loki

I would still put that down as a connection quality issue more than speed specifically. If your connection dropped to less than half the max speed, there is likely something else going, such as the router getting hung up for some reason. The recommended bandwidth speed is 20 Mbps, with 50 Mbps being the ideal. Another factor is how many other people in the house are using the internet at the same time. The more computers and other devices using bandwidth, the faster the connection you will need.

I suspect quality of the Starlink connection was the issue rather than speed. My connection was only 50 Mbps when I first got the sim, and never had trouble with it.

That was a choice by Asobo and had little to do with being ported to the Xbox console. They could have mapped things the same way, but a different development team made some different choices (for better or worse). A better way to look at MSFS2020 is that it is a new and different sim, rather than a direct continuation of the previous entries in the series. Much more like moving from FSX to X-Plane rather than FS2004 to FSX. They have been adding in better support for multiple monitors.

It is a shame, and highlights one of the big questions with applications like the MSFS series. At what point do you drop backwards compatibility to move forward? FSX basically hit the wall with increasing the level of detail available in the sim combined with the underlying hardware platforms. Something had to change eventually to bring the sims to modern hardware, alongside allowing for the increased functionality (like an improved flight model) and graphics many like.

I'm not sure it's waning at all, however, much of the online traffic for MSFS2020 isn't happening here, unfortunately. There are the official MS/Asobo forums, as well as a number of social media based communities, such as on Reddit. On the other hand, there is still plenty of interest in the older sims too.

The tech world does move fast. Keep asking questions, and someone here will be happy to help.

You're concerns are definitely not unfounded. Companies can amass a surprising amount of data about a person. If anyone wants to get an idea of what Microsoft has been tracking in relation to your Microsoft/Xbox account, go to the link below. https://account.microsoft.com/privacy

The Xbox is a computer itself and doesn't need any other computer to function. It connects to the internet the same as any other computer you have at home, either through wifi or an Ethernet cable to the router, and uses the TV as a monitor. You use the gamepad that comes with it in place of a mouse and keyboard (though you can connect a mouse and keyboard too). Take a look at some videos on Youtube to get a better idea of how it all works.

There is an online store on the Xbox where you can buy and download games and other apps, similar to the app stores on iPhone and Android smartphones. In fact, on the Xbox Series S you mention, there is no DVD/blu-ray drive at all. If you can stretch the budget a bit, the Series X model may be better in the long run, or if you have a 4k TV.

My apologies for misreading your comment. Like this is your primary site, for many others Reddit, Discord (one of the most aptly name apps out there) and other social media platforms are theirs, so that's where they formed new flight simulator communities. At this point I'm not sure what would be needed to increase interest here.

As much fun as it is to get into the "new generations don't want to learn" stereotypes (pretty sure Socrates started it), a major factor is that most of the younger generation don't use traditional web forums like these ones in general. Head over to Reddit, for example, and the MSFS specific subreddit has well over 100,000 members, and there are a couple other flight sim related subreddits on top of that. Plenty of users over there seem to be pretty serious about learning to fly. Then there are also the official MSFS forums hosted by Microsoft/Asobo, Discord, Facebook and other options. Add-ons for MSFS have mostly coalesced around Flightsim.to, further decreasing interest in new users coming here. In short, I would put the lower activity levels here down to a lot more competition from other places on the internet.

They've indicated that most add-ons should work with the new sim. https://www.flightsimulator.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-2024-faq/

No, there is no need for an Xbox subscription to fly MSFS. Where and how exactly did you purchase the sim? What was the exact message given? While you don't need a subscription, you do still need an Xbox account and need to login to it.

Some great photos in the article below of a U-2 at 70,000' taken from another Dragon Lady. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/the-u-2-dragon-lady-as-you-have-never-seen-it-before And the photographer's own account. https://blog.blairbunting.com/photoshoot-at-the-edge-of-space/

As Linux comes from the Open Source world, many proponents find DRM and closed source software such as many codecs for audio and video antithetical to the concept. From this, you will often find DRM is not enabled by default, and the supporting codecs (the software for playing back some formats) not even being installed.

Are you referring to the official forums at flighsimulator.com (https://forums.flightsimulator.com/)? Are you using your Microsoft account to login? As for the aircraft you're having trouble with, what plane it is? Unfortunately, some developers do prefer to handle their support through Discord, which is aptly named in my view.

Nels' reply covers the main points. Regarding the difference between Steam and the Microsoft Store, the Microsoft Store will also allow you to install the sim on an Xbox X or S console.

Note that MSFS2020 does make use of multiple cores, which MSFS2024 looks to be improving upon. As with the hardware requirements, how far they go with machine learning and AI is unknown right now. I suspect they will be improving upon the machine learning used for generating scenery, and probably using it to help with the addition of seasons. Have to wait for more details to know for sure though. ATC would seem to me to be a prime candidate for AI use, but I haven't seen anything really talking about that so far. Much of what is known about the sim is covered in the FAQ below. https://www.flightsimulator.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-2024-faq/

Nope, at this point we don't know what the hardware requirements are, let alone how well it will take advantage of the hardware.

The licensing restrictions on games sold through Steam are determined by the game's developer/publisher, so in this case Steam is enforcing what Dovetail Games originally setup for FSX Steam Edition (now inherited by Microsoft when they basically the licence back). Steam allows the developer or publisher to put as little or as much DRM around their games as they want to. Yes, each computer requires its own licensed copy of FSX. It was nice in years past when the likes of Warcraft and Starcraft allowed you to install 2-3 additional copies for purely LAN games, but I'm not sure sure any major game studio does that anymore. Somewhat mitigating the cost is that FSX often goes on sale on Steam for as low as $5 or so, if you can wait for a sale.

That does seem like something they should be able to automate through the AI scenery generation they're using from Blackshark.ai. At the very least turn any spot with an "H" symbol into a helipad. On the other hand, helicopters can land anywhere, so there really shouldn't be any limits other than things like whether it's water (if you don't have floats) or too steep of a slope etc.

With a 64 bit operating system you need the 64 bit drivers. An application being 32 bit has nothing to do with 64 bit drivers.

Someone made an add-on for the airbase if you want to keep flying there. https://flightsim.to/file/18620/lemo-airport-morn-de-la-frontera

I suspect the difference is that FS2004 both flew under the radar and is not 100% accurate compared to the real airport. Google Maps launched in 2005 (there were commercial services available a few years prior, but those were often expensive) and would have started attracting the attention of governments after that which, unlike the sim, does offer accurate views of military bases and other locations. Nothing the likes of government agencies with direct access to spy satellites wouldn't already have access to, but would be new for terrorist groups and others that may try to cause trouble. As MSFS2020 draws heavily on satellite imagery from Bing Maps and elsewhere, it would be more directly affected. Blurring the imagery is a good way to attract attention though. https://fas.org/publication/widespread-blurring-of-satellite-images-reveals-secret-facilities/ On the other hand, with the wide availability of drones these days, I'm not sure blurring the photos really does much. Or one can look for imagery from a company or country that doesn't go along with the requests.

A number of countries require that their military bases be blurred out on Google Maps and similar applications, so these aren't secret in the same vein as Area 51. The French naval base in Brest is another one I came across recently.