"Microsoft Sells License to FS Franchise" Part 2

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

Anyone of those mentioned on that page would be a giant leap forward imho.

(Certainly for the multiplayer side of things)

After I read that article, it seemed like the emphasis in "flight simulation" is on combat/shooter type games.

[NetNinja 14]

From the front page announcement on AVSIM "blah blah blah . .  We look forward to an official announcement at the E3 coming this week."

 

Did anyone really believe Microsoft would actually disclose the legal "Sale of the FS Franchise License" at the Electronic Entertainment Expo venue ?

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

Dovetail is not really that small. Their creative and programming team size is over 50 people, making anything else we have going on look like the smurfs, and they are flush with cash not just from the PC but also from porting train simulator to consoles. I've believed since the change of name announcement that the logical direction for them to head would be a flight sim accessible to a broad audience, something we tend to look downwards on from a great height here, but which does bring in tangible rewards.

 

Like a profit.  :lol:

 

And remember Dovetail began by buying the rights to the existing Rail Simulator franchise.....

 

 

On the other hand, maybe its not them, but it would certainly be a great fit. http://www.dovetailgames.com/about

 

 

Interesting to read their open job descriptions..

[wlix261 79]

This never crossed my mind. Not after LM has put P3D

[HawkDsl 50]

All I did was take a break and put stuff in the wash... I come back on, and Low and behold, the whole world turned upside down!

 

Prey its a "sim geek".. a real pilot heading the company... Otherwise... More coin chasing BS debacles.

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

Exactly this. I like Train Sim but the DLC model is absolutely horrible. Total cost for all the DLC is over $2,000.

 

Okay, that's true. But what you're saying is essentially like saying "Oh look, all the addons ever made for Flight Simulator X cost $50,000. That's a horrible DLC model.".

 

You don't have to have ALL the DLC in order to have a "complete" game, partly because you can't use them at the same time. (Can you fly 2 airplanes at the same time? No, so you can't pilot 2 trains at the same time either).

Did you read the news article????

Yes but it's too vague.

 

Boy, if it has anything to do with Steam, count me out.

 

Their system sucks, and their support sucks even more.  I finally gave up after they and a vendor kept pointing fingers at the other.  My problem was never resolved.

The system most definitely does not suck. 

 

I understand that the support might not be the greatest, but I've had luck with being rather courteous with the representatives to get what I wanted.

[Tom Allensworth 1,532]

 

 

Yes but it's too vague.

 

You asked where it was to be announced. The article clearly stated that we believe E3 this week. What is "vague" about that?

[Polar 30]

A thought, I think who ever got it was not thinking about gaming, it does not make sense to me why anyone would soak $$$$$$ into this game. I said it once before, if it were as a game selling millions each year, MS I don't think would cancel it and dump the team. They MS have been holding out for something that goes far beyond gaming, something that would bring a high price, something that someone would buy that does not hedge on gaming.

I think those who are hoping for a revival of MSFS may be hoping for the impossible at this point.

A thought, I think who ever got it was not thinking about gaming, it does not make sense to me why anyone would soak $$$$$$ into this game. I said it once before, if it were as a game selling millions each year, MS I don't think would cancel it and dump the team. They MS have been holding out for something that goes far beyond gaming, something that would bring a high price, something that someone would buy that does not hedge on gaming.

I think those who are hoping for a revival of MSFS may be hoping for the impossible at this point.

[NickFlightX 14]

Does anyone think that this will mean we get a new sim?

[tf51d 284]

If it is Dovetail Games (and I kind of think it is) don't be surprised if the main focus is not towards Flight simulation, rather to get a hold of the code for Train Simulator 2 (Which uses the FSX engine)! This would give them a great deal of flexibility to what is their core product.  TrainSim2014 (TS2014). As I mentioned in the other thread TS2014 is a route based sim. This limits what they could do. For example Right now there is 2 different routes to cover the Amtrak's NEC route, and it still doesn't cover the whole section. That means the user has to have separate sessions if the want run from New Haven to Washington DC (NH-NY, and NY-DC) The MSTS2 code is worldwide based, like FSX. This would allow  them to provide larger routes, and you could seamlessly run between default scenery and more complex addon scenery, anywhere in the world. This is the holy grail in the trainsim world, and what MSTS2 was promised to be. Not to alienate their current TS2014 customers, they probably would provide a conversion program to import there current assets into the new sim. After that they may plan to integrate FS (Which was also the original plan for MSTS2)

[Alan_A 1,650]

If it is Dovetail Games (and I kind of think it is) don't be surprised if the main focus is not towards Flight simulation, rather to get a hold of the code for Train Simulator 2 (Which uses the FSX engine)! This would give them a great deal of flexibility to what is their core product. 

 

Could be.  On the other hand, when they changed their name from Rail Simulator Limited to Dovetail Games, they said that the new name reflected their interest in simulations beyond train simulation.  From their blog commentary on the name change:

 

 

All simulation is illusion, but we have found that the key is to make the world so immersive and the simulation so intuitive and rich that the illusion temporarily becomes our reality. To succeed, we know we need to be at the absolute cutting edge of technology. We believe that the future for simulation is very bright: PCs are getting more powerful, the next generation of consoles and the tools to support them are being released, and Ultra HD screens are coming to the market. Together with new technologies that allow us to properly enter these worlds, simulation will enter a whole new age. I will make no promises here, but we are investing millions of dollars in these technologies and we are already seeing awesome results. 

 

I can reveal that we are now in the very early stages of developing a range of completely new simulation products to sit alongside Train Simulator. What I have found during my time in the videogames industry is that the process of learning, development and innovation never stops. We have learned a great deal and taken our business forward considerably over the past four years, and I feel the time is now right for us to move ahead with long-term plans to offer a broader range of high quality, entertaining simulation products.

[HiFlyer 9,359]

If I was looking just for the core of a next generation train sim I would probably be looking at Outerra pretty keenly.... (they already have plans for a railway network.......)

 

But then, Dovetail already owns that market, so....... No.

 

[Nathan3219 113]

Miley Cyrus. It will become MS Twerk Simulator.

[ZKOKQ 984]

If it is Dovetail Games (and I kind of think it is) don't be surprised if the main focus is not towards Flight simulation, rather to get a hold of the code for Train Simulator 2 (Which uses the FSX engine)! This would give them a great deal of flexibility to what is their core product.  TrainSim2014 (TS2014). As I mentioned in the other thread TS2014 is a route based sim. This limits what they could do. For example Right now there is 2 different routes to cover the Amtrak's NEC route, and it still doesn't cover the whole section. That means the user has to have separate sessions if the want run from New Haven to Washington DC (NH-NY, and NY-DC) The MSTS2 code is worldwide based, like FSX. This would allow  them to provide larger routes, and you could seamlessly run between default scenery and more complex addon scenery, anywhere in the world. This is the holy grail in the trainsim world, and what MSTS2 was promised to be. Not to alienate their current TS2014 customers, they probably would provide a conversion program to import there current assets into the new sim. After that they may plan to integrate FS (Which was also the original plan for MSTS2)

I have to agree Tom, your post makes a lot of sense. The code for MST2 is still on the shelf, and it has value, more value than sitting in a recycle bin. Why not sell the code, it would be financially prudent, and DTG would be the most likely contender.

 

Imagine it, you could drive a train to Gatwick  which you can do now in Railworks, and then fly a T7 to NY. 

[mganz121 159]

I have to agree Tom, your post makes a lot of sense. The code for MST2 is still on the shelf, and it has value, more value than sitting in a recycle bin. Why not sell the code, it would be financially prudent, and DTG would be the most likely contender.

 

Imagine it, you could drive a train to Gatwick  which you can do now in Railworks, and then fly a T7 to NY. 

 

It's times like this that this forum could do with the return of the agree/disagree buttons !

 

But I will agree with this one simply because you hit the nail on the head. "Imagine this" ............ just like John Venema did in that recent AviatorCast interview.