Hi,

I haven't been on here for a very very long time and am surprised my account is still active.

Anyway I just wondered if anyone could tell me why it is that Microsoft don't try bringing together some of the elements from the CFS series into the Flight sim products. I know from doing some exploring that some of the structure of the games are similar however several things are missing which could prove useful when flying in FS. For example damage to aircraft.

I know that there are several add-ons for FS2002 and I assume FS2004 which give you the ability to drop weapons and similar things, however this is still only a effect and has no other value. What if Microsoft started adding the possibility for real weapon, aircraft damage and other features from CFS, wouldn't this make the Flight sim series even more 'as real as it gets'?

I know there are the people who might say that it would encourage people to do things which they might try and replicate in the real world (i.e. 9/11 which I still don't believe they did),  but imagine how good it would be especially with all the other brilliant features found in the products already.

I am not saying that CFS doesn't have a place, but no matter how much I play it there never seems to be that feeling that you are playing a simulation. More of an arcade game, but if your actions had an effect on the sim world then you might actually have somthing.

Sorry about the length, but I had to make up for lost time!

Andy

Hi Andy...!
I have FS '98, FS 2000, FS 2002 and FS 2004, and CFS 2.
CFS 2 has always been an "Arcade" game for me. Whereas the FS series of programs have always been aimed at private and commercial aircraft flights, where "damage" , and the carrying of "offensive weapons", ie: guns, bombs, etc, has to be avoided all all costs.... ...!

The FS series and CFS series are aimed at totally different types of flying... thank goodness......!
...(and amusement).... ...!

Cheers...
Paul
(England).

Quote:


Hi Hagar... ...!
Being the normal, quiet, "laid back", sort of chap that I am, the only time I get the urge to use "offensive weapons", ie: CFS 2,  is dealing with next-doors cat part way through devouring the sparrows feeding on my lawn.... ...!
Apart from that, chuffin' around in my ltttle Piper Cub and Cessna 152 will do me fine... 8)...!
...thank-you very much... ...!

LOL...LOL...LOL...!

Cheers Doug... ...!
Paul.
(Hereford).

P.S. I can't cope with all this shooting at pixels "stuff" on CFS 2.... ...!
(I always miss, and die, anyway...).... ...!
Life is too short... ...!

LOL...LOL...LOL...!

After chuffin' around in my little vintage planes in FS2002 it still makes me jump when I apply the brakes & the guns go off instead. What the........? ???
Who's stupid idea was it to assign the trigger to the brakes anyway?

Somehow it's not quite the same. LOL

Quote:


Dear Oh flippin' dear....
That has reduced me to un-controlable laughter....LOL...LOL...LOL...!
I know exactly what you mean... ...!
The very thought of peppering the Boeing 747 passenger jet, landing just in front of me, with a volley of .303's is quite frightening as I taxi to the take-off point in my '152, and apply the brakes...in FS 2002... ...!
LOL...LOL...LOL...!

Cheers all...!
Paul.
(England).

Who needs dogfights and blazing guns? I am much more excited about trans-Atlantic hauls in a wide body. 

While I do understand where andrew_morley is coming from, I would like to point out the one MAJOR reason I am glad that the two are not combined.
I almost exclusively fly online now and find it very frustrating that I have to deal with immature brats (not just kids but some adults as well) that just have to go around and run into everyone they can. I fly with full realism. Disableing the crash effects for this reason just drives me nuts. Now someone is going to be able to shot at me, I think not! For this reason alone I have to say that makeing the two products into one is the WORST idea I have heard in a long time.
Nothing personal Andy its just my 2 cents.

Kevin

Quote:

LOL I'm certainly no youngster & have the exact opposite opinion. You picked the wrong version of CFS to try. There is a lot more to it than flying missions & getting shot down. CFS3 is a completely new concept that bears as much relationship to the traditional FS/CFS series that I love as the 100s of other arcade-style games filling the shelves in my local software store. There is no place for it on my machine.

I can think of nothing more boring & mind-numbing than flying acoss the Atlantic (in real time) on autopilot. Some people even ask if it's possible to land automatically too.
Please note I'm not accusing RollerBall or Fozzer of doing this but from what I read here this is what I gather so many people use FS for. We all get our kicks in different ways & there's nothing wrong with that. Any of the M$ sims can be modified into what you want it to be - which is what makes the FS series so fascinating for me.

There was always a snobbish element in the FS community that considered CFS just a stupid game & the people who liked it mindless idiots. I think that's their loss - not mine. I do enjoy blowing things up occasionally (who doesn't?) but mainly concern myself with the development side of things. With the right attitude, each new sim - whether FS or CFS - would have continued the ongoing development & we would all be working towards the same end instead of from opposite directions. CFS1 was my fiirst M$ sim. When I eventually tried FS98 (released before CFS1) I could see the vast improvement that had been made in a few months & the potential for the next civil version.

Unfortunately M$ missed the opportunity & went off on a tangent - as usual. We ended up with FS2000 which seemed a backward step to me. I always thought that the M$ developers missed a lot by not using elements of CFS in FS & vice versa. For example, the AI Traffic that made FS2002 so fascinating for me is basically the same as the AI aircraft used in CFS1 back in 1998 (& every CFS since)  so why did it take 3 years to incorporate this into FS? I could name many other examples of "new" FS features that were developed & perfected in CFS long before the FS designers & developers knew about them. I always suspected they missed out due to the snobbish attitude I mentioned.  

PS. I enjoy both CFS & FS. I think I prefer them separate.