I am sure that those of you attending the 2005 AVSIM Convention and Exhibition are having a great time. Let us know if Microsoft says anything about FS10 or if they give any clues whatsoever as to how progress is going.RH

>I am sure that those of you attending the 2005 AVSIM>Convention and Exhibition are having a great time. Let us>know if Microsoft says anything about FS10 or if they give any>clues whatsoever as to how progress is going.>>RHFirst of all, anyone that missed attending the Avsim Convention in beautiful San Diego , missed a spectacular event, in my opinion. Two high points stick out in my mind, as I am getting ready to attend the final day of the convention. The first one is the presentation that the MSFS staff held all afternoon on Saturday. I have been flying MSFS for over a decade and I learned so many things yesterday, from the discussions with the MSFS team. From frame rates, to scenery layers, to clouds and how they are formed, to optimizing the settings in MSFS. We discussed the ongoing survey that MS is conducting, and the information that they get from the survey, what happens to error reports when your FS9 crashes, and what is in the reports and on and on. Scenery design, Mesh, Landclass, it was all explained. It was fantastic and was worth the entire price of admission. As far as FS10, very little information was presented. I think that the next version of FS is probably something they are still in the middle of designing. Rather than focusing on FS10, almost everyone at the convention , seemed happy to talk about FS9 and how well it is working for most of us, and what can be done to make it work better. I even bought a Boeing 737 Simulator and Check Ride Procedure Manual by a retired B-737 UAL Captain named Mike Ray. A 300 page discussion of everything on the B737 that is a great companion for my PMDG 737 flying. www.utem.comAfter an excellent dinner last night, a Boeing Test Pilot Captain Suzanna Darcey-Hennemann a 777-200LR Project Pilot, gave a detailed presentation on her experiences in test flying many of the Boeing products over the years. From Stalls in a 777, to losing both engines on a test flight in a 767, she captivated the crowd as she related her experiences. After her lecture, she had a question and answer period and covered every question that was asked, in depth. Well, time get some breakfast and head back to the Covention Floor, for the final day.

>The first one is the presentation that the MSFS staff held all>afternoon on Saturday. I have been flying MSFS for over a>decade and I learned so many things yesterday, from the>discussions with the MSFS team. It's a pity that those of us who aren't able to attend conventions weren't able to hear what the team said. I'm sure it was very similar to their talk at the IFC and I'm certain that was very interesting and informative as well. I saw in the Convention Forum that someone asked if there were any plans to enable others to hear the talks. From the lack of any information on the subject I guess that wasn't possible. Most disappointing.

Thanks Guys!RH

RH,Any chance you can share some of the key information from the MS presentation that may help us with frame rates and optimizing FS9 as you stated in your original post ?Mark.

I'm sorry Mark. I did not attend, but I would also be interested in hearing about key information from the MS presentation that may help us with frame rates and optimizing FS9. Perhaps others can help us out on that one.RH

Robbie, yes probably should have addressed my message to Bob. Hopefully he or someone who attended will share some insights.Mark.

Hi,I agree completely - the Conference was a big success, and the museum was the perfect place for it. Other than the weather being quite cool for San Diego (which was a good thing for the afternoons, but a bit chilly other times), it was just perfect.The Keynote Presentation by Suzanna was great - she told far more about many hairaising episodes during her test pilot career than I ever thought Boeing would let her mention - it was fascinating!While little about FS10 was discussed in the MS presentation, there was a very interesting "technology demonstration" segment that highlighted the capabilities of the new graphics cards and DX9 in flight sim. I did see one slide I had seen was at the UK presentation (the Mooney taking off in the rain with wet taxiways), but many were new and looked really great. I assume they will be using these techniques (including shaders, bump mapping, and bloom) in FS10.I have pics of many of these technology demo slides (and a couple of the survey results), but will not post them on my site (or AVSIM can have them) unless AVSIM gives the OK. I forgot to ask at the Conference, of course. :)Take care,--Tom GibsonCal Classic Propliner Page: http://www.calclassic.comFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.comDrop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___

Tom, you post them where you want. I would just ask that you post a link in this forum to where ever you post them. Thanks for attending, and why didn't we get together???

A meeting of the Tom's!

Hi Tom,Thanks, I'll post the link here and in a separate thread so it doesn't get lost.Actually, we did meet, sort of. :) I was the balding guy with the beard. During the last session (ASVSIM Q&A) I was the one that asked the question about how to link to the AVSIM library. And after it was over, we stood under the PBY in the rotunda and talked a bit about the conference and how it went (very well, of course!). Then you had to go outside for a break. Sorry, I assumed you saw my name tag, with my Cal Classic card attached, or I would have introduced myself.With all the people there, I'm having trouble keeping people straight too!Good to meet you,--Tom GibsonCal Classic Propliner Page: http://www.calclassic.comFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.comDrop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___

Which just goes to show that I am getting old and senile. Yes, I do remember the questions and the talk under the PBY. I have to admit that I don't do well reading name tags. Sorry Tom. I wished we could have spent more time talking.

I was fortunate enough to attend the convention and saw the FS presentation...don't have notes in front of me, but I think the bottom line was that the video card is by far the best upgrade you can make, followed by adding memory, and then looking at the processor.The talk was really well done and quite enlightening in terms of how much goes into this program!Robert

Hi all,Here is the description of the MS presentation (complete with somewhat blurry images) on my web site. I also give a running commentary on the presentation, and a very short overview of the meeting.http://www.calclassic.com/avsim2005.htmEnjoy,--Tom GibsonCal Classic Propliner Page: http://www.calclassic.comFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.comDrop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___

Thanks Tom! That was super information, great pics and good insight.RH