Do We REALLY Have to Update?

I've been away from home and computer for a week, and returned late last night. I now see on this forum numerous serious complaints about an update ("SU6") rendering the sim unusable.

 

This happened to me a few months ago, but was magically cured by a hotfix.

 

MSFS was working GREAT before I left town, but I fear that it will, once again, be totally screwed up by the latest update.

 

Can I opt out of the update? Any advice before I boot it up later today?

I've been away from home and computer for a week, and returned late last night. I now see on this forum numerous serious complaints about an update ("SU6") rendering the sim unusable.

 

This happened to me a few months ago, but was magically cured by a hotfix.

 

MSFS was working GREAT before I left town, but I fear that it will, once again, be totally screwed up by the latest update.

 

Can I opt out of the update? Any advice before I boot it up later today?

 

Don't think you can. Once it sees an update is available, it will try to grab it faster then, well you get the idea :)

This question gets asked each time but the answer is the same.. the updates are mandatory. It’s a (mainly) online based sim, so everyone needs to be running the same version.

Of you may not have any problems. I didn’t and it’s running very well.

 

Regards

Steve

OK, so I can't opt out. But . . . I may not have problems?

 

Remind me not to uninstall P3D just yet.

 

An additional source of worry is the confluence of this update with the emergence of Win 11, and the necessary efforts to mesh SU6 with Win 11, as well as Win 10. The chances of an error-free update, I'd say, are vanishingly small.

I would also like to add that a good portion of the complaints people have with any update is that it does not show up in the store and won't download. Usually a simple log out of your MS account and reboot and re-sign in to the account gets things going. There are a couple of more problems with the MS Store not showing an update and requires a little more in-depth finagling. One involves the Gaming Services program within the Store. I had to deal with that on both SU5 and SU6 and here was what worked for me and others both times:

 

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/sent-to-microsoft-store-while-launching-msfs/406577/32

 

Just if you or anyone else coming across this thread has the same issue I did and many others. I will say that there is a known bug in the update now with at least one aircraft I've flown, and that's the Longitude with warning chimes that won't shut up during startup and ITT temp warnings that go off when engines are well under ITT redline.

I would also like to add that a good portion of the complaints people have with any update is that it does not show up in the store and won't download. Usually a simple log out of your MS account and reboot and re-sign in to the account gets things going.

 

Thank you. I haven't had this problem yet, because I'm happy -- just back after a week in Venice and don't want to wreck my mood by trying to update MSFS.

 

But what is "a simple log out of your MS account" Do you mean in the Store? And do you mean reboot the PC?

 

BTW, I did read the link to the forum you included. One user, clearly more computer adept than I, says he spent 12 hours on a tech support call with MS trying to DL an update. Daunting. Discouraging. This is not right.

I haven't had this problem yet, because I'm happy -- just back after a week in Venice

 

Off topic but I gotta ask...is there still trash floating everywhere in those waters or did they clean up the canals finally? It was off-putting to say the least of a classic renaissance/romance city (I was there last in the late-'00s).

 

But what is "a simple log out of your MS account" Do you mean in the Store? And do you mean reboot the PC?

 

Yeah the Store, which is tied to your unique MS account. And yes a PC reboot to ensure fully disconnecting from the MS account and there's no vampire background process still telling MS that the account is still signed in. The Gaming Services utility as mentioned is a suspect culprit of that.

 

BTW, I did read the link to the forum you included. One user, clearly more computer adept than I, says he spent 12 hours on a tech support call with MS trying to DL an update. Daunting. Discouraging. This is not right.

 

I wouldn't worry about that. There are literally millions of different hardware and software configurations out there among PC users. Some are bound to have crazy problems whereas others may experience zero (with the rest being somewhere in between in problem spectrum). If you have your sim installed in a non-default C Windows directory you have a higher chance of problems with updates, the Store, etc. For the record I have the boxed DVD version installed on a dedicated SSD with only W10 on it and nothing else outside of programs directly related to the sim and the hardware to run it. It was also installed on a brand new from scratch build.

Edited October 27, 2021 by N069NT

There is no escape. It has to be done.

 

I recall reading on the official forums a post that this one guy made that involved disabling internet before launching MSFS, letting it do the checks and then reconnecting the net only when you're in the airplane.

 

He said it works but I have not confirmed and neither have others. I'm sure MS will find a way around this too. I might however try it just for a laugh before the next update.

Ahh... ASSOBO.... You have no idea at all.. Try to fix 1 thing and stuff up 10 more. MSFS is nothing but eye candy. The flight models are pathetic. This mob could not hold a piss up in a brewery. I got absolutely fed up with the constant huge updates, things getting stuffed up, having to search on forums for fixes..Thank god I got a refund from this useless garbage. And I am not the only one saying the same thing. Good riddance... AND GOODBYE...

Ahh... ASSOBO.... You have no idea at all.. Try to fix 1 thing and stuff up 10 more. MSFS is nothing but eye candy. The flight models are pathetic. This mob could not hold a piss up in a brewery. I got absolutely fed up with the constant huge updates, things getting stuffed up, having to search on forums for fixes..Thank god I got a refund from this useless garbage. And I am not the only one saying the same thing. Good riddance... AND GOODBYE...

 

Microsoft Update Simulator.

Why do these updates have to be so big?

Why do these updates have to be so big?

 

Because updated photoscenery is large.

Off topic but I gotta ask...is there still trash floating everywhere in those waters or did they clean up the canals finally? It was off-putting to say the least of a classic renaissance/romance city (I was there last in the late-'00s).

 

 

 

Yeah the Store, which is tied to your unique MS account. And yes a PC reboot to ensure fully disconnecting from the MS account and there's no vampire background process still telling MS that the account is still signed in. The Gaming Services utility as mentioned is a suspect culprit of that.

 

 

 

I wouldn't worry about that. There are literally millions of different hardware and software configurations out there among PC users. Some are bound to have crazy problems whereas others may experience zero (with the rest being somewhere in between in problem spectrum). If you have your sim installed in a non-default C Windows directory you have a higher chance of problems with updates, the Store, etc. For the record I have the boxed DVD version installed on a dedicated SSD with only W10 on it and nothing else outside of programs directly related to the sim and the hardware to run it. It was also installed on a brand new from scratch build.

 

1. My wife and I saw zero trash floating in the canals

 

 

2. When I go to the Store on this PC, I am already logged in. I see no way to log out, nor can I find anything in Settings that would permit this. There must be a way, but I have no immediate need to employ your fix, since when I went to the store and looked at my account, it said MSFS had been modified and DL was available. I later opened MSFS and it cheerfully did the DL of SU6. Took almost 4 hours, but I was able to open up and fly -- in Venezia, actually.

 

3. Well, so far it's OK. The sim is where the install placed it: C/: user/app data, etc., etc. To do the updates, I rename my Community, move it to the desktop, and create a new, empty Community folder in MSFS. Then I move the add-ons back over time. We shall see.

A year after release, they still haven't fixed the Philippine coastlines. What idiots!

A year after release, they still haven't fixed the Philippine coastlines. What idiots!

 

Well, I wouldn't call them idiots :) However, the bridges still look BAD!!!

 

We all have our items that we would love to see fixed :D

Well, I wouldn't call them idiots :) However, the bridges still look BAD!!!

 

We all have our items that we would love to see fixed :D

 

Which is true of all flightsims, including those that have been around for years and have problems that have never been fixed. We all want perfection, and I have my own list of issues in MSFS that need correction. But in a sim that absolutely blows me away, I manage to keep those in proper perspective.

Thank you ASOBO. MSFS was going great for me. While before I was having the occasional CTD, right before SU6 I wasn't even experiencing those. My MSFS would be running all day. Back from work or chores and it was still singing along! Now after the SU6 that, in total took about 3 days to download and finally install, I am getting CTD about 3/4ths of the time I fly! And with some planes, I can only manage about 5 minutes of use! Get your SH!T together and finally fix this half baked sim! Please no more mandatory updates! Please!:mad:

I think something is wrong with your installation, maybe it got corrupted? I only took about 20 minutes to download and install SU6. If I turn on photogrammetry, I do have severe stutters on the ground, but all is fine after about 25 feet off the ground. I certainly am not getting CTDs.

There is a simple reason why updates have to be mandatory. Each update builds on previous updates, and therefore each new one has to be based on the presumption that all previous updates have been installed; otherwise there would be chaos. Imagine SU6 being installed on a system in which SU5 had not been installed -- no way that could work, clearly.

 

For better or worse, MSFS is work-in-progress that involves constant updates, and was described as such before it was released in September 2020. Whether this whole process could be done better so as to avoid the frustration it causes some users, I don't know. I certainly sympathize. But the mandatory aspect is inescapable.

There is a simple reason why updates have to be mandatory. Each update builds on previous updates, and therefore each new one has to be based on the presumption that all previous updates have been installed; otherwise there would be chaos. Imagine SU6 being installed on a system in which SU5 had not been installed -- no way that could work, clearly.

 

That's not a very convincing reason as there have been many applications and operating systems that support updating from multiple prior versions without any sort of chaos. It is a very well understood process in the developer world at this point.

 

A far more likely reason would have to do with keeping the networking code in sync between each user and the servers as differences in this area would get far more complex with multiple versions. There could also be changes to the photogrammetry data on the server side that require an update to the client that would break previous versions.

That's not a very convincing reason as there have been many applications and operating systems that support updating from multiple prior versions without any sort of chaos. It is a very well understood process in the developer world at this point.

 

A far more likely reason would have to do with keeping the networking code in sync between each user and the servers as differences in this area would get far more complex with multiple versions. There could also be changes to the photogrammetry data on the server side that require an update to the client that would break previous versions.

 

The fact that other apps have non-mandatory updates is irrelevant. MSFS is different -- an unfinished project that is undergoing continual refinement. Clearly many people bought it without realizing this.

The fact that other apps have non-mandatory updates is irrelevant. MSFS is different -- an unfinished project that is undergoing continual refinement. Clearly many people bought it without realizing this.

 

I think you missed my point. I was responding to your claim that upgrading from multiple versions would cause chaos, which is demonstrably false. Being under continuous development doesn't require mandatory updates either. The main reason for required updates has far more to do with keeping client applications in sync with their servers for pulling down streamed data, connecting with other clients for multiplayer networking, as well as anti-cheat/hacking updates.

 

While it is new to the flight sim community, anyone who has been playing other games for the past decade or two is likely very familiar with the need for forced updates, especially when playing on consoles. It can be frustrating and is a big drawback of the modern gaming world. There are memes going back years about people wanting to get a quick round in of their favourite game, only to be sidetracked by a required update.

I think you missed my point. I was responding to your claim that upgrading from multiple versions would cause chaos, which is demonstrably false. Being under continuous development doesn't require mandatory updates either. The main reason for required updates has far more to do with keeping client applications in sync with their servers for pulling down streamed data, connecting with other clients for multiplayer networking, as well as anti-cheat/hacking updates.

 

While it is new to the flight sim community, anyone who has been playing other games for the past decade or two is likely very familiar with the need for forced updates, especially when playing on consoles. It can be frustrating and is a big drawback of the modern gaming world. There are memes going back years about people wanting to get a quick round in of their favourite game, only to be sidetracked by a required update.

 

I think you need to argue with Asobo, not me. They have clearly laid out the reasons for mandatory updates. Take it to the source.