We closed the Flight forum because we are sick and tired of the speculation, rants and nonsense associated with Flight (Alain being a prime example). Here's another reason. We are a business which makes money from selling addons for open platforms such as FSX. Until Flight becomes a known entity and there is an SDK published, we would be fools to commit any resources to it. I think every other developer in the FSX world feels exactly the same way. Of course, we remain enthused about what we see from their screenshots and videos of Hawaii. We have been talking openly to Lockheed Martin for eighteen months and we embrace their open, community facing communication and transparency, and their ongong development of the engine and SDK. So for us it is a no-brainer to embrace P3D as another platform to allow us to achieve incremental revenues from the commercial and academic markets. We will be announcing cross-grade licensing very soon. My advice is to simply enjoy viewing the Flight screenshots and videos which MS release at their own pace, without reading between every single line of every press release. Flight will be what it will be. It really does look superb and I am sure it will be a lovely flight experience for everyone when it is finally released. Now please, don't *speculate* on my words I've just posted. There are no conspiracy theories and I said it in black and white: until we can make money from Flight we're focusng on platforms where we can. Simple as that :)

HelloThanks for that input John.It is pretty much like I mentioned a few posts before.What i cannot figure out is if Flight! is going to be linked into a MS online marketplace, what are they going to have ready to sell there on release day?.If none of the developers has any idea about the SDK the shelves are going to be bare in that marketplace.Flight! is either so ground breaking that they dare not release any real info at this point, Or.....It is so underwhelming that saying nothing is the safest bet.

First, came the rumour (or not) about developers getting screwed (I mean locked out of Flight) and after that (2 or 3 days ago maybe more) Aerosoft took their Flight's thread away and replaced it by this one, now Orbx closed their own Flight's thread after a FULL year of speculation by their members and gave, as a reason of the closure, ....speculations???? Well guess what....MS really did screwed the 3RD party developers out of Flight or this is the biggest hoax of all time in the flight simulation population as MS and all the developers who know what's going on about Flight are in this conspiracy together and MS told them to cut it out until Flight is released....closing a Flight thread because of speculation....really???

Well that is known, developers are upset over something. What that something is we do not know. But whatever it is/was it pushed at least two developers to break their NDA and speak up about it. If this is nothing but a hoax its an elaborate one that will serve nothing more than to bring ill will upon MS, for the simple fact they refuse to provide promised updates for Flight. And when those rare updates do occur they leave more questions than answers. Why only Hawaii? Why no new plane pics? All of these could be answered by a quick Flight website update or an official email to Avsim Staff, but none of that has occurred. What has occurred is something behind the scenes which has clearly upset add on developers en mass...

Flight! is either so ground breaking that they dare not realese any real info at this point, Or..... It is so underwhelming that saying nothing is the safest bet.

This is MS were talking about, if Flight will be so ground breaking they don't want to release any info on it, then none of us will be able to run it on even the most high end of current hardware... The second one is the safer of the two, or they have made a substantial move towards the console gaming market with Flight, one that more or less screws the add on developers out of a job...

Well that is known, developers are upset over something. What that something is we do not know. But whatever it is/was it pushed at least two developers to break their NDA and speak up about it. If this is nothing but a hoax its an elaborate one that will serve nothing more than to bring ill will upon MS, for the simple fact they refuse to provide promised updates for Flight. And when those rare updates do occur they leave more questions than answers. Why only Hawaii? Why no new plane pics? All of these could be answered by a quick Flight website update or an official email to Avsim Staff, but none of that has occurred. What has occurred is something behind the scenes which has clearly upset add on developers en mass... This is MS were talking about, if Flight will be so ground breaking they don't want to release any info on it, then none of us will be able to run it on even the most high end of current hardware... The second one is the safer of the two, or they have made a substantial move towards the console gaming market with Flight, one that more or less screws the add on developers out of a job...

And the speculation grows and grows with every post!

What did forum moderators who have (had) Flight Forums expect was going to happen when there is nothing but speculation concerning Flight? After more than a year there is nothing but Hawaii screenshots, a restrictive NDA, developers expressing anger about Flight and now forum closings. Microsoft totally screwed the pooch with the way they are handling the PR for this title. Instead of generating excitement, it is generating frustration and there just seems to be no end in sight. I'm reminded of the FS98 fiasco and boycots, the FS2000 performance disaster, the FSX fiasco that split the community and now Flight that isn't released yet but is already a quagmire of ill feelings, highs and lows and mind games. For a company worth $214 billion dollars I'm just not sure why Microsoft can't get it together with this title. Either get behind it and do it right or dump it and move on. Do it or don't do it, but this continued half-baked approach is just a lesson in futility year after year.

Guys if we can somehow tie in 2012 and the pyramids into all this conspiracy talk I think it would really spice things up. Just putting it out there.

What did forum moderators who have (had) Flight Forums expect was going to happen when there is nothing but speculation concerning Flight? After more than a year there is nothing but Hawaii screenshots, a restrictive NDA, developers expressing anger about Flight and now forum closings. Microsoft totally screwed the pooch with the way they are handling the PR for this title. Instead of generating excitement, it is generating frustration and there just seems to be no end in sight. I'm reminded of the FS98 fiasco and boycots, the FS2000 performance disaster, the FSX fiasco that split the community and now Flight that isn't released yet but is already a quagmire of ill feelings, highs and lows and mind games. For a company worth $214 billion dollars I'm just not sure why Microsoft can't get it together with this title. Either get behind it and do it right or dump it and move on. Do it or don't do it, but this continued half-baked approach is just a lesson in futility year after year.

Yeah, my friend we've already tried common sense and logic with this crowd and it didn't work... but you have hit the nail on the head.

"These dreams go on when I close my eyesEvery second of the night I live another lifeThese dreams that sleep when it's cold outsideEvery moment I'm awake the further I'm away"

Awesome! Thanks :)

I have my tinfoil hat on as I load P3D for another flight. As long as it does not cost me a bunch of new money for my addons, I plan on de-fsxing over time and switching over to P3D. Kind regards,

Well that is known, developers are upset over something. What that something is we do not know. But whatever it is/was it pushed at least two developers to break their NDA and speak up about it.

I must have missed this when I was moving. Can you provide names or a link to identifiable information that shows who these two developers are? Now I've seen the mysterious postings by cutely named people on their first post. Wasn't Howard Hughes one of the names used? I truly, really, really truly hope that those types of postings are not what you are expounding as some type of "proof" that there's turmoil in FlightSimLand. I believe little to no news is a good thing from Microsoft. Let them focus on getting the product done, rather than updating some web portal or trolling forums trying to squash the rampant and IMO, unfounded rumors that are around.

What's wrong with speculation? And what do you expect other than speculation if no new relevant information is published for so long.So, let's speculate a bit... why did so many developers closed their Flight forums almost at the same time? Look, if people want to speculate that Flight is actually going to be an Ice Cream Machine Simulator (from now on know as ICMS), let them. Somebody mentioned that it's damaging... to whom?Lighten up !

I have my tinfoil hat on as I load P3D for another flight. As long as it does not cost me a bunch of new money for my addons, I plan on de-fsxing over time and switching over to P3D. Kind regards,

+1 The way I see it is either, Flight will be the be all and end all of all flight sims and will be compatible with all FSX addons, in which case we will be all happy, or it will be an Xbox/PSP platform and we will still be all happy as we continue on the P3D platform. Either way, I don't really see a problem.

It's just sad that Microsoft works so hard at keeping fans unexited about their products... It isn't hard to understand that developers are growing tired either. All the uncertainties about Flight make addon customers like me ancious. I used to buy four-five addons each month, now I buy none, because I'm waiting for Flight and X-Palne 10. I'm not going to invest in a platform with an uncertain future. As soon as Saitek and TrackIR hardware is compatible with P3D I'm jumping over to Lockheed.

The way I see it is either, Flight will be the be all and end all of all flight sims and will be compatible with all FSX addons, in which case we will be all happy, or it will be an Xbox/PSP platform and we will still be all happy as we continue on the P3D platform. Either way, I don't really see a problem.

If there is one thing certain about Flight it is the fact it will be for the PC. This has only been pointed out a couple of times before...

If there is one thing certain about Flight it is the fact it will be for the PC. This has only been pointed out a couple of times before...

Hi Bert, sure, well that evens out the playing field even more. So, as I see it now with P3D we will still have an option regardless of Flight. Of course the worst scenario, as we all know, would be if Flight is absolutely awesome and is not compatible with 3rd party addons. Anyway, I will put an end to my post before the onslought of even more speculations

John Nicol Lead Developer of Prepar3D.(ex ACES)

Guys, Just to clear the air. I am not ex-Aces (but appreciate the thought!). I was the CEO of my own Defense and Aerospace Modelling and Simulation company and was involved with the Aces Studio as one of the initial four launch partners for Microsoft ESP. I became involved with the Studio when ESP was being formulated and productized and were part of the Alpha for the product starting in 2007. I also advised the Studio on military modelling and simulation and features required for ESP v2.0 and we had built various add-ons for the commercial market including a weapons add-on, 3D modelling tool, DIS and HLA add-ons and various simulators. Just so you know! Regards,John