caehlan

jhefner, I think it was safe to say based on the screenshots released, there was not even a remote chance they were programming Flight in Javascript/HTML 5/CSS :) There is just no way you can build such a complex graphics engine and physics simulator with those technologies.BTW I think what you have been reading on Microsoft switching to HTML 5 is mainly related to the tablet UI of Windows 8. Naturally the web based applications (e.g. Bing, Office 365 etc) might also move (if they haven't already) in this direction, but I think it will have little to no impact on desktop applications such as traditional Office, Games etc..

I think most people are right. I contacted Microsoft directly and they confirmed they have not released any details on functionality. The Gamespy article was definitely not fact checked, so where the information came from is uncertain. Also technically while Flight in a browser may be feasible, it just doesn't line up with other actions Microsoft is taking with regards to Flight. I can verify the article was not fact checked because it is confirmed that Age of Empires online is definitely not a browser based game by Robot Entertainment themselves (makers of the game). On the technical side, Microsoft is hiring at least two people that don't make a lot of sense for a browser game. One to take care of "real word systems" such as autopilot and physics.. this is pretty heavy features for a browser based game. The second person is to take care of an SDK. This implies that 3rd parties will be able to develop for Flight. How do you deploy 3rd party addons for a browser based game? Something similar to Facebook's model with exposed APIs? but then how do you modify the core experience directly? (maybe you can't ;)) this would be an incredibly radical design for a browser game.. can't confirm it would be the first game to do so, but I can't think of anything else that immediately comes to mind. Even the example of Quake in a browser doesn't have the concept of 3rd party developed add-ons that appear as seamless content within the game (although there is a huge community for it's desktop counterpart). I just can't realistically see Microsoft doing this. Stranger things have happened though, so who knows :)My article http://anylanding.com/story/no-real-signs-microsoft-flight-will-be-browser-based-game

Hey Tim,I don't think the MS guys will be able to say anything about the DX10 hardware itself (including admitting they have seen it running due to NDA) since neither nVidia or ATI have made any announcements yet. However, Extremetech posted a great interview with a couple of guys working on DX10 and it does provide a good technical insight on what changes DX10 will be bringing. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1982031,00.aspJosh

Actually I kinda like this idea... perhaps a FS MMORPG type set-up... along the lines of vatsim, but with a centrally controlled scenery/aircraft databases that can be updated by MS and 3rd party developers alike. The user pays a monthly fee and MS sets up a profit sharing scheme so that developers are paid a certain portion of the monthly fees based on how popular their contributions are.If things like WoW can attract millions of players with high speed connections.. I think we're getting to a point where broadband has penetrated enough of the market that for the people who haven't moved over to a high speed connection, this might be enough incentive for them.