New MS Flight announcement:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/flight/#news-flight_launch

Feb 29 release date.

Some additional info:

In addition to exploring the Big Island of Hawaii for free, you can unlock access to the skies over the remaining Hawaiian Islands by purchasing the Hawaiian Pack, the first in a series of expansions for Microsoft Flight, which includes:

Hundreds of miles to explore
Stunning recreations of landmark features, from the breathtaking Waimea Canyon in Kaua’i to the high-rise hotels of Waikiki
New challenges
20 new missions
The Vans RV-6A, a two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplane made famous for its speed and maneuverability.

The Hawaiian Adventure Pack will be available via Games for Windows –LIVE for 1600 Microsoft Points ($20USD)

Tour the Skies in Two All-New Planes:

The Maule M-7-260C including a richly detailed external model and a beautifully created cockpit will be available via Games for Windows—LIVE for 1200 Microsoft Points. ($15USD)

The North American P-51 Mustang is a historical fighter plane with strong performance characteristics, maneuverability and sharp looks. Stripped of guns and some weight, this version represents a restored Mustang that might be found at airshows today. The Mustang’s superb agility makes it a great option to choose to complete hoops courses and master many other skilled challenges and missions found in the game. The North American P-51 Mustang flyable from the outside will be available via Games for Windows—LIVE for 640 Microsoft Points. ($8USD)



Since I was not good enough to be picked for the beta (maybe they already had too many old simmers) :-) I am looking forward to checking this out, not as an FSX replacement but as something to mess around with... I doubt I will go for the DLC scenery or aircraft unless I really like it.

Anyhow let's not relive the pro/anti MS Flight discussion but at least it will be out of beta and available free to all soon, also good to hear they have they added the RV6 that should be a fun plane.

$20 for all of Hawaii and the RV6 is a pretty good price for what you get. $15 for the Maule is a little more than I had hoped, but it’s still not bad.

Looking forward to it.

Ive been playing the Beta for a while on and off. Overall, I think Flight will do well to draw in some new people to the the hobby, which is always needed. Some poeple are intimidated by FSX & Xplane. Thinking that they have to know something about flying to use it. Also the addon market can be confusing to a newbie who doesnt know what to get or how to install it. Flight makes this a lot more accessible and thats a good thing.

Eventually, some of these new people, will get bored flying around Hawaii in a small plane and may want to move on to something more complex, or fly over their home town. Thats where FSX & Xplane come in, Bringing new users into those products. Later, they want to buy addons and the developers eventually get a piece of that market. I think flight will( in the long run) help this hobby regardless or how disapointed we may be that its not a hardcore sim.

Ill probably pick up the extra islands pack and maybe a plane or 2 when its released. The price is cheap and it makes a nice diversion from FSX when I need it. I also like to support the genre, even if its not what im looking for. Flight is not a replacement for FSX, but it will still be good for this hobby.

Rob

One thing I do like about flight it’s set up to be mission/job based. I actually really enjoy that aspect of Flight. It gives me a little more sense of purpose and direction.

I know I can do the same thing in FSX, either by just “pretending” I’m flying a job or by buying payware, but I like the way Flight spoon fed it to me…

Looking forward to it!

Looking forward to it. Price seems a little steep for the scenery initially but I might change my mind based on what it looks like. At least its free to try out :-)

Must admit to having misgivings about this bit:

The North American P-51 Mustang flyable from the outside

sounds like no cockpit.

You would be correct about that. Sounds like the P-51 simply isn't finished yet. I would guess that if you buy the incomplete plane, you get the cockpit at a reduced price when it's ready.

The lack of a cockpit in the P-51 doesn't mean anything for the cockpits in the rest of the aircraft. They seem to be very well done and functional.

Yeah outside only airplanes are not for me, but I am looking forward to seeing what the quality of the Stearman is compared to what I normally fly on FSX (Ant's, Carenado, RealAir etc.)

I think once I try it if I happen to like Flight plus see that the airplanes and Hawaii scenery are well done, then the 8 islands plus the RV-6A for $20 might be a good deal, assuming it is on par with FSX payware scenery and aircraft, big caveat that since I am not in the beta I don't know.

MS' new moneymaking strategy is obscene. Basically, they are doing what drug dealers do. Create a market by going into a community and giving away a taste, a good taste, for free. Just enough to get 'em interested, till they gotta experience more. Then you come back to the block and make your real money because the customers are sweating for more. That first taste was soooo good, but incomplete. That's why you don't give all of Hawaii away for free. You sell it a little bit at a time, make sure they get addicted.

Who knows? They might sell California county by county. Before you know it, the addicts have spent 500 bucks apiece just to get the entire state of California. You know why they keep buying? It's the age old rationalization: "Well, I got this thing started, I can't stop now. I can't have just half of a state! I gotta keep going! Maybe I can get a loan from someone!"

Which is fine. If there is demand, then let them supply that demand.

Really, economics is the study of human behavior in regards to money and other limited resources (eg.,time). I don't fault MS or the convenience store on the corner or anybody because they have invested in understanding and catering to that behavior.

Comparing MS Flight to drug dealing is absolutely ridiculous.

I think people have too much emotion invested in FSX -vs- MS Flight.

For me since it is not an either/or situation I can look at it from a simple economic purchase decision:

MS Flight Hawaii 8 Islands + RV-6 aircraft = $20 USD
FSX MegasceneryX Hawaii ($14.95) + NewportScenery MauiX ($17) + VertigoStudios RV8 ($24.99) = $56.94 USD

To me on a purely economic/financial decision point the $20 Hawaii DLC (if it is decent quality) actually looks like a decent deal compared to what I am used to in FSX payware, of course I have not been part of the beta so the quality of the Flight scenery and aircraft is a big unknown to me.

Note: that I am not even assuming that the $20 DLC will beat the top end FSX scenery and aircraft, if I did it would be something more like this:
FSX Orbx Hawaii Region ($44.95 doesn't exist) + Baytower RV-7A ($38 I own it) = $82.95 USD

So again taking the FSX/MSFlight emotion out of it and opening yourself up to using both FSX *and* Flight for VFR sightseeing in the Hawaii region , the economics of the $20 Hawaii DLC actually seems pretty good to me, assuming the quality is there when I actually get to try Flight.

Word.

Although, without being too specific, I would add that the MS Flight DLC is probably "fairly" priced when compared to the FSX DLC you listed (ORBX,etc...).

I find what Microsoft have done a good move. That's basically what other companies are doing. Develop the main engine and then sell new planes, maps etc.
I think it's the only way to make this hobby affordable.

I didn't compare MS Flight to drug dealing. I compared Microsoft's strategy for building the market for this product to the strategy drug dealers employ to build a market for their product. The analogy fits. I'm sorry it annoys you, but sometimes the truth is uncomfortable.

That's crazy. Affordable to whom? You're looking at it through the eyes of the seller. You're not the seller. You're the buyer, the consumer. This isn't the best deal for the consumer. The consumer is going to pay MORE than he/she ever did for FSX or any previous version. And there is no guarantee that MS will stick with it long enough for buyers to recreate the entire earth. MS could decide after providing Hawaii in chunks and a piece of San Diego that sales suck and stop right there, leaving buyers holding an incomplete product.

It shocks me how many on here praise MS' strategy as if they were getting a cut of the profits. This is potentially a great cash machine for MS. That does not make it a great deal for anyone purchasing the product, nor does it guarantee a high quality product for the consumer.

Uh, what about the rest of the planet? If that's the cost just for Hawaii...I mean, the USA has 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several "territories." Do the math. And that's just the U.S.A. At the rates you just estimated, the potential cost to get the whole planet (and more planes) is mind-boggling! MS thinks they have bunch of suckers out there. MS are licking their chops. Consumers would be nuts to go for this deal.

No one says they're going to offer the entire country or planet. And, if they did, no one's forcing anyone to buy the entire planet.

Plus, $20 for all of Hawaii is a lot less than you'd pay if ORBX or Aerosoft did it. And they're giving you the game engine for free. I don't see what the big deal is.

Flight is never going to be the whole world, its not FSX Redux, thats where Prepar3d comes in.

I'll be happy if Flight can deliver an immersive small world with realistic flying.
If the base freebie does that I'll be pleased to pay for the extra islands and the RV.
And next year for Ibiza...no sorry, that's a different waste of money...

Just so long as I don't have to start tweeting, and my landings crashes don't get automatically facebooked!

Cheers
Keith

We dont know how far flight will eventually extend out beyond Hawaii, if at all. So far, its just Hawaii and surrounding islands. It may stay that way, or they may expand on it later. who knows?

I dont care for Flight, Its not my thing. Id rather use FSX or Xplane, but then again, I can get all giddy about the PMDG NGX and have fun pushing buttons and running different aircraft systems. For many people that is really boring stuff. And Flight will give them a way to have some fun flying around a small, very detailed area and practice skills etc..

If Flight brings new people into flight simulation, then Im all for it. Even if I wont use it. I think eventually a lot of the Flight users will want more and thats good for FSX addons and Xplane. I dont see Flight as a competitor of FSX or Xplane, but more as a "Sim Lite" for people who are not hardcore about flightsimming, but want to enjoy it a little. Nothing wrong with that. Time will tell if the pricing model works out. I think its a fair price considering the base package is free.

I really wish they included a cockpit on the P-51. That part has me perplexed! But then again there is the DCS P-51 coming soon!

Rob

Pretty much feel the same way about Flight, not a FSX replacement for me but doesn't have to be... Don't forget the A2A P51-D it was already in their Accusim video in Nov so can't be far from release, and if it's anything like their awesome P-40 (that I can't stop flying lately), then we are in for a treat.

Lips that touch liquor (DRUGS) shall never touch mine!

I wont be buying into this franchise. I like FSX but dont fly it enough to make online payments worthwhile. And certainly I am not paying for the whole world and every aircraft that you got for Ł40 in FSX! I dont see any point flying around Hawaii in two planes. Its not for me.

No online payments required. Not sure what you're talking about there...

It is no different than what 777/RoF is doing, or what most games on Steam are doing, what TW/SF2 is doing, and it sounds as if the CloD and DCS series might be moving more towards a similar model. Frankly, it is the only way to keep the industry alive. Computer/Video games have not gone up significantly in price since the 90s (from ~$40 to ~$50), while development costs (and general inflation) have increase much more while demand for sims has decreased. Even for something as big as MSFS, I don't the profit margin on the old model (if it existed at all) is worth the bother. The hard truth is a high fidelity flight sim probably should cost at least in the $100-$300 range, and maybe more, to make it worth the time and effort put into it, regardless of who the developer is.

I'm sure this has been asked a dozen times, but would like to know . From what I have read Flight is from Microsoft live .Could someone post a link where this is at . I seem to be finding everything but games .

Microsoft have a history of taking features OUT of their games once they have you interested.
Microsoft can bog off thank you very glad!

PS/... Fly with your mouse LOL!

Hang on there, that is how I started But that was back in 1985 It's useful for those occasions where I can actually picture myself playing Flight, i.e. on my laptop when I'm out of town (though I can also imagine having much better things to do in those situations )

How big is the download? My bandwidth is between cable wideband and dialup. Fast enough to play first person shooters but not the quickest download speeds.

I think it was around 1.3-4 gigs?

Thanks. I will have to try downloading it overnight. I just got a Live ID for this game