I hadn't heard this was coming:

https://www.pcgamer.com/see-the-shiny-new-trailer-for-microsoft-flight-simulator-coming-in-2020/

What an interesting coincidence indeed. First Microprose and now Microsoft announcing a new flight sim title.

Graphics are stunning.

They only reference XBox, but I think that might just be Microsoft's gaming group, and I hope it will also be available for the PC.

There are also references to Azure AI, which makes me wonder if it will need a constant online connection.

It is going to be released on BOTH platforms. It will be in the Xbox Live Pass from Day one. (Xbox Live Pass for PC is coming... I guess this will be one of their new games)
No real details were released, just the video.

Best forum comment on saw on this from someone named Chris:

That's hilarious! (It's funny 'cause it's true...)

There should also be a mod for things like the drunken idiot passenger disrupting the flight and the emotional support animal that goes on a rampage. Something like a spitting llama.

I don't know if any of us have a computer powerful enough to run this yet.

That came to my mind, thinking back on FSX. But this new one is supposed to work on XBox, so I gotta figure they'll optimize around that hardware?

Looks nice. A big (IMO) problem with FSX was that it couldn't fully take advantage of multi-core cpu's. Assuming this can (and why wouldn't it be able to), that should help the performance. I'm going to stay optimistic. I might even consider upgrading this seven-year old machine.

LOL
It would have internet activation so you had to start playing at 6am, just to have a patch delay that takes 12 hours.

I hope it uses some sort of new engine that is optimized. To this day, even with a newer computer multiple generations passed FSX's release year I still can't run that sim in a way that I consider acceptable. Thus far my best Microsoft flight simulator experience has been with FS2004.

I hadn't heard about the Microprose sim. What's that?

YES, YES, YES!

I'd hoped for years they'd just put it to bed for a while so they could build a whole new sim from scratch. FSX, as cool as it was (well, still is I guess) really was a pile of code spaghetti...

I'd lost all hope years ago.

Now I have to start planning my first gaming PC build in years - MSFS was primary reason I used to build them, all other gaming was just a bonus.

I've not been much of a gamer for years because of the absence of new versions of MSFS...

Something tells me they've been working on this for a VERY long time.

I can't stop watching this video, I just keep noticing more and more things...

Personnally I've noticed that for once, there is french planes in a base version of a sim, at least we see them in the trailer. Robin DR.400 (interior at 48s), Mudry CAP 10 (aerobatic plane) and Socata TBM. CAP 10 and DR.400 are very good choices for AI in Europe.

The graphics look real...

What I wouldn't give to be able to fly around such detailed terrain Superman style in VR.

You can in Google Earth VR.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCrkZOx5Q1M

Assuming this new MSFS doesn't turn out like crap we're going to need a new forum here at SimHQ!

what they need to improved from FSX IMO:

-slopped runways
-better ATC
-better GROUND handling/feeling
-better use of 2020 hardware
-very moddable, be it free or by 3rd party user
-better weather/atmosphere as a whole

It will most likely only be for Windows 10..

Well, official support for Win 7 by MS is long over so it wouldn't surprise me at all if the game requires WIN 10.

Only for Windows 10

I'm carefully optimistic, the graphics are obviously pre-rendered and there is no info on the flight model nor aircraft fidelity. Yet this IS Microsoft we're talking about, and if they implement Azure right (not just being a DRM, but actually bringing the possibilities of the Azure AI as a texturer to Flight Simulator) this could be the next big thing.

And personally, I just hope there will be plenty of room for third-parties to make study sims, since there is a real shortage of those in the flight sim world.

that will be the key to to this .. if they lock it down tight like they did Flight .. then they might as well close it all down now and save money cos it wont succeed, their main audience will just stick with what their using currently.

I recall Combat Flight Simulator 3 having some third party mods made for it so maybe this new title will follow suit.

According to the opening text, the graphics are a live capture of the video stream, and not a render. Who knows what they ran it on, though.

I'm of two minds on this...

"Locking it down tight" COULD result in a much smoother product. But that's a big "if" there...

There's always Prepar3d for those who want to tinker...

One thing I do hope is they (assuming they keep making newer versions) ditch the whole backwards compatibility strategy with addons. FSX has some VERY old code under the hood partially because of that, and I'm of the opinion it was holding it back.

I would be very surprised if anything from FSX will be compatible with this. Looks like a whole new render engine, not like anything they've done before.
I'll be watching this. I bought X-Plane 11 and uninstalled my FSX. Sometimes, though, I wonder if I should have done that. X-Plane is missing something. I'm not having as much fun with it as I did in FSX. I flew FSX right up intil last year when I purchased X-Plane. I'm not sure what X Plane is missing, but it's not holding me in the same way.

A Little update

https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-wants-to-bring-back-flight-simulator-to-show-it-supports-pc/

Are the mountain shadows baked into the terrain or are they finally real time and positional based on the sun?

Wings Over Flanders Fields is one such mod, PM. And to your question, Blast, a gentleman named Ankor created some shaders for DX9 that does exactly that...and vastly improved the lighting effects in general...even with CFS3 as the base engine. Hellshade has done many videos that showcase what's been done.

Given all that has been accomplished with CFS3, and that this will be built from scratch and undoubtedly optimized for current systems, I'm very optimistic.

"Spencer says that 2 petabytes of geographical data is used to seamlessly stitch together Earth."

So obviously this is going to be a STREAMING sim. Which MIGHT mean ridiculously low hardware requirements!

With a (speculation, haven't seen it written anywhere) pay per month subscription like all other MS products these days.

...and significantly high internet bandwidth...

Still, if the actual game lives up to the trailer (and that can be rare, historically speaking - not just for MS), and they don't get too draconian in other areas (I'm leery about XBox or PC Pass for instance, or how mod-able it might be), this could be a pretty impressive offering -- the vid sure was. Wow!
I've been an FS guy since they bought it from Bruce Artwick, so I'm quite encouraged by this news... I'll definitely be paying further attention to see what the "reality" of the product turns out to be next year.

Regards,
4 ~S!~

Hopefully you don't have datacaps on your internet connections either.

I don't, but seriously, go "fly" around in Google Earth, MUCH faster and further than any airplane, it doesn't use jack for data compared to streaming video...

Heinkill, the new thing is called Game Pass Ultimate - $14.99 /Month
Allows you to select from 100 games for both the XBOX and PC, includes Xbox Live Gold.
Or you can get the Game Pass for PC for just $9.99 /Mn

I have to admit this whole subscription model is starting to grow on me.

120 bucks a year for access to 100 games? True I'd never use them all, but I've paid 40 to 60 bucks many times in the past for just one title - many of which are all now USELESS because of outright obsolescence, or worse because of DRM obsolescence. How much is that locally installed physical copy helping me now??

I have like 70 PC game discs in my closet that simply need to go to the dumpster because of all that...

And if the trend goes toward offloading the processing power to the cloud rather than having to build an expensive gaming PC...

The biggest downside I see is if the internet is down you're screwed, but that's pretty rare (at least for me) these days.

I don't know - I'm on both sides of the fence. I miss the past, but I also look forward to the future...

what is going to happen to prepar3d?

what is the difference between this and prepar3d/old flight simulator?

are they dumbing down the physics to make this more accessible for idiots? considering it's going to run on xbox i can't help but feel like this is going to be a flight simulator designed for morons and physics modelling to suit said morons.

i would love to see a masterpiece like the majestic dash 8 be ported to a platform that isn't based on 2 decades old code, but really have reservations about getting excited for this product

Its said that it'll go out 1st for PC, THEN for Xbox
and dont forget that Xbox1 is more powerfull than a lot of flight simmers PC

Seeing how they said that there is like 2 PETAbyte of data, whole thing might be kinda streamable so no problem either for the console.

I dont think, IMO, that MS will make the same mistake they did with Flight. The trailer so far dont show anything that says ''it'll be made for morons''
Wait&see
My 2 cent

The word simulator wasn't part of Microsoft Flight.

This new one is bringing the old name back - Microsoft Flight Simulator.

I have a hard time believing it's not going to be the real deal. Also, the picture so far suggests they've been working on this for quite some time. All the past ones weren't truly new from the ground up, yet look at how much work went into each iteration.

I bet this took 10x as long to develop than FSX did...

I'm intrigued by the weather systems, clouds etc. If they can pull off a flight sim experience at least equal to FSX, plus great weather, I'm in. Will need a new PC though I'll be bound.

VR would be a nice touch too.

If the World scenery is a stream, that is the most probable, I hope the aircraft will be on our hard drives.

VR is a must for any flight sim now, for me

That the scenery is a stream could be a bad thing. The streaming aspect will could off a huge area of past Flight Sim secondary markets.

I strongly disagree. That scenery looks better than Google Earth! What company is going to compete with a TWO PETABYTE scenery package???

I guess it's theoretically possible to improve upon this for a local area, but come on! Give me a criticism of the ground scenery you see in that video!

Hard to criticize any scenery when they're picking the camera angles, altitude and time of day. Not enough information to form a full opinion yet. Besides, what flight sim in modern history's terrain was "good enough?" We've modded many of them.

I get your point, but for THAT kind of quality? Just how anal are we going to BE about this? I'll take the most photorealistic scenery over day/time/season adjustments with compromises any time...

Don't get me wrong, I think Microsoft did a great thing with those capabilities, but at the end of the day (pun not intended) I'd rather have the best possible scenery, and I don't care if I'm "flying" at 10pm and it's lit up like broad daylight...

The one obvious problem with MS Flight Simulator is the lack of guns on the planes.

Hell, mine in real life might be fake, but at least it's up there on the top wing.

I for one am following this, I think they're going to come BACK!

Scroll down for the "official statement"...

https://fsi.microsoftstudios.com

I think they can pull this off - I do not predict "vaporware" on this...

1. We are making Microsoft Flight Simulator. Emphasis on the word SIMULATOR.

2. Designed for PC, optimized for multiplatform support (e.g. Xbox).

For me, the most important parts of this statement are:


3. Yes. We are supporting 3rd Party Content Development and Community Content creation. We are aware of the concerns in the current eco-system and are working to address them.

4. Yes. We genuinely want to work closely with the community in the development of this title.

5. Accessibility is important to us. Whatever your abilities are, if you want to fly, we are going to do whatever we can to make that happen. Yoke and pedals, mouse and keyboard, controller, etc. No pilot should be left behind.

3 and 4..... YEAHHH !!!! 5 Ok.... We will see, at least an FDE a bit better than FSX please.

For me the most important part is they're starting from scratch.

Well, not to say there won't be "old code" in this, but they're clearly doing a major shift from what could have been "FS11", let alone the disaster that was "Flight"...

It was high time for a "reboot", years ago...

And if they're streaming the scenery from a TWO PETABYTE database? Hey, I'm not at ALL a fan of "internet connection required", but for this, yeah, I'm on board all the way...

I've long dreamed of a flight simulator that could somehow get it's scenery from something like Google Earth, yet still be a flight simulator...

I'm excited...

"New" cockpit screenshot (July 11th), and another update coming July 25th... https://fsi.microsoftstudios.com

Also an "analysis" video someone made which points out quite a few details I hadn't noticed in the trailer (obviously this person sat down and nitpicked it...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcdBBNAGQpE

Forget their actual update today, but I found THIS video quite interesting...

You'd better be hardcore interested in a new MSFS for this one though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyBeRmOLnBA

Don't forget that they have now made the XBOX be able to use a Kybd and Mouse. I suspect joystick support could come soon...

It will come out on PC before consoles.

And then they just add the word COMBAT in there and use the same campaign engine they had for CFS and I am in heaven!

Yes, although this energizes the Sim guy in me, the lack of GUNS on these planes may make it a game that I rarely play.

Then you are not a true flight simulator enthusiast. Which is okay. But have I mistakenly posted enthusiasm for MSFS 2020 to the wrong place? I thought this was SimHQ...

You’re in the right place, this is great news for simmers. Plenty of folks here who like flying from a-b for the joy of it and even do it for a living. But plenty of folks too who like to fly from a-a and blow up b along the way

Just buy TacPack and a dedicated warbird compatible with TacPack for your boom boom needs...

VRS TacPack

Or Sim Skunk Works airframes, like the Tornado PA200. The included vACMI (free) is similar to TacPack.

SSW PA200 Tornado



Fly safe!