Like what I see, no Vista required, clouds and weather look great.  Cant wait!  Todd

That's nice that rivets will now be shaded ::)

....But it doesn't mention improvements in the weather and ATC engines, flight dynamics, or the flight environment :-/

wrote on Jan 4^th, 2006 at 10:14pm:

....But it doesn't mention improvements in the weather and ATC engines, flight dynamics, or the flight environment :-/

Agreed.  I am kind of worried about that.  I hope that at least MS will leave the ATC engine open so that 3rd party developers can improve ATC.

For the flight environment, look at the screenshots, they are quite good in my opinion.  And remember, this is really the first "official" announcement, so they're probably not going to tell everything right away.  I doubt they would release the next product in a series without updating anything, they probably aren't just rereleasing FS9 and calling it FSX. ;) :)

I suggest everyone visit Pixelpoke's blog:

http://blogs.technet.com/pixelpoke/

and read what he says about when the images were taken and the fact that what you see is "a work in progress".

Cal (CYXX)

wrote on Jan 4^th, 2006 at 10:46pm:

For the flight environment, look at the screenshots, they are quite good in my opinion.

I meant in general, but the screenshots don't tell us everything ;)

Personally I can live with the various nuances that come with new software. I dont expect perfectly peachy ATC, weather, graphics etc, but instead a foundation that freeware and payware devs can get their claws into to make some stunning addons like they have with FS9.

I dont know too many people that still fly default everything in FS9 and dont expect it in FSX either.

Yay! Finally we know something OFFICIAL about the next MS Flight Simulator.

Seems they added an active environment (Flock of birds in one of the screenshots) So I wonder if birdstrikes can occurr?!  ;) I have to say that FS2004 can still be heavy going on some systems, so FSX will need a pretty good system to run it in all its glory.

This sounds good:
For the more gameplay minded, we are adding a new mission-based element to give fans a more objective driven experience with a sense of progression and skill development.

Looking forward to it's release! ;D  

wrote on Jan 5^th, 2006 at 8:51am:

This sounds good: For the more gameplay minded, we are adding a new mission-based element to give fans a more objective driven experience with a sense of progression and skill development.

I am sure that they have been watching the add-on market and see the success of stuff like "FSPassengers".  

Wonder what the MSRP will be?   ;)


best,

...john

wrote on Jan 4^th, 2006 at 10:14pm:

That's nice that rivets will now be shaded ::) ....But it doesn't mention improvements in the weather and ATC engines, flight dynamics, or the flight environment :-/

Indeed, all the improvements this previews are talking about are graphics and planes.  Nothing said about the real flying stuff like REALISTIC ATC, - weather and - flight dynamics.

But maybe later we'll hear more about that :)

The screenshot slook very very interesting!

Probably no need for W&F anymore

A beaver or something alike will be included? ;D

What a shame... :'(...!

None of the screen shots showed an example a Piper Cub parked in a field with  it's wheels buried in "real" grass ...!

We General Aviation pilots spend a lot of our time on or near the ground, and I'm still waiting to see if Microsoft can come up with examples of realistic-looking, (feeling?), ground textures; vegetation, grass, mud, sand, etc.... 8)...!

The screen shots look very nice at high altitude....but what are they like very close to the ground...?

Cheers all...!

Paul...skimming the tree-tops... ;)... ;D...!

They havn't given away much on their choice of planes in the screenshots, most of the ones in the screenshots are the same as the fs9 ones (with the exception of the microlight) so will they be releasing cool new planes or just using updated fs9 ones again?  

If you had to choose, which would you rather have?

1) The new FSX with all new eye candy and the familiar ATC and weather transitions or

2) Improved FS9 that was stabile, with better ATC, smoother weather transitions, and just a host of other small glitches and problems that have been identified fixed.

Even though I am thrilled with the new FSX, if they dont address the areas that are the weakest now, I will be disappointed.  I think MS should release upgrades, even if I have to pay for them, every six months or so, that works on specific areas of the sim that need improvement, and then they could upgrade things as technology improves.  That way if you want to upgrade fine, if not you fly with what you have.  I think it would be an interesting way of doing things and could keep us fans continuing anticipating further improvements.  Todd

I'm less excited about the new eye candy than I am about such possibilities as: proper flight dynamics (especially varying runway surfaces and proper wind drift, instead of the stupid weathervaning I often get, even with trikes), somewhat more interactive ATC (wish I could call Flight Watch, open/close a VFR flight plan, or declare an emergency), compass roses on VORs in the Map (wouldn't that be handy?), etc...
Nothing against eye candy, but birds?! I like to watch birds from the ground. I don't  like to see them in flight, especially when they're close enough to see their eyes...  :o
 But if FS10 can generate the occasional whale, polar bear, or wolf pack, I might get it just so I can see that from the air. Actually, Africa could be very interesting in this regard...

i agree with fozzer...............

I'm hoping that they invest in some actors, so for example if I fly in England, I get an English voice (not just one - two or three would be nice), if I fly in France, a french accent, Germany a German one, etc etc. To be fair  it wouldn't be difficult to do...

OK let's comment on what iv'e seen so far.

- Some added effects like Overbright, sunrays, wet tarmac
- Better autogen that looks like the real world out of the box
- Still the same uphill rivers once in a while. Roads seem to fit in better though
- A B747-400 that will be changed in a B747-800
- A Seattle shot that anyone with a good landclass and coastline package already has on FS2004
- More dense autogen (not new either)
- Water that has some reflections from the scenery in it... highly needed
- An ultralight
- The result of loads of complaints from angry Australians (Ayers rock looks a little better)
- Birds
- A DHC-2 beaver

OK which of these changes is really important
Birds, better water, better autogen.
What will be needed by the simmer: all the above with decent framerates... MS, start getting a realistic view on gaming and get rid of all the FS98 legacy display code that is still more dependent on CPU cycles than 3D power