Microsoft To Offer Flight For Free This Spring

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft To Offer Flight For Free This Spring

Posted by timothy on Thursday January 5, 2012 @03:12AM from the something-tells-me-wine-won't-suffice dept.

hypnosec writes "Microsoft's Flight Simulator series, which was in dormant state until now, will see a re-launch this spring and that too for free. The name of this series will be simply Flight, and players will have free access to the digital sky with this simulator. In other words, it will be available as a free download; however, the user would need to buy additional content to enhance their experience. The content that can be purchased includes aircraft as well as new environments. Microsoft states that the most amazing part of this game is the user can experience some real life locations like Big Island of Hawaii along with 'region-specific weather patterns, foliage, terrain and landmarks.'" [Video demo here.] I'd like to know where the ESRB finds "crude humor" or "mild violence" in there.

162 of 241 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

I got my beta invite yesterday by DCTech · 2012-01-05 03:13 · Score: 5, Informative

And I have to say I'm really impressed with the game. The free model seems great too, especially considering that there has always been a huge market place towards Flight Simulator aircrafts, scenery etc. Maybe they will work out some deals with third party developers too. But as I'm under NDA I wont say too much, but you can sign up for beta here. I suggest you do!
1. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by TheRaven64 · 2012-01-05 03:26 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  The free model seems great too
  Nope, there's an article just a few down saying that this model is broken, and since it was on Slashdot it must be true!
  
  --
  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
2. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by DCTech · 2012-01-05 03:35 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  What about if you stopped following my posts and actually contributed to the discussion like I do? I have no idea why someone would upmod your off-topic post and down-mod my on-topic opinion, but oh well.
3. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Richard_at_work · 2012-01-05 03:46 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Oh look, another fucktard claiming "Shill! Shill!" against an informative post, just because they don't like MS! How unusual...
4. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by g0bshiTe · 2012-01-05 03:47 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Actually MS has always had some of the best flight sims out there. I've been a fan of MS flight sims since the days when Combat Flight Simulator and the MSN Gaming Zone reigned supreme. The bad thing is my current computer just can't handle flight since X was released.
  
  --
  I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
5. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by mwvdlee · 2012-01-05 03:59 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Usually I just look at the post history of somebody to see if they have some sort of bias.
  You might not want to do that in this case.
  
  --
  Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
6. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by capnkr · 2012-01-05 04:00 · Score: 2
  
  If, as stated @ 0:58 in the video, they have that "serene cityscape" of Honolulu "on the Big Island" - yep, it's broken... :)
  
  --
  "...there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight. Awkwardness and stupidity can." ~ Mark Twain
7. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by neonKow · 2012-01-05 04:05 · Score: 1, Offtopic
  
  The moderation system is only meant to rate POSTS directly, not users. Even if he IS a shill, his first post is useful and relevant to this thread and your replies are annoying. Let the Karma system do its job and stop spamming up the place.
8. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Richard_at_work · 2012-01-05 04:07 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Am I free then to point out thousands of accounts that seem to be shills for Linux, Gnu, RMS etc etc?
9. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Missing.Matter · 2012-01-05 04:14 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  No... that was a contribution. It was on topic and relevent, contained information someone interested in this flight simulator might find interesting (a link to the beta signup) and an opinion about the quality of the game. The only problem you have with this post is that it is positive toward a company you don't like.
  You are the one getting argumentative, you are the one derailing the conversation, you are the one who is adding exactly 0 value to this discussion, and your stance boils down to an ad hominem attack. You look absolutely petty. So even if this person is being paid to say what he's saying, what you're doing is much much worse.
10. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by wzinc · 2012-01-05 04:19 · Score: 1
  
  This game would be great as an MMO, where you could fly with others. I wonder if a "serious" MMO, where you're actually logging hours would do well. How would kids messing with people actually using it as a simulator work? Play servers and serious servers, where you'll be booted if you mess around?
11. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 04:26 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  NO they haven't. They've had some of the best looking visuals but their simulation part has always been - wanting. X-Plane has historically been the opposite. Meaning, X-Plane has historically lacked in visuals but offered superb simulation. Since X-Plane 9, it has generally met or beat MS in both visuals and simulation. About the only thing MS' offering beat X-Plane at has been some advanced avionics, such as Garmin 430 and 530, so on and so on.
  In a nut shell, if you really want a simulation, MS has never been much. If you want pretty visuals, MS has always been worth looking at. If you want both, these days, X-Plane is the only game in town.
  And in case you're wondering, when professionals want a low cost flight sim for real aircraft research and development, they reach for X-Plane too. MS' offering is never even considered simply because the flight models are laughable. X-Plane even has an FAA certified variant.
12. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Missing.Matter · 2012-01-05 04:27 · Score: 1
  
  What? I'm attacking the AC. Not the OP. Did you miss the trail?
13. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by tnk1 · 2012-01-05 04:34 · Score: 1
  
  Should be fairly easy. The only way to really troll anyone is to cause air-to-air collisions or maybe crash into parked planes. Plain old crashes don't hurt anyone else, so they should be able to do that as much as they want. So all you need to do is log collisions and then have a ruleset that you can make a determination of who was at fault and then "suspend" their Virtual pilot's license for increasing amounts of time if they are at fault. That or you simply make air-to-air collisions impossible with other player planes and only NPC planes can be crashed into.
  I was thinking an MMO could be pretty fun for the right people. You have quests and achievements to fly into rough airstrips to deliver cargo to remote places and you can meet up in a bar somewhere to show off and swap stories and have your planes out for show with any mods and paint jobs to indicate your achievements. Ultimately, that's basically what happens in WoW when people raid and then run around the cities showing off their gear.
14. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by jandrese · 2012-01-05 04:35 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Amazingly enough, people already do this, albeit not with Microsoft Flight Simulator. X-Plane pilots join up with virtual air traffic controllers to efficiently run the airspace in their virtual world. X-Plane is a pretty hardcore package though that appeals to a different set of people than Microsoft Flight Simulator.
  
  --
  
  I read the internet for the articles.
15. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by cvtan · 2012-01-05 04:37 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Mahalo for pointing out that Honolulu is not on the Big Island. Fun place to visit, but it's hardly serene".
  
  --
  Sorry, but gray text on gray background is making my eyes bleed.
16. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by LordLimecat · 2012-01-05 04:40 · Score: 2
  
  How can you shill for Gnu or RMS, doesnt shilling mean you get money for it?
  Just saying...
17. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by galaad2 · 2012-01-05 04:42 · Score: 1, Troll
  
  oh ${deity} ... yet another silverlight - infected steaming piece of ***p
  
  --
  root@127.0.0.1
18. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Missing.Matter · 2012-01-05 04:45 · Score: 1
  
  Why is that the worst part of it? I'd say a fanatical zealotry and an unwillingness to engage dissenting opinion is much worse. At least the shills provide rational, well thought out aruments and rebuttals.
19. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Richard_at_work · 2012-01-05 04:45 · Score: 1
  
  Uhm, that's the point...
  No evidence one way or the other, just accusations thrown quite wildly. You can't say anything positive about MS these days without risking a "shill!" label.
20. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Richard_at_work · 2012-01-05 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  So posting informative, on topic and well presented posts is "manipulating the system" now?
  In that case, fuck that, I don't want to be part of any of your systems.
21. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Applekid · 2012-01-05 04:55 · Score: 2
  
  Except you don't contribute. You shill. Then when you are found out, you create a new account and return to shill.
  How is it a shill when it's a post with a link to a game that's discussed in TFS?
  Maybe if the story was "The Death of Flight Simulators" and the frist post was "Oh, hay, no it isn't dead, check out this link", but I think your shill detection sensors are dialed in a little too sensitive.
  I personally stopped playing flight sims in the early 90s and just seemed to forget they exist at all. I might actually try it out if it's free and the paid bonuses aren't obnoxiously staring me in the face every 2 minutes like other "free" games.
  
  --
  More Twoson than Cupertino
22. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by galaad2 · 2012-01-05 04:57 · Score: 1
  
  p.s. i'm talking about their web site, it's almost completely unusable without silverlight :(
  
  --
  root@127.0.0.1
23. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 05:01 · Score: 1
  
  X-Plane FTW. MSFS is great for the crowd that flies around looking at the outside of their planes and taking screenshots. X-plane is great for the more hardcore simulation crowd (all 4 of them, I guess).
24. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Rary · 2012-01-05 05:40 · Score: 1
  
  I doubt my house would even show up on the ground texture, but that'd be fun, too.
  I never played the last version of Flight Sim, but it seems to me that for at least a handful of cities, they used satellite (or maybe just aerial) photos of the cities for ground texture, so if your city happens to be one of those, then yes, your house would be visible.
  Of course, photorealistic cities are probably among the items you would have to purchase for the new Flight.
  
  --
  "You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." -- Albert Einstein
25. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Sponge+Bath · 2012-01-05 06:17 · Score: 1
  
  IE saved the web? Really? Wow ...
  Sure, by stagnating and spurring innovation in other browsers. Sing along: Here it comes to save the day...
26. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 06:21 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Fight isn't Flight Simulator per-se. MS sold the Flight Simulator franchise to Lockheed Martin, Flight is a re-design from the ground up.
  http://www.flyingmag.com/blogs/fly-wire/goodbye-flight-simulator-hello-microsoft-flight
27. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 06:27 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  IE saved the web? Really? Wow ...
  Sure, by stagnating and spurring innovation in other browsers. Sing along: Here it comes to save the day...
  You ever heard of XMLHttpRequest?
  It was invented by Microsoft.
  Sorry but Microsoft has a lot of great engineers working on their projects as well, including IE.
28. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by h5inz · 2012-01-05 06:28 · Score: 2
  
  There is a general guideline to not to respond to AC trolls but I believe that I have to defend what in my opinion is the spirit of Slashdot. So what if he likes a product published by Microsoft?
  1. It is his opinion.
  2. There are also good products published by Microsoft. Their work is often quite impressive - Look at white papers coming out from Microsoft Research.
  3. Even if he worked for Microsoft, then maybe he could sometimes afford to little bit promote the products associated with him. People working at NASA post about their projects sometimes. This is Slashdot, shouldn't be news to you that most of the people here work for technology companies.
29. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by bemymonkey · 2012-01-05 06:33 · Score: 1
  
  Thanks for the link dude. :)
30. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 06:45 · Score: 1
  
  Whine if you want about astroturf, When it is informative, such as including the link to the beta, which was the first thing i was wondering when i saw the article, I dont even care. Its not astroturf for the sake of astroturf. Not that I wouldnt have found the link myself but its convenient to be able to just open in another tag. Thanks DCTech
31. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by ah.clem · 2012-01-05 07:23 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  This is quite common; I have been doing it for many years on VATSIM (ATC Simulator) and flying with a virtual airline (DCA). It is a lot of fun if you are really into simulation (not games). For radio comms, Teamspeak is one of the popular voice systems. Realtime weather is also available once you log into the VATSIM servers. You do have to know your stuff, but the VATSIM folks are really pretty helpful and don't mind if you keep your plane parked for a few hours and just listen to the chatter to get an idea how to communicate properly. All of this is free to use but you have to fly responsibly or get bounced. I have never had a problem with griefers on VATSIM, probably because of the time commitment it takes to do a realistic simulation. We fly DC-3 aircraft; it is pretty amazing to do WW II re-enactments of major air ops and be in the middle of a dozen or so other C-47s while dodging flak on the way to drop zones. We have some actual pilots in the group, some retired, and some that can't make the medical. Yeah, it's incredibly geeky, but it's also a lot of fun. And it's all free; we all put time into creating historic flights/designing the environment we fly into/over and try to make it as historically accurate as possible.
  
  --
  "Life is not magic." Dr. Ron Weiss - "If we don't play God, who will?" Dr. James Watson
32. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by roc97007 · 2012-01-05 07:25 · Score: 1
  
  There may have been shills in the past, but I have to agree, that one was on topic.
  
  --
  Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
33. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by nschubach · 2012-01-05 07:26 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I've been somewhat passively following this ordeal for about a month (maybe longer) now. Personally, I think if someone is constantly changing account names and trying to game the system, it's a clear violation of the "spirit of Slashdot" to begin with... so you are arguing with an AC who pointed this out. (Articulate are not.)
  Main Points:
  First post is well known to be the premium spot. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out they get the most views.
  He/they regularly changes accounts because they want to keep good karma so people read the posts. (I can't seem to find the post where they stated it, mainly because I don't remember which account it was posted under and I didn't keep the link. [didn't find it that important until now...])
  They get first post on Google/Android stories and Microsoft stories. Always with the same bias. (Usually "selling" something great about Microsoft either way...)
  Side Points:
  There are companies called "Reputation management" companies that specifically try to game online systems to try to steer opinion.
  Slashdot's Karma system is not flawless and can be exploited (Hell, everyone knows about sock puppets.)
  I personally don't like to be played.
  I can't help but watch this train wreck.
  
  --
  Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
34. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by roc97007 · 2012-01-05 07:28 · Score: 1
  
  Just goes to show, there are single-position people on all sides of an argument. The converse (that everyone who doesn't like M$ would do the same thing) is not necessarily true -- I personally detest Microsoft, but am happy to say that the original post was obviously relevant.
  And I'm actually somewhat interested in downloading the product when it's available. It'd give me a use for the joystick, gathering dust under the desk.
  
  --
  Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
35. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by roc97007 · 2012-01-05 07:29 · Score: 1
  
  No.
  
  --
  Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
36. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by LordLimecat · 2012-01-05 07:31 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, I usually argue that the definitions of steal and pirate are irrelevant, and people arguing about it usually are trying to justify their own selfish desires.
  Shill has a pretty specific meaning, and if youre not getting paid, youre just a fanboy. Shill implies that youre a paid goon of some faceless corp whose role is to drum up support for that corp.
37. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by the_bard17 · 2012-01-05 07:52 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  The flight models in X-Plane have been better due to Laminar Research's approach; MSFS has traditionally used look-up tables for aircraft modelling, whereas X-Plane uses finite element analysis. Even with FEA, though, Garbage In Garbage Out applies.
  Furthermore, XP is packaged with a variety of tools to create and manage aircraft models. Blender and GIMP can be used to enhance their visual modelling. There's a "free as in beer" world editor. Put it all together and the FS community can put together content for X-Plane.
  There's a lot of controversy being generated over at the AVSIM forums right now, due to rumors stating that there will limited opportunity for third parties to create (and distribute, free or otherwise) content for MS Flight. It's my belief that community support is what makes a flight simulator really shine. If MS has killed or maimed that community support for Flight, I'm not sure it'll go anywhere.
38. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by pacapaca · 2012-01-05 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  People absolutely do this with MS flight simulator. Third party modules (Squawkbox and FSInn) connect to networks of ATC/pilots on VATSIM or IVAO (there may be others), and I believe the same network can be used by X-Plane too. I have been an avid FS pilot since FS98 days and it encouraged me to get my private license and instrument rating. It was originally my preferred career goal to become an airline pilot, but then I came to my senses and majored in CS instead!
39. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by bennomatic · 2012-01-05 10:48 · Score: 1
  
  I'd say a fanatical zealotry and an unwillingness to engage dissenting opinion is much worse.
  This.
  
  At least the shills provide rational, well thought out aruments and rebuttals.
  Not so much this. A real shill regurgitates corporate marketing talking points as if they were his/her own opinion. People with biases or zealotry are sometimes lumped in with shills, but they're not the same. Anyway, the point being that if all you can do is regurgitate what you're paid to say, then it is the same as refusing to engage in dissenting opinion.
  
  Lots of people straddle the line, and based on your stance, you might choose to believe they are one or the other. Consider the following names: John Gruber, Paul Thurrott, Richard M. Stallman. I was also going to include John C. Dvorak, but I'd call him more of a bigot than a shill or zealot; all he can do is talk about how wrong everything is. He's like a tech version of Andy Rooney, except for the fact that Rooney's codgerism was often charming, sometimes informative.
  
  --
  The CB App. What's your 20?
40. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by bennomatic · 2012-01-05 10:50 · Score: 2
  
  Are you defending MS shills? SHILL!
  
  (could I be any more shrill?)
  
  --
  The CB App. What's your 20?
41. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by the_bard17 · 2012-01-05 11:10 · Score: 2
  
  Check out VATSIM sometime. It's already an "MMO" of virtual pilots flying together, along with virtual Air Traffic Controllers. VATSIM takes it seriously, too, trying to be as professional as can be (pilots and ATC).
42. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by the_bard17 · 2012-01-05 11:13 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  FSX has plug-ins for VATSIM and IVAO, just like X-Plane. Furthermore, FSX and X-Plane pilots can see and interact with each other via the virtual environment, so it could be considered platform independent. Runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux, so it's *that* platform independent, too.
43. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by fnj · 2012-01-05 15:10 · Score: 1
  
  Guess the ass end of the Microsoft dinosaur hasn't even got the word yet that the decision making center of Microsoft (I won't call it a brain) has already written off Silverlight.
44. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by fnj · 2012-01-05 15:16 · Score: 1
  
  What? I'm attacking the AC. Not the OP. Did you miss the trail?
  It's the current shitty slashdot design that just completely disappears low scoring parts of the hierarchy without a trace so you can't tell who a post is referring to. Depending on their preferences, one user will see the correct parent and another will not. So we're reduced to putting in stupid blockquotes so everyone can see who we're replying to.
  I had to click "Parent" to verify that you were in fact replying to some invisible coward.
45. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by bcmm · 2012-01-05 20:53 · Score: 1
  
  For those who don't want to go through the comments themselves: DCTech started posting two days ago and has criticised Firefox, Chrome and Apple. No criticism of Microsoft; in fact IE saved the web and "IE9 is a completely good browser" today (CSS is overrated).
  
  He also persistantly uses what looks like Reddit speak. We "mod posts up", not "up-mod posts".
  
  --
  # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
  Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
46. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by coolmadsi · 2012-01-06 02:52 · Score: 1
  
  So we're reduced to putting in stupid blockquotes so everyone can see who we're replying to.
  Using quotes is particuarly handy for meta-moderation, where you are given a random selection of comments, all not within their original context. Quotes somewhat helps this as you can see what is being replied to without having to hunt it down as it can be relevant.
47. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by kestasjk · 2012-01-06 13:12 · Score: 1
  
  Oh you're in trouble now..
  
  Microsoft Flight – Terms of Use and Nondisclosure Agreement
  ...
  3. Do not describe any part of the beta software on any venue except the official Flight Beta Connect website.
  
  --
  // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
48. Re:I got my beta invite yesterday by bennomatic · 2012-01-09 11:37 · Score: 1
  
  The other thing!
  
  --
  The CB App. What's your 20?
* Planes and runways not included by elrous0 · 2012-01-05 03:15 · Score: 5, Funny

the user would need to buy additional content to enhance their experience. The content that can be purchased includes aircraft as well as new environments
Flap your arms all you want, cowboy, you're not leaving the ground.

--
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
1. Re:* Planes and runways not included by SJHillman · 2012-01-05 03:47 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Microsoft Flight without any add-ons would be better known as Microsoft Walk.
2. Re:* Planes and runways not included by g0bshiTe · 2012-01-05 03:49 · Score: 1
  
  MS flight sims have always been vastly scalable. You could easily import your own stuff, unless they have removed that ability.
  
  --
  I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
3. Re:* Planes and runways not included by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-01-05 10:42 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, it's Microsoft Lookaround. Walk is an in-app purchase. ~
4. Re:* Planes and runways not included by Chicken_Kickers · 2012-01-05 12:32 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, this idea is very appealing to me. Model 3d buildings into the game and I can go for a walkabout in New York, Cairo, Shanghai. Maybe be a virtual tourist fly in virtual plane in a virtual airline that is flown by someone else etc.
5. Re:* Planes and runways not included by SJHillman · 2012-01-06 01:13 · Score: 1
  
  But then you'd need virtual TSA grunts to do virtual gropes after you remove your virtual shoes.
I prefer the old model... by GameboyRMH · 2012-01-05 03:18 · Score: 3

...where you bought the game and then picked up community-created addons for free.

--
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
1. Re:I prefer the old model... by Garybaldy · 2012-01-05 03:20 · Score: 1
  
  Kind of like back in the day. When the advantage of running your own game server was all the aftermarket mods.
2. Re:I prefer the old model... by 0123456 · 2012-01-05 03:25 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Those community-created addons weren't free. They cost a large amount of money, but people still loved them.
  
  That's odd. My FS2004 installation is 36GB and I only ever paid for one aircraft add-on... the rest of those gigabytes were all free addons.
3. Re:I prefer the old model... by GameboyRMH · 2012-01-05 03:26 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  MS is clearly trying to turn MSFS into a walled garden they can milk. This is the structure of a "freemium" MMO they're emulating.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
4. Re:I prefer the old model... by GameboyRMH · 2012-01-05 03:27 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, I downloaded a shitload of addons (all free) but didn't get my MSFS2k install anywwhere near 10GB 8-(
  Still want to get it running in a VM, I had such a HUGE amount of mods on that install...
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
5. Re:I prefer the old model... by Ogive17 · 2012-01-05 03:33 · Score: 2
  
  My boss still flies 4-5 nights a week. He says that while there are plenty of free content out there, the most realistic planes cost a small fee.
  
  Basically you get what you pay for...
  
  --
  "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
6. Re:I prefer the old model... by million_monkeys · 2012-01-05 03:37 · Score: 2
  
  Hopefully they'll do both. The other big flight sim program, X-Plane, has both community created free addons and commercial addons at additional cost from third parties. There's a big community around that and it adds a lot to the program. As people might expect, the stuff you pay for is usually better quality, althrough there is some really great free stuff out there.
  
  It'd be nice if Microsoft encourages others to make content and provides tools to help with that. But I'm not sure that's part of their business model for this release.
7. Re:I prefer the old model... by 0123456 · 2012-01-05 03:42 · Score: 2
  
  Wow, I downloaded a shitload of addons (all free) but didn't get my MSFS2k install anywwhere near 10GB 8-(
  If I remember correctly, that 36GB includes high-res terrain data for the whole planet, and most of the scheduled airline flights.
8. Re:I prefer the old model... by GameboyRMH · 2012-01-05 03:44 · Score: 1
  
  I guess you'll have to start out by flapping your arms furiously and you unlock a Wright plane when you reach Level 5.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
9. Re:I prefer the old model... by MBGMorden · 2012-01-05 04:37 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I wouldn't mind so much for something like this. There are only a few simulated aircraft I'd like to fly, so if I could get those for cheap then I say no problem - I'll pay the few $$$. Better to let it be focused on the stuff that I actually want to do rather than pay a huge lump sum to get a bunch of stuff I have no interest in.
  Basically, the main plane I want is the Piper J3 Cub. Older stuff like a the Taylorcrafts, Luscombes, Aeronca Champ, etc, would all be nice too. Basically the stuff I'd actually want to fly in real life (which I currently can't - I have my PP-ASEL but can't get my medical renewed due to some issues - simulation is a good substitute).
  
  --
  "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
10. Re:I prefer the old model... by suprcvic · 2012-01-05 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  Quality community-created addons always seemed few and far between. Sure, they were there, but by and large they sucked.
11. Re:I prefer the old model... by Phaedrus420 · 2012-01-05 08:55 · Score: 2
  
  Flightgear has the Cub. The sim is free. The plane is free. The terrain is free, and based on the real world. I don't know which of those other planes are included, but I will say that the Wright Flyer is a bit of a challenge.
  
  --
  And what is good, Phaedrus, And what is not good... Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?
12. Re:I prefer the old model... by Shotgun · 2012-01-05 11:21 · Score: 1
  
  Isn't the Cub LSA compliant?
  
  --
  Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
  Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
13. Re:I prefer the old model... by Shotgun · 2012-01-05 11:23 · Score: 1
  
  How does he know they're realistic? Having a well detailed drawing for the dash does not equate to "realistic". How the plane behaves in a stall equates to realistic.
  
  --
  Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
  Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
14. Re:I prefer the old model... by Ogive17 · 2012-01-05 11:32 · Score: 1
  
  He was a real pilot until his health issues forced him to give up real flying.
  
  And when I say realistic, I'm talking about the skins and the instrument panel. He's never flown a 767 in real life but he knows if the instrument panel looks correct and all the displays/controls function as they would in a real plane.
  
  --
  "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
Reminds of me Railworks 3 by r6_jason · 2012-01-05 03:20 · Score: 1

Railworks 3 on steam has $1561.15 worth of DLC and you know more than just someone bought all of that. Giving away the base game and selling DLC is a sound idea.
1. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by JSBiff · 2012-01-05 03:25 · Score: 1
  
  I've often wondered though. . . yeah, you can make money that way, but for every person who spends hundreds or thousands of dollars on DLC, I bet you have hundreds or thousands of players who never buy anything?
  Well, anyhow, however it works out, there's enough successful free-to-play games out their raking in the dough that I guess it does work out in the company's favor in the end.
2. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by RogueyWon · 2012-01-05 03:27 · Score: 2
  
  They don't exactly give away Railworks, either. It does sometimes get discounted in Steam sales, and if you bought the original, then you got free upgrades to 2 and 3. You do actually have to buy the base game at some point, though.
  I suspect this is a special case, driven by the... erm... particular nature of the enthusiast community in question.
  More than anything else, it reminds me of the Idolm@ster games (huge in Japan, unreleased in the West), where the home console versions not only require the purchase of a full-priced game, but also have masses and masses of very, very expensive DLC. And yet there is a community out there that keeps lapping it up - even back when the home console versions were 360-exclusive.
  As an aside, I did import a copy of the PS3 version of IM@S2, just to see what all the fuss was about. It's cute, well presented and the minigames are fun, but the idea of spending a single penny on DLC for it just seems ludicrous.
3. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by TheRaven64 · 2012-01-05 03:31 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I've often wondered though. . . yeah, you can make money that way, but for every person who spends hundreds or thousands of dollars on DLC, I bet you have hundreds or thousands of players who never buy anything?
  That kind of logic is what's causing problems for the movie and music industries. It doesn't matter how many people are not paying for your product, it matters how many people are. Your job, as a capitalist business, is to maximise the product of the number of people who are paying by the amount that they are paying. The movie industry has spent a huge amount on marketing campaigns to try to get people to stop pirating their products, forgetting that their goal should have been to make people start paying for them.
  
  --
  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
4. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by 0123456 · 2012-01-05 03:43 · Score: 1
  
  I've often wondered though. . . yeah, you can make money that way, but for every person who spends hundreds or thousands of dollars on DLC, I bet you have hundreds or thousands of players who never buy anything?
  They still paid $5 for the basic game in a Steam sale.
5. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by SJHillman · 2012-01-05 03:51 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Next up, movie add-ons! You get a copy of the script for free. $5 gets you a copy showing the characters against a greenscreen with no CGI. Another $10 will add in backgrounds. $10 each for household items, guns, explosions and nudity.
6. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by g0bshiTe · 2012-01-05 03:51 · Score: 1
  
  Funny you mention the music industry since they are reporting the highest record sales in nearly 5 years.
  
  --
  I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
7. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by JohnnyMindcrime · 2012-01-05 03:56 · Score: 1
  
  A lot of major record companies are starting to get the message also.
  I personally don't care for digital downloads, I've bought CD albums for around 3 decades (vinyl before that) and just rip them myself for portability. Most of what I listen to is classic (hard) rock, and they're doing a really good job of getting me to part with my money currently with remastered albums, bonus tracks, some in DVD-A mixes and some even including DVD concert discs.
  I could care less that it's "old technology" or what anyone else thinks, music is my number one hobby anyway and the record companies are giving me good value products meaning that I don't download music freely.
  Like you said above, giving those who already pay to keep paying...
  
  --
  Windows 10 is great - I used it to download Linux.
8. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by delinear · 2012-01-05 04:22 · Score: 2
  
  I remember support. It's what we used to have back in the days before public betas of supposedly finished products, where users get to find the bugs and report them on a cheap internet forum.
9. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by delinear · 2012-01-05 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  They'd never do that - people would too easily realise how empty most movies are without the eye candy of the explosions. Worst case scenario, people might actually start demanding well written stories that aren't full of holes.
10. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by JSBiff · 2012-01-05 04:41 · Score: 1
  
  What you're saying is true. . . so long as you can actually make a profit. If you spend a million dollars developing a new free to play game, plus a bunch of premium content, and then only sell $200k of the premium product, you have a problem.
  I suppose that has probably happened to at least a few of the free-to-play games through the years. . . you just usually don't hear much about the failures. But, in any case, it's likely that the customers wouldn't have payed to play those games in the first place, so it's not the business model that failed, but the product/company.
11. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by ColdWetDog · 2012-01-05 04:53 · Score: 1
  
  I remember support. It's what we used to have back in the days before public betas of supposedly finished products, where users get to find the bugs and report them on a cheap internet forum.
  Yep.
  "Please reinstall the operating system and reboot a few times."
  Those were the days ...
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
12. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by jimicus · 2012-01-05 05:33 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  They'd never do that - people would too easily realise how empty most movies are without the eye candy of the explosions. Worst case scenario, people might actually start demanding well written stories that aren't full of holes.
  No, but they do do the reverse.
  You buy the DVD, you get the movie.
  Alternatively, you buy the "Directors Cut", you pay $3 more and get it with a couple of extra scenes which were left on the cutting room floor for a good reason and a director's commentary (which it turns out is fantastically boring and you can't bear to watch more than 5 minutes of).
  You could buy the "Special Edition" a couple of years later for $8 more. You get the Directors Cut version but the box is in a tin and includes a poster. The tin doesn't quite fit your bookcase and makes it look all untidy next to all the normal DVD cases; the poster you never take out and indeed you're surprised when a friend who's a real movie buff shows you it - you didn't even notice it in the tin.
  If you're patient and want something special, you buy the "10th Anniversary Special Edition" ten years after release for $10 more, you get the Directors' Cut, a "Making Of" documentary (where they cobbled together some footage from the original green-screen shots; occasionally these are interesting but as often as not you find the guys who make the movies are excellent behind the camera but terrible in front of it) and version with a different ending. Why was the ending different? Turned out that the original idea that looked great on paper really didn't work when it was filmed and edited, so they had to write another ending. You watch the original ending once, then never again.
13. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by schlachter · 2012-01-05 08:06 · Score: 1
  
  studios should offer FREE add supported movies for everyone.
  with the option to...
  Pay $1 for no ads.
  Pay $1 for HD.
  Pay $1 for more than 2.1 sound.
  Pay $1 for cut scenes.
  Pay $1 for alternate ending.
  Pay $1 to be able to pause/FF/rev the movie as it plays.
  
  --
  My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
14. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by Kalriath · 2012-01-05 10:07 · Score: 1
  
  Most people would just pony up the $10 for the nudity.
  
  --
  For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
15. Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 by lachlan76 · 2012-01-05 20:57 · Score: 1
  
  The director's cut isn't by necessity worse---Blade Runner for instance had a better ending. Sometimes the studios will dumb something down, and one gets it back in this fashion.
no put meigs field back in as the default airport by Joe_Dragon · 2012-01-05 03:21 · Score: 1

no put meigs field back in as the default airport
Mild Violence by drinkypoo · 2012-01-05 03:21 · Score: 1

Mild Violence: It's possible to die. But if anything, you'll see the plane break apart, or the windshield crack.
Is this game going to be MMO? Otherwise it's hard to envision the pay-for-content-as-you-go model working out. It kind of made sense to have to pay for big fat scenery packs, but who wants to get nickel-and-dimed piecemeal? On the other hand, they'll probably sell bundles anyway. If the news here is that they're doing away with physical media (well, besides that ms flightsim is coming back in some form) then I guess there's a little bit of it.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Huh? by 0123456 · 2012-01-05 03:22 · Score: 2

Microsoft states that the most amazing part of this game is the user can experience some real life locations like Big Island of Hawaii along with 'region-specific weather patterns, foliage, terrain and landmarks.'
You mean just like Microsoft Flight Simulator?
Why isn't this on XBox360? by erroneus · 2012-01-05 03:22 · Score: 4, Insightful

The only games I play are on XBox360. I might be interested in that game/simulation. If I needed to buy some fancy control devices, so be it. But having my nice big TV and all it would make the flight simulation pretty nice. And doing the the Live networking would be kinda fun too where you could join groups of flyers and such... interacting with them and all.
Not long ago, I saw my brother doing the flight sim thing on his PC. It was impressive enough, but not impressive enough for me to want to buy and set up a Windows PC... game system? Okay. But my stuff is Linux. I'm comfortable there... got some Apple stuff collecting dust but otherwise all Linux. A free game isn't enough to pull me back to Windows at home.
1. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe it works with that thing you Marxist Linux users have, called Whine?
2. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by demonbug · 2012-01-05 04:51 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The only games I play are on XBox360. I might be interested in that game/simulation. If I needed to buy some fancy control devices, so be it. But having my nice big TV and all it would make the flight simulation pretty nice. And doing the the Live networking would be kinda fun too where you could join groups of flyers and such... interacting with them and all.
  Not long ago, I saw my brother doing the flight sim thing on his PC. It was impressive enough, but not impressive enough for me to want to buy and set up a Windows PC... game system? Okay. But my stuff is Linux. I'm comfortable there... got some Apple stuff collecting dust but otherwise all Linux. A free game isn't enough to pull me back to Windows at home.
  It is a flight simulator. Doesn't exactly match up with the gameplay demographic of consoles, though it does sound like there will be some arcadey options. Oh, and there is the fact that high-quality simulators are often CPU-bound, so they would have to make serious compromises to make it playable on a console. Not that this has stopped any other game companies from designing down to that level, and it is too early to really have an idea of how advanced the simulator element is, but that could be a real problem.
  Personally I like the idea of a flight sim, but so far the ones I've tried have all been pretty boring. While one can theoretically use them for actual flight training (if you get the extra-special dongle that doesn't do anything but cost you an enormous amount), to me the fun part is doing stupid shit that would get you killed in real life. PC sims like Flight Gear and X-Plane do a decent enough job of simulating routine flight dynamics, but as soon as you start doing anything remotely stupid (or fun) they just fall apart. And they don't even have the decency to show pieces of your plane flying apart when you hit things :( I'll probably give MS Flight a try, since it is free, but I'll likely stick with Il-2 for my flight sim cravings; the flight model might not have quite the same fidelity, but it rewards stupidity with bits and pieces flying off - and then there's the fact that you can blow shit up when you're tired of just flying.
3. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by almitydave · 2012-01-05 05:23 · Score: 1
  
  Well, it works for Forza 3 & 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96LKRtJvIQw. You're right that they need a good controller.
  
  --
  my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
  I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
4. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by Xest · 2012-01-05 05:59 · Score: 1
  
  "It is a flight simulator. Doesn't exactly match up with the gameplay demographic of consoles"
  To be fair, it doesn't match up with the gameplay demographic with PCs either, hence why the genre is all but dead relative to it's peak over a decade ago.
  But for what it's worth consoles do have a few flight sims, they are all combat oriented, and some are more arcadey than others, but Apache Air Assault in realistic mode was pretty good.
  I'm not sure why you think simulators are anymore CPU-bound than any other open world game, and consoles have had a far bigger selection of open world games than PCs in the last few years. I don't see what compromises you believe would be required, consoles are architected for the specific purpose of gaming, whilst PCs are a much more generic architecture where they're not so streamlined for gaming, hence why lower specced consoles churn out better visuals than equivalent PCs are better framerates by quite a margin. I do agree that the current generation of consoles are definitely beginning to show their age against modern PCs now however, but for 6 to 8 year old designs they're not doing bad at all still.
5. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by JAlexoi · 2012-01-05 06:26 · Score: 2
  
  Not only that, I doubt that XBox360 can handle the FlightSim X
6. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by bemymonkey · 2012-01-05 06:38 · Score: 1
  
  Is the MS Flight Sim series really so multi-monitor-optimized that playing them on a single screen would be so horrible? Really curious here, because I only have one monitor hooked up to my desktop right now (been using laptops exclusively for a few months, and those only have one monitor port) - although I do have like 5 CRTs in the closet. Where are those DVI=>VGA adapters I used to have?
7. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by MogNuts · 2012-01-06 01:13 · Score: 1
  
  Why is this modded down? How is it either flamebait or a troll comment? And it's definitely not offtopic as it was a reply to COD's dedicated servers.
  Lame.
8. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by MogNuts · 2012-01-06 04:00 · Score: 1
  
  As it stands, no. But if it was designed for the 360, I bet you they could. Look at GTA IV. Yes, it was a terribly coded, complete POS port. BUT my C2D can't run it. You need a I7 920 or better to even run it independent of one's GPU. But it runs fine on a 360 or PS3. But the reason being just what I said: they made great optimizations. And Oblivion/Fallout/Skyrim are similar in scope (vast persistent world with little loading in between), or the port of Crysis 1 for the 360/PS3 (a vast world with no loading in between). It all comes down to good optimizations. Hell, not saying it was a sim, but remember Pilotwings 64 for the N64? That was on totally archaic hardware.
  I'm not disagreeing with you, but don't count out good coding. But I'm with you, the days of good coding are gone. It will always be "throw hardware at it." And I don't think anyone will make a sim for the consoles. There is just not enough money in it for the target demographic from a business perspective.
9. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by MogNuts · 2012-01-06 04:07 · Score: 1
  
  I agree with you. I just posted on this a second ago:
  "Look at GTA IV. Yes, it was a terribly coded, complete POS port. BUT my C2D can't run it. You need a I7 920 or better to even run it independent of one's GPU. But it runs fine on a 360 or PS3. But the reason being just what I said: they made great optimizations. And Oblivion/Fallout/Skyrim are similar in scope (vast persistent world with little loading in between), or the port of Crysis 1 for the 360/PS3 (a vast world with no loading in between). It all comes down to good optimizations. Hell, not saying it was a sim, but remember Pilotwings 64 for the N64? That was on totally archaic hardware."
  But no one will do it. If it was financial viable for the target demographic of a console, they would have done it already. Eh, I'm just bitter because I want to play ArmA 2 and I can't (it's choppy even at low settings which leads me to believe my problem is CPU/RAM bound). Have an aging C2D and it's not enough. But I can't justify buying another system for 1 game when I can play everything else with my 8800 GTS 512 at almost max settings (yes there are exceptions, but I don't mind just turning down settings and I'm not playing BF3/Crysis 2 on the PC).
10. Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? by JAlexoi · 2012-01-06 14:37 · Score: 1
  
  My point is that the scenery will not fit into XBox's RAM. That's the freaking big part of FSX
If I had to make a guess... by idbeholda · 2012-01-05 03:25 · Score: 2

I would say the "Crude Humor" and "Mild Violence" come from the "Enhanced Experience" which probably involves making a pass/grope at the stewardess and spanking unruly passengers back in coach.
Sounds too much like Zynga's business model by CuriousGeorge113 · 2012-01-05 03:26 · Score: 3, Interesting

Sounds like they are taking a page right out of Zynga's playbook. Offer a game for free, get a user addicted, and then convince that user to spend money on "improve their game experience." I know a few people that have spent quite a bit of money on farmville, mafia wars, etc. with in-app purchases. Way more than anyone would spend to download a full version of a game.
I'd rather pay up front for something and have a complete product (or at least, know how much of that product I'm getting). I'm real aversive to Zynga's model, because there is no way, up front, to know how much you are going to spend to get a good experience playing the game. You just have to keep buying more and more credits as time goes on.

--
No man is an island, But if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie them together, they make a pretty good raft.
1. Re:Sounds too much like Zynga's business model by DigiShaman · 2012-01-05 03:36 · Score: 2
  
  Depends on the game really. Are you looking for a complete start to finish gameplay experience, or an ever expanding realm in which you can pick and choose what to purchase as needed?
  
  --
  Life is not for the lazy.
2. Re:Sounds too much like Zynga's business model by delinear · 2012-01-05 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  There are pros and cons to both approaches. With the in-game purchase it's easy to lose track of how much you've spent, but it's equally easy to spend full price on a game and find out it's not worth the cost, and then you're out all of the money at once instead of paying out a little at a time while you're still getting enjoyment from the experience.
3. Re:Sounds too much like Zynga's business model by Khashishi · 2012-01-05 07:12 · Score: 1
  
  I'd rather get something free and decide to pay after I know I like it, but that's just me.
4. Re:Sounds too much like Zynga's business model by Rhacman · 2012-01-05 07:34 · Score: 1
  
  As long as I'm not pressured to harass 'friends' for 15 each of: landing gear tires, runway lights, hula girl dolls, and pineapples to unlock a special limited edition plane decorated to a Hawaiian theme then I'm fine with that payment model. I played (and actually enjoyed) Zynga games for nearly a year and never paid a single cent to Zynga. I instead opted to ocassionaly click on some of their little advertisement games that awarded you small amounts of their in-game cash and managed to get some of the more expensive rewards that way. What I eventually got sick of was the requisite Facebook wall spamfest that forced you to pollute your wall with endless item requests to make any substantial progress in the games. I wound up quitting both Facebook and Zynga cold turkey.
  
  --
  Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
5. Re:Sounds too much like Zynga's business model by grindholme · 2012-01-05 11:20 · Score: 1
  
  A better comparison might be League of Legends. You start with a certain number of avatars; you use one avatar at a time; additional avatars can be purchased at a premium; all avatars are relatively balanced and reasonably unique. Essentially, what you're buying is more content. I've never had a problem with that.
Advertising bonanza by gladish · 2012-01-05 03:27 · Score: 1

To me this is a great opportunity to sell advertising in a virtual world. Just like billboards on highways, they can advertise everything inside the game. I know it's nothing new, but has anyone done it with this model before or with a flight simulator?
1. Re:Advertising bonanza by Khashishi · 2012-01-05 07:13 · Score: 1
  
  Dunno about flight sims, but this is pretty common in driving sims.
2. Re:Advertising bonanza by KDR_11k · 2012-01-06 10:23 · Score: 1
  
  I don't think there's much advertising space that's visible from a plane. They could stick some near the runways but that would only cover a tiny amount of time and these games are about accurate recreations and I don't think many airports have billboards next to their runways.
  
  --
  Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Crude Humor and Mild Violence by abe+ferlman · 2012-01-05 03:29 · Score: 4, Funny

It's probably the inflatable auto-pilot and the nun with the baseball bat.

--
microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
1. Re:Crude Humor and Mild Violence by borgasm · 2012-01-05 03:51 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  nah, the crude humor is that all the flights in the game are on-time, and you get a meal + beverage for free
2. Re:Crude Humor and Mild Violence by Overzeetop · 2012-01-05 04:32 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Of course I'm serious. And stop calling me Shirley.
  
  --
  Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
3. Re:Crude Humor and Mild Violence by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  Don't forget, you don't have to submit to naked body scans to play.
4. Re:Crude Humor and Mild Violence by Frederico+Camara · 2012-01-05 05:51 · Score: 1
  
  Would it be the mild violence and crude humor of crashing your plane on others?
5. Re:Crude Humor and Mild Violence by Tackhead · 2012-01-05 08:54 · Score: 1
  
  nah, the crude humor is that all the flights in the game are on-time, and you get a meal + beverage for free
  
  It's an entirely different kind of flying!
6. Re:Crude Humor and Mild Violence by bjb_admin · 2012-01-05 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  You mean Otto? http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Otto
Easter Egg by Comboman · 2012-01-05 03:30 · Score: 1

If you discover this feature, an email gets sent to Homeland Security and you win a free plane ride to Gitmo.

--
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
Trademark by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 03:34 · Score: 1

Since Microsoft likes simple words, "Office", "Windows", calling it "Flight" actually makes sense. But will they be able to trademark it?
How about making a simulator? by sakjur · 2012-01-05 03:34 · Score: 1

They're actually saying that it's built for gamepad, joystick and keyboard + mouse? It makes sense that they dropped the "Simulator" part of the name :'( The good part is that it might fit into my economy in a better way than if I actually had to buy a joystick-kit (...yay for being a student!)
1. Re:How about making a simulator? by yodleboy · 2012-01-05 04:10 · Score: 1
  
  actually, if you just watch the video it's light on details. I read elsewhere that it will be configurable to be as complicated or as easy as you want. If you want the full realism sim, do it, if you want basically an arcade game, you can do that too. It is also not limited to those 3 inputs. Full support remains for all the fancy flight controls as well. Here's a more detailed look MS Flight. From the article: "That being said, allow me to assuage the longtime fans' fears. Though Microsoft Flight can be played with a keyboard and mouse, it will support all the fancy joysticks, flap pedals and other doo dads that enthusiasts love."
Got your ESRB right here... by ReverendLoki · 2012-01-05 03:38 · Score: 1

I'd like to know where the ESRB finds "crude humor" or "mild violence" in there.
"Attention, this is your Captain speaking. Today's flight will take us straight between the Grand Tetons. *snicker*"
At least, it would have been funny at the age when I played one of the earliest versions...

--
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
A good free flight sim. by Port-0 · 2012-01-05 03:42 · Score: 1

If you are interested in a more free experience. There is an excellent OSS flight simulator out there, with tons of aircraft, scenery for the whole planet, etc... There are a number of people who have used it to build their own home walk in simulators. There was one guy a while back who had somehow acquired the front end of an F15 who was working on building it into a simulator environment in his garage. There was some cool stuff going on around this project.
1. Re:A good free flight sim. by Port-0 · 2012-01-05 06:32 · Score: 1
  
  If you are interested in a more free experience. There is an excellent OSS flight simulator out there, with tons of aircraft, scenery for the whole planet, etc... There are a number of people who have used it to build their own home walk in simulators. There was one guy a while back who had somehow acquired the front end of an F15 who was working on building it into a simulator environment in his garage. There was some cool stuff going on around this project.
  I forgot the Link: http://www.flightgear.org/
compares to flight gear? by i.r.id10t · 2012-01-05 03:48 · Score: 2

I wonder how this new version will compare to FlightGear ?
http://www.flightgear.org/

--
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
1. Re:compares to flight gear? by yourlord · 2012-01-05 04:24 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  It doesn't compare to FlightGear. FG is built with a focus on simulating the physics of flight.. It's seen some really nice improvements in the eye candy department as of late as well.
  Plus, with FlightGear, it's free, as in freedom, and as in beer, as in "here's the source code and all the artwork!"..
  There isn't a market place to buy new locations because the ENTIRE PLANET is available for free in FG. Not to mention hundreds of planes, from gliders to cargo/passenger jets, WWI bi-planes to WWII fighters and bombers, to F-15's, etc.
  Local weather phenomenon, real-time real-world weather conditions from live METAR data on the internet, multiplayer support allowing you to fly with people all over the world, all free.
  All for free... Any other flightsim is pretty much DOA as far as I'm concerned.
I thought home flight sim was dead... by mark-t · 2012-01-05 03:55 · Score: 2

... since 2001, since it could supposedly possibly be used to train terrorists.

--
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
1. Re:I thought home flight sim was dead... by ColdWetDog · 2012-01-05 05:03 · Score: 1
  
  ... since 2001, since it could supposedly possibly be used to train terrorists.
  Just a few minor details citizen,
  You have to be connected to the Internet to play the game.
  When you're connected to the Internet, we can see every keystroke, every mouse movement, every location.
  Do have fun, citizen.
  (from your God Fearing friends in a concrete bunker near a AT&T trunk line near you)
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
2. Re:I thought home flight sim was dead... by mark-t · 2012-01-05 05:53 · Score: 1
  
  So if my 6 year old grandson plays the game and shows a distinct penchant for flying poorly to anyone watching him IRL, will he be mistaken for a terrorist practicing crashing planes?
  
  --
  File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
3. Re:I thought home flight sim was dead... by Khashishi · 2012-01-05 07:09 · Score: 1
  
  Don't worry. The programmers put in a subroutine that automatically informs the FBI when the user crashes more than iMaxBuildingCrash planes into buildings.
4. Re:I thought home flight sim was dead... by ColdWetDog · 2012-01-05 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  So if my 6 year old grandson plays the game and shows a distinct penchant for flying poorly to anyone watching him IRL, will he be mistaken for a terrorist practicing crashing planes?
  Look, if the TSA can start pulling off underpants from 95 year old women in wheelchairs, then the least the FBI can do is to workup every uncoordinated preadolescent for terrorist proclivities.
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Re:Ywin towers option? by mwvdlee · 2012-01-05 04:00 · Score: 1

As an airfield?
Too soon?

--
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
Re:no put meigs field back in as the default airpo by anypundit · 2012-01-05 04:05 · Score: 4, Informative

no put meigs field back in as the default airport
You won't be able to take off with the giant X's carved into the runway.
Re:Meh by Pricetx · 2012-01-05 04:20 · Score: 1

The MSFS series has unfortunately never been procedure approved. However, I'm pretty sure that X-plane has a special version which is procedure approved (I don't know what the difference between this and the standard version is though). I don't think flightgear is, but i've not followed them in a while.
Re:Meh by chill · 2012-01-05 04:22 · Score: 2

You mean like X-Plane Pro? It'll cost you $5,000+ in FAA Certified hardware, in addition to the software, to be able to use the simulator to log some actual hours.

--
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
Microsoft to Offer 'Flight' For Free This Spring by Siggy200 · 2012-01-05 04:33 · Score: 1

Signed up for the beta test. I have Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX and FS2004 - Century of Flight and have enjoyed flying with my CH Flight Sim yoke.
I always wanted to know... by rAiNsT0rm · 2012-01-05 04:41 · Score: 1

Who plays these? I can understand aviation buffs and maybe even people that are pursuing a license but I have never understood it aside from that. I've played all manner of them since the old days of CGA monitors and while the graphics have gotten better it still is like mediocre masturbation at best. Taking off and landing are fun but the 1:1 realtime flight in between is kinda silly to me.

--
http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
1. Re:I always wanted to know... by ColdWetDog · 2012-01-05 05:08 · Score: 1
  
  You're flying in the wrong places then. I have a copy of X on a laptop that I drag out for friends who are visiting (I live in Alaska) and I show them some of the routes we might be flying over. It's fun to get people airsick before they set foot on the plane ...
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
2. Re:I always wanted to know... by Shotgun · 2012-01-05 11:34 · Score: 1
  
  I'm building a Dyke Delta. Only six or so are flying right now, so it is hard to get flight time in one. With X-plane, I get to practice the plane's flying qualities and the ergonomics of the controls as I've configured them.
  
  --
  Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
  Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
Rating... by ToiletBomber · 2012-01-05 04:51 · Score: 1

"I'd like to know where the ESRB finds "crude humor" or "mild violence" in there." Crashing planes into oceans, into each other, or... into buildings is considered mild violence and crude humor?
Re:no put meigs field back in as the default airpo by Sporkinum · 2012-01-05 05:16 · Score: 3, Informative

That was a sad day when the default was no longer Meigs. I think that was a throwback from Sublogic days when the developers were based in Champaign-Urbana.

--
"He's lost in a 'floyd hole"
Has it got guns & bombs & shit? by Hognoxious · 2012-01-05 05:20 · Score: 1

I don't see the point in flying around without shooting and blowing shit up.

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
For one, you can land at night with MSFS... by rwade · 2012-01-05 05:21 · Score: 2

When Flightgear 2.0.0 was released, it was released with a new system that more-slickly rendered runway lights -- it used a so-called "point sprite approach." However, Flightgear's implementation of point sprites did not accommodate ATI's non-standard spec, so airports were 100%-dark for all those using ATI hardware. Who is at fault -- whether the Flightgear developers or ATI -- doesn't really matter to me. Why? It's fairly rare for other software vendors to ignore a quirk in a very popular piece of hardware -- ie. the runway lights have worked just fine in every MSFS version I have played.
And this went on for months with no word of a fix or a patch from Flightgear. In fact, I'm not sure that it's fixed even today.
Re:Meh by tlhIngan · 2012-01-05 05:42 · Score: 1

The MSFS series has unfortunately never been procedure approved. However, I'm pretty sure that X-plane has a special version which is procedure approved (I don't know what the difference between this and the standard version is though). I don't think flightgear is, but i've not followed them in a while.
There's no more special X-Plane version - you do have to unlock the approved version though by buying a USB license key.
Basically it reconfigures it to FAA requirements for flight training devices. More details
Don't be fooled by "unlock" - traditional X-Plane has a DVD check to get it out of demo mode. The USB key just ensures you don't have to buy a copy of X-Plane AND the USB key for every computer - the USB key will bypass the DVD check.
Hope people can do free addons by Travelsonic · 2012-01-05 05:43 · Score: 1

I hope that like with the MSFS series before it [having legit 2002, 2004 disks, and having torrented 95 for the hell of it] that even though THIS will be DLC driven that users can still do their own addons [scenery, airports, models, AI, etc] - and that there will be backwards compatability for aircraft models.

--
If you believe in privacy, and believe you have "nothing to hide" at the same time, you're a goddammed idiot
Additional content? by aapold · 2012-01-05 06:19 · Score: 1

the user would need to buy additional content to enhance their experience.

Just wondering what that might be, what you might discover once you start enjoying your flight...

Radar... Oxygen... Landing Gear....

--
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
1. Re:Additional content? by madhi19 · 2012-01-05 19:48 · Score: 1
  
  Gas you get all the planes for free but you must buy the gas at the real rate to fly anywhere! loll
Let me know... by wideBlueSkies · 2012-01-05 06:29 · Score: 2

...when I can look out the cessna's window and see my actual house when I fly over my block.
Seriously, for all it's technical accuracy, the scenery in MSFS is kind of dull and unrealistic. Sure I can fly around somewhat a somewhat real looking NYC (home) but 9 miles to the west, and my town looks like flat grassland. It gets old fast.
I want to take off from Princeton Airport, head southwest and see Princeton. And then New Brunswick and Cranberry. Not random dirty green flatland.
So yeah, I'll pay for another version of flight sim when (if ever) it will look something like really flying over the landscape. Houses, fields, etc.

--
Huh?
1. Re:Let me know... by Plouf · 2012-01-05 08:31 · Score: 2
  
  This being said, I never appreciated FSX as much as since I got my PPL license. Sure I can't see my house, but I can actually practice and prepare VFR navigations using the default scenery since the stuff that really matters to the real pilots are is there. I also bought X-Plane to compare and it failed completely: it looks prettier but I almost got lost before leaving the CTR. So I can tell you, from a pilot's point of view, FSX really feels like flying over the landscape since I can use my low-altitude map in the game (and this is my Belgian countryside, not some fancy touristic places).
2. Re:Let me know... by n7ytd · 2012-01-05 08:57 · Score: 1
  
  You want the Google Earth flight simulator.
3. Re:Let me know... by Shotgun · 2012-01-05 11:36 · Score: 1
  
  There is an Xplane add on that will pull scenery from google maps and make it usable in Xplane.
  
  --
  Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
  Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
Better deals by gr8_phk · 2012-01-05 06:52 · Score: 4, Informative

If you really like flight sims, X-plane is the way to go. They have lots of free 3rd party content. If cheap is what you like, FlightGear is the way to go - open source with tons of add-ons, downloadable scenerey, but the graphics are not as pretty. Both have a linux (and mac?) version of course.
It has potential by samfisher5986 · 2012-01-05 06:56 · Score: 1

The engine has had a lot of work done to it and the 3D cockpits are very nice. The main issue is currently its a flight simulator with the features of an arcade plane game, if you free flight in a plane there are no features to use to navigate, just your basic plane controls and your eyes. This is understandable as the BETA seems to focus on missions. Assuming they add all the features FSX has, I don't mind buying the airline jets and my country. I have a feeling I might be disappointed though.
No 360? by HalAtWork · 2012-01-05 07:08 · Score: 1

Why aren't they releasing this on XBox 360? Seems like a missed opportunity.

--
Twinstiq, game news
1. Re:No 360? by cbhacking · 2012-01-08 14:32 · Score: 1
  
  Because the 360's GPU is 6 years old? The flight sim games have always pushed the bounds of GPU capability. While graphics comparisons are a big deal in almost all gaming genres, in simulationist games it's not enough to look pretty; it has to look realistic. The graphics chip on the Xbox 360 probably couldn't even play FS X at reasonable quality (in DX9 mode even, the chip doesn't support DX10 at all), much less its sequel.
  
  --
  There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
What's the point of pointing the finger at anyone? by rwade · 2012-01-05 07:12 · Score: 1

Point your finger to crappy ATI support.
I could point the finger to crappy ATI support, or I could just pay $30 for a copy of FSX that will run just fine. One alternative would be to learn to program and contribute to FlightGear, but my hobby is flight simulation -- it's more effective for me to just pay the $30.
Someone asked what the difference between flightgear and MSFS is -- I'm providing my perspective that MSFS is a far-ahead of flightgear.
bah by dominious · 2012-01-05 09:25 · Score: 1

Microsoft re-launch flight simulator? It will probably crash.
Why does FSX run like shit? by Leo+Sasquatch · 2012-01-05 09:36 · Score: 1

I have a monster PC, built specifically to run the latest games at eye-shredding resolutions. Crysis 2, 1920x1080, Ultra everything, DX11 - 80fps. FSX, 1920x1080 everything maxed, 4fps. Even when it's running like a slide-show, it looks like an 8-bit game. And when I dial everything back to playable levels, it still looks like an 8-bit game, only with more movement.. Fly low, and buildings pop in randomly around city centres, and nowhere else. Despite being in the UK, where we don't use such things, everywhere is dotted with water towers.

Pilotwings looked better on the N64 10 years ago. What is FSX doing (or not doing) that makes it run like a 3-legged dog stapled to a table?
1. Re:Why does FSX run like shit? by mmullings · 2012-01-05 11:46 · Score: 1
  
  I SOOOO feel you. My rig is insane and even after all the patches, FSX runs like SHIT. Got to be the game engine.
  
  --
  I remember when MOD was an audio format, and DOS wasn't a network attack....
MS Flight Simulator 1.0 Mac allowed me to crash by jsepeta · 2012-01-05 09:43 · Score: 2

I could crash my plane horrifically into the Sears Tower using MS Flight Simulator 1.0 for Macintosh. My little turbo-prop airplane started out at Meigs Field. Mayor Daley was correct to close that airport, he just did it ham-handedly. Will Microsoft's downloadable content prevent wannabe terrorists from crashing planes into buildings? What if, as in my case, you just suck as a pilot? I never did learn how to land that thing reliably.

--
Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
Finally by proverbialcow · 2012-01-05 13:17 · Score: 1

A flight simulator that works in the cloud.

--
The only surefire protection against Microsoft infections is abstinence. - The Onion
Re:no put meigs field back in as the default airpo by jools33 · 2012-01-05 21:44 · Score: 1

It was all mayor Daleys doing when he ordered crews of bulldozers to destroy the runway in the middle of the night back in 2003 - only in Chicago...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meigs_Field