I am afraid its going to be a watered down, appeal to the masses gamepad type game.

How many people do you know who use a gamepad on a PC? I know pretty much no one who does that. If this was a dumbed down gamepad title, I'd think it'd be an XBOX 360 title, not a clearly stated Windows exclusive.FS has always had "game" elements to it - what do you think the missions and stuff in FSX were?

Just clicked on the link on the front page and got 'Sorry this page is not available'.; just a glitch or conspiracy theorists have a field day :biggrin:It works via a different link.Interesting post here from Bill Leaming.http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21066I seem to remember some time ago that MS mentioned on line gaming as the next big thing for them so may be Flight will be for on line use and a nice monthly income for MS.

How many people do you know who use a gamepad on a PC? I know pretty much no one who does that. If this was a dumbed down gamepad title, I'd think it'd be an XBOX 360 title, not a clearly stated Windows exclusive.FS has always had "game" elements to it - what do you think the missions and stuff in FSX were?

I have (and use) a USB Xbox-360 type controller on my PC, for certain games. I've found quite often that there's support for this, not just as another game pad, built into whatever game I'm playing. We're talking more recent stuff here, certainly within the period where the Games for Windows branding appeared. Plug in the controller and options on-screen change to the relevant buttons on the controller, key mappings/profiles already suit the controler, etc. FSX even drives the rumble on the pad, if I happen to have accidentally left it plugged in...For the record, I don't use the gamepad to fly in FSX...!

How many people do you know who use a gamepad on a PC?  I know pretty much no one who does that.  If this was a dumbed down gamepad title, I'd think it'd be an XBOX 360 title, not a clearly stated Windows exclusive.FS has always had "game" elements to it - what do you think the missions and stuff in FSX were?

Absolutely agree, and don't forget that our precious simulator actually has the tag "Games for Windows PC" written on the box :)

I will stay positive until i get information that tells me this "game" cant be used as a simulator also. We know nothing right now so lets just say the glass is half full, not half empty. And i still have faith in Microsoft, they have made state of the art software for many many years, i dont believe they will dissapoint the flightsimming community with a silly game, if that was their intension they would have developed it for xbox360 and not pc.

I totally agree with "Thriller": An arcade flight game doesn't make sense (unless you can shoot and kill). It gets boring after a short while. It's too simple, we are not talking arcade game halls here. These MS games are often 10GB+.And if it were only missions, achievements a career mode etc, something like a MS Missions add-on could've done the trick. And there wouldn't be the need for MS to develop, and invest in, a complete new game/sim.MS Game Studios develop major titles like Age of Empire, Gears of War, Halo, Fable etc. I don't think they (with their resoures and costumer base) are going to make an arcadish flight game like Pilotwings 2.0. You just can't make it interesting or big enough with flying from A to B or rescuing a skier. They've done that in FSX already. It'll be good. I wishfully think.Hugo

(who some believe to be ex-Aces) who explained that dropping the word "Simulation" was more for legal reasons than anything else.So there's hope...Cheers,

I was just joking about he ex-Aces comment. :( He had a well thought out theory that made me chuckle a bit. He might be right in some aspects but he or anyone else around here really don't know what went on there. I do believe there was a push to dumb down the sim causing a conflict between Aces and Microsoft (as stated by Bill Leaming), as there are some aspects of FSX that went more for the game sim versus the sim side). MS cut's the team because of these issues and launches a new 'LIVE' product is not a good sign. We may not like what we find...I don't feel a forum should have been created for this new 'game' until we find out for sure exactly what it is. This thing may be the biggest disappointment in the whole franchise. More so than FSX and FS2000 was for the community.

How many people do you know who use a gamepad on a PC?

Before I got a Saitek Pro Yoke/Throttle/Rudder, I used a Xbox 1 S Controller to man my flights.I'm one of the few rare, But Gamepad people are out there. Microsoft itself Sold a Xbox 360 Controller for the PC.

FS has always had "game" elements to it - what do you think the missions and stuff in FSX were?

We know this and that was one of the major problems with FSX. Much of FSX's concept issue during it’s creation was trying to walk both sides of the fence which didn't work for gamers as the price of admission was too steep (upon release no one could get into FSX with decent performance like one could get into HALO, it failed on the game front) and on the simulation front it fractured the community built around franchise (even to this day). As a sim it didn't accomplish what every version before it was able to do, totally replace the preceding version. Now that the visionaries are all fired and Aces is disbanded all we have is the suites controlling the franchise with no checks and balances. I shudder to think what 'Flight' actually is and hope I'm pleasantly surprised but pointing to FSX as a beacon of standards is crazy to say the least. FSX is a huge failure on so many fronts but just the same it's the last true incarnation we have thus far. Now that machines are getting to a point their able to run FSX we are able to enjoy the sim. But we need not forget the legacy of FSX and the repercussions of its release. I actually believe many things would have been different not only in this community but Aces if FSX would have been a huge success somewhere. If the gamers would have embraced it Aces would still be around or if the FS community would have fully embraced it Aces may have still be here. It’s not about how many boxes moved but rather a true embrace of the sim like what we have with the franchise as a whole. Our embrace of Flight Simulator is what’s causing Microsoft to back peddle and bring out something again. Loosing on both fronts was a death nail for Aces. Aces needed a solid success with FSX somewhere and didn't have one. Now MS is in control we know their not going in the sim direction and FSX was the beginning of this. You tell me what 'Flight' really is without Aces only Microsoft in control (a game in the truest since). I'm hoping we get a nice surprise but I'm not holding my breath.I equate FS without Aces like Disney without Walt. We had things like Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, and Peter Pan to name a few when Walt was in control. Today we have Hannah Montana, That's so Raven, and The Wizards of Waverly Place. You loose the creative head the quality of the product goes to crap and all that's left is a franchise riding on what it once was. Hence at this point I don't believe 'Flight' is even deserving of it's own forum until we know exactly what it is...

I equate FS without Aces like Disney without Walt. We had things like Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, and Peter Pan to name a few when Walt was in control. Today we have Hannah Montana, That's so Raven, and The Wizards of Waverly Place. You loose the creative head the quality of the product goes to crap and all that's left is a franchise riding on what it once was. Hence at this point I don't believe 'Flight' is even deserving of it's own forum until we know exactly what it is...

I don't understand why being so pessimistic.MS Flight will be a simulator, no doubt about that.Most of us won't need the gaming part of the software and we'll use it like the previous versions, as a simulator.FS without ACES doesn't mean to me crap.I am curious to know what percentage of devs worked for both Win XP and Seven.Different team, different talents.Now regarding the new forum my personal opinion is that we are now on the most interesting period, the period of expectations and speculations.That's funny, that's interesting (more than 10.000 views on a single day) and thus deserves its own chatting place. Moreover I hope this forum will also be a plateform for future discussions with MS Flight team.

There is a very significant statement that was made during an interview (emphasis in red is mine):

The game is in its early development stages, with an alpha version nearly ready for internal testing, according to Kevin Unangst, a senior director in Microsoft's game unit. The company is offering few details on Flight, but Unangst said that it is looking to appeal to flying enthusiasts with the realism, accuracy, and fidelity they expect, but also imagines including other types of gameplay that might appeal more to novices. "It's an opportunity for us to branch out even more into something that's approachable," he said.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20013915-56.html?tag=topStories2IMHO, that statment pretty clearly indicates that they haven't forgotten their core enthusiasts...

There is a very significant statement that was made during an interview (emphasis in red is mine):Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20013915-56.html?tag=topStories2IMHO, that statment pretty clearly indicates that they haven't forgotten their core enthusiasts...

Great news, and kind of what I expected FLIGHT to be.

There is a very significant statement that was made during an interview (emphasis in red is mine):Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20013915-56.html?tag=topStories2IMHO, that statment pretty clearly indicates that they haven't forgotten their core enthusiasts...

Yes, that does sound promising.

looking to appeal to flying enthusiasts with the realism, accuracy, and fidelity they expect

Like taking off, hitting LNAV, VNAV, AP then going to bed, waking up next day and finding the aircraft landed itself and waiting at the end of the runway, engines running, to be taxiied to the gate. Another successful flight.Ah nothing like realism as some people like it! :(

The Microsft Flight Forum

Microsoft...:(