I'm positively surprised by the developement roadmaps that are published with biweekly updates (patches and features) inside. I also read the announcements that the product will be expanded and supported over a long time. 

 

I just can't help wondering how long this is really going to last? I mean I have come across a lot of similar announcements in my gaming career and only very few of these promises have finally been kept. (No man's sky being one of these examples) 

 

What would you think how long can we expect MS/Asobo's support before we are bound to 3rd party add-ons and user workarounds for gameplay issues? 

 

Personally I don't expect support for more than 6 to 12 months

 

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 20205 yr by chatman

3 minutes ago, chatman said:

No man's sky being one of these examples

Really ? No Man's Sky is probably the best example of a game that failed on release, and was saved by years of free updates.

2 minutes ago, virtuali said:

Really ? No Man's Sky is probably the best example of a game that failed on release, and was saved by years of free updates.

Depends what you mean by failed, it made a fortune which is what supported the next 5 years of development. Financially it succeeded.

It also got a lot of hate, some deserved most not.  PR  wise they definitely dropped the ball.

29 minutes ago, virtuali said:

Really ? No Man's Sky is probably the best example of a game that failed on release, and was saved by years of free updates.

Yes, it failed on release but they fixed and expanded it for the last 5 years for free so that's what I was referring to 

33 minutes ago, chatman said:

Personally I don't expect support for more than 6 to 12 months

 

Wow. That's extremely pessimistic.

As far as I remember, they mentioned in one of their development videos, that they were in this, for the next 5-10 years.
(Of course I could be misremembering...)

2 minutes ago, travelabroad said:

Wow. That's extremely pessimistic.

As far as I remember, they mentioned in one of their development videos, that they were in this, for the next 5-10 years.
(Of course I could be misremembering...)

Mhm....for free? I can't imagine that MS would do that. I mean programmers are not for free and I would think that the target community for the game.. I mean sim, is rather small compared to other genres. And of those targeted, most will buy the game at release or short after so probably not to many revenues for MS in the coming years... 

So while Asobo programmers might be enthusiastic and willing to develop the product for the coming years it will finally be an economic decision by MS how long they provide support

I think Asobo commitment is not in danger of being stopped by MS for at least 2/3 years.

MS just invested 7.5 Billions for its Xbox/gaming strategy.

It's clearly a multiyear plan and the MSFS chapter is probably already funded in it.

I don't think bean counters will be allowed to start cutting stuff shorter than that.

 

Edited September 25, 20205 yr by Marco Manieri

5 minutes ago, chatman said:

Mhm....for free? I can't imagine that MS would do that. I mean programmers are not for free and I would think that the target community for the game.. I mean sim, is rather small compared to other genres. And of those targeted, most will buy the game at release or short after so probably not to many revenues for MS in the coming years... 

So while Asobo programmers might be enthusiastic and willing to develop the product for the coming years it will finally be an economic decision by MS how long they provide support

They have said that they are doing paid DLC like helicopters. That plus MS getting a cut of every single add-on sold through the in-game marketplace means they will have a consistent revenue stream for a long time. Its basically the model lots of games are following now. Look at stuff like Dota, LoL, CSGO, even fortnight. 

51 minutes ago, chatman said:

Personally I don't expect support for more than 6 to 12 months

Ten years, or 120 months... 😉

Well speaking from the train sim viewpoint, MS was not that reliable. I remember being invited along to the 2001 Fanstock in Seattle and given the spiel about how they were committed to the product. Instead, we got a game with some glaring bugs (though probably more complete than FS20) and a scratched together route editor which we were actually able to do more with than the pundits thought we could. MS gave us one paltry patch which fixed beggar all of what was wrong and promised two sequels, both of which were cancelled.

It took the community a great many years to put together a spin off product (Open Rails) which actually does what MSTS should have done (and more) and an independently coded route builder - both freeware.

At the moment we're seeing a lot of PR speak and promises, a scenery update that was probably just left over from the release deadline but nothing substantial about getting under the hood and reworking the current bugs and weak elements.

And I suspect the title will succeed or fail on how well it does on the Xbox market, as much as the PC platform.

I think the quoted '10-year development programme' is hyperbole.
That said, we're good for 2-3 years of continued improvements with this version of MSFS. If the accountants at MS deem it 'succesful', a new version will be worked on that builds on whatever is achieved with this current sim.

I'm hopeful about the prospects of MSFS and not at all concerned about how long Asobo will continue to support the title.

I don't see why Asobo wouldn't support FS for many years to come, they can milk this sim for years, DLC contents, new planes, new hand crafted airports, new modules, even new future updated imagery provided by Bing.

I give it 18-24 months.

I think it all depends on how well the X-Box version sells, it is on that platform the big money is, if the game sells poorly on X-box I am afraid it will not last long.

What happens if funding for further development is terminated? Do Microsoft say "bye, bye, chaps, it was nice knowing you", and disconnect the servers?