New Microsoft Flight Simulator ??? Opinions ?

[Jetranger]

I found this posted on another web site , kinda worth reading, I put my 10 cents in, as usual on the issue - how do the rest of you feel ??

But 1st read the Article and all the comments below the article 1st !!

Article : http://www.simflight.com/2013/07/31/petitioning-to-resume-fs11/#comment-377684

[Webb]

Microsoft doesn't give a rat's arse about this petition. It has already made the decision to end FS and a few gamers aren't going to alter that. MS fired the FS developers years ago.

It's a bit short sighted really. MS could have just released a "new and improved" (but only marginally new and improved} FS every couple of years (like Madden Football).

[Jetranger]

"Agree" with "Webb" 100% ~ !!!

As my 10 Cents stated in the post below the article, theres a serious Difference between "Gamers" and serious Flight Simulator Enthuists.

Gamers : those looking for a Quick 10 to 15 minutes of Quick Adrenline rushed fun, than move onto something else. Their really more intersteaded in Quick Fast Action Gaming, being able to Blow things up and shoot things. Theres nothing at all wrong with that , I don't feel, BUT, that's NOT what Flight Simulator is or was ever really about and doubt that it ever will be !!!

Gamers, aren't truly Intersteaded in learning ALL the Aspects and Procedures of how to properly prepare for a Flight to get from Point A to B , correctly (Airport to Airport) and in the Required proper "Appropriate Approved Airspace", and ATC Procedures, as well as ALL the proper required procedures of a Jetliner.

That's all too time consuming and Dull & Boring and wheres the ACTION at ?

Flight Simmers that are Serious on the other hand, really get into the procedures, and the Aircraft their in and they like, and picked out to Fly and seriously get into or eventually get into learing all the proper functions of getting from A to B, correctly ( Airport to Airport) and Airspaces and proper ATC Procedures etc.

Flight Simmers will take the time to learn the FMC Management, and other procedures.

I for one myself, don't mind Improvement and a better Mouse Trap, as long as its Really an "Improvement", and NOT some 1/2 assed BS, that is NOT really an Improvement, but Billed & Hyped as an Improvement just gain whatever - that being that Disasterous FLIGHT they released - with NO Virtual Cockpits, No ATC, NO other Aircrafts flying around, NO Way to Inject other Aircraft into that GAME, from other developers or currently what a user already has in their sim. No way to Inject other flight sim software into it such as FMC, NO Jetliners worth a hoot, NO Heli's and ONLY 2 states to Fly around in, and users as I understand had to PAY for Alaska !!

I can only Imagine if ya wanted all 50 states and the islands and the UK and Australia and the Orient etc, what that'd end up costing a flight simmer , not to mention what about other AI aircraft they'd have to buy to make irt like what WE already have , which is way better than what they were offering !!!

I still don't understand, what was so great about FLIGHT to some of those users
Great compared to What

what were they comparing it to ??

I'll bet the "majority" of those who felt Flight was really great, were under 25, and more of a "GAMER" than a Serious Flight Simmer, whos been around a while !

Nothing wrong with that, But coming onto a Flight Simulator platform full of Serious Flight Simmers who've been around quite a while trying to Convince the Veterans of Flight Simming that FLIGHT was really the future, were either full of themselves, hadn't been around very long, and didn't know anybetter, and were NOT seriously DEEP into Flight Simulation / Flight Simulator and Aircraft !!

Even if Microsoft did pick up and come out with some other NEW Flight Simulator , say 2 years from now - PICTURE this,, if you will, Would ALL or Any of YOUR current Aircraft and Scenery and Programs be able to be "Migrated" into the New Simulator ?

or will YOU have to and be "Expected" to have to BUY yet even more Aircraft & Scenery and programs for the NEW Sim XXX ??

Now I don't know about the rest of You, how you feel, but I've got a tad bit of money wrapped up in all this, hardware and software for my FSX GOLD / Acceleration , quite a bit of Money actually by the time I added it all up over the years.

I won't be doing it again for another Sim, I can tell ya that much !!!

that being Money $$$$$$$

NOW, lets get Serious for a moment - and talk about "HOURS" , That's the Massive Amount of time Spent setting up the Simulator, trying to perfect it to our computer systems to achieve the best possible results, with whatever computer a user has.

HOURS - more Massive amount of time getting Hardware hooked up to the simulator and programming it so it'll work , that being Rudder peddles, Flight Yokes, Track IR. Etc.

More HOURS : that being the time it takes to SURF Simivation and ALL other Flight Simulator web sites looking for the best Downloads of Aircraft, Scenery , and other programs to have in our Simulators and then WE have to Inject all that into the Sim and get it to work properly !!!

HOURS upon Hours upon Hours so many Hours we'd all be Mega Rich if we could figure out how to get paid for all those hours !

All that listed above just to get the Simulator to work with what we Want and enjoy !

Haven't even touched on any actual Flying yet ! more Hours !

Even if they do come out with a New Sim, I can betcha ya, the FILE FORMAT will flip your noggin upside down and inside out.

Just like the difference between FS2004 /FS9 and the learining curve to FSX .

File Formats : from BMP files to DDS Files who remembers that headache at the time ??

So, what'd think the New Simulator will hold in store a whole different New File format structure no doubt !

and you can bet, none of your current Aircraft and Scenery will work within the New Simulator

So to me and I'm sure a bunch of other older Flight Sim Veterans out there, who's been doing this for this last 7 to 10 years, we / they ain't likely to jump on the New Simulator Bandwagon, and Drop massive amounts of even more money just to TRY to have what they already have anyway !!

The Younger Generation, who's kinda maybe, sorta just getting into it a little, they probably aren't going to be as hardcore as some of us, and most likey aren't going to drop the kinds of money a lotta of us have for this Simulation Venue, for they have other stuff to spend their money on,, that's more enterainment for them and their Faster paced lifestyle than many of us older sim pilots.

Lets be blunt - Flight Simulator isn't exactly what ya'd call Fast paced High Action Fueled to keep a lotta of the younger generation enthused and entertained for very long really.

Flight Simulation is more of a very Laid back Slow easy going Venue that's very very time consuming and slow , NOT fast action shoot em' up Blow up everything in sight and how many points did the user Accure and how high is the users Rating ?

Frankly, I like Slow and boring flights over the South Pacific in my Lockheed Constellations from Just Flight, or flying to the South Pacific in one of my many Boring 727'S from Thomas Ruth or Captain Sim , just to sit back and relax and enjoy that 8 to 10 hour flight from the western US.

or anywhere for that matter.

But IF I can't take all my Jets and Scenery that cost me bunches over to any new simulator, then I don't want it !

[CrashII]

A new simulator? From Microsoft? Why bother? I'm still on FS9 and happy with it. FSX looks nice and all but it's really just a piece of crap. Any new FS from MS will give the same problems and troubles FSX gave and still gives. In my opinion Microsoft Flightsimulator died the moment MS dropped FSX on the market.

Better try to convince one of the payware developers like Aerosoft or another big player to start developing their own simulator. Or switch to X-Plane or give Flightgear a try.

[zswobbie1]

Sorry guys. This is sooo stupid.. it's a game that had come to the end of it's economic life. No-one abandoned us! Our simulation so so vastly different (well, mine is) by all the payware & freeware addons that are out there. Do I need Microsoft? No ways!

Flight was never geared towards us 'pro simmers' but toward the newbies that wanted to know what flying was all about. Yes, it is arcade like, but that's what it's target market was. Rejected??? No, have a look at the forums for Flight. I'm flying FS9, Flight as well as P3D. So, once again... do we need another sim? I think that we must concentrate on learning to fly properly, sharing our experiences & ideas, & maybe giving something back into the community, instead of all these demands & petitions!!!

[logjam]

Look, Microsoft gave up all rights of competition when they sold FSX to Lockheed Martin for their development of P3D. That's why they had to drop Flight. Look to Lockheed to drop P3D before any changes from MS.

[ViperPilot]

It's old news... already posted on FS Forums all over, and typically it's the same response as here.

One of the best responses was from a Member of another FS site, who posted an Open Letter to the FS Community there, essentially blaming every current user of FSX, FS 9 and FS 2002 for not embracing MS Flight!

Nothing to see, folks... now, move along.

[Steve M]

MS didn't listen to the experienced simmers when they made flight. And I didn't capitalize flight because it doesn't deserve to be capitalized. MS wanted a cash extraction 'game' like Apple and apps like Candy Crush Saga that draw you in and shut you down at level 35 unless you pay 99 cents. Bottom line is MS failed miserably and jumped ship to save their corporate asses. Mark my words.. MS will never dabble in flight sims again because the CEOs will always look at flight as a model and a path to failure. BUT THEY WOULDN'T LISTEN TO THE DEVS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THEY WOULDN"T LISTEN TO US!
Some of us look at FS9 and FSX as a game, some of us look at it as a training tool. I, personally, look at it as a serious hobby..

[logjam]

I’ve been a flight simmer since Bruce Artwick wrote FS for Apple II. Let me rephrase that, since as an air cadet I learned to fly IFR on a link trainer. So I’ve been an arm chair flyer since FS1. I graduated to FSII and Microsoft when Apple wanted to sue me for selling clones. You should have seen FS2 perform on a Hercules card.
Well, as progressive as I am, and loyal too, I am using FSX gold on my Windows 8 computer with a 27” monitor and also FS9, as I still can’t make up my mind which is best.
O yes I’ve tried “flight” and P3D and a host of others, including Combat Flight Sim 1 and 3.
I am glad I have a life too though, and Flight Simming is not my foremost hobby.
I do enjoy trying out the latest gizmo’s though, as in my day, real pilots had to have thick wrists as the only help we got was in a military transport big enough to carry “George” the good old Sperry auto pilot.
Yes, what a blessing to some is the GPS and doing GPS approaches. I guess that’s almost as good as doing a GCA with instruments shot up and a hand pump for the landing gear. Never mind, I enjoy all of the new stuff as it never ceases to amaze me what modern technology can do.
I suppose if P3D worked on my PC better, I’d use it, but for the life of me I can’t see what MS was thinking when they introduced “flight.” I guess, as others have said, it’s the pursuit of money. That’s probably why I enjoy FSX and it’s predecessors. There are more freebies available from a dedicated bunch of enthusiasts than could ever be surpassed by these other rip offs.

[MASABI TROOPER]

Well, flying every day and totally happy with FSX...............now regarding to buy Prepare3d for 199 USD................i think its a good option that works with FSX.

Regards

[OldAirmail]

....
I guess, as others have said, it’s the pursuit of money. ...

As an extraordinarily minor employee (lets just say that you'd need an electron microscope to see me) of a FORTUNE 500 (actually in the 250 range) I can testify that the head honchos at the top rarely show so the intelligence needed for the "pursuit of money".

I've seen companies bought and projects started simply because someone at the top needed something to do. After all, they have to look like they're doing something to do to keep being paid as much as they are paid.


Let me ask everyone, "Did Microsoft Flight Flight really make any sense?"

There was virtually no compatibility with flight sim add-on hardware. And no plan that I ever heard of to correct that.
If you wanted more planes, or a particular plane, you had to hope that MS would produce it so you could buy it. Non-MS companies were locked out of that.
To get off the island you had to pay for each bit of the world. That's IF MS decided to make, and sell, other parts of the world. Again, non-MS companies were locked out of that too.


I understand that the people, and companies, in the flight sim business with any access to the pre-release versions had to sign non-disclosure contracts. But what mystifies me is that no one let slip how stupid the MS Flight business plan was going to be, and how the flight sim enthusiast community was going to be let down.


When MS Flight first opened for business I was one of the first to download it. Half an hour later I shut it down. Over the next 2 days I searched everything that I could, to see if I were missing the really important details.

I probably played with it for about half an hour more before uninstalling it. It was like a child dead at birth.

[Jetranger]

Agree 110% with Old Air Mail !

But, I believe a lotta of the So-called Positive comments that were posted in regards to FLIGHT , were coming from those under 25 yrs.old or young kids between 13 and 17, who never ever seriously really got into the True Flight Simulation of either 2004/FSX, because it is ,,,, well kinda slow for them Gaming Types, who just want instant action at the press of a button, and really don't get into downloading Aircraft like we have and then Tweaking them, repainting them, and editing the CFG Files.

It is a serious Hobby, "unlike" normal typical everyday gaming !

How FLIGHT could ever be considered a decent or good whatever,, is beyond me !

Compared to What ??????????????????????????????

What WE already have, which is way better than anything FLIGHT offered !

Again, compared to What ???

[logjam]

I agree with Mike when he said it's a serious hobby for him. Jetranger, you are right too. The younger set don't seem to have hobbies any more. Don't they put models together? I guess their imagination stops inside a computer chip. Kids don't play with cardboard boxes, they have a smart phone, perhaps they have an app to give them mothers milk too. I guess its up to the older and mature to keep this thing alive.

[Jetranger]

I've seriously pondered just how much longer much of this will really last, when we are all getting older and eventually won't be involved in this anymore, for all kinds of reasons, from old age, to events that
ll keep us from being in it,, number of reasons.

Some, we've already lost, already both simmers and developers !

My hunch is bout' 5 years from now, 2018 probably gonna see a huge fall off.

especially as new simulation and gaming venues and technology enter the markets that are better, and for some offer Action, to keep them more entertained.

Just taking a nice jetliner or prop from Point A to Point B,, won't be to thrilling for some.

Hobbies ??

When I was a young kid, I was into building model trucks and working on Real Engines, and hangin out at the Drag Strip every week-end !!

Todays younger generation - their into pushing buttons on just about anything.

Wanna em' to check the oil & Coolant

wheres the Button for that at ?

Dunno' different era were livin in, in some ways its Kinda Good, other ways Not so Good !!

[Bass]

Dont be that sad, Jet...
Times are changing, very FAST

As long as we oldies got what we want, it should be ok!

What they (youngs) want, is another game! Pushing a button and shoot down the "neighbour pc"! Speed that is, then raise arms and shout "you're dead"!!!!!