Marketplace and Xbox
-
In a brief answer, it's a combination of potential reputational damage from the aircraft being "broken" due to forces outside my control, even for a few few days, and just the burden of time.
I have long told anyone willing to listen that the marketplace submission system is my single greatest pain point developing for MSFS. Unfortunately, the system for MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 are completely different, so my largest pain point just doubled. We are required to provide all screenshots in multiple different, oddly specific resolutions and aspect ratios (different for 2020 and 2024), the package validator is very picky and rigid, and I have to include multiple static installations of GPS addons in each package, which all need regular updates (again, different for 2020 and 2024).
I'm sorry that these things take so long, but the amount of time and tedious work incentivizes me to wait until new stable versions are released. Great questions, though. I'm always happy to satisfy your curiosity!
@Black-Square Thank you SO much for the detailed response!
That makes a lot of sense, see it always feels like my favorite developers like you, JustFlight, PMDG, A2A, are the ones that take a really long time to release products in general and even more for them to make it to Marketplace, but you're part of the small club of excellent developers with reputations worth protecting, and they're my favorites because of the high quality of the products. Fun little Catch 22, I love what you/rest of that list make because their products are just amazing quality but it takes time to make them that good plus more to release them on a flawed 1st party marketplace.
One of these days I'm finally building a gaming PC specifically for flight simming, catalyst is actually wanting to get into DCS more than anything else, I'm okay with waiting on some of the quality add-on aircraft and generally fine with my MSFS experience on Xbox plus some decent peripherals. IK it sounds odd that I'm a developer without a decent PC, but I'm a backend and mobile guy so all my fancy computers are Macs. I always need at least one to build for iOS and they play nicer with Linux. Not to mention the absurd performance from the new Apple Silicon chipsets. Like it's actually ridiculous, a contract I was doing recently was in a closed Windows ecosystem and they issued me with a top of the line i9 powered Lenovo P16, for fun I compiled a big open source android project on both it and my fanless Macbook Air, the Air compiled it in less than half the time. It's not even a top of the line Air, retails at less than half the price of the Lenovo haha.
Thanks again though, can't wait to get my hands on the Starship and learn those weird high-tech-for-the-80s systems. For the record, I'm totally fine with how the Dukes are performing and would be fine if the Starship came out with similar foibles, but also if it were me I wouldn't release it in that state either.
-
In a brief answer, it's a combination of potential reputational damage from the aircraft being "broken" due to forces outside my control, even for a few few days, and just the burden of time.
I have long told anyone willing to listen that the marketplace submission system is my single greatest pain point developing for MSFS. Unfortunately, the system for MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 are completely different, so my largest pain point just doubled. We are required to provide all screenshots in multiple different, oddly specific resolutions and aspect ratios (different for 2020 and 2024), the package validator is very picky and rigid, and I have to include multiple static installations of GPS addons in each package, which all need regular updates (again, different for 2020 and 2024).
I'm sorry that these things take so long, but the amount of time and tedious work incentivizes me to wait until new stable versions are released. Great questions, though. I'm always happy to satisfy your curiosity!
@Black-Square That's unfortunate. I personally don't see 2024 being stable for a very long time, if ever. It's just not a very good Sim at all.
More than happy to use the Starship in 2020 when the time comes.
-
@Black-Square That's unfortunate. I personally don't see 2024 being stable for a very long time, if ever. It's just not a very good Sim at all.
More than happy to use the Starship in 2020 when the time comes.
@KAPA-Flyer said in Marketplace and Xbox:
@Black-Square That's unfortunate. I personally don't see 2024 being stable for a very long time, if ever. It's just not a very good Sim at all.
More than happy to use the Starship in 2020 when the time comes.
Have you given it a fair shot lately? I felt the same way before SU3, and now I prefer it to 2020. Putting aside the fact that I'm just used to 2020, 2024 is objectively better in several ways.
-
@KAPA-Flyer said in Marketplace and Xbox:
@Black-Square That's unfortunate. I personally don't see 2024 being stable for a very long time, if ever. It's just not a very good Sim at all.
More than happy to use the Starship in 2020 when the time comes.
Have you given it a fair shot lately? I felt the same way before SU3, and now I prefer it to 2020. Putting aside the fact that I'm just used to 2020, 2024 is objectively better in several ways.
@Marionettework It's really not. Asobo outright lied about some things, others aren't working correctly or are straight up missing. Prettier sky colors don't make it better.
-
Only improvement that 2024 has over 2020 is slightly better looking clouds.
-
Only improvement that 2024 has over 2020 is slightly better looking clouds.
@Moonflower_414 said in Marketplace and Xbox:
Only improvement that 2024 has over 2020 is slightly better looking clouds.
Besides the clouds, here are the things I enjoy more about 2024:
- Vastly improved loading time.
- Walking around your plane, it really gives a sense of scale and lets you look at all the details, I find that much more immersive than panning around in drone mode in 2020.
- 3D rocks, grass, but most of all the tarmac and runway and their textures are many times more detailed, and the comp textures actually work in 2024. When you taxi, you can see the paint flaking off on the markings, and you see the thickness of the paint.
- Default taxi/runway lights are way more detailed
- The lighting on the planes looks much more realistic to me, probably in large part due to the ray-traced shadows. The plane just looks more real from outside.
- I got used to the EFB and I like it, being able to see the flight plan, LIDO charts, SimBrief and other stuff from a more immersive in-game interface than in 2020.
- The built-in ATC voice is a lot better, although ATC in general is still flaky.
It's not all perfect, I probably get more performance in 2020 but both are acceptable. The colors are more saturated in 2020 but I find them more similar now than at launch. Usually when I go back to 2020 I find it more cartoonish, and I miss the walkaround.
-
@Moonflower_414 said in Marketplace and Xbox:
Only improvement that 2024 has over 2020 is slightly better looking clouds.
Besides the clouds, here are the things I enjoy more about 2024:
- Vastly improved loading time.
- Walking around your plane, it really gives a sense of scale and lets you look at all the details, I find that much more immersive than panning around in drone mode in 2020.
- 3D rocks, grass, but most of all the tarmac and runway and their textures are many times more detailed, and the comp textures actually work in 2024. When you taxi, you can see the paint flaking off on the markings, and you see the thickness of the paint.
- Default taxi/runway lights are way more detailed
- The lighting on the planes looks much more realistic to me, probably in large part due to the ray-traced shadows. The plane just looks more real from outside.
- I got used to the EFB and I like it, being able to see the flight plan, LIDO charts, SimBrief and other stuff from a more immersive in-game interface than in 2020.
- The built-in ATC voice is a lot better, although ATC in general is still flaky.
It's not all perfect, I probably get more performance in 2020 but both are acceptable. The colors are more saturated in 2020 but I find them more similar now than at launch. Usually when I go back to 2020 I find it more cartoonish, and I miss the walkaround.
-
I think “Masterpiece” would be an appropriate term to use here. @Black-Square, beyond worth the wait. Simply magnificent.
-
I absolutely love it. The very rudimentary FMS is insanely unique and honestly fun to learn.
