I read an interesting Q&A with the dev team of MS Flight tonight. The Q&A is in the latest issue of PC Pilot if you care to check it out. It wasn't very long but they covered some of the main things that people around here have been asking. The first main point was that it is an all new platform. They said there is a little FSX code here and there where it was useful to keep. They reiterated that FSX was built up on layers and layers of old code from previous releases and that the platform was no longer viable for the current hardware that most of us use. They also said that it is being developed to perform well on existing machines. They acknowledged that when FSX came out not even the most high end machine could run it well. They said that they want the new platform to appeal to a wider audience than FSX enjoys now. I think this will make more sense when you read the next part.The second big thing that I took from the interview concerned 3rd party content for Flight. I know there has been tons of speculation on the board that Flight somehow will be a dumbed down "game". That wasn't the impression that I got at all from the dev's answers. It sounds more like they want to take a lot of the things that we do on our own now and include them in the platform. As an example they want to make it much easier and friendlier to fly online with your friends. It also sounded like they want to build some of the virtual airline type flying into the platform. It didn't sound like they are trying to simplify the flying as much as simplify the use of Flight. They also said they want to make it much simpler for users to add 3rd party content. They said the vast majority of the people that bought FSX never added any third party add-ons because they didn't know they existed. So they want to build a 3rd party marketplace for Flight kinda like an app store. That way everyone that buys Flight will know this community of simmers is out here in the world. In my opinion this increased market will be great for 3rd party devs. I have a really positive feeling about what Flight is going to end up being. Imagine a sim like FSX but it's going to look better, be easier to use, and best of all it's going to use all the horsepower our machines have. It sounds to me that they have really listened to what the simming community has the biggest complaints about and addressed those issues.I guess the only bad news is that it kinda sounded like the 3rd party devs would have to have a seperate product line for Flight. That could be a lot more profitable now though if the entire FS community knows the add-ons exist.Hiram Hunt

many thanks for this thread!

Hiram,Thanks for this! What issue will this interview appear in? Gerry

I knew they were going to have an "app store" I just hope they don't do what apple does where it is required to sell products through it and take cuts from the developers. It should be optional.

Also I hope that they forget the idea of "flying online with friends!" fsx and gamespy was an absolute nightmareIVAO and vatsim have the online flying covered and it should remain so.

I knew they were going to have an "app store" I just hope they don't do what apple does where it is required to sell products through it and take cuts from the developers. It should be optional.

I'm sure the use of the "app store" will be optional as place that 3PD's can advertise and sell their products. I doubt that any developer will be required to use it and I cant see why someone like FSDreamteam or any other developes wouldn't still be able to develope an airport or aircraft, then package it in their own installer like they have done all along.Like Hiram said in his post, I think the 3rd party marketplace will be more of a way to get noobs to realize that there are products they can buy to add to the sim. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that have bought FS9 or FSX and to this day have no idea that you can buy other airports, a/c, or utilities, heck they probably dont even know about the vast online community of simmers. If this helps to bring more people into the hobby then its a great idea and will benefit the developers by adding a larger customer base which will result in more revenue and keep the hobby going for many years to come. I just hope the "app store" doesn't end up being a requirement or backfire in a way that would make less 3PD's want to develope for the platform.Only time will, tell but from what Hiram said it looks like Flight might be very promising.Sean Campbell

My only wish is that PMDG will be able to update the NGX to the newer sim. And that Flight has way better performance than FSX . That's all i want.

I'm sure the use of the "app store" will be optional as place that 3PD's can advertise and sell their products. I doubt that any developer will be required to use it and I cant see why someone like ...

Very true!