I would sure love to know what 3d modeling program gets the nod!! Will it be a low end (as in inexpensive) or high end (as in second mortgage time). Time will tell as they say.Regards, Mike Mann

I seem to recall seeing another MS Flight job ad asking for the applicant to have experience in 3ds Max or Maya. Ask yourself this... Do you really need two kidneys?

I don't think it's the modelling tool that's in question, it's simply the format. .3ds has to go... poof gone, just like Discreet and the actual license. I don't think Autodesk is interested in the free tools business.

I'd be interested to see where all this leaves third party sellers like Flight1, Simflight etc.

I seem to recall seeing another MS Flight job ad asking for the applicant to have experience in 3ds Max or Maya. Ask yourself this... Do you really need two kidneys?

Interesting, I do miss Maya, on the other hand 3ds Max has grown on me. In regards to money, you can't take it with you, and besides I always liked hot dogs and Kraft Dinner.Regards, Mike Mann

Interesting, I do miss Maya, on the other hand 3ds Max has grown on me. In regards to money, you can't take it with you, and besides I always liked hot dogs and Kraft Dinner.Regards, Mike Mann

Love the cavalier attitude about someone elses money. If you have so much, how about sharing.On a more serious note, IF flight is a step up from FSX, I will spend the $1000 for the mid level computer to run it and that is the limit of my budget. If I didn't have to upgrade my computer each time a new FS version came out, that money could be used for 3rd party addons. For FSX, apart from spending about $100 for Flying Club X, UTX USA and 2 ORBX products, my addons are exclusively freeware. My concern is for the health of the freeware development community when they have to buy a computer and also spend the same amount for development tools. Given this scenario, I don't see it surviving.Just my 4 cents worth.

Thanks guys for keeping this thread on a "positive note..." :( Or, have I just "jinxed it?" :(

Yes lets take a step back and remind ourselves that 3dsmax was never a requirement... GMAX was. which cost zero dollars. I'm not a modeller myself but what exactly does 3ds do that GMAX doesn't...aren't the built in animations enough or something? And yes I know 3dsmax does quite a bit more, just none of it seems useful for FSX.

Yes lets take a step back and remind ourselves that 3dsmax was never a requirement... GMAX was. which cost zero dollars. I'm not a modeller myself but what exactly does 3ds do that GMAX does...aren't the built in animations enough or something?

GMax is a slightly cut-down version of Max 4.1 (they removed the Renderer among other things).Max 7/8/9/2008 (which are the only versions for which there is FSX support) are, as might be inferred by their version numbers, far more robust in features. Aside from the UVW Map Editor, most everything that an FS modeler requires can be accomplished in GMax, but......Max 7/8/9/2008 makes most of those same tasks much, MUCH easier and faster. :(

Thanks guys for keeping this thread on a "positive note..." Or, have I just "jinxed it?"

Yeah, you very well might have... and from an unusual source, too.... Me. :)

We are looking for a technical Program Manager to own the graphics and environment features for the game, as well as drive and define the tools and 3rd party SDK. As a Program Manager you are responsible for ensuring that appropriate research and specs are written before content production is initiated....

Emphasis mine...Hopefully the position has opened up due to someone leaving for greener pastures, and they already have much of this work done. I'm pleased that everyone's taken positive news out of the SDK being mentioned, but based on this opening I think MS Flight might be far younger in its development cycle than many might be assuming. Is that negative? Maybe, maybe not... It'll be finished when it's finished. It just seems like a position that would normally span the entire lifecycle of product development, as opposed to being introduced in the middle somewhere. JINX!-Greg

If I had to make a SWAG, I would raise the possibility that MS and LM have agreed to split the marketing "territory",with LM selling Prepare3D to the commercial customers and MS covering the retail or entertainment market with essentially the same software, sold soon under the name FLIGHT. This thought fits nicely with the concept that a SIMULATOR is used professionally by REAL pilots and that we NON pilots use the software solely for fun and enjoyment. Hence MS agrees to not use the term SIMULATOR, even though the products are essentially the same. (The word SIMULATOR implying that such a product is used only for professional purposes.)That leads one to contemplate the possibility that development work by either party will be shared. And that suggests that FLIGHT may turn out to be something quite exciting for us amateurs. And that there may also be a very new version of Prepare3D in the cards.If this sounds illogical, consider how the truck manufacturers sell pick-up trucks- via Retail or Fleet Commercial/ Industrial Marketing divisions. ALMOST same truck- different class of customer.AR

It’s great to see the SDK mentioned :)

It’s great to see the SDK mentioned :)

yes, fantastic stuff an SDK. even though it will no doubt be as much an afterthought in the development process as it is in the threads in this forum.i do not, however, think we should leave it up to truck manufacturers to develop the SDK -- even thought, i realise, they would probably do a slightly better job than microsoft.

GMax is a slightly cut-down version of Max 4.1 (they removed the Renderer among other things).Max 7/8/9/2008 (which are the only versions for which there is FSX support) are, as might be inferred by their version numbers, far more robust in features. Aside from the UVW Map Editor, most everything that an FS modeler requires can be accomplished in GMax, but......Max 7/8/9/2008 makes most of those same tasks much, MUCH easier and faster. :(

And much more expensively. Max and Maya are both currently retailing in the UK at about £2500.

I see it as a chicken and egg type situation... you kind of need the full blown version to learn and understand all that's going on, but at the end of the day all the content you need for FSX can be produced with GMAX.

I see it as a chicken and egg type situation... you kind of need the full blown version to learn and understand all that's going on, but at the end of the day all the content you need for FSX can be produced with GMAX.

Comparable to doing a bitmap with Microsoft Paint as opposed to using Photoshop. At the end of the day all the content you need for a bmp file can be produced with Microsoft Paint. On the other hand the ease of doing that bmp file using the powerful tools of Photoshop is similar to using the powerful tools of 3ds Max as opposed to gmax. In the end, I guess it is a matter of whatever works for you.Regards, Mike Mann