They did indeed have a different direction and MS has revised the FAQ so it no longer says what it used to.

What changes precisely?

I believe it is as you said, that you are biased because of MS's stand on freeware and commercial add on's, but never mind, the hobby will go on and thrive. If not with Flight, then maybe with one of the other options that are currently available. I guess we still have the venerable FSX with the magical Orbx world, it's not like we don't have options.

It's all about 3PD's not being able reign supreme over MS Flight. I think they thought of Flight as another revenue stream and it didn't work out as they hoped. I have enjoyed testing MS Flight and look forward to the finalized release. In my flight world there is room for both FSX and MS Flight. It seems that those with miopic views will never be happy with MS Flight, just as they were with FSX.

I think they thought of Flight as another revenue stream and it didn't work out as they hoped

yup well said mate .

Flight is a really good simulator. It is just not finished yet.So many of you are so angry with MS for not releasing FSXI instead of Flight.This is suppose to be a flightsim community, and you guys should appreciate the fact that MS (and members of the former ACES team) are back in the flightsim business again.The problem is that you are expecting a repeat of the past ... in how the MS Flightsim new versions were released. And the simming/gaming world has moved into the present while you guys had your heads stuck in the clouds.It has become VERY expensive to make a flightsim, which is why there are now so few of them. We all want realistic, real world scenery, along with high resolution graphics, plus all the bells and whistles. The bar keeps being raise higher and higher ... and so does the development costs in creating a sim that will even come close to meeting the expectations of hardcore simmers.Like it or not, MS is NOT going to release a replacement for FSX (at least not yet), so accept that and stop whining about it.What MS has decided to do is to make Flight, and see how well a GA sim will do in today's gaming market (and flightsimmers are also gamers in my opinion).Flight is based on MS's current digital/online gaming model, where the core game can be downloaded for free, and you purchase DLC to build on that core.If Flight's DLC sells well enough, Flight will move forward and more DLC will be released, It is the DLC that actually funds Flight.At some point, after enough DLC is released (assuming that Flight succeeds), we might just see a boxed version DVD version of Flight that includes all the DLC. This happens with games all the time ... Bethesda just released "Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition" for $40 (the original game sold for $50 and the 5 DLC originally sold for about $10 each).I personally believe that Flight has the potential to become FSXI ... it just needs the time (and the funding) to grow into what I believe the Flight Team has intended it to be.Edited: I get that most of you guys are going to totally disagree with me ... but please be nice, and respect that this is just my own personal opinion.

Edited February 8, 201214 yr by Arwen

That's what amazes me as well everytime I read rants like that...

What amazes me is Francois never said he was owed anything. We don't owe MS our good will, they have to earn it and keep it.

The reactions to my blog post are part reailistic and part amusing. Let me clarifiy a bit: I think MS Flight is a fun game and looks very nice. I am sure there is an audience for it, as for any game published.MS Flight does not look to be the successor, nor replacement of FSX.I write FOR and IN flight SIMULATOR communities (such as these), I am a designer and publisher of flight SIMULATOR software and I am a flightsim enthsiast for over 35 years.I knew up front that publishing my thoughts on Avsim was a bit of a 'risk', but hey, I happen to thread on large toes from time to time. ###### happens ;-)Now, for some positive thoughts to all of the MS lovers: they STILL have a chance, if they use MS Flight to advertse their next REAL simulator, FS11 !How's that for a marketing feat, eh?

Edited: I get that most of you guys are going to totally disagree with me ... but please be nice, and respect that this is just my own personal opinion.

Hmmmm.. if you want people to be 'nice' to you, you should begin with NOT calling them whiners, or walking with their heads in the clouds... :(

It's all about 3PD's not being able reign supreme over MS Flight. I think they thought of Flight as another revenue stream and it didn't work out as they hoped. I have enjoyed testing MS Flight and look forward to the finalized release. In my flight world there is room for both FSX and MS Flight. It seems that those with miopic views will never be happy with MS Flight, just as they were with FSX.

Most 3PD's have a REALLY hard time surviving and scraping a living together..... I don't know of any that 'reign supreme' over MS. What planet do you live on? ROFL ! There are still so any misconceptions in this little world of ours. And it doesn't take a miopic view to see the difference between an MS Flight, an FSX or a DCS Black Shark or A-10 OR its intended audience.

Where did this entitlement mentality come from?

That's what amazes me as well everytime I read rants like that...

It comes from being a dedicated fan for 20+ years. Being emotional about MSFS is not much different from being passionate about your favorite band or sports team. Who owns anything to anyone is a sidetrack IMHO. Microsoft can't be said to have had a close relatiosnship with their fans, but have in many ways catered to their wants and needs for many years. Am I not allowed to feel flabbergasted when the relationships takes a 180?Microsoft Flight Simulator Team April 2000: The product team has been closely monitoring the Flight Simulator newsgroups, Web sites, and forums to gauge what our users are experiencing with the product. From these sources and a number of emails from enthusiastic Flight Simulator fans, we have addressed some important issues that we felt we needed to provide to our customers on a priority basis.Microsoft Flight Simulator Team June 2008: Inarguably one of the best things about the Flight Simulator series (and, arguably, one of the best kept secrets) is its extensibility. Aircraft, scenery, missions, utilities, virtual airlines ... you name it, somebody has added it to Flight Simulator.Microsoft Flight Simulator Team August 2010: With “Microsoft Flight” we’re approaching the virtual flight genre from the ground up, with the focus on the universal appeal of the experience of Flight. We believe the simplicity of “Microsoft Flight” perfectly captures that vision while welcoming the millions of existing Flight Simulator fans. The new “Microsoft Flight” retains the full fidelity simulation longtime fans have come to expect while offering all players a whole new look and feel, a wide range of new game play and challenges, persistent experiences and social connectivity.Post script: I welcome anyones opinion, positives as well - it is almost as contagous as negative opinions ;). But please folks, don't twist opinions of others that you don't agree with into personal attacks.

Edited February 8, 201214 yr by simmerhead

Most 3PD's have a REALLY hard time surviving and scraping a living together..... I don't know of any that 'reign supreme' over MS.

You should get out more.

You should get out more.

Please pay me to allow me to. :(

Hmmmm.. if you want people to be 'nice' to you, you should begin with NOT calling them whiners, or walking with their heads in the clouds...

I was being really nice in what I wrote, but being nice does not mean that I cannot tell it as I see it.I was not calling anyone a whiner, I was telling people here (who are whining about this) to stop whining. If you are whining then I guess that makes you a whiner in my eyes.And I did not write that anyone was "walking with their heads in the clouds" ... what I actually wrote was: "And the simming/gaming world has moved into the present while you guys had your heads stuck in the clouds."I have language issues, so perhaps my meaning was not clear. By "heads stuck in the clouds," I meant spending most of their free time flying (either for real, or in a sim like FSX). What I was trying to write was not intended as any sort of personal attack on any individual here, including you, Francois. If it was taken in that way then I apologize.

The comments made here have been very insightful and are much appreciated.In my humble opinion, there are two things I've found very interesting throughout the course of this 'evolution'...The first had to do with discussions of Flight, pre Beta. I think that the reason so many people are up in arms about Flight is because of what their expectations were going to be. When MS made the statement about sticking with the 'legacy' of FS in their new release, that opened the floodgates for everyone to start sounding their wishes, suggestions, dreams, etc. The rampant, almost virulent speculation that occurred afterward did nothing but to feed the beast, create animosity and anger from some members to others, and gave us many months of very interesting reading.The second was when the Flight Beta was announced, and people started to see how the 'final product' was going to turn out. Now, I think I can say with some modicum of safety that the VAST majority of FS enthusiasts are involved with airliners. That can be plainly and convincingly seen by the number of aftermarket airplanes, airports, repaints and AI traffic that are seen and talked about on a daily basis here at Avsim and all of the other FS sites.When Flight was revealed to be a "base package" with only Hawai'i and a couple of GA airplanes to be included, all of the warning flags went right up the flagpole again. "Where are the Jets? Is there going to be ATC? Where's the 787, the 737 NGX, the Airbus? Will there be airports on par with FlyTampa, Aerosoft, Orbx?" The lack of these features, along with the apparent lack of information from the Flight team are part of what have so many FS enthusiasts up in arms.Can MS recover and appease the disillusioned? Can they bridge the gap and bring the 'community' back together?Only time will tell.Again... just a humble observation from one of little merit.

You should get out more.

HelloI think you will find that Francois gets out more than enough.http://europerides.com/rideblog/?page_id=3

HelloI think you will find that Francois gets out more than enough.http://europerides.c...blog/?page_id=3

But as you can see from my time on the forums today... NOT today. There's snow on the roads !! :-))

At some point, MS changed direction and decided to abandon many of the features that are included in FSX - all without telling us about it

There's that sense of entitlement again? Why would you expect that someone's next product be just like the last one? Is there some law that requires it? Would it be a nice to have? Absolutely, but it's never a given and all the ranting and hyperbole in the world won't change that...

Am I not allowed to feel flabbergasted when the relationships takes a 180?

For context, my relationship with Flight Simulator started with Bruce Artwick's offering in the mid eighties so I have a similar length of relationship with the franchise as you.You are absolutely allowed to feel whatever you like, however feeling flabbergasted, surprised even shocked is quite different from feeling that you are owed or are entitled to something from Microsoft. Why would they owe you anything except to deliver a good product for which you have payed... In the case of Flight, you won't have payed anything initially so it's a moot point anyway.I'm not sure of the reason behind those quotes above, but for what it's worth, I don't see anything particularly relevant to my question regarding the entitlement mentality that seems to have pervaded this forum, I see a series of statements that were relevant when taken in context of the time they were uttered. My whole point is "Things change, we need to move on..." rather that than this continuous wailing and bleating about how bad Microsoft are for not giving us what we feel we are entitled to.We still have FSX, P3D and XP10. The world will not end if Flight is not what we expect and Microsoft will continue to exist possibly even grow and prosper regardless of whether we "simmers" buy Flight or not.

Edited February 8, 201214 yr by maxter