Just for the fun of it, I took a look at the beginning of the video frame by frame. The drifting clouds and lighting effects appear to vanish as the camera starts to pan, and are replaced with less detailed versions.

It all sounds enticing, but one part concerns me. It's that whole "social networking" aspect. Now, the flight sim community is fortunate that the level of... well, there's no delicate way to put this, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Compared to shoot-em-up and action games, we enjoy a relatively minor level of douchebaggery. VATSIM strictly controls their servers to make sure that people are courteous and respectful of others while using their service, but can the same be said for Games Live? The FAQ says you can fly solo. Does this mean that one can do their simming in an offline mode, free of harassment from DEMONSLAYER666 trying to recreate the 9/11 attacks on random skyscrapers? I'm just a bit leery about. There's a concept floating around called The Greater Internet F-Wad Theory that pretty much sums it up. I'd hate to have to deal with that just to be able to do some bush flying or virtual airline revenue flights.

Q: How does Games for Windows – LIVE factor in? A: Games for Windows – LIVE introduces a new level of connectivity to virtual flight, enhancing both the social and game play experiences of the title. Content is updated virtually. You can fly solo or join an entire global flight community online. You can easily connect with and facilitate flight experiences with your friends. The addition of Games for Windows - LIVE creates an ubiquitous virtual world of flight that offers easy and engaging access to the magic of flight for all.

This is most bothersome as it quite possibly means the game is tied to MS's servers as a form of DRM, a similar kind that Ubisoft lost 13% in sales in PC games in it's last quarter compared to the same quarter the previous year. This could be no more than a Steam like feature, but at least Steam allows for one to play games offline unlike Ubisoft who requires a constant connection. MS may have a hard time selling Flight if it does require a 24/7 connection. I won't get into the "social" experience part of it. I don't use Twitter or  Facebook, and I don't expect games to give me that for any price.

At this moment, it is pure guesswork what Microsoft means with all that. Windows Live might be nothing more than a built in shop for DLC, which could be a great way for third parties to sell their products to a larger public. On the other hand it might be requiring an 24/7 connection which would be a showstopper for some.And the "social experience" might be a great thing for virtual airlines, as long as it is optional.

Im personally really excited, I will be building a new rig in the next 2 months or so, so hopefully should be able to run MSFlight when its released.

At this moment, it is pure guesswork what Microsoft means with all that. Windows Live might be nothing more than a built in shop for DLC, which could be a great way for third parties to sell their products to a larger public. On the other hand it might be requiring an 24/7 connection which would be a showstopper for some.And the "social experience" might be a great thing for virtual airlines, as long as it is optional.

I never understood this .. why is the 24/7 connection a showstopper?

I never understood this .. why is the 24/7 connection a showstopper?

Because it's meant to deter piracy, but in reality it only affects the customers. In the end the pirates still get their game, but the honest customers have to be connected 24/7.For you maybe it's no showstopper but for me it often is. In the 2 summer months I go back to my homecountry, I have no internet connection but I have a LOT of time to kill. I refuse to give money for something I cannot use whenever I'd want! Especially when the anti-piracy technique doesn't even work...

I never understood this .. why is the 24/7 connection a showstopper?

Not everyone has access to the internet. I remember someone on these forums who works on a ship and uses a laptop for flightsimming, or others who are on holiday at some remote location. For those there is simply no way to have a regular internet connection. With Silent Hunter V, there was the same discussion. For the game to work one had to have a continues internet connection to the DRM server or else the game wouldn't work. If you didn't have a connection to the internet, or if the DRM server was unavailable the game didn't start. I purchased the game and couldn't play it at first because the DRM server wasn't available. When it was available saving your progress was slow because the profile was stored on the server.

ya thanks guys ..but i bet 99% of the folks have continuous internet service.  So for those guys to complain .... its for sake of complaining. 

Yup. Sure is. My thoughts on that is as follows: The Cessna is parked in the hangar, left alone with the Stearman in front, outside. It's a symbol of "out with the old, and in with the new." The Cessna represents the old, (FSX) and the Stearman represents the new. (MS Flight) It's also showing the leap forward in the graphics, giving the impression that the sim will be greatly improved in that category.I think I have too much free time.

Or maybe the Cessna represents the new, parked inside the hangar and the Stearman represents the old, parked outside. "Out with the old, in with the new".

Speculate to your heart’s content, it’s made for some comedic moments.The rendering of the Stearman in game is beautiful , the shaders were replaced and look real fine,throwing smooth edged partial shadows, i am looking forward to playing with the SDK, it's a challenge to learn it all again but that’s the attraction of developing aircraft for FS, pushing the envelope.

I won't get into the "social" experience part of it. I don't use Twitter or  Facebook, and I don't expect games to give me that for any price.

I'm not sure either. But, Avsim is a social network too and it's happens to be the one we've chosen to use.At the root of it Facebook is a forum...The difference being Facebook members manage who belongs to their 'forum'.It’s harder to remain anonymous in FB…that means there is more pressure to be civil.I suspect we’ll see a new level of social network integration GFL/facebook/avsim/others

Q: How does Games for Windows – LIVE factor in? A: Games for Windows – LIVE introduces a new level of connectivity to virtual flight, enhancing both the social and game play experiences of the title. Content is updated virtually. You can fly solo or join an entire global flight community online. You can easily connect with and facilitate flight experiences with your friends. The addition of Games for Windows - LIVE creates an ubiquitous virtual world of flight that offers easy and engaging access to the magic of flight for all.

If this means streaming high quality terrain data (visual and topographic) into the sim I might be tempted to connect. Of course I would expect the data to be cached locally for offline use. The social aspects of it really don't interest me much.

The rendering of the Stearman in game is beautiful , the shaders were replaced and look real fine,throwing smooth edged partial shadows, i am looking forward to playing with the SDK, it's a challenge to learn it all again but that’s the attraction of developing aircraft for FS, pushing the envelope

Wouldn't it be great if they reversed their usual paradigm and started putting out some SDK info ahead of the sim so that developers can start coming up to speed in preparation for the products release. The tools to actually create/integrate the addon content would of course have to be purchased with the sim.

ya thanks guys ..but i bet 99% of the folks have continuous internet service.  So for those guys to complain .... its for sake of complaining.

There's a little more to it than internet connection types... Perhaps you like being plugged into the matrix, me, I value my freedom and that includes simming when and where I want, not at the mercy of the cloud.Same thing happened with Rise of Flight. In a later patch they came to their senses. I'm guessing MS will not let it come to that.:( As for this new vid, it's cool, but at the same time, it tells us very little. The agony!