Flight was bright and new?

 

Please Devon, refresh my memory... weren't we expecting something really cool, or did we already know how it was going to turn out?

 

It was such a tumultuous time for many; full of angst, apprehension and speculation.

 

Please Devon, refresh my memory... weren't we expecting something really cool, or did we already know how it was going to turn out?

 

It was such a tumultuous time for many; full of angst, apprehension and speculation.

 

 

Kinda Like P3dv2 right now? Or waiting For X-Plane 10.30?

 

We seem to prone be to such periods.  :smile:

It was a new flight simulator from Microsoft;  how much better does that get?

 

I'd have preferred to have the whole world, and argued for it on the beta forum, but I was willing to wait for them to do it right.  I have no interest in tubeliners, so for me the aircraft supplied were just about perfect.  I remembered all the "gamey" features being a part of FSX, so that didn't bother me, and I did have fun with them.  It was obviously designed to appeal to the novice, which would have brought a lot of new people into the hobby.  The method of distribution didn't bother me, and the prices were dirt cheap.  I wasn't impressed with the cockpitless aircraft, but they were obviously popular with the novice crowd.  We even had a number of veteran simmers flying from external view in aircraft that had cockpits.  Multiplayer was a blast;  remember the videos of people seeing how many aircraft they could land on the top of the Hilo control tower at the same time?  While you could fly as seriously as you wanted in Flight, it could also be a lot of fun.

 

Now, imagine what would have happened if they'd included Flight on all the Windows desktop install disks, basically like an enhanced Minesweeper.  When I suggested it, I was told it would take a year to convert to Windows RT.  This should give you a good hint about the reason Flight was ultimately cancelled.  Until I read that, I expected Flight to be successful.

 

Oh well.

 

Hook

I don't think including it with Windows would have been a good idea - it would add unnecessary space to the install, and it adds the potential for an antitrust lawsuit as well. Porting to Windows RT, on the other hand, could have been pretty interesting; however, I don't think the hardware of Windows RT would have been up to the task.

 

Flight was good for what it was, but I think it was too little and too late. After closing ACES on the verge of Train Simulator 2, sim fans were really disappointed. Giving them Flight, with limited aircraft and scenery, and the game aspect up front and center really put people off. What it did have was really well done, though.

Bad management decisions all around from Microsoft. We all had so much hope and I agree with everything that Hook had to say. There are so few of us still here these days and still hoping for that elusive miracle. Still great fun to fly and still much for me to do!

It could have been a true contender.

 

Steve

Clearly, Flight was not meant primarily for the limited market that Flight Simulator targeted. All the major flight games have pretended to be realistic training simulators, and all have gained a very small market penetration. Most have subsequently shut down.

 

The true market for realistic flight games is not that, but rather the immense amount of people who dream of flying, but have never been willing to undertake ab-initio training because it is too difficult and too complicated. This is also perhaps the reason why the number of real pilots is so limited. That and the excessive costs associated with flying. Even among those claiming to be "real simmers", very few have followed the training courses included with FS.

 

The true market for flight games, the largest market is recreational, requiring little effort of most users. Many of the traditional users of FS reacted, and continue to react, violently against this. But, this can't change the fact that most training games have had limited market penetration and have ultimately failed.

 

Mistakes are always made by everybody, but I would say that the principal fault in Flight is not the product or its approach or even its limited content, but insufficient communication. The versions of FS that first included believable jetliners or the Concorde benefited from a media blitz. They were highly visible and present in different media. Flight's communication was almost confidential and restricted, and essentially targeted the same users of previous versions of FS who were most likely to reject it.

 

There is an immense market of flying enthusiasts for flight games, but trainers and procedural sims does not address this market. Flight was an excellent attemp to finally give most people the realistic flight game that they wanted.

 

As shown in the video above, many people did understand this.

 

Ultimately, though, Flight came at a bad time for Microsoft and may very well have been canceled even if it had succeeded in the market. Microsoft has changed its focus, its business no longer supports the types of products that once made it successful. Too bad for us.

 

Best regards.

Luis

Excellent summation Luis, and oh oh so very true!

 

Steve

I wasn't that happy about it on the release date actually. It took some time to grow on me, but did it grow on me...

 

I still really miss it. Imagine how much scenery and aircraft we would have now had Microsoft not cancelled the development. I'm still waiting to see if they'll do anything until GFWL is discontinued for good, but I really doubt it...

MSFlight was the FlightSim with the highest expectations, even more than FSX and P3D.

Although it had a good appproach it crashed on landing B) .

I know it is over.

The only question i have: When will a new successor arrive?

For me it`s not P3D or X-Plane. It definately has to be new one. But there are no indications for that...

MSFlight was the FlightSim with the highest expectations, even more than FSX and P3D.

Although it had a good appproach it crashed on landing B) .

I know it is over.

The only question i have: When will a new successor arrive?

For me it`s not P3D or X-Plane. It definately has to be new one. But there are no indications for that...

 

I don't know if you mean a new simulator from Microsoft or something entirely new, but if you want the latter, take a look at aeroflyFS. The first iteration is very lacking, but the second one (coming out later this year) is going to have at least as much functionality as Microsoft Flight (dynamic time of day, more scenery, interactive virtual cockpits), plus jets!

I don't know if you mean a new simulator from Microsoft or something entirely new, but if you want the latter, take a look at aeroflyFS. The first iteration is very lacking, but the second one (coming out later this year) is going to have at least as much functionality as Microsoft Flight (dynamic time of day, more scenery, interactive virtual cockpits), plus jets!

 

They do have the one big problem with most photo-textures though, and that's an earth noticeably devoid of buildings. I love practically everything else about Aerofly but that, which is a big glaring fault for me.  :(

 

I'll still buy it, though.

They do have the one big problem with most photo-textures though, and that's an earth noticeably devoid of buildings. I love practically everything else about Aerofly but that, which is a big glaring fault for me.  :(

 

I'll still buy it, though.

 

We'll see how they'll handle the scenery in aeroflyFS 2.0. If they're going to use photoscenery again, they really have to get rid of the baked shadows to allow dynamic time of day changes.

 

As for buildings, I'm pretty sure that aeroflyFS has autogen trees. They might add buildings too.

I have been using AeroflyFS for over a year now. Yes, it is currently lacking but has great expectations for the future and is at least still in active development. It does have the "true feeling of flight" that I have come to love about MS Flight. Plus the sail planes are a lot of fun. Check it out if you have not looked at it lately. www.aerofly-fs.com

 

Steve

I have been using AeroflyFS for over a year now. Yes, it is currently lacking but has great expectations for the future and is at least still in active development. It does have the "true feeling of flight" that I have come to love about MS Flight. Plus the sail planes are a lot of fun. Check it out if you have not looked at it lately. www.aerofly-fs.com

 

Steve

 

I've had it for a while. I buy everything.  :Silly:

 

(Except P3Dv2)