loki

FSX supported Xbox controllers out of the box.

Nope, no need for a console of any sort to fly the sim, though an Xbox console and peripherals (more and more do support the console these days) is a decent and cheaper option for doing so. https://www.thrustmaster.com/en-us/products/tca-yoke-pack-boeing-edition/ https://www.thrustmaster.com/en-us/products/t-flight-rudder-pedals/ As for PC hardware, you only need a top of the line system if you're looking to run one or more 4k monitors at 60+ FPS or get into VR. Running lower resolution monitors at 30 FPS, or so, can be done with more moderate hardware, unlike FSX which struggled to run at all with even the best hardware available at launch. One of the big limits with MSFS, however, is that it does require an online connection for the best scenery. Certainly find someone local to check out the sim with if your current system can't run it. Just be sure to approach it as a new sim, and not a continuation of FSX.

I would suggest trying the sim for yourself before getting too far down in what you've read online. There are some valid criticisms of the sim, and then there are some overreactions to it as well. MSFS does have a new interface, and does do things differently (much like X-Plane does things its own way), however, it isn't an arcade sim. You can try MSFS for $1 by signing up for the Xbox Game Pass one month trial. If you do like the sim, you can either keep the subscription going (not worth it if you don't play any of the other games), or cancel the Game Pass and buy the sim outright. https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-game-pass

FSX was developed with the understanding CPUs would be heading for 10GHz, which we are no where near, and likely won't be for a long time yet, if ever. Between improving multi-core support, moving to 64 bit processing, the streaming scenery support and other graphical improvements, as well bringing the sim to Xbox consoles, FSX with a new graphics engine wasn't an option.

Is it the same as the Iris F-15E available through the link below? https://store.irissimulations.com.au/iris-simulations-classics/

The list of included aircraft and hand crafted airports is at the link below. https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017706059-Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-FAQ

They've been talking about the flight sim project as a whole being 10 years, so MSFS2024 falls into that. So far they've also indicated that they will be supporting MSFS2020 for some time yet, so we shouldn't need to worry about the servers being shut down in the immediate future. I suspect adding missions just means it would be like FSX where the open world side is still there, however there will also be missions for those that want them.

Unlike with FSX, it is very possible to get good performance with MSFS without having to buy the best of the best and then overclock it. Though if you want to max out every setting with multiple 4k monitors and still hit 60+ FPS then, yes, you will need the best system money can buy. ACES went the way they did because that's where Intel, and others, said they were going when FSX development started. Those plans didn't work out so Intel and AMD changed course too late in the development cycle for FSX and many games (Crysis was affected by this too, for example) to change course. And then ACES was unceremoniously dropped before they could fully adjust course with the next sim version they were worked on.

To add to the suggestion about installing the two FSX service packs, and assuming it fixes the activation issue, you will need to uninstall SP2 before moving on to install Acceleration. Acceleration includes its own copy of SP2.

Not sure what to say about your system and the many issues, unfortunately. Lost track of everything you have tried, however, have you run through the options in the link below? In particular, I would be curious to see if installing the free SP1 and SP2 updates help fix the FSX activation issue (ie. install just FSX from the discs, install the two service packs, then try to activate). Perhaps along with the reset tool. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/flight-simulator-x-an-error-occurred-while-attempting-to-activate-the-product-the-problem-may-be-due-to-an-incomplete-installation-of-the-application-7b204628-297d-2daf-22eb-1e594c12af83 https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/1950/microsoft-flight-simulator-x-service-pack-1/ https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/2796/flight-simulator-x-service-pack-2/ I don't fly it very often anymore, but I never had to wait for the Steam Edition to download each time I ran the sim. As for add-ons, the Steam Edition is basically the Gold Edition, including Acceleration, along with some bug fixes and improvements for more modern systems. Almost all third party add-ons will work just fine with it. The main caveat of installing outside the default Program Files folder does still apply. With Steam, this means you would install the Steam Client first, then add or change the Steam Library location to something like C:/Steam (or a second drive entirely) in Settings->Storage, and only after this, install the sim to this new Library location (Steam will give you the option to select the Library on install).

Not sure if you ever tried it, but the Steam Edition of FSX is on sale right now, and won't have the same product activation issues. https://store.steampowered.com/app/314160/Microsoft_Flight_Simulator_X_Steam_Edition/

It is! https://flightsim.to/file/19112/berlin-tempelhof-airport-eddi

Many registry cleaners will show a list of registry entries to be fixed. You can use the reference below to look for the ones specific to FSX, rather than blowing away everything. https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/registry-keys-fsx-fsx-se-p3dv1-p3dv2.432633/

Nope, Gold just bundled the discs for Deluxe and Acceleration into a single package, however you still had to install them individually.

Did you try pressing the Xbox logo button on the controller? https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/games-apps/apps-help/how-to-close-xbox-one-app-or-game https://youtu.be/6XyaIGudjp4?si=Exxpuz_D6tX-vcgL

After the initial install, you shouldn't need to re-download the Steam Edition everytime you fly. Perhaps Steam is updating itself, if you don't fly often, but even those updates shouldn't take an hour (unless you have a very slow connection). NoCD refers to a patch that removes the DRM (digital rights management) of FS9 whereby it looks for the CD before allowing you to fly. Microsoft removed the required software from Windows a few years, meaning any game or software that relied on this particular DRM scheme won't run any more. Using the patch Mr Zippy linked to allows you get around this.

Sim Update 14 has been released. The release notes are below. https://www.flightsimulator.com/sim-update-14/ I didn't have trouble downloading this one, though some were. Asobo/MS have put some mitigations in place to help those affected. https://x.com/MSFSofficial/status/1732146940035362906?s=20

Microsoft has moved all of their games and gaming services under the Xbox brand, including PC games and sims. To run MSFS you will need to sign in with a Microsoft account, which will create an Xbox Gamer Tag if your account doesn't have one.

To get into the physics a bit, check out the Wiki article below and note the effects of weight and distance on the moment arm. With GA aircraft the pilot and passengers are quite close to the centre and have low moment arm, and thus low effect on the balance. You also have the wings on both sides providing lift, minimizing the imbalance caused with only one person on board. The biggest issue would be constantly countering the imbalance with manual inputs or rudder and/or aileron trim, as Tim notes. The fore/aft balance of the plane, however, is much more critical with the relationship between the nose heavy design of GA aircraft, the centre of lift, and the tail balancing out the nose. There is also more opportunity to load passengers and cargo further from the CG, causing a bigger moment arm, and getting the plane outside of its design envelope. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Center_of_gravity_of_an_aircraft

The pilot isn't that far laterally from the CG, so in most aircraft it won't make a big difference, maybe not even enough to be noticed. An imbalance in fuel tanks in the wings, however, would be more likely to cause problems as they are further away from the CG.

Not sure if it's related, but I got a 504 error yesterday and couldn't get into the site at all. Think something's up with the hosting servers.

I was responding to beroun's question.

Yes, you will need to install using the Flight1 installers.

The issue wasn't that FSX never worked in the Program Files folder, with a plain FSX install working just fine when installed there. It was that the increased security placed on the Program Files folder would interfere with some add-ons and editing any config files. Flight1 has a registry repair tool for FSX that can help with moving the sim. This won't fix any registry entries third party add-ons may have created though. https://www.flight1.com/view.asp?page=library

The default location for Steam games is under the Program Files folder. Steam does allow you to install games into other locations, it just does it a bit differently. You must add a new Library location, which can be outside of the Program Files directory, or on a different drive. The guide below walks through how to do this, as well as how to move Steam games between libraries. I haven't tried moving FSX Steam Edition, but it works well with other games I've tried. My big concern with FSX SE would be add-ons that create their own registry keys on install that could be broken if the sim is moved. Add-ons, like aircraft and scenery, that you manually downloaded and installed into the sim are probably okay though. How to Use Steam’s Storage Manager to Quickly Manage Your Games (makeuseof.com)