That is mostly how I use it too, just goofing around or doing challenges in multiplayer.

TAB key is the voice all channels push to talk key (I use this alot to make ATC calls and pretend there is ATC even when there isn't)
CTRL-TAB key the radio push to talk key for just the people tuned to the same radio frequency as you (have not had to use this)

The distributed multiplayer hosting thing is pretty annoying when the host disconnects, they should have it autojoin you to another session, as is you can either keep flying alone or you can hit ESC join multiplayer again and then hit M key to resume flying where you were.

You would think for a title that is supposed to have online as a big part of it, they would have made things like the host disconnecting less of an immersion interruption.

They dropped the ball in so many ways and in so many times that this is just another drop in the ocean of FAIL.

Scenario: Somewhere in a corner office at Microsoft Campus, there are three marketing mavens wringing their hands, trying to decide what the do about releasing the "new" Zero. Since the lowered 560 points didn't help dispel the onslaught of comments about the cockpit-less release, they are now trying to decide what to do. Ah! No problem. It's almost lunchtime.

So sad. Why not take all that great technology and offer a Crimson Skies 2 add-on? Something with a storyline like the coveted Strike Commander.

Then if someone wants to deliver invisible monkey cargo and garnish coconut bras, or play through an action storyline as a protagonist who has goals, they can.

Flight is rapidly becoming the Microsoft Bob of flight software.

Sadly your scenario is probably true, I'm just hoping at some point they either succeed at making a good "game" or they fail and realize they can still make a good "sim", there is lots of opportunity here, otherwise this could be another Microsoft product that flounders in pain like Bob or even for years until they finally kill it like Zune...

I have a zune (lol)

I only use it so i dont kill the battery on my Iphone.

Rob

You know, if they *did* make Crimson Skies 2 I'd probably buy it! It was a fun game!

Surely with all the fuss about lack of TrackIR support, AI traffics and controllers MS would address these first instead of releasing a cockpitless Zero? It seems that MS is hell bent on a suicide mission to prove their belief. And who says flying from external view makes it any easier for casual gamers (whoever that is)? I crashed a lot with that view! And screw the "for casual gamers" reasoning! even Hawx had cockpit view. I always tried to stay on neutral ground since the Battle for Flight started before its release day, but after trying it myself and observing the dev's attitude toward advices and criticisms, I find myself becoming more and more leaning toward the Rebel Faction now..

When I found out that Joshua Howard's Video Game experience was from creating "Ants" I knew it was all over, sigh.

The devs very likely get their orders and concepts from "up top" or the marketing department ("Hey, this DLC thing is quite big at the moment..."). And both of these departments have demonstrated their level of familiarity with flight simulation by kicking out the old ACES team in ~2008ish and leaving everyone with a product that could've used a third service pack.



Surely Flight! didn't deliver anything one would expect from an entry level multiplayer flight sim, but that's still no reason to constantly complain about it.

Let MS have their Bob/Zune/Win ME/Win Vista with airplanes. Just let them. Serves them right by showing (again) that not every business idea can be gutted out.

As has been brought up at AVSIM and on the Flight Beta forums, the development timeline (even for something like a cockpit-less Zero) is probably measured in months, not weeks. The Zero was probably slated as the first post-release DLC long before the beta testing even started. I wouldn't be surprised if the first 6 - 12 mos of DLC is already mapped out and in the works. So it's silly to think that 1 month (yeah, it's only been a month folks) MS would have had time to gather and analyze market data, get the green light to work on new DLC, developed it, tested it, and had it ready for release.

In fact, it's been stated on the beta forums that there are already additional aircraft in the DLC pipeline, both with and w/o cockpits.

So what does that mean for me? I'm going to give them some more time. I agree that it seems to lack the gameplay required to make it a great game, but also seems to lack some of the content to make it a decent simulator. TrackIR needs to find its way in there at some point for it to stick with me whether its a game or a sim. If I like the DLC that comes out and I like the direction it's going, maybe I'll buy it. If they keep releasing cockpitless aircraft I won't.

My point is let's see what direction the market drives this game/sim, and let's see if M$ actually listens to whoever ends up being the market (its in their interest to do so). Give it 6 months or so.