Microsoft Flight Simulator's long installation won't block Steam refunds, Valve say
"The time it takes your machine to download the additional content will not be counted against the Steam Refund Policy"
Valve have addressed concerns about Microsoft Flight Simulator returns on Steam, after players found that simply downloading the game was racking up their playtime on the platform.
After a small 500MB download for Flight Sim's launcher, you then have to download a whopping great 90GB in-game before you can actually play it. Steam only lets you refund games you've played for less than two hours and, with some downloads taking much longer than that, the worry was that some players wouldn't be able to refund a game they hadn't even played.
Valve's vice president of marketing, Doug Lombardi, told PC Gamer: "The time it takes your machine to download the additional content will not be counted against the Steam Refund Policy."
Good news for players who want their money back, then. Judging from some the reviews on Steam, some players have been struggling with technical difficulties like crashes and all kinds of bugs. While others are put-off entirely because of how much hassle the game has been install.
Lombardi added that Valve are "working with Microsoft to see if we can improve the download experience." It is baffling to me that it makes you download such a little thing through Steam, then forces the giant installation on you when you actually open it. What an odd way to do it. Craig had a rubbish time with the experience himself, and questioned why the game didn't just let him preload the actual big bit that needed preloading.
What's worse is that the installer makes you listen to the same short music clip over and over again. Microsoft, if you're reading this, we have a few suggestions on how you could spice that up a bit.
I suppose the colossal download and annoying music is somewhat redeemed by the fact that Microsoft Flight Sim is a bit bloody good. Photorealistic cities, lovely wildlife and, well, funny terrain glitches are but a few of the sights to see.
The game also has some particularly delightful clouds. Check them out the video below:
