Bill Gates is holding an AMA on Reddit right now

[WotanUK 289]

I like the guy (not that it means a great deal to him i imagine), but he has moved on. Most of his replies were around the foundation work and good work it does too.

[CoolP 283]

Great read over there and one really has to applaud to the open way of answering and even the amount of answered questions. Some AMAs end with not being more than an attention getter for new books, films or other rather commercial targets. With him now being on the move to make sense with his money, it's different. At least for me.

 

Thanks for the HU and the link to the summary.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

Wish someone could have relayed the educational aspects of the Flight Simulator franchise in how it helped many young people get into aviation over the last two decades. Kids who otherwise wouldn't have access into the world of aviation and realize their dreams, Flight Simulator facilitated that in the most cost effective way ever imagined It's responsible for more real world pilots in the last 20 years than any other medium. If he want's to truly help people give them tools to better educate themselves in the areas they have interest in. Flight Simulator covered the whole world so kids from all over the world could have access to flight in familiar territory to where they lived. I somewhat feel a golden opportunity was missed here. Steve B (current CEO of Microsoft) in contrast has as much foresight into creating tools to empower people as a monkey has understanding of Jake Ryan's life from reading a Tom Clancy novel.

 

I agree with you 100% Dillan. But I also recognize the type of company Microsoft was 20 years ago, it was a company with many educational based software for the family. Flight Simulator, Space Simulator, Train Simulator, Magic School Bus...etc to name just a few.

 

Microsoft has since gone in a completely different direction with a focus on XBOX for home entertainment. I don't think the new generation over their at Microsoft recognize the importance of what Flight Sim has been and are just taking things in this new direction.

 

I for one never owned a console so don't share in this type of entertainment but recognize it is a big money maker for them.

[goates 576]

I for one never owned a console so don't share in this type of entertainment but recognize it is a big money maker for them.

 

One may want to start paying attention to what could be coming for consoles. They aren't just the plain game boxes of old anymore. Using something their IllumiRoom technology could really take flight simming to a new level.

 

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/illumiroom/

 

 

The sad thing about Microsoft is that they have some brilliant people working for them. If only the senior management could get out of the way.

[simmerhead 885]

 

 

I agree with you 100% Dillan. But I also recognize the type of company Microsoft was 20 years ago, it was a company with many educational based software for the family. Flight Simulator, Space Simulator, Train Simulator, Magic School Bus...etc to name just a few.

 

Microsoft has since gone in a completely different direction with a focus on XBOX for home entertainment. I don't think the new generation over their at Microsoft recognize the importance of what Flight Sim has been and are just taking things in this new direction.

 

I for one never owned a console so don't share in this type of entertainment but recognize it is a big money maker for them.

 

And I have a few versions of Microsoft Encarta in my shelf from the 90s. Of course wiped out by wikipedia now, but was pretty cool in the pre-broadband age.

 

I never owned a console either, and probably never will. The only console game that I have played was Grand Theft Auto. I just don't find games fun anymore - must be an age thing, or the fact that games were at their peak in the 1990s when playability and graphics were in perfect balance (Railroad Tycoon, Civilization, Doom, Sim City, Dune II, Wing Commander III, Elite 2, Age og Empires, UFO/X-Com, Capitalism, Commandos, Populous...).

 

[BimmerCop 332]

 

And I have a few versions of Microsoft Encarta in my shelf from the 90s. Of course wiped out by wikipedia now, but was pretty cool in the pre-broadband age.

 

I never owned a console either, and probably never will. The only console game that I have played was Grand Theft Auto. I just don't find games fun anymore - must be an age thing, or the fact that games were at their peak in the 1990s when playability and graphics were in perfect balance (Railroad Tycoon, Civilization, Doom, Sim City, Dune II, Wing Commander III, Elite 2, Age og Empires, UFO/X-Com, Capitalism, Commandos, Populous...).

 

Encarta? I still have a set of Encyclopedia Britannica!!! Now that is a dinosaur... All 50+ pounds of it! Hahahaha

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Dillon 2,197]

I just don't find games fun anymore - must be an age thing, or the fact that games were at their peak in the 1990s when playability and graphics were in perfect balance (Railroad Tycoon, Civilization, Doom, Sim City, Dune II, Wing Commander III, Elite 2, Age og Empires, UFO/X-Com, Capitalism, Commandos, Populous...).

 

It's not age it's the lack of depth in titles these days. Where Flight Simulator had ATC and for the most part covered the world in detail from weather to accurate seasons which depicts more than just flying but the world around flight. In contrast 'Flight' only focused on flight alone and none of the real world interaction involved with flying a real aircraft.. A better example would be EF2000 by DID which showed your squadron pilots fatigue/skill level so you could pick the right guys for the job, setup all your egress/ingress points and chose which flight group you wanted to be apart of (Bombers, jammers, air cover, etc). You chose your mid air refueling point and had to fly and connect with the refueler both in and out of the battle zone. You had to taxi, takeoff, and land safely at base. In contrast Ace Combat plucks you endlessly in a battle with unrealistic amounts of ammo, nothing more nothing less. You just fly and shoot. I remember my air cover missions having to be mindful of how many missiles I had on board. Only two short range shots for close end so I had to be careful in air dog fights or I would run out of ammo. How many games today force you to have to think about that? I'm bored to with the options out here these days as well.

 

I own an XBOX for my kids and find them bored after awhile with various titles too. Nothing lasts with them. The sims of old was always a different experience every time you fired them up. That's the staying power. Today a new title has to always be released because there's nothing in them to hold people's attention. What we had with Flight Simulator, Falcon 3.0/4.0, and EF2000 to name a few was amazing (who ever thought it would end). It's hard to convey this to people today as we've fallen so far away from the mark. So it's not age it's more garbage on the shelves these days that's a fraction of the experience we got from titles years ago.

[gizmosellsbunnys 106]

Grew up playing the basic Nintendo games and love them, but when it became a button reflex contest I tuned out in mid-1990s, and picked up a guitar learned that instead as got something out of it. Flight Simulator is good unwind option after work as can make the way you want to fly it or play it. Think now days the economy and markets change and the cost to produce software has gone up exponentially that make creating another flight simulator a daunting task.

[simmerhead 885]

It's not age it's the lack of depth in titles these days. Where Flight Simulator had ATC and for the most part covered the world in detail from weather to accurate seasons which depicts more that just flying but the world around flight, in contrast 'Flight' only focused on flight alone and non of the real world interaction involved with flight.. A better example would be EF2000 by DID showed your pilots fatigue level so you could pick the right guys for the job, setup all your egress/ingress flights and chose which one you wanted to be apart of (Bombers, jammers, air cover). You chose your mid air refueling point and had to fly and connect with the refueler both in and out of the battle zone. And you had to taxi, takeoff, and land safely at base. In contrast Ace Combat plucks you endlessly in a battle with unrealistic amounts of ammo. You just fly and shoot. I remember my air cover missions having to be mindful of how many missiles I had on board. Only two short range shots for close end so I had to be careful in air dog fights or I would run out of ammo. How many games today force you to have to think about that? I'm bored to with the options out here these days as well.

 

I own an XBOX for my kids and find them bored after awhile with various titles too. Nothing lasts with them. The sims of old was always a different experience every time you fired them up. That's the staying power. Today a new title has to always be released because there's nothing in them to hold people's attention. What we had with Flight Simulator, Falcon 3.0/4.0, and EF2000 to name a few was amazing (who ever thought it would end). It's hard to convey this to people today as we've fallen so far away from the mark. So it's not age it's more garbage on the shelves these days that is a fraction of the experience we got from titles years ago.

 

EF2000 was really cutting edge when it came out. Always liked it better than Falcon 3.

 

I guess we are suffering because computer power and complexity has reached a level where it isn't economical anymore unless you sell 10 million copies of a flight sim.

[goates 576]

That's the staying power. Today a new title has to always be released because there's nothing in them to hold people's attention.

 

You just need to look beyond the "AAA" big budget titles. There are plenty of quality indie games out that there. Check out Minecraft as one example. Do a search on Youtube videos for it to see what people get up to with the game.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft

 

 

It also only made around $100 million last year. I wouldn't be too quick to write off modern gaming as nothing but a button mashing fest.

 

http://www.gamesradar.com/mojang-profits-neared-100-million-2012/

[gizmosellsbunnys 106]

You just need to look beyond the "AAA" big budget titles. There are plenty of quality indie games out that there. Check out Minecraft as one example. Do a search on Youtube videos for it to see what people get up to with the game.

 

 

Flight simulators are a different animal and beast and got it things like physics, and flight dynamics to deal with. In addition, got thousands of airports, vors, adr, and other items to add to the virtual world, and then a weather system. People expectations with flight simulators is more realism as time goes on, and flight gear is freeware version making slow progress that I am glad for it because at least you flight sims will never go away.

I guess we are suffering because computer power and complexity has reached a level where it isn't economical anymore unless you sell 10 million copies of a flight sim.

 

That why X-plane airports are bare 25,000 of them you would need automation program to populate them, but the realty most airports are modifield by users even the ones that closely resemble realism.

[simmerhead 885]

That why X-plane airports are bare 25,000 of them you would need automation program to populate them, but the realty most airports are modifield by users even the ones that closely resemble realism.

 

And that's why the next flight sim should have an intergrated scenery builder mode so everyone can improve, create and share scenery. Unless that happens we will never get close to accurate world wide scenery.

[ViperPilot 81]

Encarta? I still have a set of Encyclopedia Britannica!!! Now that is a dinosaur... All 50+ pounds of it! Hahahaha

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Encyclopedia Britannica? Pffft...

 

All us old farts know the standard back then was the WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA, by Time-Life! At least, that's what my Mom said every year when the Year Book arrived on our doorstep!

 

Slightly OT... anyone remember the Time Life book series called The Epic of Flight? I just purchased the last volume I needed to make my collection complete; $1.50 at the local Flea Market!

I still reference those books today...

 

:smile:

[Dillon 2,197]

 

 

You just need to look beyond the "AAA" big budget titles. There are plenty of quality indie games out that there. Check out Minecraft as one example. Do a search on Youtube videos for it to see what people get up to with the game.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft

 

 

It also only made around $100 million last year. I wouldn't be too quick to write off modern gaming as nothing but a button mashing fest.

 

http://www.gamesradar.com/mojang-profits-neared-100-million-2012/

 

Only talking simulators here. I wouldn't waist time with Minecraft and I don't understand it's popularity. The graphics look like crap...

[Robert McDonald 167]

I am sad that Microsoft chose to abandon Flight Simulation - I can understand it from a purely business point of view - but it's forced me to move to X-Plane 10.

 

The 'infrastructure' within FSX is much more mature and advanced than current levels in XP10, but I simply cannot look away from the fact that XP10 is tons more flexible plus 64-bits. In addition, XP10 is designed to be networked, allowing almost any number of screens, making your own cockpit seems easier and less convoluted in XP than FSX.

 

XP was developed and continues to be on Apple MAC equipment, then ported to PCs, Linux, and the handhelds. I saw some figures on the handheld sales, I seem to recall a 500,000 number for handheld sales. Unlike FSX - XP is much more cross-platform friendly, another huge plus long-term. The issue of OpenGL in lieu of Direct X 11 is certainly a concern, however, as OpenGL still relies (somewhat) on the CPU as well as the GPU.

 

Another concern about FSX is CPU/GPU resources - if you are dragging all kinds of instruments onto other screens, plus running additional software (example EFB by Aivlasoft, NDac by Navigraph) all on the same system, you are crushing your CPU, because FSX itself is very CPU-intensive.

 

The flipside of the 'fully-supported' network model used in XP means you have to invest in multiple PCs (or MACS). Costs more than multiple monitors alone in FSX, but the payback is you are not adding anything beyond Network traffic to your setup and unloading your CPU/GPU considerably, which translates to better performance 'in-game'.

 

I'm the first one to admit that the current payware airports in FSX blow away almost all the payware airports in XP. Yet when I fly over the roads as I approach San Diego's Lindbergh Field, I am continually thrilled by the highway traffic and yes, even trains!

 

I remain very concerned about Laminar and Mr. Meyer. I can't control the outcome, but am still cautiously hopeful that reason will outweigh emotions and settlement triumph over paying every last dime to try then appeal the case. It's easy enough to blow your entire fortune proving you did nothing wrong. The end result is you were morally right but lost your business. Wrong it is (to paraphrase Yoda).

 

All things considered, I'm banking long-term on X-Plane.