It's no secret that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 had a hard time taking off on Xbox and PC as part of its launch a couple of weeks ago, and even though things have calmed down a bit since then, it's still got a ways to go.
A lot of the problems seem to have stemmed from Flight Sim 2024's reliance on cloud streaming, with players pointing out that they'd rather have downloaded a 100GB+ file for a smoother experience (like they did with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020) rather than a 30GB file that's so desperately reliant on stable and fast cloud streaming servers.
However, according to the team behind the game, that was never going to happen. The topic was addressed in a recent Q&A on Twitch, in which Asobo Studio CEO Sebastian Wloch had the following to say about it:
"I would say we didn't really have a choice. The sim is getting so big that going with the 2020 way of doing things... it was just not going to fit into that system."
"I asked the team who was in charge of building the sim that if you wanted to download the entirety of [Flight Simulator] 2024 Standard Edition, right now it's 1.4 terabytes. And that's not all the satellite data, the 3 terabytes of world data... that's just what you would have installed in 2020 [in the initial download]."
Sebastian went on to explain that based on the servers that handle the initial download for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, it would have taken the first players about 25 hours to install all 1.4 terabytes at launch, so it still would have caused problems on release day.
With the system as it is now, the idea is that Flight Simulator 2024 will only stream the content that's necessary for your current experience (which is a lot less than 1.4TB) while also allowing for updates without requiring large downloads every single time. That's obviously when everything's working smoothly though, which clearly didn't happen at launch.
Despite all of that, there are now plans to allow for permanent installs in certain situations — such as when you're got a few planes or airports that you particularly enjoy — although there's no word on whether this feature will be available on Xbox in addition to PC. The rest of the stream goes into a lot more detail about the issues that have been experienced recently, including poor ground textures and even a Quick Resume bug, so it's well worth watching - the excellent Simulation Daily has provided a full recap if you'd rather get the written version.
Give it a bit of time - we're sure Flight Simulator 2024 will be an outstanding package on Xbox and PC before long!
What are your thoughts on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 right now? Tell us in the comments down below.
Comments 13
I've had a really good experience so far. You need to be hardwired for it to be smooth. I have a really fast connection. Yes there are issues here and there, but it's been better than most from what I've seen.
When Xbox inevitably cancels cloud services this game too will stop existing.
@VoidPunk
Why would they cancel cloud?
This game is still my current obsession. It has really only been the first day that had issues. I think it's already a great game that will only get better.
That's a LOT of interesting figures to throw out there. My 2020 file is currently at 301g. Fully offline playable. I'm not seeing a significant amount of detail to separate the 2 Sims personally. Also the 1.4tb +3tb of on-board file use would be physically impossible on the Series consoles given the capped Space on the systems. PC players should definetly have the option to download the sim tho.
@VoidPunk Microsoft is a multi trillion dollar company, their main source of income is from the Intelligent Cloud services, there is more chance of Sony going bankrupt than Microsoft ever cancelling cloud services.
@GeeForce
Cloud gaming has been a complete failure. And is actively holding them back.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/04/28/microsofts-big-bet-on-cloud-gaming-is-what-tripped-up-activision-deal.html
I think there needs to be some sort of halfway house for Xbox consoles - well at least for those of us with less than perfect broadband speeds.
After the patches I can finally play it but it’s nowhere near as smooth or detailed as the previous game - so I’m uninstalling again.
Maybe add an option to install data by continent, or country, to keep the data needed to something manageable.
We could then delete and download another area when ready.
@VoidPunk Not sure how you got “cloud gaming is a complete failure” from that article, that isn’t what it says at all. It is discussing the UKs regulator the CMA being concerned that Microsoft might corner the cloud market as it’s such a strong growth area.
@Xbox_Dashboard while 2020 is playable offline it is much lower fidelity in a lot of areas, it also required streaming to get higher quality assets and more details.
If only they put the full game on the latest Blu-ray Discs so I can play offline after installing it to the series x. Not all of us have fast reliable internet. Then I’d gladly pay full price.
@VoidPunk The problem is not that Cloud Gaming is failing, but that Sony wants Microsoft to fail. If you look at the CMA/FTC arguments, they have the ridiculous notion that Microsoft's brand superiority is a risk to Sony.
Then you look properly at the industry, and realise Sony has been throwing it's gargantuan weight around for years, and they were really butthurt that Microsoft was about to remove one of their licenses to print money.
Every other argument in the CMA/FTC filings was about Call Of Duty, and made claims that 'with [Call Of Duty], Microsoft could become the dominant competitor in the industry and use that power to weaken [Sony]'...
Kinda like Sony does to Microsoft. Constantly.
Microsoft proved with the MvC Collection that, if there's a real problem, they can get a solution being worked on in days. But Black Myth Wukong has claimed to the press that there's a terrible game-breaking bug on XBOX... that Microsoft themselves have gone 'Excuse me, but that's not we heard', while Sony never have these issues.
So, no, Cloud Gaming isn't a failure for Microsoft. Instead, Sony want to make it fail for Microsoft so they can pick up the broken remains.
That is a bullsh*t answer and is nothing more than an excuse. You're developing for a console; not PC. If Xbox cannot support the game, then keep it on PC and forget about it. If you are going to develop a game for console, assuming it is even feasible to begin with in the case of a native PC game, then you need to develop it within the constraints of that hardware. If you cannot do that, you do not release the game on that console at all. It's really not a difficult concept to grasp, and developers and publishers have been successfully making business decisions on the platforms that they can and are willing to support based on the specs of the hardware for literally decades on a case by case basis.
This non-answer does absolutely nothing to sway me towards spending a penny on this game.
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