I've not seen anyone complain...

[Guest]

...about the money they spent on fs2002, yet people are complaining about the listed price for fs2004? I for one think the screenshots look great, look at the improved water lines for one. To all of the chronic complainers I remember when there were no clouds or textures in flight simming, just green lines representing mountains and the horizon line. Perhaps some would have prefered to see Microsoft throw in the towel and make an announcement that there will be no more FS from MS. Thanks Microsoft for providing flight simulation software with reasonable realism at a reasonable price, I'll be buying FS2004.

[kerosene31 349]

I think with the announcement, excitement is rather high and tempers seem to be getting a little hot. The MS press release was very vague and of course we have no idea what will be in the finished product. Someone from Avsim is supposed to be checking out the game and hopefully getting us some useful information. Plus there are lots of different opinions on what the new version should have. Some people want improved graphics, some want better AI and ATC, some want better performance, better multiplayer code, etc.

[Guest]

You know..the cost didn't even figure into my sort of ho-hum reception of FS9 after visiting the up-date site.To me...and of course it's only a personal opinon amongst many---is that there is not enough avant-garde to earn the title of 'VERSION' rather than a patch to ENHANCE the current...Look to Mr. Harvey with FLY...and what he added/updated as a patch sequence, etc, or whilst on the subject, to what Looking Glass did for FUII.Just my two cents...other's milage will vary, (smile)Cheers!Mitch R.

[Guest Tim_mx]

I've just came from a Microsoft HW/gaming reseller event. They didn't know about this info on zone.msn.com and that the release would probably be very late summer at the earliest. Instead they were hyping 'Rise Of Nations' like no tomorrow. But they did had quite a few FS2002 & CFS3 copies that were given for free to anyone who wanted.

[kerosene31 349]

We don't know that the list of features that MS released is all of the features. I would assume that there will be more improvements that they don't want to promise until the program gets closer to completion. Of course that *could* be it.

[Guest]

I'm with you Mitch. The price isn't the issue. The issue is that it appears to be more of a patch than a "version". I've been around the MSFS scene for over 20 years and all the signs point to a ho-hum product coming this time. Maybe they will surprise us but it's beginning to look like innovation isn't going to be a biggie with FS9. I wonder what ever happened to the guys (and one gal) at MS that were pushing for a wholly new dynamic model? At least for now, FS9 gets my Big Yawn award.Trip

[Guest]

I spend the cost of a flightsim every second week to watch my local football team and yet they manage to disappoint me most weeks. I still keep going because I know every so often they really come up with the goods. I'll buy the forthcoming flightsim using the same logic or is it illogic. Each flightsim for me is better value then many other expenses including the support of my unpredictable team.Best Regards Pat

[Guest DaveKDEN]

Looks to be more than a mere patch Trip. Might want to check the specifics on the MS site again. My guess is as the product advances, the revolutionary advances will become fewer and farther between. As it gets closer to "as real as it gets," the ability to radically improve upon what's already been done gets harder and harder. At some point in the (not too distant) future (assuming the product line continues), the only advances that might come with each new release are refinements of flight models, additional aircraft, and refinement of the world-wide terrain database, etc. When you think about how much of an advancement FS2002 is over FS98, it doesn't take a Brain Surgeon to figure out how close we're getting to absolutely incredible immersive realism in a PC based sim. I for one am very excited and will likely be one of the first in line to purchase FS-ACOF.Dave

[Guest Eric]

Hi, "Look to Mr. Harvey with FLY...and what he added/updated as a patch sequence, etc, or whilst on the subject, to what Looking Glass did for FUII.""both product" Still have many many bugs will never be fixed!FUIII with his old pastel ground and only few area to fly :-lolEric

[michal 44]

>how close we're getting to absolutely incredible immersive >realism in a PC based sim. I agree but this is to great extent thanks to 3-rd party add-ons, primarily the aircraft. If you look at somethig like the freshly released Meridian - you can tell you are hitting the "ceiling" of realism but this definitely can't be said about what MS gives us in the box. But I am not complaining as long as they continue to march forward in other areas - weather, ATC, etc. However if someone is looking for conspiracy theories then certainly removal of FLY! from competition could have given the MSFS team the excuse to take the 'minimal' approach. ;-)Michael J.

[Guest SoarPics]

I plan on buying it. My logic is simple: For the price they stated I receive a whole lotta fun for 2 years. Less than $30.00/year. Some folks are spending that much right now on the latest and greatest aircraft from Flight1... and seem to be enjoying it immensely.I also like the idea that there won't be any Std/Pro nonsense. Now we'll have fewer dweebs showing up in the forums asking for the extra aircraft sold only in a Pro version.