Well, why not start a 'fundraiser' (what do they call it for developers who get the money direct from the fans?) and get the money to take to Microsoft with to show them that we want a 64 bit, faster FSX (with cloud shadows hehe)? That would be a way to generate some movement in getting FSX updated. Yes it could be recoded but it still would have all the addons able to work with it. That is doable I think.

I don't think Microsoft would really care, kickstarter projects and similar are something more for smaller developer groups, not for huge corporations like Microsoft that don't have problems with funding. 

 

They simply believe flight simulation games aren't going to be profitable enough for them. Future of flightsim lies away from Microsoft. 

Well, if you want to show Microsoft that you would support work on FS11, there is a petition out for you to sign..

 

Lets see how far this initiative can go..

 

http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/microsoft-rehire-aces-studios-and-resume-work-on-flight-simulator-11

Well, if you want to show Microsoft that you would support work on FS11, there is a petition out for you to sign..

 

Lets see how far this initiative can go..

 

http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/microsoft-rehire-aces-studios-and-resume-work-on-flight-simulator-11

I made a petition on that same site the day Flight was announced that it would be free to play (Or some days after). It got a couple hundred signatures, but then I didn't have enough to be able to present it. I'll gladly sign that one, but I don't think it'll go far.

Edited July 25, 201312 yr by linux731

Guys, we all know petitions are a total waste of time & do we really think it will make a difference to Microsoft???

 

We all know that the flight simulation side of Microsoft was minute compared to the rest of their products. We all know that we all will not stop bleating how we have been let down by Microsoft!!!

P3D will be the way to go in the future. Lockheed Martin, as we know, (I think), have licenced the bits of the simulator engine & have improved on it. So, we gonna hang on to an 'old' simulation/game that is not supported by it's developers, or move on to something that is being developed & sold 'not for entertainment' ie.. a training tool.

Lets see how far this initiative can go..

 

http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/microsoft-rehire-aces-studios-and-resume-work-on-flight-simulator-11

 

I project a little bit over 2000 signatures and a few bemused faces at Microsoft.

Guys, we all know petitions are a total waste of time & do we really think it will make a difference to Microsoft???

 

We all know that the flight simulation side of Microsoft was minute compared to the rest of their products. We all know that we all will not stop bleating how we have been let down by Microsoft!!!

P3D will be the way to go in the future. Lockheed Martin, as we know, (I think), have licenced the bits of the simulator engine & have improved on it. So, we gonna hang on to an 'old' simulation/game that is not supported by it's developers, or move on to something that is being developed & sold 'not for entertainment' ie.. a training tool.

"Vic, we are sometimes asked if Prepar3D can be used for entertainment. If you'd like to include a question about entertainment, here is an answer.

A: Lockheed Martin does not offer Prepar3D for entertainment, and we have no plans to enter the entertainment space. Our end-user license agreement explains that Prepar3D can be used for purposes other than personal/consumer entertainment. Our development focus is on learning and training.

We are sometimes asked where Prepar3D can be used. Location is not a consideration in the end-user license agreement; it only matters how the software will be used.

We see the core audiences for our products as:

Professionals - This license is intended for professional skills training. This group could include private pilots, commercial flight schools, military personnel, civil organizations such as firefighters/emergency response or students pursuing a technical degree or an advanced degree such as a masters or PhD.

Students - We launched an academic license recently at a reduced price for educational purposes at the undergraduate college level and below (students in elementary, middle, high school or pursuing a bachelor's degree). This is an extension of our philanthropic support for STEM education to engage the next generation of technologists and engineers.

Developers - To provide the best experience for all companies and individuals working with Prepar3D, we provide a standardized interface and tools so that anyone can create Prepar3D-compatible products. Encouraging development is the driving force behind offering open access to an online SDK, tools and simconnect interface. For the individuals or companies who are interested in developing aircraft models, scenery, terrains and weather effects for Prepar3D, we offer a Prepar3D developer license."

Well, as far as the academic licence goes, We mentor the "Young Falcons' at our local Air Force Base at Ysterplaat, here in Cape Town. it's a youth development 2 year program for 60 kids every second Saturday, with the aim of the getting them  VPPL's. We have a few that are sponsored for real PPL's & a few go gliding as well.

 

We are just a bunch of volunteers that love Aviation. Fund Raising is a large problem & we have been fortunate to have had 30 computers donated for the students. We give lectures then the kids do practicals on Flight Sim. We also have an Avro Shackleton simulator & an Aermacchi MB326 twin seater jet simulator. This aircraft is known as the 'Impala' by the South African Air Force.

I guess that a large number of P3D "licenses" are used to educate the wife or the cat regarding the fundamentals of flight. A very important "educational" avenue.

They simply believe flight simulation games aren't going to be profitable enough for them. Future of flightsim lies away from Microsoft.

I think you hit the nail on the head. The harsh cold truth for Microsoft (and I think for many other developers) is "profitability".

 

That said, dream on flight simmers. Dream On.

 

 

A: Lockheed Martin does not offer Prepar3D for entertainment, and we have no plans to enter the entertainment space. Our end-user license agreement explains that Prepar3D can be used for purposes other than personal/consumer entertainment. Our development focus is on learning and training.

 

Bottom line; I can never use Prepar3D. My only hope is that X-Plane eventually developes into an worthy alternative to FSX.

I heard it was in beta already.

 

LOL... Oh geez, you read my mind. It is like the left and right in this country and the need to be PC even if it's wrong. I love the straight shooters out here.

 

Regards

Bob

LOL@Bob.

I've been running DX10 Preview mode for a while (with Steve's/other's various fixes) and although it does give a little more memory headroom before hitting OOM, it's still pretty easy to hit OOM. DX11 has no additional memory utilization benefits over DX10. DX10 introduced instancing and several flavors of block compression (DXT). DX11 does NOT enhance these features available in DX10, it's focus is tessellation which is a nice feature. However, there is nothing in DX11 implementation that will change the OOM problem of today (in DX10 Preview mode).

 

Don't get me wrong, DX11 should improve visual quality considerably (if implemented well) but it will also require significant texture changes (hopefully no poly changes) ... meaning it will not be backward compatible with many of the existing 3rd party products when running in DX11 mode. I don't have a problem with this, but I think the FS community expectations are different than mine ... my hunch is the FS community expect P3D V2.0 with DX11 mode to "just work" with all their existing 3rd party products ... this seems highly unlikely to me given what I know about DX11.

 

But, I'm assuming the P3D DX11 update will also fix all the issues around AA and AF so it's going to have lots of benefits, but fixing OOM isn't one of those benefits.

 

It's still worth investing $10/mo in P3D ... even if it's 2015 before we see v2.0. But I'll also keep investing in XP10, and investing in existing FSX products that list full support for DX10 preview mode. But what I will NOT hope for is the return of Microsoft ... given their current problems and a $900 million write-down on failed Windows Surface/RT (http://www.zdnet.com/microsofts-900-million-surface-rt-write-down-how-did-this-happen-7000018275/) it's VERY unlikely Microsoft are to re-enter the development of Flight Simulation.

 

Rob.

They aren't just implementing DX11 and its graphical enhancements singularly.

 

They are also actively working to reduce the CPU/memory load and pushing the workload onto the GPU. Go read their forum about some of the new terrain rendering capabilities.

 

Both are part of their implementation of DX11 in v2.0.

 

How successful they will be is yet to be seen.

 

Also, I understand everyone is skeptical but ŁM continues to maintain to the community and developers that DX11 will not break backwards compatibility. How? I don't know. But that's what they keep saying and it's better then speculation.

 

 

They aren't just implementing DX11 and its graphical enhancements singularly.

They are also actively working to reduce the CPU/memory load and pushing the workload onto the GPU. Go read their forum about some of the new terrain rendering capabilities.

 

Excellent news and if they can pull an update off in 2013, that's even better news. 

 

Backwards compatibility really shouldn't be a big concern, if LM deliver the DX11 goods they (consumers/students/professional) will come and the 3rd party community will update their products to work with DX11 just as many 3rd party developers have updated their products to work with DX10 Preview mode and P3D.  We now have 64bit tools and VS that will work with P3D code base, so no excuses for a healthy future.  And if DX11 release can help stay off the need for 64bit path (at least for a little while) then that sounds like a good business plan.

 

I'll keep my support going with my $10/mo contribution, I highly encourage anyone that is serious about their flight simulation to do the same.  There were some encouraging comments from LM that a native 64bit product is something they "plan" to work on after this release.