What we wish: Online

[Travis]

Boikat, I'm referring to how outdated some of the concepts for designing in FS right now are.  They rely on ideas that should have been left behind in FS9, but instead were ported over to FSX without too much thought as to how it affects the users.  For instance, if we had been given the opportunity to use Python scripting in FS9, the systems would have run smoother and you wouldn't have to deal with some aircraft having choppy gauges in the VC.  And the entire creation of panels and interiors, as well as switching them around, could have been solved years ago with some rewriting of the way things work in FS.  VTOL could have been truly simulated (as is the case with X-Plane) instead of emmulated if the designers hadn't stuck with the same old methods of doing things.

A complete rewrite of all the coding is necessary to move forward.  Any legacy software should be junked.  Just my opinion.

[Boikat]

That's all fine and dandy, but I still do not see how someone wanting to fly an FSX aircraft in MSFlight places any restriction on a designer.  Again, I'm not using "backwards compatible" to mean MSFlight aircraft should be flyable in FSX.

[Travis]

Yes, I understand that.  What I'm referring to is that the modeling system of FS8-FS9-FSX is outmoded and needs to be replaced with something a little more efficient, since other software and game platforms have come along in the past ten years to fix some of the issues inherent with the MDL system setup.  Errors that, once fixed, free up a load of system resources for things like scenery and other computations.

Backwards-compatible to me has always meant that the most current sim is able to incorporate older models and methods.

[BrandonF]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't care if FSX add-ons aren't compatible with flight. The MDL system is old. I agree with Travis.

8-)

[Hagar]

[quote]Yes, I understand that.

[Capt.Propwash]

I am totally for the Online / Offline as it is set in 2004 (FS9).

I am 1 Trillion % AGAINST Gamespy.  Ever since Gamespy took over from MSNZone, the multiplay function has gone to total dog $#!T !!!   


My personal Opinion on matters, is such that MICRO$OFT had the PERFECT set up with FS9 (2004), all that it really needed to be even better, was newer scenery.  While the scenery was good, lets take a look at some of the 3rd party software that made it better... Ultimate Terrain, REX2004, FSGenesis to name a few.  Had MS put their thoughts really into FSX, and just improved on the FS9 Scenery, they would have had their MS "FLIGHT" in FSX. 

The Scenery in Flight looks amazing.  Now all they need (in my opinion) is to go OLD SCHOOL with the Settings and Multiplayer Connections, and Keep the new scenery.  Then again, I would love to see MS Flight use NOTHING BUT space shuttle telemetry (STRM? DATA) and Photorealisitc.  Not to mention REX or HDE Clouds.   

If we demand them to make THE BEST 'un-simulator' possible, then it should have nothing but the absolute best materials on the market put in to it.  If you want it to look and feel real, then use PHOTOREALISTIC on EVERYTHING.




oh, and make it DX9 "and" DX10 compatible (for those of us with crappy 10yr old computers  [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

[Dickert]

Hi

Don't know what GameSpy is but if it is something to do with online/offline - we need to be able to play the game off line simply from the point of internet connection reliability.

[BrandonF]

Don't know what GameSpy is but if it is something to do with online/offline

Gamespy is the multiplayer server for FSX. Most don't call it a server; they call it "crap."  Basically, you randomly get logged off, it is unreliable, and just not easy to use. Hopefully since LIVE is being used in Flight, multiplayer will be much more enjoyable.

8-)

[Travis]

Well, I guess we're merging threads, here!   At any rate, Harold:

If (and that's a big hopeful!) the MDL system gets trashed, you probably won't be able to use the same part names, and possibly even the same design program, as the FS series.  What will probably happen is that you will end up with a new set of equally complex and boggling names that defy logic, but in 6 months you'll have a complete working knowledge of each part and what they're meant for.

As for the personal avatars: why would you want to wander around the scenery in a sim?  Have you ever taken a "walk" in FS?  Get in a small aircraft (Cessna or the like) and enter slew mode.  Press the up arrow on your keyboard once and sit back.  Pretty damn uneventful, even with full sliders.  If we want that, we can always create a player craft with a small person and get in that.  After all, with enough scripting, we could get that person to "walk" around.

[Boikat]

A similar theme of a simulated world was brought up in the old FSXI thread, IIRC. A highly detailed "Earth" where verious sims could run at the same time, such as "Trains" and "Flight", along with ground vehicles and ships, with people being a nice touch.  It's a great concept, but then again, MS is aiming at a "Flight simulator", even if they dropped "simulator" from the title, so I think that is where their focus will remain.  Ten years from now, who knows?

Personally, I like the idea of a simulated "walk, drive, fly or sail" virtual world.

[Boikat]

Harold wrote..

And - how about Walking people...
Another thing I have thought about are some of the online multi player games/chat environments like Second Life, There, Kaneva.  In those, your avatar can walk around, but it is in a made up world.  How cool would it be to be able to load a Human avatar into an actual globe such as is available in Google Earth, or in Flight Sim.  If that globe where Flight Sim, a human avatar would see us fly over head, or we should be able to see them on the ground.  The Trains game could use the same environment so we would also see each other.  I could imagine my Human Avatar walking up to an aircraft, train, car, or boat, getting in and going and exploring the world, then getting out and walking around.

That may be too elaborate for current technology, but shouldn't be too far off.  But, avatar wise, it would be great to have a personal avatar, ans some generics for the GA aircraft, at least.  Recently, I've been knocking about in Brent Henderson's C177RG, nice aircraft, but no pilot in the pilot seat.  Not that that is a "bad thing", since there are a ot of add-ons like that.  Now, imagine a drop-down menu that you can choose to add pilot's and passengers to a small GA aircraft (or the flight deck of a comercial airliner). 

Now, since they would be "textured" in some manner, like they are currently, it would not be too hard to pick one and "Put Your Face Here". and I'm sure it can be done without having to pull and stretch the image. 

Then there's the two "babadings" in the Wilga that ...    Never mine...

But, back to the point, The walk-around avatar, I do not see happening, but I like the idea.  Besides, they'd be great for the "adventure" style missions. 

Imagine landing your Kingair 200 on an abandoned airstrip on a tropical island off Cost Rica, looking for a small band of lost biologists.  You see what's left of their aircraft.  It's not crashed, it's shredded. You hear a noise echoing through the lush jungles surounding the airstrip.   Noises rhat have not heard in over 65 million years....  Sounds like a plot to a movie.

[Capt.Propwash]

Well, I guess we're merging threads, here!   At any rate, Harold:

If (and that's a big hopeful!) the MDL system gets trashed, you probably won't be able to use the same part names, and possibly even the same design program, as the FS series.  What will probably happen is that you will end up with a new set of equally complex and boggling names that defy logic, but in 6 months you'll have a complete working knowledge of each part and what they're meant for.

As for the personal avatars: why would you want to wander around the scenery in a sim?  Have you ever taken a "walk" in FS?  Get in a small aircraft (Cessna or the like) and enter slew mode.  Press the up arrow on your keyboard once and sit back.  Pretty damn uneventful, even with full sliders.  If we want that, we can always create a player craft with a small person and get in that.  After all, with enough scripting, we could get that person to "walk" around. 

[quote]A similar theme of a simulated world was brought up in the old FSXI thread, IIRC. A highly detailed "Earth" where verious sims could run at the same time, such as "Trains" and "Flight", along with ground vehicles and ships, with people being a nice touch.

[JBaymore]

I would like to make sure that it automatically injects the online multiplayer aircraft data into the TSCAS table so that external gauges can see the locations of the multiplayer aircraft on stuff like radar displays, just like you can with the AI in the non multiplayer modes.

best,

..........john

[ApplePie]

My biggest wish is that they fix all of that port opening malarkey and make flying online a one click deal.

[Travis]

More than likely, if they require you to have an internet connection to play (gods forbid!) they'll make it as easy as possible.  And if they have a client system (like Half Life with Steam) the connecting and routing will all be done for you by the program.  So I wouldn't worry about it too much.