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Tom Allensworth

The Facts Emerge

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In any case-very sorry for you lay off-hope you are back to work soon!
Thanks:) It's ok I wanted to be an ESP developer...So when I got laid-off (with a little severance) it was a wonderful day.Since Jan22 I've been spinning...like everyone else.And I want to say...folks that have been laid-off are finding work....it's not all doom and gloom...but volatility and uncertainty rule.The real sad casualty here is the ESP EULA of Aces core engine. Hell or high water we

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I think Google should step in here - they have the capability, resources, financial muscle and to an extent the "public" image/confidence? With their clout, they could probably sponsor an independent effort by themselves! The question is - do they have the will?As I have mentioned elsewhere, it may be time for 3rd party developers along with the FS communities like AVSIM, Flightsim, FSDeveloper, etc. to get together to explore the feasibility of developing an MSFS clone or a completely new and/or open source flight simulator. Or, perhaps, at least devote some resources to "update" the open sourced Flight Gear to make it more user friendly or develop for.IMHO, 3rd party developers' spending of resources on FSX/FS9 addon development may not be the best use of their resources. I know there is a substantial installed base of users - but stopping development may be a way of sending a clear message to MS. I'm not too sure about this.My 2 cents.

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Guest Alphahawk3
True, but this forum and its participants hold each other to a high level of journalistic standards when posting speculative items. I think it's fair to put a bit of an asterisk on the story until such time as we hear from Microsoft itself... not just their former/terminated employees. This isn't to say it isn't true, or somehow a portion of the story, but we will never know the whole story with all the appropriate and accurate details until MS says something. That said:Microsoft is not pulling FS2004 out of your hands.Microsoft is not pulling FSX out of your hands.Microsoft is not the only flight sim publisher in existence. Despite rumors to the contrary, the sky is not falling. I just saved 20% on my car insurance. (which I will likely apply towards active sky advanced)
I pretty much agree with what you say except one thing...Microsoft is not going to tell anyone anything until they have a product to market and how it will be done...they have always kept things close to the vest.....ACES is closed...MSFS as we knew it is gone.....we still have FSX..true....and can fly it for a long time.

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"Nowhere out there is there anything to compare in what we have enjoyed for FS, companies the likes of PMDG, Eaglesoft, Real air make amazing addons that take years and cost a lot of money to create....." Thank you for mentioning us at Team Eaglesoft.From the first announcement until now we've stayed out of the fray and hysteria and stated one simple truth regarding our on intent.We currently develop for two MS Flightsimulator versions and will continue to develop for both FS9 and FSX for as long as they remain viable or until there is no market for either.We emphasize MS Flightsimulator because we've long thought that it should be considered closer to a simulator than a game. We expect that dedicated Flightsimulator users will continue to add content to their existing MSFS Versions for years to come simply because they want to maximize their experience on current MS Flightsimulator versions.The dedicated group could care less about the gaming aspect of the franchise since their primary interest is real aviation related.If MS never revives Flightsimulator as we know it then all dedicated users and dedicated developers still has two very viable simulator versions to enjoy. :(


Best Regards,

Ron Hamilton PP|ASEL

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Adapt, improvise, overcome.People just need to see this change as natural with potential for positive benefits.Besides, as mentioned, FSX will still be around for a long time to come. Chin up!
That's the spirit, and the way forward! Regards,Gerhard

Regards,

Gerhard

 

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things" (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

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Live FS:))))) Nuts! Keep playing with fs2004.

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Greed can kill business. If what AVSIM states is not total illusion, then it seems as if MS wants to drive us towards the Linux of the FS-world, i.e. FlightGear.Perhaps it would be possible to help driving X-Plane to the next level so it comes close to what we have today, but even X-Plane could one day pull the plug. Just imagine you can change the code of the sim (FlightGear) itself to suit your needs. Of course it would need to be fed back into the community to avoid a versions nightmare. The weather forecast for the next weekend looks a bit rainy here and I think I will have a play with FlightGear and possibly also try X-Plane and check out how it can be extended.You can guess what could be next in regard to greed, you'll have to pay a monthly license fee for your operating system. Fortunately there is at least one serious alternative and one free alternative.Cheers,Siggy


Siggy Schwarz

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If MS never revives Flightsimulator as we know it then all dedicated users and dedicated developers still has two very viable simulator versions to enjoy. :(
Both FS9 and FSX will continue to be enjoyed by dedicated simmers for at least 3 more years. I also believe MS wishes to change the business model on FS. The activation required by FSX is one step in this direction. Requiring a subscription would be the next. I was reminded of this when I upgraded my hardware last week and had to, once again, activate FSX. At some point when sales of FSX have dropped way down, they could simply stop selling and activating it, forcing users to go to a subscription service. Intuit does this with Quickbooks. Certain features require access to their server and they simply stop supporting older versions after 3-4 years, forcing an upgrade at $250 a pop. If MS chooses to go this route, we might all be back to the no-activation FS9, so I am glad you are still developing for it. FS9 is still way more popular in the file library. For instance, in "This Year's Hot Files" there is not a single FSX file.As much as we don't like it, the current money is in consoles. The majority of people want simple, quick, proven games that always run the same way. And they are willing to pay for it, usually a lot less per installation than we pay for our computers. For MS, getting $50 per simmer once every 3 years when a new version comes out does not make economic sense. In fact, I have always felt that MS continued the FS line because someone important at MS liked airplanes, rather than because they were making money with it. How can this business model support 100 top level programmers working full time in ACES? In the ongoing economic disaster in the U.S., MS no longer has this luxury.The medium-term goal has to be a well-organized open source flight sim. Simmers who are also programmers can use their skills to put together the next generation sim. This model would still support 3PD since everyone will want more planes, scenery, utilities, etc.Still flying,Ben

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Guest Nils79

I remember a lot of people who had complaint at Avsim about MS and FSX and who had demanded very loud that backwards compatibility should be completely dropped.That Gamespy would have been the wrong choice - Phil insisted that Gamespy would be free but no one cared at that time. Many had also demanded some kind of add-on certification because of the many so called FSX add-ons.And a Xbox version because they then wouldn't have to upgrade their Xbox to run FS with all sliders right (anyone remembers the Ace Combat vs. FSX discussions?). Even the Flight Unlimited world model was mentioned and Devs like Virtuali saw advantages in a Marketplace system...So those "facts" published by Avsim don't sound to me only like the evil plans of MS...I don't care how they call FSnext. I only hope to get a platform which will allow me to use it in the way that i want - like FSX does.Maybe Live means only an option like the FSX mission system.A lot are blaming FSX to be gamey because of the mission system but a) you are not forced to use it and b ) you can do with that mission system whatever you want.If that will be the same with FSnext and Live, i'm interested in it and i absolutely don't know which HW i will use in 3-4 years.I hope MS is knowing the value of an extensive freeware community and i think the extensibility of FSX is one of his biggest strengths - in contrast to the false DX10 advertisement.I'm very happy with FSX (as long as i don't have to reinstall it^^) and those who want my money for a different platform (no matter if MS or Austin) have to really convince me.ATM i see nothing of interest.

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Tom very rarely (if ever) publishes 'unsupported conjecture'... if you read MS statements so far published, this fits.DJ
People need to realize that what Tom writes is not gospel and this does sound to me, like a lot of opinion and conjecture that is probably mixed with a few threads of real news.Obviously there is change coming for MS role with flight simulator and it's obvious to everyone that that role will probably involve them getting out of it all together and recreating it as a useless "arcade" type of game.On the other hand, I don't in any way believe that the future of quality home flight simulation is dead. That would leave too much money on the table.I believe you will see FS9 and FSX continue as the preferred flight sim environment for the next five or so years. Then new doors will open from new sources with up-to-date versions of flying environments that will be attractive to the same fans that the MS versions attracted.Whether these new versions come from X-Plane or somewhere else, I know it is human nature not to just roll over and play dead when something like this happens. Someone else will see the opportunities that reside here and pick up the ball and run with it. Until then we can continue to enjoy FS9, FSX and all of the great addons that will continue to be developed for it.What we all need to be more focused on is destroying and exposing piracy where ever we see it. This is the real threat to our hobby, not MS loosing interest.

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Guest JoeInCT
I think Google should step in here - they have the capability, resources, financial muscle and to an extent the "public" image/confidence? With their clout, they could probably sponsor an independent effort by themselves! The question is - do they have the will?
I COULD NOT AGREE MORE. Google has the deep pockets and I am sure they would love the opportunity "out-do" Microsoft (not hard to do now adays). They already have a "virtual flying machine" of sorts with Google Earth. The reality is, Steve Balmer is outright WEIRD and I have NO expectations from MS under his leadership. He is a suit w no imagination. He is not a technophile and the best MS can hope for under his leadership is to maintain market share of Windows and Office.Tom, have you talked to Google at all?????As a user, I would abandon MS in a heartbeat. I have NO loyalty to MS after this.Joseph W. Szarmach Jr.

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People need to realize that what Tom writes is not gospel and this does sound to me, like a lot of opinion and conjecture that is probably mixed with a few threads of real news.
The day my writings become "gospel" is the day that I will retire from my current job and take on the world. Big%20Grin.gifAs for opinion, well, recall that I did identify and state some facts. After that is opinion - will you give me the benefit of the doubt and concede that it might be more informed than yours? Conjecture? I don't think so. But you won't know that until some time has passed.

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