chicagorandy

After following this thread my curiosity got the better of me just now so I fired up the stopwatch app on my phone and noted the following results: From a cold start to the WELCOME screen took 2min 25 seconds. After selecting a plane and one of the 37,000 airports I was at the location in 1 minute 30 seconds. So.... ready to fly my choice of airplane and my choice of anywhere on planet Earth with a runway in roughly 4 minutes. Now I AM retired and 72 years old so I am likely not a member of the normal sim/gamer demographic....... but I have NEVER in my life sat down at my desktop PC to do anything, let alone fill some idle free-time with play, wherein 4 minutes was a 'make or break' factor. And I started 'computing' with my noble Commodore 64 back in late 1982. I would respectfully submit that if a person can't endure a 4 minute wait, maybe they honestly DON'T have the free-time to play a game? And if age has taught me anything it is that my life vastly improves the less I try to run it by a stopwatch and more by a sun dial or wall calendar.

A million thanks for the info - The only controller with which I had 'familiarity' was for my Intellivision in the 80's - lol I would also add that my personal explorations into the strange new world of VR has taught me that MY desktop PC can't run the new $500-$600+ VR headsets anyway, so my $75 investment in the Odyssey IR is pretty sweet.

I don't believe there is a 'list' per se. Just use either the Search function or rotate the globe and pick and area? The globe can be rotated by your mouse and also zoomed in using the mouse wheel to see local airports at that location. An actual list of the 37,000 airports now available in the sim would be pretty cumbersome? You can safely 'assume' that just about every recognized airport, paved runway or grass strip, on the planet is represented.

If a user experiences CTDs or other problems it does seem a simple two-step approach often results in a quick solution. 1. Run this test - https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri to verify that your hardware is up to the task of running this complex machine tasking simulation. Also try running at lower settings, not High or Ultra. 2. Temporarily relocate all add-on aftermarket purchased software from your Community Folder to a different new folder and reload the sim, maybe even restart your PC and see if the issue disappears. It just might prevent a few headaches and if nothing else doesn't take very long and is free.

This new piece of software from France is NOT remotely related to FSX beyond both allowing simulated flight of make-believe airplanes over make-believe landscapes. Almost nothing else translates over from one to the other. A surprising number of the problems reported on this forum have been resolved by users having the correct hardware up to the task at the minimum requirements (accepting that minimum hardware only allows running the sim at the lowest settings across the board), having the user set up parameters as suggested by the limitations of their hardware and having the user NOT load up any add-on software just yet. At least that sure seems to be what I've been reading for a while. I can't speak to CTDs or these other issues directly as I've never experienced any of the problems once I upgraded my hardware to match the demands of Asobo's extensive offering.

There does seem to be a correlation between "negative MSFS issues" and throwing aftermarket add-ons onto a new and developing piece of software? Just as there seems to be a relationship with running the sim at levels one's hardware easily supports and not experiencing 'negative MSFS issues"? I could of course be easily mistaken.

Congrats - my experience has been the same - never have had a CTD or other disappointment running this sim at levels my 'recommended spec' computer does support well. It has been a complete enjoyment to date. I do believe that the majority of the over 2 MILLION owners of this sim so far share our experience and will never be motivated to join a forum just to say it's running OK. Many times people join various forums seeking solutions to problems which tends to make it seem there are only problems, which is definitely not the case.

I click the MSFS icon in my desktop PC start tray and walk into the kitchen for a fresh cup of coffee or a soft drink. By the time I return to the computer desk it's pretty much good to go. Thankfully I'm not in a race to start sim flying nor penalized for the start-up time. I' mean.... it's loading the whole flippin' World... I'm willing to let it take however long it takes - LOL

Looks better than what I'm happily running MSFS on.

Looks like excellent info to pass on to the zendesk?

Thanks for the tip - I just ordered a 'high tech, super duper-lol' $15 controller off Amazon and will give the drone a try when it arrives.

The Dell website or their support phone rep 'should' be able to let you know what upgrades your exact model PC's motherboard is able to accept. I know the HP website was MY guide when I added RAM memory, the M.2 SSD card and a new graphics card to run MSFS.

The way it works is you first turn on the headset and place it on your noggin. On MY pumpkin head I find wearing a ball cap keeps the head unit in place. Then open OpenTrack from your desktop icon and START it. THEN you open MSFS. The IR external camera provided is USB wired and typically placed off to one side of the top of your monitor for better reading of the position of the three IR bulbs in the headset. Once in the sim it then tracks all your head movements and body position (moving left/right/closer to the screen is matched in the cockpit view). I have not yet used 'Drone' mode so I can't speak to that, but Yes it works for Cockpit and External views. As I have said, it may well not be as totally immersive as a proper VR goggle but it's also just 15% of the cost of a $500 one and comes closer and is far more precise than using a hat switch.

If you get a rig that meets the "Recommended" specs, you should have a very nice MSFS 2020 experience without mortgaging the farm for the gear. I'm NOT running a top end system but can fly just fine and have great immersion with most parameters at least set to Medium - High and have not experienced a CTD yet. I agree that to run everything at "Ultra"? Find that deed and head to the mortgage broker - lol

A mini update - GrassMonkey has added a 'custom profile' for MFS 2020 to the website downloads. Just add it to the file specified and it completely smooths out your head movements. https://grassmonkeysimulations.com/index.php/homepage-2/ IMHO this is a wonderful quality "Poor Man's VR" - $75 for the complete package vs $500+ for a quality actual VR headset. No more fiddling with the hat switch on my control yoke (or a joystick). It does enhance the immersion experience.

Looks like it's time for a memory upgrade (16gb is much better than 8) as well as a better graphics card with at least 4GB ? IF your motherboard will support it. Also running everything from a 1TB M.2 SSD chip greatly improves performance over a spinning older technology HD. IMHO just meeting the Min specs should allow crash-free "running" MSFS 2020 with everything set to the lowest settings, but you can pretty much forget about enjoying the better graphics and immersion experience of 2020. MSFS 2020 places some intense demands on PCs, especially if you want things set to Ultra. My "Recommended" level desktop allows me to run most everything at "Middle - High". In the end only YOU can decide if it's worth it to upgrade to this great new product. I am more than pleased I chose to spend the $$ to upgrade my gear and fly it. And as it is with ALL things, I only gotta keep ME happy.

Forgive my total ignorance on the subject. The first video shows great clarity but is what you see with the headset on what I would call 'black scuba mask' effect. Namely no peripheral perspective, just a central view thru a lens? Secondly, does using a VR headset mean you don't see or use your desktop PC monitor at all inflight? Like I said, to a small extent I know what I don't know about VR, so I'm asking. I reckon I really should seek a YouTube "VR for dummies" tutorial - lol

The bar for 2020 has been set so low it's 'almost' impossible for 2021 NOT to be better? As always, hope for the best and expect the worst.

I was of course just kidding............

A bigger question of course is whether or not applying the parking brake in mid-air slows down the airplane? - :pilot:

So you're saying you joined this forum website just to tell us you don't want to join this forum website? Okeley-Dokely-Doo. Cheers mate. Oh.... and leave swiftly lest the door strike thee upon thy bum and make an ouchie.

I was curious so I jumped into the MSFS Cessna 152 just now and crashed right into one of the supports of the Golden Gate Bridge, which looks great by the way. Have you installed the USA - Points of Interest upgrade? That may be your problem? Discussed in this thread - https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?327878-Visuals-Got-WORSE-since-Update(s)&highlight=usa+points+interest

My cheapie phone calculator says that 'about' 20 RTX 3070s could fit in a cubic foot of space (probably unboxed?). An 8x8.5x40 foot container equals 2720 cubic feet. 2720x20= 54,400 graphics cards MAX might fit in a container, probably more like 50,000 due to boxing and practical space utilization constraints. I 'think' the news article - if even true in the first place - mistakenly added a zero to the number?

Caveat regarding the following 'dumb' question - I am at present most blissfully ignorant of ALL things VR. How does one control the things I now control with yoke, throttle quadrant, mouse & keyboard were one to don said VR headset/goggles?