Has Microsoft ever considered this?

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

The other day I was looking at the screen shot forum and saw a few post from a fellow using X-Plane. I had never really considered using X-Plane, but after seeing some of his screen shots I was impressed by the cloud shadows and the way the sky environment looked. From what I understand the flight dynamics are supposed to be the best in a home PC flight sim. So, the question I have is, has Microsoft ever considered buying Laminar Research, in a move like they did with Bruce Artwick (SubLOGIC). They could then combine the best eye candy with the better environment and flight dynamics. I am sure this question has probably been posted sometime in the past but I have never seen anything on it. Seems like we could have the best of both worlds if these two companies could get together. I doubt I am going to even try X-Plane until the scenery and other eye candy features catch up, but if they keep updating it looks like it could be a really killer sim in a few more years. I look forward to any replies on this, especially from Phil or any of the other MS guys.Regards,Sean

[Ray Proudfoot 8,903]

I've only seen X-Plane once, many years ago. But if the clouds are that good and the sim delivers good frame rates then there have probably been sacrifices elsewhere. The scenery on the version I saw was not that good.This reminds me of Fly! (10 years ago) which had stunning clouds but the ground textures were spartan by Microsoft standards. Whilst I don't doubt the ability of the X-Plane programmer if better clouds could be produced by Aces I'm sure that would have happened by now.Cheers,

[loop_n_roll 7]

I tried X-plane and still have the previous version on my hard drive. Now I'm no expert in any sim so here's my impression. It's a good sim with good flight dynamics. It comes with an aircraft and scenery designer and there's lots more aircraft and scenery available, payware and freeware. With the default I found it hard to locate airports visually. Some of the screen shots on the forum are amazing, but I could never duplicate the scenery. I found FSX more pleasing to the eye and went back. In the end it's a personal preference.BTW, I hope MS doesn't buy it out: we need competition to keep development going.

[LAdamson 240]

>The other day I was looking at the screen shot forum and saw>a few post from a fellow using X-Plane. I had never really>considered using X-Plane, but after seeing some of his screen>shots I was impressed by the cloud shadows and the way the sky>environment looked. From what I understand the flight dynamics>are supposed to be the best in a home PC flight sim. So, the>question I have is, has Microsoft ever considered buying>Laminar Research, in a move like they did with Bruce Artwick>(SubLOGIC). They could then combine the best eye candy with>the better environment and flight dynamics. If X-Plane's flight dynamics were as great as it's "hyped"; then we'd all be using it. But................they are not! I've been using third party aircraft for MSFS for years, that generally fly rings around most X-Plane aircraft. The MSFS addon --- Better rudder control, better slips, more realistic for aerobatics, and much better simulated spins.As to scenery, it's hit and miss. In some areas X-Plane looks better, but it's a lot of generic scenery around the world. To populate most airports beyond runways with no buildings, you have to do it yourself, or look for addons.I do own X-Plane version "8", and have used the demo's for many years. However, I always seem to gravitate back to MSFS.L.Adamson

[Guest JIMJAM]

I bought the latest version to show my support and also give them some $$$$.I daily read page after page of "what" Microsoft needs to so, well truth is they do not NEED to do anything.One thing that needs to happen is some competition.And I regetfully IMO report that X-Plane the latest version is not it.I really,really,REALLY tried to let it grow on me and give it some time but X-plane even with its gigs and gigs of new scenery feels and looks overall 10 years behind.

[3-2-1-Now 126]

The flight dynamics are the #2 thing (performance being #1) that MS need to work on. They haven't changed since FS2000.X-Plane uses blade theory to produce its flight dynamics, but it has a catch: take an aircraft outside the envelope, and X-Plane loses it completely.Apparently the FS flight model actually has a lot of potential, but for some reason are uber secret about it. I find this strange as the heart of a FLIGHT sim is the FLIGHT dynamics! It's no good all the aircraft handling like Cessnas. This is where X-Plane excels.I think MS also need to concentrate a little less on the ground eye-candy, and more on the weather dynamics. They could do so much more than they're doing at present, and quicker, too. The big problem is that FS as it is, is inefficient and needs re-coding from the ground up.They need to look at Falcon - the flight dynamics are something else.Best regards,Robin.

[boshar 6]

>I bought the latest version to show my support and also give>them some $$$$.>I daily read page after page of "what" Microsoft needs to so,>well truth is they do not NEED to do anything.>One thing that needs to happen is some competition.>And I regetfully IMO report that X-Plane the latest version is>not it.>I really,really,REALLY tried to let it grow on me and give it>some time but X-plane even with its gigs and gigs of new>scenery feels and looks overall 10 years behind.Its all about personal preference. I bought X-Plane 8 and upgraded when version 9 came out. FS-X hardly gets any playtime anymore and whenever I start FS-X I'm amazed I ever put up with that inconsistent framerate.

[Guest RichardL]

Maybe the reverse would be better, X-Plane buying out MSFS. Quite posssibly less to be fixed in X-Plane than what is needed in MSFS. Plus, it appears X-Plane is geared towards flight simulation instead of the game direction MS is taking.Richard

[n4gix 4,947]

>I bought the latest version to show my support and also give>them some $$$$.Here are somethings to chew on awhile...1) There is no "them." X-Plane is essentially a one-man-band (Austin Meyer). One dev , one owner, lots of volunteers...2) I'm fairly certain that your purchase will help support the 2007 Columbia 400 - he traded in his still fairly new SR22 - (and other expensive toys) he now owns that was paid for by the profits from X-Plane...http://www.x-plane.com/adventures/41_oshkosh2008.htmlhttp://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N842X.html

[Guest Nils79]

I really like X-Plane, because there is no other simulator with which i can exercise my shopping flights to Lidl and IKEA.Who needs ai traffic, airplanes which are looking like airplanes, seasons...

[Mike T 208]

He reminds me of a rapper (or a preacher), riding around in Bentley while the audience tries to scrape together loose change to buy the next album (or "donate" to God).There is nothing wrong with making money and building a good life for oneself, but flaunting one's wealth to one's audience is not recommended. We've already seen his house, his corvette, his Segway, his airplane, etc. For sure, hard work is to be rewarded, but I really he'd really want to keep his fat bankbook to himself.As the owner of an IT consulting firm here in Chicago, I can't go to my client site is my 07' Benz S55 and then tell them that I need to charge more for my consultants on-site. It's hard to cry "please support my work" over the hum of a new half million dollar Columbia 400!

[LAdamson 240]

>>Apparently the FS flight model actually has a lot of>potential, but for some reason are uber secret about it. I>find this strange as the heart of a FLIGHT sim is the FLIGHT>dynamics! It's no good all the aircraft handling like Cessnas.>This is where X-Plane excels.>I won't kid anybody....My number one complaint about X-Plane, is that it lacks in the "feel" department. IMO, it reacts like a puppet on a string to stick inputs, and seems to miss something in regards to dampening, inertia, and a few others such as power to weight. It's X-Plane that I can't tell much difference between large and small aircraft----not MSFS.As I said previously, some third party addons for MSFS are really good in the flight dynamics department! Not perfect, but convincing!I don't think that X-Planes excels in the flight dynamics department............period! If I did, I'd be using it a lot more, but usually bag it after a half hour or so. It's either twitchy or subdued, depending on settings; and my "pilot" brain just doesn't seem to get the cues to fill in the gaps between virtual and reality, that I find in MSFS, especially FSX.I believe that some people think X-Plane is more like flying, because it usually is quite fluid. But to me, it's what I'd visualize a magic carpet ride to be. Just smooth and graceful, but lacking in the feel and reactions I've mentioned above.L.Adamson

[boshar 6]

Some people strive to be a member of the ACES team.Other people just strive to be Bill Gates. ;-)So yes you can program a flightsim for a salary and have a nice job, healthcare. morgage, etc. A small part of the revenue goes into your salary the rest goes to your boss and the share holders.ORYou take a risk and are your own boss and as long as you're succesfull all the revenue is for you.Guess which person realy realy cares about how succesfull his programing project is :-)BTW do you realy think Austin still does X-Plane all by himself without payed help? If a one man band can program something with the quality that is X-Plane 9 then surely a whole proffesional team of developers can make their program 10 times beter?

[Guest hmstiger]

His accomplishment is really quite something, if you think about it and I see nothing wrong with his enjoying his success as he sees fit. Since the demise of Fly II he has been the only commercial alternative for a civilian flight sim vs. Microsoft. What is he supposed to do, buy a beat-up, high hours 172 for appearances sake? He's not accepting donations folks like Jim and Tammy Faye Baker. He's not providing a public service.He's selling a product that people want to buy. Good for him. Colin in Portland

[Guest DeltaMD88]

>Here are somethings to chew on awhile...>>1) There is no "them." X-Plane is essentially a one-man-band>(Austin Meyer). One dev , one owner, lots of volunteers...>>2) I'm fairly certain that your purchase will help support the>2007 Columbia 400 - he traded in his still fairly new SR22 ->(and other expensive toys) he now owns that was paid for by>the profits from X-Plane...Who cares what he does with his money? Are you jealous? He hasn't forced me to buy XPlane. I bought it willingly. Could it possibly be that FSX has caused serious flight simmers (like me) to jump ship to another product that works out of the box without stutters, config file changes, graphic card updates upon updates upon updates AND STILL it doesn't work smoothly as XPlane does? I was flying XPlane 9 with my MacBook Pro 128k ram and it performed screamingly better than FSX which wouldn't even give me the time of the day on a box like that. And just wait until more developers jump ship and start providing payware/freeware airports and planes for XPlane. The things that can be done with version 9 are amazing. Will you scrutinize them for their profits?I'm proud to fly that sim the majority of my time because instead of wasting time configuring my computer I simply hop in my cockpit and fly and enjoy the day.Personal preference is all that it is.