27 minutes ago, Superdelphinus said:

Nah, I think we’ll have to pay for individual shades of colour. 

I think they could be building the Flight Sim store inside of Flight Sim. A one stop shop for everything FS2020. Just use the credit card.

Stadia is based on all streaming no downloading required. 

Where does it talk about streaming? That's different than downloading scenery on the fly. Also, I don't think a server is just going to send you frames. Your computer will take the scenery and do all the calculations with it and display it. 

19 minutes ago, carbonbasedlifeform said:

Where does it talk about streaming? That's different than downloading scenery on the fly. Also, I don't think a server is just going to send you frames. Your computer will take the scenery and do all the calculations with it and display it. 

It doesn't, but we're making an educated guess that MSFS may have its data streamed to a device. That is the end goal of Microsoft's Project xCloud (and Google Stadia and eventually where Sony also wants to go).

Quote

What is Project xCloud?

Project xCloud is the codename given to Microsoft's forthcoming cloud gaming platform that is planned to be a complementary service to its Xbox One and forthcoming Project Scarlett games consoles.

It is a streaming service, in that all games will be hosted on remote servers and live gameplay video will be sent to a compatible device over the internet.

Source: https://www.pocket-lint.com/games/news/147429-what-is-xbox-project-xcloud-cloud-gaming-service-price-release-date-devices
 

1 hour ago, carbonbasedlifeform said:

Where does it talk about streaming? That's different than downloading scenery on the fly. Also, I don't think a server is just going to send you frames. Your computer will take the scenery and do all the calculations with it and display it. 

This is another question that needs to be answered by MS if they actually want us to believe this new dream. We of course don't know at this point but many of us think that this may be kind of in the image of Flight. If that is true then I would expect a lot of updated tech and coding. We do however have to remember that over it's complete life of MS flight sims there has always been that little problem of the sim loading up a ton of information which may are may not be needed for the current flight. Things like weather and background to create the whole world. Now there are plenty of rocks who are smarter than me but I would think that to change that behavior would require a different engine. So combine that with internet downloads scenery that have to compete with little Susie and Johnny playing games and then your computer has to sort it all out and spit it out on that new 90 inch 8K TV on the wall may present a few more stutters and pauses than we have seen in the past. Out friend Bert will really go nuts then LOL!

Edited September 4, 20196 yr by shivers9

So maybe we'll know more in October when Project Xcloud is launched. But It would be paradoxical that, at a time when CPU and GPU can eat up with ease pretty much anything the game industry throws at us, MS invents a new obstacle to a  smootth simming experience, the internet connection. 

In any case, the strong interest for the new sim may soon diminish if they don't shed some light on the issue !

That’s progress for you...

Like I mentioned elsewhere on this forum, a fast internet connection is one thing, but the end user will need consistency with that connection to maintain smooth streaming. If (for example) a connection speed of 50Mbps is required for smooth streaming of ultra resolution textures and 3D models, what happens if the connection speed fluctuates up and down between (let's say) 20 and 50Mbps? Is the software going to be able to handle that without obvious visual changes (blurry textures/stuttering/slow loading of 3D models etc)?

This is probably the key question for me with respect to the new Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Edited September 4, 20196 yr by Christopher Low

Quote MSFS powered by AZURE AI , AZURE is Microsoft cloud steaming platform.

Microsoft delivers windows update now powered by AZURE AI.  

18 minutes ago, Superdelphinus said:

That’s progress for you...

What I fear is not progress but a repetitive pattern, a sim yet again in advance for its time. Been there, done that. 😏

22 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

Like I mentioned elsewhere on this forum, a fast internet connection is one thing, but the end user will need consistency with that connection to maintain smooth streaming. If (for example) a connection speed of 50Mbps is required for smooth streaming of ultra resolution textures and 3D models, what happens if the connection speed fluctuates up and down between (let's say) 20 and 50Mbps? Is the software going to be able to handle that without obvious visual changes (blurry textures/stuttering/slow loading of 3D models etc)?

This is probably the key question for me with respect to the new Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Can you watch a HD film on a smart TV streamed from Amazon AWS cloud platform through Wfi I can.

On my iPhone Wfi speed test download 27Mbps upload 5.6Mbps upstairs, router downstairs 

Edited September 4, 20196 yr by rjfry

If you want to know whether your connection will be able to handle streaming orthophoto tiles and photogrammetry buildings, download "Google Earth Pro", navigate to a densely populated area, go to the "Tools" menu and select "Enter Flight Simulator".

It's apparent from the screenshots we've seen that it'll be possible to override the Bing satellite imagery with custom imagery, so that'll open up the possibility of an Ortho4XP equivalent tool for offline download.

That leaves the question of photogrammetry and autogen. This will no doubt be streamed by default, but maybe MS will allow the bulk download of specifics areas for offline use. If not, there should be ways to create autogen with 3rd party tools.

I'd guess that someone using MSFS offline or with a poor connection will still be able to get a lot from the sim with some work beforehand.

1 hour ago, nickhod said:

I'd guess that someone using MSFS offline or with a poor connection will still be able to get a lot from the sim with some work beforehand.

Agree. It will be a complete and utter disaster if it were to be anything else.  

The development team have also confirmed that you do not have to be online to fly, so I would imagine that there are options built in to satisfy this user group

Edited September 4, 20196 yr by ErichB

My new working theory is that they will pull a Stadia/streaming game solution and do all the graphics processing of the terrain in the cloud, and will stream back single rendered frames to composite into the players view.

It makes less sense than anything else I've read, but it's fun to think about.

Today, for an user like me (YMMV), the "weakest link" is the connection. My hardware is a litlle dated but I will change it. That means that they need to minimize what goes though the cable and let my computer grind  as much as it can.  

Edited September 4, 20196 yr by domkle