PC Pilot (May - June) Summary of "Flight" Interview

[sbclark 55]

I recently received my copy of the May/June PC Pilot magazine and there was a pretty good interview between the magazine and Microsoft. There were no names mentioned, but here are some paraphrased excerpts and comments/opinions from me about what I THOUGHT I READ (please go easy on me if I made any mistakes):1st Question - Has Microsoft Flight been designed completely from the ground up or does it include elements from FSX? Microsoft.....we're building from the ground up focusing on the "purist" simmer as well as a larger range of people with varied interests in aviation....we will take advantage of the expertise and existing elements of the existing FS code base and architecture where it fits.......after 30 years of evolving the same code base, it's time for a fresh look! My Opinion - This is good news as to the possibility of many improvements over the current FSX, however, the bad news may be that our current add-ons may not work with Flight? 2nd Question - You mentioned a 'New Performance Attitude'. Can you elaborate?Microsoft......previous approach to performance was to maintain a long life over a five-year period (time enough for simmers to go thru two or more computers). This approach was seen as a benefit, until now. The side affect was that no PC could run it with the settings maxed out at product introduction. The new goal is to provide a fantastic experience "out of the box" on the first day......on your current computer. Microsoft didn't elaborate on how they were going to accomplish that goal. My opinion - This is a conflicting goal as you may be sacrificing the long term life of Flight for short term gains in performance. Also, what will be the target PC configuration they will be shooting for? 3rd Question - Will Microsoft Flight include multi-player mode? Microsoft.....Absolutely....we will enhance both the individual and social aspects of Flight. The existing multi-player mode was great for some players, but confusing and frustrating for others. We continue to look for support from organizations and communities who provide enjoyment to many, as well as Microsoft adding more value to a broader flier base. Microsoft didn't provide any details on how they intend to do this. My Opinion - This is good news as multiplayer could be improved......it would be great if there are more on/off-line missions provided to maintain on-going interest in Flight 4th Question - Will there be an opportunity for third-parties to produce products for Microsoft Flight? Microsoft........we are creating the tools and facilities to enable external content to all users.....we recognize we can't do it all!!! At the heart of the new approach is a new integrated marketplace....and we are not ready to reveal the full details on this new concept yet. The basic idea is to make the entire user base more aware of all the third party applications as only a small percentage of the total user base are currently aware of all these add-ons. The goal is to empower the entire user base to pick and choose from this vast number of products available to them. My Opinion - This could be a similar model to Apples Ipad/Ipod strategy.....an on-line store where products could be purchased. It will be interesting if Microsoft retains a percentage of the business via this channel of distribution? As a recent owner of an Ipad 2, I kind of like this idea of everything in one place. My Overall Summary - It appears that the Flight will be similar to what we have now, but with some (I hope) significant enhancements to the graphics and ease of configuration. The screen shots in the magazine look promising and it appears Flight will be more detailed than FSX. Well those are my thoughts....let's hear yours? Bill Clark PS - Once again, please don't shoot the messenger...and I suggest you subscribe to PC Pilot...it is a really good read every two months.

[alainneedle1 97]

Thank you for posting this as I don't receive PC Pilot.As far as I can tell this is what I've been (and some others) saying for a long time, we now have some "kinda" confirmation from MS. "we will take advantage of the expertise and existing elements of the existing FS code base and architecture where it fits"Not an brand new engine."The new goal is to provide a fantastic experience "out of the box" on the first day......on your current computer."DX10, SLI."we are creating the tools and facilities to enable external content to all users.....we recognize we can't do it all!!!"Developpers in the loop."and we are not ready to reveal the full details on this new concept yet." For online gamers, buy your addons, will be downloaded directly to Flight = control of piracy as much as they can, $$ for MS.

[Guest jahman]

For online gamers, buy your addons, will be downloaded directly to Flight = control of piracy as much as they can, $$ for MS.

And of course for developpers too (currently the most affected by add-on piracy!)Cheer,- jahman

[Fsau 0]

Just a note that it wont control piracy in the slightest. It will however effect the reach of third parties to prospective customers who would otherwise not have found their product.

[JSkorna 137]

Just a note that it wont control piracy in the slightest. It will however effect the reach of third parties to prospective customers who would otherwise not have found their product.

So a lot of IPad apps are pirated? I don't have one so that is why I ask!

[alainneedle1 97]

Just a note that it wont control piracy in the slightest. It will however effect the reach of third parties to prospective customers who would otherwise not have found their product.

I have to say that I don't know much about piracy as I buy everything legit., as I understand one can download addons for FSX from a pirate website and install it for free without paying for it.Now let say you have Flight installed on your PC, let say you want to add some scenery to your VIRTUAL Flight and the only way to do it is to buy the scenery from the market store, so you enter your Flight number + your customer store number and your credit card or your paypal account number after you selected the scenery you want from your a developper you like, you'r approved and MS download the scenery directly to YOUR Flight, so you start your Flight and the scenery you got is there.....As I said I know nothing about piracy but how can one get he scenery downloaded to is PC from a pirate website if the only way to get it is to have it downloaded directly to your Flight from the MS's store? If you don't have direct access to the addons by downloading them directly to your computer first like we are doing now for all FSX addons how can you pirate them?

[Bryn 72]

I doubt MS is planning to limit add-ons to those purchased from the marketplace. I expect freeware libraries and sites like simmarket and flight1 will still provide software addons, while the marketplace will introduce all users to the possibility of extending fs.

[Chock 17,769]

Sounds like they are aiming to possibly distribute it via Steam, Stardock, or something very similar since MS have their own site which sells stuff that way. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, anyone who has - for example - Railworks - the train simulator, will be aware that even though it distributes most things via Steam, you can buy add-ons for it via other sources and stick them in there. Initially I was not a fan of Steam, but in fact it does work pretty well and offers a few nice advantages, such as regular discounts and deals to increase the user base, and some of those deals are really good.Al

[alainneedle1 97]

I doubt MS is planning to limit add-ons to those purchased from the marketplace. I expect freeware libraries and sites like simmarket and flight1 will still provide software addons, while the marketplace will introduce all users to the possibility of extending fs.

Not if they want to control piracy as much as possible, it's a smart move from both MS and the developper to go this way, they will make sure they can get as much $ as they can by having everything downloaded directly to your Flight from only one store.I don't think you'll see freeware been compatible with Flight as MS will try to keep some "kinda" quality control on what they will be selling in the store to make sure addons will not bug something in Flight so freeware is out of the equation as they would not be able to control them, the only free addons you'll get will come from the developpers having a promotion or giving something away like some are alreading doing.

[Bryn 72]

Freeware libraries will contnue. In the enitrely unlikely event Microsoft disallows any addons outside its marketplace, expect a hack pretty quickly.

[Chock 17,769]

There would be no quicker way for MS to shoot themselves in the &@($* than to create a flight sim that you could not modify for free in some way. It's been a grand tradition in flight simming for years to be able to do that, and they know it.Al

[alainneedle1 97]

@ chuck and bryn, I myself do not use freeware anymore because I had to many problems with them, NOT all of them, when one freeware is not playing nice with your FSX for what ever reason you have to find out which one is bugging your setup and that is a pain in the a$ to do so that is why I do not use them anymore.I understand where you are comming from but to be able to make freeware for Flight you will have to have access to the SDK and since MS is opening a store to make money from the sales of addons (% from the dev.) I can't see them releasing the SDK this time but to the approved developpers selling in the store, the only way I can see that happening is for who ever is using Flight offline but this scenario would be very complicated, again you would need to have access to the SDK.I understand that nothing is bullet proof today as far as hacking a game and that is why they have not released to much info. on how that store will work with Flight but so far I can't see freeware making their way in Flight.

[january 19]

Would it not make sense to think of FLIGHT as an operatimg system- in the same way as Windows?Microsoft offers its own proprietary addons for that software but you can certainly buy from non MS suppliers if you prefer a non MS Accounting or Tax system!Restricting software sourcing might even raise the eyebrows of the antitrust folks!AR

[Guest jahman]

Would it not make sense to think of FLIGHT as an operatimg system- in the same way as Windows?...AR

Yes! That's pretty insightful!OS: Operating Systems, offers software and hardware services to programsFS: Flight System, offers flight sim world to load aircraft and scenery and access hardware for flight.And "Flight System", or "Flight System 7", would be a great name for what used to be called Flight Simulator.Cheers,- jahman.

[MarkW 1,494]

Great to hear they are building from the ground up. If our addons don't work, who cares, as long as the performance is there. Question for all flight simmers: Would you rather have crappy performance, have to do tons of tweaks, need to upgrade your computer every 12 months and get to use your now 7 year old LDS 767, or would you rather have a sim that works out of the box on your current equipment but you have to wait for good quality addons? I think the answer is unanimous.Also, with regards to a new engine, I think the engine is fine but the legacy code is broken. This entire project looks very promising.Mark.