Difference with the Steam Edition?

[Limp Squirrel]

I looked around, but I don't find a conclusive answer. The price for the Anniversary and Steam Editions are very different.
The Anniversary edition is a flat price with 3 versions between them. The Steam Edition is a lot cheaper but has a ton of DLC.

I'm thinking about getting into MSFS, but I'm a bit confused where to start with all these different versions. I'd probably also wait for a sale though (no matter the edition).

Any info appreciated!

[Razamanaz]

The 40th Anniversary Edition was a free update to the base game. Deluxe Version adds 5 additional aircraft and 5 additional handcrafted airports. Premium Edition adds 5 more additional aircraft and 5 more additional handcrafted airports. It also includes all of the Deluxe Edition.

I don't know what you mean by the Steam Edition. That's not even listed on the store page. All versions are now Anniversary Editions.

[Limp Squirrel]

Sorry, I got confused. The steam edition is MS FS X, I guess that the previous iteration. My bad.

[shadowgravy]

It looks like you got it figured out.

FSX Steam Edition is best described as a dusted off version of the "Flight Simulator X Gold Edition" DVD from circa 2006-2008. Microsoft 'permanently' quit the Flight Simulator franchise in 2010, but simmers kept FSX going for another decade because it is an easy platform to create mods and expansion products for.

As much as I've enjoyed FSX over the last 15+ years, I'm reluctant to recommend it to newcomers in the Windows 11 era. A lot of people aren't able to get FSX to run 'out of the box' because new installs of Windows are often missing important legacy framework and drivers. MSFS 2020 on the other hand has beautiful graphics, but it is a data and storage hog compared to FSX.

[Limp Squirrel]

Got it. To that point, if this is my very first MSFS purchase, which MSFS 2020 version would you recommend?

My understanding is that, once purchased, there are no individual upgrade packages. But the price difference is also quite substantial between the versions (to double the price of Standard for the Premium Deluxe).

[shadowgravy]

As for the several versions of MSFS (aka MSFS 2020, aka the 40th Anniversary Edition), it is just three price points. The Standard Edition is the cheapest, but it is also the core product and it provides about 90% of the total Microsoft/Asobo content. The Premium version adds an additional five aircraft and five hand-crafted airports. The Deluxe version is the most expensive tier, and it adds yet another five aircraft and five airports. Most people will be fine with the Standard version; however, upgrading later to Premium or Deluxe ends up being more expensive than buying either from the start.

The breakdown of what is in each version is explained better here (for reference only -- don't buy these discs!) :
https://www.aerosoft.com/en/shop/flight/microsoft-flight-simulator/msfs-simulator/3044/microsoft-flight-simulator-premium-deluxe

Keep in mind that the Standard version actually provides more than 20 aircraft now, because several additional aircraft were added in the Game of the Year, 40th Anniversary, and Top Gun: Maverick updates. Also, all the versions get the same World and City updates for free. And finally, many of the DLC aircraft and airports sold in the Marketplace are superior to Microsoft's content offered in the Premium/Deluxe tiers.

[shadowgravy]

I started with the Standard version (purchased on sale) and upgraded to Premium+Deluxe a year later (also during a sale), primarily just to get the C172 Classic. Yes, the markup on upgrading later is ridiculous. However, I calculated that by buying all three parts on sale I was able to actually save a couple dollars over buying the full Premium/Deluxe version from the outset.

[Limp Squirrel]

Got it, thanks for the infor! I'll for the standard edition then. I saw it's currently on sale on the Windows Store. But I prefer to wait for the Steam discount. Not having a choice of where to install a game is so archaic.

[Twelvefield]

Do you mean the vendor, i.e. STEAM vs. Microsoft Store, or do you mean the location of the game on your computer. If it's the latter, you do have some flexibility, but the install tends to fling files all over the place.

Unfortunately, you missed the big MSFS STEAM sale, the next ought to be in maybe three months or so.

[Rever]

Originally posted by Squidcake:

Got it, thanks for the infor! I'll for the standard edition then. I saw it's currently on sale on the Windows Store. But I prefer to wait for the Steam discount. Not having a choice of where to install a game is so archaic.

The only reason IMO to buy the upgraded versions is if there is a specific plane(s) that you want to play with and even then you might be better off with a quality third party add-on. I bought the Premium Deluxe from the start and don't regret it at all. It has been nice to have the extra planes to mess around with.

You can decide were to install the bulk of the game files, but there are some files that the game puts in your User folder that gets some people upset because those can be larger than they expect to see on their Windows drive.

[Limp Squirrel]

so the installation folder on the Steam version still puts a large amounts of files in a fixed folder on C? That's a tad problematic. My windows drive is only 100G, and barely has 40G left.

@Rever
The only plane that stands out is the Dreamliner, but if that available as a single addon via the market, the Premium Deluxe doesn't justify the price for me.
It's also possible I end up not liking it as much as I thought I would.
Apart from the Dreamliner, the only thing I'd like to add are the Taiwan area and airports (if that's not already included or available via add-ons).

[Razamanaz]

Originally posted by Squidcake:

so the installation folder on the Steam version still puts a large amounts of files in a fixed folder on C? That's a tad problematic. My windows drive is only 100G, and barely has 40G left.

@Rever
The only plane that stands out is the Dreamliner, but if that available as a single addon via the market, the Premium Deluxe doesn't justify the price for me.
It's also possible I end up not liking it as much as I thought I would.
Apart from the Dreamliner, the only thing I'd like to add are the Taiwan area and airports (if that's not already included or available via add-ons).

It puts a lot of files in in %app data% but the largest of those files can be turned off or moved to another drive. You can make it not use much space at all.

[Rever]

Originally posted by Squidcake:

so the installation folder on the Steam version still puts a large amounts of files in a fixed folder on C? That's a tad problematic. My windows drive is only 100G, and barely has 40G left.

@Rever
The only plane that stands out is the Dreamliner, but if that available as a single addon via the market, the Premium Deluxe doesn't justify the price for me.
It's also possible I end up not liking it as much as I thought I would.
Apart from the Dreamliner, the only thing I'd like to add are the Taiwan area and airports (if that's not already included or available via add-ons).

You can expect 4-10Gb to be put in your User/AppData/Roaming folder. It is where user based files typically go. It seems to increase with the number of add-ons you have. i never paid it much attention.

At this point I would go with the regular version, if you are likely to buy the 2024 version. There is plenty to do and see with just the base game. As time went on and I started to get bored that is when having an extra 10 planes became more worth it for more than just the steam gauge Cessna 172. I am not sure if you will get there or not before you buy 2024?

[jbonesmd]

Originally posted by Squidcake:

so the installation folder on the Steam version still puts a large amounts of files in a fixed folder on C? That's a tad problematic. My windows drive is only 100G, and barely has 40G left.

@Rever
The only plane that stands out is the Dreamliner, but if that available as a single addon via the market, the Premium Deluxe doesn't justify the price for me.
It's also possible I end up not liking it as much as I thought I would.
Apart from the Dreamliner, the only thing I'd like to add are the Taiwan area and airports (if that's not already included or available via add-ons).

The Steam MSFS Anniversary Edition is around 150 GB installed. Any updates or optional DLC will increase the storage size. You can install the Steam version to any drive you have available.

Using a SSD is the best route and having about 500GB is a good number to work with. Make sure your PC meets at LEAST the minimum requirements. The more you can afford to go big the better off you will be. That applies to Video Card and RAM as well.

I would do plenty of research ahead of purchasing including a thorough perusing of the Official Forums at flightsimulator.com where there is much more traffic and info available. The newer and cleaner ( clutter/bloatware free) the PC is will save you headaches as well.

The Dreamliner is not available as a stand alone aircraft at this time. You would have to upgrade from the Anniversary Edition to the PD Edition.

[Rever]

Originally posted by jbonesmd:

The Steam MSFS Anniversary Edition is around 150 GB installed. Any updates or optional DLC will increase the storage size. You can install the Steam version to any drive you have available.

Using a SSD is the best route and having about 500GB is a good number to work with. Make sure your PC meets at LEAST the minimum requirements. The more you can afford to go big the better off you will be. That applies to Video Card and RAM as well.

I would do plenty of research ahead of purchasing including a thorough perusing of the Official Forums at flightsimulator.com where there is much more traffic and info available. The newer and cleaner ( clutter/bloatware free) the PC is will save you headaches as well.

The Dreamliner is not available as a stand alone aircraft at this time. You would have to upgrade from the Anniversary Edition to the PD Edition.

I think he is mostly worried about the files that go on the C: even when you select a different drive for MSFS.

[shadowgravy]

If you install to a different drive, almost no files go to your C: drive. The 'Community' folder for addons will be empty, and should remain empty unless you install a mod or a product not purchased in the in-game marketplace.

Most freeware and payware aircraft packages are 1-2 GB each, same with airport sceneries, so you can easily manage your community folder to stay under 30 GB or so. However there are some exceptions, for example the free FSLTL live traffic addon which is over 40 GB alone. But as I said, if you are either selective with your mods and/or only buy from the in-game marketplace, your C: should be very minimally impacted.