Sad News - ACES future in Question!

[Ravang]

Glad you got your senses back Kevin...

Almost had to break out the SimV hugging team picture...

[yancovitch]

thank you kevin...that was an inspired evaluation......

[NickN]

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

Earlier today I got some dirt up the street and around the corner where the bean counters play.

The bottom line is Vista did not take off as they expected. The OEM was not much of a problem to influence home users to try and go with it but business/corps where the real money is would not touch or switch to it like they did with XP. This of course has progressed to the current path of change it, add some features to it, facelift it and most important 'rename it' job currently in production with hopes it will then be accepted.

The economy going to mud was a catalyst but the bottom line is the layoffs probably would not have come, or at least not on the scale they are at MS had Vista actually been a success like XP.

So now they are in survival mode till the storm clears.

Zune remains because they are not going to lose their comp against Apple and Search has priority in projects because they are not willing to fall back to Google who is also now under the economic pressure as well. Those two have priority over a lot of other areas. I know how important Search is as I did some work with that a few years back and they were really gearing up at that time to go after Google.

So it is what it is. If W7 flubs, it

[Wing Nut]

Glad you got your senses back Kevin...

They were never gone...

[tcco94]

I never thought the economy would be so bad they "MIGHT" leave the flight simulator.
From what I read I think they will keep it around because of everything with how people have made this game from just a game people have companys who earn money from there creations, the fan base is huge with all sorts of forums like us and va's, and of course everything you can buy from it to.
Also ive seen some navy people using fs2002 in one of my books on a ship.

I think due to how succsessful flight simulator is they will keep it around because it could boost them more if they keep it around than rather leave it.
Although its sad to hear ACES is leaving.

[Mobius]

...The bottom line is Vista did not take off as they expected...

Zune remains because they are not going to lose their comp against Apple...

So, we can pretty much blame this on Apple? :evil

I say we take down the Apple corportation brick by brick with shear physical manpower!

Although, I have taken quite a liking to my Ipod Touch, and I can play X-Plane on it...




Oh well, *stuff* happens, and it sucks that it had to happen like this, but I highly doubt this is the end of Flight Simulator and flight simulation as we know it.  There's more and more promising projects on the horizon from people other than MS. The way I see it, the economy with either pick back up again and the ACES team will be back in business, or the country is going down the tubes and we're going to have to survive with the clothes on our back and our incredible cunning and wit - or move to Canada. Maybe we'll be invaded like in "Red Dawn"...

WOLVERINES!




I'm done with my incoherent rambling, back to you Ken...

[brantmacga]

So, we can pretty much blame this on Apple? :evil

I say we take down the Apple corportation brick by brick with shear physical manpower!

we may be about to find out just what type of organization steve jobs has built, if he doesn't return.

we'll know whether it was all him or a great team he put together.



as for MSFS, i'm highly confident that if MS cancels it, we'll see it replaced by another company most likely hiring canned MS developers, or the developers will just start their own company. it shouldn't be too hard to get private investments for such a proven venture.

i've been playing since FS 4.0, and actually still have that disk (although its data has long been damaged and will no longer read). it would be tragic to see it disappear. i've got 4.0, 5.1, '98, '02, & '04. i'll probably pick up a copy of fsx in the next couple of months.


edit:

i was just thinking about the old 5.1 that had ATC. Anyone else remember that?

You basically had two options; "Request permission for take-off", and "Request permission to land".

It didn't identify airports, runways, anything. . . .

If you clicked "permission to land", It would scroll across the top of the screen; "Microsoft Flight Simulator,  requesting permission to land."

3 seconds later, "Microsoft Flight Simulator, cleared to land."

it was so awesome.  :)

[Alejandro Rhodes]

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


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.

I really like this...

[an-225]

Very good point Alrot!

I spent about $100 AUD buying all of FTX for Australia. At least, now I know that I can keep flying it, without worrying about what is coming next year. That doesn't include all the aircraft in my hangar.

[Felix/FFDS]

Guys - we are flightsim addicts....  Just think - who doesn't have a copy of some "old"  program that still runs on your current hardware (or still have that "old" computer and you still fire it up for that old game?)

Think FAlcon 4.0 ....   the original publisher went away, the community kept at it.....

The deep dark secret is that FS98, CFS, CFS2 still have their avid following  (FS98 runs great on my setup, although I can't build models for it worth a damn)


I mean, this isn't a franchise like Oldsmobile, or Plymouth.....  ;)

[Alejandro Rhodes]

Interesting I wonder who made FS9 ?

[Fozzer]

[quote]Guys - we are flightsim addicts....

[an-225]

.. not forgetting all the various, alternative Flight Sims that already occupy my Hard Drive!

Paul...with Janes Longbow? Nah, I'm just imagining.

[Fozzer]

.. not forgetting all the various, alternative Flight Sims that already occupy my Hard Drive!

Paul...with Janes Longbow? Nah, I'm just imagining.

..got 'em all... ...

..and "Gunship" for the Sinclair Spectrum 48k...!

So much fun should/may be made a criminal offence... ... ... ...!

Paul... ...!

[stevehookem]

I don't know the industry very well.

Is a million units sold since 2006 good or bad? If that's a good number, I don't understand the logic of closing the studio that's making money. Very odd.