With all the amazing stuff that's come out for FS9 in the last couple of weeks?Ultimate Terrain-USA plus a patch and the FSG Landclass patch.A terrific update to Flight EnvironmentAn AWESOME update to the Aeroworx King Air B200A fun utility like FS PassengersAnd wonderful freeware like the KBWI sceneryFS9 has never looked better!Jim

Well, I have to say that FS10 better be revolutionary for me to not use FS9 again.Jeff

I agree. Take your time with FS10, Microsoft.

I'll have to agree with you, although it cost me hundreds of dollers to get FS9 what it is today I can't see how a new version could compare. OK, ATC is totally unrealistic, but maybe some bright programmer could develop an ATC add-on. PLEASE ;) Besides, you know how long it would take me to insall all the add-ons, again! Who knows if even the'll work. I thiink FS9 will have a home on my harddrive for quite awhile longer. Dave FisherCYYZP4 Prescott 3.2e 478p 800mhz 1mg CPUP4P800S Asus Motherboard1.0 gig PC3200 DDR RAM 400MHZGeforce Ti 4200/128Maxtor 40 Gig ATA 133 HD x2WDC WD800 80 Gig HDhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/ng_driver.jpghttp://fs2crew.com/linepilot.jpg

Honestly, if Microsoft respects this community enough, the next version of FS will be even more open to 3rd party developers. I think they ought to open up the way planes are modeled more (regarding how they behave, not how they look, within the sim), as that area seems to be the most frustrating for add-on creators. The scenery engine should become a generic framework that is expandable as technology progresses in the future, while retaining the ability to be compatible with all of the great enhancements that exist today. Weather, AI, ATC could also all use some opening up.Microsoft can't really support this product like we want them to... it probably doesn't really net them much in the long run - no prestige, no real money, just a lot of flack from us unabashed users. Heck, (and this is starting to go off-topic, so beware), if MSFT wants to compete in the new world that the Apache project, Google, and other companies who understand the value behind being an open company are forging, they should take a product like FS and make an example out of it. Everybody likes to bemoan the fact that Windows is a hideous beast, closed-source, impervious to outside scrutiny... I don't think MSFT really has much of a chance 10 years from now unless they change that mindset, and FS would be my vote for the product to start with! :)--Guy

I'm assuming that FS10 will still be compatible with most if not all of the addon scenery we're all using in FS9. FS2002 stuff and before, probably not. That said, it would be relatively easy for the MS developers to include a utility that would move all your existing addon scenery from FS9 into FS10. After all, that info is all contained in your scenery.cfg file. Just a matter of prompting the user for what scenery to move, creating the directories, copying the files and making the necessary configuration changes.I have this feeling FS10 will be very similar to FS9 but with an extremely upgraded graphics engine that will take advantage of new technology and speed of graphics cards. The files and textures that make up our scenery and other addons really have little to do with the software display of that information unless very radical changes are made to the engine. Companies are crazy to release a new product without some degree of backwards compatibility. We're in the best possible situation. If it sucks, we still have a wonderful product in FS9 that has more stuff to add onto it than any one human could in their lifetime with much more to come. If it's great, that's just gravy.Art

This argument comes up every time a new sim is looming on the horizon ... but have no fear, you'll all buy the new one anyway, you just won't be able to resist.I had thousands of aircraft in FS2000, and swore I'd never be so silly with FS2002. Wrong. Having turned that sim to a fine edge, then along came FS9. Ignore it? I had it set up on Day One of release, and hardly gave default a chance before the add-ons started piling in. 8,000 aircraft, 600 sceneries .... oh dear.Will I buy FS10? Of course I will. But the short shelf life of the sim versions is one reason I tend to steer clear of payware, myself. There's just too much wonderful freeware out there to bother with it.Mark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM[a href=http://www.swiremariners.com/cathayhk.html" target="_blank]http://www.paxship.com/maamlogo2.jpg[/a]

Hi Dave,Have a look at Radar Contact. I've been using it since version 2 in the FS98 days and haven't looked back.Check out this thread:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...d=262870&page=4and the website:http://www.jdtllc.com/

>This argument comes up every time a new sim is looming on the>horizon ... but have no fear, you'll all buy the new one>anyway, you just won't be able to resist.Oh, I'll absolutely buy FS10! I did resist FS9 for at least 6 months though. My post was more intended as a nod of the head to all the great stuff that has come out in just the last few weeks. But I was lax in not mentioning Milton Shupe's Beech D18 on my list. Another exceptional piece of freeware.Jim

"Who needs FS10?"I DO! If the clouds can finally become something to "FLY INTO" & not THROUGH them (called volumetric) then I'll be first in line. I can't stand flying up to a cloud only to have it "wrap around" the aircraft like a billboard passing by or when you do go through one it looks like a sheet of paper. That would be all it would take for starters for me to upgrade.Carmine http://forums.avsim.net/images/wave.gif

just look at your FPS counter with all these addons, scenery, AI traffic, etc. running and then keep talking about who needs FS10

I'm looking forward to FS10 .... I'm not convinced by FS2004's water effects. The scale of the water effects are wrong. FS aircraft look like model planes being flown over a swimming pool :-lol

I'm running Ultimate Traffic, Flight Environment, Ultimate Terrain, Active Sky Weather, tons of addon scenery plus Payware aircraft and I'm still getting good fps.(13-25fps)Dave FisherCYYZP4 Prescott 3.2e 478p 800mhz 1mg CPUP4P800S Asus Motherboard1.0 gig PC3200 DDR RAM 400MHZGeforce Ti 4200/128Maxtor 40 Gig ATA 133 HD x2WDC WD800 80 Gig HDhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/ng_driver.jpghttp://fs2crew.com/linepilot.jpg

Well, I just built my new system this year and I had already decided NOT to buy FS10 when it comes out right away.I have spent thousands of dollars to build the new system and buy many add-on software titles for FS9 this year.So, unless FS10 shows a huge improvement over FS9 on my existing system, and unless it is FULLY compatable with the add-ons that I own, I will not be buying FS10 when it comes out this time.I will most likely but it when the price drops on it like FS9 is now ($20 @ Walmart). Most likely FS10 will be around $60 when it comes out, like FS9 was.That's where I'm at.Scott :-)ATP/CFII/DA20 Type Rated - Instructor Pilot - USAFA (KAFF), Colorado Springs, CO & at KCOSAOPA #00956593, since 1987Background in Corporate, Airline, and General AviationB.S. Degree in Computer Information SystemsGamming System Specs: (Built this one myself)AMD Athlon-64 3000+ Gigabyte K8NS nForce3-250 Chipset 8x AGP Main Board 1GB DDR400 PC3200 Memory 160GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive 16x DVD-ROM Audigy 2ZS Gammer Sound Card5.1 Channel Surround Sound Speakers256MB GeForce-5700 8X AGP Video Dual 17" LCD and CRT monitorsCotytech Gaming CaseCH Products Yoke, Rudder Pedals, Throttle QuadrantSaitek Cyborg Gold Joystic for Helo's & Stick equipped aircrafteDimensional AudioFX force feedback vibration headsets & micWindows XP Pro SP2Home Network for using the Instructor StationFS9COF Sliders maxed with other settings at their best quality positions

This ain't gonna be popular, but...I say throw the whole thing out the window and redo it from the ground up. Nix the ancient BGL file structure and go with something new and efficient. Make use of version 2/3 pixel shaders and license the same source Google uses for Google Earth. There's just too much the FS has to concede to to keep those who bought 1000s of dollars of paywell addons-- by no fault of Microsoft's-- happy. with backwards compatibility.-Jon