VATSIM will not support X-Box for the time being

[DD_Arthur 1,050]

30 minutes ago, micstatic said:

 

So you are making a huge assumption/accusation on a service you haven't even used yet.  

Pardon me but aren’t you making exactly the same assumptions about Xbox and it’s users?

 

[micstatic 4,319]

9 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

Pardon me but aren’t you making exactly the same assumptions about Xbox and it’s users?

 

There is no doubt that there is a massive correlation with degradation in vatsim with the release of msfs.  To be expected because of the the large numbers of new users.  To be honest, if I could adjust my statement.  I'm not against xbox users on vatsim.  But I am in favor of vatsim increasing the rigor of its testing program prior to releasing pilots in the wild.  Anybody who spends a good amount of time on vatsim these days would agree with me that some changes need to be made.  

[Ricardo41 5,954]

On 8/4/2021 at 8:57 AM, abrams_tank said:

VATSIM has announced they will not support X-Box for the time being.  So for those who are worried about the casual X-Box gamers  infiltrating VATSIM, it's not happening any time soon.  Also, if you are annoyed by the X-Box gamers in multiplayer, just disable multiplayer traffic, and connect to VATSIM.  You will get the normal orderly VATSIM traffic, but of course, you gotta also obey VATSIM rules and VATSIM ATC.

There is nothing "casual" about xbox users. In other words, an xbox user is just as casual as a Pc-simmer. 

[Ricardo41 5,954]

5 hours ago, micstatic said:

There is no doubt that there is a massive correlation with degradation in vatsim with the release of msfs.  To be expected because of the the large numbers of new users.  To be honest, if I could adjust my statement.  I'm not against xbox users on vatsim.  But I am in favor of vatsim increasing the rigor of its testing program prior to releasing pilots in the wild.  Anybody who spends a good amount of time on vatsim these days would agree with me that some changes need to be made.  

But what does this have to do with xbox????????

[Bdub22 1,612]

43 minutes ago, Ricardo41 said:

But what does this have to do with xbox????????

Really? Come on. XBOX gives access to thousands and thousands more people (compared to PC), that most of will likely not know the rules or regs to fly on VATSIM. 

[Abriael 952]

It's always funny to see people calling xbox users "casuals."

There's nothing more or less intrinsically casual about the Xbox community than the PC community. 

As a PC user, I can only be grateful for the injection of new blood into the hobby, because the last few years certainly proved that it was badly needed. 

[wim123 763]

why not make some test before people can fly on vatsim? so you get only the ones that know how to fly.

just disregarding a whole platform is really yuck.

just my 2 cents, never flown on vatsim myself and no intention to do that at all.

[FAZZ3 815]

I’m not too familiar with VATSIM but reading through the replies I can see the concerns all sides of the party have.

I think a good solution for VATSIM would be to implement a tier system where only pilots with a certain amount of knowledge and flying experience on the network will be granted access to the ‘serious’ server, where flying will be strictly professional and everybody is expected to know what they’re doing to a certain degree.

The ‘basic’ server can include every single flier on the network with open arms. That way we’re not excluding anybody but are testing their merits to grant them access to fly in the ‘serious’ server. Or if they’re in for some casual flying or want to put their theoretical knowledge to practice, this should be the place to start  

They could incentivize people to learn and be professional by making the regular VATSIM events such as Cross The Pond exclusive only to the ‘serious’ server. 

Edited March 17, 2022 by FAZZ3

[Ricardo41 5,954]

5 hours ago, Bdub22 said:

Really? Come on. XBOX gives access to thousands and thousands more people (compared to PC), that most of will likely not know the rules or regs to fly on VATSIM. 

Do you have evidence in support of your claim?

1 hour ago, wim123 said:

why not make some test before people can fly on vatsim? so you get only the ones that know how to fly.

just disregarding a whole platform is really yuck.

Good point, but that's platform-independent

1 hour ago, FAZZ3 said:

 

I think a good solution for VATSIM would be to implement a tier system where only pilots with a certain amount of knowledge and flying experience on the network will be granted access to the ‘serious’ server, where flying will be strictly professional and everybody is expected to know what they’re doing to a certain degree.

Good suggestion, but also platform-independent.

[VBHB 298]

Good decision. Vatsim already has enough terrible virtual pilots on it we don't need anymore.

[Ricardo41 5,954]

Vatsim is basically a MMORPG, attracting tens of thousands of pilot- and atc-cosplayers from all around the World.

[Bilbosmeggins 217]

I’ve never actually used VATSIM, but did want to. I decided I’d try and get ready for it, quite some time ago, and figured that the best way was to get some training from their sister site, VATSTAR. I’m pretty sure that I had to sit a test to be able to continue my progress. I sat the test, managed to pass it somehow or other, and that seemed to be the logical path to me. Get vetted, and get trained before the doors open.

Why not just set a test as a prerequisite? Those who are keen will sit it, the “casuals” will give it a miss, fire up their F/A 18s and continue to swoop around Heathrow airport. 
 

Just as an aside, I ended up not following through to VATSIM, as the VATSTAR registration process with it’s myriad of codes, and protocols just to access the site was just a little bit too much for me. And it seemed that the codes and what-not were different to those required in VATSIM. Micro-managing that lot was enough of a deterrent to get me to do a u-turn. Does that make me a “casual”? Probably, but who cares. Like 99.9% percent of the people on here, I earn my money outside of aviation, and nobody dies when I misjudge a landing, or run out of fuel over the Swiss Alps.

[Matchstick 1,886]

6 hours ago, Bdub22 said:

Really? Come on. XBOX gives access to thousands and thousands more people (compared to PC), that most of will likely not know the rules or regs to fly on VATSIM. 

And most will have zero interest in flying on VATSIM, just like on PC, MAC, Linux and every other platform.

[jrw4 624]

I would urge folks to reread that  VATSIM Twitter post linked to in the OP of last August. VATSIM's decision not to support XBOX has nothing to do with problem users, but rather with the technical limitations of the XBOX environment itself. As one of the original members of the VATSIM Pilot Training Department (ca. 2013-2014), I am pretty sure that if those technical issues could have been addressed, XBOX users would have had access to the system. How the network deals with new pilots is a matter of intense and ongoing conversation within VATSIM, and the pilot training program has taken great strides over the past few years as can be seen at

https://my.vatsim.net/learn

Those of us who participate regularly on the network find it both instructive and enjoyable. Give it a try when you get the chance.

[micstatic 4,319]

9 minutes ago, jrw4 said:

I would urge folks to reread that  VATSIM Twitter post linked to in the OP of last August. VATSIM's decision not to support XBOX has nothing to do with problem users, but rather with the technical limitations of the XBOX environment itself. As one of the original members of the VATSIM Pilot Training Department (ca. 2013-2014), I am pretty sure that if those technical issues could have been addressed, XBOX users would have had access to the system. How the network deals with new pilots is a matter of intense and ongoing conversation within VATSIM, and the pilot training program has taken great strides over the past few years as can be seen at

https://my.vatsim.net/learn

Those of us who participate regularly on the network find it both instructive and enjoyable. Give it a try when you get the chance.

VATSIM often gets a bad wrap for being too stern and inflexible.  But I've heard numerous times where a controller gives helpful hints to pilots.  I've been doing flight sims for a long time.  When I look back at how the hobby has progressed for me, VATSIM flying was probably one of the best things I ever did to add more immersion.