New Microsoft Flight Simulator announced!

[fsx 0]

Bringing in the casual gamers is only a good thing for us all, alot more copies sold, and more will get interest in flightsimming, much bigger market for addons of all kinds.

That is an excellent point

[carl2124 0]

Five years ago I was current on the latest hardware and was a lover of FS 2004 with all the add-ons.When FSX came out,I lurked on here to see how much tweaking and hardware might be needed to get that code loaded software off the run way. I am glad I saved my money.I hope Flight will renew my interest to invest in a product that will run with all the "sliders to the right" without a ten thousand dollar investment in hardware.

[Christopher Low 5,398]

FS98,FS2000,FS2004 and FSX were all "as real as it got" using the systems and programming at the time they came out.

FS98 and FS2000 certainly weren't "as real as it got" at the time. The terrain graphics (and a great many other things) in the Flight Unlimited series were far superior.

[Drumcode 1,907]

Five years ago I was current on the latest hardware and was a lover of FS 2004 with all the add-ons.When FSX came out,I lurked on here to see how much tweaking and hardware might be needed to get that code loaded software off the run way. I am glad I saved my money.I hope Flight will renew my interest to invest in a product that will run with all the "sliders to the right" without a ten thousand dollar investment in hardware.

Obviously you're not lurking often enough or carefully enough. The hardware that will run FSX like a champion went down on price, a while ago. You can fit within 800 bucks and get a decent machine. Also, let's not get ridiculous on the tweaking, it's not THAT bad.

[Tierborn 197]

FS98 and FS2000 certainly weren't "as real as it got" at the time. The terrain graphics (and a great many other things) in the Flight Unlimited series were far superior.

not fair to FS series .. flight unlimited was a very limited terrain sim.

[Guest]

Well, Microsoft isn't going to say it's not going to be the very best experience for virtual flight is it?If FS2004 was "As Real as it Gets" as Microsoft claimed there'd be no need for FSX or Flight would there?.

That's just marketing talk. Most detergent producers release something NEW or IMPROVED every year: 'With our new formula your clothes will become as new'... Hey, didn't you say the same last year...? And the year before that? And twenty years ago? Last week I saw a commercial of a well known detergent producer who had something new: some sort of powder you could add to your own detergent to get all the difficult smudges out of your clothes... So you can also add it to THEIR detergent which er... should already get all the difficult smudges out of your clothes by itself...? :( They promise things they already promised last year, which makes you wonder what the **** their product was actually doing last year...MS Flight will probably also be 'the best' and 'as real as it gets' but because I know now already MS Flight will not look like real life, there will still be room for improvement. It will be decades before we have a flying game that looks TOTALLY real.

[poplar 39]

Bit more news here from Kevin Unangst.....http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/111/1114324p1.html

[Benjamin J 751]

Bit more news here from Kevin Unangst.....http://uk.pc.ign.com.../1114324p1.html

This is excellent news. Shall we now try and stop the speculation about how a B29, titled "Enola Microsoft" will fly over and bomb our enjoyment of FS and so on and so forth? I'll go with the guys that say "I'll wait and see" from here.

[Mir // Flightbeam 541]

I spoke to one of my colleagues who was on the ACES team, and from he knows, the project has had some direction issues between management and production. From what I've been told, it's taking full advantage of "live" playing, meaning assets are downloaded from servers as you play. There's possibility of third party addons via a unified purchase and download system.

[rodger 0]

And I thought this is quite interesting as well...http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2010/aug10/08-17ageofempiresonline.mspx“We are bringing back the biggest franchises in PC gaming history and putting a “fresh” stake in the ground with them,” Dongelmans says. “This is our promise that we’re committed to Windows gaming for the long haul.”

Edited August 19, 2010 by rodger

[B777ER 2,492]

I spoke to one of my colleagues who was on the ACES team, and from he knows, the project has had some direction issues between management and production. From what I've been told, it's taking full advantage of "live" playing, meaning assets are downloaded from servers as you play. There's possibility of third party addons via a unified purchase and download system.

Assests d/l as you play? Other than wx it does not sound appealing.

[PhilTaylor 45]

1. Is it a Simulator or just a Game2. When is the expected Launch Date3. Will it be open source allowing third party developers.4. Will you be able to connect to a MP network other than Microsoft (Vatsim, IVAO).Mark.

I wouldn't expect the MSF developers to show up any time soon, this was the marketing announce after all and tech announce ( and the details you are after ) is usually quite some time after marketing announce. Certainly KevinU has given a hint that we wont hear signficant details until 2011.FWIW, the franchise is what is known as "open architecture" with "an extensibility model" and not "open source".

[WhiteKnight77 0]

Assests d/l as you play? Other than wx it does not sound appealing.

Apparently, some aspects of Assassin's Creed 2 from Ubisoft with their OSP DRM do something similar. I can tell you that save game information is stored on Ubi servers and is updated, much like Portal from Valve. The one good thing about Portal is that no matter which PC I am on, I am always at the same place in the game. It can still be played offline, but to synch everything, you have to connect to Steam so the game can upload the information to the Steam servers.

[TerrenceK 0]

And while we are all debating, speculating and rampagin' about Microsoft Flight, nobody noticed that Ages of Empire is coming back!??! I know all ya'll think the world begins and end with whether or not we will be able to simulate flight, but what about gathering resources? Building armies? What about advancing technology? Building universities, barracks, marketplaces? Setting up trade routes, building towers, walls, harvesting food?Guys!!! AGE OF EMPIRE IS COMING BACK!!Now, all jokes aside (I wasn't kidding, Age of Empire/Empire Earth rocks), MS Flight : Best thing that could happen. A new, fresh breeze, a new start. Out with the old, in with the new. It's about damn time. Flight Simulator, as we know it has been around for decades. Same people, same nagging, same complaining, same developers, same users, same philosophy, same thoughts, ideas, same graphics. If it will be basic flying, arcadish, it will leave more room for 3rd party developers to bring us 'simulation'. Perhaps the fact that it will be marketed for the main stream GAMER, means new main stream developers, main stream ideas, main stream projects, but most of all : main stream money (invested)...And let's be honest, the main stream games industry has advanced faster, and more innovative than what we have done for the past 10 years. And we have achieved a lot with the small crews, little budget...I can't wait for this to lift of, see where it takes us..

[mgh 89]

It’s perhaps worth revisiting what Microsoft has actually said, The key extracts from its press release are:"...Microsoft also announced the development of “Microsoft Flight,” a new entry inspired by the best-selling “Microsoft Flight Simulator” franchise. Published by Microsoft Game Studios, these new titles, along with the previously announced “Fable III,” fully integrate the free* Games for Windows – LIVE online service to deliver compelling socially connected gameplay experiences. Twenty-eight years after the debut of “Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0,” Microsoft Game Studios also announced the internal development of “Microsoft Flight,” a new Windows exclusive. “Microsoft Flight” will bring a new perspective to the long-standing genre, welcoming everyone, including long-time fans, to experience the magic of flight. All three titles are designed with Games for Windows – LIVE at the core, delivering a seamless online gaming experience from start to finish. Log in with a single identity to earn Achievements and up your Gamerscore across Games for Windows – LIVE and Xbox LIVE. See your friends online, send and receive voice messages, text messages and game invites, and enjoy cross-platform communication. You even receive automatic game updates and the ability to extend the experience with Game Add-ons only found on the Games for Windows – LIVE Marketplace.* Broadband Internet required."If we believe what Microsoft actually said - and I imagine it was carefully thought out - whatever else Flight may offer it will have all the basic features of a game delivering ... compelling socially connected gameplay experiences ... earn Achievements and up your Gamerscore…see your friends online, send and receive voice messages, text messages and game invites, and enjoy cross-platform communication. Games for Windows will be free but require ... broadband internet ... Updates and addons … only found on the Games for Windows – LIVE Marketplace ...