Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Update
by Kevin the Expert
Those who keep up with flight simulator news, newsletters, or social media have likely seen advertisements, screenshots, videos, or press releases regarding Microsoft's newest and shiniest release, Flight Simulator 2024 (MSFS2024). But, is newer always better? Is it an instant upgrade decision?
On November 19th, 2024, MSFS2024 was released to the public. The hype behind this new simulator was through the roof. Entirely new generations of simmers, pilots, and interested hobbyists shelled out $100-200 to purchase the new sim...only to have a near repeat of the 2020 launch, but worse.
Those who were using simulators back in 2020 may remember the chaotic launch of MSFS2020. It was buggy beyond belief, the user-interface was a disaster, avionics were non-functional and some of the aerodynamics were the furthest thing from reality.
We now find ourselves four years later with Microsoft launching an entirely new release. Surely Microsoft and Asobo learned from 2020's mistakes, right? They had 4 years of criticism and reflection to make the launch of MSFS2024 the dream that they had wished for MSFS2020 back during the pandemic.
Users from all over the world were stuck for over a day trying to download the new MSFS2024. Those who were able to download it struggled to install it, and those who were lucky enough to install it pointed out all of the bugs.
Ironically, I was one of the lucky ones who was able to download and install the sim with minimal trouble. Overall, I was very disappointed to see what was inside the simulator. There are still so many areas which create a headache for people trying to use a simulator for real-world training. Those headaches include the sim's load/startup times being too long, the inability to position yourself at a specific location and altitude, the inability to make changes to your flight configuration quickly, the amount of setup/configuration required to begin, etc... I could go on and on.
Microsoft has confirmed my suspicions that they're aimed heavily at the "gamer" market rather than those of us who wish to use MSFS as a true simulator/training tool. The first thing MSFS2024 forces you to do once you get it installed is create an avatar pilot to represent yourself, so that speaks volumes about their priorities.
I don't want this to be a bash blog, so let's take a moment and reflect on the good. I actually think the user-interface got slightly better than MSFS2020. It's still terribly frustrating and inefficient, but I don't think they went backwards with this new release in the UI department. The graphics are also even better than MSFS2020, and there is a HUGE (industry leading) array of aircraft which come default with the sim.
Microsoft also focused a new "career" mode letting you pretend to be an airline pilot, put out forest fires, fly banner-tows, etc... This isn't something I'm interested in as I use/evaluate sims from a real-world angle, but if you have kids they may be very interested in this role-playing side of MSFS2024 and I could imagine it would be fun for them.
One more big positive is that in my personal testing is with regard to virtual reality (VR). I found the VR resolution in the cockpit to be far improved compared to MSFS2020 and X-Plane 12 (I use the HP Reverb G2 VR Headset).
So much improved, that I think worthwhile instrument training/flying in VR would actually be possible now. For the record, I don't typically fly in VR, but I have to stay up on all angles of the industry in order to continue serving as your personal sim expert. However, some of my clients have held off on VR in the past due to the lack of IFR potential. If you fall in that category, let's discuss possible options moving forward.
I'll also give Microsoft credit that over the past 4 years, they pushed MANY large updates to MSFS2020 and continued developing it to fix and improve much of what was broken on day one. I can only assume they'll do the same with MSFS2024.
That's all for the positives, let's continue with some other key issues. Microsoft and Asobo give very few people and companies early access (alpha and beta testing) to the simulator. The ones who received access tended to be social media influencers; so right away, you can see where Microsoft's priorities are. 
RealSimGear flight simulation device using PilotEdge for virtual ATC communications
The problem this creates is that companies such as 3rd party aircraft/scenery/avionics developers, Real Sim Gear, Mindstar Aviation, PilotEdge, etc... are all getting their hands on the simulator on the public launch day with the rest of us. Therefore, the 3rd party companies (something upon which the flight simulator industry relies heavily) are playing catch-up from the beginning trying to chase product compatibility.
My advice to you - if you have a good simulator and you're currently happy with it, don't change anything. At least, not yet. Let's give Microsoft some time to repair the damage they've done to this new iteration of their simulators and we'll revisit things in a couple of months. I should mention that NONE of your settings for controls, graphics, etc. will carry over from MSFS2020. So you'll have several hours of work ahead of you (or us) to get things to where you want them.
If you don't currently have a sim, I'd recommend we discuss options to best fit your needs and see if MSFS2024 is the right choice for you. It's most likely not a great buy at the moment, but that doesn't mean it may not be the right choice several months from now depending on your overall training goals.
Regardless of the situation you're in whether it's needing a new simulator or needing to spruce up your current one; or maybe you just feel a bit lost with your sim and want some tips on how to get the most out of your machine, let's chat! Schedule a call with me and let's talk about your needs. Thank you, -Kevin
Kevin the Expert
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