Any experiences downloading MSFS 2020?

[Crashnburn]

My Honeycomb Alpha yoke recently broke. I currently have Prepar3D Flight Sim and a CH Products Eclipse yoke, which sticks when pushing or pulling.
I found what looks to be a good replacement for the Honeycomb, it's a Turtle Beach yoke, about 50% more than the Honeycomb.

The Turtle Beach yoke only works with Xbox, and MSFS 2020. The thing is I've checked MSFS 2020 out on Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. None of them allow returns or refunds for any reason. All but two of the (few) reviewers weren't able to download and install the program.
I feel like I'm buying a pig in a poke.

Assuming successful download and installation, my 3rd party add-ons should work, except for scenery enhancements, but I believe MSFS 2020 already has great scenery.

Has anyone here downloaded MSFS 2020? Either successfully or unsuccessfully? If it makes any difference, I'm planning on getting the Deluxe 40th Anniversary version, as it has the Cessna Skyhawk. I'm sure success or failure isn't a function of which version.

 

[Jim K]

No problems downloading, other than it took literally a week on my rural Internet that maxed out at about 10mbps at the time. Actually the downloader did a really nice job dealing with connection losses and machine reboots, picking up right where it left off each time. It's a couple hundred gb.

I think anything that will work with Xbox will work with a Windows PC. No opinion on the turtle Beach yoke though. Personally I wouldn't buy a yoke that didn't work with x plane. I was disappointed with fs2020. It's pretty, but the actually simulation is no better than fsx, and worse in some ways such as atc and flight characteristics. The flying dynamics of xplane feel significantly more realistic.

 

[SoonerAviator]

No problems downloading FS2020 here either, also have the Honeycomb Alpha/Bravo combo. Unfortunately I haven't hardly gotten them out of the boxes with FS2020 other than once or twice to try it out. Honeycomb went through a big hit recently with one of the "business partners" doing shady financial stuff and left the other guy holding the bag. What broke on your Alpha?

 

[Crashnburn]

No problems downloading FS2020 here either, also have the Honeycomb Alpha/Bravo combo. Unfortunately I haven't hardly gotten them out of the boxes with FS2020 other than once or twice to try it out. Honeycomb went through a big hit recently with one of the "business partners" doing shady financial stuff and left the other guy holding the bag. What broke on your Alpha?

I think anything that will work with Xbox will work with a Windows PC. No opinion on the turtle Beach yoke though. Personally I wouldn't buy a yoke that didn't work with x plane. I was disappointed with fs2020. It's pretty, but the actually simulation is no better than fsx, and worse in some ways such as atc and flight characteristics. The flying dynamics of xplane feel significantly more realistic.

Thank you both for responding to my post.

I read something about the developer getting the shaft. There's no telling if, nor when, I might be able to get my yoke repaired. Unfortunately, my wife, who gave it to me, is deceased. I've gone through all of her paperwork and there was no receipt for the Honeycomb. It might have been in her credit card statements, but those are long gone. So, any repairs I might be able to get will be out of pocket.

My yoke is extremely sensitive to pushing or pulling on it when it's in the neutral position. Also, the button that changes the view no longer works. That is probably a solder joint problem.

It's good to hear that at least two people had no problems downloading the game. I'm sorry the flight dynamics aren't all that great, but there doesn't seem to be much choice. At least it has great eye candy.

The reviews I've read about the Turtle Beach yoke have been uniformly good.

I plan on using a non-Amazon card just in case I have issues downloading. Then I'll have a chance of getting my money back if there's an issue,

 

[SoonerAviator]

Thank you both for responding to my post.

I read something about the developer getting the shaft. There's no telling if, nor when, I might be able to get my yoke repaired. Unfortunately, my wife, who gave it to me, is deceased. I've gone through all of her paperwork and there was no receipt for the Honeycomb. It might have been in her credit card statements, but those are long gone. So, any repairs I might be able to get will be out of pocket.

My yoke is extremely sensitive to pushing or pulling on it when it's in the neutral position. Also, the button that changes the view no longer works. That is probably a solder joint problem.

It's good to hear that at least two people had no problems downloading the game. I'm sorry the flight dynamics aren't all that great, but there doesn't seem to be much choice. At least it has great eye candy.

The reviews I've read about the Turtle Beach yoke have been uniformly good.

I plan on using a non-Amazon card just in case I have issues downloading. Then I'll have a chance of getting my money back if there's an issue,

Not that it is a perfect solution, but you might try adjusting the sensitivity in FS2020 on the yoke control to see if it takes lessens any erratic behavior near the neutral position. Or maybe run a calibration. You can also re-assign another button to do the POV if you choose. The Turtle Beach will likely be fine, as it's the choice of XBox players. I think Steam also does a download of FS2020, so you might look into that as well.

 

[Crashnburn]

I was able to successfully download and install MSFS 2020. Getting from one screen to another is God-Awful slow. Typical Micro$Loth Bloat Ware.

The yoke had problems in Prepar3D. The previous session it had no issues. I tried adjusting the sensitivity with no success. I tried the yoke in several different sessions, with no joy.

 

[Sierra_Hotel]

No problems downloading FS2020 here either, also have the Honeycomb Alpha/Bravo combo. Unfortunately I haven't hardly gotten them out of the boxes with FS2020 other than once or twice to try it out. Honeycomb went through a big hit recently with one of the "business partners" doing shady financial stuff and left the other guy holding the bag. What broke on your Alpha?

Oh damn, didn't know anything about that. I have the Alpha/Bravo combo as well, also in a tote somewhere packed up.

 

[SoonerAviator]

Oh damn, didn't know anything about that. I have the Alpha/Bravo combo as well, also in a tote somewhere packed up.

Yeah, if the story is to be believed the other partner somehow did some creative accounting for a bit and left the current guy without much cash flow and a fairly decent liability for unpaid manufacturing costs and prepaid orders on the books. Fortunately it seems he has worked out some deals with the suppliers to allow him to operate and get the ship righted. Had quite a bit of lost goodwill with the flight sim community it seems due to the lack of communication and general shady behavior while sorting out the financials. He's still trying to get the Charlie rudder pedals out, but I don't think I'd put my money in that basket until they've managed to get stable again.

 

[Mikey52]

The thrust master rudder pedals are pricy, but they are the best.

 

[SebIp]

You need decent internet for it not to be a big pain in the butt. All the updates have a bit that requires downloading while in the game.

I used to have 50mbps link and it was annoying. Can take hours. Now I have 1.5gbps fiber, updates are done in minutes.

 

[Jim Rosenow]

I have to put a vote in for the Redbird 'stuff'. We have their throttle console, rudders, and yoke. Serious cash, but seriously good. The yoke has 180 degrees of rotation, and the fore-aft throw is within a half-inch of our 182rg.

We're serious simmers (3 4k screens run by 3 computers), and went thru some other brands prior to striking gold with Redbird a few years back. X-plane is our sim of choice...both msfs and p3d sitting in a drawer.

Jim