Is Live Mandatory To Buy Or Use The Sim?

[ThrottleUp 617]

Just sign up for a new Outlook account. No issue. And do NOT use it for any other online gaming. 

[Tuskin38 6,460]

Yeah, just make a new account.

[Gary1124 181]

Well, I went from DSL to cable since then so new IP. I have a PC now not that console. If I carefully create new email account and modify my address and don't use the same payment info maybe I can pull it off or acquire MSFS from a third party with a return policy.

[JaseMelbo 386]

9 hours ago, wim123 said:

you forget some things, distribution,. ms/asobo has that all in place.  transfer of that much data is going to cost.

i really doubt lm is going to do that , nor xplane.

its easy to create  a new account,. so i dont really see any issue.

Yep - agree.

Or they would have done it already.  MSFS is leading the way, the most innovative and forward thinking.  All the others have missed the boat.

[Gary1124 181]

14 hours ago, wim123 said:

you forget some things, distribution,. ms/asobo has that all in place.  transfer of that much data is going to cost.

i really doubt lm is going to do that , nor xplane.

its easy to create  a new account,. so i dont really see any issue.

If they do it it could be done the from the same data but static rather than live stream with updates once or twice a year and divided into regions. Someone will do it.

[abrams_tank 7,393]

18 minutes ago, Gary1124 said:

If they do it it could be done the from the same data but static rather than live stream with updates once or twice a year and divided into regions. Someone will do it.

Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research aren't streaming satellite/photogrammetry to their simulators any time soon, for the same price as MSFS (technically it's free in MSFS after you purchase a copy), using the same technology that Blackshark AI is using.  And if they did create such a service, most likely, you will be charged for it, while it's free in MSFS once you purchased your copy of MSFS.  These are the hurdles that Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research must go through:

1. The most likely company that has all this satellite/photogrammetry data and the servers to stream it is Google.  Google isn't going to do this for Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research for free.  Even if Google agreed to give them the data for free, Google would still charge Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research for the servers & bandwidth needed to stream this, and also charge them for the manpower (ie. Google employees) needed to develop and maintain this service.  Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research would have to pay Google so they would charge P3D or X-Plane users for such a service.  In MSFS, it's completely free once you purchase your copy of MSFS.

2. Even if Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research were able to make a deal with Google to get their data and use their servers & bandwidth for streaming, the satellite/photogrammetry data needs to go through treatment, which is what Blackshark AI does.  In effect, Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research would have to hire a comparable company to Blackshark AI, so that the 2D satellite data can be converted to 3D models.  This also costs $$$ to hire a company like Blackshark AI, and Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research would probably pass this cost to the P3D or X-Plane users willing to pay for the service.

3. If the cost of such a streaming service is not a part of the price of purchasing P3D or X-Plane, then such a streaming service has to be profitable (right now, Microsoft has factored in the cost of this service when you purchase a copy of MSFS).  If such a service is not profitable, Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research won't consider it.  If you learned anything about economics or business, you would know there needs to be a certain number of users to reach a large enough scale for Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research before such a service can be profitable.  Unfortunately for P3D and X-Plane, their user base is much smaller than MSFS, so it won't be easy to make such a service profitable.

I believe after MSFS was released (or was about to be released), Austin said he still prefers to go the autogen route because I assume, Austin knows the complexities involved in streaming satellite/photogrammetry data, the costs involved, etc. So for X-Plane, Austin seems happy to stick with autogen in the foreseeable future.

TLDR: I doubt Lockheed Martin and Laminar Research will incorporate satellite/photogrammetry streaming data in their simulators anytime soon.  You can keep hoping and dreaming, but I am skeptical it will happen.

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by abrams_tank

[Tuskin38 6,460]

11 hours ago, Gary1124 said:

Well, I went from DSL to cable since then so new IP. I have a PC now not that console. If I carefully create new email account and modify my address and don't use the same payment info maybe I can pull it off or acquire MSFS from a third party with a return policy.

The only places you could theoretically get refunded would be buying directly from steam or MS store.

Any other seller would give you a product key. Which once redeemed can’t be unredeemed.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Tuskin38

[Tuskin38 6,460]

4 hours ago, Gary1124 said:

If they do it it could be done the from the same data but static rather than live stream with updates once or twice a year and divided into regions. Someone will do it.

MSFS has a cache system. You can save the imagery data from places you fly frequently to your hard drive so it isn’t streaming all the time.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Tuskin38