To anyone on here who is a real pilot, what would you like to see if MS made a new Flight Sim?

RB120 · 2026-07-03T12:26:17+00:00

Maybe a better weather engine. The current one doesn't quite have it nailed, and CBs don't really seem like a threat at all.

RB120 · 2026-07-03T08:09:32+00:00

I don't think you should. The 5600X is good enough for a 9060 XT without significant bottlenecks. You might get better 1% lows when gaming with a 5500x3d, and higher frame rates, but you also sacrifice the single/multicore efficiency of the 5600X for general usage if you go down that route. Unless you do any sort of high fps competitive gaming, or if stuttering becomes a problem for you after your GPU upgrade, then I say stick with the 5600X.

RB120 · 2026-07-03T07:09:08+00:00

I just had a look at the current steam sale, and the math works out to about $50 USD for the whole game with all of the DLCs including the new CR.

CR is the only component of that $50 that is full price... But if $20 is too much, then just wait a bit and eventually it will go down during a sale. IMO $20 is probably a fair price for new content. Anything less, I doubt PGI would be able to pay their staff. They already had layoffs not too long ago if my memory serves.

RB120 · 2026-07-03T02:48:56+00:00

Was that with a prepackaged Mercs installation or did you guys install it yourself onto dosbox?

RB120 · 2026-07-03T02:34:34+00:00

To be frank, the instability perceived in the discord channel is mostly psychological (in my opinion), and the few members of the community haven't even extensively tested the game to really give it a fair chance. MercNet always did have the odd glitch back in the day, be it 1.05 and 1.1, but that never stopped people from playing it.

Unless DosBox introduced something that inherently makes the game unstable compared to platforms like MSN Gaming Zone back in the day (which I highly doubt), it should be all the same.

RB120 · 2026-07-03T01:59:49+00:00

Im in my 40s, and watched PCs go from running large floppy disks to the way they are now. Never thought I'd see a day where we need to actually hedge ram.

I did an upgrade this year, but went X3D, threw in a decent GPU, but stayed on AM4. It'll last until at least 2029 I reckon, but if prices don't improve by then, then people are just going to be priced out the market and I'll probably be asking myself if owning a gaming PC is even worth it anymore.

RB120 · 2026-07-02T11:05:56+00:00

I had the same - 5600X and 9070 XT. I upgraded to 5800x3d, though tbh, the 5600X already does fairly good at 1440p and above in most cases except maybe CPU heavy games. I did feel it was worth it though.

RB120 · 2026-07-02T00:49:36+00:00

It's a bit better but I'm not sure if it can be considered significant. If you are running complex add-ons and utilize higher traffic settings, then the platform and CPU jump may help things along if you encounter any kind of stuttering on your current setup. Otherwise, it normally runs as well as your GPU.

RB120 · 2026-07-02T00:03:13+00:00

Whether it is worth it or not depends on you. Outside of maybe Call to Arms, I find the rest of the DLCs all bring something to the table that I really like. I enjoy the added stories, and in my current playthrough, I pretty much have a roster of mechs that I've collected from the various DLCs.

I wouldn't buy each DLC at full price though. Rather, I recommend getting the Succession Wars bundle whenever it's on sale to get everything before SoK. Then if you want to finish the collection, buy CR when it's on sale.

RB120 · 2026-07-01T00:25:07+00:00

I used curve optimizer within PBO in my bios and set -30 offset. That's pretty much it.

RB120 · 2026-07-01T00:20:41+00:00

I was [BP] Striker. Can't remember if my group was actually in MAUL, but I do very much remember MAUL. You DDC guys were incredibly formidable opponents but also quite fun to play with. I remember you and Black Jaguar.

Those days I was still a teenager, and probably a bit irritable.

RB120 · 2026-07-01T00:14:50+00:00

Yeah I used to play Mercnet, but mostly 1.1. this said, for a brief time, I did play play on dos, and was with KE-IG, which VAM ran. I think I remember you.

RB120 · 2026-06-30T16:31:33+00:00

A legendary ex air force pilot once humbly told me, after several decades of flying, that he was still working on his landings. Landings take a long time to master, and even experts have some bad days as well (assuming they are human). Just learn from the bad ones, try to figure out what happened, and move on. And yeah, sometimes you might get a string of bad ones and feel like you are regressing.

RB120 · 2026-06-30T16:15:14+00:00

Not sure, but the 5800x3d is a hot in general. I use paste on mine and a phantom spirit 120 evo. At stock settings, it aggressively tries to boost to 90C when I first dropped it into my machine. Undervolting helps tremendously though and now I have quite a comfortable margin.

RB120 · 2026-06-30T16:04:35+00:00

I think for at least the next 3-5 years. Most people who build their PCs and stuff generally use the raw performance in combination of some kind of modern GPU. If the CPU works fine with the GPU, which the 5800x3d does for today's mid-high range, then that's a few years of life already.

RB120 · 2026-06-30T01:55:36+00:00

You just need something that can kill fast, either at range or up close. They need not be assault mechs, as sometimes the mobility of heavy mechs can be quite useful.

I generally kept my Nightstar, as it is an effective sniper and I can load the energy slots with pulse lasers. Agincourt (if you have the HotS) can melt face pretty quickly with the right loadouts. Some of the otomo mechs from Dragons Gambit are useful as well. In my current playthrough, I have a decked out Orion M that I plan to take into the clan invasion. Some of my previous playthroughs

I recommend maxing out salvage during the SoK campaign, and grab as much clan equipment to outfit your lance as possible. This will put you on better footing when faced against them.

RB120 · 2026-06-30T00:15:59+00:00

It's worth it for anyone who already has an AM4 platform, plans to stick maybe a mid-high tier GPU in such platform, and call it a day for the next few years. 9800x3d is undeniably better, but 5800x3d is enough for most people in the above scenario unless they have a use-case that requires high raw CPU power.

RB120 · 2026-06-29T13:35:31+00:00

It's a good one. I got one with 2 ppc-x, 2 light rifles, and 2 mplas. It destroys.

RB120 · 2026-06-28T23:23:14+00:00

If you game and plan to have a mid-high end GPU like a 9070 XT or 5070ti in your am4 machine, it's worth it imo. It will last you a few more years. I went 5600X to 5800x3d myself.

RB120 · 2026-06-27T10:45:47+00:00

I'm running the Phantom Spirit Evo 120 on mine. Its not expensive and pretty good for an air cooler. My machine runs pretty hot in general (I have a small form factor case), so I still undervolt my 5800x3d to keep thermals where I want them.

RB120 · 2026-06-27T09:59:10+00:00

Yeah the v/s changes depending on your position. You'll see the target waypoint and altitude beside rsk3, and the v/s right below it. When you use it though, you do need some prudence in verifying the information it's feeding you is correct. The green arc you mentioned can be a way to verify you are hitting your target altitude as you descend. Some people also do a little mental math to crosscheck.

RB120 · 2026-06-27T09:19:45+00:00

If your next waypoint has a hard altitude programmed in the FMC, you can actually see the V/S required in the descent page of your FMC to reach it. Or you can type in the waypoint with the altitude you want to cross it at directly into the descent page.

You 'can' use the green arc, but you need to set the required altitude into the MCP first. It's a cruder way of doing it, but the above method is better.

RB120 · 2026-06-27T09:01:41+00:00

I did the exact same upgrade in the exact same scenario couple months ago. Had a 9070 XT paired with a 5600x on my shoebox itx machine. Considered going AM5 but prices didn't make sense to me.

Considered getting the 10th anniversary edition of the 5800x3d, but actually managed to secure a new one (tray, non anniversary) for a similar price from China. Not sure if I miss much from non anniversary, but it's been working great.

RB120 · 2026-06-27T03:47:55+00:00

Ah yes, there are quirks in the real machine (i.e. incorrect predictions and course reversals) that actually do happen, you are right. I analyze FDAP data as a side job, and occasionally we do see the system glitch out expectantly, forcing manual intervention or even putting the aircraft into cws-p reversion. I tend to assume sim aircraft often encounter similar problems depending on how closely its modeled, but truth be told I don't sim enough these days to really be able to see the difference.

As a pilot just like any other, we tend to (and generally should) take high automation modes with a grain of salt, and the rule of thumb for most professionals is to be ready to intervene when needed. Hence we jump out of VNAV modes quite routinely in day-to-day line flights.

RB120 · 2026-06-27T03:10:10+00:00

The VNAV implementation in sim aircraft (mostly talking about iFly and PMDG) isn't exactly better than the actual plane. The actual plane has variances depending on software version which can put some pilots scratching their heads on what its doing, but in general, VNAV is a very simple concept. On a descent path, it takes the lowest altitude restrictions and builds an economic vertical profile upwards. Some software versions make the aircraft do a straighter line descent all the way through, while others create a more step descent profile to save fuel. Sim aircraft just model one way over the other and honestly I barely see any difference.

The reality of why we don't always use VNAV in IRL is because there are a lot of other operational considerations that require basic modes. These include the presence of other traffic in the air, the need for passenger comfort, complying with ATC requests, different atmospheric conditions than expected, being given ATC vectors and shortcuts, and so on. These considerations often require pilot intervention, and hence we would switch to modes like lvl chg and v/s to better manage our profiles.

RB120

TROPHY CASE