1. Partner with Google Earth to get global scenery implemented.  This needs to happen for P3D and XPlane 'Immediately'.  Microsoft has a history of upping the game with moving the franchise forward causing other competition to step up their game.  Without global scenery at this point any competition is out the game.

2. Leminar Research, Lockheed, and others needs to understand understand the community needs competition.  Simmers need somewhere to go should Microsoft get difficult as they've done in the past.  With FS2020 they hold too much power over us now with the global scenery.  Satya Nadella is a great CEO and visionary which is why we have FS2020 now.  Steve Ballmer by contrast left us with a broken FSX that people had to limp along for so many years and MS FLIGHT.  A new CEO at Microsoft can change the game for us and leave us dead in the water should they shut the Azure scenery servers down.  Over time they could start charging us more and more if they leave them up. 

We as a community need options and I'm hoping other Sim vendors don't forget that.

Edited August 22, 20205 yr by Dillon

1 minute ago, Dillon said:

Without global scenery at this point any competition is out the game.

There are multiple aspects to it, the scenery is one thing, the data is another, the weather is another. The challenge is how do you put all these in the simulator for one price.

MS knew from the outset that the only way to put this thing together was to have Partnerships, the problem with other sims have is that they have to much "ego" and honestly in this day and age you can't do it by yourself you need partnerships, some sims would rather commit suicide and be relegated to retro simming than having partnerships with a company.

26 minutes ago, FPStewy said:

There are multiple aspects to it, the scenery is one thing, the data is another, the weather is another. The challenge is how do you put all these in the simulator for one price.

MS knew from the outset that the only way to put this thing together was to have Partnerships, the problem with other sims have is that they have to much "ego" and honestly in this day and age you can't do it by yourself you need partnerships, some sims would rather commit suicide and be relegated to retro simming than having partnerships with a company.

Great point.  It's sink or swim time for one developer. Lockheed I could see partnering up if they decide to keep P3D going at this point.  It seem Lockheed had a need for a decent simulator for other development needs and contract obligations.  Now that MS has reinterred the game in a strong way they may bow out.  The problem is Microsoft is a wild card and could change like the weather in a moments notice.  We need competition and an alternate to go to.  In the next few months no one is going to want to go back to what was before.  A year out other options are off the table period unless they are somewhat competitive as to what Microsoft has achieved here. 

Speaking of Satya Nadella, I'm typing here on his new Edge browser which is nothing more that Google Chrome then you make the point of the partnership to produce FS2020.  He knows you can't have these amazing leap forward without partnerships.  That's the sign of a great leader and innovator.  That's what Bill Gates had opening up Windows to all hardware manufactures that wanted to apply.  

Edited August 22, 20205 yr by Dillon

Lockheed doesn't care because it isn't a consumer product and Leminar is way too small to compete in a meaningful manner now that MSFS is here. Competition can drive innovation, but MSFS doesn't have any.

In IFR simulators scenery is secondary, the emersion in MSFS in winter will much the same as spring summer. 

PS MSFS will sell well on XBOX as intended.

Look no hands parks it`s self while you scan the scenery good game, gamers will love it.

Edited August 22, 20205 yr by G-RFRY

10 minutes ago, G-RFRY said:

Look no hands parks it`s self while you scan the scenery good game, gamers will love it.

Wow, where's the fun in that... 🙁

8 minutes ago, SeanMo said:

Lockheed doesn't care because it isn't a consumer product

Lockheed for years could have easily partnered with fsAerodata, Navigraph, NavStax, RealityXP, ActiveSky, A2A, they have the pockets to do so but I agree they didn't care. One thing the Sim world has shown is that if you don't evolve you die.

Go to steam hubs right now, Aerofly 0 flying, XP 2036, FSX 2300, FS20 28,000

1 minute ago, Dillon said:

Wow, where's the fun in that... 🙁

No but the gamers will like it, and game pass is MS main focus not the number of boxes MS sells according to Phil Spencer with 10 MILLION and counting growing this is important.

23 minutes ago, SeanMo said:

Lockheed doesn't care because it isn't a consumer product and Leminar is way too small to compete in a meaningful manner now that MSFS is here. Competition can drive innovation, but MSFS doesn't have any.

And they would have to start over not band aid what they have now - thats prob never going to happen

2 hours ago, Dillon said:

Speaking of Satya Nadella, I'm typing here on his new Edge browser which is nothing more that Google Chrome then you make the point of the partnership to produce FS2020.  He knows you can't have these amazing leap forward without partnerships.  That's the sign of a great leader and innovator.  That's what Bill Gates had opening up Windows to all hardware manufactures that wanted to apply.  

Not to nitpick (as I prepare to nitpick), but an innovator doesn't rebrand Google Chrome as Microsoft Edge. A terrible example. And Bill Gates did not open up Windows to hardware manufacturers to apply to. Windows was engineered from day one to run on PC-compatible hardware regardless of manufacturers or their desire to sign up for anything. Doing it any other way would have been corporate suicide. He was a great leader, but not because of that no brainer.

2 hours ago, G-RFRY said:

In IFR simulators scenery is secondary, the emersion in MSFS in winter will much the same as spring summer. 

PS MSFS will sell well on XBOX as intended.

 

I agree its so boring to see that in a home sim but I was just thinking what a fantastic idea for a real world situation. Specially at huge and busy airports. Onboard AI would listen to the radio and when the tower gives a taxi command it shows the path in a display like that. 

2 hours ago, SeanMo said:

Not to nitpick (as I prepare to nitpick), but an innovator doesn't rebrand Google Chrome as Microsoft Edge. A terrible example. And Bill Gates did not open up Windows to hardware manufacturers to apply to. Windows was engineered from day one to run on PC-compatible hardware regardless of manufacturers or their desire to sign up for anything. Doing it any other way would have been corporate suicide. He was a great leader, but not because of that no brainer.

My whole point is the saying, 'If you can't beat them join them'.  When it makes since to stop beating your head against a brick wall and choose an open source option as a base line for a produce is shows humility and a willingness to innovate no matter how you get there.  Saying it's best to partner up with people who can do the job better than going alone as a company is great thinking.  For years the community could only wish Microsoft would listen to us and get real passionate people behind FS.  It finally happened under this CEO, I have to give credit where it's due (especially taking into account Steve Ballmer's run).  Being around awhile I have a frame of reference with various FS releases.  This release screams of what's came before it and I'm talking add-ons only.  I can see the inspiration from the hard work of our third party aircraft, scenery, and addon developers over the years.  I can see so much that wouldn't be there if it weren't for tricked out FSX, P3D, and XPlane setups.  We wouldn't have nearly the scale this offering was released with otherwise.  Out the box I have Orbix style scenery all over the world, I have what would be considered payware level aircraft just a few years ago in the sim by default.  These aircraft raise the bar to a level anything less won't sell on the market now.  This is great for all of us.  

FS over the years inspired so many to be pilots.  In the era of COVID this is a shot in the arm to Aviation and pilots out of work just curious what this sim is all about.  Kids who love aviation have inspiration again while sitting at home.  Some of the kids who came up in the era of FS95, FS98, FS2000, FS9 to name a few are now employees at companies like Microsoft who actually get it.  So I give props to who ever got this accomplished because Microsoft could have released another Flight with the whole world modeled and we would have been happy but they went above and beyond that.  There's a bit of passion at play here for the hobby.  That being said the scope of this had to be green lite by the CEO that's why I give him and all involved credit.

5 hours ago, G-RFRY said:

In IFR simulators scenery is secondary, the emersion in MSFS in winter will much the same as spring summer. 

PS MSFS will sell well on XBOX as intended.

Look no hands parks it`s self while you scan the scenery good game, gamers will love it.

A bit more context would probably help. Is this the AI co-pilot? Does it automatically go to gate when you turn on the taxi line help? 

Edited August 22, 20205 yr by reignman40

Updating to a modern game engine and starting over is what they need to compete. 

MSFS isn't far from sending the old sims to only being used by some hardcore fringe simmers wanting to have that one add-on that MSFS doesn't have/support while waiting for CPU's to hit 7GHz. Anyone can go back to the old clunky (dozens of add-ons costing $$$ needed to enjoy, doesn't care what GPU you have it will still run like poop) sims, if they want. Now excuse me while I will fire up MSFS that takes my CPU/GPU/RAM into account while displaying my house on-top of photo real scenery that doesn't even require an add-on to do so. 😄