I saw post on Reddit of a forum post that the devs accidentally made public, with instructions for how to uninstall the Tech Alpha 1 in order to download The Alpha. There was a screenshot that showed the context menu for the Windows 10 Store App called Technical Alpha 1. This makes me concerned whether the official game will be published exclusively on the Windows Store, which seems likely given that it is a Microsoft product. A Windows Store release may be problematic, because Store apps run on a platform called UWP. UWP apps are stored in locked-down WindowsApps folder with convoluted and often encrypted files. It can also support 5 layers of DRM like it does with a few UWP games, like Forza Horizon 4, which was a trainwreck due to many people having issues due to the UWP components not working correctly. Given Asobo's stance on allowing 3rd party support and using open-standard 3D files, as well as access to the game's file, a Windows store release would be counter-intuitive to that mission. How do you guys think the game will be released, and will it be a win32 application? I don't want this game to fall in the same fate of many UWP titles with multiple issues and overzealous DRM

It may or may not be relevant, but Microsoft has released the Halo Master Chief Collection and Age of Empires Definitive Edition on Steam as well as their own Windows Store.

I guess all that locked down security bodes well for a TA that you want to keep safe but may not be the same delivery method used for the actual release. 

I hope it will come to Steam eventually. it is a shame they didn't focus on it right from the start considering Steam also supports beta (or alpha in this case) channels and it's super easy to revert back, without even considering how stable the platform is, the content servers and the eventual support of the Workshop for addons (which would be nice).

Of course Microsoft being Microsoft first has to show the world their own platforms so i don't expect it during the alpha/beta phase, but i at least hope on release to see it on Steam. It would be foolish not to.

I think it is going to be Xbox -app, not windows store directly. xbox app is already at beta stage. And there are other game pass -games too.

Edited January 28, 20206 yr by zemez

I believe it'll be pretty much only on UWP.

Why? Well UWP is not just DRM protection it also links into everything Windows itself, from Xbox for servers, cloud services, HoloLens, VR, One SDK working, a store and developer centre Adaptive User interface, everything.

You can see here just how much this UWP reaches into everything and surprisingly Microsoft has done a fantastic job for developers putting everything under one umbrella.

The one that strike out for me are Cloud Services which will be required for downloading the scenery live which is going to be fundamentally important.

Even though Microsoft gave up on full UWP which was their wet dream of every application on the Microsoft Store having to use it. I believe that I'll still be released only under the UWP package.

Still though, I kinda hope I am wrong since the Microsoft Store allows for Win32 now but with that Azure AI and Cloud Services. It kinda seems more likely where its going to go to.

Microsoft announced sometime ago that they will make normal programs (I think called x86 architecture) compatible with the windows store. Don't know if it's already the case. Regarding encryption: if have the gamepass and installed mudrunner. That game was in a special folder called something like modable uwps (it some time ago). So obviously it's possible to make games that are not encrypted or only in parts encrypted so that you can install mods/addons

Some developers are no longer porting there games to steam but hosting them themselves Blizzard is an example, and you need an internet connection to run it, you will not run P3D for long before it will ping LM to check activation.

Pretty sure Windows store only. Just go with the flow, Microsoft probably know everything about you anyway.

As far as 3rd party content, a Windows store app can still load from a configured external folder.

My guess is that they will make it very easy to download add-ons from the in-game marketplace, and slightly harder (but still possible) to configure external add-ons.

52 minutes ago, nickhod said:

but still possible

Pretty much a huge open question.

One Asobo have said they would like to achieve.

But at the present time MSFT suits insist computer says no.

Edited January 28, 20206 yr by mSparks

I am not sure how the Windows App Store functions with such software but, If this is case, I suppose, as it was hinted above, 3rd party content is either on an independant local branch or cloud based?

I never found a good idea to put your addons and mods of all kinds inside the simulator native branch. An external system with an activation app to override the local ones is preffered. You an reinstall only the simulator for xy reasons while keeping the local links to the Addons vs activation valid.

Or it will be Cloud based Addons (tha MS wants to aim for)

But again I am not technical to know how this could be done etc.

I would rather prefer to buy it through Steam, but if it will be a MSStore Exclusive, I would have no option than buying it there.

The game is only windows store for the alpha & probably beta, I can tell you with confidence that the game will be release on steam. A lot of people here don't know that microsoft shifted their strategy about their first party games. They released Halo on steam, Halo the most important IP for microsoft & halo isn't the only game they released on pc, They released Gears 5 and age of empires 2 on steam after phil said this:

Quote

We will continue to add to the more than 20 Xbox Game Studios titles on Steam, starting with Gears 5 and all Age of Empires I, II & III: Definitive Editions. We know millions of PC gamers trust Steam as a great source to buy PC games and we’ve heard the feedback that PC gamers would like choice.

Phil spencer says that here "More Choice in Where to Buy Xbox Game Studios Titles" https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2019/05/30/microsoft-approach-to-pc-gaming/

(I know that asobo isn't exactly a xbox game studio, But they are working close with microsoft to make MSFS  a microsoft IP)

Edited January 28, 20206 yr by Lokote1998

If it can release on windows store you can view this as a GOOD thing. It means that 3rd party addons will likely not need to alter the sim's original files. And we ALL know what an absolute $%&*# it is when you need to troubleshoot P3D. Reverting it to a stock state without deleting all your addons is extremely troublesome without doing a full reinstall. I can see a real advantage of having an external directory where all addons will go, perhaps multiple directories if you have multiple drives dedicated. All addons could be loaded in the sim's UI along with a version compatibility layer that warns you of conflicts.

On another note, since this is a new sim, hopefully you can choose when to update the client because I can guess some devs could be a bit slow on the update process (FSLabs I'm looking at you).

2 hours ago, suncoastflyer said:

If it can release on windows store you can view this as a GOOD thing. It means that 3rd party addons will likely not need to alter the sim's original files. And we ALL know what an absolute $%&*# it is when you need to troubleshoot P3D. Reverting it to a stock state without deleting all your addons is extremely troublesome without doing a full reinstall. I can see a real advantage of having an external directory where all addons will go, perhaps multiple directories if you have multiple drives dedicated. All addons could be loaded in the sim's UI along with a version compatibility layer that warns you of conflicts.

External directories for addons and plugins can still be done with win32, it's not a UWP exclusive. Everything else mentioned is already done in well-coded win32 applications, such as plugin version control support, external folders (many programs are installed in program files and get additional 3rd party addons from appdata). What I'm worried about is mod support. Addons and plugins can be supported, sure, but modding inherently requires the game's files to be accessible and modifiable. Just look at the modding scene in the closed-off UWP Bedrock edition of Minecraft, and the Java edition. Microsoft provided a lackluster modding API that doesn't allow for even a fraction of what Java mods are capable of. Now, I'm not asking for Skyrim-level of mod support in a flight simulator, but closing off the game's directory closes the door for a lot of creative and impressive mods for the future. Another pet-peeve of mine with Windows store apps is the lack of ability to choose the installation directory. I have a games folder in the root of my drive, and given that the Alpha 1 is 80+ GBs in size, with the final game being even more, I would definitely like to choose where I store my games.