Sim Update 7 Release Notes

[Ferry_vO]

I was thinking of giving this game another try after months, but now my 240Gb SSD is not large enough to install this thing... oh well....

[YoYo]

[Sundog]

Edited: JS was OK, I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the HUD. I finally figured it out since it was moved. Now I have to set up the AB, Launch Bar (i.e. - the new features).

[Tom Clayton]

I was thinking of giving this game another try after months, but now my 240Gb SSD is not large enough to install this thing... oh well....

The core files and mid-level "Deluxe" package combine on my system sum up to about 173GB, but even my half-TB drive is about 3/4 full. I'm considering buying and cloning my current OS drive to a 1TB M.2 drive.

Edit: If you have a second drive, you can specify a custom install path. There is a 1.13GB block that installs deep in the C: drive, but the rest can go wherever you want. Just research the pros and cons of using a custom install path.

[UnknownGuest12]

YoYo, for sure a great, great, frame killer. Did some tests and I´m not going to use DX12. Will wait ti they manage to fix this...

[Mathias]

Install went free of hassles but now whenever I launch the game it reverts back to default assistance options, means all the shadderack is always on. Scenery is full of stickers and my display is cluttered with zillions of popups.
I allready deleted the rolling cage. just in case. Is there some known trick to convince FS to stick with my settings?

TrackIR is often not recognized at all or stops working during a session.
Only way to get it back is by going back to the hangar, going to controller settings and highlighting the TrackIR tab once.
opening the tab from within a flight does nothing.

[tiger1962]

I also had a problem getting the sim to 'remember' my settings. I went to my AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8 wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache folder and deleted the Content.xml and ROLLINGCACHE.CCC files, then launched the sim (which builds new content and rollingcache files), made my changes to the settings and saved them before re-launching the sim.

[K5083]

Install went free of hassles but now whenever I launch the game it reverts back to default assistance options, means all the shadderack is always on. Scenery is full of stickers and my display is cluttered with zillions of popups.
I allready deleted the rolling cage. just in case. Is there some known trick to convince FS to stick with my settings?

TrackIR is often not recognized at all or stops working during a session.
Only way to get it back is by going back to the hangar, going to controller settings and highlighting the TrackIR tab once.
opening the tab from within a flight does nothing.

TrackIR now seems programmed to switch off whenever there is a momentary interruption in the tracking, like whenever the sensors get confused by some stray reflection for a second, or whenever you turn your head enough that the sensor can't see one of the reflectors. It also switches off whenever you use the "Pause" TrackIR command, and resets the view to default. The latter is especially annoying because you can no longer use TrackIR to take a screenshot by freezing your head position using Pause; MSFS will reset it. Nobody was asking for these "features" and I can't understand why MSFS added them.

I don't think you need to quit the sim to get it back, though. I have always been able to turn TrackIR back on by either using the TrackIR toggle switch in the Cameras toolbar or by mapping a key/button to the new "Toggle TrackIR" command. It's mostly just a hassle that requires extra command inputs for no reason.

August

[ST0RM]

So basically what I'm reading, is that they're pushing Win11/DX12, despite it being far from optimized and performs worse for many. And the update resets everyone's settings for no reason. I truly dont understand the mindset of the dev. It was on track to be a great sim, but the addition of the console garbage, has turned it into a frustrating piece of software that is not the next generation sim it was hoped to be.

[Daube]

So basically what I'm reading, is that they're pushing Win11/DX12, despite it being far from optimized and performs worse for many. And the update resets everyone's settings for no reason. I truly dont understand the mindset of the dev. It was on track to be a great sim, but the addition of the console garbage, has turned it into a frustrating piece of software that is not the next generation sim it was hoped to be.

Let's not exaggerate.
They are not pushing Windows11, nor are they pushing DX12.
You don't need Windows 11 to play MSFS.
You don't need to activate the new DirectX12 option either. The game will work just as before in DX11 mode on your Windows 10.

The devs are simply implementing DirectX12 support in the sim, but they couldn't do it at once so they had to go small steps at a time instead. We just got the first step. The game can run DX12 although it doesn't get very nice performance for now. Third parties can however already spot the problems with their planes/sceneries, and they can start to fix them so that they get compatible with DX12.

In future patches/updates, the DX12 support will continue to be improved by the devs. Again, I think we have to expect it will take several iterations (steps) before it reaches a satisfactory status. Also, we should keep in mind DX12 is more demanding on the video card. My old GTX1070ti won't be up to the task, so I'll probably have to stick with DX11-mode for the time being, just like many others.

[ak416]

Yes, for months now the developers have stated DX12 implementation is very early and you should not expect any performance increase yet and that it will likely have a negative impact on performance. It clearly says in-game that DX12 is still in beta.

I can only speak for myself, but none of my controls or graphics settings were reset. They reconfigured some of the accessibility options and those reset, but it took what, 3 clicks to reset the changes back to what I prefer.

No idea what consoles have to do with anything, don't see how that version of the game is related to any of this but alright.

[UnknownGuest12]

just like ak416 "I can only speak for myself, but none of my controls or graphics settings were reset". About DX12 it´s not good at least in my machine, a 50% drop in FPS but it´s a beta. Sure they will make a better version. Meanwhile good old DX11. What I miss are manuals...What I like is the mod I found on flightsim.to

[Mathias]

I also had a problem getting the sim to 'remember' my settings. I went to my AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8 wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache folder and deleted the Content.xml and ROLLINGCACHE.CCC files, then launched the sim (which builds new content and rollingcache files), made my changes to the settings and saved them before re-launching the sim.

Thanks Tiger, but that doesn't work. :-(

TrackIR now seems programmed to switch off whenever there is a momentary interruption in the tracking, like whenever the sensors get confused by some stray reflection for a second, or whenever you turn your head enough that the sensor can't see one of the reflectors. It also switches off whenever you use the "Pause" TrackIR command, and resets the view to default. The latter is especially annoying because you can no longer use TrackIR to take a screenshot by freezing your head position using Pause; MSFS will reset it. Nobody was asking for these "features" and I can't understand why MSFS added them.

I don't think you need to quit the sim to get it back, though. I have always been able to turn TrackIR back on by either using the TrackIR toggle switch in the Cameras toolbar or by mapping a key/button to the new "Toggle TrackIR" command. It's mostly just a hassle that requires extra command inputs for no reason.

August

The TrackIR keys do nothing once it's off. I don't have to quit the Sim, just end the flight, go back to the hangar and start the options menu from there.

[tiger1962]

Thanks Tiger, but that doesn't work. :-(

I've added my entire flightsimulator directory and the .exe file itself to my Windows Defender exceptions list, maybe your antivirus program is preventing your settings from being saved?

[ak416]

The TrackIR keys do nothing once it's off. I don't have to quit the Sim, just end the flight, go back to the hangar and start the options menu from there.

Make sure "Toggle Headtracking" is bound to a key (I set mine to CTRL + SHIFT + T and a button on my joystick). Once you have loaded in, press the Toggle Headtracking key or button and TrackIR should work. If TrackIR loses focus again, headtracking will be turned "off". If you press the Toggle Headtracking key again, it should turn back on without you have to return to the main menu. The usual TrackIR keys should still function as they always have.

[K5083]

Make sure "Toggle Headtracking" is bound to a key (I set mine to CTRL + SHIFT + T and a button on my joystick). Once you have loaded in, press the Toggle Headtracking key or button and TrackIR should work. If TrackIR loses focus again, headtracking will be turned "off". If you press the Toggle Headtracking key again, it should turn back on without you have to return to the main menu. The usual TrackIR keys should still function as they always have.

Yes, that's what I was trying to tell him.

August

[Ferry_vO]

Edit: If you have a second drive, you can specify a custom install path. There is a 1.13GB block that installs deep in the C: drive, but the rest can go wherever you want. Just research the pros and cons of using a custom install path.

I have a completely empty 240Gb SSD ready for this game, but it is still not big enough.. Might consider getting a new 1 Tb SSD as they are not really that expensive anymore, and if I still don't like this 'GOTY' I can always use it for other games I guess.

[Priller]

I have a completely empty 240Gb SSD ready for this game, but it is still not big enough.. Might consider getting a new 1 Tb SSD as they are not really that expensive anymore, and if I still don't like this 'GOTY' I can always use it for other games I guess.

Yeah, my base installation folder (called "Official", I'm a Steam user) is about 173 Gb big. I have the Deluxe Premium version, but that is big. Haven't even started to add the mods/addons to the community folder yet, but I'd say that 500 Gb is an absolute minimum for this sim.

Priller

[Dangerous Beans]

I'm up to 383Gb total, 241Gb in the official and community folders and 142Gb of ORBX stuff on a separate drive
I haven't gone mad with the community folder, that only has 33.8Gb of stuff in it.

A 500Gb drive should be the minimum you need if your going to keep everything on one drive but there are ways to spread it over more.
Of course if you get hooked on flightsim.to its the skies the limit (pun intended)

[Mathias]

Make sure "Toggle Headtracking" is bound to a key (I set mine to CTRL + SHIFT + T and a button on my joystick). Once you have loaded in, press the Toggle Headtracking key or button and TrackIR should work. If TrackIR loses focus again, headtracking will be turned "off". If you press the Toggle Headtracking key again, it should turn back on without you have to return to the main menu. The usual TrackIR keys should still function as they always have.

Thanks, but as I said in the very sentence that you quoted, the toggles do nothing once TrackIR has died.

[jimjones]

This video has e replay tutorial about 15 min into it that may be helpful. The feature is bit awkward however.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUgf7Z9m4vw

[jimjones]

The following appear to be fixed now:

Devils tower does not launch high in the sky and blends, does not float, above the terrain.

Crazy horse, Half dome and Mount Rushmore do not float above the terrain.

[DennyA]

TrackIR isn't working, there are issues in VR, I've had more CTDs than I've had since the early updates in 2020, and it occasionally locks up solid when switching views.

A hotfix is sorely needed.

[Tom Clayton]

TrackIR isn't working, there are issues in VR, I've had more CTDs than I've had since the early updates in 2020, and it occasionally locks up solid when switching views.

A hotfix is sorely needed.

Make sure DX12 is off.

[DennyA]

Make sure DX12 is off.

Oh, it's off! Given MS said "there's no improvement in features or performance, the first take is just to test compatibility," I had no desire to add even more risk of issues just to provide telemetry for the dev team.

I also flattened my system last week and reinstalled everything from scratch to fix the sporadic performance issues I was sometimes seeing in some sims and games. That worked great -- good old Windows reinstalls for the win, fixing undiagnoseable problems since 1996! So I'm running a super-fresh, vanilla install with all the latest drivers and no "stale Windows rot."