Hughes-MDFlyer
Quote:


http://www.microsoft.com/games/flight/

Interesting. Hopefully we'll see some in game movies/shots soon (those look like renders to me). I am very glad that a preliminary FAQ section is present now, and answers many questions that users in the community have had.

So......we "know" the following:

It will be for the PC....NOT X-Box.

MS is claiming that existing fans of the FS franchise will be accommodated with no decrease in realism/fidelity with the new program. "...full fidelity simulation" (their words)

MS claims that "some" members of the ACES team are working on this project.

It will be designed to take advantage of our increasingly social online societies. New, easy ways to connect with others in the FS community will be present through this program.

New features will be added to cater to users who have never before used or considered using a Flight Simulator program, and will be designed as to not scare them off due to the complexity.


Unknowns/Unanswered questions:

There are still many unknowns regarding the third party addon scene.

We do not know what game engine is being used. The wording implies that it is a completely different system/approach from the FS code/style. This could result in a very fresh new start for addon creators that wish to stay relevant when this program hits the market.

Internet connection required at all times to use the software? (increasingly common with many other programs)

We have no screenshots/videos to go off of showing what the new sim/progam will be like, unless what is shown is in game. (Again, they look like renders to me....but I could be wrong.)



The bottom line:

There will VERY likely be a tremendous amount of upheaval across all reaches of the flight simulation community as this knowledge and more comes to light. We still have many unknowns, but we also have some comforting assurances that I believe dominated many of the subject lines in queries about this program.
The only thing we can do is wait and see what Microsoft brings us.
Arguing, demanding, pleading, and rumor spouting will do no good as the FS community absorbs more knowledge about this.
A common trend will be to see some users claiming inside knowledge. They may be right in the long run, but it's worthwhile to be cautious. If you have knowledge of a particular aspect of this program and cannot back it up with sources, do not post it.
A new era begins in personal flight simulation, and I for one am now very optimistic about this program, thanks to these new updates.

Boikat wrote on Sep 22^nd, 2010 at 10:54am:


THAT is the $10,000,000 question. 

best,

.................john

My two cents. I think you cannot produce a better simulator that runs on average hardware unless the business end of the sim IS coming from a server. Lo and behold, the bottleneck would now become your internet provider AND your system. How will MS please us and their stockholders? I hope for the best, but I think the MS giant has been watching during the sim hiatus and seeing the payware and freeware deluge of products and downloads bypassing their cash registers. I'm truely sorry that my opinion of this is so negative but I know full well that MS is only doing this for the profits that they can reap.
(For the shareholders)..
                          FSX..
                          and FS9 is in the mail..    

I'm sure they are aiming at what would be considered a "high end" PC by todays standards.  Probably a 4 GHZ system, minimum, and a high end graphics card.  I saw an "Avatar on-line" game about a month after the movie came out, and just off the top of my head, I seem to remember it's system requirements were for a 3, or 3.5 GHZ, processor.  Again, that was the *minimum* requirement for the CPU.

Are 8 GHZ processors on the market yet?  I haven't checked lately.... 

Well.... ....

Without spending loadsamoney on a complete, very expensive, Computer build, I am (happily) limited to running my Trusty FS '98/2000/2002 and 2004, whilst my copy of FSX lies in darkness in my bottom drawer...
..and with other, more important, priorities in mind, that wont be happening any time soon... .... ...!

I must admit that I play this "stuff" just for fun, like I did on my old 8_bit Computers*, long, long ago... ...!

Paul...*Clive Sinclair: The King is Dead. Long live the King!... ...!

Win XP Pro. AMD Athlon Socket A, Thoroughbred 2600+ XP (2.1 GB). AGP, nVidia 7800GS 256 MB. 2 GB Memory. 700 Watt PSU.
..and a lot of Spiders and dead Mice...

...see what I mean!... ... ...!

they now have a general e-mail address posted for suggestions, I already sent a suggestion but would appreciate you all to second my thought.



military AI (all able to include)
RARE AI that you have to be lucky to come across (ex: AN-225, snowbirds, thunderbirds, lancaster and other vintage aircraft, red arrows, avro vulcan, etc.)