New MS Flight Sim Insider Program Open

[188AHC 2,138]

Sethos, I agree and disagree with you on this. I think it will be dependent on what a monthly/yearly subscription cost might be. We have no true idea of what is in store for us so I think a wait and see is in order. 

[Sethos 4,300]

20 minutes ago, 188AHC said:

Sethos, I agree and disagree with you on this. I think it will be dependent on what a monthly/yearly subscription cost might be. We have no true idea of what is in store for us so I think a wait and see is in order. 

I can assure you, few people outside of the flight simulation community, where we're already used to paying for everything we do and use, would accept monthly payment on top of the game's price. That would be an absolute PR nightmare, it has no precedent with this type of platform and no sane company trying to cater for the masses would take that approach in this day and age. It seems a lot of people base it on the cost of the data served, like Microsoft is turning over every penny to make it profitable (Okay, well, they do but the money they spend is earned in through other means). If they go the way of streaming content, it would be a drop in the ocean in terms of what it costs to serve it to flight simulation users. They have one of, if not the biggest data centers on the planet, with millions of users, and they probably serve more data through Bing Maps a day, than what all the flight simmers would use in months flying around, if the content was streamed. The mass gaming community would have a field day and Microsoft would have a headache, if they took that approach.

I think some simmers are just too accustomed to everything they do has to cost money, that it seems almost crazy that a company absorbs these kind of costs as part of the package you buy.

 

Edited June 13, 2019 by Sethos

[bonchie 2,305]

6 hours ago, Sethos said:

I can assure you, few people outside of the flight simulation community, where we're already used to paying for everything we do and use, would accept monthly payment on top of the game's price. That would be an absolute PR nightmare, it has no precedent with this type of platform and no sane company trying to cater for the masses would take that approach in this day and age. It seems a lot of people base it on the cost of the data served, like Microsoft is turning over every penny to make it profitable (Okay, well, they do but the money they spend is earned in through other means). If they go the way of streaming content, it would be a drop in the ocean in terms of what it costs to serve it to flight simulation users. They have one of, if not the biggest data centers on the planet, with millions of users, and they probably serve more data through Bing Maps a day, than what all the flight simmers would use in months flying around, if the content was streamed. The mass gaming community would have a field day and Microsoft would have a headache, if they took that approach.

I think some simmers are just too accustomed to everything they do has to cost money, that it seems almost crazy that a company absorbs these kind of costs as part of the package you buy.

 

It's not going to be a monthly subscription just for MSFS. It's likely to be rolled in as part of MS's broader Xbox Pass.

And trust me, millions of people pay for stuff like that.

As to whether someone should or shouldn't be willing to do that, it'll be dependent on the final product. A lot of people saying they wouldn't pay for more than a base game will if it's good enough and truly next-gen.

Edited June 13, 2019 by bonchie

[188AHC 2,138]

7 hours ago, Sethos said:

I can assure you, few people outside of the flight simulation community, where we're already used to paying for everything we do and use, would accept monthly payment on top of the game's price. 

 

You are making assumptions based on your personal opinion and devoid of fact. We don't know how this sim will be marketed and we absolutely have no insight into the costs involved to the purchaser/user.  This is just another area that we will have to wait and see what is announced.

I think you are taking this whole thing much too seriously and definitely prematurely. Everyone is in the process of making their arm chair prognostications now but there again, we have no facts from Microsoft except what has been published.

I appreciate and respect your opinions but that doesn't make either side of the issue the expert at this time.

 

[redgar 2]

The subscription model is the way all Microsoft products are going. They have over half of Office (Word, Excel, etc.) converted to Office365. They keep changing the Enterprise and Volume Licensing terms away from the "buy once - good forever" to putting time and version limits on their products. It has good and bad points. I have seen a MUCH better experience with the rate of updates and new features for example. And I don't ever have to install Office on 1000 PCs again.

I don't want to draw too many conclusions from one video trailer, but the scenes in Seattle and Houston are rendered the same way Google Earth does. You either have to stream that data (It's Petabytes in size) or maybe you give a terrain system like FSX with a few specially rendered areas. I prefer the former. It needs to be optimized better than Earth, but you get the point. Don't be scared of software subscriptions, they don't hurt. And if they can have advantages if done right. We won't go into the odds of that.... 🙄

[irrics 1,517]

Honestly, this product is a PERFECT fit for the subscription model.

Sub'ing and letting them keep the whole world up to date and get constantly improved and never have to be fully downloaded and stored on your own hardware sounds amazing to me!!

[pracines 823]

Now if only real weather,  ATC with realistic coverage & believable accents, and worldwide NOTAMS (cranes, ALS out, TWY closed ect.), were part of the subscription day to day, we'd be all set.

--- just scratching the surface really.

I wonder how much that would be a month to include in sim real time?

[snglecoil 1,828]

1 hour ago, pracines said:

Now if only real weather,  ATC with realistic coverage & believable accents, and worldwide NOTAMS (cranes, ALS out, TWY closed ect.), were part of the subscription day to day, we'd be all set.

--- just scratching the surface really.

I wonder how much that would be a month to include in sim real time?

Well, PilotEdge is $35/month for ATC for roughly half of the US, soooo.......

[Guest]

What are those who have signed up getting on that page now?

I have a profile page with my emil address and a Gamertag assigned to me with this funny face...

[pmb 5,137]

7 minutes ago, ganter said:

What are those who have signed up getting on that page now?

I have a profile page with my emil address and a Gamertag assigned to me with this funny face...

I got another funny icon and the sweet gamer tag ReplacedHydra69. I have to admit I find that whole gaming environment more disturbing than encouraging so far, but perhaps I am just too old for stuff like that.

Kind regards, Michael

[Airboeing 87]

11 minutes ago, pmb said:

I got another funny icon and the sweet gamer tag ReplacedHydra69.

You can change your gamertag by going to https://account.xbox.com/CustomizeProfile

[Guest]

Thanks guys - just wanted reassurance my MS hadn't been hacked. All good. Seems a bit daft but we're in!

[Wolkenschreck 269]

Is there something like a user profile / account setting area one can access after confirming the email address?

Whenever I sign up under https://fsi.microsoftstudios.com/insider-program-sign-up/, I will get a confirmation email with a link for verification that directs me to https://fsi.microsoftstudios.com/insider-program-faq/. I tried it already a couple of times this week with various email addresses, but always end up on the FAQ page?

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Wolkenschreck said:

Is there something like a user profile / account setting area one can access after confirming the email address?

Whenever I sign up under https://fsi.microsoftstudios.com/insider-program-sign-up/, I will get a confirmation email with a link for verification that directs me to https://fsi.microsoftstudios.com/insider-program-faq/. I tried it already a couple of times this week with various email addresses, but always end up on the FAQ page?

Airboeing's post above yours seems to take me to an X-Box page that allows me to change profile pic and Gamertag.

[Wobbie 938]

Not surprising, as MFS will be an Xbox Game Pass release.