Three Things That Changed Freeflight For Me

F

FAC257

SOH-CM-2024
In MSFS I like to travel. I never fly without a destination in mind. I never fly just to take screenshots. Strictly planned out free flights. There are three things that to me MS2024 went backwards on for decent free flight experience. Two I hope get fixed, one will most likely never be.

1. Logbook
One of my biggest complaints about MS2020 was always the lack of an editable logbook. Now not only is it still not editable, but they've also dumbed it down even more and it's still not editable. It only tracks total hours now, not even day vs night.

2. ATC
ATC has been a common complaint by others for a long time. At least in 2020, it was usable and makes sense for what it does do. In MS2024, ATC so far looks like it's also taken a step backwards. I don't use it at all right now. Response time back after sending a message is so long that it often doesn't work. Within range of an airport, where I would normally be able to find it under nearest airport menu, sometimes the menu for closest airport isn't in the drop-down menu at all. Even though I didn't file an IFR flight plan, it still keeps reverting back to IFR commands. Even after trying to cancel the IFR comms, a few moments later it reverts back to IFR commands & Options. Sometimes within range of my destination, in clear weather, and finally getting ATC to stop using IFR guidance it will then re-direct me to a completely different airport. When that happens, there is nothing I can do but ignore ATC completely as the option to choose the airport I'm looking at, isn't in the drop down. Also, I don't know whether this is a new intended feature or not, but the frequency auto-tune from previous MSFS versions, is very wonky. Sometimes it changes the frequencies automatically and sometimes it doesn't within the same flight. And with any amount of AI traffic, many times you never get the chance to respond between other aircraft/ATC comms. Usually, you can wait until the response isn't greyed out, but right now what I'm seeing is the response stays greyed out long after there are no others comms happening and you never get the chance to send a message back before other radio traffic starts up again, keeping it greyed out.

3. AI Traffic
We currently have no option for controlling AI aircraft behavior or type. At the higher settings it's a weird mixture of generic airlines, blank textures, with an occasional RW carrier mixed in. At any of the settings including OFF, there are still inappropriate aircraft parked in inappropriate places. At almost every airport I've landed at, there's a glider sitting in a goofy location. There's no control of GA vs commercial AI traffic. There's also no option to turn off static aircraft. Right now, I have AI traffic off and have seriously ugly low-poly commercial aircraft still around the airports.

So, from what I've seen all three of these elements which add or subtract from single player free flight enjoyment/immersion have taken backwards steps. I doubt the logbook thing will ever get fixed. Thank goodness Dan Downs Logbook Editor still works after all these years. I would think and hope they'll figure out how broken the other two important freeflight elements are and get those fixed.


Forest
 
A couple of things which may improve ATC behavior, if you're not doing them already:

In the Assistances menu, set the co-pilot to handle ATC comms, and enforce your chosen approach and runway at all times-

1732461947281.png

Whenever you have created or amended your flightplan in the EFB, click the 'file plan with ATC' button so that ATC gives you appropriate instructions -

1732462080043.png
 
Yep. I've got it set that way and use both the File and Send options.

One thing that seems to help on this current flight is have the AI Aircraft set to OFF. Oddly after having to reset the flight, the first time it let me communicate as VFR, the next time it started out as IFR comms with no way out. Haven't figured that one out yet.

Thanks,
Forest
 
Tried another restart as a test. This is the ATC window it starts out with, even though I've filed a Direct To.


I left it that way and took off without permission. I waited until ATC dumped me and then requested flight following. That worked and so far on this flight it seems normal.

BTW. Unless I'm missing something, I think I just learned that if you don't fuel your aircraft before you are in sim, the only way to get fuel is to call the fuel truck.


Forest
 
You can use the EFB to fuel the aircraft at any time, on the ground or in the air. Select the "Aircraft" icon, then click the "Flight Performance" tab, and there you can load fuel (and payload).

With regard to the ATC window, one thing I don't like about it is that I can't seem to expand it - I always find myself having to scroll through the bottom options to find what I'm looking for, rather than being able to expand the window and see all of the options.
 
Tako_Kichi said:
One reason I never moved to FS2020 was because I didn't want to buy a product to become a beta tester for MS, I always said I would wait until all the bugs were out before I bought it. I'm still waiting!

I recently bought P3D v4.5 because I was tired of all the OOM errors that FSX:SE had started throwing and I have never been happier with a flight sim! It works the way it should, with great graphics and FPS levels in the high 70s+. I will not be changing any time soon!
Click to expand...

Bomber_12th said:
With regard to the ATC window, one thing I don't like about it is that I can't seem to expand it
Click to expand...
And another thing is that pressing the Scroll Lock key to open the ATC window only opens it; Scroll Lock used to toggle the ATC window on/off.
 
Hmmm....I've only ever used the 'tilde' key (~) (to the left of the number 1 key) to open/close the ATC window.
 
Of great irritation is nearly every gate at an airport will be stuffed with something, often leaving no gates available, or when you taxi into a gate all of a sudden a large aircraft will spawn right in front of you. Other times there will be so many aircraft on ramps and taxiways so as to prohibit going anywhere.
 
fliger747 said:
Of great irritation is nearly every gate at an airport will be stuffed with something, often leaving no gates available, or when you taxi into a gate all of a sudden a large aircraft will spawn right in front of you. Other times there will be so many aircraft on ramps and taxiways so as to prohibit going anywhere.
Click to expand...
The funniest thing I've seen are the gliders that taxi to park making prop sounds.


Forest
 
I flew into the default CDG yesterday and nearly every empty parking spot I taxied into had an A-10 spawn right in front of me:

1733063184198.png
 
It is unbelievable, but instead of reacting to all the complaints about ATC in 2020 with at least a return to FSX, which worked reasonably well, they actually made it worse in 2024. To the point where it is unusable now for all the points you guys have mentioned.
And Beyond ATC, which I had used with 2020 is not quite ready for 2024 it seems.
 
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