You know what I liked best about that remark? Not the part about 3PD, but that MS actually has a plan for the future and will create stuff and support MS Flight for at least two years...! When FSX was released we just had to hope some patches might show up... They did, SP1 and SP2, but a lot of us would have appreciated some more attention of MS for FSX. SP2 was released a year or so after the initial release of FSX and after that nothing came from MS anymore... No news, no development, no nothing. You just had to guess if something would be done about FSX... And that guessing ended with the demise of Aces.But it seems MS is now really dedicating time to MS Flight! At least two years and probably more! At least two years of updates, new content, refinement, etc. etc.! I love it! Compare that with FSX or most other games...!A lot (and I mean a LOT) of nowadays games are rushed unto the market and you should be grateful and glad (!!!) if a patch or two is released withing a few months. After that it's over. For instance Codemasters, know for its driving games, even posted on their forum that support for a game they released in september was ended in december because from then on they would focus on the next game... There still were problems and bugs, but, well, sorry, it's time to move on: maybe the next game will be better...!MS Flight however has a future, so it seems, and that's quite unique! And I am really looking forward to that future! It's already very nice that MS Flight, although it misses a lot of options, is running well out of the box: for its performance you don't even need a patch right now! Which is already quite an achievement. (The last game I bought was a racing game from EA that was impossible to play on the pc... and it took them 4 months or so to release a patch... after things still didn't work well... End of story.) So MS can focus on DLC and extra options instead of on bug fixing.Man (and woman), I am so happy with MS Flight... I love the game, I love the DLC concept and I already love the future...! These are probably going to be the BEST years ever for flight sim lovers! (Imho: I know some won't agree... )

Great post, agree! And I'm a hardcore planer!Yes, its gotta be the least buggy and best performing release for years.

Agreed, and that's why i'm giving a try beside XPX

But it seems MS is now really dedicating time to MS Flight! At least two years and probably more!

Howard (Microsoft) said: - “We are really in the midst of transitioning the organization from being an old-school development studio to really being an online business.I think that’s actually pretty exciting and fundamental, and we’re certainly not the only team at Microsoft going through this change. We are running a service now, not just shipping a piece of software.It means I have to build a team and an organization that can always do three, four, five things at once, because I’m supporting the current release, I’ve got somebody working on the next release, I’ve got somebody working on the release after the next release and I’ve probably got somebody planning the next big expansion after that."http://www.geekwire....revious-effortsHoward (Microsoft) also said: - "Instead of opening Flight up to everything, anywhere, by anybody, which frankly creates sort of a confusing mess for a new customer, we get to manage it more, we get to tell a story, we get to help it grow and get up on its feet. I completely believe that this ecosystem will come to be even larger than the existing product’s ecosystem. And that will be a point where I can’t possibly meet the appetite of a customer base, and I will invest to bring more people in. That’s the future, that’s what success looks like."http://www.mcvuk.com...t-flight/091961 :drinks:

At least two years of updates, new content, refinement, etc. etc.! I love it! Compare that with FSX or most other games...!

Expanding on this: To make Flight an FSXI peer (in terms of feature content) would take a long time to get right. Flight development started fairly recently. In the 'classical' boxed product style release, they probably need another 2 years to get everything they have on the table into the code. However, with the DLC / online model, they can release the core, generate income, and continue developing the 'details' as time passes. So, my interpretation is MSFT knows they have about 2 more years worth of 'stuff' before Flight reaches a state mature enough to be able to support a 3rd Party product. Imagine how awful a hi-fi 737 would be in Flight today with all the missing things that support a complex airplane. . .but in 2 years or so, all the components will be in place. Then again, maybe he was just trying to deflect criticism?

I hope MS continues to develop Flight because I'm really enjoying it now. If they do it with add on packs rather than adding to the core game I will continue to enjoy it. They have everything in the core right now that I want. I really don't want them to add anything else to the core because any additions would require more processing power. They should make all of the packs stand alone and not require that you buy one pack before you can buy something else. If they added ATC and AI traffic I would skip that pack. If they added a 172 and all it required was the core game then I would buy that. Buy what you want and skip the stuff you don't want. Only time will tell how this is gong to play out.

I hope MS continues to develop Flight because I'm really enjoying it now. If they do it with add on packs rather than adding to the core game I will continue to enjoy it. They have everything in the core right now that I want. I really don't want them to add anything else to the core because any additions would require more processing power. They should make all of the packs stand alone and not require that you buy one pack before you can buy something else. If they added ATC and AI traffic I would skip that pack. If they added a 172 and all it required was the core game then I would buy that. Buy what you want and skip the stuff you don't want. Only time will tell how this is gong to play out.

Sounds very reasonable to me - I am sure there would be a lot I would not purchase either, like parts of the world I never fly in, or aircraft I would not be interested in.

I met with the Flight Team last week in Redmond. My NDA with Microsoft does not allow me to say much however it is pretty clear that they are listening to the community and taking note of all the comments (good and bad). The team appear passionate about Flight and its future. I for one expect Flight to be around for some time :)

Does that mean there'll be an ADE-F? :) I know, I know...you can't say...

I met with the Flight Team last week in Redmond. My NDA with Microsoft does not allow me to say much however it is pretty clear that they are listening to the community and taking note of all the comments (good and bad). The team appear passionate about Flight and its future. I for one expect Flight to be around for some time :)

Thanks for the info Jon, nice to know!

I met with the Flight Team last week in Redmond. My NDA with Microsoft does not allow me to say much however it is pretty clear that they are listening to the community and taking note of all the comments (good and bad). The team appear passionate about Flight and its future. I for one expect Flight to be around for some time :)

Very good to hear Jon, thanks for sharing!

One thing that this Ms Team has done very well in the past year is to lie !Sorry i want to be honest - I do not thrust them one single bit on their statements - particolarly after of that flight will be a simulator that will accomodate Flight Sim Fans at all levels ! - That was pure and simple advertisements to their own product - which also fuelled that reaction we had see - and indeed now the disappointed and Hate for this Flight Release that many simmers Feel !If they told you they listen to the community - Well They do NOT Listen to the Community ! Infact their turn their back to the community in the Name of Profit.Fine - Ms is a corporation that has to make money - but you do not make Money when you do leave behind half or even more possible potential customers of your product.If they would have listen to the community - they would never have gone down the path they are - they would never had a simulator for windows live - they would never locked the simulator - they would never take away the sdk and the creatitivy simmers have showed - i can stay here and add lines for another couple of days !!Believe me - they are Deaf !!

They are a business and their main goal is to make money, and in doing so not everyone will be happy, especially those with overly high or different expectations. Just because you or anyone else has pointed out a problem of lack of something doesn't mean that they will address it and it will be implemented. I have seem many times where they have responded to questions and with FSX, some of the things some of us asked for were implemented, such as landing on moving objects which wasn't an option in FS9.Flight is an ongoing development, if you adopt a more positive attitude and communicate rather than tear them down, it's possible you may get some of what you want. Flight isn't what I wanted...yet, but i am having fun with it and i am willing to see where it goes.

Yes. MS plans to extend and update Flight for the long haul, as long as its got a customer base (willing to buy DLC) to support it. Same with MMO's. Since they have a constant flow of income, they can keep updating them and adding content. I dont think every update will be paid. I think the core sim will continue to advance, and that advancement will be paid by map and aircraft DLC.I just wish 3rd party's could help them advance the sim. It may be the case that they will. Recent rumors indicate that its possible REX could get a DLC into Flight. I think its perfect for REX. One of the big problems MS has to deal with when it starts selling DLC in Flight is legal issues. I dont need to worry about Boeing suing me since im small, but MS does. REX cant be sued for clouds, and Flight DESPERATLY NEEDS better clouds. I would pay $20 for better clouds and water in a heartbeat! So I see REX in Flight as a real possibility. Also, MS will need an example of the benefits of working WITH them to convince other 3rd party's later on. The REX team driving Lamborghini’s would go a long way to convincing other dev's to dance to MS's tune.

Does that mean there'll be an ADE-F? :) I know, I know...you can't say...

Interesting thought :)

I have to agree with all of these comments. I really think that, in two or so years time (perhaps less), they will open it up to some kind of SDK licensing..They are not stupid. They see how much we've all spent on FSX..All the hints point to it getting more complex and more adaptable to the casual or hardcore user..I also think that 3rd party devs other than REX are already talking to MS, and their (MS's) initial hardcore and unfair content terms alluded to by Robert Randazzo in the PMDG forum will be relaxed somewhat.I'm a glass half full kind of guy at heart :)A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...