on this forum, "This Update Has Been a Total Disaster" provides an interesting case history. Today, the OP who started the thread with the above title, reports that he has fixed the problem by making some adjustments in his settings following the hotfix. So for him, SU5 is not a disaster after all! There are surely some lessons to be learned here.

As a matter of fact, I am getting 50-60 FPS over New York (and London, Paris, and San Francisco) on Ultra, post-SU5. Before SU5, I was gettiing 30-35 in those places. Good computer, but not what I would call high-end. Alienware Aurora R11, 32 GB ram, Intel i7-10700F, GeForce RTX 2080 Super

Some interesting (and possibly surprising) poll results from another forum Question: How is the U5 Update and hotfix behaving for you? Results: Same as before, 5.3% (18) Better frame rate but worse graphics, 33.7% (114) Better frame rate and graphics fine after some tweaks, 42.6% (144) CTDs unusable, 11.2% (38) I am leaving for FSX, XP, or P3D, 5.92% (20) A bit worse LOD problems, 1.18% (4)

Thanks for your thoughtful post -- most welcome in the present climate! I do have to disagree with your statement that "essentially no one has decent graphics". Some of us are seeing great graphics since SU5 (I am one of them) and have so reported in this and other forums. In my case, I had great graphics before SU5 and still have them, along with an increase in FPS from around 25-30 to 50-60, and practically everywhere, and with ultra settings. I realize that for many this is hard to believe, but brother, I ain't lyin'! And as I just said, I am not alone. The only explanation I can come up with -- and I am certainly not a computer guru -- is that I have a reasonably good (not top-of-the-line, but pretty good) computer system, which I bought a year ago in preparation for MSFS, and so far it has proven capable of dealing with the demands put on it by the various upgrades including SU5. Maybe my day of reckoning is coming and the next Asobo update will do me in, who knows! Meanwhile, I do sympathize with all those having problems. My suggestions would be: (a) try running MSFS with no addons, and (b) consider upgrading your processor, video card, and/or ram. Good luck to all. Alienware Aurora R11, i710070 chip, GeForce RTX2080 video card, 32 MB ram

No, I am not a member of the Asobo team, and I am not defending anybody. As a matter of fact, I had a frustrating two days trying to install the latest update, until it finally did, and I reported my experience on this forum. I happen to be one of those who has found the SU5 update to be a great advance in performance (50-60 FPS pracatically everywhere), on ultra settings, with no detectable loss in graphics quality. At the same time, I am well aware that many are having problems with it, and I regret that. I do think that one's computer specs have a lot to do with this issue. One thing is for certain: rants, raves, and accusations are not going to solve anything. Let's keep this civil and respectful. Alienware Aurora R11, 32 GB ram, Intel i7-10700F, GeForce RTX 2080 Super

Interesting that you have not yet installed SU5, yet describe it as a "crime". You refer to a "scarce few posters who claim graphics as good as they were before the update", implying that this group is a small minority. But it is well known that complainers about new products are invariably over-represented in any sampling because satisfied customers are much less inclined to report their experiences. Then, referring to those of us who are happy with SU5, you say "if their experience is genuine..", implying what -- that we are lying? If not that, then what exactly are you saying?

I am not defending anybody, but I am having a different experience from yours following the SU5 update; for me, it works great with significantly improved performance even in scenery-dense areas such as NYC, LA, and London, and no reduction in quality that I can see, with graphics set to ultra. I am not an employee of Microsoft or Asobo, so that must put me in your "don't get it" category. But in fact, I do get it. The question is, why such different results for different simmers? I don't pretend to know the answer, but I suggest that the ability of one's computer system to handle MSFS is a likely factor. The specs you report point in that direction, e.g., your 8 MB ram, i7-4770, and GTX 1070. These would be fine for FSX, but not necessarily for MSFS. But I am not an expert, just raising this as a possibility. Alienware Aurora R11, 32 GB ram, Intel i7-10700F, GeForce RTX 2080 Super

I'm not sure if the previous post is directed to me, but for the record, I fly it as a simulator with full cockpit controls, ATC, the works. I do not own X-Box. Let me say two more things. First the MSFS users who are enjoying good results with the latest update -- I am one of them -- need to appreciate that many people are not, and this should concern everybody. Second, the reverse is also true: those who are having major problems need to acknowledge that many others are not having problems. What everybody should want to know is, why such different experiences? It is a bit perplexing, though I think the differences in computer systems and setups account for some of it.

IF you have (a) a reasonably good computer system and (b) patience and persistence when problems arise, go for it. MSFS2020 is without a doubt the most advanced flight sim ever created, and is becoming more so with time. If you don't, then best to stay away at least for a while. This is a 10-year project (as announced when it was released a year ago) and is not for everyone, but the rewards are fantastic if you stay with it and work through the issues. Alienware Aurora R11, 32 GB ram, Intel i7-100700F, GeForce RTX 2080 Super

Agreed. I had posted mine earlier, but here it is again. Alienware Aurora R11, Intel Core i7-10700F, GeForce TX2080 Super.

As a matter of fact, just this morning with the SU5 update and the hotfix installed, I flew the TBM930 from KLGA over to the Verazanno Narrows bridge, up the Hudson River with side trips to view the Manhattan buildings at close range, and up to the George Washington Bridge. The trip was picture-perfect with FPS at 50-60 (locked at 60), smooth as silk, no popping, and certainly no loss of quality in textures. I have graphics settings on Ultra, terrain and objects level of detail both set at 200, photogrammetry on, and live AI traffic. And yes, buildings visible to the horizon. It looked terrific! I have also flown over Washington DC, London and Paris today, same result. Why some of us are having such different experiences post-update, is hard to explain, but it must relate to computer systems, settings, and possibly other factors. I wish I knew the answer, and I hope one will be found.

OK, at this point in time some folks justifiably regard the latest MSFS update as a disaster, while others think it is fabulous. To some degree, this seems to happen after every update, though in this case the comments appear more extreme -- as in "TOTAL disaster" -- even if the trolls are discounted. I personally have had a foot in both camps. I spent over two frustrating days trying to get the update installed, with the process stalling over and over as files tried repeatedly to load but without success; each time that happened, I re-started and it resumed, only to stall again.Note: this was with an empty Community folder; no addons. The last straw was when the upload reached 99% and stalled with only a couple of MB remaining-- at that point my wife heard language she had never heard me use before! The solution, finally, was to go into OneStore and delete the last couple of update folders, forcing them to reload. That did the trick and the sim was able to start. This transformed my experience from a disaster to almost unimaginable joy. I am seeing performance unlike anything I've had up to now in MSFS (and light years beyond any earlier sim). With pretty nearly all settings at ultra, numerous addons, real weather, live real-world traffic, Bing data on, and the frame rate limit at 60, I am seeing absolutely smooth flying with 50-60 FPS (occasionally dropping into the 40s) in the TBM930 everywhere I fly, including some of the most scenery-dense areas such as London, New York, LA, Washington DC, and other places notorious as frame rate killers. The graphics look terrific. It is hard to believe I am not dreaming. That said, it is really unfortunate that so many people are having problems, and I hope that most of these will soon be resolved -- hopefully with the soon-to-be-released patch --so that everyone can enjoy this incredible simulator. Alienware Aurora R11, Intel® Core™ i7-10700F, GeForce TX2080 Super.

Found the problem -- it was the "We Love VFR" addon files, which apparently are incompatible with the Update.

You had said that "the addons in the community folder are normally the problem" (boldface added). I do not think this is true. "Some" might be a fair statement, though I would say it's probably very few.

What is with the "smoke" emanating from smokestacks since the recent update? It looks like crude line drawings of polygons that appear to move like smoke but bear no resemblance to the real thing. There are many examples in the NYC area, and it certainly degrades the otherwise terrific graphics. Is there any way to eliminate this?

Sorry, but if you look at many posts in this and other forums you will find that addons are very often not the problem. I am one of those who was unable to load the latest update even with an empty Community folder, because the update process would hang when a file got into an endless loop. I eventually succeeded after two days of fooling with deleting update folders in OneStore and re-starting. This had nothing to do with addons.

Boy, you nailed it. Your video says it all. I am a grizzled veteran of 14 years with FSX (and FS9 before that) and know that both of these were great sims for their time, especially when enhanced with Ultimate Terrain, high-res mesh, and many other add-ons. Until a year ago, I assumed that the future in flight simming would bring further incremental improvements with periodic new editions of FSX, X-plane, and others. Then came MSFS2020 and I realized that it was not just a better sim, but took me into a whole new experience I never expected I would live to see. What a blast!

I have found that this varies considerably with time of day. Generally contrast is best when the sun is high in the sky. I did find that some adjustment of nvidia settings also helped.

But while you are waiting -- either for some kind of breakthrough in MSFS that will meet your needs at lower cost, or else to win the lottery -- you are doing zero flying, am I right? Is flying with one screen worse than not flying at all? Just asking. Incidentally, I use live weather and its effect on FPS is minimal.