DVD or Download?

Hi all,

Just joined the group today and like all newbies I have a question, all my previous MS Flight sims have been on disc (15+ years ago) but the new thing seems to be download via Microsoft's site, but there seem to be tales of it taking millenia to download and then you have to download even more in the way of updates. on the other hand if you can get the DVD version there are tales of woe regarding discs that don't work! So my obvious question is what format to go for and more importantly is this new MSFS 2020 worth it?

Hi John, welcome to the forum.

I personally would buy/download it from the MS Store. Others prefer Steam, but of course there’s a lot to download as you know & a good broadband connection is recommended.

 

You could buy the (10) DVDs depending on where you are (you can’t get them in the USA for example). If you did get the DVD version then you are supposed to have disc 1 in your dvd drive at all times. Another thing to consider is that you will still have a load of updates etc to download anyway.

 

So either way, you’re going to need to download a lot of files. It’s still worth it though,

The new sim is nothing like FSX (or any other previous sim) and is absolutely stunning :)

 

One more thing.. I don’t know what spec your pc is but I presume you’ve looked into the requirements. If there’s any doubt then I would recommend signing up to the Xbox game pass (it’s for pc) This will cost you just £1 / $1 for a month. You can then try out the new sim and then cancel the game pass before the month is over.

 

Hope this helps

 

Regards

Steve

Edited March 10, 2021 by g7rta

Hi all,

Just joined the group today and like all newbies I have a question, all my previous MS Flight sims have been on disc (15+ years ago) but the new thing seems to be download via Microsoft's site, but there seem to be tales of it taking millenia to download and then you have to download even more in the way of updates. on the other hand if you can get the DVD version there are tales of woe regarding discs that don't work! So my obvious question is what format to go for and more importantly is this new MSFS 2020 worth it?

I also last played/flew MS flight sims when they came on multiple disks. As I recall from the last iteration I used (something like 26 years ago!) I spent a fair amount of time feeding the disk drive of my Windows 95 Acer computer. Yes, it takes hours to download MSFS 2020, even with a high-speed broadband connection, which we fortunately have at our house. On the other hand, your digital file--which you own permanently--will reside in Microsoft's (or in my case, Steam's) cloud, and you can move it to a different computer or, if need be, reinstall it on the same computer with no loss of really, really, important data like how many flight hours you've piled up, or how many in-sim "goals" you've achieved. Your old disks couldn't do that. ;-)

Hi I would get the disc version easy to install if I can do it anyone can lol I have had steam for about 12yrs and recently scince the pandemic actually they are throttleing the bandwidth on downloads this may be why ppl are getting so many problems with the steam install I like steam and have alot of games on the platform, but as I have said before I had a gut feeling about not getting msfs 2020 on steam and bought the disck version you do need disk 1 in to load and play the sim but there is a workaround so you dont need to hope this helps.

 

Kind regards

Andrew

Welcome to the forum, I went with MS Store not had any major problems at all like others have had, I've had to logout of the store a few times because of lack of communications between my desktop and and store, but that's not the sims fault it's the host MS Store! I would recommend MS Store for flight sim and Steam for all other games..... but that's just me...... Edited March 11, 2021 by daspinall

Hi Steve, thanks for the info, I will probably go for the download. Regarding PC spec, mine is similar to yours but need to upgrade the monitor. Thanks again, John.

Hi, thanks for the info, looks like I will probably go for the download. Regarding PC spec, mine is similar to yours but need a few more extras before take-off! Thanks again

Hi Andrew, thanks for the info, I will probably go for the download from Microsoft. Just have to make sure I have plenty of coffee on hand! Thanks again

Hi again Andrew, just out of curiosity, where did you get your disc version? John

Hi John,

 

I am a couple of weeks ahead of you. I considered the disk system as I was unsure if my internet access was fast enough to allow the massive download needed for MSFS2020. I eventually went down the route with the Xbox Game Pass for PC and paid £1 for 1 month trial. The initial download went very smoothly (148GB) over approx 8 hours. Since then all the updates have downloaded with no problems at all.

 

Happily my PC copes well with the sim, which is awesome! The sim is a vast improvement over FSX, which I have used for at least 12 years. I will purchase the sim before then end of my month trial and then end my Xbox Game Pass subscription.