From day one since Flight was announced I have committed Orbx as being an excited supporter of Microsoft and of the new platform and that we would be creating content for it. That position is unchanged, but it has been quite a long time since their announcement, and the industry is moving on.

That's why we are working with Lockheed Martin who have an SDK and a platform we can write to. You need to understand that developers don't plan their business a week in advance, and don't use vapor to create content. We need debugged SDKs and a known target platform before we commit resources to anything. Orbx has a product roadmap which is EIGHTEEN MONTHS ahead of today. We build our business plans around what we know, not speculation. I have shareholders which I am responsible to, and my job is to continue to deliver revenue from sales from real platforms.

Until we see a mature Flight SDK and the tools provided to allow us to port content across to Flight, and fully understand how our content is distributed and sold, I am afraid I can simply assume that Flight is an unknown entity. And what we do know, based on the videos and screenshots shown by MS is that it appears to be only GA aircraft and only in Hawaii. Of course if MS show us more areas of the world or actually provide a features list including geographical areas, airports, aircraft, then we will have a better understanding of the new sim. But right now, based on publicly available information, it looks very much to me like something very different to FSX, thus my comments in the AirdailyX interview.

- will cost ca $500 !!! -

Purchase
Overview | Release History | Features | Product Information | System Requirements

Overview
Lockheed Martin entered into an intellectual property licensing agreement with Microsoft for the Microsoft® ESP™ platform in late 2009. Lockheed Martin Prepar3D® (pronounced “prepared”), an application based on Microsoft® ESP™, is a visual simulation platform that brings immersive games-based technology to training, experiential learning and decision and performance support for non-government, government and commercial organizations.

Lockheed Martin Prepar3D® immerses the user in a rich and interactive environment that allows users go anywhere in the virtual world, from underwater up to sub orbital space. The Lockheed Martin Prepar3D® team has continued to improve the core ESP™ product while maintaining compatibility with Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) allowing the many thousands of addons to be used within Prepar3D®.


Release History
In November 2010 Lockheed Martin debuted Prepar3D ® 1.0, based on Microsoft® ESP™ technology, as a training application for military, educational, civil and aviation professionals.

In February 2011, the Prepar3D ® team launched additional tools including the Prepar3D Model Converter and Prepar3D Model Placer to help developers by making it easier to create scenery and missions.

In April 2011, version 1.1 was launched. The newest iteration not only brings users increased functionality, but also includes addition of features that support Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) Qualification, new platforms and several modernization upgrades and performance improvements. New features in version 1.1 include enhancements to the end user experience, as well as several additions to and enhancements to SimConnect for developers.

New Capabilities
The Prepar3D® team has worked to extend the core capabilities of Microsoft® ESP™ and continue to add new features and functions that make the new platform a front runner in the modeling and simulation marketplace.

Some new capabilities include:

Expanded Hardware Controls
Upgraded Landclass
Added High-Res Norfolk area
Upgraded User Interface
Added Multichannel support
Added Sensor Capability
Added Global Bathymetry
Added Global Dynamic Water Surface
Enhanced SDK documentation and code samples
Upgraded Panels and Gauges System
Expanded Hardware Controls
32 axes and 128 buttons per joystick
Upgraded to DirectInput8
Fully Supports Fighter Pilots needs
Upgraded Landclass
10 million updated 1km tiles
3 million tiles upgraded from urban/farms to higher density
7 million tiles upgraded from vegetation to more accurately reflect the human footprint in the real world
Added High-Res Norfolk Area
Content based on 12cm real world photography
3 seasons (summer, fall, winter)
day and night
1488 buildings
Upgraded User Interface
Customizable and more rich user experience – based on WPF
Drag n’ Drop
Customized Data – save your favorites
Save and quickly retrieve your aircraft, your missions, your pilot records
Upgraded Learning Center – Create and edit your own articles for reference inside the simulation
Added Multichannel Support
Wider Field of View for your training needs
Configurable up to 100 channels
Freedom to choose different geometric displays
Ready for COTS perspective correction software
Added Sensor Capability
Configure your vehicle with a sensor view
Design sensor views into cockpit gauges
Static Infra Red model
Gray scale and Green scale colorizer views
Added Global Bathymetry
Global Costal Bathymetric DEM
High Resolution Coastal Relief Model for Continental U.S. – http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/coastal/crm.html
Selected deep-ocean sites based on Global Relief Model – http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/global/global.html
Transparent water surface, variable water coloration and underwater visibility
Added Global Dynamic Water Surface
Texture-based dynamic water
Train on or under the water surface
Transparency – see through the water surface
Water fog
Enhanced SDK documentation and code samples
Updated Software Development Kit Documentation
Visual Studio Developers Guide
DirectX Gauge Sample
Upgraded Panels and Gauges System
C++ Gauges now support DirectX
Embed hardware accelerated 3D Graphics into gauge displays
Unprecedented freedom to design complex gauges while maximizing performance
Limited OpenGL support via Conversion Library
Features
Living World
Customizable, data driven graphics and models
Whole Earth WGS-84 Model
Accurate topography with Regionally and Culturally appropriate textures
Modifiable real-time weather system, continuous time of day, seasons and a variety of lighting effects
Realistic Air Traffic Control
Expandable library of vehicle models
Living World
Prepar3D® is a dynamic world that includes:

Airport vehicles
Highway traffic
Boats and ships on lakes and oceans
Air traffic
Livestock
Wild animals
Product Information
Electronic download
45 high-detail airports
39 high-detail cities
Tower Controller
System Requirements
Minimum
Recommended
Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or 7 (32-bit) Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit)
Computer Processor
2.0 GHz Quad Core 2.0 GHz (Per Core) +
Computer Memory
2 GB 4 GB +
Hard Drive Space
20 GB (2 GB for the SDK)
Graphics Card Video Memory
256 MB 1 GB + (GDDR5 or better)
Graphics Card Other
Vertex/Pixel Shader Model 3.0 or newer
DirectX9 or newer compatibility
Other
Administrator Rights
MSXML 6
DirectX9.0c

- will cost ca $500 !!! -

"John Venema : Flight is not what people are expecting, it won't compete with FSX at all". "

How does he know?

Microsoft might win over a few million or so casual gamers with their beautiful visuals, but the lack of realistic and challenging content will lead to it becoming a stale and sterile arcade flying game, of which these new casual 'sim-lite' ers will quickly tire of and move onto the next COD or battlefield. This is all while they alienate their main audience, the dedicated flight sim community, who will mostly not touch this with a 10 foot pole. If they wanted to singlehandedly destroy their flight sim product line, Microsoft are heading in the right direction. They would be better off going in the opposite direction.

I think, and somebody please correct me if I am wrong, the ORBX crew is working on Flight. Not certain though.

If that's true, than the quote on the first page is unbelievably unprofessional. Why would you trash a development partner like that?

And frankly, I wouldn't blame MS for catering to the mainstream; You lot are pretty darn judgmental and picky.

First off, how are they being unbelievably unprofessional?

Second off, who is "you lot"? lol

Where does everybody get this idea that MS Flight is going to be a casual console arcade flight game? It even says on their own FAQ that it will be just as hi-fi sim as MSFS has ever been.