Flight has clickable cockpit, weather, flight model based on FSX. most of the videos are made with arcade settings.
I think we need to give them time to improve it. Like with any other piece of software...

The comments by obvious non-simmers at one popular gamer site -- IGN I think -- that accompanied the announcement of FLIGHT being 'free' saddened me and made we wonder about the wisdom of Microsoft's decision to pursue a traditionally disinterested market. Many of the comments echoed a singular desire to crash into buildings; there was barely any interest or curiousity about earning achievements in FLIGHT, or exploring volcanoes, or rocking out to a driving techno beat while flying a plush Icon A5 for that matter. And I really wondered, "Who is the title for? Who will embrace it? How could it possibly not be a dismal failure for Microsoft?

Then I remembered my own entry into 'airplane games': Jane's WWII Fighters. By 1998's standards, was that a sim or a game? It enticed with the sanguine thrill of machine guns and bombs and fire, but it also featured 3D cockpits with operational guages and control towers that radioed landing instructions. I bought Jane's WWII Fighters as part of a cheap three-title boxed set and I was initially hooked not by the airplanes themselves but by the tanks and troops that populated the terrain and busied themselves with killing each other. To me the airplanes were just a tool for enjoying the ground war, simply a means to enjoying the violent little ecosystem inside my computer. Eventually, I began to learn how the airplanes worked and my confidence and pilot skills began to grow.

Then, looking for 'more of the same' I stumbled upon a "Combat Flight Simulator/Flight Simulator 98" combo pack. When I learned how to port the P-51D from CFS into FS98, Wow! That was a revelation because now I could fly around Las Vegas or New York City or anywhere in the world I wanted! And that opened up my interest in non-combat flight simulation.

I'm not saying that I personally will embrace FLIGHT's vision or business plan, but I won't knock Microsoft for trying a new approach. If the joy of collecting aero-caches and winning online trophies for finding hidden tunnels makes people happy, so be it. Is it really any different than collecting points for 'kills' against the Luftwaffe or earning medals for completing sorties flown over the Eastern Front?

Viewpoint from one of the addon developers

Probably the most reasonable post on this entire thread. Kudos!

Rick;

Yes I did sign an NDA. However, after reading other's opinions, viewing leaked videos, and realising no SDK, I did not even bother to download it. This is not only an insult to SERIOUS simmers, it's also an insult to anybody who has a good understanding of why and how an aircraft flies.

When I read the comments by the absolute twat program manager, about how he speaks of the 'Dream of looking up and imaging flying', it is crystal clear he does not have a #%&*$# clue about aircraft. Us 'real' simmers, striving to make the experience as real as possible is what has driven this entire industry really. Personally, I think we are owed more.

I have frequently been a BETA tester, I advised M$ that Windows Vista was a pile of #%&*$#, and fact is, it was.

Yes, I AM outspoken, but I am for a reason; there *are* people out there who really want 'as real as it gets', and this is cheating them. I don't like to see good, ordinary people get cheated in any way. M$ can do what they please to me, but my views still stand, and even if I have breached NDA, I have done it in the most minor way.

After this total debacle, I am happy to pay Lockheed Marting $500 for Prepar3d, at least it will be right.

Cheers :-)

Andrew.

Good link and insights there.

According to a few comments in the other link, Lockheed may not be selling Prepar3d to ordinary retail customers like you and I...is that information incorrect? And is Prepar3d basically FSX under new management?

Look, I know I'm likely wrong about SOME of what I've written, and it's all based on me making assumptions based on what was presented in front of me. But I'm not going to dump on MS just yet, I'll wait until the product is out, and see what the addons offered will feature.

One thing is certain to me: they will have WAY more pressure to make this product run on "everyone's" computer, than they ever had before! I also don't think they realise just how high sim standards have become towards accurate aircraft representation...if they think they can take an FS2004 B-747 and sell that for money, they are REALLY going to get a severe shock and backlash.

+1

Auch...

Rick;

Please don't think that I was launching an attack at you, I certainly was not. I'm very passionate about this entire thing, and in the past 48 hours, I have read a bundle of stuff about FLIGHT, and the direction that it's heading. At the moment, you can get a $10 per month subscription to Prepar3d if you are a developer. You can be a developer of simple things, such as AFCAD files, and for me, the simple fact alone that Prepar3d is compatible with most of the payware aircraft and scenery that I have purchased over the years, gives it another thumbs up.

When I 'play' FSX, my wife never disturbs me. I have detailed scenery for all of my local areas, I fly as close to real GAAP procedures as I can; I take my flight on the sim seriously, because as I have mentioned, at this time, I cannot afford a wet aircraft at $250 per hour. From FS5 up to FS9, we had a sim that got progressively better and better. It did not reach the pinnacle with FSX, but it DID with FSX and the likes of ORBX. Now, I can fly VFR that is about 90% accurate.

But, even without some of the payware, with FSX I can still follow prodecures that are *basically* correct. I've flown GA in all of the places in the world I have done it for real, and I have also simulated every single international flight that I have taken in my life. Now; FLIGHT has taken that away from me, and that is just ONE negative against this 'Game'.

The greed of M$, and this idiot production team lead they have, from my readings, the team will go the same way as the original ACES team. If I were a programmer on this product, I would be shying away from putting my name in the credits.

Again, after doing some more research on the web, LM is talking about a Version 2 of Prepar3d; apparently, they are re-optimising the graphics engine for DX11, and we will see major improvements.

It's a shame really, because now, we really do have hardware available to us which we can maximise the use of FSX with. With graphic improvements and code tweaks in Prepar3d, that will be even better. M$ have really dropped the ball on this one; we WERE made promises, and given hints about an accurate follow up to FSX. With decisions made by M$ management, in my opinion, they deserve to lose the franchise for ever.

Andrew.

One important thing to keep in mind is that Flight does not take away our enjoyment of FSX + today's awesome addons which we finally have hardware and scenery to run it as we always hoped back when it first came out.

I wish MS luck getting new people to try this simlite flight sim and I will even play it myself if I am in the mood to fly a Stearman around Hawaii, but I will continue to spend most of my time in FSX+REX+ORBX+UltimateTraffic2+Ezdok+PMDG/Aerosoft/Carenado which I really enjoy and I have all the awesome scenery and airplanes I could want and runs well on my system.

So I don't really feel threatened by Flight as FSX will continue to be supported by most 3rd party developers (thanks to MS who shut them out of Flight) and for now we can just keep enjoying that and wait and see what Prepar3D and XP10 develops into and who knows maybe even someday Flight will get some "Deluxe" or "Acceleration" version with some harder sim options that may interest us, but for now no harm in waiting and seeing, most FS fans who bought FSX on release and parked it for 2-3 years and went back to FS9 until they had systems that could run FSX will have some experience with patience.