hi! My idea of what microsofts plan is for flight....

[Betabyte 0]

Hi there! Im new to this forum, and i hope i can be a valuable memberof this community.So, as the title suggests, this is what i think Microsofts business plan is for flight.it's a long post wich might seem like a rant at first but please read the full post.After the dismantling of the FSX development studio:Flight sim product manager in meeting:" Where do we go from here, we have a half-done engine and with the recent cutsto the flightsim budget, we cannot afford a 3 - 4 years full development ..."Microsoft market analist: "We might have a solution. What if we finish up the engine, the flight model and the general User Interface?If we add a small scenery and a few planes this could be an awesome free to play game!"Microsoft Product Manager:"The free to play does not work for a Flightsimulator. Besides, flightsim veterans will buy it anyway. We are talkingabout a market where the most hardcore guys buy and craft custom hardware for their simulation. For that matter, we dont even have the simulationparts yet!"Market analist:" We have to see this more broadly. There are alot of people who would love playing a flightsim, but they get scared off by the traditionalin-your-face complexity of the genre in general. Those are the people who play pilotwings, but want more. With a free-to-play basic version, we could educate themin REAL flying, without the complexity of the real navigation system and atc system."Microsoft Product Manager:"And what about our hardcore fanbase? Got anything for them, genius?"Market analist:"We add the simulation parts over time, in the mean time, we regularly add more complex aircraft to the game as payware, in the process unlockingmore gamecontent. This eases the "pilotwings" fans into more complex aircrafts. Meanwhile, we will give hints to the established fans by putting impossible achievementsin the game. like, fly 30.000 feet above waterlevel and show them radio frequencies for their navigation systems we are building at the moment.And loadingscreens wiith information about jets, airbusses and more. Stuff for the pilotwings guys to research, and a glimps of the future, so to speak.""So in a nutshell, we will fund our continued development with the income of our current premium content catalogue."Microsoft Product Manager, applauding: "And that's why our bosses hire so much marketing analist guys! Brilliant!"[end of story]I really hope this is what happens in Redmond :)What do you think?Kind Regards,Betabyte..

[SpiritFlyer 987]

Hey Betabyte,Interesting! Welcome to AVSIM and the Microsoft Flight Forum. I hope your time with us will be of value to help you enjoy your hobby to the fullest. Stick around and help us build this place. OK?Kind rehards,

[threedee 0]

Yes, something like that I believe :-)Nowadays much of the sw development is done using some agile process. One of the things they teach product owners is how to minimize risks and give customers more what they want by releasing early and often. On top of the agile part of the process is the longer term roadmapping that is revisited maybe twice a year. What we are seeing now is based on their prerelease roadmapping. The roadmap will be adjusted and we should see the effects within 6 months.If they feel there is no risks in going 100% after their main target audience then that's what we'll see... Buying dlc, welcoming new simmers, enjoying Flight, etc. are all things we should and will do, but at the same time it tells MS that FSX users are okey with their plan. The side effect is that any 3rd party content, ATC, etc. might be delayed, UNLESS THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE STARTS ASKING FOR THESE.So, if anyone wants to see something from FSX in Flight, they must convince the target audience, i.e. the new casual simmers, not MS.One of the best ways to convince is to let people experience... Maybe we should collect a list of best youtube videos highlighting the FSX goodies in a way that makes new simmers want them?

[Betabyte 0]

Heh, im not the only software developer here /hifiveIm just learning the agile process btw, by doing (working with vs 11 beta and tfs beta),but that is for another forum since it is somewhat offtopic.Hmm, a "flightsim most wanted" movie might seem like a good idea! :)For the record, i am by no means an experienced pilot, i just refreshed myVor basics yesterday hehe.

[dburne 2]

Yes interesting analogy Betabyte, and who knows may well have gone down something like that. I think part of the process was probably evaluating what other companies are doing at this time as well. Whether it will be a success for Fllight remains to be seen, and may be some time before we truly know, but will be interesting to see how Flight develops in the coming months.One thing I know, this medium level hard core simmer is certainly having some fun with the new product.