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How much would you spend on a DETAILED version of FS?

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I'm just wondering, how much would you all spend on a version of MS Flight Simulator?I tend to think that MS kind of limits how much they put into a version because of how much a person would be willing to spend on the product. In the world of simming there is always room for improvment and new techiques, maybe thats also why they limit their features just to guarentee that a new improved version of FS will always be better than the one previously.Money is a big issue with FS, but if MS produced something completely amazing with many features and quailty; just what we'd all want.. how much would you be willing to spend? (saying that it had been designed for the top of the range pc's, which i know a reasonable number don't have).I'd personally be willing to spend up to

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I wouldn't hesitate to spend a couple hundred dollars on what you call a "completely amazing" MSFS. My biggest problem would be coming up with the $$$$ to buy the new hardware to run it !!!!

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Guest JeanLuc_

As Microsoft often showed in the past, Flight Simulator seems to follow some "corporate policies" as to what to include in standard: the famous 80/20 rule for which the 20% more features will represent 80% of the development time/cost. I suspect this goes like this: publish a version that covers most of what is needed to make it a sim, publish the SDK and let add-ons flourish for enhancing the sim, select 3-4 of these add-ons sbased on their success and/or technological improvement, and consider these as what to include in standard. 2 years later, publish a new version with these 3-4 new features in standard ..... and roll the wheel again. This is how each new version of Windows gets improved with features only available with add-ons in the previous release, such as FAX being a standard feature nowadays, or remote desktop with XP. The same goes for FS too with each release. As for how much for an improved version? well, there are already many good add-ons available that take your flight simulation experience to new heights!Hope it helps!

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Guest Josve

My copy of msfs2002 costed about 100$ here in Norway.....and out of the box totally useless....If you want 2002 to be the sim you want,you have to spend a lot more dollars to buy high quality addons.Download a huge amount of different .air and .cfg files and other addons as meshes,scenery,weather,sun,moon,water,clouds etc etc.....So there can't be no doubt that the product out of the box for a 100$ isn't good enough.So who would use a such bad sim if it wasn't for all the addons out there???It seems to me that M$ are relying on 3'rd party developers to make the sim good enough.They know people are buying F$2002 in buckets and loads anyway....and of course the pro version.Johnny"I'LL BE BACK"[div align=center]http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/josve/fly2/vas.gif][/div

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Guest Lizardo

With better weather (like FU3), and improved mesh (which will probably happen anyway) about $20 more. The problem comes with "what will be added I might not care about", but have to pay for anyway. Would I want to pay more for more aircraft I don't fly..or take that money and buy the ones I do? SUPER mesh for continents I'll never fly in? I don't use AI or ATC (etc) so why would I want to pay for it, when someone who does enjoy it has great add-ons they can buy? All cities so highly detailed that I need a $3500 computer to run?..or let me add the few I enjoy most? I'd rather have a good basic "Christmas Tree" and hang my own ornaments. :-)

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Guest

This is one of the weirdest posts I have read yet!MS Fs2002 right out of the box was one of the most complete sims yet!As time went on there was more and more developed for the sim by 3rd party developers. This would be impossible if base program was not capable of doing what it does today.Do you, for a moment, believe that MS actually holds back on features, on purpose, just because they want to release them the next model or charge you more?You do realize that if MS was to release a sim as complete as you want it, it would never be finished or released? There has to be a cut off point somewhere so the program can go into production. If MS didn't release a new version than there would be complaints about them not releasing it.MS will release their programs on a certain time table, and charge for the product according to the expense that went into developing it. And yes they will make sure that they make a profit, that is why they are in business!They have to reach a compromise between available technolgy, popular features and time! Just my humble opinion,Pete S

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Guest

As you stated "They have to reach a compromise between available technolgy, popular features and time".All too true, totally agree with you. I think that they might be holding back on a few features for the next version, yes. I think it all depends on the current technology and what they regard as the "must" features they should develop into a new version.It would be nice to have a sim as i would like, but i'd still be willing to pay the dosh for it. They proberly wouldn't though, due to the number people with problems and issues regarding insufficent power in the hardware to do the job, so they have to find an average setup somewhere."This is one of the weirdest posts I have read yet"Well i didn't plan for it to be lol.I was just wondering if other people thought that price was due to the quailty and features (obviously taking into account the technology around today etc) in a product and how much one would be willing to pay for something of his/her satisfaction. From that one could kind of guess how many new features and improvements (taking into account technology etc) they will include at a price people are willing to pay.

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I guess they could add a lot more/better stuff with a lot of added development hours (like you now find in add-ons), but then the price would become too high.I (like most die-hard simmers) wouldn't mind paying double or even tripple the current price, but then MS would loose a large part of the marked for FS.Don't forget that (and I'm sure of that) 80-90 % of the buyers of FS are just casual "gamers", that use FS out-of-the-box and who would never pay such a high price for what they see as a "game".Rob

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Hi,I would easy spend 300 - 400 bucks for a FS Pro version with all systems simulated but with less detailed scenery. In other words,,- a Flight Simulator.For a Standard version with simplier systems like FS2002, I would spend 200 - 300 bucks, with detailed airports and scenery. In other words,,- a Flying Adventure Game.Fly safe, :-waveStaffan AhlbergFreeware Flight Group


 

Staffan

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Guest

>>So who would use a such bad sim if it wasn't for all the addons out there???<

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Guest Paul_W

I don't think MS will change their current approach and staffing levels significantly, but I think it is plausible that an aggressive competitor could come along and add a lot more details in many areas. In the combat flight sim arena a lot of people would say that's already happened with IL-2, and it sure looks to me like LOMAC has the potential to set a whole new standard for realism when it debuts next spring.Anyway, to answer your original question about how much I'd be willing to pay for a detailed version of FS, I'd have to say "A lot!"

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Guest

Will,The problem is the features you might find valuable might differ from me. Some people ( the "rivet counters" I'll call them) might pay $200 for beautiful recreations from the external view. I personally wouldn't. The real pilots in the crowd (and students, like myself)would probably spend considerably more for a good flight model and instruments that move fluidly. Look at Aerowinx PS1 747 sim. Still a DOS program with horrible graphics, sound, and little or no USB support and yet its "serious" market is still willing to pay $300 or $400 (whatever it's at now).There is no way Microsoft could ever hope to satisfy everyone in this forum, let alone the rest of their market. Fortunately the open architecture allows addons which customize it for our specific needs. I spent $60 to buy FS2K2 but have spent well over $1000 in addons this year getting the sim just the way I like it. I doubt many of us would have spent $1K on MSFS in hopes they addressed all our needs.David

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Guest

Let's see...$100 - A handful of minor improvements, like the ability to change fuel and loadout similar to FLYII, better weather handling similar to FSMeteo etc. No problem - gimme gimme :-)$150 - For a couple of extra features like much improved ATC with SID/STAR capability + a flight planner similar to FSNavigator? Sure, let's have fun :-kewl $200 - Convincing the wife will be hard, but if that means the default aircrafts are that of Dreamfleet quality, I'll just have to get down on my knees and say pretty please :-hah $250 - Gonna make a dent in that wallet, but if it includes 10-20 major airports of quality equivalent to Simflyers/Simwings/GAP/UK2000 etc., then I guess I'll just have to put it on the credit card... >:-)$300 - Holy mule... better include high resolution mesh of the entire world and some photorealistic scenery at some 15-30 interesting locations, including Area 51 :-spacecraft>$300 - Hmm, install eDonkey and find a warez version, then see if it's worth putting $50 aside each month until I can pay for a legal copy :-eekSo basically, $300 is where I start drawing the line. Sure, I've spend more than $300 on add-ons alone during the last year, but there's a difference between paying $300 right here, right now and paying $300 over the course of 6-12 months. I also feel there's a difference between paying $300 for one piece of software and $300 for a graphics card. The $300 graphics card will boost performance overall in not only FS, but also IL2, Morrowind, Grand Theft Auto 3, EverCrack and heck, probably Excel as well! In short, I use my computer for more than just FS. So... I would say $300 max, unless it's something truly spectacular.-Christian

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