Will Shared Cockpit Compatiblity sell Aircraft?

[Guest troppo]

As I consider myself a buyer of highend addons and take my flying very seriously I would also have to say A+ A+.With all the addons out there and all the forums letting us know what works and what doesnt, my money stays in my pocket until I get the feeling that this or that addon is worth the money: I.E. Not ported from FS9, not a framerate hog, decent textures, a clickable VC and a shared cockpit that allows me to really fly as copilot along with a more experinced Pilot and learn the ropes, then I can fly as pilot and pass my newfound knowledge on to my copilot.That would be my preference as to the future of FSX.Until then I am saving my money for the addons that will be really worth buying ,,, BUT when?

[Guest obarkay]

Do strongly agree with troppo and ramsa A+, A+This way it makes it as real as it gets if I may say.

[byork 2,258]

I vote "A" on both, simply because it's the future, because it's neat and I like it, and because it expands awareness of the whole concept and general awareness of multi-crew flying, which is certainly good for my add-ons.However, I had some of my users tell me that if the high-end 3rd party planes (PMDG, LDS, Flight1, etc) were able to successfully incorporate this technology, that it'd would be the end of FS2Crew.Well, I replied that on the contrary it would help FS2Crew because it would greatly expand awareness of the whole multi-crew concept.Personally, my outlook on share cockpit functionality is that if it ever comes with the high-end 3rd complex aircraft, it won't be for a while yet. I don't see the current stable of high end addons being re-worked simply due to the associated risk of breaking something, not to mention the development time for probably what wouldn't result in that much greater sales.Frankly, I think 99.9 percent of all users would still buy a PMDG 747 or LDS 767 regardless of if it has working shared cockpit functionality or not.My two cents,Bryan

[Mike T 208]

B + BThe capability for shared cockpits is nothing new and has existed as long as there has been FSIPC and WIDE-FS. The only reason that the capability is more widely known now is because MS included their version of FSIPC as part of FSX. Make no mistake that developers have looked at this functionality for years and obviously deemed it unattractive for any number of reasons. I too have wished for a live shared cockpit for 'true' realism when flying aircraft that require two pilots for operation, however, even with the touted inclusion of such a thing in FSX it has not happened no will it on a platform wide scale in the near future. With FSX approaching its twilight years (with vast numbers of users STILL to adopt the FSX platform) and many high fidelity aircraft already released from the top shelf developers (as well as some promising new comers), how many now will go back and develop that functionality in hopes that enough people will be interested to pay for the costs of redevelopment? Anything that extends development time detracts from revenue. And if you are going to detract from revenue it better darn sure be worth the delay in terms of customers flocking to your product. I doubt that this is it.Apropo, with the price of some aircraft already approaching $80US+ how much more should be charged for functionality MOST users will never use? Additionally, with add-on sales revenue split between FS9 and FSX (which has turned out very badly for most developers) how many developers want to further segment their revenue streams into those who want, and are willing to pay for, dual-pilot cockpits vs those who do not? At any given point you can do a search and find posts from simmers who "would pay extra only if..." and in 99% of the cases it doesn't come to fruition because the developers are smart enough to differencieate a niche vis a v mainstream attraction (if there can be such a thing since FS in itself is a small niche market).At the end of the day, I DO hope that there is finally a high fidelity shared cockpit aircraft, I'd buy it. But putting myself into developers' shoes, I certainly wouldn't hold my breath.Regards,Mike T.

[N400QW 205]

Specific question?What exactly are the features you need/like the best in shared cockpit?Specific and complete answers will do:-)

[Guest PPSFA]

For me, 'must haves' are:APFlapsGearLightsGuages and switchesFMS if available, nice but not criticalPretty much all the stuff that the ES planes work now :-)

[Guest Shalomar]

Specific? A seamless shared cockpit, so work is divided. Like RealAir has acheived with every product released so far (so I am really looking forward to the Duke.)By that I mean if my copilot alters his aircraft, mine also is altered.Since reality seems to be breaking out all over, failing that, everything that when changed can affect the safety of the aircraft if a control transfer is made. SoAutopilotGPS or FMCCompared with that, modeling flap switches, lights and the like would be relatively easy. So we are left with the whole kit and kaboodle.The CS C130 is the last aircraft for FSX that I will buy that is not shared cockpit compatible unless an FS9 version is included, and then it better really grab me.But c'mon now, don't be shy... you're not just a dev, you are a simmer. What are your answers?Best Regards, Donald T:-waveFLYing? It's cool. Trillions of birds and insects can't be wrong.

[vsukpadman 0]

A+ANobody here has yet mentioned the MADDOG 2006 , which is TOTALLY shareable. It uses its own connection software built into the aircraft, and works 99.9% of the time if you follow the setups correctly.Once running, it transforms the FS experience in my view. The aircraft itself is glorious (and complex) and requires two pilots to fly it properly - as do real commercial aircraft!Its really spooky to see your fmc being programmed and changing pages when you are not touching it :-)I totally subscribe to shared aircraft if realism is the goal, and this is the only complex aircraft that does it brilliantly- just as well its a fabulous aircraft to fly!Why more manufacturers havent spotted this gap in the market is beyond me- whats the point in realism when you miss out the fact that single pilot operation is almost impossible, and in most cases not actually allowed. ?Multicrew is the way forward. You can even use it perfectly on Vatsim (with fsinn) and THAT really is fabulous , having the PNF handle the radios!Did I mention I love the maddog btw ? LOLOLOLCheersBP

[Guest jshyluk]

In my capacity as an AVSIM reviewer, I would certainly be in favour of seeing more shared cockpits. I totally do not agree that having shared cockpits would be the death of utilities like FS2Crew or Flight Deck Companion. However, also as a reviewer, and I am speaking only for myself here and not the other reviewers, online flight sim and especially shared cockpits simply do not get tested for my reviews. It's not something I have the time or patience to do, as the review on its own is enough work as it is. This is something I do feel badly about, as I do strive to make my reviews as comprehensive as I possibly can. For now, if you are interested in a shared-cockpit experience, i would think that your best resource is the multiplayer forum, and failing that, to ask questions in the developers' own forums, or to e-mail them and ask them nicely (NICELY!!) about the qualities of their shared cockpit. I think this is a very interesting topic, and I am eager to see how events will develop with shared cockpit systems in FSX and beyond.Jeff ShylukAssistant Managing EditorSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

[simon2 0]

A very strong A + A to both.I totally disagree with jwentings comments. PMDG/LDS products with shared cockpit are what i'm waiting for, why shouldn't two serious pilots fly on gamespy. Its the future and would be the icing on the cake of our great addon aircraft.Simon

[Guest wcs33]

"What if the Level-D 767 worked in shared mode? I don't even like airliners and I'd buy it!"Well said Mike...I agree completely!I think that when the complex, systems-oriented aircraft are available in 'shared cockpit' mode, that there will be a bunch of "serious" pilot clubs set up to host direct-IP sessions to work on difficult weather approaches, failure scenarios, etc.I'm just waiting for such a thing to happen, and won't buy any other "complex" aircraft (I have the Flight1/Coolsky MD-80, which is my start towards complex), until shared flight can happen.I think it's totally "un-realistic" to fly an airplane like the LD-767 "solo", no matter (and perhaps particularly) how "real" the systems,etc, are. The fact that folks don't get that surprises me.As for the survey, my responses are A+/A+

[Guest wcs33]

Jay,Great post!Could you share a list of add-on "MP/Shared Cockpit" aircraft that you use and enjoy?I'm in total agreement with how enjoyable, immersive, and "real" another live, disciplined member in the virtual cockpit is!Would love to fly with your group!

[Guest thx1137]

Hmm. I would be interested and I fly those machines. I would have thought more people who fly the PMDG and Level-D type machines would be more interested in a shared cockpit so we could simulate pilot and copilot interaction. Real people tend to be a bit more interesting to talk to on long flights than the current digital offerings!Fantastic stuff for checkrides too! Steven.

[Guest SkullxBones]

A+AMy father is in his 80's and has a hard time with these new fangled computers, especially complex sims like FSX. He flies with me sometimes as an observer online but is not comfortable flying the plane with all the keyboard commands by himself even though he has lots of hours in the real world pilot seat. I email him my flight plan along with approach charts so he can print them out and follow. It would be great if we could share controls so I could handle the keyboard commands and let him fly at whatever level he's comfortable with.

[Ramasurinen 0]

>A+A>>My father is in his 80's and has a hard time with these new>fangled computers, especially complex sims like FSX. He flies>with me sometimes as an observer online but is not comfortable>flying the plane with all the keyboard commands by himself>even though he has lots of hours in the real world pilot seat.That's about the *coolest* and kindest use of shared cockpit I've ever heard of. And here I thought my multiplayer/shared search and rescue sessions (pilot+spotter in each plane) was cool.Bravo mate. :)-mike