"A Century of Flight" " This 20th anniversary edition includes aircraft and features formerly available only in Microsoft Flight Simulator Professional Edition and represents the most comprehensive and compelling version in the history of the franchise." "Microsoft Flight Simulator: A Century of Flight will arrive on store shelves in the summer of 2003 at an estimated retail price of $54.95."And the MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Compatibility Aircraft and scenery created for Flight Simulator 2000 and later work with Microsoft Flight Simulator: A Century of Flight, provided the developer followed the guidelines in the Flight Simulator SDK." http://zone.msn.com/flightsim/FS02SpecialFS9.aspBest Wishes,Randy J. [email protected]" A little learning is a dangerous thing"AMD XP2100 |MUNCHKIN512 DDR RAM |ECS[/b ]K7S5A MB |[b]GF364 MEG |WIN XP PRO

good news indeed for the compatibility

Looks like a PATCH to me. Only thing is, the PATCH is gonna cost you.This is NOT FS2004... this is like the FS2002 GOLD EDITION.DSCVA3339

"This is NOT FS2004... this is like the FS2002 GOLD EDITION." Well that might be true to a point. Just look at FS2000 and FS2002. I think this "patch" will offer enough goodies to warrent the hefty price tag. As to this not being FS2004, I think that this IS what we have been thinking and talking about and it would shock me if Microsoft has one more in the works for release any time soon but you might be correct. Best Wishes,Randy J. [email protected]" A little learning is a dangerous thing"AMD XP2100 |MUNCHKIN512 DDR RAM |ECS[/b ]K7S5A MB |[b]GF364 MEG |WIN XP PRO

As long as PIC767 works I'll contimplate seriously about throwing some loonies out and getting the patch/package as Daryl called it... if not then FS2002 is safe on my PC! Crazy how just one addon now decides if we upgrade or not ;) Just shows how good that addon is!!

I think that this *is* FS2004, just under a different name. However, the team went outside of FS's programming capability, so how know if it'll actually work. The aircraft model will of course, but I have doubts about the panel.

I think Dan has hit the nail on the head. Providing the 767 works with this new version and we have improved ATC and weather (but not ground textures) then it is certainly worth considering.Any patches for the 767 to make it work with future releases of FS are probably a pipe dream.

Looks like a PATCH to me. Only thing is, the PATCH is gonna cost you.This is NOT FS2004... this is like the FS2002 GOLD EDITION.--------------Then you don't understand the meaning of the word patch as it applies to computer programs.A patch is released to fix bugs. It may add a few features, but fixing bugs is the primary focus.Looking at the features being added, CoF is definitely NOT a patch. Rather it is more of an upgrade. Upgrades fix the bugs that are present, but are primarily focused on adding/improving features.The difference, patches are usually free. Upgrades are not.FS2002 was an upgrade for FS2000; albeit a more substantial upgrade than CoF will be. It was not a whole new system as quite a bit of code and conventions were carried over from FS2000. In fact, all recent versions of MSFS could be classified as upgrades.The graphics engine does not need to be re-invented at this point. It does need to be tweaked and optimized and that is happening. The current engine works quite well and is about all current computer systems can handle. The "blurries" are being addressed as well. You cannot add too much more to the simulator without destroying performance. And if MS did that, you all would be complaining that they are pushing things too far, too fast.This patch/upgrade (whatever you want to call it) will improve an already excellent product in ways we know and in ways we don't yet know. Hopefully, they don't screw it up and try to do too much.p.s., I too hope that PIC ports over without a patch. Otherwise, I'm keeping FS2002 on my system (and buying another hardrive to support it).

Okay, patch/upgrade... you're right Ken.Not to put too fine a point on this, but: are you saying that it's all right for MS to use us, the captive audience, as testers?As I recall looking back at the recent history of Microsoft Flight Simulator:FS95 released. $FS95 sucks. MS releases UPGRADE called FS98. FS98 released. $ MS releases PATCH(ES) for FS98. No $. FS98 works great. Regardless, less than three years later (if I recall)...FS2000 released. This time with Pro and Standard version$. $$FS2000 sucks. Did MS release a patch? Hmmm, can't remember. Doesn't matter anyway, because, MS releases UPGRADE called FS2002 less than two years later.FS2002 released. Pro & Standard. $$ No patch even though many taxiways flicker, PEI is under water, and navaids in Canada (at least) are wrong. But they do release Oshkosh scenery. And this version works admirably. No need for new version. Still...FSCoF released. One version! $ Fixes many of the issues that FS2002 had, and adds a few bells and whistles... but will it be a dog like 95 & 2000?...and my chrystal ball sees: REPEAT the Pattern.I'm not an MS basher. I use registered MS products. I have forked out plenty of dineros for the pleasure of using the software.Where does MS's responsibility for creating a product end? As soon as it's out the door? I think a product should be "fixed" at the very least, before a company comes back to the user asking them to UPGRADE.We need only look at our favourite FS add-on to see how the system COULD WORK. 767PIC. Through versions 2000 & 2002 767PIC has performed wonderfully, and has been "supported" by the developer, publisher and so many users. Wilco nor the developers were under any obligation to PATCH the product for 2002, BUT they did, because loyalty should be EARNED not expected. THIS should be the standard rather than the exception to how software companies do business. IMHO, MS should reexamine their policy about patches/upgrades in the future. DSCVA3339

With as much that was changed in FS2002, the number of bugs introduced and their severity was surprisingly small. I will grant you that it would have been nice to see a small patch, but that didn't happen. We have to remember, it's MS.FS2004 is adding a lot. More than is evident on the surface. Many of the additions are what we want. I'll fall back on what I told people who complained about the FS2002 patch for PIC not being available sooner: no one is forcing anyone to upgrade to the latest version of MSFS.My ultimate concern is that MS tries to do too much with the eye-candy. We don't need it and our computers cannot support it. My next concern is that PIC will not run in FS2004. I doubt that WELP will update it again. I know what it was like (from the inside) for them to patch it the last time and I doubt they would want to go through that again, for free. Hopefully, it won't need it.

Ken,M$ states that every plane and panel will be usable with the new version, too.so there