***Caution, Rant ahead***

I for one won't even be downloading it to try it. Will MS care? Probably not. Will that bring the ACES back? Certainly not. If enough people pitch a fit to MS, will they change their minds about releasing Flight as a "pay as you go" entity? Highly doubtful. It's simply the principle of it. The software game used to be consumer driven. Software was needed or desired to fill a consumer's needs, the software companies (not just Microsoft) would then respond to fill that need. Now it's the other way around. The software companies (again, not just Microsoft) are dictating to the consumers, and basically telling THEM "how it's going to be". Messing with their quarterly fiscal report seems to be the only message software companies (all companies, for that matter) understand.

So again, I won't even TRY MS Flight. Not now, not ever. (And if more people were willing take this kind of stand, maybe the ACES would still be around)

"They turned their backs on us after all." ~François  -Well spoken sir.

***END RANT***

amen to that.

Nice honest article. Perhaps the optimists (& I don't blame them - we all wanted to be optimists) - will  take heed.

(& this is stated by MS and not outside the NDA)

It is Hawaii only (no world - and no 'world' to be available in the future unless they change their mind but that will take years to do)

Addons (Hawaii Islands and one aircraft released periodically) to be purchased from them only -- no 3rd party.



Frankly you can get as good scenery in FSX using freeware Hawaii - but then, in FSX, you can fly away from Hawaii - In a Jetliner, Jet flighter or anything you can think of - even a boat! ......  & you're not flying through compulsory missions! 


FSX is ALREADY 1000,000 times better than Flight - so please appreciate FSX (& FS2004). Flight will make you realise just how amazing FSX is!


I really cannot imagine who's going to use Flight over time -  other than to try it a few times for fun which most of us will do.

Gamers (who this is aimed at) want action and excitement. Flight does not offer that

Flight Simmers want realism - to pretend we are flying for real. Flight does not offer that.


I feel sorry for the team behind it. Some of them stem from the Aces team. They have had to start from scratch and it's the suits above them that took the moronic decision to shut down Aces & sell FS to Lockheed Martin.



Now what are the chances of LM bringing the price of Prepar3d down - to say $100? ....... OK I am also a dreamer! 

@Pete
That just seems totally bizarre, I honestly thought they would release the rest of the world at some point but if they're not I really don't see the point in the whole exercise.
It doesn't seem to offer enough scope for anyone to want it what so ever. It's a free demo that will never become more than a demo, very strange indeed.
I really don't see why Microsoft bothered, it's not going to be a huge multi-million dollar game like the stuff they release on Xbox and it's not like a concept demo to prove they can do it. It's almost like they had some programmers sat around with nothing to do and they said....errrmm Make a flying game, but ignore all the public input on what they want in a flying game and create something that is very pretty but totally pointless...

I'm always interested in why business make the choices they do and this one stups me, do you or anyone else have any idea for the reasoning behind the development of flight?

As for that Prepar3d thing......Wow I didn't even know that existed! But it's amazing to think that FS is now part of a real world flight training system. I'd like to think some of the people who made FS as amazing as it is are working on that now, although I doubt it, it seems to be the guys who put in the hard work who lose out the most in those types of deals.

It looks nice......But being able to fly with the mouse and keyboard? Blasphemy!!!

Quote:



As of now I haven't posted anything about MS flight, but the above qoute from Executive Producer Joshua Howard in Brier Dudley's Blog from the SEATTLE TIMES Article on MS/FLIGHT post (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/technologybrierdudleysblog/2017460350_qa_m...) really got my goat!



Now not to blow my own horn here (and I don't need anyones sympaties), but to let you all know where I'm coming from, (and I'll make this short & sweet) I'm a disabled vet in my 50's.
Because of my disabilities, I'm unable to live my life like I use to, and I get stuck being indoors when I rather be outdoors.

I was a avid hunter, fisher, hiking with my hounds, working on my vehicles, in my garden. But now I'm limited to doing these things, especially if I don't have a buddy available to help me in case I need some assistance (medical wise). If it's warm out, I get to go outside more (alone), which pisses of the ol lady. But when it's chilly, I need to go out on the buddy system (which also p's off the ol lady but that's a diffrent story ).

So as not to keep blabing, If it wasn't for flight simulator, I'd be in the nut house, for being stuck in my house! You can only watch so much tv.

Flight simulator gave my something to do, which mainly was to use my brain.

Sure I like playing other GAMES, but this is the difference.
FS is not a game (forget the missions for now) it is what it is, a simulator.

If you expect it to be like a game (other than the missions), yes FS can be quite boring.

But if you use it for what it is, it is quite exciting and educational.

Once I weened my self off of using the GPS, and using the autopilot, how should I say the right way, and learning how to navigate with Vors and Ndb's ( I take pride in the fact that I can go from point A to point B with out even looking at the GPS), my flights have become more enjoyable. Just learning how to use the DC3, with that ol time autopilot and nav system was a chore that was well worth the price of admission.

From flying the Jenny to jetliners, I have never been bored with my flight simulator experience. Just earning each certificate (and I got them all), taught me alot, and really gave me a lesson in what it takes to be a real life pilot.

Because of FS, I am able to imagin what it must have been like in the early days of flight, and the responsability it takes to transport people in todays aircraft. Anyway you all are a pretty intelligent bunch, and I'm pretty sure you are catching my drift.

So back to the above qoute,
and this is were Mr. Howard crossed the line,

Quote:


The bet they made! Have you ever been to a horse race Mr. Howard?
Your horse will make it out of the gate strong, but they rarely make it to the finish after that.
I would have put my money on the "hardcore simmer" to win, cause MS ain't the only horse in town. I'll be looking toward X-Plane and Prepar3d, and you never know when that new kid on the block shows up.
Sorry if I insulted any horses.

Quote:
.????????????

I don't find the virtual world of FSX uninteresting, as a matter of fact the best part of FSX is exploring the world.

What would be boring to me is stuck flying in one area. Yeah "Hawaii is gorgeous".
But so is my house and my ol lady, but I still need to get outside of the box every now and than. "25,000-odd airports was crazy", are you kidding me? Lets see I started flightsimming with FS98, 2002, Century of Flight, and now FSX. So lets just talk FSX, 25000 airports, been flying FSX since it came out, if my calculations are correct, I still have 24,thou, I still have plenty of virtual world to explore.

Quote:


Some segment of the audience??????  That's what we are considered, just a segment, and audience.
No you didn't get it Mr. Howard, an audience just sits and watches the show, and that's all MS flight is going to be a show. Watch what we want you to watch and later you'll pay more to watch alittle bit more.
FSX wouldn't have been created if it wasn't for some segment of the audience, those hardcore simmers that started flight simming with FS1.

You wouldn't have your job now if it wasn't for "some segment of the audience",
because if MS filght would have come out first, it would have been just a game, a game that would have drift into oblivion, like bass fishing, yeah it was and still is fun to play, every once in a blue moon, an after an hour, time to move on to somthing else.

Thank you ACES, for making such a sophisticated program.      
Thank you, to all you FREEware people, for your efforts to make our flight simming experience that much more enjoyable.
Thanks payware folks that add to the experience.
And to the rest of you hardcore simmers, as long as we got this flight sim community, the real flight simulators (and those yet to be made) we got will last forever.

PS:  As for GPS, don't get me wrong, it's a great piece of technology and should be used, but when flying vintage aircraft make belive it didn't exist, and your flight simming will be much more fun and realistic IMHO.

And nothing against bass fishing the game, but I can still do that for real when able.

It's a classc example of a company hell bent on greed shooting themselves in both feet.... then being oblivious about why they can no longer walk.
This seems about standard behaviour for corporations in this day and age where common sense no longer  has a seat at the table.
There is now an empty chair in many corporate boardrooms.

Ang2dogs wrote on Feb 17^th, 2012 at 10:00pm:



Also, even though most do not fly the whole world, a major attraction of a world wide sim is that they can fly in their own "back yard"..... in their own corner of of the world.

How may gamers live in Hawaii and view that as their "back yard"?

It seems to me they are treating a GA sim as they would  a combat sim and are blind to the difference!
A GA sim/game set in a limited area wiil be extremely boring to gamers and shuned by simmers. 

Lazek wrote on Feb 18^th, 2012 at 4:50pm:


Care to share your reasons? Preferably with some form of evidence other than just your belief.

Well, you can see their logic, can't you?
Microsoft currently sell you a single Flight Sim package, and then developers all around the World sell you add-ons and make loads of money out of you - possibly more money than the original Flight Sim product.
So why not sell you the add-ons themselves? They'll make so much money out of every little aircraft and bit of scenery that you won't be able to live without, that they can easily afford to hook you with the bait of a free download.
Makes a lot of sense to me. I'm surprised it took them so long to figure it out. 

pete wrote on Feb 20^th, 2012 at 11:55am:


Anyone else reminded of "The Truman Show"?

In Flight's limited modeling area, islands are the only thing that can be included.
To be honest,  I can't remember how  FU handled this.