From my point of view, FS, or whatever game or activity you decide to take up, is only dead once you make it dead. Why should something of the kind be dead if you still enjoy it?For example, take the Call of Duty series of games. I own Call of duty 1, 2, 4 and 5. Because I own 4 and 5, does it mean 1 and 2 are dead? No, not at all! 1 and 2 are still highly enjoyable, because they offer me what 4 and 5 do not offer: a specific mission set and feel that is not present in 5 and certainly not in 4. I don't think FS is at all different. FS9, for example, will only be dead to me once I have a flight simulator that has all the addons (be that scenery or aircraft) that I regularly use in FS9, and runs as speedily as FS9 without looking less good. So far, FSX does not give me that. rather, it complements FS9 by giving me other aircraft and other scenery that I cannot use in FS9.To me, "dead" or "not dead" is highly subjective. Once I have all I want for one flight simulator and I stop longing for addons that worked on the previous version, only then can I pronounce that previous version "dead" (I'll call that "being personally dead").Strictly speaking, in a non-personal way, I agree with Tom: a specific FS version will only be dead once every centimeter of the earth has been remodeled and all available airplanes and rotorcraft have been developed. Only then, when there is noyhing more to develop, the sim is truly dead. However, let me repeat: if the sim is strictly speaking dead, it doesn't necessarily have to be personally dead.

Tom is quite right in both of his messages.For me, the sim has been dead and I have dropped it for some time. But a resurrection is in the offering! I just concluded that the existing hardware (at that time) was sorely lagging behind the software's capability. Now I see awefully good computers and related accessories at affordable prices at places like Cyberpower and Ibuypower. For a hundred bucks they will both even overclock it for you to the tune of 30+ percent,and honor the warrantee. Sometimes they throw that in for free. Asus even has a physical "remote" overclock panel on one of it's "Deluxe" motherboards (Asus P7P55D-E Deluxe) and they all have memory start-up override buttons. Also NVidia's newest 3-D looks awfully good and they state that it's use with FSX is "Excellent". The new GTX 460 is DirectX-11 and 3-D "Surround" (Triple monitor in 3-D)) ready at around $200 (2 required for 3 monitors) ! The I-7's with 8M have dropped in price (new 870 in particular). Hard drives are now at Sata III with a 6 gig transfer rate and a big cache, they are dirt cheap, and they hot swap into new computer case slide trays and tons of big fans as standard. Free memory upgrades to 1600 mhz and liquid CPU coolers are standard. HDMI out as standard and large and reasonably priced flat panels should also really improve the experience.I'm about ready to start flying again, on what might be a very good simulator (FSX)..... Now !!!I've seen 3-D on a one of the new Sony Flat Panel TV's and all I can say is WOW..... Things can come off the screen and right into your face. And with no annoying color tint. At 1080P !!! If the new MF incorporates the 3-D concept in a big way things are going to go off the charts on the eye candy level.Bob (Las Cruces, NM.)PS... On the 3-D Blue-Ray demo I saw, a little man in a one-man flying jet suit comes off the screen, across the room, and right into your face. I was sold at that moment !

I'm just curious, what is the OBSESSION sim pilots have with SIDs and STARs? In real life pilots hate them.

In real life and major airports SIDs and STARs are effectively mandatory and pilots just accept them. They don't hate them.

In real life and major airports SIDs and STARs are effectively mandatory and pilots just accept them. They don't hate them.

Haha! I thought some would get caught on the wording..Yeah. They don't (usually) hate them, but live with them. However, direct routes are always preferred and shortcuts welcome. Nothing better for a tight schedule than a straight out departure with a few vectors direct to first waypoint.Sim pilots do seem to desperately want to fly them, if you look at the forums of the biggest ATC addons or addon airlines. One of the biggest topics is always SIDs and STARs.What I tried to hint is that there could be so many more features to develop which would add realism and be a whole lot easier to implement..

We have invested $$ and untold thousands of man/women hours redesigning the AVSM site, which we will bring online in the next month or two. Do you think that we would do that if we thought for one minute that MSFS was a dead franchise? If we did, this site would have become NASCAR focused in a heart beat.

NASCAR .. well I'm out, anyone can turn left for hours at a time.  :(

NASCAR .. well I'm out, anyone can turn left for hours at a time.   :(

Please try it and let us know how your neck feels after you are done.

Please try it and let us know how your neck feels after you are done.

I wonder - if NASCAR went to Australia - would they have to go right all the time? :( Vic

They went to Oz many years ago, they still turned left due to the way the cars are built.

In real life and major airports SIDs and STARs are effectively mandatory and pilots just accept them. They don't hate them.

I don't understand the obsession with SIDs/STARs either. Just pretend you wrote "NO SIDS/STARS" in the remarks section of your flight plan and you'll be fine.

I don't understand the obsession with SIDs/STARs either. Just pretend you wrote "NO SIDS/STARS" in the remarks section of your flight plan and you'll be fine.

I never have either. I got another star today in about 35 I can now count in 21 years of flying-never do it-vectors way before any waypoint. I have to say though as an optimist I expect this new sim to be like Wings of prey-great graphics, smooth gameplay, and limited interest at least for me.

I don't understand the obsession with SIDs/STARs either.  Just pretend you wrote "NO SIDS/STARS" in the remarks section of your flight plan and you'll be fine.

I have been reviewing RL departures and often departure control will vector flights out without using a standard SID to do so.....

I don't understand the obsession with SIDs/STARs either. Just pretend you wrote "NO SIDS/STARS" in the remarks section of your flight plan and you'll be fine.

You can't do that a UK aerodrome with SIDs, ATC would return your flight plan.

"11 Non-Standard Routes

Any filed flight plan that specifies a non-standard route at aerodromes where SIDs are designated should be referred back to the originator for correction."

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP493Part1.pdf

I agree with Tom Allensworth, but I have to add that the ability to reset the global representation of every airfield and city to any time relative to aviation history would be the "end all."

It makes me chuckle to see all the hooha going on about the new "Microsoft Flight" when no details have been released yet. It's even funnier when people get wound up about it without even knowing what it is going to be. For me, having owned every version of FS since the Sublogic days, I'm not going to worry about it until it comes to fruition. I'm still flying FSX, still have FS9 on my computer, and will continue to use both until such time as they become obsolete. I look forward to the new release more out of curiosity than anticipation. If it's going to be internet only under the "Live" umbrella, then I'll just keep chugging along with FSX. If not, we'll see what's offered.