New MS Flight Sim shown at E3

[ca_metal 2,086]

27 minutes ago, ganter said:

Can some of the x-box'ers clarify what a X-box Game Pass is and what is necessary to get one. I intend to build an incredible PC Tower to run this new sim but do I have to have an x-box  to have an x-box subscription plan?

Excuse my ignorance.

You don't have to own an Xbox console to have an Xbox Live account, create one here:

//Mod edit--removed bad user-dependent link //

Then you can subscribe for the Game Pass here:

https://www.xbox.com/en-us/xbox-game-pass/pc-games?xr=shellnav&source=lp

Just to clarify, you won't need the  Game Pass to use the upcoming flight simulator, it will be possible to buy it like any other Microsoft game. It will be possible to buy it throught MS Store and very likely Steam and Epic Store.

[Paraffin 2,197]

2 hours ago, TravelRunner404 said:

Also am I the only one here that flys with an Xbox controller?

I fly PMDG with a mouse, keyboard and Xbox controller all the time and it works great. I do the same in A2A aircraft. No issues. You are kidding yourself if you think a plastic saitek yoke and those plastic rudder pedals are adding true realism to the sim.  They may add immersion and fun but realism? Not so much. 

Depends on your definition of realism, I guess. If I fly an A-10 in DCS, the buttons and switches under my fingers with a Warthog HOTAS are a very close match to the real thing. It gets a few levels removed when I map those controls to civilian fixed wing or helicopters in X-Plane, but it's still closer than the level of abstraction with a gamepad. I'm skeptical that it's possible to hover a good helicopter model in the sim without using pedals for anti-torque control. Not that it can't be done at all on a gamepad, but probably not with the same level of smoothness and precision you get by using right hand on cyclic (joystick), left on collective (throttle), and feet on pedals. There's a reason helicopters are controlled this way in real life.

Maybe a little OT for this thread since it looks like there may not be a helicopter in the initial release of MSFS, but there are similarities with smooth control doing aerobatics, combat maneuvers, or fighting a fierce crosswind when landing.

[Mengy 814]

2 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

I would love to see a pinned thread in this forum that only contains real information with source. As of now the video and the two interviews. And only valid information to be posted in it in the future, including link to the source, no speculation allowed and no videos or blogs unless they are from Microsoft themselves.

Best regards

That's a very good idea.

[threexgreen 3,160]

45 minutes ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

No.  But you will need Windows 10 and a internet connection (a good one, preferably hardwire Cat6 or higher).  Wireless works, but for MSFS 2020, I don’t think one’s experience would be good with wireless unless your 3 feet away from the transmitter.

If one with a 5.6 Mbps connection were to purchase mobile data service to aid with the connection speed getting up to something around 25 Mbps, would the mobile data still slow things down because, well, being mobile/wireless? Or would you say that would be sufficient for MSFS 2020?

[bonchie 2,305]

7 minutes ago, threegreen said:

If one with a 5.6 Mbps connection were to purchase mobile data service to aid with the connection speed getting up to something around 25 Mbps, would the mobile data still slow things down because, well, being mobile/wireless? Or would you say that would be sufficient for MSFS 2020?

Absolutely no one knows.

[jbinner 15]

how quickly we all forget HOW MS left us the first time? They claim to be all for the people, the community, then sell it off into little pieces. LM got part, Dovetail got a part, and NOW they come back? I honestly don't care if it has 90,000,000 FPS and looks like smooth glass. I would ditch Office, WIndows, etc if I didnt need it for my workplace. I feel much the same about MSFS now a days. They bailed on us and that counts for a lot in my book.

[threexgreen 3,160]

8 minutes ago, jbinner said:

how quickly we all forget HOW MS left us the first time? They claim to be all for the people, the community, then sell it off into little pieces. LM got part, Dovetail got a part, and NOW they come back? I honestly don't care if it has 90,000,000 FPS and looks like smooth glass. I would ditch Office, WIndows, etc if I didnt need it for my workplace. I feel much the same about MSFS now a days. They bailed on us and that counts for a lot in my book.

They are a company, a business, and the point of that is to make profit. The high positions at Microsoft changed, were filled with new people, and the decision to walk away from flight sims has been made. Basically everyday life. They didn't bail on anyone.

I also don't quite understand why so many people are so hostile towards Microsoft when it comes to flight simulators. Lest we forget that they are basically the ones that got flight simming rolling and made it into what it is today. We should appreciate that. I certainly do.

Also, MS Flight. They named it differently and out came a game rather than an actual sim. While I was disappointed myself, I wasn't angry and am still not. They didn't do anything wrong. They decided to develop Flight the way it was and it's their perfect right to do so. It didn't even bear the iconic name of their flight sim franchise. Now, that name is back, written in the same font and style and while that certainly doesn't prove anything, I do think it says more than one might realize at first sight. You would also think a company as massive as Microsoft, while obviously not immune to mistakes, would actually figure out that Flight didn't work too well and would not blatantly make the same mistake again. Especially now that there are again different people leading.

[F737MAX 5,844]

9 minutes ago, jbinner said:

how quickly we all forget HOW MS left us the first time? They claim to be all for the people, the community, then sell it off into little pieces. LM got part, Dovetail got a part, and NOW they come back? I honestly don't care if it has 90,000,000 FPS and looks like smooth glass. I would ditch Office, WIndows, etc if I didnt need it for my workplace. I feel much the same about MSFS now a days. They bailed on us and that counts for a lot in my book.

Microsoft are a corporate entity, not my ex-girlfriend. I don't care how they "left us the first time". If they provide me with software and an experience I like, I will pay for and use it. If they leave again, that's just life. 

As a Limey, I could get upset about the way you 'bailed on us' in 1776. But I like American films, (some) music, games, and a handful of your compatriots, so I will continue to accept them , as I will with Microsoft's latest foray into simming.

The great thing is, people have the option to stay with P3D / XP / AFS2, if they don't like this new sim. That's a very valid option.

[tronied 30]

There's definitely evidence of autogen here as I'm sure has already been mentioned:

Also interesting to note is that you can see where the AI is coming into play:

If you check the shape of those buildings in Windows Maps or Google, you can see they are actually that shape (curved). What the AI is done is to create it's best guess 3D representation from it. Sure, it doesn't look amazing at the moment, but I'm sure they'll work on it and those textures given the amount of time they have to play with. What is interesting to note here though is that they are actually using satellite imagery in the world as a base. As such, at present it looks like they may opt for a streaming option though obviously nothing is confirmed.

Edited June 13, 2019 by tronied

[TravelRunner404 628]

2 minutes ago, jbinner said:

I feel much the same about MSFS now a days. They bailed on us and that counts for a lot in my book.

Yeah I see how that’s frustrating. It sucks but that’s business and in many ways life.  I would keep an open mind though. The holy grail of a truly great global scenery/simulator was most likely proven possible and only a year away.  A truly great flight simulation? Well that is the mystery that remains but one can hope.

[CarlHill 79]

I messed around in Windows Maps today for quite a bit.  Houston looks nearly identical in 3D view but it is obvious that San Francisco has had some tweaking in the sim.  Marseille also looks tweaked compared to what WM looks like. Also, It is really hit or miss as to coverage.  Greenville SC is nearly all modeled in 3d while Asheville NC and Charlotte, NC are not.  Jacksonville, FL and Norfolk VA are modeled in 3D as is Baltimore, MD.  I really ran out of time to look at much more.  I think that whatever they are planning to use for the source data must be far ahead of what Windows Maps is currently capable of because it really struggles in certain places with textures and models, especially trees!  There is also a lot of tiling where areas were captured during different times of the year.

[Pastaiolo 1,690]

Only thing i can see is how Google 3d map is more detailed than Bing one. Most cities in Italy are in 3d on Google, but not on Bing..

[Paraffin 2,197]

9 minutes ago, bonchie said:

Absolutely no one knows.

True, but it's still fun to speculate!

Scenery can be streamed on a "look ahead" basis for the flight path, and buffered on the hard drive. Current sims like X-Plane already do that with files on the hard drive, pre-loading landclass, terrain mesh, and autogen for a smooth transition. You can't do that kind of buffered pre-loading with the entire game engine running as a streamed service, so maybe the bandwidth requirements won't be as high as they are for those types of "games as a service."  

An interesting wrinkle, assuming it actually is a streaming model, is that flying military fast movers and airliners would need to download and buffer much more scenery data per flight minute than flying a Piper Cub. I assume MS will make sure that's built into the minimum hardware and bandwidth requirements. Or, maybe you'll just have to fly a Cub if you have a lousy connection. 😄

[tronied 30]

Ok, last one. Heres the view of the meteor crater in Windows Maps:

Top Pic

 

And here it is in Flight Sim and you can see more autogen coming into play:

Bottom Pic

It's surprisingly accurate with it's tree placement as I thought it had just guessed those in the above box and placed them arbitrarily around the river, but they do match bushes that are actually there. Furthermore, the autogen seems a bit gung-ho with the rock placement in the lower box 😉 It decided to dump two loads of boulders on the road. Still, nice to see it's making an effort and compared to Windows Maps it looks night and day.

[EDIT] Can't seem to fix those embedded images for some reason. Will work if you click on them though

Edited June 13, 2019 by charliearon
embed images

[L0uisc 0]

7 minutes ago, tronied said:

Ok, last one. Heres the view of the meteor crater in Windows Maps:

And here it is in Flight Sim and you can see more autogen coming into play:

I get access denied (403) errors on both those links 😢