Off topic, MS FS2020 - returned after 7 minutes!

[Lesthegringo]

Hi all, I know that this is a race forum, but I want to ask about a worrying experience I just had

I'm a flight simmer as much as I am race sim, but generally was on the military side, predominantly DCS. However I had been seeing some very nice graphics where people where playing MS FS2020, and flying into really interesting places around the world. I decided to give it a go and bought the Premium deluxe 40 year anniversary edition

Less than 7 minutes later I was getting rid of it. Why? Firstly, I was not expecting to have to sign up for an XBox account, and to have to pay $10 a month for the subscription; that was not clear, and while it might be in the fine print it does seem that a lot of people have been caught out by it.

However the really worrying part was that when the splash scree came up, I was hearing that really irritating music that accompanies a lot of game intros and landing screens. Ok, no problem, go to the volume icon in the corner and mute..... except the music continued at the same volume. I changed the volume, when to sound mixer, went through every sound setting I could but could not alter it. It has obviously complete override control of my PC settings, which means I no longer trust it - what else has it got control over?

I have shut down the PC and asked for a refund from Stem using a different PC without installing it, so am waiting for the refund.

My question now is how to I proceed with getting it off my Gaming PC and ensuring it has not left any legacy stuff on there? I am worried that it has installed something unwanted that could compromise my PC or give my data to someone without my knowledge

Les

 

[pattikins]

I own F1 2023 on Steam, but in order to play it I need an EA (formerly Origin) account. Likewise with MS games... No subscription is required with either. Besides, a new X-box Game Pass subscription is, in the UK at least, £1 for the first month.

I think you need to 'open Sound settings' then go to Advanced sound options...

Are you getting rid of your Gaming PC based on your experience of MS FS2020?

 

[Lesthegringo]

No, not getting rid of it, I just want to ensure it isn't compromised by the MS FS2020 installation

Thanks for the tip above, but like I said, the program hijacked the entire sound control. My master volume control should not be affected by ANY program under ANY circumstance, and for MS to be able to do so without my permission is tantamount to introducing a virus on the PC - it has essentially taken control away from the owner

Anyway, I have asked for a refund, I'll just avoid MS games in the future. I just hope that there isn't something now resident on the PC that continues to cause issues in the future, otherwise a complete wipe will be needed.

 

[blekenbleu]

My master volume control should not be affected by ANY program under ANY circumstance,

FWIW, bypassing master volume control can reduce latency and is also done by other apps.

 

[newbert]

I can't explain the sound thing, but I've had MSFS2020 since it was first published. It's been 4 years since I installed it, but I don't recall being forced to subscribe to anything. Are you sure that the paying for a subscription was mandatory?