Kengi

Flight can be played offline. No internet connection. I've done it.

Its true that you can run Flight in an "offline" mode, its crippled. Also you do need to verify you own your DLC from MS's servers every now and then.

The multiplay certainly wouldn't work (obviously), and the aerocaches are served from the net, but what else doesn't work in offline mode that you would call the game "crippled"?

Do you have a link which states that the DLC needs to be verified periodically? I've never heard of such a thing and doubt that's the case. I does look for new DLC's which you may have purchased upon startup, but once installed I don't believe it ever needs to check again for activation.

Wow. I missed today's cache. Looks like fun all right!

After driving around in the summer, I always meant to visit Alaska in the winter just to see what it would be like. I loved it there and have, on occasion, looked at job openings. After living all my life in Chicago, the differences seemed appealing. I would miss the great food in Chicago...

I did find a really great Mexican restaurant in Fairbanks, and a great place for chili cheese dogs on the highway south of Denali, but I would probably miss the great variety of a place like Chicago or NYC.

Four months ago I would have considered the idea crazy. I never realized (until I discovered these forums) just how much money people were willing to put into a game. Of course, I now realize to them it's a hobby, not a game.

To be honest, Kickstart for such a project may be a viable idea. If a good cost estimate can be made, it's a great way to see just how much support there is in the community.

...bickering because of people such as you...

And your post is the apex of thoughtfulness and kindness. And still wrong.

How do I zoom the GPS map in or out?

I haven't bought the CC yet, but I'm pretty sure the GPS is just like the one in the Icon, which means there is no zoom feature. You should check out this topic to get a working GPS in your plane:

http://forum.avsim.net/tutorials/article/72-how-to-use-gmap-as-a-popup-within-flight-full-screen-on-one-monitor/

As for elevator trim, if it's like other aircraft in the game, there is usually somewhere to hover your mouse over to get a trim reading. Either the trim control or an indicator.

OK, it seems there are some people here who have no experience with online distribution. Let me explain some of the aspects.

The only time you will need access to Microsoft servers is when you install the game. This is first to get the installation files and second to activate your purchase. The only time there is a problem with such a setup is when the company goes out of business. Even then, I have never lost a game in such a situation despite having several such experiences.

Here's what happens.

Before the company shuts it's doors, it disables the online activation requirement in the installation. It then arranges with a hosting company to serve those new installation files for a period of between 1-2 years. You then download a copy of those installation files, make a backup, and then you are responsible for keeping them safe. Kind of like keeping the DVD's safe on traditional game distributions.

Now, that would only occur when Microsoft goes out of business. I don't think you need to worry about that any time in the next decade or two.

I have, in the past, lost several games due to misplaced or damaged disks. I have never once lost a game since I embraced online distribution.

No.

Flight does not require servers to be online to play. That's just a lie. It exists on your hard drive. It is not an MMOG, like Galaxies was. It's distributed online. The aerocaches are online, but not the game.

I'll miss having new aerocaches, but I still plan on getting a lot of hours of enjoyment out of this game.

I never thought of Flight becoming a hobby, but people here did convince be to purchase TrackIR, so I suppose I made a tiny step in the hobby direction with that purchase. Of course I intend on using it for FPS games as well. For me, all games are a short-term passion. Something new will always come along that gets my attention.

Hobbyists will always be a small subset of a larger gaming marketplace. For years now games have required more and more development time and money to stay current. Perhaps there really has been a tipping point in the market where the development costs have finally exceeded what the smaller customer base of hobbyists can support. I always thought that was why the focus of Flight was on fun rather than making it "as real as it gets".

If everyone on the AVSIM forums was willing to spend $1000 for the perfect flight sim, I still doubt there would be a good profit for such a project in the modern world of gaming given the incredible expectations of such a project and current costs of 3D game development. And I'm certainly not willing or able to invest that kind of money in what I know will be something that I tire of after a few hundred hours.

I just hope the MS Flight community here doesn't just vanish because they see no "future" in the game. I am still enjoying it, and still would like to enjoy reading about the experience of others in the game.

You honestly expect Microsoft Games for Windows Live, which supports the entire Xbox franchise, will shut down because Microsoft stopped developing one of their games?

It turns out that Microsoft has others games. I suspect the GFWL servers will still have work to do.

Since few people have calibration equipment for their monitors, virtually everyone will have a different appearance and experience. This is a classic problem in games which play out in night time scenarios. Some games include an in-game gamma correction. Perhaps this would be a good solution in this case.

It was kind of funny to have people post screenshots and then say "See! It's obviously wrong!" without realizing that nearly everyone is seeing a different brightness and contrast in the same shot.

Businesses which upgrade now can't go to 8 because it isn't available yet. XP has hung on more tenaciously than anyone expected. Even in the home market. (The gaming world upgraded to get DX10.)

Windows 8 will attract most of the remaining XP holdouts. That's why it will be offered at such a great promotional upgrade price at release.

 

I discard well over 90% of my photos (taken and not even taken) because the light or haze makes them look bland.

 

You never see a photographers bad or even average shots. :)

That's exactly what I do. I also tend to over saturate my photos just a little for effect. It makes them look less realistic while giving the impression of more realism.

It does look at lot better in a high contrast monitor configuration. Different monitors may have different presets to give you a similar effect.

I do recall a software package which would change brightness and contrast based upon time of day, So there probably is something out there which could give people a similar effect using the video card settings. I'll look around if I get some spare time later.

For Windows 8, don't underestimate the value of integration of phone/tablet/desktop. Especially in the corporate environment. The other area which Windows 8 will shine in is as a Windows XP killer which Windows 7 failed to do.

Dillon, I suggest finding another flight simulator. MS Flight is never going to make you happy. No one should play a game which doesn't give them enjoyment.

I've never flown in Alaska, but have driven/bussed around several areas. Along the lower coast the tree density in real life is heavy, but not as dense as the Vancouver area. As you get to the interior, further north, you would be surprised how fast the density drops along with the tree line.

Riding and hiking around in Denali Park there are many valleys with no trees and just various scrub brush. There were entire areas of red hills with virtually no vegetation at all.

In the next few days I'll try to round up some pictures i took and post them.

You really shouldn't compare what you see in Alaska to your expectations based upon experience at lower latitudes.

How can I re-size the GMap window? The default is too big :-(

Sorry, you can't resize the GMap window. I usually just pull it lower and right off the screen some since I often don't need all of it showing.

For how long we have to hear is going to be this and that ??

 

still waiting for planes with cockpits !!!

I think you have been misinformed. I've been playing since the beginning of April and they've had planes with cockpits since at least then, and I believe most, if not all, of those have been available since Flight was released.

Perhaps you don't know how to change the view to the cockpit view. The default key for that is F9. Check your options to be sure you didn't reprogram it.

I haven't flown in a couple of days. Your latest update is the inspiration I need!

Here's an interesting interview that recently went up on the MS Flight site:

https://news.microso...nd-terrain.aspx

Edit: Sorry about all-caps on the title. I copy/pasted and didn't realize until after I posted...

 

Lol, well hopefully, you bought it directly from Natural Point - as they offer a 30 day money back satisfaction guarentee.

Yeah, that part did make the decision easier. If I just don't like it, back it goes. What worries me us kind of liking it, keeping it, then just not using it after a bit. Of course if that happens, at least I'll have a purpose in any afterlife!

I installed the demo through Steam, then purchased the Hawaii pack there. Then re-installed my OS and did the GFWL version and had no trouble getting Hawaii and the Maule back. I then bought Alaska in GFWL.

Seems just fine mixing and matching any way you like, which is pretty amazing.

Great timing on all this setup advice. I should be receiving my TrackIR early next week.

I would never have even considered buying it except for this forum, which implies at least two things.

First, the community deserves a kickback from sales. Second, if this ends up in my closet after two weeks never to be used again, I'll haunt everyone one of your computer systems after I die causing mysterious random crashes and graphics glitches whenever you are in a sim.

Just so you know...

So I bought Alaska on Steam.

How do I get it into Flight?

From the Steam site:

Notice:

To activate downloadable content for Flight after your purchase, launch Microsoft Flight and select 'Redeem Code' from the main menu. Then follow the instructions to redeem your content.

Alternatively, you can redeem Product Codes for the downloadable content at https://live.xbox.com/RedeemToken.