Those who do not complain are never pitied.

 

We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed
 

WoW!! When those X-Plane guys miss their medication for a couple of days and :ph34r:  they sure get depressed!!

Another mass of assumption on how the FS world and industry works. Seriously guys whilst general chit chat is fun it can also be awfully annoying when its ill informed and mostly guess work.

In summary.

Is MS FSX going to fade away eventually; YES

 

Is Flight simulation hobby and commercial simulation dead because of this; NO

 

I think Flight Simulation HOBBY is the operative word here, underlying the discussion. I remember back in the old days, I would walk into the media store, and with nothing in particular in mind, would wander over to the entertainment software section. Whole shelf of role playing games, war games, simulation, flight simulation. I would be like "oh cool, Aces over Europe looks like it might be fun. Kind of sick of Sim City, so maybe I'll give this a try." I would take it home, install it, and then be off and running, on the run-of-the-mill home computer, and that was it. It wasn't a hobby: the latest thing I picked up was just another piece of entertainment software. It was this kind of casual buying behavior of the masses like myself, that drove things forward, and ensured that there would always be another hot new state-of-the-art flight simulation waiting for me at the store, once I got bored, and decided I wanted something new.

 

But now, 20 years on, Flight Simulation has become a hobby for for me.  I've spent the time and money to build up a dedicated platform on which to run the ancient FSX, mostly taking advantage of 3rd party enhancements to keep it relavent.  The bundle of money supporting future developments isn't from some guy wandering into the software store and casually picking up the latest thing because the cover art makes it look cool.  And even a flight sim enthusiast like me hasn't stepped up to P3D yet, because when I do the cost/benefit analysis, I'm still waiting for the right third party developers to come fully into play, making it worthwhile for me to transition. 

 

We aren't talking about the success of a few 3rd Party addon makers though, who have managed to tap into the niche of hobbyists like me, somewhat enslaved as it were, to a particular base simulation.  We're talking about the mass appeal of the genre of flight simulation required to drive forward a new base platform that has bells and whistles comparable to other genres. 

Option 1: Use P3D, get no say in the development.

 

Option 2: Use X-Plane, get a bit of say in development.

 

Option 3: Turn FlightGear into the best simulator of all time (Caution: Will involve work!).

 

Option 4: Put current PC into storage, buy 2006-ish dual core PC with an E6600, install FSX RTM and try to get it to run properly. Do not overclock for maximum masochism. After a few months, install SP1. You may upgrade to an early quad core, Q6600 or so, but are not allowed to overclock. Wait a few more months and install SP2/Acceleration. Upgrade to an early i7. Wait a few more months and dust off your current PC. Provided it has a current-gen i5/i7, you will be glad for this heavenly piece of hardware and never complain about FSX again.

Option 1: Use P3D, get no say in the development.

 

 

 

I don't think it is that bleak. The end user does have a say.  I do think that there is a certain P3D-Is-Perfect-Just-The-Way-It-Is faction of customers that takes it upon themselves to stand in the way of constructive criticism, as if it were a personal offense, but I don't at all get the impression that LM itself is deaf to customer input.  Bugs are getting reported, and bugs are getting fixed.

 

Option 1: Use P3D, get no say in the development.

 

This is so completely untrue that I have to say you are maliciously spreading horse manure with this statement.

 

Lockheed has been extremely receptive to input from not only from third-party developers, but users as well.

 

As a beta tester for Orbx, and beta tester for P3D, I can confirm that many of the new features that are in v2.2 were asked for by third-party developers and included because it not only enhanced the simulator itself, but helps the third-party devs create and sell their products. LM has been working hand-in-hand with not only scenery developers, but airplane developers as well with every new version of P3D.

 

I have NEVER seen such a good relationship between those who are producing the simulator and those producing the third-party products. If a particular developer hasn't taken the time to communicate with LM about Prepar3d, that's not Lockheed's fault, it's the devs fault.

I don't know, considering that Flight Simming is such a niche market, I'd say we are doing pretty good. What other sim, game, or whatever you want to call it, has this many addon developers. Its crazy!!!

Where is the OP?  lol he's gone...

 

Anyway I think the flight sim market is dying....  I say this because I've heard it from a few devs which shall remain nameless.  Sales aren't what they used to be and development time is up up up (unless you're carenado and spit out pretty graphics every 6 months)...

 

You might not think it's dying, but sales are down compared to 10 years ago....  no I can't back this up with a document... again this is what I've heard through the grapevines.  Remember Dreamfleet?

 

Regardless of that I'll be simming until a sim doesn't work anymore...  could be when windows 10 comes out or whatever... and the sim won't work anymore.  Or just because we keep ramming into the VAS wall of FSX.  XP10x64 is really quite nice, especially for the general aviation simmer like myself.  But I can see it being troublesome for the big jet haulers....  And no VAS issues over there.  I was hoping P3D goes x64 sooner than later.  But I doubt I'll jump over there either because many of my favorite addons still won't work AND the VAS wall is even closer with the yummy eye candy P3D2.2 now has.  And then there's that whole EULA thing LOL!!!

 

I basically see options as:

 

1) FSX

2) P3D2 and up (but not for entertainment sigh)

3) XP10x64

4) Flight Gear

 

And of course any combination of those four.

 

Good luck gentlemen (and any remaining ladies!)

 

 

(and any remaining ladies!)

 

I'm guessing the female demographic is one of the few trends in flight simulation that has seen an upward slope.  There used to be only 2, now there are probably 6. :lol: I kid, ladies, I kid.

 

Back to seriousness though, I would add DCS to your list.  I went through a DCS phase, was very impressed by it, especially some of the features that come standard on it (don't require a 3rd party addon), and then kind of got away from it because my FSX-dedicated system isn't really ideal to run it at the level I wanted to run it.  Nevertheless, I keep my eye on it, and it seems there are some good things happening with that platform, although it's combat oriented, it's still a heck of a good simulation of flight.  When I'm building my next system, I'm going to have DCS in mind as much as P3D.  

 

 

AND the VAS wall is even closer with the yummy eye candy P3D2.2 now has

 

Ryan,

No issues with VAS any more now since 2.2, I never get close to the limit.

Give 2.2 a try, we have almost identicle systems and I am getting good performance here.

All this hope for P3D improving or overtaking FSX! how can this be if P3D is not supposed to be used for home entertainment as per FSX, when it's obviously what everyone is using it for?

I basically see options as:

 

1) FSX

2) P3D2 and up (but not for entertainment sigh)

3) XP10x64

4) Flight Gear

 

You're forgetting aeroflyFS and Outerra. The former is already on a good path and the latter, with enough support, can blow everything we have right now out of the water.

So your blaming Lockheed the same folks who are pretty much keeping FS alive since x-plane is years behind FSX in graphics.

 

Tbh, anyone who doesn't know enough about X-Plane might say this and think they were right which is perfectly understandable but to anyone who is keeping up with what can be done by combining tools such as G2xpl with World2XPlane would know that they can have photoscenery at better resolutions than can be had for FSX/P3d with autogen placed in it's real world positions perfectly matching the scenery.

I've actually deleted both FSX and P3d from my system in the last week or so and moved entirely over to X-Plane because it's so superior to either, having invested literally thousands in them over the years. That's money down the drain but when I fly now I don't mind a bit knowing that I've finally configured the "real as it gets" simulator that I've been chasing all these years. Fake Orbx scenery just doesn't come close.

 

 

All this hope for P3D improving or overtaking FSX! how can this be if P3D is not supposed to be used for home entertainment as per FSX, when it's obviously what everyone is using it for?

 

I'm using P3D for simulation & development, not for entertainment. Both are listed as valid ways of usage of the product. 

FSX, an old horse, is still very alive and kicking in my world! I love it, there is no day without a single thought about FSX, and I really really enjoy it! DX9 or DX10, doesn't matter, the satisfaction meter is hitting the roof at the end of every flight! I don't care iif it's from 2006, 2000, or 2014, when it is truly rewarding experience. Someone mentioned GP Legends, good comparison! FSX can also look really good visually with all payware stuff and some kick &@($* SweetFX preset, so I don't really have an urge for some cloud shadows and other mumbo jumbo. I actually bought P3D 2.0 few months ago, and I still didn't used it properly, even after trying 2.2, I'm simply not satisfied with performance - same visuals (well for me), worse performance by a mile even in 2.2.

 

Tried every simulator out there, X-Plane, Aerofly FS, FlightGear, DCS World... and I always run back to FSX like a kid running to hug its mom.

The most comprehensive, complete, and user friendly simulator out there, that's FSX. It's far from perfect, we all lost God knows how many days tweaking it, but the reward is huge, end of story.