**Rant - Join in if you want **

[=Hollywood= 0]

I'm both a film maker and a real world pilot... Every wish I have had for FSX appears to be implemented in FSX...If it ain't in FSX then wait for FS11 or FS12, ... And email your suggestions to tell_fs@microsoft.com...Anyway, I second the chill pill post :)I remember once being told 'this life isn't all about you'...

[Guest Fjorko]

You are missing the point mate - I did not say FSX doesn't appeal to non-hardcore ( for the lack of a better word ) simmers, I meant that EVERYTHING so far in FSX seems to ONLY improve the "look" and none of the "guts" of the software have had any mention of improvement..I know there is still a NDA to which they have to adhere to, but why shrug off questions that many of the more serious simmers thinks are important things to get right in the next version like for example :a) abrupt visibility changes:( airports that look like they were pasted on top of textures ( no blending in at the edges )c) improved AI behaviourd) better performace ( less stutters )e) large square textures on top of waterf) SIDs/STARSg) ATCetc etc etcI know many things will look MUCH better in FSX - I don't deny that, but it is what is being done under the hood that I am concerned about, and so far there are NO indication - and somehow my gut feeling tells me that not much is going to be done.If I'm wrong when the final feature list is released - then so be it, but currently I have no reason to believe otherwise...Oh and By the way.... I am relaxed and I am quite a friendly guy actually.Another thing - Why on earth would they showcase a Pre-Beta ( Alpha ?? ) build of FSX at E3 - now that makes no sense.:-roll L8ter !;)

[Guest alex333]

I agree to most of what was said in the last postings.First of all, and most important: We do *not* know a full feature list. And we do *not* know what has been improved and what has not.I just don't understand this FSX-bashing that you can find in many postings here in this forum. If you have got a reason to criticise, well ok, but where is this reason? Has anyone here already seen FSX completely?Aces/MS just changed the way of dealing with the customers. Here they are, especially tdragger and pixelpoke, giving insight in a product which has not yet been finished. Answering hundreds of question. Obviously listening to virtually *all* the wishlists, all the requests, all the "MS you need to fix this" and "MS you got that wrong" threads, investing hundreds of hours scanning and answering questions.Obviously the way of dealing with the potential customer and FS enthusiast has been changed dramatically, just as we all have always been asking for. Where is the reason for ranting?We have been shown screenshots which indicate a drastically improved visual environment. Judging from these shots, FSX is as close to reality as no flightsim platform ever before. Of course there will be areas where the improvement is not quite as big, especially, if your FS2004 has been updated with the likes of GE, BEV, UT, mesh addons. But where is the reason to rant, when the default packages shows such a big overall improvement?Yes, I am *not* a hardcore simmer. I always wanted to be a pilot, but life led me another way. But flightsimming makes this dream come true. And it gets better with every new version. The often criticised "eye candy" is far more important to the average user than the correct ATC phrasings.But even though I don't understand all the aspects of real world flying, I *do* of course understand the urgent requests for updates and improvements concerning real world flying. And I am sure, MS/Aces does. If not for a bunch of real enthusiasts, who would be there to develop a flightsim??And I *am* sure, that many aspects of real world flying have been improved. Some to a great extent, some to a lesser extent, a few may have experienced only very small changes. But apart from the developers, there is no one in this forum to know about the details. So where is the reason for ranting?Someone mentioned the little word "patience" somewhere above.While I don't believe that everyone will be completely satisfied with FSX once it's on the shelves, I am pretty sure that most of us will find the new fs version to lift flightsimming to a new level of realism. There won't be only improvements in the fields of eye candy and "arcade like" missions.Sorry for getting worked up a bit, i do not want to be harsh, but I just had to say this.And, btw, thanks to the Aces/MS team for listening and answering... ;)Kind regards from GermanyAlex

[Guest Fjorko]

And those wishes were ?Edit : I thought I'd write something back but thought better of it - I don't want to make enemies :-)

[RFields5421 1]

The publicity and released material is largely all flash and show for kids because we're a captive audience.The Avsim Convention will be about the first time MS brings FSX out to a dedicated FS audience. Yes some folks went to E3, but most of the folks there were the kids who could care less about MTOW or procedures.We need all the shoot'um up kiddo's we can get to buy FS, maybe 2% will actually become real flight SIMMERS. But every copy MS sells, every bit of "wow, elephant herds - that's really cool" helps fund the real development of the parts we want.The kids pay for our simulator.Also as noted above - we will not know much about the guts of the program until after it's release.We will not know during beta testing, and most of the beta testers will not learn much if FS2004 is any example.We really won't learn really valuable information until the SDK's are released.I just hope it won't be 6 months later like last time.

[RobbieHe 0]

"It depends on what your definition of 'is' is."President Bill could not have said it better!RH

[JonRD463 146]

Oh my god! Someone who never was into flight simulator before may decide to buy FSX and ruin the hobby for the rest of us! The horror! :-rollSomeone, quick, get this man a pure IFR simulator with no outside view, and a screen full of numbers to crunch, STAT!

[Guest Fjorko]

Hey man - did anyone ever tell you that you should become a comedian and not a pilot ?

[Jay R 0]

>The kids pay for our simulator.:)Let me see, that would be my...1..2...3.4 cents on the matter. Fire away! :-outta[hr color=#000000][table border=0" width="98%" id="table1" height="4" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2][td width=500]Jason[br /]General Aviation Fan[br][/b]P4 3.2Ghz, 1GB Ram, FX5900 128MB, XP SP2.[br /][br /]

[Jay R 0]

Pieter,It's good to have an open and aired discussion about Flight Simulator, I appreciate your enthusiasm. But, personal attacks or comments regarding ones character really kinda kill the enjoyment of the discussion.Have fun! [hr color=#000000][table border=0" width="98%" id="table1" height="4" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2][td width=500]Jason[br /]General Aviation Fan[br][/b]P4 3.2Ghz, 1GB Ram, FX5900 128MB, XP SP2.[br /][br /]

[JonRD463 146]

>Hey man - did anyone ever tell you that you should become a>comedian and not a pilot ?Eh... Just making my rounds. In all seriousness, though, I'm quite sure ACES is not going to abandon the "menu" they and MS have been offering for the last two decades. As with every other version, they're just adding more selections. I do think, however, that with the mainstream audience FSX is going to attract, the community itself may be invaded by gamers of the Counterstrike/Halo mentality, who speak with words like... "LAWL! #####? OMG! n00b! ROFL!!! Teh grafx r hawt!", etc, and may suffer. Hopefully those who moderate the various FS communities will be around to put the kibash on such loathesome behavior.

[Guest jboweruk]

I think it does look like they have arcade plans for FSX. What true simmer wants to fly a jet through hoops?? I can see the Red Bull Air Race bit as being okay, after all it's still real. Even maybe the rescue from the oil rig. But I don't want to do stupid things like the hoops in a corporate jet, or sandbagging targets unless it's in a military jet, flying for an airforce. Some things sound great, but I just can't get this little nagging feeling out of my gut that MS are about to abandon us in favour of the Arcade types who play XBoxes. PC in December Xbox .... ? Maybe 6 months later?

[Guest Fjorko]

Halleluja !At last someone that sees it from my point of view.I started to feel a bit lonely there for a moment ! :-)

[frankla 44]

Those hoops were something they threw in fast for E3 . They didn't want to have people sitting and doing missions of hours long length at a trade show, so they created those "arcade" missions at the last minute. Those last minute missions created for E3 will not ship in the final package. Read about it here: http://blogs.technet.com/p-12c_pilot/archive/2006/5/15.aspxThe idea is that you can create either simple arcade type missions or complex types. It is the ability to create those complex missions that is the selling points here; not the hoops!

[LAdamson 240]

>I think it does look like they have arcade plans for FSX. >What true simmer wants to fly a jet through hoops?? Hoops, rectangles, whatever..........are the future! As flight simulation gave us true life mesh scenery that is now being incorporated into real life primary flight displays for synthetic vision during night or IMC operations; synthetic rectangles are being used to define IFR approaches which are overlayed on the synthetic mesh scenery. Between the two, a complete IFR approach in true IMC conditions, can be flown with exacting precision, without even having an approach plate. What some may think is Arcadish now, it's the newest development for high tech airplanes of the future!!! :-hah L.Adamson