MS has axed the entire ACES studio!

[Bob Scott 7,704]

Bob-I boycotted the entire fs series for the decade of 1990-2000 so I have been dissatisfied with the franchise before-however I suspect my requirements may be different than yours.As far as the flight titles you mention-they are no longer with us either. Most who own them have bought the hardware. With no future new sales how long do you think the hardware manufactures will continue? Do you really think the future saitek/ch products will appear now?

Well, they're still with us (still in stock and being sold new on Amazon), but I was surprised on doing some research that they're in the same boat as FS now...still sold and supported, but no longer in development.Ubi does have a new fighter sim coming out in March called Hawx.But, that said, I remember in the '90s I had to go to mail order places like the old FlightSimCentral to find specialty items like the Thrustmaster FLCS and Saitek Cyborg joysticks. You couldn't find something like the Saitek X52 in the local chain stores. So you may be right about seeing stuff pulled back and becoming less mainstream, and we may need to mail order for that stuff once again, like before. But hardware wears out, and there are enough tens of thousands of joystick users I think there'll be a market still.I do have to concede that the number of other products going off to developer ValHalla is troubling. OTOH, if I were to fly every add-on I have for FS9 on a 1-hr flight sequentially, it'd take me weeks to get through them all. There's a part of me that's happy their obsolescence has been put on indefinite hold.CheersBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

[Bob Scott 7,704]

Bob, I've made it a point to post in public forums and in our own that Eaglesoft made the decison to build/support for both FS9 and FSX because we consider both to be viable.Everyone will eventually settle down and realize that flight sim enthusiast have two very nice platforms to enjoy even if MS decides to never bring FS to market again.

Well, that's sort of the point I want to make...MSFS is not going to vanish from the shelves, I mean they're still selling FS9 over 5 years after release. Until the day comes that OS or hardware platforms no longer support it, we still have a good working platform. Heck, FS9 is just coming into its own in the 64-bit world now. And if Microshaft doesn't come to their senses and revive development, then most certainly somebody else will. It may be very different, and many of us could lose years of expertise in programming, modelling, tweaking, and integrating for a platform that works pretty well...but in some manner the show will go on.It'll be interesting to see if Flight1 and others return to developing for FS9. I don't think it's too late to reconsider...PMDG certainly had a well-received change of heart on development of an FS9 version of the MD-11. And like I said before, not abandoning FS9 before FSX got "fixed" (e.g. FS11 released) is proving to be a wise call for those who made it. I understand the reasoning others used to move on from FS9, but I always thought it was a premature leap, given all the unresolved headaches with FSX, many of which still exist today.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

[vonmar 121]

"It'll be interesting to see if Flight1 and others return to developing for FS9. I don't think it's too late to reconsider...PMDG certainly had a well-received change of heart on development of an FS9 version of the MD-11. "Bob,Right on!I would like to see a 757 with fully programmable FMC, user editable NavData .txt files/SIDs/STARs/.xml files for FS9.

[mackintosh 0]

Right on!I would like to see a 757 with fully programmable FMC, user editable NavData .txt files/SIDs/STARs/.xml files for FS9.

QualityWings are working on one, there was a forum thread about it here not so long ago (a few days, at most).http://forum.qualitysim.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhvkqbWEKyU

[vonmar 121]

Mack,Thank you for the link.Have a good day.

[ppgstf 0]

QualityWings are working on one, there was a forum thread about it here not so long ago (a few days, at most).........and has been since Pontious was a pilot. Has this projuect reached fruition yet? I remember yonks ago reading all the hype about this, I kept looking at their website and nothing appeared. In the end I lost interest.

[mackintosh 0]

........and has been since Pontious was a pilot. Has this projuect reached fruition yet? I remember yonks ago reading all the hype about this, I kept looking at their website and nothing appeared. In the end I lost interest.

Haha, quite right, it has been in development for a while now :) Nevertheless, it's being continually worked on, there are fairly recent progress reports in their forum. I'm not sure how big the development team is, but I think it's pretty small, which explains while they're taking their time. From what I remember, it won't be a Level-D or PMDG quality in-depth systems simulation, but it should be on par with what PSS had on offer. Gotta face it, it's par for course these days, one to two years for a medium-quality (systems wise) simulation and from two to four years for a high-quality addon, depending on the size of the development team.

[N400QW 205]

"I understand the reasoning others used to move on from FS9, but I always thought it was a premature leap..."In our view, the only reason to phase out development and support for an older, yet viable, sim version is if a newer, yet viable, sim version can replace it.In our case we happen to like FS9 and FSX :(

[ahinterl 1]

For me, it's questionable whether something like FS11 will be released some day or not, Microsoft's plans and those of the ACES team are hidden. And, I miss a definitive statement that FS development has been cancelled for now and forever and the source code will be closed away infinitely.Things would look different if there'd be a clear decision to let the FS sequel end with FSX. Maybe there's some other flight simulator out there which could take over in this case, or some business model could be found to allow for such a new simulator.IMHO MS FS never was a platform to develop add ons for if developpers were asked. I only need to think of FSX' restriction to address more than 2 GB of memory...I'm sorry, but I don't believe in an infinite life for FS9 nor do I for FSX: Times change, OSs change, hardware, drivers and support change as well. Windows XP's as well as Vista's lifespan will come to an end sooner than one might think, and with a different OS, the support of "old" programs could lead to render them unusable. Many factors play a role here, and not going with the changing environment and improving products will sooner or later mean that old FS versions as well as old OSs will cease to work on new hardware. And no piece of hardware lives forever. Without change, things will come to a definitive end.The question for me is more what alternatives there are and if now wouldn't be a good point in time to rethink the flight sim situation from ground up. Maybe there needs to be a coalition established with FS platforms like X-Plane or Flight Gear and add-on developers. Maybe the prices will be much higher for both the sim and the add-ons, but maybe both the sim and add-ons will fly up to new, unexpected higher levels...Andreas

[Guest magnum_force]

Geof;First, I'm not happy to see ACES getting the corporate guillotine. It's a bad thing for everyone. But let's not pretend that M$ has provided a supportive, customer-oriented experience over the history of MSFS. I know people have a natural tendency to speak fondly of the dead, but the preponderance of M$ interaction with rank and file members of our community has been standoffish and unresponsive. Lately things have warmed a bit, but I attribute that more to the force of Phil Taylor's personality than anything M$ has done to improve things. There is a littany of problems that have carried over from version to version to version...a responsive outfit that cares about customer inputs wouldn't keep repeating the same gaffs, without lifting a finger to fix glaring errors like the transgenerational persistent wind shift problem.Showing support to the ACES team is a moot point...we didn't screw those people, the execs at Microshaft did that. But I won't pretend now that the support I got from M$ has been anything but the horribly dismal mess it has been. My two experiences with MSFS support were straight out of a prepared text by some language-challenged doofus that wouldn't know an aileron from his a**. I got canned answers that did not relate to the problem at hand or help at all. And there was no hint of any willingness to go beyond the text in the help checklist. You're telling me that I should treat an organization that came on to me as a mindless corporate behemoth that already had my money as a bunch of sensitive caring people now. If I need help, I come here to Avsim. What suppositions do you suggest are incorrect? I'm a bit baffled by the vague references on that. And why would Saitek and CH stop making joysticks? It's not like MSFS is the only program that uses 'em. I'd guess there are at least as many users of IL2 Sturmovik, Falcon 4.0, Lock-On, etc as there are of MSFS. And it's not like FS9 and FSX aren't still being sold.Anyway, it is what it is. I'm sorry to see the ACES team disbanded. That said, w/r/t the people there, layoffs and frequent job-to-job movement are a fact of life in the IT business and always have been. Anyone who could clear the quality bar enough to swing a job at Microshaft can land a job somewhere else.And I, too, am still buying FS9 add-ons. And an occasional FSX one, too, but that's probably going to stop.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Dear Mr. Scott,Dude, did you ever work on Project Blue Book ?. Were you ever made aware of Majestic 12.?Do you know how far Area 51 goes down.?KLAS-TV in Las Vegas has reported 22 levels. But they said maybe further.How about a joint venture at Hawthorne Lake Nevada between the USAF and the US Navy that goes underneath the continental shelf out to the Pacific Ocean.Too cool.Why does the USAF refuse to acknowledge the "Crash at Roswell" and continue the cover up along with the G.A.O. ?There were many witness's to the events at Roswell and also the Aztec crash and clean up teams.CheersI agree with your above post.Good-bye ACES.