cobalt

Just for a start...anything with a propeller on it. Absolute junk!

Absolute nonsense. If the default prop planes in MSFS were all junk, the program wouldn't have lasted a week.

Exactly. I found that we need add on airplanes for aircraft to fly right, otherwise some default aircraft are practically uncontrollable.

Which default aircraft are you referring to? I have not found any that fit this description.

This has been much discussed in this forum (and others), and some may be tired of hearing this, but there is a very simple and elegant solution: get Add-on Manager. This is a free utility that allows you to store all the add-ons you want in a file separate from MSFS (even on a different drive), and select only those you need for a particular flying session. A huge advantage is that only links to your selected files -- not the files themselves -- are placed in the Community folder. This method (a) prevents MSFS from "filling up" with 3rd party add-ons, and (b) keeps load times under control.

Bottom line: I have over 800 add-ons stored, but use only a few in any one session, and enjoy quick load times (2-3 minutes max in most cases). It's great!

Same as everyone: NVMe all the way.

 

Even coming from a sata ssd, I was gobsmacked at the speed. My pc, though very humble, is dedicated to msfs. And since I'm not an addon whore, and there's nothing else on my PC, 512 GB is more than enough room.

Just to point out that you can have all the add-ons you want, and store them on a separate drive from the one MSFS is on. Just use Add-on Linker, which places only links to the add-ons in Community. It's an ingenious solution and works great.

I was a long-time user of FSX (15 years), augmented by Ultimate Terrain and other add-ons, and can testify that it was a great sim for its time. But I have a completely different perspective from some of the opinions presented in this thread. For me, MSFS 2020 completely blows away FSX and X-plane; it is a revolutionary advance, as has indeed been recognized in most professional reviews. The ultra-realistic satellite-based scenery and advanced weather and flight dynamics give a feeling feeling of immersion that is beyond what any earlier sim has to offer. To address some specific points raised:

First, while I had hundreds of aircraft in FSX I flew only a select few; most just stayed in the hangar. What is the the benefit of having zillions of planes when most of them go unused? The premium deluxe version of MSFS comes with 40 planes, and others (e.g. the Grumman Goose) are available as freeware. This is a bit more than a "handful".

Second, the virtual cockpits in MSFS are NOT "frame-rate-sucking", if your system is reasonably good. Frames are not an inherent problem in MSFS; in comparison, it was much worse in FSX when it was introduced. Especially since the latest update, I have found that flying in most regions is silky smooth, even in scenery-dense areas.

Third, tower view and fly-by view ARE available in MSFS via the drone camera, which is an amazing tool if you take the trouble to learn how to use it, but it takes patience. For those unwilling to do this, sorry, but it is hardly a defect in the program.

Finally, whether or not MSFS was released prematurely, after 9 months and five major updates it has evolved into a truly fantastic sim, and with many hundreds of add-ons (many of them freeware) it is becoming more so all the time.

As I've been saying lately, I think it's a nonsense to empty the Community folder before every update, but that's not the same as denying that some of your add-ons may become obsolete after such an update. When there's evidence of one such obsolescence (and not before, obviously) you'll have to remove the involved files until updated versions are available.

 

In that sense, I think it would be extremely useful to open a thread named "Add-ons known obsolete after update ##" or something of the like, where all that info could be collected. Just an idea.

Just curious -- can anyone cite one single verified case in which failure to empty the Community folder prior to an update caused a problem? The operative word here is "verified".

I don't think it will work from a different hard drive if it would then I would have been able to free up around 15 gig of space

on the drive on which MSFS2020 is installed. Last night I tried by moving the addon folder to a different drive and it didn't

work. Probably because of different speed of the different drives. Regards

Add-on files can be stored anywhere; if Add-on Linker is set up correctly, it will place links to those files in Community. That is certainly my experience and I believe generally among users. In fact, this is one of the main advantages to Add-on Linker.

Old George can sleep well tonight.

I just now installed the World II update without a hitch.

The very first thing that I did after it installed was to fly into Washington DC from Andrews AFB.

I headed straight to the Washington Monument to check it out.

It looked great.

I flew around a little and saw many great new things.

There is a lot to see with this new update. It will take some time and that is fine.

I want to thank all of you who suffered through my rantings.

I take back every thing I said that was wrong, untrue, annoying and in bad taste,

It's a new World and I am excited.

VFRguy

Thank you for this post -- the most satisfying one I have yet read in any MSFS forum! I am so glad that you are happy and can now really start to enjoy exploring the world in this fantastic sim. And I hope that your story will inspire others who are having problems, will check to see if there is something they are overlooking (as you were), or that they needed to do differently, before blaming it on the sim. This is not always the case, of course, but it is a heck of a lot of the time. Thanks again!

As others have noted repeatedly, addons can be used without problems if you use them carefully and correctly. If you only install reliable addons to the community folder only, you are ok, BUT don't trust some installer from a forum in Belarus to put everything in the correct folder.

Since almost all 3rd party addons are, in fact, made for placement in Community, I would say this argument is over. I will be sure to avoid installers from forums in Belarus (whatever that may mean).

Hey, I don't appreciate the derogatory inference. I choose not to use addons. Why I do so is none of your business, and it certainly does not reflect on my knowledge in forum participation.

Steve is correct, I don't consider the update an addon. As others have noted repeatedly, addons can be used without problems if you use them carefully and correctly. If you only install reliable addons to the community folder only, you are ok, BUT don't trust some installer from a forum in Belarus to put everything in the correct folder.

The issue is not whether you choose to use addons; that's up to you. The issue is trying to advise others on whether to do it when you lack experience in this area.

I don't understand your animosity? I didn't say you or any proficient user should not use addons. There are people that are bright people that just don't comfortably negotiate their computer. Not everyone shares your proficiency. I consider myself a pretty proficient user, but choose not to use addons. I do see a lot of posts from folks who have created problems for themselves by using addons either carelessly or inappropriately or due to some flaw likely from an addon from a questionable source. Once again, if you are you, addons are not a problem. I would not trust my wife to install an addon, and she is certainly brighter than average, but she isn't very computer proficient. If someone is in that discomfort category, I don't think addons are likely to add positively to their experience.

I assume this is directed to me. No animosity here, but please recognize that you yourself used pretty strong language by saying that using an addon could cause someone "immense grief" (like a death in the family?)! My main point was, and is, that in responding to questions we should all stick to what we know, and stay within that boundary. Clearly someone who has never used an MSFS addon, by your own admission, is not in a position to give advice on addons. (Picking up on others' comments in the forums is no substitute for experience). For example, I am not qualified to discuss the intricacies of flight models or photogrammetry, even though I have read a lot about these topics. My admonition to you is the same: please dispense advice only based on what you know for a fact, not what you suspect might be true.

That said, I assure you (again) that you can safely use any addon that is placed in the Community folder. It cannot hurt your system or your MSFS setup, even if it's a poor job (in that case it might not work, but you can just remove it and no harm done).

Best wishes and happy flying!

The reason the Washington Monument appeared as a stick building originally, is that the DC scenery at first WAS based on photogrammetry, which cannot properly handle structures of irregular shape such as obelisks. Subsequently this was fixed in the USA World update, which is free, but must be downloaded from the marketplace as Steve suggested.

I am sure Plainsman is a fine man, but in a separate thread he admits that he has never used MSFS add-ons! Something perhaps to take into account in deciding where to get advice.