A 'Flight' state-of-mind reset....

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

I just took a minute to post as I have just climbed through 3,000 feet out of FS9's GREAT Sacramento freeware airport.I have been thinking quite a bit about Microsoft's Flight Arcade Game since 'some' news and leaked Beta vids have come out. I reviewed my emotional reaction to finding out that it was just that...a game for the kiddies, with nothing to entice those that have been their loyal, dedicated following for the flight genre.For those users, that proper and in-depth world aviation depiction is paramount. For those that would wish to immerse themselves into 'what if'.... I had had the career or financial opportunity to experience the thrill, satisfaction, and intellectual growth that commercial or general aviation could afford myself.....Having been with Microsoft through each and every edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator, and having been a paying and not pirating customer..who has supported Microsoft's financial growth and gain these last 25 or so years, my emotional reaction to finding out that Microsoft, for all intents and purposes has cut me loose...as it were, flipped me the bird...was a hard, hard landing upon the 'tarmac'!I can't believe how passionate I was, and still am about flight simulation. Wow....that they (Microsoft Corporation) having apparently left serious flight simulation and their own marketing moniker, '..as real as it gets'...yeah unbelivable in how much it left me in a state of shock, disbelief, anger, resentment, ebbing of emotion, and then finally, where I am today posting this message, in a state of emotional detachment and disenfranchisement of Microsoft as a source, and purveyor of my 'drug of choice'....flight simulation.That was then, since we all found out what was what. Now is now! The 'now' is that I have completely rethought the present situation. I have decided that there truly ISN'T a 'situation' at all, except what was in my mind over the last week or so. Here I am, with a GREAT FS9 flight in 'pause mode'. Here I am, with all the wonderful, and so satisfying 3rd party support programs running in the background, Pete's gem, REX Extreme, FSPassengers, a few others...all running behind FS9 and making the legacy program ROCK!Same for FSX...ditto with FSX. I have given my head a realignment 'shake' this morning, with realizing that I don't need any further from Microsoft to give me any more enjoyment than I already have. I have fabulous real-world weather. I have fabulous 3rd party airframes. I have fabulous 3rd party (paid and freeware) scenery beyond that of both FS9 and FSX. I have MUCH to enjoy, verily so as I type this. I do NOT need Microsoft. They...need me as a once financial supporter of their company in general. They need me. They need all of you readers, just as much. We have what they hunger for...what is in our wallets and purses. They have by means of Flight...shown us that much! That much is quite clear.So fellow simm'er,....we have PLENTY to celebrate in FS9 and FSX. We don't need to hold a wake (as we..including myself, for sure!) have done over the last two weeks. We don't need to give ourselves heartburn and feelings of anxiety over what Flight has turned out to be for the many. Truly. Really....who in the h*ll cares anymore! I certainly don't. No more anger, no more negativity. Just going back to appreciation of what I DO HAVE in present flight simulation, and not lose sleep over what I do not, or might not 'have'. There is no payout in this line of thinking/feeling. No payout, but a fool's gold clutch to the chest.Back to FS9. Back to FSX. For some, go back and enjoy any other flight sim and or legacy flight program that you are presently enjoying. THAT is where our heads should be. Microsoft apparently blew off our long time user base in such a flippant manner, that they do not deserve you or I loosing any sleep over the death of the name 'Simulator' (their choice....). I have readjusted my thinking today...and am honestly back to a state of enjoyment, happiness, and FURTHER anticipation in what I own to date,...and what further FS9/FSX freeware, payware...might come on down the line.... So should we all. Microsoft will suffer financially for this. The Suits responsible for running to the quick buck...will suffer, when that anticipated 'kiddie base' does not materialize to the dollar signs they were prepared to kiss us off for. I clearly see this coming....just as Vista went down in embarrassing flames.So...back to what I have installed. Back to the flight out of Sacramento, heading for San Diego at FL190, and back to that flight attendant, bringing me up coffee to the cockpit (FSPassenger). Life is good again. The flight simulation enjoyment button has been pushed and reset (VERY LARGE GRIN!) Microsoft doesn't need me obviously in a financial relationship. That is fine as of now...for I no longer need Microsoft either. I have two full-depth flight simulator programs already installed on my rig. Back flying. Back to flying..... High-Five everybody! High Five....Mitch'erTo all...have fun, be happy, be content....and fire up WHATEVER you already have. After all...it’s AS REAL AS IT GETS!Cheers,Mitch'er

Edited January 17, 2012 by Sesquashtoo

[n4gix 4,947]

Well said sir! Honestly, how are things any different now than they were back in the days when as far as anyone knew Microsoft had totally abandoned any type of "flying" platform?If the new "Flight" proves to be a financial disaster, we have lost nothing at all. Should a miracle occur and "Flight" be a success, or at least enough of a success to enable the growth of DLC to the point that it becomes attractive, we'll have gained something.

[Dillon 2,197]

I have to agree 100%. :Applause:Be thankful for what we already have. Imagine if something like this would have happened after FS98 or FS2000 was released. We all knew the ride would be over at some point as many post came out here and there with words like, "Will Microsoft make another version of Flight Simulator?". I'm glade things progressed up to FS9 and not stopped at FS98. FSX looks like it has allot of room to grow as well and add-on developers are more commited than ever to produce for that platform. The discussion is all but closed for me as I'm back to flying FS9 and enjoying the tones of add-ons I have for it.

Well said sir! Honestly, how are things any different now than they were back in the days when as far as anyone knew Microsoft had totally abandoned any type of "flying" platform?If the new "Flight" proves to be a financial disaster, we have lost nothing at all. Should a miracle occur and "Flight" be a success, or at least enough of a success to enable the growth of DLC to the point that it becomes attractive, we'll have gained something.

Bill I think people understand without updates to the series both FSX and FS9 won't be compatible with new versions Windows and driver environments of the future. NO we have not lost anything today but we are now on borrowed time with the older sims heading into the future. Edited January 17, 2012 by Dillon

[n4gix 4,947]

Bill I think people understand without updates to the series both FSX and FS9 won't be compatible with new versions Windows and driver environments of the future. No we have not lost anything today but we are now on borrowed time with the older sims.

Dillon, I still have one laptop running Win98. I have three really old 486 machines in my basement running DOS 3.1 for crying out loud! As long as the hardware holds up, those running WinXP, Vista (both flavors) and Win7 (both flavors) will be able to run their beloved FS98, FS2000, FS2002, FS2004 and/or FSX... :(

[Arwen 289]

If the new "Flight" proves to be a financial disaster, we have lost nothing at all. Should a miracle occur and "Flight" be a success, or at least enough of a success to enable the growth of DLC to the point that it becomes attractive, we'll have gained something.

This is something that some members on this forum are not getting. No matter what happens when Flight is released, you can still continue to use your current version of MS Flightsim.I just don't believe that Flight will require a miracle to succeed . . . all it will take is for simmers to give it a chance (and for quality DLC to be released in a timely manner, and for it to be reasonably priced.) Edited January 17, 2012 by Arwen

[n4gix 4,947]

You're preaching to the choir now Arwen. Well, you're really preaching to the preacher in my case at least... :) :LMAO:I've still got one machine here that still has FS95 and FS98 loaded and operational. I keep it around for the sake of nostalgia.

[Guest jahman]

Well put, we certainly have FSX (and for some, aslo FS9) to keep us entertained (and please, Arwen, do take note we all are aware we can still use FSX!).

I have decided that there truly ISN'T a 'situation' at all, except what was in my mind over the last week or so.

Yes, of course, that is true for everything in Life. Richard Bach's "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" is a good read on the subject. "What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly." says the main character i the book.Two observations are in order:

1. While the Flight caterpillar of today might morph into the serious simming butterfly of tomorrow, reality is there's been no development for us serious simmers from MS since the release of FSX SP2,
2. I we all go Illusions' mystic ways intead of raising a ruckus, do we we have more, less or the same chances of MS adding the real simming aspects we need (crave?) into Flight? (And if some of use do raise a ruckus and MS does add serious simmer functionality to Flight, will the mystic crowd tell us rabble-raisers "we told you so?) :(

Cheers,- jahman.

Edited January 17, 2012 by jahman

[Toys_R_Us 0]

I have to admit that if Flight gives me what it's got, plus....1. Multiple monitor support.2. Slew (something I use a lot).3. Decent mesh.4. Cars.(moving road traffic)5. Most of the world but especially California, Nevada, Alaska, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, and New York.6. Some decent small airplanes and a jet or two.7. Third party navigation including a tracked autopilot module.8. U.S. Roads.9. No required game restrictions (achieving stupid game goals first).10. ATC. and full radio support.11. Autopilot and full ILS support.12. GPS.13. Electronic airport directional movement help.14. Other air traffic.I'd be happy.And surprisingly I would probably fork out a couple of hundred dollars plus for that if the frame rates were decent and the blurries at a minimum. Do I think that will happen before a better alternative comes along with an open architecture.No !Bob - Las Cruces, NM

Edited January 17, 2012 by Toys_R_Us

[Marith 2]

Great post Mitch'er.I realised over the last 2 weeks that MS Flight is not the product for me and I am certainly not Microsoft's target market.However, as I enjoyed flying over awesome New Zealand South Island scenery from Orbx in my newly acquired Lionheart Quest Kodiak plane last night, I was thinking I don't actually need MS Flight, I have what I need now.With great performance from FSX, and fantastic add-ons from awesome 3rd party developers, life is good in the Flight Simulation world :(.

[pwc1 0]

I know that there are some people here putting down FLIGHT. I'm going to try FLIGHT, and if I like it, that''s GREAT, but if I don't, it's back to FSX for me. It's not that big of a deal to me.

[Attila 2]

I have to admit that if Flight gives me what it's got, plus....1. Multiple monitor support.2. Slew (something I use a lot).3. Decent mesh.4. Cars.(moving road traffic)5. Most of the world but especially California, Nevada, Alaska, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, and New York.6. Some decent small airplanes and a jet or two.7. Third party navigation including a tracked autopilot module.8. U.S. Roads.9. No required game restrictions (achieving stupid game goals first).10. ATC. and full radio support.11. Autopilot and full ILS support.12. GPS.13. Electronic airport directional movement help.14. Other air traffic.I'd be happy.And surprisingly I would probably fork out a couple of hundred dollars plus for that if the frame rates were decent and the blurries at a minimum. Do I think that will happen before a better alternative comes along with an open architecture.No !Bob - Las Cruces, NM

I think that we already know Flight's functionality as it will be on release. What we don't know is what add-ons will be available at that time and at what cost.If you saw the videos that some people released on youtube before they were deleted, you know what the interface looks like and how it is organized, what can be set and what cannot.I know we had some people posting about features that only they can see, not the mortal beta testers. Perhaps, but given the teasers, what MS showed at CES and articles stating that is in fact the beta (demo/hook) that is being tested and the fact that Tom has not been shown any more just a few weeks ago all point to the same thing...We don't hear of any more functionality, because there is no more at this time.Some of the features you missed:Real-time weatherProper support for controllersFlight planner (Perhaps this is an external program)I think we'll definitely see Nav radios, Autopilot, GPS and perhaps even glass cockpits on release. You'll get these with the faster planes. I don't see why the default single-engine MS planes would not be available at launch, perhaps even the Baron.The big question is the scenery release strategy.As for the blurries, I am sure they will appear as soon as you can fly faster than a Stearman can.The more I know about Flight, the more I feel that some great improvements will be wasted on people who will not appreciate them and those who would will not get on board, because the game just does not have all the features they want and already have in FSX.

[Mountain Man 142]

Honestly, how are things any different now than they were back in the days when as far as anyone knew Microsoft had totally abandoned any type of "flying" platform?

The difference now is that we wish they really had abandoned the "flying" platform.

[garsands 0]

The difference now is that we wish they really had abandoned the "flying" platform.

We being who?

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

We being who?

You beat me to it!

[xplanery 250]

Well said sir! Honestly, how are things any different now than they were back in the days when as far as anyone knew Microsoft had totally abandoned any type of "flying" platform?If the new "Flight" proves to be a financial disaster, we have lost nothing at all. Should a miracle occur and "Flight" be a success, or at least enough of a success to enable the growth of DLC to the point that it becomes attractive, we'll have gained something.

Yeah exactly. FSX and FS9 will stay alive for long time to come thanks to third party support, and after that if Flight is going to be failure we can just move to X plane 10 or some other simulator with good third party support. Edited January 18, 2012 by pvjinflight