Wow have not started a topic here in a while but here it goes...

 

I was just browsing around the forum today and it hit me that the beloved simulators that we use are really old pieces of software. FS2004 is more than 9 years old and FSX was released 6 years ago. Just to put it into perspective, the Playstation 3 was released in 2006 and the iPhone was released in 2007. Although the PS3 has not changed (well kinda), the games for it definitely have. Just compare Fifa 2006 with Fifa 2013..or better yet, Fifa 2004 with the new one that just came out. Could you imagine EA releasing a game like Fifa and then not updating it for another 6-8 years? Could you imagine Apple not updating the iPhone every year? I guess comparing console games and iPhones with PC games is not a good idea but it puts things in perspective.

 

All of this just makes me realize the beauty and importance of the Flight Simulator community. We take nothing for granted and we work off whatever we have.

 

Have a great day my friends.

Well said. Also it's why many people are embracing P3D - opens the door to some exciting new adventures!

 

Vic

I think perhaps one of the biggest reasons FSX has gone on to host such an extraordinary amount of superb addons is because it's been around for so long.

 

Addon developers are free to do their stuff without having to second guess MS or worry about whether or not their products will be incompatible and therefore obsoleted with the release of a new version of the sim,

 

If we would have had FS11 around 2009 or so we would perhaps just be getting our hands on FS12 around now. I very much doubt such a moving target would have been conducive to the development of stuff like the PMDG NGX, A2A Accu-Sim or so much of the other great stuff we enjoy today.

Nice. I agree.

Very true, good observations! I just want to second that also this is very much due to the fact that so many great freelancer and company-based developers have never stopped trying to improve upon it. Just look at the aircraft, tools, and sceneries we have now, and compare that to a clean install. Even that is a shock!

The strongest thing in FS favor, is it's open architecture, which allows developers both freeware and payware, to expand it's capabilities, essentially keeping the software up to date. Look what has been done in FSX just this year. GSX which adds more realistic ground operations to all airports. (AES was before, but is limited on where it can be used.) the new RAAS system both the freeware, and the FS2Crew version. Or the shader mod that has made the DX10 preview mode usable. Not to mention *******' Shader 3 mod for DX9. I don't have to mention Orbx or PMDG! So essentially the FSX that we use today is not the same software we bought back in 2006. As long as it has that developer support, (Which I don't see diminishing anytime soon) FSX will keep evolving. Meanwhile X-Plane is improving every day, though it still has a ways to go to match what has been done. Does anybody accurately think that if FSX was so outdated, a company like Lockheed Martin would have invested in it to take it to the next level, and for professional use at that?

All of this just makes me realize the beauty and importance of the Flight Simulator community. We take nothing for granted and we work off whatever we have.

 

Have a great day my friends.

 

Well said and 100% agreed...... Have a great day as well and thanks for the nice post...

 

Jeff Stewart

FS was always a few years a'head of the hardware on purpose anyway. Should be no big surprise she's still kicking. I think it's more surprising that hardware took so long!

Nice post!

 

It is very interesting the level of commitment sim communities have to their simulators (civil flight, combat, train, etc). Ingenious workarounds, incredibly detailed add-ons, expensive hardware... We truly are a geeky bunch, and I'm proud of that!

 

To take it a step further, it's neat to consider the number of real world professional and recreational pilots (myself included) that were hooked at an early age because of a home PC running MSFS. I think this reflects nicely the true impact this "silly game" has on some people's lives.

 

We have a pretty good bunch here, that's for sure.

real world professional pilots (myself included)

FS was always a few years a'head of the hardware on purpose anyway. Should be no big surprise she's still kicking. I think it's more surprising that hardware took so long!

 

And remember all the moaning about that--how we can't run FSX with full sliders (probably most of us still can't). We have come a long way.

 

Randall

Hard to believe that it all just keeps getting gooder and gooder after all this time. FSX+Lancair Legacy+New DX-10 Mods=amazzzing! I wake up at night thinking about the possibilities of PrePar3D ver 2.0!!

I wake up at night thinking about the possibilities of PrePar3D ver 2.0!!

 

Until LM decides to go full retail with P3D, im not touching it..

Until LM decides to go full retail with P3D, im not touching it..

Good for you Jason!! Atta Boy!! Glad someone is making the right decision!!! At least someone has jumped in with a negative comment in this very positive start to a thread.

Until LM decides to go full retail with P3D, im not touching it..

 

Indeed, the small watermark just kills the immersion factor.

 

Seriously though, let's be thankfull there isn't a yearly update for flight simulators. Can you imagine buying PMDG NGX for FS2006, then the upgrade for FS2007, and FS2008, and so on. I could see it now "new for FS2008, 30cm textures"...."new for FS2009....15cm textures"

 

Well I guess Railworks/Train Simulator seems to have a new version out every year (usually free). The old addons still work and sometimes get updated. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.