rickbarnes

Kapitan, The functionalities I am talking about are overly massive fuel consumption, and yes, a dysfunctional autopilot in the 747-8i. And yes, I know how to use it. It simply needs work. Bugs are to be expected, and I do not expect perfection right out of the box. I think a little while longer of tweaking, and paying closer attention to the feedback of Alpha testers (of which I was one of many) would have been helpful. But I look forward to good things coming. I know it's a balance between great and a decent revenue stream. I am just concerned that as it is now, the revenue stream will be negatively impacted so as to diminish Microsoft's interest in staying in the genre. I hope I am wrong, because I am in it for the long haul.

I think the default for push to talk is ScrLk, don't remember. I reassigned it to the ` key out of custom for FSX

letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, sent today: Dear CEO Nadella, I am writing today about your new product, Flight Simulator 2020. I got in on the late stages of Alpha testing, then bought the standard package. I am writing with celebration and concern. I celebrate the stunning visuals and sounds. There are times when it is hard to distinguish if I am looking at a picture or am flying in the simulator. Things have come a very long way from 1982! I am, however, concerned about several aspects of this program. I am writing this to you as head of Microsoft, not to Asobo or any of the associated collaborators because it is ultimately your product, and Microsoft’s name is on it. I will be general in my comments, because the particulars I continue to send to Zendesk. I see that you are setting yourself and your customers up for failure. I have been “flying” since 1989 (FS4), and am an aviation enthusiast. Many of your customers are completely new to any sort of aviation. When they download the program, they do not see a manual. So they have only the vaguest notion of how to get that thing that is in their computer to look anything like to promo trailers, which starts their frustration. Then, they attempt to fly the aircraft, especially the exciting ones like the jets, only to encounter flight models that have a very long way to go in their development. We Alpha testers knew this was a work in progress, and urged Asobo et al to delay release. True, there were some in our community that said that the release version would be much better than what we were testing; that “they wouldn’t dream of launching something so unfinished.” August 18 proved not so much. And there is this seeming reliance upon third party developers to save the day. For instance, many are saying PMDG will release a better 747. I do expect the PMDG model will be highly detailed. However, the basic 747 provided in the program should do a good job of basically replicating a real life 747, even if it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of a third party developer. In short, it should work. Even the only semblance of a manual in places other than Europe is 3rd party payware. Really? You can’t even get an electric toothbrush without a manual. And I am so glad I went with the basic program instead of the super-duper deluxe premium, because the additional products are just as undeveloped as the standard ones. There is a lot of bad buzz out there about MSFS 2020. In flightsim.com, there is a forum called “Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is a Hot Mess.” It doesn’t take too long on the Flight Simulator’s own forums to realize there are a lot of disappointed customers. Please don’t misunderstand me. I very much want FS 2020 to succeed. I upgraded my computer in anticipation. I was deeply saddened when Microsoft pulled out of the flight simulator genre after FSX (for which you have trust to rebuild). I was delighted with the news of your return, and wowed by the trailers. And as I said, there are parts that are already stunning. But your team needs to double down to get things right. I don’t want the million users you quote to be the high water mark; I want it to only be the beginning. There is a real opportunity to make it gangbusters for the 2020 holidays if you get things right soon. But there are too many competitors with good and improving products to rely on anything but a superior product to attract and keep customers. The word on the street right now isn’t going to cut it. I’m with you, and I want this to be long term.

I have AMD 3800x CPU and 5700xt GPU. Things working just fine,