J. Howard Joshua Howard Interview with AVSIM

[paracines 0]

Well, that too of course. Walking away from any landing though is undoubtedly the most important factor... :Peace:

Whether you walk away from a landing is still determined by the weather - so it remains the most important factor in aviation. Just because you want to walk away does not mean you will.

[Great Ozzie 101]

Thanks for that great interview Tom.What bothered me the most... yes even hurt me to read (tho not at all unexpected) was JH's following statement:"We looked forward to engaging in a productive dialogue with our users, but were disappointed in the degree of non-productive behavior some flight simulator enthusiasts exhibited. If anything, the unwillingness of the simmer audience to accept that Flight was intended to appeal to whole new audiences prompted the team to focus on areas where our engagement with our players is more productive."A sad thing so many members here could not help but to whine and complain about the sim they did not get, rather than provide constructive criticism to help improve what we do have.Rob O.

[Oracle427 45]

Honestly, if Flight does for this new generation what the old sims did for me, then I'd say mission accomplished. If this is what appeals to this generation, then I say go for it.In the end, I did not seek a career in aviation, but It is in my blood. It has been there ever since my dad bought that first simulator for my Vic 20. It has influenced so much in my life and continues to do so. I am so happy to say that I will soon return the favor and take my dad for a flight as PIC. Just the two of us, and not in front of a monitor, almost 3 decades later. ^_^Let's face it, for us "hardcore" types or RL pilots we already have the software tools we need. Can they be improved? Sure, but we can make do and I'm sure that the community will continue to develop these tools as they already have.I wasn't looking for Flight, but it landed here on my lap and I think it's pretty cool so far. I'm glad I stuck with it a little longer than that terrible balloon mission. (I now think it was put there to weed us out :lol: )

[FxF3 0]

Told me all I needed to know. No big deal with flight its always been a kind of wait and see project any way.I have all the MS flight addons I want so far and with slow addon release I want break the bank.

[GHarrall 494]

This interview is exactly what I would expect from a game executive. Non committal and full of reverse speak. More focus on adding leader boards and high score tables? Please......If there was any doubt about this product being very little more than it already is (maybe with some extra scenery and aircraft DLC 3-4 times per year) then there is none now. There will be no atc, no ai, no long haul etc.The "simmer" has been summarily dismissed in this interview as being completely unimportant to the future of Flight. I am not at all optimistic abou the future of this platform in any way shape or form.

[Knottypine1979 0]

Some things he mentioned might turn some people off.No entire world

I think this is the biggest one for me. When I think of Flight, I think of freedom. Even if it took a couple years for MS to release enough content to cover the whole globe that would be great. Time will tell.

[jjjallen 37]

Good but not very revealing interview with Josh. Nonetheless I feel that the 'Fun' target of Flight is still a laudable goal and it really is when compared to FSX IMO. When we start seeing the Flight franchise come alive with traffic, people and wildlife (not partying) I for one will be a much happier camper.Cheersjja

[Donstim 109]

Thanks for the doing the interview and asking the right questions to clearly bring out the intended audience and product goals. After not paying a lot of attention to Flight amidst all the rumors and innuendo, it was good to get it straight from the horse's mouth, as it were. It confirms that I have absolutely no interest in the product, and it is very doubtful that Microsoft will do another flight simulator in the foreseeable future.

[Guest Antlab]

Really? Funny that I've always thought keeping the engine running was a bit more important... :shok:

There are also gliders... Oops, not, in Flight not.Only joking A.

[Great Ozzie 101]

It confirms that I have absolutely no interest in the product, and it is very doubtful that Microsoft will do another flight simulator in the foreseeable future.

[enamel 4]

Fantastic interview, thanks for cutting thru the BS and asking the questions that have come up ad naseum.I think it clearly stated where the product stood, and I was left with a much better picture of where it intends to go.It is sad the sim community was so hostile that their opinion now amounts to a hill of beans, as I think constructive feedback from this group could have gone a long way. Ultimately I am firmly in the demographic this title is targeting, so I am perfectly fine with more missions and less long haul flights. :)

[Gibbage 199]

I tend to agree with Josh in that the VAST VAST majority of people (not SIMMERS) dont want to spend 10 hours babysitting a computer in a 747. Those people are a niche, but a very strong and loud niche. The thing is, you need to spend a MASSIVE ammount of resources to please that niche, and in turn, alianate Flights target market. I dont see a PMDG level jump in Flight future. I am pleased to hear that Flight is beating there forcast, but they never stated what the forcast was. One would not expect there forcast to be "total fail", so its most likley good news for fans of Flight! I hope demand gets to the point they give me a phone call, but im not going to bank on that. Till that happens, im still making FSX add-on's.

[Arwen 289]

As I read the interview I found myself rocking back and forth like in a rowboat on the north Atlantic. First disappointed, then hopeful, then back again. In the end I saw what I expected to see, and took away exactly the same impression I brought in, cautiously hopeful and moderately optimistic

Flight has been doing this to me since day 1 . . . this had got to be the most skitzo flightsim I have ever used.Great interview Tom! But JH's answers were pretty disappointing. And I don't get their marketing/PR at all.I love the way flying feels, and the detailed scenery; but too much is still missing for Flight to really shine as a flightsim. I sincerely want Flight to succeed, but because it is a great flightsim, not just a popular game.Flight is never going to be a great flightsim without ATC, AI traffic, Real Weather, and damage modeling. So I just don't see Flight succeeding in the long term . . . unless they change their priorities (and start focusing on the simulator aspects).Releasing 3 to 4 expansions a year just isn't going to be enough to keep people interested. Now I'm VERY concerned about what MS will be expecting us to pay for something like Alaska (I'm guessing $50, which is way too much).

[styckx 1,871]

lol, is Microsoft trolling now?They just linked to the interview on their Facebook page w/ this headline.

If you're a hard core flight-simmer, you'll want to check out this interview with Flight's studio head, Joshua Howard, over at AVSIM:

[Gibbage 199]

He did call out the angry trolls at FB. I read some of the stuff they post there and its just crazy. Makes "hard core" simmers look like a bunch of bratty kids. Embarrassing.