Sad News - ACES future in Question!

[usapatriot]

This is bad news.  :'(

I can't believe MS has stopped development on the FS series. I've been a dedicated player since FS2002.

And all those amazing people who lost their jobs, I guess Phil Taylor saw it coming early.  :'(

This just sucks, totally sucks.

[pete]

[quote]This is bad news.

[NickN]

The only thing that is known for sure right now is that Microsoft has made serious cuts and it would appear that the people at Aces have been eliminated from the budget.

As for the disposition of future projects... That has yet to be announced. I would be very cautious about reading into things that may be posted on the net and unless what you read is referenced back to a Microsoft source news release that what you see posted may be nothing but a rumor.

Anything is possible and just because the entertainment division has been sliced down does not mean future projects are completely canceled until officially announced by Microsoft. They can sub contract the work out and/or reorganize at a later date however there were some deep cuts in other gaming companies this last week so I think what we are seeing is a reflection on the current economy and the fact that MS stock has lost 50% of its value over the last year, a reflection of the current economy. The company has gone into survival mode.

My heart does go out to the team and their families during this time.


Until MS officially announces what they will be doing with future projects we have FSX to build on and that will continue without interruption.

The best support we can show for the MSFS franchise is that the community will not let it die. As long as a large company like Microsoft sees a market potential for a future product through a strong show of continued use and support I do not think the MSFS product will die.



FSX and the potential for adding on to it has a shelf life of at least another 4-5 years. A lot can happen between now and then.

[pete]

FSX and the potential for adding on to it has a shelf life of at least another 4-5 years. A lot can happen between now and then

My sentiments entirely.

Flight Simulator is alive, more popular and healthier than ever.

The future of the FS franchise is always unknown. I am sure it will reconvene and development of the next edition will restart sooner or later.

[NickN]

FSX and the potential for adding on to it has a shelf life of at least another 4-5 years. A lot can happen between now and then

My sentiments entirely.

Flight Simulator is alive, more popular and healthier than ever.

The future of the FS franchise is always unknown. I am sure it will reconvene and development of the next edition will restart sooner or later.

[Al_Fallujah]

I had actually never heard of ESP before I read this thread.. shows how much I pay attention to such things.

[pepper_airborne]

[quote]I had actually never heard of ESP before I read this thread.. shows how much I pay attention to such things.

[Ang2dogs]

Like Pete says,

Flight Simulator is alive, more popular and healthier than ever.

[quote]FS is a VERY successful PC program with a long way to go.

[SuperMonkey]

FSX IS OVER?!!???!?!?!?

[NickN]

FSX IS OVER?!!???!?!?!?

Ok.. slow down

Development on FSX closed with SP2/Acceleration there wll be no further development on the FSX title

FS11 and other games Aces were working on are not 'done' as Microsoft has not released anything official about their disposition.

What has happened is Microsoft has been force to cut back due to the economy but that does not mean their current projects are canceled forever unless MS releases something to that effect.

FSX will continue to be a strong product for years to come just as FS9 is still going strong. The community is not going to stop making addons because MS had to place things on hold.

[NickN]

OK more news


Trains is more than likely DEAD

HOWEVER... Microsoft has released this statement about FLIGHT SIMULATOR

Does this mean the end of the Flight Simulator franchise? According to Rericha, "We are committed to the Flight Simulator franchise which has proven to be a successful PC based game for the last 27 years. You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time."

http://pc.ign.com/articles/947/947737p1.html

http://www.futuregpu.org/2009/01/end-of ... t-sim.html


They did not specifically say FS11 just 'flight games' so at this point it is possible MSFS is still alive and kicking for MS

Given the fact this game is a cornerstone product since the early days of Microsoft it looks like they may hold on to it




So all hope is not lost

[HarvesteR]

FSX IS OVER?!!???!?!?!?

i don't see why this is so alarming... it's like saying FS9 is over  ::) the development of it that is...

this only means that there will be no more updates for FSX, and that all efforts are bent on new products (such as FS11)

the only lingering question now is how long will it be before we see this new iteration of FS

apart from that, the FS community will keep it alive and ever-growing with new addons

so there is no reason to fret. might even give us designers more time to learn the ins and outs of the SDK and make for some truly incredible addons, before the new iteration washes all our knowledge out again  ;)

Cheers

[Wing Nut]

Basically, it's going to be a case of sit back and wait for the reboot...

It may be a while but as I said before, a new vision of FS could be just what FS needs.

[Fr. Bill]

this only means that there will be no more updates for FSX, and that all efforts are bent on new products (such as FS11)

There were six folks who weren't RIFfed yesterday. They are only there to clean up some lingering work, tidy up the files, burn stuff to DVDs and...

...turn out the lights when they're done.

It may well be that after a year or two, another studio team might be formed to pick up where the former ACES folks left off.

We can live in hope!

And, join here, as there's strength in numbers:

Join the 100.000 Flight Simulator Fans here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59637588200

[Fly2e]

Glad you got your senses back Kevin...