Geof,I can certainly see third party developers having a closer look at XPX now. It is up to Laminar to get cracking though.

I don't think it has handed anything over yet either. Maybe at some point in time but that will have to be at a point in time when someone can evaluate fsx and all the addon's they have, can have, and then see a better proposition for them with xplane. From what I read here you are looking at 12+ months to just round out the beta to about 10.5. How long until the 3rd party developers hop on board in more numbers and start porting over their wealth of content? I will keep an eye on prepar3d, they are moving to dx11 and hopefully 64 bit at some point. In this timeframe some other products will spring up. I understand Flying Legends who own the DCS franchise are planning on releasing some sort of civil simulator. For those that do not know it uses a good graphics engine, their aircraft cannot be beaten for modeling and avionics, multiplayer, a good mission builder etc. I look forward to seeing what will come out from there and will support it for sure, as I buy and support a lot of FS developers these days.

They don't deserve a cent after leaving FSX the bug-riddled, registry-invading, un-optimized, and random-file-placing steaming pile of dog-earned code after 2 "patches" and called it a day.It's the FSX third party developers that deserve every bit of credit (and money) for being able to bring us a vast variety of payware and freeware that makes it a fun place to spend time....and in some cases improving performance.MS wants a slice of the MMO pie (and microtransactions) and who can blame them. Give away the razor and sell the blades-oldest marketing concept in history but not boding well for those of us that enjoy a serious simulator.

This is the most inmature post I have ever seen come from an AVSIM Staff member. It' bad enough to read this kind of ignorant general characterization from an average user, like this sim sucks or is garbage, like Goren, Morten and others have (rightfully) complained about, but for it to come from a Staff member is just plain unprofessional, and not the image I think AVSIM would want to project! Congratulations, you just proved their point!!

Edited January 4, 201214 yr by tf51d

Yes and no - the impatient flight simulation geek types like me instinctively look to other options to see what's new and exciting. I've got FSX as my daily flyer, and it satisfies my needs nicely, but I'm always looking for new new new. Then there's Prepar3D, which for less than the monthly cost of a membership to World of Warcraft or EVE Online you can get FSX on steroids and the serious simmer have their cake (a slew of past and present addons and developers) and eat it too (reportedly improved performance and ongoing core development by Lockheed Martin). Then, of course, there's XP10 which has all the plusses and minuses we've been hashing over the past month or so. On top of all that, we still don't have a good handle on what the true nature of MS Flight and its future will be.This news is only a gift to Laminar Research if they can make good on the marketing of X-Plane 10 and finish what they have started in a timely manner. If XP10 remains an unfinished product which excels in some areas but fails miserably in others, it will not put a dent in the flightsim marketplace above and beyone those who are already X-Plane fans. In my eyes, today's news about MS Flight only buys time for Laminar - it doesn't give them a free pass.C'mon, Austin - get those scenery elements finished up and into the package! Stick it where Billy Gates' sun don't shine! Git 'r done!! Git the new airport editing tool out. Git goin'! Fix the cities! Go go go! Don't let the early life cycle of MS Flight pass you by as yet another missed opportunity...Edit: Edited out a large chunk of rhetorical questions which were answered by reading info at this link, seen in pvjinflight's post above.

Prepar3d = FSX without the steroids, maybe a year or two from now. I tried it out for a month, i didnt see anything different about it. By the time that happens XPX should be on steroids, hopefully!

This is the most inmature post I have ever seen come from an AVSIM Staff member. It' bad enough to read this kind of ignorant general characterization from an average user, like this sim sucks or is garbage, like Goren, Morten and others have (rightfully) complained about, but for it to come from a Staff member is just plain unprofessional, and not the image I think AVSIM would want to project! Congratulations, you just proved their point!!

I agree with Ted's remarks, totally! So Goran, Morten and others can (rightfully) complain, but Ted can't because he's a staff member?

Then there's Prepar3D, which for less than the monthly cost of a membership to World of Warcraft or EVE Online you can get FSX on steroids and the serious simmer have their cake (a slew of past and present addons and developers) and eat it too (reportedly improved performance and ongoing core development by Lockheed Martin).

Now that Flight is pretty much a non-starter, I've seen a lot of people suddenly singing the praises of Prepar3D, but I have to ask, just how long are you willing to fork over $10 a month?

Per month is not for everyone but I already do it for my motor racing. (and every other blimmin bill I pay) I have read that they are going to try and come up with a better pricing scheme but I think their hands are tied a little bit due to the commercial use of the sim. I .e. when it was purchased from MS I think the arrangement is that they would not sell it for entertainment use. Of course anyone can still buy it for full price or 9.99 per month. You only have to look at the millions playing differn't type of mmorpg's and paying more to see that the model can work. I would think on average the flight simmer could afford it more than the avg mmorpg'er I update my computer every year and that kind of cost just disappears but I know it is not for everyone, we will just have to wait and see how it turns out and if it is worth it. At least with prepared a number of addons for fsx work out of the box and a number of developers are already selling stuff for it - like orbx with cross license deals. BTW, here is a WIP screenshot over nevada of the dcs sim. Its an old shot and obviously the shadows on the roads need to be fixed. It has all the stuff xplane does as well, atmospheric scattering, proper clouds (cant see in this shot but in game its really good), good lighting etc.

I agree with Ted's remarks, totally! So Goran, Morten and others can (rightfully) complain, but Ted can't because he's a staff member?

The difference is whenever I read a staff members post on this forum, they are written professionally, and without generalizations. If they have a problem with a sim or an addon, they will state specifically what is in a civil manner. Just look at Geof's posts in this forum section with the issues he has with XP10. He states specifically what he has problems with, as well as what he likes about it. I've never until now read a post from him or any other AVSIM Staff member using generalization terms such as "steaming pile of dog-earned code ". Mainly because they are mature individuals, but also because when they post here, they represent AVSIM! Did Ted ever stop to think that if MS/Aces didn't build FS with the open architecture it has, we wouldn't have the Addons we enjoy today?PS: When is this forum going to get spell check bacK? :(

Edited January 4, 201214 yr by tf51d

TF51D, I know you are taking exception to the tone coming from an admin but if there is one refreshing thing about his post, no one has jumped all over him, told him to change every description to have 'in my opinion' in front of it and then asked him to balance it out by saying something nice about the sim in a following paragraph :)

Well Jason, I'm a big X-Plane fan but I agree with tf51d that TedG tone was bad, especially coming from an AVSIM staff member.

TF51D, I know you are taking exception to the tone coming from an admin but if there is one refreshing thing about his post, no one has jumped all over him, told him to change every description to have 'in my opinion' in front of it and then asked him to balance it out by saying something nice about the sim in a following paragraph :)

Well, had he ranted something like"how bad the FS flightmodel is or crap scenery it has" I bet we would have about 10 pages of reply's by know :acute:M

Ted, while I do take exception to how you worded your post, after rereading what I posted, I realize I may have come on a little too strong myself, for that I do apologize!

Murmur, I am not disagreeing with you but thankfully Ted said FSX and not xplane otherwise this thread would already be another 4 pages long with 'in your opinion' scattered all over the place :)

Well, had he ranted something like"how bad the FS flightmodel is or crap scenery it has" I bet we would have about 10 pages of reply's by know :acute:M

Hah, I wrote mine at the same time :) OK, ten pages form each camp then!

Ted, while I do take exception to how you worded your post, after rereading what I posted, I realize I may have come on a little too strong myself, for that I do apologize!

No need to apologize.And I am no admin...simply a lowly cub reporter as it were. And bear in mind that thus far my reviews have been split between X-Plane and FSX.I may not have been clear in my post either. It was a poke at the thought Microsoft somehow deserved a piece of the third party pie when it is those third parties that had to work within the framework I rather nastily...but in my opinion...truthfully described.I am certainly not commenting....or ranting....on the flight models, graphics, or anything of that nature in relation to FSX or any other sim.If the above was not clearly understood that is poor communication on my part and for that I would apologize. I'll stand by the comment itself....I thought it was pretty kind actually :( .And by the way....the current piece I am working on is.....dumdumtadum.....FSX-related and it is pretty fabulous. Although I am pretty sure a rather large chunk of the code is operating external to FSX :( . But that is neither here nor there.

By the way....I don't rant. Not my style!But in the interest of promoting simulator harmony here are two flights I made in the last 24 hours:Here we are mildly violating airspace restrictions over the Thames in the outstanding Carenado 337 enhanced by REX2 and UK2000 amoung others:And trundling along in a new aircraft for me...the Beaver!I am really sorely tempted to fling a small taste of my current review project out there-but Robert would probably yell at me and I would rather present it in it's entirety.**edit**Back to flying now. Leave a message at the tone :(