Steam X-Plane debacle

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

I fully understand you, though, time changes. Those kids are already spoiled by heavy 3d engines and games. XP/FSX (out of the box) fails in comparison (graphically-wise) to mainstream 3D softwares nowadays. If the mentioned above kids haven't been in close encouters to actual aircraft i really think they'll have thought time being hooked. Of course exceptions exist but are in really rare cases and shouldn't be considered in that kind of calculations

 

Still no different today then it was back then...The most popular games was Lode Runner, Skyfox, Montezuma's Revenge etc and FS1 appealed to a niche back then as it does today. Just because we are at Nvidia today doesn't really change anything. Some kids prefer mainstream and other kids want to explore a little more then that.

 

FSX today would appeal to a 12 year old in the same way not only because of Aviation but the development possibilities that it can bring as well.....It would take years for a 12 year old newbie to get the full potential out of it and some would prefer that over the mainstream genre.

[Lowflyer 97]

Let's be realistic for one moment.  Flight simulation is a not something that is consumed by the masses.

Everyone comes from "the masses" initially. There are currently over 65 million users on Steam, of which at least 4 million are online at any given time and contrary to what some people here seem to think not all of those are 12 year olds stuck on Counterstrike. Realistically there has to be a handful of people among those 65 million who just haven't discovered flight simming yet.

 

That said I don't think XP10 is the right piece of software to do it. FSX will most likely fare better, at least if they put a reasonable price on it.

 

 

(rather that's good or bad [it's good; we're special])

 

Yeah, we're definitely special in some way...

[ohsirus 241]

I stopped looking at X-plane's Steam forums as they are too toxic and the requests have been ludicrous, I can't get 100 fps on full max rendering. Then you have the experts who were using XP7 and believe XPX is the same. Oh well maybe with the new influx of $$$ they can expedite some feature requests...not.

[mike2060 4]

How could X-Plane being on Steam be anything but a good thing for the flight sim community?

[JonRD463 146]

Hi, for a non english speaking what does mean going Steam for a product (FSX, X-plane) ?

Thanks alot, Serge

 

Steam is an online distribution platform/store that sells games and other software (primarily games). It was started by Valve Software, who are most noted for their Half Life, Portal, and Left 4 Dead series of games. It's HUGELY popular.

[pjs37 319]

I have to agree with the OP:  There needs to be a presence in some capacity even if you just crown a bunch of people who have good reputations "Community Ambassador's" like so many industries do nowdays to do it.  Having the same toxic idiots going "ITS NOT A GAME ITS A SIM" is not helping in the least.  I have X-Plane I am slowly learning it and once Verizon replaces my router so I have access at home again I am at least going to try and help with what I learned trying to learn X-Plane and answer questions in a reasonable way.  But they need some ACTIVE moderators there to at least keep some people in check.  I don't care if its Prepare3D, FSX, X-Plane, or Farming Simulator-If people are trying your product then you need to put on a good face or you will get buried in short order.

[TheHoser11 39]

If you think X-Plane is getting no support at Steam from it's developers, just wait till FSX is released, LOL!

 

I wonder how much support Microsoft, or should I say, Dovetail, will provide...  :rolleyes:

[Voodoo6000 0]

X-Plane's future cannot be found on Steam.

 

And kids get hooked by aviation elsewhere. And IF they got hooked, they'll manage to find XP and FSX outside of Steam.

Disagree, Steam is THE digital plattform for games.(i think a sim is a game). Anyway there are a lot of badly accessible hardcore games on Steam and not only games like CS. Today it is not enougt relasing your game only on DVD.(more and more PCs/MACs didn't  even use a DVD Drive).

[ZachLW 37]

Everyone comes from "the masses" initially. There are currently over 65 million users on Steam, of which at least 4 million are online at any given time and contrary to what some people here seem to think not all of those are 12 year olds stuck on Counterstrike. Realistically there has to be a handful of people among those 65 million who just haven't discovered flight simming yet.

 

That said I don't think XP10 is the right piece of software to do it. FSX will most likely fare better, at least if they put a reasonable price on it.

 

 

 

Yeah, we're definitely special in some way...

 

Fair enough. I can only speak from my own personal experience.

 

Haha aren't we though?

[pjs37 319]

X-Plane's future cannot be found on Steam.

 

And kids get hooked by aviation elsewhere. And IF they got hooked, they'll manage to find XP and FSX outside of Steam.

 

The only reason I know about Flight Simulators at all was because I was younger I saw in target a Flight Simulator for Windows 95 disk I bought to play because it looked neat and I liked planes.  Now days try and buy a PC game in the store; its all hidden object puzzle games and a few of the AAA titles.  You won't "stumble" upon some gem randomly anymore.  Steam is where that is at with their huge sales people buy games they normally wouldn't and they discover things that way.  There is no downside for X-Plane or FSX to being on Steam its just another place to get it.  There are many friends who I tell they should try them and they are all like "Where can I download it" and once you explain to them it needs to be bought and shipped to them its like a wall went up because too much work.  Yes its lazy and what not but people like Steam.  A lot.  Look at the numbers in this thread.  That is why these deals were done even for FSX a title which MS has essentially given up enitrely on except in this one single aspect.

[DocBird 79]

I completely disagree.....it is the 12 to 13 year old kids out there that discover something like FSX for the first time over Steam and become hooked.

 

I was 12 years old when I got a crack copy of FS1 on a 5.5" Floppy Disk I traded in the school yard and when I put that in my Apple //e I was completely hooked.....I never knew about it before I traded it and it forever changed my life....43 years old now and still hooked.

+1000

 

Give them 12 years old kids a fun airplane with running angines and the realism-settings to unreal but the eye candy to max and then things will develop. But if you force them to go through a long list of settings that will spoil them. Fun has to come first then they will get hooked.

 

My own kids (8 and 10) don't want to work out a flight plan! They simply have fun to jump in whatever aircraft and rampage around to have some fun. And I was exactly the same when I started at the Meigs Field years ago ... 

[dighost 25]

Steam sales on X-Plane must be doing well.  It's been out like three or four days, and is still featured on the main page sliding banner--  which only the best selling games get to occupy.   We as a community can't afford to be elitists and just take the perception that these "14 year olds or console gamers" are going to ignore or not like X-Plane because it doesn't have a gun or have gold coin challenges.  "New blood" is what we need in this hobby.  No offense to all you guys, but coming on to Avsim and seeing the same names post over and over is just getting old!    

 

Someone who posted on this thread said it right, there needs to be a presence by Xplane or whomever is selling it because they are doing a disservice to the community, the product and Steam customers.   

[Kosty 1]

Steam has millions of users now. Among them is a certain % interested in simulations. There are other simulations already on steam, Rise of Flight, Il2, AeroflyFS, Bus simulators, train simulators and others. These are niche games and won't bring in millions of new players like the Blockbusters do, but they'll have their audience and will bring in new people.

 

I switched to Steam for other simulation-related games as well. It's convenient and easy to use. If You are patient and can wait there are always Steam sales with huge discounts on games during the year.

Just direct the new people to the existing x-plane forums where all the info is!

[Dickens 1]

Surely a simulation software as real as X-Plane is, some people would just get stressed out trying to figure out how to fly the plane. But those that really are curious and want to learn, they'd benefit. Either way, I don't see how X-Plane on Steam is a negative.

[greggerm 312]

Feel free to observe the X-Plane on Steam usage statistics here on this page. It's not the sales stats, but the worldwide usage statistics.