What's the consensus?

[CHUCK79]

Trying to get back into flightsim. I bought the standard edition of MSFS2020. Is it worth expanding on, or should I go back to FSX and/or P3D?

[striker]

This is quite a debate. Many people seem to be on both sides of this fence.

MSFS20 has a new following of people who never were into FS before and have a blank sheet to compare.

I would stick to the basic MSFS until you get used to it. It seems different people have different issues with it depending on what joystick/controller you have and PC specs etc. I remember when FSX came out many people just could not use it due to PC specs.

I can only speak for myself but if I want better flight dynamics I use P3D. Visuals are without doubt much better in MSFS but for me it has a little of the gamey feel to it, with irritating people on the ground, lacking in options compared to FSx or P3d and I just have to turn off the ATC!

So I use mainly P3D but slowly dabbling with MSFS. My eyes are looking out for P3D6. And of course P3D is not aimed at the average guy on the street like MSFS is.

Just my opinion

[Sinkrate]

Well, there isn’t an awful lot of freeware (that actually works) available for MSFS yet as compared to FSX and P3D. I presume you have been to this site:

https://orbxdirect.com/freeware

so I won’t bother mentioning it – oops too late. There is of course, the Microsoft store with a number of payware add-ons. If you go into profile/content manager, there is quite a lot of additional content that you can choose to download so it might be better to add to it bit by bit with the things that you actually want.

Personally, I find the scenery in MSFS a bit of a mixed bag. Buildings that have been specifically modelled look good but the rest looks decidedly war torn. Some of the terrain looks rather kooky as well, with roads wrapped around hillsides and vehicles floating through the air. Admittedly, the world model is better than FSX but it still has elements of cartoonishness (is that even a word?) about it that remind you that it is just a game. There is also the fact that it updates itself every time you start it and forces you to download its mandatory upgrades. That’s the main reason that I’ve turned away from it in favour of XP11 and FSX.

[Boromir]

As stated, it's a subjective matter...I agree with the above replies that MSFS has mostly outstanding scenery, but the flight dynamics, ATC, a bubblegum kind of wrapping (UI for example) and incredible cryptic keyboard/joystick assignment interface make me happily use P3D 5.3 much more often. I bought the basic MSFS and a couple of 3rd party programs, but that's it: I'm quite content with spending no more money on it.

GMG

[Daube]

The general answer to the original question is: yes, it's absolutely worth expanding on.

The sim has evolved quite a bit, and in its current state it allows you to enjoy all kind of flights: GA, IFR, gliders and bush flights.
The default planes are much better than the default stuff we used to get in older sims, and there are many addons (freeware) available to make them even better.However, a few things have changed in the UI which is quite different from what we were used to in FS9 or FSX or P3D. There's really nothing complex, it's just a matter of accepting that this or that option doesn't have the same name anymore.
The ATC is still the same as FSX/P3D, just a few more things inside I think, like the handling of the ground services, but I haven't explored that much yet.
The Flight model is very nice, contrary to what other people here said. Especially for the ground contacts. Generally, and to summarize, it feels much closer to XPlane than FS9, both on the ground and in the air.
Also, for those who haven't bought MSFS yet and consider buying it, I would very strongly recommend you to AVOID buying it on the MS Store, and get it from Steam instead. (MS Store version has many troubles when it comes to updating the sim, and sometimes your sim will get uninstalled by magic... Steam version is trouble-free)

Now, about the addons:

For freeware sceneries, there's really no comparison with FSX and P3D: MSFS has the best offer. It's not really about the amount of available things, it's more about the quality itself.
The main difference with FSX and P3D is that the "surroundings" of these sceneries are much nicer in MSFS. For example, if you take just a small airfield, you get nice photoreal ground textures both on the addon zone AND all around it, as well as grass and vegetation everywhere it should be. In the end, a lot of these freeware sceneries end up looking a bit like in the payware OrbX airports that we had for FSX and P3D, for example.

For freeware planes, there are two categories:
- standalone planes: you get some GA planes, a few helicopters, a few gliders, all very nice visual quality, although "systems" quality varies a lot. I'd recommend you the freeware EC-135 from HPG for example.
- addons for the default planes: these are highly recommended. For example, the mod of the default TBM makes it a very nice plane. If you are more into the liners, then there is a very nice A320 from a group call FBW. There's also a nice mod for the default 747 (Salty) and of course the mod for the default CJ4 has good fame.
There is a distinct lack of military aircraft yet though, may it be modern or vintage, but that's a temporary situation anyways. Still, there's a nice F-22 out there, and a very nice DR-1 if you like WWI airplanes

There are also a few other things to further improve the experience, and the offering on the high-quality-payware side has also made quite a few jumps forward recently, especially for the liners.
The best for you would simply be to describe a bit more in details your expectations or your kind of flying, which areas, which kind of aircraft etc... Then we would be able to throw a few recommendations at you

EDIT: I removed the references to an external website.

[CHUCK79]

Thanks, y'all!!