Skip to content

Position and Hold

Realism through Simulation – A Flight Simulation Blog – Est. 2010

Menu
  • Flight
    • Flight Sim Articles
    • MSFS Addons
    • Scenery MSFS2020
    • MSFS Settings
    • Flight Sim Tutorials
    • Hardware
    • 2021 Around the World Adventure
    • Prepar3D Settings (v4.5)
    • Prepar3D Settings (v5.x)
    • Aircraft
    • Scenery P3Dv5
    • Older Flight Sim Articles
  • Information
    • About Jerry
    • Ask Me A Question
    • My Hardware
    • Add-on and Mods Directory
  • GBS Media & Social
    • GBS Discord
    • GBS Facebook
    • GBS Instagram
    • GBS Twitch
    • GBS Twitter
    • GBS YouTube
  • Other Sims
    • Train
    • Trucking
    • Farming
Menu

Microsoft Flight Simulator Patch 1.7.14.0

Posted on September 5, 2020 by admin

Microsoft Flight Simulator logo (2020).png

The highly anticipated, brand new Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS2020) was released on 17 August 2020 with much fanfare.  The release wasn’t without a few small hurdles and within days of the release, Microsoft had already announced a patch would soon be made available.  I discussed this first planned patch earlier this week.

Before I get into my experience with MSFS2020 after the patch, allow me to say this.  To the best of my memory, and at no other point in the history of flight simulation related to Microsoft or even Prepar3D have we experienced a shorter timeframe between initial release and the first patch.  While some will say that MSFS2020 was rushed and should have been delayed a few weeks which may or may not have avoided the need for an update patch, we’ll never really know.  But I believe when Microsoft released FSX back in 2006 it too was not without issues and required two service packs to fully resolve all issues.  It took Microsoft about 6 months to release SP1 and another 5-6 months to push out SP2.  It really wasn’t until SP2 was made available that FSX was truly stable. 

With Prepar3D v5 (the latest P3D release), it was released on 14 April and the first hotfix (HF1) was released on 30 April.  But many still experienced issues(myself included) which made the sim unusable until HF2 was released on 23 June.  It should also be mentioned that unlike Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Prepar3D v5 was not a complete rewrite of P3Dv4.5.  MSFS2020 is a completely brand new simulator from the ground up. 

FlightSimulator_HjCIs9oCOs

My Experience Post Update Patch

The past few weeks I’ve been heavily prepping for a series of job interviews which have taken priority to my gaming time.  As of this writing, I’m still awaiting the official news as to whether I’m still in the running for the position and exactly what the next steps are.  But….what time I have spent with flight simulation has mostly been in P3Dv5.  P3Dv5 provides me more immersion based on the type of flying I mostly enjoy (jetliner), but this doesn’t mean I’m ignoring MSFS2020. 

As I’ve discussed in previous articles, I believe MSFS2020 will become the next generation flight simulator and in time, it will completely blow away what we have today with P3Dv5 and XP11.  However, with exception to VFR/GA flight, there are several obstacles preventing me from flying any of the jetliners in MSFS2020 and especially flying on the VATSIM network.

Lack of Immersion

This is key to me.  While the visuals are absolutely stunning and better than I can possible achieve in P3Dv5, the lack of payware/study-level aircraft is only one of the deal breakers for me at this time. I know I probably sound like a payware snob and I certainly don’t mean to.  In all honesty, I believe the work that is being done on the default A320 via the MS2020 A32NX Project will eventually have me flying the Airbus A320 in MSFS2020 on the VATSIM network.  But even then, until there is a model matching program that allows me to see other aircraft in the liveries those pilots are flying, the immersion is very much blown for me.  While I realize this is just a slight niggle, it’s big enough for me to stick with P3D.

FlightSimulator_Srpk0rZN3l

Fine Job

In all honesty, the recent Microsoft patch resolved two major issues I had been experiencing.   First, the load time seems to have been reduced.  However, even in P3Dv5 the load time generally takes 2-3 minutes from the time I launch the .exe until I can actually begin prepping my aircraft for flight.  But in reference to MSFS2020, the load up time seems to be much improved.

The really big issue for me was related to the performance hit when connecting MSFS2020 to the VATSIM network and of course I wasn’t the only one.  VATSIM stated all would be ready to go on day 1 and to their defense,  the issues which caused the performance hit wasn’t their fault.  There was a major bug with the Microsoft Simconnect which was the culprit.  Simconnect is what allows 3rd party applications (like VATSIM’s vPilot) to connect to the simulator.  This middleware connection is responsible for sending/receiving data elements to these third party add-on apps. 

On Wednesday evening (with the MSFS2020 patch installed) I fired up MSFS2020 and loaded up the Cessna 172 and then connected to VATSIM via vPilot and had my first successful VFR/GA flight around the Denver area.  It was a lot of fun and I’m sure there will be many more flights just like that in the near future. 

Not Fully Baked

Rest assured, this first patch for MSFS2020 is only the beginning.  Very soon we’ll learn what’s on Microsoft’s radar for the next patch.  I would suspect we’ll see multiple patches over the next several months as Microsoft/Asobo gently fine tunes the sim. 

Interested in Flight Sim?

If you are interested in getting started in the flight simulation hobby, there’s no better time and in my opinion, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is your best option.  While flight sim can be looked at as just another game, for those of us truly passionate about it…flight sim is much, much more.  For those who are new to flight sim, MSFS2020 will be your best investment option and will allow you to grow in your experiences.  While I’ve discussed limitations which I view as showstoppers for my own enjoyment, these shouldn’t prevent anyone coming into flight sim from experiencing an “As Real As It Gets” experience. 

In time all the bugs will be gone.  In time there will be more add-on aircraft (both payware and freeware) available to the new sim.  There’s hours and hours of fun which can be experienced in the new sim with the available aircraft on and off the multiplayer services like VATSIM, IVAO and PilotEdge.  Get started today and earn your wings.  I’m looking forward to seeing you in the friendly skies very soon. 

Thanks again for reading.  Until next time…

Happy Flying!

Jerry

Category: Flight Sim

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Flight Sim News

  • FSELITE
  • FSNews
  • Threshold

Flight Sim Blogroll

  • Darren’s Flight Sim Blog
  • Flight Simulation Association
  • iBlueYonder
  • MSFS Addons
  • On The Glideslope
  • PC Flight
  • Stormbirds
  • Twotonemurphy
  • X-Plane at Push-Point.net

Flight Sim Links

  • DCTRY
  • Deadstick Simulator
  • FS History
  • FS-Products
  • FSXLiveries.com
  • GSX Configs by 7X7Pilot
  • Hangar 226 Liveries
  • iniBuilds
  • sim bit world
  • sim-vector
  • SimPilotGroup
  • SimToolKitPro
  • The Flight Simulator Network
  • Tiger Flight Foundation
  • VATSIM
  • VATTASTIC
  • WebATIS

Flight Sim Products I Use

  • A Pilot’s Life
  • A2A Simulations
  • Active Sky 2016
  • Addit Pro
  • Aerosoft
  • AivlaSoft Electronic Flight Bag
  • Captain Sim
  • Carenado Aircraft
  • Drzewiecki Design
  • FeelThere
  • FLAi
  • Flight Replicas
  • Flight Sim Labs
  • Flightbeam Studios
  • FlightSim Commander
  • FlyTampa
  • FRAPS
  • FS2Crew
  • FSBuild
  • FSDreamTeam
  • FSFX Packages
  • FSimStudios
  • FSPassengers
  • FSUIPC
  • GoFlight
  • iFly B737NGX
  • Imaginesim
  • Just Flight
  • JustSim
  • LatinVFR
  • LevelD Simulations
  • Majestic Software
  • Milviz
  • Navigraph
  • ORBX Terrain
  • Plan-G
  • PMDG Simulations
  • Prepar3D
  • Professional Flight Planner X
  • Project OpenSky (POSKY)
  • QualityWings Simulations
  • Real Environment Extreme (REX)
  • Scenery Config Editor
  • ShareX Screen Capture and More
  • SimToolKitPro
  • SteveFX – DX10 Scenery Fixer
  • Super Traffic Board
  • TopCat
  • TripleHead2Go
  • UK2000 Extreme
  • VAT-Spy
  • VRInsight
  • World of AI

Archives

  • July 2025 (1)
  • June 2025 (9)
  • May 2025 (2)
  • December 2024 (4)
  • November 2024 (4)
  • October 2024 (6)
  • September 2024 (4)
  • August 2024 (5)
  • July 2024 (5)
  • June 2024 (5)
  • May 2024 (8)
  • April 2024 (9)
  • March 2024 (2)
  • December 2023 (6)
  • November 2023 (1)
  • June 2023 (2)
  • May 2023 (1)
  • April 2023 (1)
  • March 2023 (1)
  • February 2023 (3)
  • January 2023 (3)
  • December 2022 (3)
  • November 2022 (4)
  • October 2022 (1)
  • September 2022 (2)
  • August 2022 (5)
  • July 2022 (1)
  • May 2022 (1)
  • February 2021 (1)
  • January 2021 (8)
  • December 2020 (5)
  • November 2020 (2)
  • September 2020 (12)
  • August 2020 (7)
  • July 2020 (5)
  • June 2020 (4)
  • May 2020 (10)
  • April 2020 (6)
  • March 2020 (4)
  • February 2020 (1)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • November 2019 (1)
  • October 2019 (3)
  • September 2019 (3)
  • August 2019 (6)
  • July 2019 (7)
  • June 2019 (10)
  • May 2019 (9)
  • April 2019 (7)
  • December 2018 (1)
  • October 2018 (3)
  • September 2018 (17)
  • August 2018 (14)
  • July 2018 (13)
  • June 2018 (14)
  • May 2018 (8)
  • April 2018 (4)
  • March 2018 (3)
  • January 2018 (2)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • November 2017 (2)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (4)
  • June 2017 (10)
  • May 2017 (7)
  • April 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (5)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • January 2017 (1)
  • November 2016 (3)
  • October 2016 (25)
  • September 2016 (14)
  • July 2016 (1)
  • June 2016 (2)
  • May 2016 (10)
  • April 2016 (22)
  • March 2016 (31)
  • February 2016 (19)
  • July 2015 (2)
  • June 2015 (12)
  • May 2015 (11)
  • March 2014 (2)
  • February 2014 (2)
  • December 2012 (7)
  • November 2012 (7)
  • January 2012 (1)
  • November 2011 (1)
  • September 2011 (2)
  • July 2011 (4)
  • June 2011 (10)
  • May 2011 (3)
  • April 2011 (1)
  • March 2011 (2)
  • January 2011 (2)
  • December 2010 (5)
  • November 2010 (5)
  • October 2010 (8)
  • September 2010 (9)
© 2025 Position and Hold | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme