FSX-SE DoveTail Games Buys Licensing Deal with Microsoft

[joandreas 3]

Dovetail will not want competion from more serious developers. So they make the game incompitable. And in railworks make a new game version that breaks stuff.

[TheFamilyMan 280]

So much confusion over FSX and DTG.  Here's the deal from what I read elsewhere:  DTG will not do anything with FSX except market it on steam.  Microsoft maintains the ownership of FSX IP and will continue distributing boxed FSX copies into the foreable future.  What DTG does have is the IP rights for MS "Flight Simulator", and they will do with that as they see fit, e.g. release their own, and separate from FSX, flight sim platform.

[Air1 136]

 

 

e.g. release their own, and separate from FSX, flight sim platform.

I sure hope so!

 

Steve

[styckx 1,871]

Dovetail will not want competion from more serious developers. 

 

Yes they do..  80% of Railworks rollingstock is produced by serious 3rd party developers that they offered a piece of the Steam pie and brought under their belt to sell their product through Steam.  Dovetail is more a powerhouse route building developer now and not so much on the rollongstock aspect anymore. They still do rollingstock but they heavily lean on outside developers now.

 

Mark my words.. (I'm speculating. Pure conjecture) If Dovetail make a Flight Sim ala "Ms Flight"  and run the DLC business like they do Railworks you will see Orbx, Carenado, and all the usual suspects producing product for it and distributed through Steam by Dovetail.  I remember back in the day so many 3rd pary developers for Railworks claimed they would never sellout to Dovetail (Then RSC) and would keep the ship sailing for freeware or payware only off their own websites.. Slowly but surely The tides changed.. You can not ignore the cash cow that is Steam exposure.

[WotanUK 289]

Hmm, the vast majority of Train Simulator releases are around the Abacus Shovelware level.  

 

I honestly don't think that Dovetail are up to the task of developing a flight simulator.  I have owned train sim since 2012, i would honestly struggle to tell the difference between 2012 and the current release, they appear to add nothing but simply changing menus.

 

If they do manage to develop a simulator, i guess it would be very much around the Flight model regarding very small areas, but they would also have simple Aircraft, poor flight models with some graphical bells and whistles at least at a superficial level.

[styckx 1,871]

 

 

If they do manage to develop a simulator, i guess it would be very much around the Flight model regarding very small areas, but they would also have simple Aircraft, poor flight models with some graphical bells and whistles at least at a superficial level.

 

It depends.. In house Dovetail trains are pure cheap garbage that are not realistic and barely anything in cab works except the basics and the sound set is not accurate to the real life model at all..  It's the folks like Armstrong Powerhouse and Oovee (and others) who actually go out of their way to strive for simulation. Class 90, Class 57, Class 321, Class 150 are all stellar train sets and aim to truly simulate their real life counterparts.    Dovetail though do cripple trains. Armstrong Powerhouse 321 released on their own site is remarkable. The Dovetail release of that same train though is a dumbed down version where half the functionality of the APH version has been nuked.  Their release of the APH Class 90 though wasn't too terribly crippled though.   

 

Still. I've been a user of that Simulator since 2006 and can say with 100% certainty.. Anything produced and developed by Dovetail.... True simulation is NOT their concern.  Flashy graphics and Tyco like controls is.

[BMagann 11]

First, I am sure that Dovetail is aware of the differences that might exist between the trainsim and flightsim communities. There is no guarantee that they will model their FSX business in the same way that they run the Trainsim business. 

 

Dovetail will market what sells. If the demand is there for higher end complex add-ons, they will welcome them onto the platform. If the market for super-complex planes is small, then you won't see them. I can't imagine that high-end companies won't welcome the chance to reach the largest possible audience.  Ask Dovetail to include those types of planes, and BUY THEM if they come out. If everything that comes out is at too basic a level, just keep using your current install. Capitalism will determine whether there are enough of us for Dovetail to care.

[z06z33 763]

First, I am sure that Dovetail is aware of the differences that might exist between the trainsim and flightsim communities. There is no guarantee that they will model their FSX business in the same way that they run the Trainsim business. 

 

Dovetail will market what sells. If the demand is there for higher end complex add-ons, they will welcome them onto the platform. If the market for super-complex planes is small, then you won't see them. I can't imagine that high-end companies won't welcome the chance to reach the largest possible audience.  Ask Dovetail to include those types of planes, and BUY THEM if they come out. If everything that comes out is at too basic a level, just keep using your current install. Capitalism will determine whether there are enough of us for Dovetail to care.

I can hear all the kids on steam crying already "Why is the PMDG 777 $89 it should be $5!" I'm a IL2 BOS user and they just started on steam a few weeks ago and some of the first complaints were that $55 was too much for an entire sim I can only imagine what they will say about a single plane that costs $89

[JSkorna 137]

Then the kids won't buy it. The same could be said right now.

[BMagann 11]

But the kids aren't buying it now either! Hopefully there will be enough of us who aren't "the kids" to show that there is a market for $89 add-ons. If there is a market for them, they will be available. If there isn't, they won't be.

 

The fate of XPlane on Steam should be very informative. That is expensive and has several expensive add-ons available.

[HiFlyer 9,360]

But the kids aren't buying it now either!

 

The fate of XPlane on Steam should be very informative. That is expensive and has several expensive add-ons available.

 

The kids may not be buying because other kids are frantically warning them off. The fact is that the sim doesn't have anything near the polish that people expect in this day and age, especially for that type of money.

 

The people who care only (or at least primarily) about the dials being accurate and complete are already here, or are probably sticking with FSX/P3D

 

I can't imagine from their previous record, or from the numerous training scenarios in Train Simulator 2015 specifically designed to welcome new people into the world of train sims, that DTG would approach things from anywhere like the same angle.

[joandreas 3]

x-plane steam release have not got any aircrafts yet. o not worth comparing right now.

[UK_Squiff 1]

FSX and the third party dev's, is surely so far down the line, that releasing FSX on Steam won't dent the Sim or it's addons for those who don't use Steam surely?

 

I have to say, that apart from a few smallish bits that are of 'some' interest...I can't see me wanting to add much more to my fsx anyhow. I've got all the aircraft I'll ever want to fly...I have the Airports I want..I have amazing scenery...

 

The one good thing about Dovetail and Steam, is that Multiplayer will be back on the cards (I know we've never really lost it) but, you'll probably be able to jump into a room quite easily

[BMagann 11]

I have no idea how it will turn out, but I am willing to wait and see how it all develops before I curse Dovetail. To quote Lady Macbeth, "What's done is done." Dovetail won the FSX rights derby, and we will just have to live with the result. I will be neither optimistic nor pessimistic until we can see what they actually do with it.

[z06z33 763]

I just don't see how the FSX stream release isn't going to be a flop since they cant change anything in the sim. So you'll have a bone stock 8 year old sim trying to compete with xplane and other games unless its one of the $9.99 titles I just don't see this as a very good business decision. Steam users tend to want fast paced games like battlefield or war thunder and that isn't FSX for sure.