The tree problem should get solved with installing some freeware airport for the special places one is flying to. As there are some freeware scenery editors available, creating a 'exclusion rectangle' also is a matter of seconds if you don't find one.

Is it really that much of a problem? I think I saw very few default airports with it so far and, as said, a simple edit of the file could be done while pausing the sim for a minute. After this, the airport is fixed and does not turn the surrounding into brown matter, but just excludes the trees in the defined area. With addon scenery, this step will already be included most of the time.


On some other stuff that 'annoys' people, one has to state that you guys have bought a 30 to 50 Dollar sim with all sorts of features and the great ability to allow third party devs to fill the gaps. And a ton of third party devs took this step and offer their things. A business model expanded, offering a large scale of useful and sometimes less useful things, sometimes even for free.
So while I think that a vast amount of users would for example be overwhelmed with a too detailed GPS or an ATC using deviations and holding instructions, I'd say that the ones really "needing" those features should look at some addon soft to get them.  ;)

It's all there, but demanding it to come in perfect shape with the basic game is a bit too much in my eyes. Look at the price tag and then look at the people using the sim. We may assume seeing the already advanced users in forums like this, and e. g. flying some holdings will be a heavy task for most. So if the default ATC would order it, this may become a downside for some. They can still fly holdings now, if they like to.

As a side note. Sometimes even online ATC does not use any 'advanced' methods because the experience is that most users will react with a big 'oops' if they would do. This of course is sad for the people being able to perform a nice holding without a fancy FMC, but they will surely get those desired instructions when the ATC guy knows them, while on less common locations, ATC will remain basic for a reason.

As for some GPS details. They don't come for free when you want to have them in a 'simple' gauge. So the folks at MS did right and included basic things, while leaving the advanced field open to third party devs. The GPS gauge alone costs you as much as the whole FSX by the way.

I think MS did a great job with keeping the sim structure open in all directions, so I don't expect them to include fancy features for some folks only.
This won't most likely change in future versions of any sim out there. Be aware that basic users run your business when you are selling the basic package, not the addon stuff. So you aim to offer a wide field of features to attract the folks. The in-depth thingies are then open to addon devs.


Regarding previous issues. The 'don't sink' warning isn't bugged by design. It's a question of the setup and you can define the parameters in the aircraft.cfg of the planes. So, if you would mix up settings there, you'll get all sorts of warnings from the FSX engine which tries to mimic a rw warning.
I think there are some freeware gauges out too, which allow a more detailed setup for every plane.


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MS should somehow write into there code that when the application (game) crashes it should give the reason why, like "APP CRASHED, insufficient video card memory".

You will find those details in your Windows event log. Some stuff may look cryptic there, but those values help the guys with the programmer's knowledge. By the way, some of these values lead to the very latest FSUIPC improvement, which prevents certain crashes on addon title combinations.

Blaming the basic software for crashes is difficult to do. When you install more or less detailed addons of all kind and maybe some titles which 'push the boundaries' too much, the combination of all this may lead to a bad outcome. Not to mention the fancy tweaking some are running.
I think it's more likely to find a person on planet Earth looking exactly like you than to find another FSX installation which comes close to yours.

Plain FSX default runs fine and doesn't crash by design. So if the addon packed one suddenly does, the error may well be within some addons. Just stating this because people seem to praise certain addons devs if something is fine, but then blame MS if it isn't. Wrong viewpoint in my eyes.
If you get crashes with a certain plane over a certain scenery, those two devs may be the ones to talk to first. They tend to blame MS, I know. But the FSX MS team isn't there any more, so that's too easy.

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Most annoying thing for me, the aircraft selection.

While a SDD may ease the pain there, the main cause of loading times are .. too many planes and liveries installed. You can uncheck the 'show all variants' option to see how much difference it makes when FSX has to look for just one picture of each type.

Again, the FSX system is open for installing stuff. When you then sort of abuse this open policy with installing tons of things, we can't really blame the software for user made errors. Same on the crashes, so I'm repeating myself in a way.

However, there is some addon interface available I think. Maybe it enhances the way how FSX handles the tons of planes you have installed and leads to a faster loading.
I'm running a mechanical disc here and have installed plenty of planes, but I don't wait more than a few seconds to get all variants shown. SSDs aren't a magic bullet for FSX, they only help on loading times, not on blurries, not on fps. I've tried and reverted back to mech a while ago. Way cheaper, even with the currently 'flooded' prices in place. SSD for the OS, that's a good idea though.

I don't change planes every few minutes, I only do when starting a flight. So maybe this is some preference thingy too. I'd suggest to get rid of planes you don't fly or don't have time to fly. This may help there.


In conclusion, I think that some 'annoyances' and their minor nature actually show how well this old software still does. Together with the broad market it has reached, we actually have to conclude that MS did right. They've also enabled some successful business models being based on their work. A thing where X-Plane failed for nine versions by the way. So lets hope the tenth does better there.

I only hope for both devs to not go the customer unfriendly way of the DLCs and extra costs for every single basic feature, like seen on other games. Sad fact, people don't complain much, they 'obey'. Some addon devs for FSX already run that business, charging extra for minor things.
Don't read this the wrong way, CS does fine in my eyes.

It also is a matter of looking at a half full or half empty glass of water, whereas I prefer the half full one by the way.  :)