Over the past year or so, we've seen some amazing advances that have brought new life to FSX - a sim platform released in 2006. Whether free or payware, products such as Shade, OpusFSX, Accu-Sim, REX, PMDG's 737, Orbx Flows, FSX DX10, SimSkyJet, etc. have truly raised the bar. This community is fantastic in its ability to push the limits of hardware and software to levels never before thought possible. But we can't sit still. There has never been a flight-sim forum without a post asking "What's next?" That's our curse and blessing. Throughtout the existence of flight-simming, we tend to speak and act as a community. This community has brought about excellence in the past with services such as Vatsim, Ivao, virtual airlines and flying groups. And of course, we've had excellence in our forums, because our community is nothing without communication.

 

So, with respect to our constant desire to improve what we see and how we interact with our sim, I'd like to start a discussion about what new challenges this community should push to achieve. Because as a community, we dictate the path of our passion. I am now asking the inevitable: What new products, sceneries, utilities, or other fs-related devices should we be moving towards? Should we reinvent something? Should we tear it all down and start over? Or should we push to find new ways to interact with each other? Should we work together toward a larger goal? How should we chart our future?

 

 

Where should we go from here?

Make FS11!

 

Even though amazing addons have been made and kept FSX alive all these years it is an unstable platform that lacks good gameplay, usability and capability to utilize modern hardware to its full potential.

X Plane or prepar3d, either of them is probably the future, or both of them.

Unfortunately, it looks like FSX doesn't have much future left. While all those add-ons and support have really brought more life to this platform, it's still rotten in the core.

 

Prepar3D aims for the training market and X-Plane the professional market. I think that aeroflyFS is the future. It's the only simulator that aims for us.

AeroflyFS has an incredibly long way to go if it wants to appeal to me.

AeroflyFS has an incredibly long way to go if it wants to appeal to me.

 

Yes, but it seems to be in the right direction.

Outerra is the most promising, but sadly lacks funding/commercial support. A good planetary engine is the foundation of any sim. In fact, the ESP engine used by FSX/P3D is very good, but sadly owned by Microsoft who works hard these days to offend loyal and new fans of flight simulation.

iFSX - Apple buys the code from Microsoft and builds FSX Enhanced for 2013 as part of a new Tim Cook strategy to take on MS and show them how to do right!

 

Wishes -

Shared cockpit across all appropriate aircraft

The next generation of Radar Contact

A random flight generator that allows me to specify flight length and aircraft

A flight engine that utilizes all of today's processor advances to make the sim even more immersive

First of all AerolfyFS is so called semi-sim, decent flight models but without single aircraft systems at all, just take off, retract flaps and enjoy the scenery. And that scenery of Switzerland in AeroflyFS is apsolutely outstanding! The textures and toning are spot on, a treat for eyes, just beautiful. Take Cessna from the valleys and fly above the alps, it's literally a photorealistic experience. So AeroflyFS is perfect for a perfect VFR in any flight sim.

MS goes back to the drawing board with Flight and make it FS11.

I believe Prepar3D will be the future. Also X-Plane, for sure.

When P3D releases 64x upgrade for the software, it will blow what is left of FSX away. We will all surely be serious students of simulated aviation.

Something that I would love to see is sloped runways that will fit seamlessly into the scenery.

Runways are not flat in reality. Almost all of them have some contour, many extremely so. This would provide an added challenge of realism.

Imagine having to crab for a crosswind landing AND take into consideration a sloped runway at the same time.

X-Plane is coming along real well. I think if Austin would move his ego out of the way and listen more to his customers, XP would become an outstanding platform.

I wish people would stop prematurely writing off FSX! First there is absolutely no sign that developers have even slowed up development for it. Second right now most addons for FSX are compatible with P3D, and vice versa. (Although that may change when P3D 2.0 is released.) Third, while XP has come a long way it is still far behind FS in capability. Also as for P3D there are many that will not move to it, because of the uncertainty of it's license. All you have to do is look at the latest AVSIM sim poll to see how far the other sims have to catch up before they can catch FS2004, no less FSX! In other words FSX is far from dead!!!

Austin shouldn't let his ego move out of the way. It's his baby. The reason I say this is that the flight sim community as a whole doesn't know what it wants (see this thread for examples...) and segments will fight hammer and tong over their corner. Tubes or GA? Hardware melting or run on existing systems? Landclass or photoreal? 30 minutes from opening to pushback or kick the tires and light the fires? 2D or 3D panels? And those are arguments (some bitter and vitriolic) I can think of that have been had on these forums recently off the top of my head. 100 random avsimmers wouldn't reach a consensus.

 

Want it all? That will take deep pockets (or a lot of time - decades, or both), single minded vision (aka 'ego') and a thick skin. Good luck. The last lot with deep pockets who tried it... well, that went well, didn't it.

 

All of the advances that the OP mentioned are as a result of a stable (albeit imperfect) core system to work with. Many hang on to FS9 because of what they've invested - and that was only the flagship MS flight sim for a couple of years. Imagine dragging people from something they've built up over 8-10 years. The high quality add ons we're enjoying today didn't appear in FSX overnight. They too, took years, often by evolution through a product line, as FSX and XPX themselves are.

 

We've had the good fortune to have groups and individuals with that single minded vision and thick skin who have produced what they have over the 30some years. We owe a thanks to all of them, regardless of whether we supported their endeavours by buying their product or even rated it as worth buying, and a particular thanks to those who donate their works and time to the community with no more reward than that thanks. These are the people that truly direct this hobby.

 

Sorry... waffled. I don't have any answers to the big questions. And if I did they wouldn't amount to a hill o' beans anyway.

FSX has just begun stretching it's legs in regards to computing power. The future is looking much the same as FS9s' (that sim is still alive and well). I think that's a fair assessment.