loki

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.

FSX comes with lessons built-in. Go to the Learning Center, and then Lessons. Definitely don't need to be afraid of flying in the sim, at worst you just have to restart the flight.

There are multiple types of pausing in MSFS, with the default being "Active Pause". This basically just holds your plane in the exact position it's in when you hit the key, but the engines and everything around you keep running. It's good for making a quick change in the cockpit you wouldn't have time for if the plane keeps flying. Read the guide below for how to get back the more traditional style pause. https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/how-to-how-to-actually-pause-the-sim/143817

How old is the computer? In addition to cleaning out the dust, the thermal paste on the CPU may have dried out and isn't very effective any more, if the system is old enough.

It sounds like the biggest failing with the eBay form you ran into was that they forgot to put a simple note next to the field saying to enter "N/A" if the code was unknown. Some half way decent user testing should have found that (I'm guessing whoever developed their form was under pressure to get it into production and testing suffered). So while it may not be easy, with some thought put into what is actually required, and how to present it, it isn't exactly difficult either. For uploads here, minimum required fields shouldn't be that hard to do. The sim and add-on category would be standardized lists, a flag to denote a complete aircraft for aircraft related uploads and a description of the file, and maybe one or two more. Additional fields could be provided and the uploader encouraged to use them, but the minimum should at least get the file into the right place and provide for basic searches.

I agree personal info should be optional. On the other hand, it is nice to have some way to contact the developer and, as Nels says, not all participate in the forums. These days there are anonymous email services that one could use to avoid giving out your personal email address that would work.

In my experience working with and developing software over the years, you need to make key pieces of data required on entry if you want users to enter it. Leaving it open leads to things being left out, or entered inconsistently.

Unfortunately, with the new forum and file library software, there is no easy way to tell which are complete aircraft unless the developer has explicitly stated so in the description. Not sure about why liveries are in the wrong section, but it could be due to the migration to the new software and some files ended up in the wrong place, alongside the developer who uploaded it flagging it incorrectly. You could leave some feedback in the New Forum Software section with your experience. As far as MSFS add-ons, the main community repository has largely coalesced around FlightSim.to (not related to FlightSim.com).