Microsoft Flight Press Release and New Images

[Steve M]

Kind of a bummer I think. I'll try the free stuff, but unless my hair is blowing in the wind and bugs are hitting my goggles, I won't be buying any real estate.


Edit: I mean no malice towards the developers, they have to go where they are pushed. It's life in a publicly traded private business.

[machineman9]

So I read that:
"The initial package will be free and it will contain the largest of the Hawaiian islands and the Icon A5(...)The scenery, plane and mission expansions will be bought as DLC"

So I guess no freeware development, thus no "Flight" section on simviation downloads...


And you know what? I couldn't care less! FSX full speed ahead!

I'd imagine that you only have to purchase the official DLC. That would be like buying FSX: Acceleration, but only if you wanted it. I can actually see it being more profitable for them. Imagine if a new plane or mission was 50 pence up to a quid... You'd just pay and forget about it, and steadily you spend enough money... But in such small increments that you're never really out of pocket.

The FS community is too heavily based on user created data, they can't justify getting rid of it. I imagine we'll be able to get user aeroplanes, scenery, missions, textures, the lot. Microsoft will just sell us their updates as and when we want them.

[Xpand]

I highly doubt that since MS has the recurrent attitude of closing their eyes and hears and singing "I know better" instead of paying attention to what is really happening with their products. And plus, if freeware is possible in FLIGHT then me and some guys just would make the whole world scenery and release it for free! What I guess is going to happen with the SDK is that MS will select some payware companies to work with them. And I'm sure those companies will have to pay a fortune to get their hands on the SDK...

[Steve M]

I highly doubt that since MS has the recurrent attitude of closing their eyes and hears and singing "I know better" instead of paying attention to what is really happening with their products. And plus, if freeware is possible in FLIGHT then me and some guys just would make the whole world scenery and release it for free! What I guess is going to happen with the SDK is that MS will select some payware companies to work with them. And I'm sure those companies will have to pay a fortune to get their hands on the SDK...

And ironically MS is STILL making money off of FSX and FS9.

[Razgriz]

although I have not tried the game and I am open to changes I feel it is necessary to quote the first Spider man Movie and that they should "go back to formula". I have notice increasingly that games that have for a long time have been the pinnacle of the aviation genre have been changing there styles for less then spectacular results.( Ace Combat is the first one that comes to mind) I hope that this game doesn't go down the same path

[Dave71K]

although I have not tried the game and I am open to changes I feel it is necessary to quote the first Spider man Movie and that they should "go back to formula". I have notice increasingly that games that have for a long time have been the pinnacle of the aviation genre have been changing there styles for less then spectacular results.( Ace Combat is the first one that comes to mind) I hope that this game doesn't go down the same path

I couldn't agree more!

Ace Combat is the perfect example. Ace combat 1 to 5 were all brilliant if not a bit to similar but 6 was a joke full of stupid gimmicks designed to appeal to the average 'gamer' and Hawx was just a joke.

[jime59]

Now I see why they took out the word Simulator. It looks like they're going the Game route. Disappointed to say the least but I'll wait to pass judgement on their final product.

[Jetranger]

I Won't be buying into the new Microsoft Flight Simulator, I remember all the Hoopla and Promotion for "FSX", long before it ever was released and how much better it was going to be than FS-2004 or 2002 pro - only to find out to my Amazement FSX Gold Acceleration Edition - a lot or most of the Scenery ( Aircraft Hangers & Buildings & Bridges) totally absolutely "Sucked" !  Whoevers idea it was to "Inject" Painted doors on almost all 90% of the Aircraft Hangers should be strung up & hung !!!  Why was there very few if Any Sea plane harbors & docks ?  Another thing I definetly noticed in about 80% of all the "Regional Airports", is the total lack of anything around the Airport , and what is there , is Child Like looking, many of the Hangers & buildings are situated facing the wrong way - some even smack right in the runway, Hanger doors facing the wrong direction poor runway lighting and poor runway textures - and some of the Aircraft that came out with FSX were a total Joke , they totally ruined the Cessna 172, with lousy paint schemes and taking off the wheel pan farings. The only decent aircraft in FSX really was the Dehavilland Beaver dh3,, most of their jets were awful I had way better looking Jets and Graphics in my 2002 Pro edition back at that time , and it even looked better than 2004 century of Flight.  With all the Add On's available now for FSX ( ORBX- Feelthere - Fly Tampa ) - and a host of others that are top Quality Add On's - I'll be sticking with my "FSX GOLD EDITION" for many many years to come, I as well as most Flight Simmers now have way too much money Invested in Payware Add On's for FSX to just jump the boat for some Disasterous new Flight Sim from Microsoft, and if their Scenery isn't any better than what I've seen so far - I definetly will NOT be switching to Flight anytime ever !   One last thought directed to Microsoft Flights G.M. - I don't know who the Flight Sim Team there at MS hires - but evidently in the years past anyway, they had to hire some fairly Clueless  Kids to work on their scenery files from what I've seen in FSX - especially all those buildings at the airports situtated the wrong way pointing every which direction, some actually sitting on the runways, Fuel Boxes sitting behind buildings , and all the Many Many Aircraft Hangers with stupid looking painted doors - and no worthwhile interior - ( so much for good Screen shots). Just today I was at a large size Regional Airport in Florida in FSX, and I noticed this building with a very detailed """" Fire Escape"""" - now whoever decided to put that much detail into a Buildings Fire escape , than why couldn't the Flight Sim Development Team put that much effort into the Hangers and runways in FSX ? ( duh~ duh~ duh ~ !!!! ). All I can say is Thank God for "ORBX" and the rest of the decent Quality Aircraft & Scenery Developers out there , otherwise I would of dropped this Flight Sim out of my computer long time ago ~ !!  I'm sticking with what I got so far, with FSX and all the add on's i've got, which is probably going to be way better than than this new FLIGHT anyway ! I'm just wondering now - what type of FILE FORMAT are they going to use with this new FLIGHT ??  Are they going to keep the DSS File format for Aircraft Textures and scenery Textures or throw some odd bull crap at everybody again like they did with FSX with the DSS file structure , and I can see why they  did it to save space and smaller file sizes, but their awfully hard to work with sometimes even using the DXT File converter to repaint some of the aircraft. Anyway I'm sticking with FSX for years to come ~ !  8-) 8-)

[ozzy72]

I think guys you have to consider how MS are seeing things, games make a LOT more money than simulators. Alas the truth of the matter is that companies exist to make money and provide jobs, so they're going to go with what puts coins in the coffer.
Personally I think that Flight is an interesting change of direction for MS and from what Pete has told us down in the dungeon the team behind it are deeply passionate about what they're doing and simming.
Perhaps we need to take a long hard look at the world around us. Personally I won't be taking FS9 or FSX off any of my rigs anytime soon. But then I'm a deeply serious simmer, the majority of people are not.
On the flip side this will hopefully bring in a lot of new blood to the FS community and that is never a bad thing, maybe people who had never been interested in FS will try Flight, love it and then get into FS and become the next Rick Piper or Alrot! So I wouldn't go screaming about things and busying yourself with dissing something you've not even tried.
Personally I'm going to keep an open mind to Flight and see what happens. I find it odd they've made it such a restricted platform compared to FS when it comes to development but maybe this modular system is the way forward.
I remember when I first started using X-Plane (v6) and there was a lot of freeware development going on but nowadays it is nearly all payware. I guess people just want to get paid for their labours.
This is why Pete is such an ardent supporter of freeware developers and has championed them so many times. I think MS will be watching all these FS forums and it is possible they'll start making SDKs for Flight and releasing them if their modular purchase system isn't working. They too live in the real world and I don't think they want Flight to go the way CFS3 did...

[Daube]

The OrbX guys are making it very clear:
http://forum.avsim.net/topic/358739-sin ... f-the-bag/

The future of Flight Simulator is P3D.

[ArcticFox]

Wow microsoft... great job on not understanding what flight simmers want. The main attraction of MSFS has always been to fly anywhere, anytime.

Heck just looking at youtube vids and screens it's obvious people mainly fly two types:
- Airliners on everything from regional to ultra-long-haul (I myself am a proud Paris to Tahiti flyer)
- Smaller aircraft exploring diverse areas around the planet from Tahiti to Alaska to the Himalayas and so on

I am not going to be leaking money just to kind of/maybe/sometime in the future be able to play FS "normally".
I'm not even sorry microsoft: you're a bunch of greedy f***tards.

Christ how hard would it have been to just release it as a whole planet experience and then let third party people add pay- and freeware?

If I ever switch from FSX it'll be X-Plane for sure

[Xpand]

In that ORBX post:
"MS don't know what they have in the FSX engine source code, or they would not have licensed it to LM. It is by far the most capable and impressive 3D far-horizon engine ever coded - bar none. Nothing, even in 2012 comes close to the number of pixels and terrain the FSX engine can push at a locked 60Hz."

So yeah, FSX still hasn't reached its max capabilities with current add-ons... Something tells me it will be the legendary version of the series and it's going to stick around for years to come..

[krigl]

I've just bought a new quad core with 8gb ram etc etc and I still can't 'max out' 5 year old FSX. Orbx have just got into their stride and not just them - I consider this excellent news. People can get on with enjoying and developing FSX properly - and those who hunger for the newest newest newest can move to competitor's products for their fix.

[ArcticFox]

I consider this excellent news. People can get on with enjoying and developing FSX properly

I didn't get REX on the christmas sale because I was waiting for flight... 

But yeah, from now on it's obvious I might as well invest in FSX for the flight sim experience I want.

[pfevrier]

So very disappointed today. I've kept silent about the MS debate for a while, just thinking "okay, just give it time, let's not bash it before I get my hands on it." But today I feel like Microsoft stabbed me in the back... MS decided to kill their flight sim department not so long ago. We, loyal fans, kept it going by downloading freeware and buying payware just to keep FSX breathing. We could have just jumped ship to X-plane and never come back... When MS announced Flight I was thrilled that they had come back to the flight sim community. I was also hoping that our loyalty would be rewarded and that all the payware we bought would somehow be transferable to the new platform. From MS' announcement, this Flight game sounds like a locked deal where only MS can make money, and keep everyone on a leash. Thanks for nothing MS, it's not like we've invested hundred of dollars if not more to keep FSX floating and improving... Thanks for supporting your customers, your community, oh wait, thanks for nothing! A product that comes with one island, two planes?! WTF!? Really? Was the hype really worth THAT?!  >:( >:(
I will download Flight, I will try it out, but I will not support it. I will stick to my guns and stay true to all the wonderful third-party developers, freeware and payware, that improved FSX and kept it floating.

Signed - A disgruntled flight simmer... -