Ian StephensMicrosoft Flight was a flight simulator package released in 2012 and developed by Microsoft as an attempt at a new PC based simulation package to continue their Flight Simulator series. It wasn't based on old FSX code; it was a completely new engine built for modern 64-bit machines.
The community had high hopes for Microsoft Flight and there was a huge fan-base waiting for its release to bring at-home flight simulation up to modern standards.
Sadly, the project failed and didn't last long - most likely down to the revenue model (mainly based on DLC) and the world wasn't entirely "open" - you had to buy different geographical zones individually and there wasn't many of those anyway.
This article covers the release, rise and fall of Microsoft Flight in detail.
Microsoft Flight is now of course discontinued but if you did manage to grab a copy before its demise, you can still run and play the software on your PC.
There is still much interest in this release and the chatter continues to echo around the Internet so this article covers many of the questions users are still asking.
We have laid out the article chronologically for ease of reading - from start to finish.
Of course, the article is quite lengthy so you can jump to individual sections using the jump-links below;
- Announcement
- What can we expect?
- Performance
- Beta Program
- Behind the Scenes at the Microsoft Studios
- Release Date
- Our Review
- Screenshots & Videos
- Project Canceled And Staff Laid Off
- Microsoft to Release New Simulator in 2020
Announcement
Originally posted Aug 2010
Announced by Microsoft on the 18th August 2010 at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany is the development of the next flight simulator in Microsoft series, now called "Microsoft Flight". They seemed to have dropped the "Simulator" ending, opening up the software to many more players and simulation enthusiasts. By dropping the "Simulator" word, the game is targeted at anyone with a slight interested in virtual aviation, not just the flight "simulator" enthusiast.
The announcement of Microsoft Flight didn't come as a complete surprise, as Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of Microsoft's best selling and longest developed software titles for the PC. While the demise of the ACES studio was saddening for the flight simulator community, we all knew deep down to expect a release of another Microsoft developer simulator package.
While there was no news on the development of another simulator by Microsoft, X-Plane flight simulator for PC, Mac, and iPhone started gaining popularity within the community. However, this is a much more realistic simulator and is targeted at more advanced virtual aviators.
Microsoft doesn't have a lot of information on "Microsoft Flight" yet, however, keep checking Fly Away Simulation for the latest updates and press releases on this.
"Microsoft Flight will bring a new perspective to the long-standing genre, welcoming everyone, including long-time fans, to experience the magic of flight." - Microsoft PR.
Users can expect great enhancements from FS10 aka FSX. The entire engine will be built around DX10 with advanced lighting, 3D textures and much more. This should bring the Microsoft simulator package to the next level of realism.
What Can We Expect?
Originally posted Sep 2010
With the announcement of Microsoft's next flight simulator release, Microsoft Flight, the whole community is wondering what we can expect in terms of graphics, default aircraft and scenery environment. Microsoft Flight's official version is FS11, know among the community as that. There have been thousands of feature requests from avid flight simulator users, but we're still yet to see what has actually made it into this next generation of flight simulators from Microsoft.
Included Airports
While previous versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator had increased the amount of included airports with every newer release, there were still some small community airfields and strips that didn't make it into the release. The last version of Microsoft's Flight Simulator, Microsoft Flight Simulator X included over 24,000 airports that had animated and interactive features. This includes jet-ways, moving radar and beacons.
We should definitely expect many more highly interactive airports with more advanced features such as jet-ways that move up to the aircraft doors automatically - without using an external third party add-on.
Scenery
The scenery and 3D objects have definitely improved greatly over the years, with the introduction of auto-gen, this has added an even more realistic level to the MSFS package. However, autogen is exactly what is says... automatically generated scenery; which disregards what the real world as we know it is like. Perhaps Microsoft will be using satellite maps and such features to create a more realistic simulation of the world as we know it.
Screenshot from Microsoft Flight's teaser trailer video - This is all we can expect to see at the moment until further media and videos are released by Microsoft. Watch this space.
At the moment, we are able to purchase ground textures that use satellite imagery, however, they are usually huge files, some over 10 GB. Could Microsoft squeeze an entire world of satellite textures into a couple of DVD-ROM's?
Flight Environment
We can expect great things from Microsoft Flight in terms or flight environment such as cloud textures, lighting effects, shadows and more thanks to the release of DirectX 11 on Windows 7. We anticipate Microsoft Flight to only be released on Windows 7 and Vista and not backward compatible. We also expect you to have the latest graphics card and hardware to use Microsoft Flight at its full potential.
Clouds and lighting textures will be greatly improved using the new technical features of DirectX 11 and the latest graphics cards.
Included Aircraft
Microsoft's default aircraft have always been "standard" in terms of realism and technical features. If you are a true flight simulator user, you would know about the quality of more professional add-ons such as aircraft released by PMDG and Captain Sim. Could Microsoft step-up their game in terms of aircraft design? Perhaps we can expect some highly detailed, advanced aircraft for use straight after the install! Maybe we could see something new completely, with Microsoft including actual third party developer aircraft in the release. We can only wait and see until we have more details.
Performance
Originally posted Nov 2011
The November Update from the development team behind Microsoft Flight discusses a topic that many of us are very concerned about - performance. The update includes information on what systems can run reasonably at both high and low settings and also a screenshot to demonstrate.
Microsoft also includes a message at the bottom of their release, "check back in December for an exciting announcement." Well, we should be expecting some big news in December - perhaps a release date.
So, from what we can see - many of us that run FSX quite comfortably on our computers should also be able to run Flight too, without upgrading any of our hardware... hopefully.
Let's watch this space and see what happens on the release of Flight. Only real testing from thousands of users will provide a definitive answer.
Beta Program
Originally posted Dec 2011
Microsoft has announced a beta program for their next flight simulator release, Microsoft Flight. Anyone can now register for the beta program and provide feedback to Microsoft about the software.
So don't hang about, submit your registration today!
Also, expect news from Fly Away Simulation later in the month from behind the scenes of Microsoft Flight.
Behind the Scenes at the Microsoft Studios
Originally posted Jan 2012
On December 13th, 2011, the team at Fly Away Simulation were invited to an event demonstrating and discussing Microsoft's next flight simulator release.
Many facts, information, and topics were discussed at this event. William Luxton, a member of our editorial team was at the event and has the following report for your reading pleasure.
The team behind Microsoft Flight consists of roughly 50 people, including a mix of professional pilots, 40% of which worked on the previous team.
Three years into development, Project Manager Joshua Howard invited a select few involved in the flight sim community to visit the Microsoft campus in Redmond WA, to see the project thus far.
Joshua Howard likes to say that he works on games for humans; bringing entertainment to those that don’t think of themselves as ‘gamers’.
The plan was to turn the wonder of aviation into a piece of software that will appeal to anyone at all interested in aviation, not just the hardcore simmers. The faithful Flight Simmers don’t like that it is referred to as a game, but dropping the word ‘Simulator’ helps open the product up to new people.
The Great Room. The most sought-after ‘conference room’ at the Redmond Campus.
Analysis
This new release from Microsoft is a new approach to a beloved franchise. It is a completely separate product from FSX, designed to appeal to the faithful simmers (prior primary target) as well as the casual flyers and the masses.
FSX was great but was not quite hitting the mark and reached only a fraction of its potential audience. The team's research shows that of all the people who visit flight museums or attend events related to aviation etc. only a very small percent bought FSX.
It became too easy for previous teams to focus on the faithful. While this could be seen as a good thing, at some point this became a burden that stopped the product from expanding.
The game features stunning realism, both in the models and textures. These amazing aesthetics are running on present-day hardware that some people will already have.
The way previous builds were made, the games ran very CPU heavy and didn’t take advantage of the fact that graphics cards were developing quickly.
The team has put a great deal of effort into getting the game to run smoothly at its highest settings, while not requiring out of this world hardware. But also, getting it to still look good on its lowest settings, accommodating those end users with lower-end hardware and even those running the Windows XP operating system.
Features and Advancements
The game is built on an improved legacy engine, for large-scale scenery support. The base is still a globe, it’s just that there is not enough geography yet. But they would rather launch now and not have everything than wait and let the product age. This also helps keep the download size down.
An all-new lighting system for scenery and objects, along with improved texture resolutions on world objects helps the game really come to life. The object density has been increased greatly for a given performance and the new technology allows for greater density in cities as well.
A lot of these objects are data-driven generic scenery with hand touched detail, including non-flat runways on simple airfields. These stand out now that aircraft have proper contact points, compared to the one in FSX.
Soft particle cloud and fog interaction with scenery prevents jagged game aesthetics or harsh edges and makes for some spectacular scenes.
Weather conditions are settable. When there is more geography in the game, they may add more features prevalent to a larger scale map. Such as the feature introduced in FS9, of being able to download information from real-world weather stations, and have the game simulate them.
The work that has been put into the sound really makes a difference. Down to little things like how the sound of the engine changes when the door is open.
In the previous free-form structure, players entered an open world and were left to it. This can be intimidating for someone who maybe just wants to get in a plane and experience the magic of flight, or simply go exploring.
To that end, the team has worked hard to create more structured gameplay, without making it easy.
Part of the Microsoft Visitors Center.
With this software, you are at the controls and are free to play your way, whether that be structured or freestyle. The game is very accommodating, while not detracting from the finely honed skills that are required to be an ace pilot.
If you can use a mouse, you can fly. Other titles in the past have tried control set-ups where you fly by using the mouse but it has never worked. This time, it’s perfect; it feels natural, it’s responsive and yet very forgiving to those who aren’t accustomed to flying planes.
However, the game also features full gamepad and joystick support, with complete access to key bindings and control configuration, for those who want to make it as close to the real thing as possible.
At launch, not everyone will have the opportunity to fly where they are. The team has decided to not try and make the whole world this time.
They feel that doing smaller areas at greater quality is more worthwhile. As such, the current game world is just the Island of Hawaii. The old audience may be frustrated that it’s not built with everything, but it is built for everyone.
Pricing Structure and Monetization
The game will be free and will offer more content to those that use the Games for Windows Live feature, and those willing to pay small fees for new aircraft, mission packs, etc.
The game will feature its own marketplace, with content regulated by Microsoft. There will be no software development kit and hence no user-created content.
The Live marketplace allows for constant content flow and users that opt-in to share data, allow the team to react to user behaviors to improve the game and add more of what users want. It also allows for a quicker response to user requests, fixes and general improvements. On top of that, integration with the official website offers a more direct link between the team and users.
The marketplace will contain new aircraft, minor content packs such as mission packs, major content packs that contain new geography and micro-transactions for vanity items and new liveries.
These will likely come with more than just geography. Smaller content like some liveries can be unlocked in-game with no payment needed. Players are Invited in with a great free experience and allowed to personalize it.
Icon A5 flying a mission.
Aircraft Included
Included aircraft are, with the first being the Icon A5. It is a light sports-plane costing around $140,000 and is the only aircraft available in the ‘free 2 play’ part of the game. The second is the Boeing Stearman N25, which is unlocked as soon as the player signs in to LIVE. A shared experience is a better experience, that’s why there are a fair few rewards for the player if they use the LIVE feature.
There are no airlines at the moment because considering the current geography, there is no need for them. Some people may be disappointed, but it is definitely something on the team's list for the future.
There is support for multi-engine aircraft; the team says that there is nothing they cannot make.
The aircraft models are stunningly detailed and are authentically modeled with new modular systems for both aerodynamics and physical systems.
Stalls and spins, including snap rolls, are tunable per aircraft. There are also tunable ground dynamics for tires and water operations, fuselage drag for proper slips and prop-wash over control surfaces for more precise aerobatics and ground handling.
Directed play such as story-based missions, which offer the narrative feel and longer play, gives newcomers the confidence to take to free-flight.
The new user interface is friendly while still allowing users of all levels to get what they want. Thanks to this and the effective, easy flowing tutorials, first-time users have been more successful navigating UI, flying and completing missions and this early user success helps user retention over time.
Staff and some other attendees at the Microsoft Visitors Center.
Missions and Adventures Included
The missions, whether story or not, have big replay value, as does everything else. The persistent Pilot Profile tracks in-game statistics even when not signed in to Live, but if you are signed in to Live, it allows you to compare lots of stats with your friends.
Each activity you complete earns you points, and it’s very difficult not to hit the replay button to try and get those few more points you feel you missed.
The profile does not have a personalized avatar, rather you pick from a collection of static profile images. More of which will be added by launch and may, in fact, appear on the marketplace under vanity items.
The game also has a huge amount of short consumable experiences that can be found mainly in the challenges.
Hoops is a challenge whereby you have to fly through sequential rings in the fastest time, with bonus points awarded for aerobatics and special maneuvers. The landing challenges range from Level 1 to Level 5 and getting increasingly more difficult as the level increases.
Goldrush mission.
Goldrush is a challenge that can be played on Live as well as offline. The objective is to collect as many of the gold items as you can before the time runs out. Or if you’re playing with a friend, maybe your objective should be to stop them from getting as many as they can.
Although I will hasten to add, that there is no combat, as the verb is fly, not kill; it is not the experience they want to deliver. After signing in to Live, Aerobatics missions are unlocked. Players can use these to learn how to perform difficult flying maneuvers and better their overall skill in the air.
Aerocache Hunt is a fantastic idea that will suit anyone who likes to explore. Aero-cache’s are scattered around the island, and exploration for them exposes scenery and landmarks that users may have otherwise missed or might be attracted to.
Players can play the challenge mode to try and find specific ones or find them in free-flight, as they are a constant in the game and will be there in any mode.
If a player chooses not to sign in to Live, there will be three Aero-cache Hunts’. On the other hand, if they do sign in, there will be hundreds, with more added every day, including themed ones. For instance, on the 4th of July, one might lead you to a hidden fireworks display.
Aerocache hunt demonstration.
Multiplayer
The new multi-player model using Games for Windows Live is more accessible and more stable than Gamespy. Provisionally, a cap of 16 has been set for the number of people in one ‘room’.
Since the area is so large, they have added the ability to put yourself anywhere on the map, to allow you to get close to other players. Although there are no leader-boards yet, the stat-tracking still allows players to compete against each other.
LIVE pilot profile demonstration.
Free-flight is of course, still a big feature and allows the player to do whatever they want. Including an endless amount of generated jobs that can be picked up from any of the airports. The world persistence is remarkable too.
The aircraft in use will retain its location and state for the next session whether powered up or cold and dark. Fuel quantity also persists from session to session, as well as in the hanger. Fuel management is hinted at, but not forced; it is an advanced tool to effectively manage weight.
Fuel does serve another purpose though, in this case. Because geography is an island, but the game is still technically built on a globe, fuel prevents players from flying to the edge because they would run out of fuel before they got there.
Technically, there isn’t an edge. But if Microsoft sees that a lot of players are flying that far out and logging off, they will consider putting something there if they feel that’s what players want.
Attendees walking around the visitors center.
Beta & Release Date
The software is almost at its Beta stage. Microsoft has used its know-how to reach out to potential audiences, as most simmers will already have signed up from the official website. The beta has a low barrier for entry, as the team is not biased towards a type of player.
The release version will auto-set the games visuals and sounds based on the PC’s performance. The Beta will be in English.
A potential release would be the first half of 2012, but the Beta will be used to asses that. The software will have a simultaneous release in all LIVE enabled countries, but will only support the following languages: English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
Conclusion and The Community
The question remains, how are the people involved in the Flight Simulator Community’s supposed to get involved? Microsoft Studios believe that this wider audience appeal will generate more customers, which will lead to franchise growth. That growth will lead to the expansion of content and features but will also most likely lead people to flight sim websites.
A lot of traffic can be expected, but how are we to accommodate these people? We can’t host content downloads for this release because it’s a closed, in-game marketplace. However, sticking with FSX is the best option for expandability because it has just been released on Steam and of course, our downloads still work with this version.
We hope you found this article very interesting and hope that it gives you an insight into what you can expect from this new flight sim release. Stay tuned for further updates, we will always be the first to keep you updated on development progress. We should hopefully be able to release some screenshots from the beta edition at some time soon.
William Luxton. Seattle. 13th December 2011.
Release Date
Originally posted Feb 2012
Microsoft has announced the official launch date for Microsoft Flight: February 29th, 2012.
Following a successful beta, Microsoft announced that "Microsoft Flight" will be available to download for free starting February 29, 2012, on the company’s website.
Microsoft also announced that on the same day, the Hawaiian Adventure Pack, which includes the remaining Hawaiian Islands, 20 new missions and a new plane, will also be available to purchase on the same day on the website, through Games for Windows-LIVE.
"Microsoft Flight" enables players to fully enjoy the adventure, fun, and excitement of flight. Players do not need any hardware or past experience to play "Microsoft Flight" – all that’s required is a PC and a mouse – and you are ready to fly.
Explore the Hawaiian Islands
Players can explore the Big Island of Hawaii for free and also enjoy the skies above the remaining Hawaiian Islands by purchasing the Hawaiian Adventure Pack, which is first in a series of expansions for “Microsoft Flight”. This includes:
- Spectacular recreations of landmark features, from the breathtaking Waimea Canyon in Kaua'i to the high-rise hotels of Waikiki
- Hundreds of miles to explore
- 20 new missions
- New challenges
- The Vans RV-6A, a two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplane which is popular because of its maneuverability and speed.
Tour the Skies in Two All-New Planes
At launch, players will be able to purchase two new planes that offer completely different flying experiences.
The first aircraft is the Maule M-7-260C which is a rugged utility aircraft capable of handling take-offs and landings on rough, unprepared surfaces. The second aircraft is the North American P-51 Mustang which is a historical fighter plane with strong maneuverability, performance characteristics and sharp looks. These planes have accurate physics and detailed graphics. They feature highly rendered, accurate cockpits and authentic piloting procedures.
Microsoft thanks its beta testers for their help in getting Microsoft Flight ready for takeoff. Microsoft’s executive producer, Joshua Howard, said
"There was an overwhelming demand for access to the 'Microsoft Flight' beta and the number of requests was far more than what we initially planned for. We received amazing feedback from the beta participants and it's great to see this level of excitement from fans as we move toward the release of Microsoft Flight."
Our Review
Originally posted Feb 2012
Microsoft Flight is a brand new franchise, set to appeal to a much wider audience than previous flight simulators. It is available as a free download and can be played for free. Although more content is unlocked if you choose to sign in to GFWL (Games For Windows Live), and more content can be bought and downloaded from the GFWL Marketplace.
The game launches straight into its first tutorial, which has you flying the Icon A5 around hot air balloons to introduce you to the default controls. Initially, it feels odd piloting a plane with a mouse, but the tutorials are put together extremely well and give you just enough information to help you get through your first challenge, without bogging you down with loads of information you feel you have to remember.
You will end up doing some missions, maybe even this first one, more than once because you want to get a perfect score, as it always feels just within reach. This is where the option to skip the intro cut-scene of a mission that you have already played would be nice.
The voice acting and dialog of the characters that guide you through the various tutorials are brilliant; both sound honest and real and aside from sometimes hearing the same lines over and over again through replaying missions, or the occasional out of sync audio-cue, the characters themselves don't get old at all.
By the end of this first mission, you feel you have really achieved something. Even if you have never played any kind of simulator before, the tutorials are built so well that everything just clicks into place. They are also intuitive; if you plugged an XBOX Controller in to your PC before launching a tutorial, the game will recognize this and adapt it visual cues accordingly. So, where it might normally say use the mouse-wheel to adjust the throttle, it might instead say use the LB and RB buttons to adjust the throttle.
This was a nice surprise, I thought I would have to play it through once normally, and then figure out how to perform the same actions with a different device.
Controls
With the standard controls, the mouse is used to gently lead the nose of the aircraft. Some people will possibly be coming from a background of arcade/combat flight simulators, in which case, the feel of flying is very different.
It requires care and delicate mouse inputs to adjust the plane's course, unlike wrenching an analog stick one way or the other.
When the tutorials progress to start covering things like aerobatic maneuvers, the default controls might not be the best way to go. Firstly, in order to be able to perform aerobatics, the game will tell you to turn off the 'Increased Stability' option from the Gameplay Options menu.
If you are playing with a keyboard and mouse, you need to use the arrow keys to perform aerobatic maneuvers. However, the arrow keys have no sensitivity so this can become quite awkward. The game will auto-detect if you plug in any external devices like controllers or joysticks, which are great fun to use and occasionally make some things easier.
Camera Angles/Views
There are different cameras to choose from and you'll probably end up using quite a few of them even for routine flights. Switching between them is straight forward as they are bound to the high end of the F Keys. Holding down the right mouse button while flying locks the mouse controls, and allows you to move the camera around relative to the camera mode you are in.
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I tend to fly in Cockpit View (unless I'm flying a basic aircraft that doesn't have a cockpit view) for the majority of a journey. I've become proficient enough that I can perform a lot of basic operations using the actual interface in the cockpit. When I want to look around at either my aircraft or the scenery, I switch to Chase View, which is set behind the aircraft but still shows clearly where the nose is pointing.
I also use this to help me line up when I'm circling around, trying to line up for a runway. The last one I use is Top-Down view, which I only ever use to taxi from and to runways when I'm on the ground.
I was very appreciative of the fact that they have accommodated open-cockpit aircraft such as the Boeing PT-17 Stearman (FSX freeware here), in which it's very difficult to see over the nose. If you hold down the mouse-wheel, you can move your viewpoint and effectively lean over the side of the aircraft to get a better view.
The camera views and controls are all well designed; I only experienced one little glitch whereby the camera seemed to mount on the propeller and spin uncontrollably. But it only happened once, and it was only on one camera mode.
The overall user-interface is simple, clean and efficient. Menus are very easy to navigate, especially after the 'Flight Tips' tutorials show you around. Within the game itself, when flying around, the heads-up-display sits at the top of the screen and doesn't interfere at all. All the information you need from wind speed, altitude, heading, etc. can all be found in one place.
You can, of course, turn it off altogether if you wish, and get all the information from carefully monitoring the cockpit view.
Map Screen, Hangar & Jobs
The Map Screen is where you access everything and set up your flights. It has a large clear map of all available geography in the game (the parts that you haven't purchased from GFWL are grayed out) with various icons scattered around representing airports, missions, and even other players. Using the mouse you can position the icon of your aircraft anywhere you want to start flying, or click on an airport and select a runway to take-off from.
The Hangar is accessed through the Map Screen, and it contains all the aircraft you have unlocked and all the aircraft available for purchase through the GFWL.
The Hangar offers stunning models of each aircraft, with a selection of paint schemes for each one, more of which can be unlocked by meeting certain criteria within the game.
Details of each aircraft are displayed as well as a fuel option, with sliders that show how the range and weight of the aircraft change the more or less fuel you put in.
You can choose to set the Flight Conditions from the main Map Screen. These range from setting the time of day down to the minute, the season and the date. A wide range of weather conditions such as clear skies, isolated thunderstorms, dense fog, and squalls help keep things fresh.
All these settings are persistent and will be active in whatever mode you play, Free Flight, Challenges, Aerocache Hunts and Missions, unless the mission has specific settings. Some of these settings can make piloting an aircraft a lot harder, so you are awarded bonus points if, for instance, you complete a challenge at night.
All the flight conditions you have selected, along with your chosen aircraft are summarized in the lower left of the map screen.
There are plenty of missions that can be accessed from the Map Screen, which you can do whenever you want, providing you meet the requirements for each one; for some, you may need to be a certain level or need to have done another mission.
These range from things like flying an astronomer to an observatory and climbing above the clouds so they can take pictures of a comet, to tutorial missions that teach you the basics of landing tail-draggers, aerobatic shows and more.
All airports have job boards, where you can pick up small, randomly generated jobs that have you, charter passengers, deliver cargo such as livestock or safely transport a nurse and her patient.
The first job that I took from an airport was to take a passenger 15 NM to a small diner so that he could have one of his favorite burgers. He was a nervous flyer, so I made an extra effort to try and get him there with minimal complications. Every now and again he would have some quirky comment that helped build his character, and really bolster the belief that I was actually his pilot, to the point where, when the option came up to 'Skip To Waypoint' I didn't want to.
I spent a good ten minutes making sure we weren't flying too low and avoiding any unnecessary turbulence so as not to upset my passenger and took special care not to bounce the aircraft on landing.
Challenges and Aerocaches
If you're not looking for the narrative side of things, there are plenty of small consumable experiences to be found. Alongside Free Flight, which allows you to do whatever you want, there are various Challenges and Aerocache hunts.
Challenges are good fun and more often than not, I found I was using them to hone my skills rather than earn points.
There is no obligation tied to them, you don't feel you have to sit there for ages trying to get gold on all of them if you do end up doing that it's because you want to. As the games like Goldrush and Hoops are the only kind of experience you can't get from Free Flight.
The aerocaches are a neat idea, I think it's great that they appear regardless of what you're doing. Plus, the fact that there are so many of them, and new ones are added all the time, gives you something else that you can keep coming back for, even if only to play for ten or twenty minutes to try and find a couple.
Microsoft Live Integration
You are always online in Microsoft Flight, if you have an internet connection. By default your multi-player session type is set to public, this means that while you're in a mission or searching for aerocaches, other pilots will appear in your game. You can change the setting to be completely private so that people can only join your session if you invite them, or allow people in you friends list to join you.
Some aspects of the Pilots Profile, that can be accessed from the Map Screen, are boggling. The stat-tracking is pretty much what you would expect down to little details like 'Maximum Positive G-Force', 'Strongest Crosswind' and 'Time Spent Inverted'. But there are also hundreds of small awards to obtain, some of which I can't even fathom getting.
Some that will require some seriously dedicated pilots. There is one to 'accumulate 10,000 hours of total flight time; three and a half years of flying 8 hours a day. But it's nice that there are rewards in place for people that have the willpower to achieve such things.
For the record, I have been playing Flight on a reasonably good computer. I'm running Windows Vista 64-Bit with a Q8300 Quad-Core Processor 2.3Ghz, 4GB RAM and a GeForce GTS460 with roughly 2GB dedicated RAM.
I have been playing on the highest settings with no fuss at all; the frame rate holds up very well. All I would have to say is that every now and again it takes a while to load when I first launch the game.
On its highest settings, the game looks fantastic overall. The aircraft is extremely detailed and the terrain textures are crisp. Weather effects are pretty seamless and even flying through thick, heavy clouds makes my aircraft chug, but not my computer.
I spent some time playing the game with everything on its lowest settings and it holds up pretty well. The textures aren't nearly as crisp; it looks like someone has gone over it with a blur tool. But when you're above 700ft you really don't notice.
The cockpit is probably what holds up the best on the lower settings. That and the draw distance, which remains vast and unwavering.
Conclusion
The sound is surprisingly one of my favorite aspects of this game. I love the fact that I don't hate all the characters with voices, they're all charming and full of character. I love the detail in the engine noises, how if I decide to open the doors while stall-spinning from 15,000ft, I can hear the wind screaming at me as I try to level myself out and survive to deliver the chickens that I've got squawking in the cargo hold.
I only have a couple of small nit-picks. I would have liked it if certain scenery like the trees would lose their leaves if I decide to fly in autumn and be big and leafy in the summer.
That and the fact that when you crash (I know you're supposed to try to avoid it but it does happen) the planes act like wicker chairs falling off the back of a truck; they sort of just slide and stumble around until they eventually stop. Even if you stall-spin from 15,000ft and don't recover.
To conclude I guess I would say that this game surprised me, I didn't expect to be able to have quite as much fun as I did with it. Even if I'm making the fun up myself in Free Flight, it's been a long time since a game has asked me to use my imagination, and leave me to it, rather than hold my hand through the entire, carefully orchestrated experience.
I look forward to seeing what new content is released in the near future and hope that it is enough to help generate some strong lasting appeal for what I think is a bold attempt, and a brave new angle at a genre that has been out of reach of so many people for so long.
Screenshots & Videos
Below are some of the official screenshots released by Microsoft.
Official Trailer
Project Canceled And Staff Laid Off
Originally posted Aug 2012
After ACES studio was closed in 2009, nearly three decades of Microsoft supplying players with a means of flight simulation came to an end. So when Microsoft Flight and it's free-to-play model came to the table in February of this year, there was a faint light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a current-generation flight simulator, with constant support from Microsoft.
It's no surprise that there were a lot of disappointed simmers, seeing as the game was not the sequel to Flight Simulator X which people wanted. Instead, they got a game tailored to be accessible to 'anyone with an interest in aviation', with a closed in-game marketplace, shunning all those with an interest in creating add-ons and free-ware for the rest of the community. Although, at launch, it was not what people were hoping for, a lot of people have invested in downloadable content for Microsoft Flight® in the hope that in the future, content would be released that would eventually build the game up to be what people wanted.
Once again, however, we are back in the dark, as Microsoft's Vancouver studio has canceled production on Microsoft Flight. Around 35 staff members involved in the production have been laid off, due to positions within the development teams being eliminated. Microsoft has said that,
“human resources is working with the affected individuals to find new roles within the company."
Initial reports that the entire studio had been closed have been clarified and the studio will remain open but operating at a reduced capacity. We wish all the staff involved in the lay-offs the best of luck and a swift, peaceful transition to their next employment.
Microsoft Flight® will still be supported and will remain available for free both through Steam and via its website. But Microsoft states that all future content, planned or in progress, has been scrapped.
While there is no evidence to suggest that the cease of development is in any way related to how Microsoft Flight was received, it does raise the question, would this have happened if they had just made Flight Simulator 11?
Microsoft to Release New Simulator in 2020
2019 Update
It has officially been announced that Microsoft will be releasing a new simulator in 2020 called, "Microsoft Flight Simulator" or as it will become known in the community, FS2020. You can read our complete guide and analysis article here.
Don't forget... We have a huge selection (over 24,000 files) of free mods and add-ons for MSFS, FSX, P3D & X-Plane in the file library. Files include aircraft, scenery, and utilities All are free-to-download and use - you don't even need to register. Browse on down to the file library here.
428 comments
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I'm just looking for a great flight sim game, I had trouble with the flight sim 2004 game freezing.
Please, any suggestions?
The detailed images are great and it will, in fact, improve the overall flight experience but in my opinion, the Microsoft FS team should also improve in Air Traffic Control adding more realism into it.
Preventing things like: "747 Heavy, you a cleared to land, follow the Cessna on final."?
Run-over the Cessna, right? And many other small situations regarding Air Traffic Control.
When comes the FX11 because FSX is not a big success!
Heavy, slow, bugged, near unplayable, bad managing multi-thread and object, bad network management, too many limitations on aircraft features.
I understand why the developer team was fired.
FSX is crap.
Microsoft Flight is very tempting for the next few years but I would like to include a once and for all system & Blu Ray Google Earth... It would be fascinating.
Greetings!
I'm confused!
Are these screens for the 2004 release, or for FSX?
Magnificent! But I hope that we are not into another round where frame rates suffer so much that we have to update our hardware at great expense to return to FSX frame rates.
I have been waiting for a long time to buy this product because I think this will be much better than FSX.
I do have the same opinion as Raffy and John, things important for those who love flight sim... I hope Microsoft Fight will be much better than FSX.
I just hope FX11 will fix all that was wrong with FSX. FSX was ten years outdated when it was released and horribly bugged with data usage issues among others.
Developers such as ORBX, Aerosoft, A2A, PMDG, etc. have proven what can be done with the old platform so FX11 needs to, at least hit that bar if not surpassing it. It should appeal to the pilot as well as the new person wanting to experience flight for the first time.
This means it must be accurate and detailed but also have settings that allow a beginner to enjoy and learn as their experience and skill grow thereby maintaining interest in the game for years to come not just a few weeks.
Microsoft has done amazing things, I expect an excellent flight sim if they put the same energy and resources into this that they do other products. They need to if they want this title to once again become the benchmark and gain not only, the faithful back but a whole new audience as well.
Don't let us down Microsoft!
It would be wonderful if Microsoft included airport ground marshaling (person or lights) at airports and also bridges will connect to all aircraft at the gates.
Why should we buy this when MS abandons support like they did with FSX?
Is there any news about the compatibility of the program with WIN 7 or whatever the latest version of the WIN OS is, at the time of MS flight release?
Really need to have a lot more AI aircraft and need more terminal functions at airports and terminals when aircraft arrive and depart.
This function should be automatic when aircraft arrive and depart.
When FSX came out I asked the question "How much computing power do I need to see it as it was advertised?"
The answer was that the computer has not been made yet!
I hope we don't have the same problem with this one, I have been flying FS since it had stick planes and only a small area up by Chicago for scenery.
I wonder if FS11 will actually surpass an FSX installation that is heavily "improved" with multiple add-ons.
Rex, Ultimate Terrain, PMDG, Ultimate Traffic, etc have converted FSX from a skeleton to a very realistic flight sim in my opinion.
I reckon FS11 might only be a worthwhile upgrade "only" for those that haven't already heavily invested in add-ons.
It will probably be a worthwhile investment for newcomers though.
A few days ago I started to fly to all states in Brazil in alphabetical order, with FSX starting with Abaete (SNLI), Minas Gerais state. With 780 airports and airfields, it's going to take me a long time to fly all of Brazil in real time until I reach the "Z"'s. For all flights over 400kms, I am sticking with the Learjet 45 and its bigger brother, The Bombardier J70 flying IFR.
I hope that this new Flight Simulator 11 shows buildings and houses in some far-flung northern and Amazonian state capitals, like Boa Vista Roraima state, Porto Velho Rondonia state, Macapá Amapá state, Rio Branco Acre state, and a few more, rather than just an airport/airstrip.
Furthermore, I would love to see this new Flight Simulator 11 show all of Brazil 27 states with all airports/airfields within each state, so we could fly all airports in each state individually as we do in the USA and Canada.
When? When? When?
When is the new one coming out?
These screen shots look great... the vegetation density is wonderful.... many other things as well... But of course, I, too, share the reservations as to the system required to get even 'close' to the screenshots. We all know the FSX struggle with even the respectfully fast systems to get the fps and complexity to look like the screenshots...
One thing I would like to see is the correct usage of multiplayer interaction, as ALWAYS seems to be left out in ALL previous versions... For one, red floating letters in the sky because multiplayer lights 'never' seem to look right, is NOT and I mean NOT 'as real as it gets'.... It seems its impossible to use multiplayer and see the a/c of others properly without the res letters, the lights never seem to work or look correct.... More and more games and such are fully multiplayer designed, and FS always left that to third party developers to get it close to useable and tolerable... (and that never got the lights right)
I have remained optimistic since version 5.1, so I am not holding my breath...
I am very happy with FS2 and FS4 for years now. Whats the big thing with this new Microsoft FS. Scenery? - confused. I tried FSX and found it a bunch of crap- took it back to the store and gave it back. - Owen
2 things I would like to see, first and foremost the design team needs to take chapter from the developers of Flight Unlimited 95 and the flight dynamics of that sim. It was way ahead of its time and that sim responded more like real aircraft. Second, I wish they would bring back the crop dusting feature that MSFS4 had. That was a lot of fun and would look great with the new graphics. I think it may have been in MSFS5 as well but I don't think it went beyond that.
Awesome pictures! I also hope that they'll add people movements inside the terminal, baggages, fuel truck, catering truck and better landing lights (red/white) than ghost-look spots! What's more, they should add strobe-reflection against the ground at night (i.e. red strobe on the bottom and bright white flash from the end of its wings. Plus strobe-reflection while flying inside the cloud at night!! That would bring much more realistic!!
Real-time flights should be also installed! :)
I have been a passionate fan of Flight Sim since the beginning and have owned and used all versions of Flight Sim up to and including FSX I did have some frame rate issues with FSX but this was soon sorted with a larger graphics card. Flight looks awesome from the screen shots and I can't wait for its release... When will that be and what kind of demand will the new Flight have on resources? Thanks for a great site 'Fly Away'
FSX is crap? You guys must be rank amateurs with no clue. Don't post stupid comments if you have nothing better to do.
I fly GA and light military jets and fly mainly UK VFR. So I want low level detail at least as good as I currently have with Photographic Scenery. My outlay of cash to get to this stage of realism has been considerable. If the FS?? is going to be as good, what will it cost, and how much of our current kit will be usable. I can't see people like me moving unless we can use some of our expensive addons (scenery and aircraft). Right from the early FS, I have always waited a year after release, because there have always been problems, I would take some persuading to change that habit! But, in spite of my negativity, I am really looking forward to seeing the new one!
I don't believe for one minute the what you see in those screenshots is what you will see in the game.
The ability to move the tower is essential as in FS9 - It says you can in FSX but you cannot. LANDING at HEATHROW OR A LARGE AIRPORT THE BUILDINGS BLOCK THE TOWER VIEW. More realistic cities need to be used with better mapping. I use another weather station which is superior to Jeppeson
Along with many flight sim enthusiasts I've spent a small fortune on FSX addons ( not to mention previous FS versions). Can anyone tell me if any of the addon FSX aircraft ( and sceneries ) will be compatible with Flight, or am I back to square one with buying addon aircraft for the new version?
When, I'm ready for FX-11, please when? FSX is a FLOP!
I like FSX. It would be nice if new sim would implement airframes and allow players build planes based on realistic airline/fleet data. FSX seems consume a lot of memory to load aircraft.
Nice to have functions would be 1) ability to use multiple planes, i.e. park one and take another while last one still parked at airport. 2) Integrate google earth for realistic buildings, and improve buildings
There are tons of bugs in FSX that should be adressed.,
This seems to be the only way to contact any of the sites with downloads. I would like to know how to get around the .air installation program in the downloads. I keep downloading planes but can't get them to install. Does anyone know how to make these downloads work, or do I need to go back to Tandy computers?
@Paul Howard.....back to square one I reckon. FSX was written with a different code (or so I'm lead to believe)so I would imagine FSX addons won't be compatible with FS11.
As a long-time professional pilot, and aircraft owner, anyone who feels FSX is a poor example of "real-world" flight needs to "kiss my a**"!
Real world fight is not some idiots computer game!
Try to catch up!
If I may add?
Hopefully that in this new game, they'll correct the TIME ZONE! FSX's time zone is screwed!
And also they better have a better auto-spoilers system meaning when you set from 480 knot down to 300, the spoilers would be deployed till it has reached desired speed. :)
so, does this mean MS Flight just got owned now that they have announced it is a DX9 game and playable on Win XP? Sounds pretty crazy.
I want it all; better images, more interactive stuff, more traffic, better detail, people, cool things to see, ships, cars, trucks, planes, trains,animals, better sounds, better skies, better water, better land,cool stuff at airports, zoos with animals, waterfalls,plane towing, luggage handlers, incredible detail in the all cities... tons of stuff to see. I don't want to buy add ons, I want it all in one program. I'm ready for the next level. OK MS, step your game up and make a great new flight simulator.
I hope the new developers see the fantastic new aircraft that can be uploaded. I think the scenery should be more googlised so that what is below is real (even if it is limited to airports and surrounding scenery.) Please sort out the tower problem - in FS9 you could move the tower to different positions and also up and down. In FSX the tower does not move and when the scenery is complex it blots out the landing and take-off view with building structures.
Good initial info. Just need an approximate release time.
I like this site. I have Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 and FSX. Keep up the good work; hope the community grows. Thanks, Ang.
Was hoping to get a release date and perhaps an insight on the cost. All the promos look very appealing and being a retired aviator I can't wait for something new. Even being able to update the virtual airline you fly for with your own ATC commands from the tower would be outstanding.
Importing Aircraft into Microsoft Flight please, explain the nuts and bolts details of adding more aircraft to your virtual hangar and what Microsoft simobjects versions will work for example FS2004, FSX etc...
I have a huge investment in time and money in the Microsoft Flight Simulator Add Ons.
Please take a look PMDG NGX do you have a plane like this?
I have all the flight simulators since 1998, you can be sure that I won't miss MS11. The best simulation I have ever played.
Thank-you so much for the performance and hardware requirements information for the new Flight Simulator 11, I feel a lot better now. I just bought this brand new most powerful computer a few months ago specifically to be able to run the FSX properly without any hustles, and now I find my new computer actually exceeds the MAXIMUM requirements to run the new Microsoft Flight Simulator 11. Great news!
This is a great in fact the very best website for us Flight Simulator aviators. Keep up with the excellent works!!
I just hope it works in stereo-3D. I can't pass without it.
I know this is a Microsoft thing, but I think it might be a smart decision to have this compatible on OS X, and maybe even Unix. I am a fan of all three, and It would be outstanding if I were able to play Flight on all three of my systems, for different reasons.
By doing this, I also believe this would help grow the community, and help fund what I think is one of Microsoft's best products (other than the Office suite).
Are there also Boeing's or Airbus aircraft in this flight simulator? In the screens and the trailers aren't there any planes like that.
Sorry, but I'm a little bit circumspect: as the owner of the FSX + Acceleration Pack version and of a myriad of addons (free/payware) and quite satisfied with my hardware (including Asus 27" 3D), why should I buy a so-called new version ? However, supposing I'm ready to do it, you MS guys should forward very solid arguments to convince future customers/users that there is a real gap between future MS Flight and well-running MSFSX versions...
I will say 3-D sounds like a nice touch, and the more REAL the scenery can be - the better! I am a low and slow "Bushy" type (C185F Anphibian mostly) and villages (too many "dirtstrips" with nothing around them), terrain and vegetation are high on MY list, along with some other interesting things like vehicles (even on remote roads), people(?) and wildlife (a little more where one might expect to see them). I know the FSX has a couple types, but I have only ever seen ONE group of birds in months of flying in africa.
It is also irritating to have the terrain on the GPS not match what I see out the windows. One last thing, did they fix the plateaus and pits issues? I even bought TWO different add-ons that said they fixed that....NOT TRUE! My goal is to log a takeoff an landing at every airport in the world, and I know the plateaus and pits are still around in unacceptable numbers.
No matter how much more awesome this will be, I wont buy it... I think what they have done to all the FS fans with things like no support and total ignorance towards things like the infamous bug error is about enough to convince me not to that this wont be any better.
Samuel, the reason why there was a support issue is that Microsoft's flight program was disbanded after FSX was released. Microsoft is trying to revive the legacy and is working very hard to make it better than ever in all aspects. They are being aggressive in talent and quality to get this right in order to turn around the long decline in interest of the genre. They very easily could have just left it to die. Spooling this up again is a large effort, rest assured they are not just dabbling in it. I would expect nothing short of a revolution since FSX was released. All of these add ons all patched together can be troublesome, some textures look great from the air and then it's just flat photo when you get to ground level. Different areas seem obvious where the boundaries are. Wouldn't it be nice to have a seemless world where everything fit and worked no matter where you flew or the altitude. I'm all for add ons, but there is something to be said for just having one scenery that worked... I'm looking forward to MSF.
I'm Ready...Release it!
We owe most everything in flight simulation to Bruce Artwick and the 80286 based IBM. The 27 core flight equations remain the mainstay of the simulator. All else is candy wrapper. As a real world pilot, the simulator is only as good as the current navigation database. What Microsoft did fairly well was Instrument ATC control. X-Plane is a miserable failure in that regard. I will wait for Microsoft's position on these two important issues. Redbird is fairly high dollar, but has it handled. I don't hold much esteem for scenery enhancements. I just want to know that the runway is where I expect it to be when I bust out of the clouds.
I happen to have from Flight Simulator 98 up to Flight Simulator X. I'm waiting for the next Flight Simulator to be released. I can't until the new Flight Simulator comes out. By the way any does anybody know the release date.(I'm so excited).
This new flt/sim is I guess acceptable, but why O why can't we get to the interchangeability of programs from one generation to another. For example, PMGD have on just released their new 373, do you expect us all to drop everything and wait for upgrades? The bottom of your pockets might be deep, but most of us have ones full of holes and the cash that is saved is needed to keep the wolf from the door......May be your a wolf!! Stan.
I entered the flight sim arena two years ago with FSX - and the experience has been wonderful. With the modest hardware I am using (Intel I3/GMA HD/8G ram) I long for the day of a high end hardware to bring the sim to 'full' potential. Like others though, with ~ 3K USD already invested (hardware/addons) I will wait patiently to see if the time and expense of changing to FS11 proves worthy..
Yep, just as I said in my blog. Free and set in Hawaii.
Am marginally horrified at what looks as though it's going to be a Game! Not good old fashioned FS!
This seems to be the new model. Free initial software, and incremental addons through a tightly controlled marketplace. Prepare to add FlightSim as a line item in your budget, if you haven't already.
I am completely turned off by this product now after reading more about what it is going to be "about". Free, but you have to pay for aircraft? 3rd party people can't design add-ons for it? Only Hawaii to start with??? Come on Dev people. You are not going to win more of an audience by releasing the "game" (I am not calling it a flight sim until I see that it is such) with limited features and a lot of promises of additional content.
Ok, how long will we have to wait for, say, UK geography. Flying round Island of Hawaii can be pretty boreing after a while, I most certainly want to fly the Uk and Europe. And I wonder what the cost of "add on's" will be?
This is most disappointing of MS. Sounds like they may have produced more efficient code which we wanted with FSX and did not get. Now we will not have the ability for 3rd party enhancements, online flying with other networks like VATSIM/IVAO, AI planes etc etc, all which made the sim come alive. Sorry MS but nickle and dimeing us with stuff we cant control isnt the way to go
After reading about this program, I am extremely disappointed. I have purchases quite a few FS in the past, each one as they came to market. This, however, is one I will readily pass up. I wish MS well, but when they realize this system will not work, I will hopefully be the first in line to order a "real" FS. For now, FSX is going to be my Sim. From a 20 year Pilot & a 20 year FS pilot as well.
Well, Guess we will see. Im optomistic about this product, sounds too much like a Game-Game, instead of the Regular FS and FSX versions, I look forward to trying this out and seeing what it can or cannot do.
Not a surprise given the hints dropped by the Flight team over the last few months, but my heart still sank. The end of an era. I feel for the team. They will get so much flack, have clearly been caught up in the internal MS hype. They probably even feel feel excited. So long Microsoft Flight Simulator. It was a great ride while it lasted.
I agree with previous post... does not seem to be what users really want, more like a marketing design ploy to make more money than create an exceptional simulator.
Am disgusted at Microsoft. No 3rd Party SDK? Talk about monopolizing. Pay for more? What ever happened to the sims like FSX and FS2004 where you pay once and you got the whole world?
This is a sad day. I'm sticking with FSX. Good bye future products of Flight from Microsoft.
I am an avid user of FS from V5.0. Have been involved with online via Vatsim and IVAO for over 4 years. Reading the above appalls me. 'Gamers' are going to be tied to a franchise with limited access controlled purely by Microsoft. Are they trying to kill of Vatsim/IVAO?? Sorry, but I am seriously going to consider buying X-Plane, and ditch all my FS related software.
Thanks for this. You write: "There will be no scenery development kit and hence no user created content."
Is that correct or do you mean "Software development kit"?
Thanks.
I for one want "nothing" to do with it! There's still FSX and now......X-Plane 10. Both of which sound and are, better than this joke. Sorry but, no way!
Everything looked great until
"There will be no scenery development kit and hence no user created content."
Really MS, that's what made The older versions good. People being able to create their own scenery and aircraft.
I for one will not be purchasing this product anymore.
Your's, a very disapointed fan of the MS Flight Simulation products.
Sounds like a loser. MS must be putting this out as a money maker over and above what a full blown Flt Sim should cost. I look for lotsa competition in the market for other Flt Sims.
This definitely is not for the hardcore FSXer nor pilot wanabe. Why did they even bother?
Most simmers want to fly around there own country which we have now, all the 3rd party designers that have put in the hard work to make fsx what it is are now seeming to get the big finger from MS. I'd go as far to say they only have FSX & MS flight due to those 3rd party designers, before that they had brown everything and more of a game than they are planning now, there is LM prepar 3D which has everything FSX has and the code to move forward which is looking a better option or staying with FSX, where are the helicopters and will they have them i wonder, will we be stuck with eh101 profile, oh this sux for all the buzz is out for me ..
I have been a faithful follower of MS flight sims over the years, even bought FSX. This sounds just as disappointing to me. I might as well stay with my old FS9!!!
This all appears thoroughly disappointing.
No third party support, no VATSIM support and some kind of a "pay as you go" system it would appear. There's no support - initially - for big jets and only Hawaii in the initial release, when the rest of the world sceneries are created is anyones guess.I believe a large section of the simming community have been alienated.
I for one want "nothing" to do with it! There's still FSX and now......X-Plane 10. Both of which sound and are, better than this joke. Sorry but, no way!
I have signed up for the Beta. I will try the program and give it a chance, but being an x corporate pilot, this sounds too much like a game to me.
Dewey
I am so disappointed, what are Microsoft thinking of? I have bought every version of this program since subLOGIC release it for the Commodore 64. What has made MSFS the simulator that all others were compared to was that 3rd party developers could produce addons to enhance the basic program. Maybe this is the multi-million pound market the MS want to capture. I have been holding out for this new version, but with hundreds of pound worth of 3rd party scenery and aircraft I won’t be chucking them all in to fly around a poxy little island and or sign in to the MS Game which rather than broaden your game play actually restricts it. Microsoft you have just shot the goose that laid the golden egg. I will continue with FSX and I will be seriously considering switching to X-plane. Laminar Research must be rubbing their hands with glee, you have just handed them the flight simulator world on a plate.
So long Bill, Hello Austin ... get your X-plane fired up! And I started flying the Cessna at Meigs with SubLogic and never missed an FS upgrade ... Nice coverage by FlyAway.
Can't believe this.... Switch to x-plane.
You can shove it Microsoft. I am sticking with X Plane 10.
I have been flying MS Flight sim. since FS-1 and stick planes, I have upgraded every time a new version came out, but I think it ends with FS-X, really I went back to FS-9, because my computer had a hard time with FS-X. This new version if it comes out the they say, will not be on my computer!!
This is disappointing. I'll wait until the summer to decide, but if MS doesn't get it right, might as well get X-plane or stick with FSX.
MS Flight, what a joke, why is it even discussed in Flight Simulator forum, its just a damn arkade game
Are they seriously thinking that they are going to attract more virtual pilots this way? The market base for flight simulation already exists, mainly 25 - 70+ years old people who love it already, the gamer market they are aiming at will lose interest in this in a matter of hours, especially as the demo is free, I just don't see anywhere near enough people buying into it's development for it to even have a chance. I mean, not that I think it's a good thing, but most gamers want to see something busted, shot or destroyed every few minutes with a level up now and then, I cannot see anyone who isn't already into flight simmin' being thrilled with a jaunt around an island to the extent they want to buy more, when you can already get the whole world and much more with existing sims.
Barking mad marketing is what is seems, I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.
Some of my Flightsim friends spent thousands of dollars on addons, hardware and so on [let alone spending hours on learning about flying, navigation, pc's etc] for FS[X] It seems ridiculous to throw this away for a game.
One of the beautiful things of the FS-brand was the ability to change things yourselves [like the correction of taxiways I myself once did]
Another beauty in FS was that suddenly, one day, you'd see on a website the nicest and most well designed freeware airplane you could imagine. [Rick Pipers HS748, Project Tupolev 154M etc]
Another great thing of the FS-brand was the way people were helping each other out, learning to fly or learning to manipulate files or whatever in the Sim . Some countries can be downloaded for free in a professional design [NL2000] Airports with great quality in Hungary can be obtained [LHDC] how about Thomas Ruth's airplanes and his wonderful EDDL scenery? Heaps of files for FS9.
Freeware for a simulation, not a game. Yet Microsoft has decide to present us a game. A game based on the business model to conquer the Internet . To revive the dying "live".
Oh yes I do understand the logic of lowering the bar a bit because the previous FS was almost made for those who all ready knew how to fly. But only the other day I remembered that the X [land me] function in FS5 taught me a lot. As did an addon 747 with a great tutorial coming with it, written by a pilot.
Paying for better planes, payning for more parts of the world to fly over [probably in such a way as the Jeppens Simcharts: W-Europe in 3 or 4 chunks, dived in the heart of the continent] So later on we can fly from France to Germany and back. If you would want to go to Norway, pay. Go to Greece and pay [we've got to pay for Greece anyway…even without a game]
Microsoft tends to forget that there are as much Germans involved in FS as in the whole of the US [no I'm not German] So they make us a small Island in the pacific to buzz about. What kind of vision do the have of the Sim market? How do they look upon their customers?
Flight… It looks great, but I have to see the real thing and see the rest of that virtual world to know if it is worth it.
Locking out 3rd-party developers is an absolute deal breaker for me. Not interested.
I have had all the MS FS products since 1998 and as a private pilot found them both challenging at times, and as the technology improved more and more realistic. This offering is reversing the trend in my opinion as it seems it will not be a Flight Simulator but a flying game- as others have commented. FSX was strong because we could all fly our favourite aircraft from our favourite airports, detail levels being customisable which was also part of the fun of FSX. I stopped using X-Plane as the geography was not detailed enough, but now will revisit that product as it now has better promise to me. MS broke some promises with the capabilities of FSX and I cannot wait for the 'expansions' for Flight to be available. Sorry MS - lost me as a fan.
I have been a fan of flight simulator since Flight Simulator for Windows 95! I now have FSX and of course love it. I remember very similar comments (of disappointment) with every release of MSFS. But please give this newest FS a chance to develop. Imagine in a few years the whole world in stunning detail. FS has always been an incremental process. You never get all your favorite sceneries and aircraft (mine is 757) all at once. So, be patient with Flight. And what about dollars? With every release of FS, I have always spent hundreds of dollars on addon scenery and aircraft. So, am expecting to do the same with Flight.
This is the kind of thing that will make people turn away from MS. X-Plane 10 is better anyway.
It's obvious what happened here. MS are playing it safe by releasing the game in stages. They feel that the community is too small to warrant the full version in one go. After all, games these days have to be huge expensive graphical extravaganzas. Add in all planes and maps of FSX and you end up with a huge budget with too much risk of little return. The fact that it's a game instead of a flight sim is to pull in the average gamer. The reality though is that the average gamer doesn't like flight games (unless there is a deathmatch multiplayer component).
This is a disaster and MS will more than likely pull the plug if and when the figures show poor returns. They will be able to do this with minimum losses too.
I had great expectations but at this point it doesn't sound like something I'd be interested in buying. I'll check it out but it looks like I'll be buying those FSX Add ons after all.
This highly advertised release of MS Flight is so disappointing for most of the reasons suggested above in other FS users comments. Can I remind MS what happened to IBM PC market when they tried to monopolise the market for the PC and did not allow third party organizations to be involved post development. I am a keen FSX user simply because the third party companies can get involved with scenery, real weather and aircraft like the I-Fly 737 NG I have never forgiven Micro Soft for deserting FSX soon after its release. One thing is for sure. They will do it again to attempt to control the FS markets. Thank goodness the third party companies that have been able to make FSX more realistic on the inefficient platform code that it was designed on. I suppose I was not overtly surprised when MS pulled the plug on there loyal subscribers when it was evident that X-Plane was taking off. I will stick with FSX and my third party friends and use recently purchased X-Plane 10 which is looking very hopeful. Sorry but you have miss read the market Micro-Soft. "I'm Out"
Have nothing to say at this time but I am anxious to get the program as I have being using the FLIGHT SIMULATOR with great joy and I expect MICROSOFT to give birth to a new program.
No 3rd party development?? Really?? How in the heck do you ever think that 50 developers can keep up with the expansion that the previous MS Simulation versions have seen? Each day, I log into Avsim and Flight sim and see a multitude of expansion in the sim world and you are releasing this with only Hawaii.. not even mainland USA. Get a grip guys, unlike previous versions, this one won't fly.
Dear MS, you just destroyed the Flight Simulator title. For a second, we thought we were finally getting an optimized for multiple core use version of FSX, and considering the fact that even on today's fastest processors (You guys dropped the ball thinking we'd be up to 10ghz or more by now) we are still not getting great performance, we were welcoming Flight. By not releasing an SDK, you have really put the final nail in the coffin by removing the element that made your software the success it has been, the add-on community, freeware or payware. Your failure to respect that concept or idea will backfire and doom this title. Unless you are ready to hire existing add-on developers, don't expect much business at your marketplace. When you see your products flopping on the floor, I recommend you administer CPR in the form of an emergency SDK release. Lastly, in case you haven't noticed yet, the entire FS community feels betrayed. I'll be sticking with FS9 as I have for the past 8 years or so.
Well, MS abandoned us when the going got tough and they had to close down their support for their FS products. However, thanks to the many independent and smaller companies that developed addons for FS2004 and FSX, MS may not get too many subscribers to their new product. I think I'll stick with Captain Sim, Just Flight and the other developers out their that continue to give is world-rate products at a reasonable price.
The thing that disappointed me, is the 'need' to state that they will not be allowing 3rd party development... i didn't like it even before i heard that... so what they are saying is they dropped the old development group because there was too many 3rd party developers that could make addons... and we've made a 'new' product, that really is only something different enough as to write OUT 3rd party development. I thought a while ago that I might be going to X-Plane, and now this confirms it... FS was great because it had so much contribution, now they are just spoiling it. MS, your loosing to X-Plane... hope your OK with that...
Microsoft missed the mark -- big time!
The "casual user" will download it, say "cool!" and never come back again. They won't "buy" anything. The REAL users are those posting comments here... people that WANT certain things, based on already established expectations and continually improving quality. We're the ones that will PAY for stuff. If there is any future in MS Flight, MS will have to invest alot more $$$ before anyone will want to "buy" anything from them.
Lastly... I too am very disappointed with the lack of 3rd party developer support. That is where the very best add-ons come from.
Prediction: someone at Microsoft will get fired for this roll-out plan.
MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR RIP 1980-2012
I WILL NOT CONFORM TO XBOX PAY TO PLAY TACTICS!!!
CHECK OUT THE BEAUTIFUL A-10 SIM digitalcombatsimulator
NOW THAT IS A SIM!!
MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATORS R.I.P. 1985-2012
CLASSIC REPUBLICAN CORPORATE PIG MODE!!
After FS9 all these years I'm not too sure, FSX was a big disappointment for me as i spent loads on new kit but still not happy so i went back to FS9.
i think i will be adding third party software instead, i rather pay for something tangible and own it and not having to rely on when and how and the hidden costs.
This is what Microsoft said when they closed ACES! They would no longer be producing a true simulator but were going in a different direction with the now, new and improved Microsoft Flight. Everything about the new game, would be focused on using the platform of Windows Live, not the traditional means of production but one focused on the user being a complete novice and being able to access the flight simulation experience from the Windows Live platform.
It is to weep, no 3rd party aircraft, more money spent on their software packages, more money to purchase aircraft based on their design and specifications. No more tweaking the aircraft's config file, to make it go faster, fly longer distances and most of all fly the way we want. Frankly I won't be spending any money on the new and disproved functionality of Microsoft Flight.
I have to agree with most everything I have read here. I as well will not be investing in "Flight". I have spent far too much money on PMDG's excellent products as well as the other major publishers. I have almost all payware planes that have been made available, and a whole lot of payware scenery to boot. I really wish that Microsoft would have stayed with the previous franchise. What they really should have done is come out with another major update For FSX that would have fixed at least most of the known bugs, and optimize it for 64 bit systems to improve on the performance of the game. They could have also fixed the rain element for all of the virtual cockpits and added more wildlife and especially birds to help also simulate bird strikes like x plane has. Microsoft What a waste of development and time. If Microsoft wanted to make this for everyone, than all they had to do was make it system friendly.
Very disappointing from MS. But flight sims are not big earners for the company and it looks like they want a PilotWings-style game they can make a cash cow out of. Seems the days of official flight simmin' are over.
As a real world pilot since age sixteen, and a MS simmer since MS '95, I feel like someone just died.
I have been developing South African airports for Microsoft Flight Simulator since FS5!
Microsoft did not release any SDK back then either. They only started to release SDK's with FS2000. Back in those early days, a few very talented chaps quickly reverse engineer the program to write their own scenery compiler. The program was called BGLCOMP. Every week there would be a new version as the reverse engineers figure out more commands. It was difficult to work, but at least we could develop ourselves. I am just hoping that this will be the case again!
I agree with John Am disgusted at Microsoft. No 3rd Party SDK? Talk about monopolizing. Pay for more? What ever happened to the sims like FSX and FS2004 where you pay once and you got the whole world? Nelson
"Free game",.....then charge for every little add on! So THIS is what all the secrecy & hype was over, huh? No wonder! Thanks MS but I'll just upgrade a tad so FSX runs "wide open" and enjoy flying the entire world with the AC stable I've so
I've so painstakingly assembled. I'll take a "pass" on this new version...
I am incredibly disappointed about the behavior of MS. Total control and no loss in case someone could be running a copy. I was hoping FSX could be removed from my PC but it looks as if it has to stay even though it is the biggest sh..... on earth.
I have spent years (and a small fortune) getting to the point where I can fly credible VFR over the UK in a wide variety of weather situations and aircraft of my choice. I can look down (at my third party scenery and airfields) and recognize an airfield from its unique layout. I can follow the M6 from Birmingham to Carlisle, or fly M5 - M4 to LHR. I can follow the Thames from the east coast to London City. We have come a long way from brown fields and "little boxes" (with very little input from MS). Until this new "game" can offer the same - I don't want to know.
Well this is what i would have thought a money hungry company would do!. But this is the way of todays world, make money lots of money, and tell the consumer that "X" product is what they realy do want!. Now I truly do see that MS has made a better "sim" i mean "GAME" graphicly at least?. But this "PAY AS YOU GO" BS is not for me!. When i "buy into" a "game" I'm not going to keep paying for it to get new stuff for it!. But then again, thats what most of the FS(9)(X) simmers would do!, So MS is just grabbing the cash cow by the horns and the n*ts!, and keeping all the money for them selfs!. Makes since to me. Sucks really sucks!, leaving out the user ad-on feature!.
Same for i am form Europe and enjoy flying form country to country this is a disappointment. I prefer to have whole world and jet planes to fly . like a B737 b757 etc... i'll stick with FSX also and this is not my treat as well. i call it very disappointing from Microsoft. as I had expected to be able to buy a full version for on your own pc with the world to fly.... so this is very disappointing
Can't wait! I used to fly the Lincoln and Canberra with 617 Squadron at RAF Binbrook in the fifties. Did my national Service in the Royal Artillery in 1948/50. A glutton for punishment!
Ken
You just lost a 15 year simmer. Whoever thought this was a good idea should be shown to the door. They will soon find out that they underestimated the size and depth of the serious-simming community. Expect sales to really suck on the add-ons! What a stupid, stupid move.
Bring the old ACES team back, a full-world program like ALL the others have been, and make it open-ended. Sales will be the highest ever, providing FSX product will import to it. Do it right or expect sales from 10 year olds to rise. Not many of them have credit cards. Dumb, dumb, dumb move.
Wow, here I was thinking MS Flight was going to be the new "FS 11". Seems like the developers of Flight are totally out of touch with the huge fan base and 3rd party developers that have made FSX what it now is.
I can think of no reason to download Flight after reading this article.
PS to the editor. Please learn when to use it's and its. :-)
Disappointing ! Microsoft doesn't listen to ' the voice of the customer ". Again, a lot of stupid ideas, better graphics, and so on, but... pilots, retired pilots, future pilots, aviation enthusiasts don't need that stupid things. We would like simply aircraft, airports, and all related things to them. The rest, is silly. The fact is, after FS 2004, they decided to design things as they imagine, not asking the aviation audience.Call it ' another fiasco. If...Bill Gates Jr was still there, I imagine he would react positively to all comments posted everywhere regarding this new launch. And would determine to listen to us.In my case, a real life pilot it's simple : FS2004 and its Addons will fit my requirements.Microsoft go to hell !
I am also very disappointed with this announcement. No third party enhancements sounds like a death knell to me.
I had hopes this would be a significant improvement - but it seems that this is flawed by MS needing to keep tight control.
What a joke and insult to all of the hard core FS supporters over the years. I started way back with version 2.00 on a single 360K floppy drive with a green and white color screen at Meigs field in Chicago. I firmly believe that MS has lost its mind and way with this product. Bruce Artwick the original developer of the franchise has to be shaking his head in absolute disgust. Microsoft you have created an absolute indignity to your loyal fans and an entire third-party marketplace. Talk about getting the shaft...
Very stupid, stupid, stupid move there MS. THIS IS NOT A DAMN GAME!!!! IT WAS PROPERLY NAMED AS A SIMULATOR. YOU HAVE SIGNED YOUR OWN DEATH WARRANT.
Goodbye MS!!
A home goal again!
Will they never learn. I guessed long ago that the whole reason they changed direction was that they weren't getting a percentage of all the third party addons sold and decided to try and steal the pot. Good job X-Plane 10 Europe is coming soon. I can see third party devs dropping Microsoft and developing for X-Plane instead.
Goodbye Microsoft, hello Austin!
Sorry you are taking this road. Sounds like a money making proposition for Microsoft. Don't get me wrong. You should be rewarded with money if you produce a product that's better than your previous ones. You seem to have deserted Flight SimX by not tending to the multitudinous complaints of your customers, & have gone onto developing a new sim that now does not even give a hint on what the add-ons are going to cost. Get with it Microsoft, listen to your users & do the right thing. Develope a finished product, one that your faithful fans have spent their hard earned cash on, without having to write messages like this one to get you on the ball.
I'm deeply confused. Who is going to be buying these carefully metered out add-ons? Certainly not the casual gamer, who appears to be the target market for this "game". They will soon tire of pootling around a little island with nothing to shoot. And definitely not the hard-core simmer as he/she will be staying well away now that it is clear that there will be no third party involvement. And they are giving the core game away. Nope, they have completely alienated their true customers. They will never recoup the money they have spent in development, and I for one shall not weep. Time to try X Plane methinks...............
I'm disappointed as well. I will fly it for free and may eventually pay money for some enhancements since I have done the same for FSX. However, it doesn't sound like I will be flying it very often. I like flying around the airport at home. I spent a little time making it accurate. Microsoft is not to be out done by Apple. Make a money pit and have Gamers fill it.
WOW! ALL THAT WORK EVERYBODY DID AT MICROSOFT, WHAT A HANDFUL OF SHAMBLES AND A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME! YOU GUYS NEED TO START FROM THE BEGINNING, AND THINK ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS AND HOW WE ARE TRYING TO GET OUT OF A RECESSION, TRYING HARD TO SURVIVE. I WAS SO HOPING TO ENJOY A NEW MS FLIGHT SIMULATOR, I FORGOT YOU DON'T CALL IT THAT ANYMORE. I WILL PRAY FOR YOU WITH HOPES THAT YOU WILL CHANGE YOUR PROCEDURES FOR PURCHASING YOUR PRODUCT.
R.I.P MFS
One word: disappointed.
I mean, SERIOUSLY disappointed.
First of all, MS Studios turned a great flight simulator into an arcade-style game? Please, you gotta be kidding me! Hawaii is great, but not that great if that's the ONLY scenery available and the rest you have to BUY? This is a joke!
Words cannot fully articulate my immense disappointment at this new "game". My least favorite kind of software developers are the ones who make free versions of software then charge everybody for each function they want to unlock. Excuse me for my language, but this is pure BS!
I'm no longer allowed, should I say, to play FS, but if I was, I would stick with FSX. FSX was criticized at first as resource hungry, but with the ever-growing performance of computers, it'll be a breeze to run soon (Core i7 and 8GB DDR3, anyone?). Many great 3rd party addon developers are up there (CS, F1, and many many more) and there are thousands and thousands of free downloads, many of them of incredible quality.
If FSX doesn't suit you, there's also X-Plane, also of great support.
I will not be nickel'd and dime'd. Bad move Microsoft. What a big let down. I was soooo looking forward to a new FS. Guess I will be buying stock in Laminar Research. Makers of X-Plane. And will definitely switch to X-plane 10.
We've all got to remember, Microsoft is a business. What business looks a gift horse in the mouth? They want to make money... more and more money. 'Flight' may very well introduce more people to the joy of simming. I just pray they continue to improve the graphics and flight characteristics in FSX through new versions and add-ons. I'm not leaving FSX and dumping Microsoft. Indeed, I'm introducing my grandson to the joy flying via this stallwart aviation program. At age 5, he already knows a C-17 from a C-130, an F-15 from an F-16 and he can tell the difference between a B737 from an A320 (he says the A320 sounds like Mommy's vacuum cleaner). To me, FSX is NOT a game - it's an education through simulation. I hope 'Flight' does not prove to be a disappointing venture for Microsoft. Unfortunately for them, I won't be a buyer/user.
Bill Gates: Oh crap... WE really messed up this time, isn't it Steve?
Steve Ballmer: That's Ok. Don't worry about the FS fans, as long as they pay for the "extra content" we will be happy as clams...
Great for the ten pilots in the Islands.......FSX is already on all the pilots machines, I can hear the party going on over at X-Plane now. Pilots want to fly to airports in their area, or where they're planning to go. This flight is for teens who don't know carb heat from mag heading.
Sounds like kind of a walled garden that MS wants to insert in the world of PC... which has never been a successful move in the industry since the 80's... FS is still alive after 30 years for one reason: it is open. This move seems to put a full-stop on that.
What on earth is happening to Microsoft? Terminated the most useful product MS Money which no competitor ever came close to and still haven't. Terminated Flight Simulation which has been the product everyone else had aspired to. Now trying to make an extra buck from another computer game and trying to pass it off as an improvement to FS...who are you trying to fool?
If anyone thinks that MS was interested in its serious FS'ers, think again! Rather than offer the FS9 upgrade to FSX at a fair price, they made us pay through the nose for few real improvements before they pulled the plug. Arcade games are not what most of us want, and I feel pretty certain this latest attempt to attract "flyers" will end up with a lot of embarrassed MS programmers; I certainly hope so! Take note MS: genuine FS'ers won't fall for your hype on this occasion.
This release information is disappointing, a wait and see. For now I plan on staying with FSX for at least 1 to 2 years.. And will take a serious look at X-Plane..
Coins in the air? Geocaching? An airplane that's main feature is that it is not much more complicated than a car?
Newbies will get tired of looking at eye candy very quickly and then when they want to get a bit more serious about flying like real pilots they will get frustrated and leave. Not because it's too hard - but because this product is too silly.
I was looking forward to an FSX replacement that would build on the success of FSX and provide an even better simulator. Not a game!
I have been using X-Plane 10 for a month now and it shows great promise and I hope that developers will get behind it as they did with FSX. I have a ton of money into FSX over the years and will continue using it.
Of course I will "try" flight when it comes out but like many others "I won't hold my breath". Based on the announcement it would appear Microsoft has made or will make a terrible mistake in judging its potential users with Flight.
Terrible. If the released game resembles what is described in this article, then they won't be receiving so much as a penny from me. What board room genius thought it would be a great idea to develop a flight simulator that turned its shoulder on the flight simulation crowd? That is not 'expanding'; it is 'abandoning.'
You all are correct. Biggest flop of 2012 here.
The biggest thing is no SDK. That keeps me out.
That means no passerages X, no cargo hauler.
I personally do not have enjoyment with out having a reason to fly, those mods give me that reason, I make virtual cash that I have to use to take care of my planes and buy others. That and vatsim is something that would never exist on MS flight.
MS screwed up, the best thing we can do is boycott which most of you are doing.
The next time you hear talk about MS flight, with ANYONE (say someone you don't know at that airport) you tell them it is a load of crap. Explain why, give them links to things like this, tell them to look up what the FSX community was all about, and still is.
FSX is where I would stay, I stopped flying tho, since I was waiting for something more stable to run on my already beastly computer that some how can not max FSX.
I played the beta for MSF. It looks nice, it flys nice, great frames, but with only a pin head of space to play in, and no mods, I will not even play the beta again.
Hell I ran into a bug, but won't give them the chance to fix it since I want it TO DIE!
Go back to the drawing board MS, or release the FSX source code so us die hearts can have what we want.
So Microsoft think they can make money this way? I bet they only lose money this way! How much did it cost to develop Flight so far? And how much do they think they can earn from it? I'm absolutely sure Flight will not make MS any profit, only loss.
This news is just a bummer and someone at the very top of this organization should listen to the public who will vote with their feet and walk away from a life time of MSFS to x-plane. What a waste of time and effort into making a game.
NOT GOING TO USE THE NEW FLIGHT GAME! Already have FSX and thousands of dollars of world scenery and jet aircraft to fly. I have spent thousands of dollars to upgrade my computer to the latest gaphics cards and computer software so I can run FSX to it's complete cupacity. No way am I going to step back to run a funny little cheezy nowhere arcade flying game that is suppose to be the best thing. Nope, not a chance, waste of good money and time. Microsoft really blew it this time. Too bad they didn't spend all that reserch time making FSX more graphic friendly like FS2004 was. Now that would have made some sense.
I think that everyone who already owns FSX should completely IGNORE this release. They have provided absolutely no support what so ever and I am tired of companies thinking they can get away with any crappy product and make a new "improved" one costing three times as much.
Not very impressed feel that it is more of a money spinner. I had 2002 2004 and now FSX of them all I thought 2004 was more user friendly. Scenery is what most people would like to see improved and more Aircraft like the Steerman and WWII aircraft like the B25.I can understand that once a Disc is purchase it is not a money spinner but gives a lot of people Old and New much pleasure. Best of Luck but I think you will not impress regular FSim users
MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATORS R.I.P. 1985-2012
Microsoft's new motto: LOWERING THE BAR as much as humanly possible.
Some words and phrases that come to mind about this product:
Sad. Weak. Pathetic. Disappointing. Failure. Lacking substance. No 3rd party content. No freeware. No value. Small minded. Completely missing the big picture. Pay-to-play (for official add-ons to the supposedly "free" base product).
I don't expect Microsoft to cater ONLY to the hardcore crowd. I LIKE opening up flight sim to a wide market. But everything about this just seems WRONG. You need to make sims and games more OPEN to freeware and 3rd party companies, NOT more closed off. It just seems like what's happening to the rest of America . . . we're losing our freedom (in Flight Sim and in America) to idiots with NO real world experience or UNDERSTANDING of our desire for freedom and liberty! It's just so SAD. We needed HOPE, but we have none. - I guess there is irony in that.
This is nothing more than public suicide.
First they make it a game-not a simulator, THEN they cut out the community, and according to the GoFlight facebook page, there's the possibility of having to "rent" time.
Idiots. You morons at Microsoft should all be fired. Even better, The guys at X-Plane should be richly rewarded for coming to the rescue of the community!
What??, no ORBX in 'FLIGHT'? Oh my...
All I can say is bummer, I was looking forward to a improvement
Fools i am a casual gamer who had heard this and thought it looked cool in the screenshots but if this is how they are going to play it forget about ever seeing any of my money or that of anyone i know stupidest move in history Microsoft this ain't gonna work and everyone knows it
As far fetched as it seems and apologize if it was already mentioned ..but it would be amazing if a group of developers were allowed to purchase the FSX engine/code from MS or have MS put a price on the code and everyone could buy it (like shares in a company) and make it an open source product. I know...pretty far fetched.
I'm sticking with FSX I will not get MS Flight for any reason at all you have just effectively killed flightsim
I have played flight simulator since 1998, but to all consideration and an attempt for the market to target Battlefield and Call of Duty players, and I QUIT! I will stick with Eagle Dynamics flight sims, the release of the new X-Plane 10 game, and Aerosoft possible Sim release. This attempt to release the Island of Hawii as a free sim with worthless planes it is pathetic. Marketing back then stood for the user now its for the profit, it may be free but the DLC's will cost money. Sad day for simmers.
Subject: The sun sets on Microsoft
I'm disgusted with Microsoft for their abandonment of the continuance of MS FS business. I deem the most important morale of business is the customer's satisfaction. MS looks to wish to get a new customer discontinuing the loyalty to the old friend. If MS wishes to create a new product(Microsoft Flight), they should carry on the MS FS along side the new product. They should be remind that their payroll have been paid by old friends, not by potential future customer.
If MS believe this is the way of MS or American business, there would be no future in their business.
Goodbye Microsoft!
Best Regards, Hiro Okuda, Old friend since MS FS ver.2.0
The news about "Flight" is very disappointing. I have purchased every Microsoft Flight Simulator produced. And the reason I purchased my first MSFS, was because it was suppose to simulate flight. There were no missions to fly, but the challenge of flight and learning how to use the simulator were very gratifying. Each new version of MSFS and the improvements that Microsoft made to their product and the addons by 3rd party developers, kept me immersed. Microsoft dominated the civilian flight simulation market, but their domination ends with "Flight". X-Plane will now dominate that market. For Microsoft to say, the reason they are dropping "simulator" from the title of "Flight" is because FSX failed to capture a wider market, is not true. FSX failed to capture a wider market, because only high end computers could run it with decent looking scenery and frame rates, due to very poor coding. Microsoft should have gone back to FSX and redesigned it to take advantage of dual and quad core processors. Plus, redesign it to use the power of graphic cards. If they had done that in the first place, casual gamers would have purchased FSX to run on their average computers, as I did over twenty years ago. The idea that Microsoft wants to make "Flight" available to a wider market by turning it into a game, and then controlling and producing all of the addons is simply insane. It may appeal to some casual gamers for a short time, but the civilian flight simulator community of Microsoft's past, along with their children and grandchildren, will have moved on to X-Plane that continues to improve and will only get better with 3rd party additions.
I have been using the Beta of "Flight" & I have been very disappointed from The moment I switched it on. There is a giant arcade style HUD that cannot be removed, only weather themes no actual customizable settings. I have a throttle prop & mixture quadrant but only the throttle can Be assigned to a axis. It looks pretty and sounds ok also there are finally crash animations. But there is no AI traffic And No A.T.C. It's a sad time for flight simmers everywhere. There will be no IFR for sure. I wish I could enjoy X Plane but I could never get the virtual cockpit view I wanted. FSX is cool and I have spent thou sounds on add ons & accessories but it is getting dated.
Yes, this is really disappointing. I´m part of the beta group and tried it out last evening. It´s a joke for adults and boring for children. Sure, the graphics are nice, but you can fly around balloons and chase these aerocaches?! No ATC, no AI.. Ehem, I think I´ll keep my good old FSX or switch to X-plane 10. I really hope the marketing team of the project gets fired. Haven´t they done any kind of market research at all? This really had some potential and they messed it up so badly. I also think it´s a slap in the face for a whole industry who create scenery, planes and add-ons. Well, they´ll switch to x-plane. Is Microsoft slowly doing down the drain? Windows 8, this stupid so.cl network they copied, BING, ... #epic fails
Well done Microsoft .. lol
Micro$oft Flight I am pretty sure that Micro$oft with the release of M$ Flight, this will be one way to keep Bill is supply of ivory back scratchers. If I wanted to play arcade flight games I would of bought a Playstation or a Wii even an Xbox. To Micro$oft if you are reading this the you can take me of your beta testing and you can shove this Game where the sun don't shine!
The more I read, the more dismayed I became. As a flight simmer, there is nothing in this release for me. What you have described is an arcade game. Gold coins floating in the air? Really?
I also don't like being forced to use Live. I have a home system with Linux on a second computer (windows 7 on the other), and Live interfered with the protocol for the two computers to talk to each other - so I deleted it off my system. So long as I don't have to download any Live software to my system, it would work (eg just logging into a Live account).
I wish you well, but I don't see the market. I think you've annoyed the core simmers and I can't see how this will be attractive to the xBox crowd.
Good luck, but as they say on Dragon's Den "I'm out"
Quote; Product Specifications Microsoft Flight is optimized for the average PC user, with no special hardware required. (Oh really???????)
Minimum Dual Core Processor 2.0 GHz 256MB graphics card, DirectX 9.0c compliant 10GB hard drive space WinXP SP3 or newer 2GB RAM
Recommended
Dual Core Processor 3.0 GHz 1024MB graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 5670 or nVidia GeForce 9800T or equivalent 30 GB hard drive space Windows 7 SP1 64-bit 6GB Ram
Hand up all those who have the prescribed hardware?.... that is a killer for a start, I updated my pc a year ago for fsx to run smoothly (single core i7) now it seems that its not going to be fast enough to run this MS cashcow. The aircraft we all keep in our 'hangars' are probably going to be useless unless we stay with the only fs version that will run it, its not back compatible or if it is it hasn't been addressed above, what a crock!. Like many of you I have spent £100's on software and over £1000 on the hardware and I don't know what to say, There are so many comments above that hit the nail on the head and I'm not going to quote any in particular but one stands out:- R.I.P FS... that pretty much sums it up.
I totally agree with previous posts: Flight seems to be an arcade game with total Mfs monopole on addons and online play (bye bye Vatsim and Ivao). I'll continue to use Fsx and one day turn on xPlane. What a mess, Microsoft!
Funny how some people cling to the past, unable to embrace and shape the future. I think that MS is doing the right thing.
As expected Flight will receive "the WORST game of the year" award. A shame for MS and a disappointment for the flightsim community.
MS will certainly loose on this as the "game" will not appeal to gamers nor flightsimmers.
Hi! I just wrote very negative comment about FLIGHT!, but.. perhaps on second thinking I was too negative.
Guys.. stay cool.. This is only BETA! Yeah, I think it´s a arcade style game at the moment, but under this eye candy stuff is a true simulator! Don´t forget, it took years to get FSX as it is now with add-on scenery, planes and plugins. I don´t mind the DLC at all and it could be a very clever idea. The casual player doesn´t need IFR, ATC, real weather and things like this. He is more interested in missions. I am quite sure that hardcore features (failures, navigation, ATC, ...) will follow as addons (things are already prepared) and why not pay for them? In FSX we also spent a lot of money for addons! My first impression was : CRAP! But I´m not sure if it really is. Sure it sucks that there will be no SDK for third party companies. But who says they won´t change their mind and release a SDK next year to boost their product? After being totally disappointed I must say that FLIGHT has a chance!
It sounds like Microsoft has an issue of marketing with all previous flight simulation loyal users and developers. I also have spent a fortune on add-on products and while I will try the free handout and maybe like it or not, my current FSX has roughly 130 types of aircraft and helicoptors from the great developers such as Aerosoft, PMDG, MILVIZ, Carenado, IRIS, WILCO, Real Air, Captain SIM, Quality Wings, DODOSIM, Nemeth Designs, Lotus Simulations and others. They obviously are not creating this product to please the loyal flight simmers of all previous versions of MSFS. They do not seem to care about past loyal customers and did not act on comment to my desires and recommendations for Flight. I don't see how they can please me with this product for anything but a short attention span!
I have been using Flight simulators since the original FlightSimulator on my ZX Spectrum way back in the early '80's. I have used various versions of M$ FS since then each release generally improving on the next... I have to say that despite having purchased a few upgrades such as Scotflight scenery and the Horizon UK/Scotland photo sceneries, I find the "Missions" in FSX one of its more enjoyable aspects. I think this is what M$ are actually trying to achieve with this side-step. It still begs the question though, all the amount which they have spent on this new development could have been spent on improving the "Gameplay" of FSX plus a few more realism features. This would surely have (a) kept the installed userbase and 3rd party developers happy (b) allowed Microsoft to concentrate on selling the "game/challenge" selling features. Over time, this would also have resulted in more of the casual gamers moving on from the mission/challenges and trying their own - in turn creating more demand for the 3rd party developers.
If I was a 3rd party developer now, I would be contacting Laminar research to investigate ways to convert their existing FSX products into X-Plane products.
Should x-plane (11?) consider introducing challenges/gaming features, they will surely pick up any of those casual gamers who have been limited by what "Flight" appears to offer.
Did anyone not see this coming? When they changed the name way back when, that said it all! What needs to be started is an online petition (boycott list) that everyone post just once too it. Thus, MS could count the numbers of simmers they'll likely lose and compare it too the numbers of gamers they hope to reach. Let's help out R&D at MS, as well as MS marketing by telling them what or whom they should've listened too.
Right after signing the petition, go to Laminar Research, X-Plane's website and post there to Austin Meyers about how you want to help him to become the one and only real FLIGHT SIMULATION program. Show your support to X-Plane because MS doesn't want to take it from us... Don't they remember marketing 101 and that word of mouth advertising is the cheapest (free) and most important to any venture?
How much you want to bet Bill Gates will be out trying to hype MS Flight because they'll need his status/position in order to make an appeal. Isn't it amazing that after Steve Jobs dies that MS gets stupid again. Jobs kept MS in check by competition, now he's gone so MS starts thinking it can do whatever. What does MS Flight to do with Jobs? Nothing, but it just shows how MS will start doing things and MS Flight is a good first example.
Next, they will have "iFlight" like iTunes, but instead of music it will be aircraft, scenery, airports and etc. OH WAIT THEY DO, ITS CALLED "WINDOWS LIVE"!
"University College London researchers found a 3.6% decline in mental reasoning in women and men aged 45-49."
Now we know what went wrong!!! As someone else said I feel like somebody close to me has died. a sad sad day for all us flightsimmers.
You are so correct Mr. Hiro Okuda, Microsoft seems to be wandering away from a good product and the loyal user base again with its flight simulation software. The MS developing and marketing dept. should look at building on the FSX platform and retain an already hard to attain new customer base.
The reason many people take to FSX is that so many couldn't afford the upgrade on their PC'S in order to play it wasn't lack of intrest.
So, this "game" has been created by a 50-strong team then. Such a shame that 40-odd of them are ill advised acountants. On the bright side - Many of us who have been shafted will undoubtedly invest in XP10, which, as we all know, has some way to go. Well, with this sudden influx of cash Laminar will be able to expand their operations and REALLY make XP the sim tha Flight should have been. So we get our sim in the end, just a matter of switching allegiances :-)
I have been "flying" Sim since the time in 1981 on a monocrome Apple IIE, then ALL MS FS's including FSX, but my preferred is still FS9. Sorry MS, this time you didn't shoot your own foot, this time you hit your brain, so R.I.P. and congratulations X-plane you got a free gift from MS. End of story for MS and FlightSim.
I spend most of my time cruising around the world changing aircraft as I go. Not much here for me.
Oh I also do not do payments on line because of the security issue.
I guess I will stick with FSX unless a box set comes out.
This is actually really sad. I have spent thousands on dollars on adding and am not going to throw them away in a spilt second for that arcade game. I think that this is something that Microsoft got really wrong. I have waited a full year just to get disappointed by what I now class as a "load of s***".
That is all, smooth landings.
I agree with all the frustrations shown by almost every one-I am a professional army pilot and am now retired. I occasionally now use flight SIM X whenever I am bored. I bought PS3 to pass my times by playing action games but non is flying related .since I heard of Microsoft flight coming up, I really got new life. I purchased new computer from Dell for $1700 just for this coming flight SIM thinking it will be much better than flight SIM X but this information about the release of product with making Hawaii as my whole world sucks-I have flown in Himalayas near K2 on Baltoro Glacier and Milan, Italy , I want to fly there-If Microsoft wanted to make more money they should have followed PS3 games strategy-one game costs 60 dollars and I buy every 2 months a new game-MS could have made a professional game at price tag of their choice may be $150.oo a game . Every professional can afford it--I am sorry to say SHAME ON MS FLIGHT SIM TEAM DEVELOPER,YOU DISAPPOINTED YOUR PROFESSIONAL FOLLOWERS. You still have time ,make on CD for every day fun gamers And CD for professional gamers-the first CD should be cheaper say $70.00 which can increase your target market and the second CD for professional players accessing whole world not just Hawaii and cost could be $150.00; then you can decide which was better target segment .I am sure the answer will be professionals paying more money for good quality
You lazy people! To fly means to be able to acces any point in the world by aircraft. Hawaii only?? No airplanes that one encounter in real life as well??
I have piloted the Cessna 172 in real life and flown on CRJs, Airbus', Boeings and wish (like most) to pilot something like the 787.
Developers of this product, you have snubbed one of your most faithful community of clients: True Pilots and True Flight Simmers. Some of us are both: Pilots and Simmers.
This product is not 'as real as it gets'. This product is 'as arrogant as it gets'.
Sincerely,
JJ Holtz. Pilot and flight simmer for almost two decades.
Hi you out there. 20 yrs flight simmer astonished. I do think you really missed the most important point. You made this game for PCs: big mistake. Xbox is the correct platform, what about a closed version for PS3? You wasted time and money programming for computers: the right place is gaming console, maybe Nintendo 3DS. Collecting gold coins? ARE YOU SURE? Do you MS people see gold coins floating in the sky? with eyes open or closed? best regards.
I am a pilot and I have enjoyed the MS Flight Sims from the first one produced. I have built a Link trainer type simulator that uses FS9 and FSX. If I cannot use my military aircraft in the new simulator package, I will not use it. With the resources being expended, MS could improve and enhance FSX to produce a new product to be the finest simulator in the world with backward compatibility and the sales to go with it instead of producing the worst unmarketable, undesirable package in the world. Pay attention MS Management. You need the Flight Sim world if you are to succeed. The FS world does not need you.
I have been buying Flight Sim from the very first release, and my biggest complaint was that third party developers were not producing the things I wanted, so I learned to do scenery design, and created my own airports at the locations I wanted, such as Hawaii, and the South Pacific. By the time FS2004 came out I was perfecting my scenery skills, and even creating my own textures, and was able to create some beautiful airports which were very complete right down to landscape, and parking areas. Then came FSX which marked a whole new era for me. My scenery no longer worked in this new platform, nor could I make adjustments to it in order to get it to work. I would have to start from scratch, and re-learn everything I knew, so I stayed with FS2004, but recently went with FSX sacrificing all of the scenery I had created over the years, and I was back to crappy, unrealistic airports which were my complaint in the first place. Fly Away is just what it says, all of your loyal customers over the years, many who have contributed to your flight sims popularity with add ons will all be flying away from your new simulation, and finding other alternatives. I for one won't be using it, and am very disappointed to see the direction Microsoft has taken.
Talk about disappointed!!!! I am retired Air Force and have flown over much of the world. I was really looking forward to quality scenery, weather and aircraft (WWII and on)and prefer to fly VFR in scenic areas like the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska,etc. Sorry, but I don't feel like waiting years to get a C-47 or a Cessna O2A! Will I live long enough to see the world in scenery? Without 3rd party support this appears to be a lost cause!
I started of with subLOGIC Flight Simulator 2.x for my Commodore 64 (around 1984). When I finally bought a PC, I went to MSFS98 then on through the next ones up to FSX. I will try FLIGHT, but once I have flown around Hawaii to see how beautiful the scenery is, and maybe how great the flight dynamics might be, I will get bored. I don't want to fly around the sky through hoops or scoring points. I want to fly from "here to there" as realistically as I can. As an Aussie and I want to spend most of my time flying around Australia. Or from Australia to other parts of the world. How long before the places I really want to fly around, or to, become available? How about the aircraft I really want to fly in? As someone already pointed out, 50 staff to create all the aircraft and scenery that many others want (not just Hawaii and the USA), will probably take far too long to become available. To me it sounds far too much like a game. If I wanted that, I turn off the realism in FSX and do whatever I feel like doing. I almost never fly the default FS aircraft, but both freware and payware add-ons (aircraft and scenery). They ARE what makes Flight Sim a much better experience. Looks to me like my money will be going to those 3rd Party developers that it sounds like you are trying so hard to either undercut, keep their products out of FLIGHT or to put out of business completely. Sorry Micro$oft, but it just isn't right!
I truly share the complaints and angry feelings of most flightsimmers here in the forum and elsewhere. My hopes were flying high when I first heard the news saying that MS was developing a new flight product. Of course, like many others I expected a new and improved iteration of the granddaddy flightsim of all time. Now learning what MS FLIGHT is going to be like I am not only disappointed, I even feel gypped after a 5-year wait. I sincerely doubt that this new product will be accepted by the FS community.
U.Klein, MS flightsimmer for more than two decades.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear, MS have royally fked up this time. And to think I was getting all excited because "MS" was developing a new flight program. This will fail bigtime, no question. Now all we need is for big boy Google to jump on the bandwagon and take the reigns...Imagine a Google Earth powered X-Plane or straight full on Google Flight Sim! Come on, you know it makes sense. :)
With all the hype about XPlane 10 and all the hype about Flight, FSX with it's many great addons is still the best we've got going. The scenery in XPlane is the pretty much the same where ever you fly. Even the cities look the same, so far from what I've seen. I live in New Mexico and took a flight in XPlane from the local airport and there were lakes where there should have been desert and the city looked like one big housing development. Now flight looks like a game I've already got on my Wii. And if you haven't heard, MS is basically pushing out the developers like PMDG, Aerosoft etc. with it's licensing requirements. So there probably wont be much other than what MS gives us.
I don't get it, just Hawaii as the initial scenery, no SDK? But I thought Microsoft Flight was going to be using AutoGen like X-Plane 10, if it used AutoGen then why can't they launch with the world? Ok, landmarks need to be filled in and these should come at no extra cost, the product should be cost based but updates of scenery, aircraft should be free and 3rd Party enabled. Yeah I know the world is very much in recession but come on, you still have to pay for your PC, internet connection, etc so what is another $120 for a kick arse FS, jesus if it was that good, I would pay $500! - No I just don't understand the app specs and cost model at all.
Flying FS since FS3, flew ZXSpectrum 48K before that, in the mid to late 80s. Watching flight simulation evolve was a blast. With the advent of internet it was the COMMUNITY that took the lead in innovation. A base install of FS was just the skeleton on which ingenuity and a desire for better and better realism built upon. Freeware was the proving ground for so many talented designers. Active camera, goldstein's georender, holger sandmann's pacific northwest (now part of ORBX team?), PSS, PMDG, FS2Crew, FSPassengers, texture enhancements, Bill Lyon's classics, A2A (WOW!), Radar Contact and so many more, those were who made FS come alive! And Microsoft simply... puts and end to it.
Watch Avsim give it 5 stars when it comes out.
MS Customer support? Your joking right ? lol
How many years has FSX been out an how many patches ?
Blurries, stuttering, graphics anyone ?
Anyone who has been around flight sim's 20years+ knows what I am talking about ... this is a slap in the face.
A big F*U MS !!!
Does anyone have any information about the release date? Or any pricing information for the product?
Hi Guys, This MS Flight is nothing but a Xbox game. The 3rd Party co. can and will still make even better add-on. Remember MS loves Xbox not PC for games.
Well MS, if you didn't get a clue after reading all the feedback above... bye bye
Microsoft is so WRONG ON THIS. They have angered and upset people like me who have used and promoted MSFS since day one. Their supposed new market will get bored quickly and leave. They will not buy added content, just leave. In the meantime my entire group of FS friends is leaving en-masse to X-plane 10. I don't want to but I have no choice. I have lost all respect for the "decision makers" at Microsoft.
Very disappointed with this release, I think that it is time for the 3rd party developers to combine forces, just as Airbus did, together they could develop a better product keeping people in work, MS are effectively trying to close shop on all others.
I for one will not support this.
Unfortunately, it seems to me a bird trapped in a cage of luxury. I can understand the reasons, but I do not see how this poor marketing strategy can endure the time, except that all users have fun driving their Ferraris circumscribed within a parking space. Something that inevitably will not occur. I do not see that is the nature of all of us to be satisfied with the constant repetition of a single reality. Even with its seductive landscapes, it will eventually flatten. I wonder what a program is made out of high realism of aviation. After all, this new simulation program restricts access to a broader reality when it comes to effectively expand about flight simulation to a high level of realism. This is the primary issue, the evolution of the simulation of such a way that allows interaction with reality as it has for those who have this exercise comparable to pilots in the real world. Not only the airmen, but also anything that involves aviation. And there are few such items, which, if are not added together, will reduce this fantastic world of virtual aviation to an ordinary child's game. It is unfortunate to see these beautiful surroundings confined within a small space in the world of virtual aviation. EGLL_TWR : PLT58 lining up rwy 09R for takeoff... good day LOWI_APP, PLT58 at FL180 request descent for initial procedures to Insbruck...
I expected this when they laid off their seasoned development team in 2009 and then did a clean sheet. FS enthusiasts were not their demographic. They went after a different market. So why should we expect something similar to FSX?
I am rather pleased with the quality of 3rd party aircraft and scenery we get now. There is so much that is built on the foundation of FSX. We can sail our own ship without Microsoft.
I am sorely disappointed in this business model. Perhaps MS will achieve greater profit with this approach, but it will most certainly be at expense of the very substantial following it has up through FSX. It will also force all the 3rd party developers out of the MS development business. This of course will eventually lead to greater success for X-Plane. Microsoft has played a card with considerable risk to them. I believe they have misread the market for this product, but only time will tell. Any kind of flight simulator (call it what you will) attracts only a niche market, but MS is staking the reputation of an excellent product on a monopoly franchise. I don't believe it will work, this isn't exactly an office suite product. Too bad for those of us who had hoped for something better from a company with a reputation for dubious use of muscle.
I hope they include the FS PASSENGERS with the New Flight Sim, this is really a fun add on, and so realistic. Thanks
Hi, I prefer to use FS2004 rather than FSX. The approach lights are better also. Maybe go from 2004 and take it from there. I find that FSX viewing area is not as good as FS 2004. I have done thousands of hours on 2004 and think also that the acceleration module needs looking at too. But hey you people are ace and thank you so much for the technology its great and keep the good work up.
Honestly I am more than disappointed!!! How is that possible??? Prefer to keep FSX or change to X-Plane, in my opinion I think at first will be a hit at the release date because people will download the program just to know how program works but I don’t think it is gonna take long as you may not be able to download any add-on from 3rd party websites. That is completely insane, What's wrong with those developers? In most of the cases they provide better add-on´s than Microsoft! I am really sure of that!!!
If they considered that FSX was not as expected I am completely sure Microsoft Flight is going to be worst!
I think we are all getting a little too excited about this. First off, none of us have actually seen this sim yet. I have been playing this game for many years just like the rest of you(since 98). But honestly there was some things prior that were not that aerodynamically accurate. And yes I do know i'm currently working toward my commercial, who knows this may be a bigger challenge and simulation to what it really is like to fly. I mean think about a lot of you are complaining about not being able to fly jets, If there wasn't room for improvement do you really think that you could sit down in a 737 and fly it after ten minutes of FSX when in reality it takes people thousands of hours of flight time to land a spot in even the left seat. Secondly if you are freaking out because you have to pay to get exactly what you want and nothing more let me remind you that it is free to begin with. Previously we had to pay 60 dollars for the basic simulator with everything like it or not. And then if you wanted some add-on software you had to pay extra for it anyway if you wanted good quality realism, that was compatible as well. Look this is going to be free lets be honest maybe you should stop crying and wait until it comes out to see if you like it, it might be the best one yet. And you know what its free if you don't like it delete it from your computer!!
What I think about MS.. Should first "FIX" all bugs on the FSX before launch another simulator. I have been buying every MS products since back in the 80's, that including "new computers to run it", yes they have magnificent improvement with this simulator from IBM 8080 to Dual Core Pentium's, of course PC are getting better too. To me MS programmers seem like that they never look back to evaluate there on products before launch another, they not look back closely to correct their mistakes, per example on FS95 improve are good to FS8 sound with Doppler effect it was almost perfect as plane goes etc, something good but on the next simulator what!!...,"deleted" the good effects MS had previously are delete on the new version, (probably with "New programmers who doesn't care about the old program ). The late FSX bugs for example rain, snow,(makes me laugh) airports, sink on the middle of a high terrains or vs, Lakes 1000 feet on the air etc, and the this terrible turbulence affects that FSX have smooth sailing and WOoo what is that, some one hit me on the side? and other hundred more. It just does not make any sense why MS get a new one with fix the full of bugs FSX because the other guys have a Xplane-10 coming, "and truly the only thing good a saw there is the Hwy traffic, very real" Well.. C'mon, if MS want to push this new simulator on the market no matter what making a fool to the consumer who don't realize that MS just make a few things "worse or better" from that old FSX. "Thanks to the 3rd Party FSX it's a good simulator". MS should Hire better Programmers for the money they get"
Let us all request Aerosoft to make us a flight simulator. Crappy Microsoft abandoned us simulator fans!
We are not alone. http://www.prepar3d.com/ read in BLOG read in FORUM Active Sky, Aerosoft, Fsuipc, Ultimate Traffic 2, MyTrafficX... do you know these names? A few days ago I was watching a video on youtube showing how to insert a flightplan in an fms. The video wansn't made for simulation, it was a real video on a real fms with real pilots: guess what? they did procedures i already knew, I mean: I knew exactly what to push and click on that f... real fms just because learned on simming. I felt really good. This is my ( our ) idea of virtual aviation: it's a choir, almost every forum in flight simming world is full of words we can read on this page; be happy anyway: the Pope is dead, we'll have a new Pope.
On the bright side ..... this time no one will need a new PC to run what we hoped to be FSX11! The cash can we used to better effect elsewhere
I, with everybody else, am very disappointed in Microsoft. For almost a decade we FlightSim faithful have waited for you guys to come up with something good, something that will restore your rank as the FlightSim leader. FSX fell way short of the mark, not surprising since Vista was a total failure. And now? Now we get this? It's not even close. Looks like X-plane is stepping up to the plate because for whatever reason Microsoft won't. I didn't say can't, I said won't. You abandoned any interest in a Combat Sim after CFS2 and 3, and now you have abandoned Flight Sim as a whole. Thanks MS. Maybe after this catastrophic failure you will finally realize the opportunities you have missed. I just downloaded the Demo for X-plane. At least it comes with the whole world, not just Hawaii.
Well, they just successfully killed off the longest running Title in gaming history. Great job Microsoft. I can't think of a single user from the previous community that wants to perma-fly the islands of Hawaii...
Its also great to know that there won't be any further user created content. I'm "sure" we can expect MS to develop PMDG quality aircraft right? ::rolls eyes::
This game is dead. It looks like X-Plane just became the new FS. Microsoft had the market and they screwed themselves again.
How can you even think about announcing something like this and expect an audience. I have been with the operating system since its birth upgrading every time the new system was available. Waiting patiently for it to hit the streets. I was excited that you guys were hard at it again keep thousands if not more waiting at the stores as if it was black Friday. After reading this Nintendo DS type system coming I'm not even going to consider. Got a lot of joy in my operating hardware for FSX. Your fans want some increased Animation some increase ATC some mind blowing airports when bringing in there favorite commercial aircraft to the gate. Its better to just close up shop or let us wait another year for something real. This is a waste of time to release. Id rather go to X-Plane or stay with FSX before moving on to this kiddy game. Some of us like the creation of getting that flying high without having to go to the airport and doing a preflight. You had a full audience MS. Push us to our limits instead of going back so little johnny can jump on and play before his nap. Might want to have another meeting to think this over! If you have to just release regions like US, Eurpoe etc. But give something to make your fans wait for that release day like as if it was Call of Duty. Hook us up MS don’t throw away your loyal followers.
I usually don't comment on such issues but frankly I'm embarrassed by the flight sim communities attitude towards Flight. To begin, I do not work for Microsoft, I'm a hugh Apple fanboy, I am an instrument trained private pilot (real world), I am a long time flight simmer (from version 1.0 for the Mac), I was a beta tester for Air Hauler, I have been a virtual airline pilot with thousands of hours and fly in FSX every day that I am home. These comments sound like they are coming from a 5 years olds that can't get there way. Eric Cartman has more insight. Lets all face it. FSX is dated and buggy. If it wasn't for the likes of Orbx, PMDG, REX, FSDreamteam, Aerosoft, Carenado, etc. FSX would have died long ago. I for one am sick and tired of "tweaking" FSX and praying that the Jesus tweak works. Microsoft is adapting the Apple model for developing Flight. Close the system to ensure control over the end users experience. I just want to get in an aircraft and fly it and not have problems. I remember everyone whined and complained with FSX came out. Face it folks, technology is advancing exponentially whether you like it or not. I love the face that MS is investing in FlIght. There stats are right on the money. Very few people interested in aviation even own a flight simulator as they noted from their research of folks that go to air shows. As of 2009 (according to Wikipedia) there are only 594,285 licensed pilots in the US. That is less then 2/10 of a % of the american population and it is shrinking. How many of you real world pilots have inspired folks to get a PPL? Few right? How many of us hard core flight simmers have brought others into the bobbie? Very few right? So why should MS cater to such a small number of folks? I read people complaining about MS just wants to make money. Of course they do and so do all of us. Unless you live with your mommy and daddy who give you an allowance, you need to make money. Please, weak argument there. By developing HI first in high detail is absolutely the next step in the evolution of desktop flight simming. Controlling content is the new model like it or not. Sure, it seems unfair to 3rd party folks but in time with the success of Flight MS will undoubtedly add "select" 3rd party companies to develop under strict guidelines. If flight fails, trust me, it will be bad for all flight sim fans. Also, do you think the owners of the Icon A5 would let some "crappy" sim developer use their new, soon to be delivered aircraft? Hell no! They represent the future of GA in my opinion. Who out there wouldn't love to fly one of these futuristic aircraft? Good luck though, can't even get one until 2015 I'm told due to back orders before they even hit the street! Now you can fly one for free on your desktop. Come on now!! How closed minded do you have to be do say you won't even try Flight. Not that's a bunch of crap. Whether you like it or not we ALL need Flight to succeed to advance our hobby. Flight will mature and grow and out of the box looks amazing. All this mental masterbation by folks that haven't even tried it! Anything that advances peoples interest in aviation is a great thing. Period. FSX is also a game like it or not. I for one will be embracing Flight from day one!
I have not flown since FS9 (FSX was too much for my system to handle, besides I had everything in FS9 backdated to the 50s, 60s and 70s-where I liked it). Sounds to me that Flight is just a 'game' now, not a true flight simulator...where you have to buy to get more content, or win contests and 'games' to open more content. It is a sad excuse, in my opinion, and targeted toward those who like to play console games, and not targeted toward the faithful simmers who made it all possible for MS in the first place. true flight simming ended with FS9...and sadly does not seem to be coming back.
A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME - Thanks for NOTHING Microsoft
FSX will RULE for many, many years to come
Corporations no longer think about their customer base, just what's in it for their shareholders, big mistake I'll stick with FS9 and FSX. Bye bye Microsilly...
I was a member of the beta team people. All those who are jumping up and down in SUPPORT of FLIGHT, just do not have a clue. FLIGHT is a total bore. Sorry MS, you are out of touch with the real flightsim community. People, I have all of the DLC available, the entire islands, and all the aircraft. Even still, I can't muster the strength or desire to even fire it up. I'd rather play Angry Birds. It is a beautiful peace of software, but it will never be the product that Flight Simulator has become in 25 years.
Wow, so much childish impertinence and pessimism coming from the MSFS fanbase...and Flight isn't even released yet. The fact is we don't know what the next 2 or 3 years will bring. It's crazy to be making judgments so soon.
The first flight sim I had was Flight Unlimited II, and then later I followed the entire MSFS franchise up till FSX. I'm a big fan of PMDG.
Speaking from the point of a software engineer, let's face it - FSX has such an extraordinarily outdated architecture dating back to the early 2000's or late 90s. From an engineering point of view, there comes a time when you just cannot "rewrite the rendering engine" or whatever. The software components are already too highly coupled, and will become more so as the codebase inches away from its original design. In addition, the platform, while extremely open is awfully buggy, most likely as a result of impromptu changes to the codebase in turn weakening the original and outdated architecture. A big change had to happen.
Another important point was MSFS's ambition in modeling the entire globe. The obvious weakness with that is that with such an awesome scope, the overall depth of modeling is reduced, and 3rd party developers start replacing airports, weather and other aspects of the sim anyway. I've always wondered if Microsoft should have taken an approach similar to Flight Unlimited II rather than the global approach. Now they are trying that - it should be no surprised to anyone. From a technical point of view it makes perfect sense. Make something small, but make it extremely well. Then, find developers to add content. The only striking thing is the lack of an SDK. But, these are early days so let's not make fantastic judgments and predictions.
Sooner or later MS had to take a new engineering and marketing approach to FSX. It HAD to kill off the franchise. Doing otherwise would have been suicidal in the LONG term, both from an engineering point of view, and financial.
I'm still young enough to be optimistic about things - I think that this move is a good thing, and within 5 years or so I'm certain that this new platform will attract the hardcore MSFS folks like myself.
Will there be any Jumbo jets in this game or is it just going to be small planes ? Anyone know ?
MFS Is the best ever made. Pro Flight Simulator is a piece of poo.
Pete
Well, "for gamers who want something new", I guess this is FSX meets Mario Bros. What part of flying is picking up Aero Tokens to unlock new areas?
I can't wait for this a free flight sim can't be bad.
Flew my first Flight Simulator on an Apple II in about 1985 and have bought every version since. Got my pilot license in 67 so love to fly. I have been flying fuel models, model rockets and battery power AC. I look forward to a revised sim.
Very sad that the wonderful sim series has to end with FSX to be replaced by this third rate video game.
I hope that Microsoft Flight will be better of other ancient ones.
When is the XBOX 360 version coming out?
When will FS be available for Mac ?
I feel quite let down with this new approach, having bought most of the previous M$ Flight simulator titles.
It's not the on-line experience that's the problem, it's the childlike game approach to it.
With one island initially, that is also a major let down, and I suspect it will eventually cost 100's if not 1000's to build up an entire global experience (if indeed that ever happens).
What have a staff of fifty people been doing for the last five years?
I have the new X-Plane 10 as well, and if it had airport scenery, I would not bother with anything else.
I think that overall, I will be heading back to FSX, as I am sure the add-on market will still be keeping the FSX going, seeing as they are locked out of this version.
Oh well, I will see how this develops.
It took about 8 minutes to download and install MSF. It is definitely for gamers and not flight simmers. NO moving traffic and everything extremely simple.
Graphics aren't bad but there are no aircraft, etc at the airports or in the air or water. No breakers on the beach, etc. Trees do sway in the breeze. On my 2.83 Ghz system with sliders set to maximum my frame-rates ran around 25-30 fps.
The crash effect is cute. Shows an ambulance after the crash is over.
Have been on every Flight Sim that Microsoft have ever produced since day one and always looked forward to the next version.
I have loaded 'Flight' and can do nothing but crash on the opening tutorial My CH controllers are not recognized, the keyboard presses operate intermittently. There is nothing intuitive about the whole approach and interface.
I don't get it, I really don't.
Mostly disappointed in Flight Sim. After the download, you're in a small planes flying around balloons. I wasn't able to find any instructions or alternative flight controls. The above article talks about the map screen and other "assignments" but where are they? I'm sure, if I stay with the game, I'll eventually find that stuff but typical MS to leave you hanging with no where to go.
After 16 years of buying Flight Simulators, this is the first time that the new one is smaller, lighter, poorer that the previous version.
I could forget all my add-ons and expansions for old FS, but i won´t play with less airplanes, less scenery, less simulation.
I too feel let down by MS.. I have been a avid flightsimmer for years, and I do like the NAV and SID and STARS..The live ATC (even if they do steer you in the wrong direction) . All of that, I feel like this is more of a arcade game then Simulation of flight..What sucks more is that there is no 3rd party addons..Thats what made flight sim so great!!! I cant even fathom how much it will cost to complete a whole world. Hopefully MS will come to their senses and release a complete version of Flight.
I aso feel let down after using FSX for sometime now and i find that Flight is four steps backwards, what a great disappointment.The realism is just not there with Flight like FSX has its more game orientated that realism.
Poor approach to a potentially great flight sim. They have managed not to appeal to anyone by adopting this gamer based sim. Flight simmers will hate it as it doesn't add anything to the fsx experience, in fact it retards it by some margin (especially in still no decent crashes!) and gamers will hate it because it not really a pure, gut wrenching, high energy, complex game that they look for.
Ultimately two words describe this game - EPIC FAIL.
I shall be sticking with FSX and this tedious game (i mean, one island, come on!) will crash and burn in the history books of how not to do a Flight Sim
I'm not even going to try it. I'll stick with FSX. Fly with a mouse. WTH.
Besides being downright bad...to get the FREE addons you have to register your "product key" which they do not tell you how to obtain! On top of that they require you to register and pay on another web site!
I agree.. This new approach to flight sim has reduced it to a mere game. I actually used Microsoft FSX has a learning tool and am so enlightened by what I've learned. Even though MFSX is classified as a game, it is much more serious if you use it properly. I wanted Microsoft to take flight sim to the next level but it is clear that they can not mess with the best flight sim ever (MSFSX). Whenever I can afford to take real flying lessons I feel that I will understand what I'm learning as a result of FSX. I can not say that about the new Microsoft Flight "game". If you just want to play around, you may like the new product offering. I love how close I've come to learning the beauty of flying an airplane.. I never want to reduce it to just playing around. I am not saying this is a bad product, I'm saying you have to know what you want out of it before you buy it.
oh stop your damn complaining. while you are entitled to your own opinion, so many people nowadays are expected to have everything RIGHT NOW...from fast food to oil changes. the fact is you CANT have everything whenever you want it!
Microsoft programmers have been working hard to bring us an updated version of flight sim and while we may have had to wait, understand there are many more projects for them to work on than just flying games over there.
Great review. I have been playing flight sims for years too. One feature I would have liked to have seen in this new offering it to import your planes from FSX etc into the new game. I know it would ruin the business model, but I really cant see myself spending $8 on a single aircraft skin(that doesn't even include a cockpit). The Hawaii pack is $19.99 and depending on the amount of content that comes with it, even that seems step. FSX deluxe was $59.99 when I bought it may years back and provided many many hours of flying. Does the Hawaii pack provide a 1/3 of this with only one plane?
Very sad. Many steps backward from FSX. In other words its a video game not a sim. Yes that will appeal to more people but the simmers will be left high and dry. X-Plane will be the only sim left.
No airport or sky activity. Trees moving in the breeze is the only movement besides my aircraft. Where does the screen shot go when you take one? Will not let you log on to the other free stuff without a key. ???
It looks like a Playstation game..that to bad....going back to x/p10
My son and I are long time MS FS flyers. We Beta Tested MS Flight. It is game like and like another poster stated child like, not simulator like. Personally we will stick with MS FSX.
I like that it's something new that MS has released but nothing compares to FSX with the right add-ons and payware. It's a fun little divergence but so far that's it. If it opens up the world (er, Island) of aviation to a whole new audience then great.
As for this student pilot and avid simmer...I'll leave the realistic experience to my FSX.
I've tried loading it and it won't. The support seems to send me round in circles, so I've given up. Back to FSX. What a shame!
Compared to FSX this is absolute rubbish.
I'm with Abd Al-Latif Whiting, it's pure garbage.
The things I'm missing in flight are some technical things like the ability to put some instruments on a secondary monitor, like GPS and the radio stack. I also discovered that my Saitek panels do not work nor the track IR4. the Saitek yoke and pedals operate well but it seems like the quadrant can use improved drivers, it doesn't feel as accurate. over all flight is cool, I hope they will release maps for the rest of the world soon, I do like flying with friends in different parts of the world, sometimes even long trans Atlantic flights. I hope this kind of flights will be possible and I hope having the complete elements of this Sim to do so will not cost like a trans Atlantic airline ticket.
Flight Simmers are not just game players. They are builders and this GAME does not satisfy that need.
Flight is a lot of fun and the graphics are good. I haven't used my controller yet and thanks for the review to teach me some things I did not know.
Please check your spelling! Your instead of you're. Loose instead of lose. Those are what I saw when glancing through, there may be more.
No thanks, I'm very happy with my old FS9 with all it's Commercial Aircraft, scenery downloaded and Airports, it does just fine!
REALLY hoped for the best, especially seeing how X-Plane has stepped up the bar. Even after reading the so-so reviews, I kept an open mind. I finally installed it this evening and after about fifteen minutes uninstalled it. The first thing I noticed, getting past the difference in controls, was the scenery. Even though the graphics were not bad (still have seen better in other aerial games), it was embarrassingly apparent the terrain...Hawaii was FLAT!! How can a volcanic island be flat??? I finally gave up and uninstalled it. If After I did, I revved up FS9 (still haven't even gone to X) and headed to the same area as Flight. Ahhh...mountains! Yeah, FS9 has no graphics particles which Flight uses to create a more realistic environment, i.e., sunlight, shading, reflections, I STILL felt my eight year old sim did a way better job making me feel I was there. Granted, I do have add-on meshes and scenery, but I don't see that type of improvement happening with Flight when they still have a world to create and sell.
If my computer could handle X-Plane 10, it would definitely be my next purchase. In the meantime, FS9 still keeps trodding along!
I like that it's something new that MS has released but nothing compares to FSX with the right add-ons and payware. It's a fun little divergence but so far that's it. If it opens up the world (er, Island) of aviation to a whole new audience then great.
As for this student pilot and avid simmer...I'll leave the realistic experience to my FSX.
I downloaded the program and toyed around with it for a little bit. Liked the graphics and the sound, but was disappointed that the only venue available was Hawaii. I was looking forward to a much improved version of a simulator similar to FSX. All MS has done with this simulator, is to make those of us who are still flying FS9 and FSX hold onto them and just keep chugging along. It will b very expensive to bring the sim up to the level of the previous ones, if it can be done. For me, I've uninstalled it and it's back to flying FS9.
What the???
I don't want to play silly games, I want to fly!
Would love to give my two cents but it tells me my 5770 isn't supported due to too few shaders, even though it has them.
FSX with ORBX scenery and a host of payware aircraft from A2A, Carenado and Aerosoft is where I will stay. I was hoping for Microsoft to step up, but they didn't... Thank God small developers have done what Microsoft is not capable of. Pretty sad really.
Can you use a joystick (yoke) in the sim? I have noticed all of the reviews talk about using the mouse to fly. That's just not my style. If I cannot use a joystick (yoke) then I am not interested. It takes the fun and learning aspect out of the game if you have to fly with a mouse. I fly sims to get a feeling of how flying an aircraft will be. Also, will there be helicopters available to fly in the future? It would be a great addition. Thanks
I was on it for 20 minutes last night, at the end I was looking where I should put my 20c/10p in the slot. Most of us are purists when it comes to FS, This is for the Xbox generation. Nothing wrong with that at all dont get me wrong, but for me its like a video game in an arcade, not something you can sit down and plan a flight and work out fuel/weight etc and really get into it. Not for me I'm afraid. I will be removing it.
Now if they had the gameplay of FSX and the scenery of FS then we'd be getting somewhere! I quite agree with Mr Whiting about his comment "It's not the on-line experience that's the problem, it's the childlike game approach to it".
Please!!...Is this supposed to be the follower to FSX? This is not a "Flight Simulator"..... This is only a players game!!!.... I expected a lot more from you guys. I'm sorry.... as others tells you, I will stick to the previous simulators or may be the X-plane. You know, I like to fly in Norway and area around here.....
It's wonderful (no not the download) what you can do with a good producer. I'm sorry Microsoft this is a dud, I can understand why you gave it away, back to the drawing board and quick about it if you want to retain Flight Sim Customers.
What the???
I don't want to play silly games, I want to fly!
'Lose' not LOOSE. And this is a GAME not a SIM. FS2004 and FSX propheads will be sorely disappointed.
Flight Simulator user for 8 Yr. Now FSX and all goodies PC. Extremely disappointed. At 65 and retired. Like fling learning, challenge in the cockpit ( instruments, flight dynamics etc....> A) DO NOT LIKE TO GIVE TO MUCH INFO> B) IF YOU RELEASE "DEMO" LET IT BE COMPLETE> C) SO FAR IS THE INFO GRAB????? I DELETED DOWNLOAD. NO POINT Lets get this " project" competed and then will see! What have the Team spend 5 Years on:?//????
No wonder it's free. Total garbage.... what have these people been doing for 5 years? Sack the lot!! Integrate aspects of X-Plane 10, FSX and REX studios and we may well have a sim worthy too fly... back to the old faithful it looks like.
Too many bugs. In-game I can't start a job in the job board.. some fonts don't display...and can't change the weather properly. Not to mention the 50knot crosswinds present during free flight. This product is STILL IN BETA. There is also no board to post bugs. RUSH JOB!
Well Dave, here you have it.. The general consensus is that it is more game like. No one really is complaininig.. Some people like "simming" and some people like "playing". Why you had to use a cuss word and feel like you had to patronize the developers is a display of your own insecurities and misunderstanding of what long time "Flight-Simmers" were expecting. You do not have to comment further if you don't take the time to understand what's going on here. Peace be with you my friend.
I lasted ten minuets before I was in control panel clicking remove program.
The preview videos didn't reflect the released game at all flying was boring and required zero thought.
I'm glad it was free because had I had to pay more then 50p for this I would have been really angry.
as far as being a sim goes IT ISNT, it lacks any 'involvement' with the world around you, the nearest comparison I can come up with is its like taking any good shoot em up and removing all the enemies, i.e pointless
I'm disappointed. I started FS2002, later FS2004 & now FSX. I tried it ... Maybe it's joke?
Well guess I'll stick with X-Plane 10 then. Its really good and looks to be improving all the time. If MS would have done this right, then who knows. But now.. well.. sad to see the MS games go down hill like they have been over the past years. Age of Empires 1 through 3 was awesome. Then AOE Online ? Seriously ? It looks like a cartoon. Pfft. Game companies are dieing because they are making crappy games. They need to understand why Crysis 2 was awesome. Playability as well as graphics as a COMBO. Minecraft is awesome because of playability, and as for graphics, it can now be modded to have OpenGL shaders in HD. If it was not for the fact that you could mod Minecraft, it too would never have taken off either. Because lets face it.. blocks ? And yet companies like MS make online games like AOE thats all cartoonish.. uhgg. Guess it was bound to happen since all their other software is crap and they don't care about us as customers anyhow.
The install went OK. When I try flying I cannot get into the airplane. The game seems to be stuck in the Flyby camera mode. Anyone know what to do about the problem?
Various problems; very slow start up, no help files at all, in the basic version how many planes are available? How do you access them?
There is a reason that MS dropped the word "SIMULATION" from the name of this product. While it does allow you to pilot an aircraft I would not say this is a simulator based upon my experience with previous MS products. I too went back and flew the same area in FSX and found it superior in every category (Graphics, Sound, flight control and Track IR support, AI, missions, Multiplayer, plane variety (except for the Icon A5), and GUI. Sorry MS but this Flight is going to crash and burn.
Being a pilot for 63 years, I do not remember one plane that I flew that you controlled with a mouse and keyboard. Shame shame MS.
I have purchased the Hawaii pack and here is a review from an advid flight simmer and designer "jimmy R martin"
Overall graphics and terrain are great. Shoreline waves are stationary. Nightime lighting sucks just like in the default FSX. No moving traffic. No moving boats, when you can find them. No static aircraft at the airports. Landclass looks very nice. Autogen very nice...good variation in structures. Aircraft very nice. Shadowing and reflections very realistic. No real world weather. No flight planning or anything like in Flight Simulator. - jump in and fly. Terrain mesh equals FS Genesis addon for FSX. STILL: As Microsoft has stated...this is NOT a flight simulator but a game for folks to enjoy. You go online to open up and play. Once you set up your account you can instanty buy more aircraft and scenery. Hawaii is $20 with tax. This could get very expensive.
Don't waste your download... The commodore 64 flight sim 20 years ago was better flight model, graphics good but it’s supposed to be a flight sim, not a scenery sim. Can’t do half the tuning on the flight yokes etc
Very very bad MS… go back to the drawing board! I’ll stay with FSX
What a disappointment tho no surprise. Sims are inherently boring to non aviation enthusiasts. They'll treat this as a welcome curiosity then eventually leave it go. But real world pilots use it as a training/proficiency tool and need realism. Non-pilot enthusiasts are smart enough to appreciate realism. Microsoft just lost this entire sector.
Very disappointing to say the least. We all knew it had to end someday, that day has arrived. Just make sure you take care of your FS2004 & FSX discs. We've had a good sixteen year run with the simulators, just try to enjoy what we still have in the sim community. Look at it this way, it leaves the door open for other developers to start something new and maybe even better down the road. Better days ahead for us build enthusiasts. Sorry to see it end though!
I was very excited when I downloaded and installed Flight. Ive been flight simming since FS98 through FSX and figured this release would be a step up from the rest. While the graphics are well done and the visual effects are quite stunning, the simulation doest appear to be found anywhere in this game. I do make the distinction with this release of Flight to be a game- not a simulation at all. I was also very disappointed to find very limited scenery and aircraft. I was looking forward to the entire world being a part of this release as it has been in every single Microsoft Flight Simulator- Sadly I was let down there too. Hawaii seems to be the only place available to fly at the moment. All in all, unless this is simply a pre-release showcase of a future finished version of Flight, this is a waste of time if you're looking for what you're used to in previous versions.
Che schifo... Rubbish. Can I have anything like 747-400x PMG queen of the sky and take it up to the sky?
My flight sim on the Atari ST was much better
The Microsoft Flight is really tragic. The dollars and time spent on development should have produced an advanced FSX that most simmers would have gladly paid to see. The hype does not fit the product. It seems that with every new plane or scenery the developer has their hand out for cash. I would urge Microsoft to abandon this product and continue support and development of FSX. I have already uninstalled Microsoft Flight. Usually when a new flight simulator enters the market I call all of the simmers to let them share in the excitement. Sadly with this new program that was not the case.
Very disappointing... I would like to hear them saying "ok we have joked, now we mean it", but I know it is just so: a definitive rubbish.
I'll pass!
After reading the reviews and real sim pilot's reactions I have decided I am not going to bother. I will stick with FSX until those guys that helped make FSX what it is switch over to X-plane 10. Funny how they went the wrong direction. Instead of taking care of those that made FSX what it is they decided to back those that have an attention span of a duck.
Against my better judgment I downloaded it. Pretty scenery, boring otherwise but desperately needs a can of "Raid".There are more bugs than in a "Startroopers" movie.
I can't believe this got the approval for release by Microsoft! Very disappointing.
Now I understand why they called it "Microsoft Flight" and not "Microsoft Flight Simulator"!
Feels like some corporate strategy manager at Microsoft played Test Drive Unlimited 2 and decided that TDU should take to the skies. If that's the case, he has done well, otherwise its a failure..FSX was about big, grand, the whole, the absolute and the magnificent - that was the vision...This was lost...Prepar3d and X-Plane is the way to go!
Very disappointed! Bought every flight sim by MS since 1983. Will not buy this one! Avid simmer and also a retired 747 Airline Pilot. So much hype over an arcade game? Now im going to buy X-plane 10. Is this the best Microsoft can do? Find it very hard to believe they would have the nerve to sell this arcade game as "Flight" Sophisticated controllers, such as Saitek X52 and Logitech G940 don't work with the sim. Just the cheap CVH flightstick. VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!
A lot of griping for what? If you don't like Flight, try delete, your not out anything. Personally, I like it. The game picked up my Logitech throttle, pedals and joystick during installation and mapping is a snap. I would rather have Hawaii detailed than the entire globe in sparse generalities.
After reading all the posts, I was saved the trouble of downloading Flight at all. I only have FS2002, but even using that I've had more realistic aircraft response with DOS Red Baron, and even with a pre-GUI version, which had no graphics at all! I admit my computer chip probably isn't fast enough, but thanks for saving me the bother of trying Flight.
What a Total pile of Garbage! - Running on Max settings - Graphics still look very poor indeed
Deleting and spending money on further enhancing FSX which already looks better on my system than Flight does
Flatly refuse to spend a penny/cent/euro/dollar or dime on Flight
I am away on holiday so can't download onto my own computer, but after reading all the comments my worst fears are confirmed, its just a silly game no wonder it is free. Will stick with FSX and look at X Plane seriously now. 'MS Flight' what a flop !
I downloaded flight and must graphical it stunning and look great . but as i am a FSX fan with jet flights over the world and IFR flights. I must say it a turnoff for me i miss the jet planes like a 737, b777, B747, at7-72 etc... to fly as that what i like the most . so this game is not for me . and also paying for planes.. and sceneries can add up to being very expensive at the end while i only payed for full scenery with fsx around 60 Euros for the dlx version . So to bad MS i switch over to X-plane then rather.
Hey Chuck, if you don't like reading others peoples negative comments on a comment board just go away, M'kay? People have the right to complain just as you have the right to praise it. Not everyone shares your opinion. Get over yourself already.
As are most people here, I'm not too excited about this. Flying around balloons isn't my idea of a flight sim. Having this as an OPTION for newcomers is welcome, but being a real pilot and an avid simmer since the old Sublogic days, disappointed is an understatement.
And just a note to the grammar Nazi's. Head on over to Wikipedia and do some editing if your only input here is there, their, your, and you're corrections.
This is Terrible ! Money making machine for the greed of Ms !! They completely ruined the Flight simulator - and put into commerce a money making machine ! of very poor taste and quality. Bring Back our Simulator or get out of the way!
Seems OK and has potential. but this pricing is just nuts. It seems to work out at 20 USD per aircraft but less for scenery.
Having played previous flight sims I know exactly where I want to fly and what aircraft I want but their pricing structure seems like I will be paying a weeks wages for the privilege, so I think I'll just get bored of the free content and uninstall.
Also Microsoft say they want to know what you think, but don't have even a forum!
Flight is a nice fun toy to play with for a while but does anybody at Microsoft realize they have already developed FSX? I don't understand why they couldn't have just added missions to buy, caches etc to FSX.
MS Flight is obviously targeting the wider market - kids.
The moment I step into MS Flight I realized its a kids game. Not for the adults.
And its going to cost a lot of $$$$ in order to get it fully functional. Definitely not for me, I think ill just give up flying and try something more down to earth.
Microsoft flight GAME (it IS a game, not a flight simulator) has a bug that knocks out the keyboard. I believe it probably has to do with processor speed ( I'm at the minimum 2.0 ghz) but I'm not sure.
The Icon5 is a rather silly aircraft with an automobile "cockpit". I am a licensed pilot and have flown many light aircraft (Cherokees, Cessna 150, 152, 172, and I even checked out in a tail dragger D18 - twin Beechcraft during multi-engine training). I am also a retired air traffic controller. The Icon A5 has no artificial horizon or even a turn and bank indicator. Needle, ball and airspeed is the most basic flying there is. The FAA would never let this car/airplane off the ground. Also the drag from the gear being down is overdone by about 50%. I have flown high drag/high lift ultralights (Quicksilver) and they have less drag than this Icon A5 which appears to be quite a streamlined aircraft. Another telling non-feature about this carplane is that it has no flaps. I once owned a piper colt. That 108 horsepower dog did not have flaps but didn't really need them because it had the glide path of a rock. After the colt, piper put more power on their aircraft and flaps as well. The Icon A5 is a step backwards in simulation.
I haven't flown the Stearman but that aircraft (the real one) has a tremendous amount of engine torque which is quite challenging in a takeoff because if you apply power to quickly, you don't have enough tail to avoid a ground loop. Also the p-factor from the large propeller requires a quick reduction in the use of right rudder as you rotate for takeoff and the quick reapplying of right rudder as you begin climb out. Finally, reducing power in flight requires lots of left rudder on this aircraft in order to keep it coordinated during a glide. I don't believe this realism is there in this game. There is a reason why aircraft manufacturers went to tricycle gear. The Stearman is a difficult aircraft to fly (more so than the twin beechcraft tail dragger I flew) so don't get the idea that this game version of the Stearman is anything like the real thing or you might get yourself killed.
On the plus side, the scenery is fantastic (it's great fun to fly between trees) and the realism of the ocean is a pleasure to behold. So if you have the ram and the processor speed to set all the graphics on high, you can enjoy the scenery and some excellent weather effects.
Love the starter plane. The scenery seems way smother too. Hope its not gonna cost a fortune to fly in the rest of the world though.
Picture the scene its the MS development office 2 months before the release of MS Flight.
Boss "Great work guys those plane models look great, Hows the game elements going." keyboard monkey 1 "john was working on that" Boss "john.....john..,dammit where is that guy" Keyboard monkey 2 "errrr john left 4 yrs ago" Boss "so whos doing the game elements and scereny and stuff." KM1 "errrrrrrrr" KM2 "errrrrrrrr" Boss "ok dont panick look at johns terminal whats he done so far" KM1 "he done hawaii" Boss "S***, ok here what we'll do, release the game with hawaii and tell everyone that they have to pay for the rest of the world piece by piece as downloads that will give us at least a year to actually write the game....they get the game and we make 10 times what we would have releasing the full game in February......." KM2 "but we're rubbish at game content" Boss "dont worry about it those idiots will buy anything"
fast forward 1 yr and Boss KM1 and KM2 are seen sat on the kerb holding up will work for food signs
I also downloaded MS Flight and tried it out for a couple of hours. Then uninstalled it! It is complete junk! Does'nt even come close to either FS9 or FSX, Ok, so the scenery is just a little bit better but thats it. Gameplay is poor, the sound is poor, the cockpit detail is poor etc, etc! And if you want to fly anywhere other than one of the Hawaiian Islands you cant....unless you are prepared to download and pay for extra scenery! Come on MS Game Studios...get rid of this junk and get back to doing what you do best and develop a new MS Flightsim that's as good as the originals. Because MS Flight surely isn't.
I downloaded this "game" and spent two days learning and playing it. In the end, I have come to this conclusion, it is an unfinished work. To bring a sense of completeness to this game, microsoft should have included Sponge Bob Squarepants and Teletubby motifs to all the planes. Perhaps they could have included these characters as selectable pilots and we could all fly around listening to "I love you, you love me...." playing in the background. Just goes to show how far off the deep end a company can really go if they put their mind to it.
Here is my review. There is just to much wrong with this game to list. I have used MS Flight Sim since it first came out. Flight is a far reach from MS Flight Simulator. If MS plans to expand on what it currently is that would be great, but until then I am sticking with FS X. What they currently have is a "free for all" flight situation. No rules, No ATC, just pure kaos. It's hard for me to believe that MS would waste money on a platform like this without planning on expanding it.
Conclusion. Don't pay MS a dime for anything in this game until they offer something that's worth it.
The really sad part is I do not see anywhere for MS to receive feedback from the users. Once again, MS does what it wants without listening to the consumers or potential customers.
Shame on you Microsoft, shame shame.
It's a real Lemon. The people at Laminar who make X-Plane must be ecstatic with joy. Ps. Has anyone downloaded Windows 8 Preview? It's a Lemon too!
Being a Virtual Airline pilot with hundreds of hours on FS9 and FSX, I was so let down when I heard the direction MS was going with this. But I kept the faith. I joined the MS Flight Beta team. I truly jumped in, and gave it the ole college try. I downloaded the retail release, claimed my free Maul and P51 for being in the Beta, and took to the skies. For a whole 20 minutes before I closed the game in disgust and removed it from my hard drive.
What really gets me is that Microsoft gave absolutely no thought to their simmer base. Those that keep FSX going long after it should have been a dead game. The vast majority of people that will give a flight sim more than 10 hours of their time, are going to be hard core simmers that try to 'simulate' actual commercial aviation. Virtual Airlines for nearly every major, regional and even minor airlines are out there. It is a thriving community with thousands of people spending tens of thousands of hours weekly flying Boeing, Airbus, Canadair, Embraer jets because they actually do like flying the plane, not just soaring in the clouds.
Some people are saying 'quit whining, give it time'. But given how many years it took them to put this together, and they probably decided it was too much work to do it correctly so they took a shortcut to appeal to 10 year olds. They will soon find out that since these planes do not have weapons etc., that it's not even a GOOD arcade game.
I'm just sick about it. FSX needs a major overhaul, and X-Plane just isn't a viable alternative if you value the time you spend on the ground at airports just as much as you do your time in the air. Not to mention they had to have purposely made X-Plane more difficult to get around and just experience the sim. Their view controls are completely jacked.
All in all, I too will be sticking with FSX and continue to fly for a Virtual Airline, with my 10+ addon's to increase realism etc.
Good luck with this 'Leisure Suit Larry' of the flight sim world, Microsoft. Since you didn't care to listen to us, your actual fan base, you will reap what you will sow.
@AG Gilbert, you said "The FAA would never let this car/airplane off the ground"
They already achieved FAA milestones: http://www.tehachapinews.com/news/local/x1498654722/ICON-Aircraft-A5-achieves-FAA-milestone
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/02/icon-aircraft-receives-first-ever-spin-resistant-seal-of-approval/
welcome to the future of flying.
A lot of people here obviously haven't tried out Flight. The graphics are so much better than FSX and previous. There is VOR/NAV with the RV-6. Icon is using GPS. Whoever says that the scenery is just "a little better" hasn't bothered to tell you the whole story. The scenery is way better than FSX or X-plane 10 (which is lousy scenery). ATC is done through multiplayer where people can talk on specific radio channels (just like real life). No there is no unrealistic robotic ATC. If people wanted to set themselves up as a tower and communicate on their hosted game, they can. FSX and previous are horrid with multiplay. Uncheck the easy settings for realistic flight handling. It seems as though people just bash this product, and don't seem to have gone past getting the plane out and really looking through it. You can even get out of your plane and walk around. The only way you can do that with FSX is to get a clumsy 3rd party add-on that is very quirky. Regarding paying for extra scenery - tons of hardcore simmers do that already with 3rd party software. So why harp on this? I've paid for REX2, as well as MegaScenery packs and a lot of payware aircraft. Sound is so much better than FSX. Unless, again, you have a ton of add-ons, which is probably what people are basing their critique on - the fact that they have bought hundreds of add-ons to FS9 and FSX to get it where they want it. You have to compare the base product to the base product without add-ons. Compare the base FSX with it's default sounds and scenery and aircraft to Flight - and Flight knocks FSX over. Again, ATC is via multiplayers, so get going there and start using ATC for real with real people instead of getting bad vectors from pre-scripted robotic recordings as in FSX and previous. I see Flight as an open door to keep Flight Simulation alive - it was nearly dead only played with by the hardcore sim community - a VERY TINY NICHE MARKET compared to the rest of the gaming world. Now Flight is going to be opened up to that vast gaming world. Regarding the graphics - the cockpits are excellent! There is even shadowing and sunlight play that moves across the cockpit. The Icon isn't my favorite aircraft, I've never been a seaplane fan. But I love the RV-6 and Stearman and will be getting the Maule soon. It is getting rather old to have people ditch Flight when they've barely touched it.
As a parent who has to buy all the software for a multi-console household, I am amazed at the speed games are played and discarded. However, proper flight sims last for years. This thing is crap and the people who post positive remarks are probably MS Flight employees. This is not a flight sim because it is a console game and will bore the crap out of all in weeks. WE WANT TO FLY EVERY WHERE!
This game is not going to be released on XBOX360 or Mac. It is a windows exclusive game. In other words it's only for PC.
Wow... what a negative rant we have going here.
You should really give MS Flight another look. Like many of you, I have been flight simming since the very first MS flight sim package and still have FSX running and use it often. I also fly X-Plane10 and aeroflyFS. I was a MS Flight Beta tester and now I am many hours in on the final release version. There is so much misinformation in the comments so far.
1. Starting to fly without reading the MS Flight Handbook puts you a huge disadvantage. It is available at http://microsoftflight.com/en-us/handbook/
2. Flight supports most of the joysticks, yokes and pedals that we all use. I flew with mouse for only a few minutes... then switched to my CH CombatStick 568. It supports my CH pedals and Saitek yoke. On the "Options Screen" you can map all your buttons to the functions you use to having on your controls.
3. You should buy the Hawaii Adventure Pack before forming an opinion. It is not only the rest of the islands but also includes a really nice RV6 that is very real and fun to fly.
4. You should try the Missions, Challenges and Aerocache Hunts using a joystick or yoke before you go away disappointed. MS Flight can be a very entertaining flying experience while you are hunting for a aerocache and then have to fly some very fancy aerobatics to fly close enough to the token to capture the points.
4. I admit that MS Flight is not a FSX 2.0. It is different. The flight physics and scenery are excellent. But all the details of FSX, such as ATC and flight planner, are not there. However, with the $20 Hawaiian Adventure Pack download, it is a fun alternative to FSX and X-Plane10 when you are in the mode for flying and fun. When did you ever get a great fun flying game for $20.
Ms Flight has a future. They have already announced an Alaska region download. It will evolve to follow the user community that it develops. I am still logged into the MS Flight beta tester's forum with the development team and we are are as tough as you on wanting more real simulation details in the program. So... don't write this package off too soon. I for one have found it very impressive from a technical point of view and lot's of fun to fly.
Brian Groton, MA USA
The new Microsoft Flight? I can think of only two words to describe it...It blows!!!
I downloaded MS Flight yesterday, mapped my Saitek X52 to the controls and flew around in both the Icon and Stearman. Did I have fun....YES. I think the quick flights and challenges are a good idea if you have limited time to play. Scenery is heads above my FSX game. Avatars are more realistic, my copilot is a sweetheart. lol The game is free to start which should bring in a lot of novice pilots, but I think they will bore very quickly unless MS ups the ante with more addons. I for one will be very disappointed with this game unless more aircraft are added. In FSX I can fly all the old time heavies I have loved since I was a child (Constellation, Martin Mars, Lancaster, Avro Arrow, etc) MS should let the third party builders in on the action or they will lose fan base very quickly. Yes I do like to plan my flights from time to time, but overall I like to be sent on missions of rescue, pilot for hire,etc. MS Flight is a good base, but they best expand for quickly. I was going to talk about MS charging for every little addon, but when I stop to think about it, I have spent quite a bit in FSX already. Time will tell if MS Flight survives, but in the meantime I will stick with both FSX and MS Flight and may the best system win.
Brian Holt Denman Island, BC
What people don't seem to have realized yet is the big marketing scam that MS has undertaken.This game was hailed as being free to play to pull in people who expected more but all you get for free is what you get with a lot of games a demo nothing more, I really cant wait for Alaska to be released as this will put a lot more people off this game when they find out that you will probably 'warp' from Hawaii to Alaska or have to load up one or the other each time you play not to mention they will probably never expand outside the US why should they when thats 50 add-ons right there even if they release one a month thats nearly two years money grabbing.
Well ,I must say ,this is truly a let down. I have been with MSFS since hmmm since the one that came with a plane building disk (1.3/3.1??) and X-plane 7. That being said ,X-Plane 10 will be the flight sim for me. I will not be supporting ms flight.
StratoArt, Point taken. I read the articles you pointed me to. However, they don't say the instrument package is devoid of the "standard six" or has vitually no way to determine your pitch attitude or bank angle (no turn and bank or artificial horizon) beyond using outside cockpit references. I'm CERTAIN the aircraft used in the test did not have the Microsoft Flight Icon A5 instrument un-package. As to the future of flight being equivalent to spin resitant aircraft, all I can say is that way back in the 50's (I know I'm dating myself here) they said the very same thing about the aircoup (It was a VERY spin resistant aircraft). But, alas, the claim that it couldn't spin was undermined when a couple of deadly crashes from spins happened. As an old flight instructor I can tell you that the stats on spins are muddled; yes the spin causes the crash but PRIOR to the spin (and many times not resulting in a spin but still a deadly crash) is the tendency of pilots near the ground to skid around turns because they do not want to bank in a coordinated fashion. It's probably an irrational psychological fear of the low wing hitting the earth so they use too much rudder, the inside wing stalls and drops, the aircraft rolls towards the earth and the pilot makes the terrible error of pulling the nose up instead of allowing it to descend while stopping the turn (you can do this in even a hundred feet or more). When back pressure is applied to the elevator, the inside wing stall is exacerbated (increase in angle of attack and decreased airspeed) and the aircraft enters a spin. Beyond severe weather, cross control errors while flying near the ground are the main cause of crashes. I'm sure that if the Icon A5 is symptomatic of the future of general aviation, it is because of it's sea/land versatility at an acceptable price. Over forty years ago they made an aircraft like it called the lake buccaneer but it was too expensive.
If you work for Microsoft, tell them to adjust he drag on the gear to about half what it is. It's not realistic. The X-plane aircraft modeling software was actually used to model the virgin air space plane and I'm sure Microsoft could afford it so just put an Icon A5 in it and run the numbers and you'll see what I mean about the excessive gear drag. Or you could put the $400 RC Icon A5 in a wind tunnel and you would have physical, rather than math model proof of a bug in the Microsoft simulation algorithm for the Icon A5 (and don't get me started on the Stearman or the P-51 death traps).
I hope for FFB suupport. Does anybody know something about upcoming updates or some "news" page to follow? Thanks
I tested it and flew a mission after the tutorials and i'm disappointed to the max. When i bought FSX i got a full game for 50 bucks or so where i could fly to 25K worth of airports around the world and now i'm supposed to pay major bucks for tiny improvements ?????? Are you kidding me??? This is the worst catastrophe the flight sim community has ever seen and nothing but another money printing machine for Microsoft. If they would have done something like NFSW ... with a complete world and real online experience ... ok ... but this is ... NOTHING. Don't bother with it and don't let M$$$$$$ fool you.
Isn't it obvious? MS wants to attract larger audiences into her game arena. Pro FSX-ers may be an attraction profile but obviously not large enough as proved by past adventure of MS with FS family of products. Greedy execs in MS demand for more revenue generation. This idea needs to be proved to MS execs. So they will start testing with Hawai before pouring resources and money into a world aware simulator. By doing so, they are also avoiding a PR problem. If they had comitted to an FSX like platform from the beginning, it would be a PR problem for them if they ever abort the project because they cannot attract a larger audience than FSX. Now they will test the idea and expnd or close based on their initial experiences with Flight. If young gamers cannot be attracted abort the project. So what is happening is inevitable at this stage. Sell FS code base to Lockhed Martin (www.prepar3d.com) and start flight. My hopes are with X-Plane and Lockheed Martin
50 people working for 3 years? It looks like the work of 2 bedroom coders working for about 12 weekends. Microsoft really does suck the life and productivity out of its developers ... this is another piece of committee-ware doomed to fail.
I don't know if I'm dissapointed in the game, never got to play it. I downloaded it 3 times, it took one and a half hours each time, it failed every time,so I gave up.
Seems to me that everyone wants to try something new and expect it to be perfect when they were so used to x-plane and fsx. If you don't like it play the 10 other flight simulators you have installed on your Hard Drive. Christ on his throne people these days.
They'll eventually get it. Also Flight will eventually finish.
Ms Flight! This is going to be a 100 percent failed product for 2012 & 100 percent guarantee! want to know why? you cant fly where you want to, you cant develop stuff for it either and you cant add addons already developed for fsx and fs9! and you have to wait years for ms to create addons hoping it will be realistic to real life! PPl bin ms flight i test flew it was nothing more than a video game! FSX and FS9 is a real Simulation! MS flight video game for little kids! when years go buy and MS noticing their product is a failure due to the fact turning a simulation into a video game that benefits only small people they will have to redesign the product in years to come 100 percent guaranteed! If ms is listening dear sir/madam your product is a flop and your money wasted! Its like buying a cheap phone with little features rather than getting the best phone with all features.
Yea, Flight will eventually finish, in the garbage bag or somewhere on my ssd where I never look in, where my original Combat Simulator is. Unless they start cranking out those States and the rest of the World, and all sorts of airplanes with panels and guns so I can take out that beat-up Zero and stop annoying the people of Hawaii. Also, we need real weather, navigation capability, autopilots, 2D panels, etc. Hey we got money and huge drives, so get going MS. The airplanes are nicely modeled. Terrain is real and true with cracks and potholes. Flight has (MS take notice, are you guys reading these?) a fantastic potential, but Hawaii, Alaska, and few other areas of the World, and few dozen airplanes won't do it.
Microsoft is getting like the Goverment they don't listen to the people. Me personally I would like to see a formation type simulator like the Military teams. I love FSX I have so many addon aircraft it is a treat when you are disabled and it takes you to a different world.
I like "Flight" very much: it is enjoyable, and it gives the feel of flight like no simulation before. I pretty much agree with everything in the review: I am a fan of flight sims, I am 42, and I played any FS since Sublogic Flight Simulator on the Commodore 64: I just love this "MS Flight". But audience must understand that Flight is not just a "package": it is a program. New content will be added on the way, and the simulation will take the spin as the player community grow.
FAIL = F = waste of time and money I'm curious why they asked for feedback when they were making the game if they had no intentions of listening to it. I commented that they had better not "dumb" this program down too much or it would appeal to nobody; and as all the previous reviews state, that is exactly what they did. Are the graphics great? Sure. Is the sound good? Absolutely. But that is where it ends. This is now a "game". Before when I had friends or family over we would "fly" the simulator for MSFSX and it made it much easier to explain that it wasn't really a game but more a simulator. I actually learned the basics on several MSFS products then tuned them on X and then went and got my pilots license. I was bored after 10 minutes on this new game and hope that maybe in the future they will actually listen to the base fans who will be willing to pay for something if you give them what they want instead of trying to appeal to a larger audience that could care less about this sorry attempt. I just hope all the guys who got laid off from MS after MSFSX and started there own company can actually get the money together to release there own version of what should be MSFS XI.
I love the fact that the MS flight web admins have disabled ALL comments on their updates. I would say the only cause would be the overwhelming negative feedback they were receiving. I believe that most of the negatives could have been toned down had their been any contact from the development team. Instead of answering questions they shut down ALL contact. I see this being the Nail in the coffin for MS Flight. N.Korea stopped talking to the rest of the world too. You see how far that got them.
This message is to the Microsoft Developers. Microsoft Flight has point on Graphics, but no realistic crash dynamics. I mean, let's have the airplane break apart, burn, etc., just like the real thing. Let's have, if the airplane crashes into buildings, roads, etc., you would get the buildings exploding, breaking, roads burning, and or damaged. Cmon, Microsoft Developers, why are you holding back? It's just a game. And why not have a full version we can buy at the stores, just like the other previous versions before this one. With all the world included in it, and multiple airplanes, as well as making the game accessible to additional compatible content from flight sim enthusiasts.
Come on Microsoft Developers, let's get it together. This current game is not going very well. It looks like some child's toy, with only the scenery looking realistic, but not able to destroy to some extent.
You might be concerned with the politics of the world, how the critics will complain about how realistic the game is if you were to include what I have written here. But I can understand that. But let the critics complain. We need a realistic flight sim game. I think it would had been better had you modified Flight Simulator X with all the realistic scenery you included with this Microsoft flight.
A lot of bad reviews here. I think I'd just stay with the old FSX and spend money on the FSX add-on. For flight simulation, I prefer realistic, not a *game* for kids.
I have been flying MSFS since it's inception. That goes way back for me. I was thrilled beyond belief that they were coming back with a new version and couldn't wait to try it out. IT ROCKED! Or at least it has rocked, except for the price gouging of course, up until all of a sudden it continually crashes. I bought the expansion pack, another plane, planned on getting another plane, but no. I can't fly it anymore. It doesn't even get past the intro video before it loses it. Kaput! I've worked with Nvidia now for two straight weeks, have reloaded my OS now three times, and lost one whole hard drive because of the frequent blue screens of death caused by this game.
I'm done. If the kiddies want to "play" zoom zoom with this "flight game", fine. Load it up on their xbox JOKES, zoom around for five minutes and then get bored and go onto another "game". NO problem.
But, if they want to play it on a PC, they'd best get old mommy and daddy to drop 500 bucks on a video card that will play the game, IF it doesn't destroy your whole system, as it HAS done REPEATEDLY to me, and it will do no more. Microsoft, it's no wonder Bill handed over the controls. Whoever the brain child was behind this nosedive deserves his rear stabilizer aligned! PERMANENTLY. You've got me for 30 bucks, fine. I'm CUTTING MY LOSES, and turning off the transponder on MS PERMANENTLY. ENOUGH of this abuse. DB6617...OUT.
@ the author. In the fall and winter in Hawaii the trees dont change color and dont lose their leaves! -Doh!
While the game play is solid, I miss the full experience of FSX. The need for internet to access the full game is lame. For my kid and I to play this game, and keep our own game stats, requires we buy the upgrade packs individually, and each have our own live account. It would be nice to have a few users available for a family to each have their own profile without each having separate live accounts. Need to be able to skip tutorials if you want. I have no clue how you are supposed to get the last free aerocache. How can you get to 25,000 ft in the two free planes that top out at 14,000? Cant set the desired altitude in free fly. Also miss the ability to fly anywhere in the world from one simple DVD purchase like you could for FSX. Also missing is the ability to create your own aircraft for other to use and download.
The more I think about it the less I like it....
I have only been into FSX and all it has to offer for a few months, and I asked several dealers how to get started and was told to buy MS Gold, which I did, and I'm happy with it, It will be a while before I try something else, as I have invested a lot into this system. I must say I am well pleased with FSX Gold, I wasn't led astray, all was what I was told. I havent learned to land or find the airport yet, but its the thrill of flight! and so many like to call it a game, I feel its far above a game, expensive But worth it.
What a total let down. I have been with Microsoft Flight Simulator since 1986 and have gone through all the version upgrades and have spent thousands on program disk and add ons. This has been a big mistake by MS to their loyal FS simmers, i for one will rather stick to FSX or X-Plane than wasting any further time with this.
Fantastic! I love it. I love the global feel and that I no longer have to buy and update a copy to subsequent versions. The look and feel is really good even on my old PC, even though the program keeps telling me it's not good enough every time I load it... but it works really well. I can see this going far.
When is alaska coming out? It is 3 months behind... please respond; thank you.
So I agree with most; the new MS Flight is more of a game rather a simulator. Besides I'm still satisfied with FSX. There is still alot of potentail now that our computer are gettting faster and better, and limitless scenery developers and freeware being created everyday.
Very disappointing! Not able to use FSX features, planes, scenery, and other add-ons.. All well guess it’s time to FLY-AWAY.
Flight sucks and is another huge let down. Especially after such a long wait. It is just another disappointment like so many of late from Microsoft. It Is just more greed ware from a company that has become a blotted dinosaur very much like IBM was in the seventies. I have bought every flight sim since sub-logic started and MS took over. But I have had it. I lay this at the feet of Balmer who has squeezed all the fun out of MS. I am afraid Windows 8 will be the last straw. It more than likely will not run any old software, won't be compatible with today's very powerful machines and will have to be updated constantly so that it can progressively make your computer slower and slower. We have all been duped by this approach so many times before, but now we have Apple and Google to jump to with stable platforms that are way out in front of MS, it is a new ball game. Trust me a major GAME CHANGE IS AFOOT. Where is Bill Gates when we need him? Very sad.
What a great disappointment Flight is.
Having had just about every version of Flight Sim since the beginning, this was like moving from a Masserati to a pedal car. How Microsoft could possibly imagine that this could replace FSX is beyond me.
MS Flight is a total failure.
What a letdown! My first MSFS was 1.0, back in 1982, and I've had every last one of them since! To me they are the definition of development advances. I've tried Flight, but it was such a let-down I almost cried. Hopefully they will get to their senses, otherwise they have just opened up the door for competition. Which might be a blessing in the long run. Flight simming is not meant for gamers, that should be obvious reading this thread!
Tried MS Flight but its not for me; I prefer FSX as at least I can fly where I want to. This seems more for the game kids and not for people who want a flight sim in a realistic manor.
My first comment is about 17 notches up. Even though Hawaii Island is the largest in the chain, there is not much to it other than the volcanos. Instead of offering one big island for free for indefinite period of time, MS should offer all of Hawaii for two or three weeks for free which is much more impressive. I find Kauai and Oahu stunningly beautiful.
If the kids want to bang-around in a game-like manner, that is fine. Many of us however take this seriously. We want to fly like real pilots and professional pilots fly. Some of us are also real pilots. For living I fly an Airbus A320 but still enjoy flight simulators.
It seems like the instrument panels are much brighter now and easier to scan. I first installed Flight on Feb. 29th and four out of the six graphics settings had MAX settings (LOW MED HIGH MAX). I reinstalled Flight in March and now all six settings will go only up to HIGH, no more MAX. I hope MS did not take that setting away and it's just my operating system poor installation. In fact I want all six of them to go to MAX. Let us decide which settings are best for us. High end computers will run this game in MAX, all six of them. I will reinstall my system again and then Flight and I hope MAX settings come back.
For reasonable $15 I just installed Alaska. I had some installation issues, now okay. Just like Hawaii, Alaska photorealistic terrain looks real and true. Grand. Majestic. The free Cub is very nice, but we want aircraft with panels. Other than the free Cub I only bought one airplane without a panel, the P51 which I really like. I will not buy any other airplane without an instrument panel. That is the kiddie stuff. I enjoy flying manually but I also want working autopilots so I can enjoy the stunning scenery. VOR, ADF, GPS and other navigation capability is highly desirable so we can navigate these vast distances, and real weather, like FSX or FS9. I am sure Jeppessen will be happy to provide it.
MS just keep on going. The southernmost tip of Alaska is not too far away from Washington state. We want the contiguous US. All of it. Then some more. Even if it takes 300 GB or more. Intel will be happy to sell us those 480 GB SSD’s. Alternately WD will be glad to sell us their Velocity Raptor hard drives. Some of us will pay hundreds of dollars or more for a fully developed Flight. Those that can’t afford all of it can still enjoy parts of it. The Alaska instalation took about 4 GB of space.
Then again there is Google Earth with it’s primitive Flight Simulator (go to tools). How about putting on some heat Google and developing your simulator? How is Cascade Game Foundry doing? They can still achieve a lot of success in this field.
Same thing happened to Blizzard entertainment.. they took a perfect MMO Game and turned it into an idiot-proof arcade game, just because of they could charge more people monthly... It's no surprise Microsoft is trying to do the same with the Flight Simulator series... Too much Monopoly when your are a kid has its downside effects as we all can see... I guess Parker Brothers should get their share of all the incoming sales since their game prepared all these soft dev teams to think as money... cheap money...now that we are talking about flying, weather and specially winds.. let me tell you... Microsoft , blow me!
I keep FSX, MS flight has no single Airliner like 747s or A380s.
MS Flight is just a Arcade game nothing else, thanks Microsft for the acadesim.
What a shame! Microsoft is trashing every product they have! They have completely lost touch. They are too big to do anything right!
Total epic fail. This whole flight and the new concept is joke. Having to enjoyed many expensive and extensive PMDG addons in FSX and FS9, Flight was a major disappointment. Hopefully xplane of P3D will get better and better. This new Flight is for kiddies, its not a die hard sim, not even medium leveled. This is no sim, its a game for 9 year olds.
Absolutely terrible "simulator", not that you can call it one. It's a game for kids at best. Very disappointed and I will be sticking to FSX. Here is X-Planes chance to finally outdo the Microsoft brand in flight simulator. A complete and utter disgrace to the loyal flight simulator community Microsoft; extremely disappointed.
I've had every version of Flight Simulator since FS for the TRS 80 by SubLogic (that's over 30 years). And each new version has been a step forward. One of the major advantages was that it was open for others to add Aircraft, scenery & utilities which allowed you to develop it how you wanted. I used to look forward to each new version with anticipation and was never disappointed. This latest offering is a big disappointment. I shall stick with FSX which hopfully will still be supported by the FS world or reluctantly change to X-Plane. Very sad.
And what of FLIGHT now?
Gone and abandoned like FSX
I am enjoying Prepar3D which is a supported version of FSX, by Lockheed Martin, and I also plan to try X-Plane
Very, very disappointing to say the least. Again a money scheme to upgrade to something that is so much worse then the original version. Sadly, I wasted money on something that is limited, un-friendly for FSX as far as importing your "Payed" aircraft, and unfriendly as far as ANY programming goes within a Flight Sim. I have been around Flight Sims from MS for over 20 years "PLUS", and have to say one thing about this. Don't buy it. I have since re-installed FSX and will keep it until the day I die. I no longer trust new and improved from MS. I'll be polite and leave it at that. Sincerely... disappointed... Jim
I downloaded the game on the first hour from release and I reget every one of the 30 minutes I was waiting for the game to load. Mabye we should create our own sim or ask companys like Just Flight, Wilco Pub ... to make their Flight simulator. If they will make the sim they would make better addons for it because they designed it. And even kids don't like Flight, I've heard that even 4 year olds can enjoy FSX.
I just downloaded tonight, wish I'd have gotten back on here sooner. I live in Alaska so of course I purchased the Alaska pack. The detail is the best Ive seen aside from water towers & bridges that dont exsist in the real world and missing landmarks when I say landmarks I should say mountains used as nav aids by pilots. I was impressed that I could fly with just the keyboard on my laptop. It is a game not a sim, I have an app sim on my iPhone thats a better sim.
I wanted to stick to my FSX but I've got problems with it. Now I went back in time and instlled my FS9 again which is doing very well with Windows 7. But why did they have to bring out some kind of rubbish? Why haven't they just advanced FSX?
It was greed, fellers...
I am not surprised. Flight was a big disapointment. Microsoft went in the wrong direction with this. If Microsoft expanded on FSX, I believe it would be profitable. A simmer would PAY for good software.
X-Plane 10 is superior. It is updated on a regular basis, unlike FSX. The flight engine is much more realistic, and it more than replaces the old FSX. Jump to X-plane 10, available for both Mac and PC. I don't miss FSX or Flight.
The main reason the product failed, it's because Microsoft created the game as an arcade game, we virtual pilots do not like that.
Maybe Microsoft's SMOIPing (SMOIP = Superior Marketing Of Inferior Products) is finally coming to an end!
Microsoft Flight is a disappointment for me. I have switched to X-Plane. It's difficult at first, but when you are real interested you'll get to love it
X-Plane 10 does not have the UK photo scenery, detailed airports, custom autogen, AI planes, electricity pylon network, wind turbine farms, and power stations that I have in FSX, and it is unlikely to get them.
Until such time as this happens, X-Plane 10 isn't even an option for me.
Microsoft are fools. It was obvious Flight would fail. They need to officially declare a permanent exit from the flight sim business, to give other companies a chance. Now X-Plane is almost a monopoly it is unlikely to improve...
Well I got it completely wrong I gave MS Flight a year before if disappeared in a puff of smoke they didnt even reach 6 months.
Microsoft knew full well what their core flight sim users wanted out of the 'next Generation' flight sim and they ignored it all and well here you have the consequence.
Anyone with an ounce of brain power knows that 'evaluating its portfolio of products' is industry speak for we got it totally wrong but we'll never admit to it.
Most of you are correct, Microsoft went in the wrong direction and created an inferior product (Flight)that very few people wanted. It was an Arcade Flight Game at best in the end. In my opinion and in many other like me, we really would have paid Mucho bucks for a much Improved version of Flight Simulator X. I certainly would have. I think we all would have. When FSX came out our computers at that time could barley handle the program it was so sophisticated, and CPU dependent. Now years later, a lot of us have much more powerful computers to handle FSX and we can enjoy FSX to its full capacity. With todays computers we can probably handle a much improved FSX version. And we would PAY for it too! Listen up Microsoft, if you are in fact listening, you have a great product in FSX, just make it better, like make it DX-11 Compatible ..ETC. Improve, improve, improve. Lets hope you bring out something like {Flight Simulator Blue} or FSXV down the road. Microsoft is good at making this Flight Simulator software code when they get going in the RIGHT direction. I just hope they don't give up entirely.
Hey everyone! I was addicted to Flight Simlator since version 5. I remember starting off at Meigs Field and the graphics were like polygons.
Every time a new version was released, we couldn't even turn the graphics sliders all the way to the right because of how advanced the releases were! It took at least 2 years before you could enjoy the game to it's fullest capacity and then another awesome version would be released!
The game spawned me into overclocking and buying the fastest computer equipment possible. Xplane seems ok, but I miss good old MS flight simulator. Truly was "As real as it gets". I just came from Xplanes site and I see all about how they are getting sued by Google. The owner of the company talks about how he spoke to his Mom about the lawsuit, totally immature.
I seriously doubt that company has the capability to come even close to the quality of Microsoft's product. I find it hard to believe Microsoft doesn't realize the amount of hard core simmers out there that would pay a premium for a real sim to come out to match today's performance computer power. Oh well, drop me an email guys!
I was delighted when i got to beta test it MS Flight. But when I found you had to buy land masses and aircraft (NO jets in the game AT ALL) and cant play "offline". Massive let down for me. I uninstalled it and didn't play it again.
Microsoft Flight is a epic failure. On July 25, 2012 Microsoft announced it had cancelled further development of Microsoft Flight.
Tragic that Microsoft crash lands the longstanding simulator project. The market for the primary flight simulator now appears to be vacant. I just hope that in the future PMDG still can be run on a simulator regularly being developed.
Flight sucks.... When such talent as Carenado, A2A, Flight-Replicas, ORBX, REX and Aerosoft have raised the bar based on the old FSX platform, there is no excuse for MSFlight to suck as bad as it does with a new one. I was hoping the big guns would up the ante, but they failed miserably...I'm keeping FSX and all of my third party sceneries and aircraft that make FSX what Flight should have at least been. EPIC FAIL MICROSOFT...
They have cancelled Microsoft Flight. Laid off the Vancouver team that was developing this I've read on Microsoft site.
For me, X-Plane has the more realistic flight dynamics, rest are just games to fool around....
There was this guy on Facebook that was pressuring all visitors to quickly purchase MS Flight with all types of promises. I am happy that I decided to wait for other's reviews. Wonder if some of you got your money back...
I spent 30 years working for IBM. On one occasion we did a joint project with MS. MS is a complete disgrace, staffed by cowboys. They junked the interrupt interface that DOS had because they didn't know how to implement it properly, so now the Operating system is completely unprotected and programs just jump into the "operating system" code and so does malware! Thank Thor they didn't get to write mainframe software otherwise there wouldn't be a real aircraft flying!
Worst version of flight simulator ever, even the FS2002 is better than this product. I'm watching the trailer and wait for years and this is what they give us, I know it's free, but soon they gonna try to scam us with it, and they forget that we are smarter than that.
I think the ultimate sim would be a marriage between the graphics, aircraft, and scenery of FS X, with the flight dynamics and HDR features of X-Plane... Imagine the F/R friendly dynamics of X-P, with the complexity of the aircraft in FS X... (if I could just figure out how to make a living flying virtually...)
The new sim is a video game joke. I will stick with FSX, there at least you can fly whatever you want instead of being stuck with 1 plane and an island (unless you spend the bucks to add on). Free... my foot, typical Microsoft!
Can't pass by this topic... I feel sad reading all these comments. I would like to see the person who is responsible for making Flight Simulator series a.. GAME! I'm crying looking at their newsletters with "new aerocaches" and screenshots with planes "sitting" on the boats or hangar's roof just like flies. What a shame :(
PS. I'm happy that FSX is good enough to continue to stick with it. Thank you MS for that.
Have to concur with most of the comments here; massively disappointed. I can understand an area for the simple folk but where's the advanced stuff? Who did MS think were mostly looking forward to this release?
Alas, wider market coverage means keeping it simple for those with short attention spans. So everyone can dream. . . . .
I am CIA1, Call sign is CIA1 find me on FSX today or else.
Microsoft was on to something great with FS2004. But FSX (10) and this latest deal is a joke. I own three unraped 04 programs. Ive tried 10 several times and I hate it. They've turned this flight sim deal over to a bunch of kids that dont know a dam thing about realistic flight sim. I suspect the reason is we're all dying off, and the only people they can find to write these programs are a bunch of kids that sat around playing video games all day, instead of flying 200 or less approaches.
My wife bought me the flight sim X for my birthday last year , I threw it away.
I downloaded MS Flight but it is not something I would ever buy. I am thinking that in an effort to reach a wider group of consumers, those who like MS Flight Sim for what it is were ignored.
I just received FSX for 2012 Christmas. After totally immersed in FSX for a month, I do not believe FSX will ever bring me as much fun as FS 2004 has. The FSX program is less convenient at every event. Most irritating is that it is not possible to change to an alternate aircraft while I edit a panel etc in the plane I want to fly.
I am not sure why but most of the add-on planes are zipped once or twice inside an outer zip file which I find crazy. Most of the cab files are located in the individual panel which is easier to find but wastes much more space on hard drive than putting them in the gauge file. Also I do not know if there is a problem, but it seems that using an alias panel or sound is not used as often as it could be. Other than while cruising, I do not use the Hat switch. I preferred several buttons on my J-stick that would snap back forward when released.
With FSX I have to use another button to look forward which is annoying after getting used to FS2004. I would much rather see work on planes and other objects that have a code that would allow them to become a target if hit by ammo fired from planes.
I am pleased that MS Flight Sim has not been focused on the war use for planes. The most obvious good things I have noticed for FSX is the automobile traffic on the freeways and fences around airports. I have not given up on FSX yet, just not happy. ---Joseph (age 67 and did my solo flights before giving up real flying years ago)
Awesome game! Might get it!
Microsoft gave up development of FSX sometime round about the end of 2008 when they got rid of the Aces team. The explanation was that it did not fit in with their corporate vision. Read that as - "We want to shift everything onto either Live or XBox."
However, M$ weren't totally selfish about FSX and passed it over to Lockheed-Martin who are developing it apace. Hopefully they will eventually manage to make better use of the improvements in GPU's, and ideally get round to moving it up to a 64 bit version to gget rid of the out of memory errors when using "too many" add-ons.
At $50 it's got to be an outright winner as a 64bit program.
@Bruce Olsen sorry bruce but your comment is full of crap, you might entitled to your opinion about the product, but not about other people who put their comment on this website, btw Microsoft Flight is not Realistic at all, it's not only about the scenery or the plane, it's also about the realistic aircraft on this game that sucks, so stop look down to people you doesn't know
MS Flight is cheesy. Not even third party developers. I guess I'll get back in my SimCheck A300B4 and fly the CXR transition into the ILS approach on runway 24L at KCLE.
I am an Iranian engineer. I downloaded and installed some of these addons on my FSX program, but most parts of each installed items did not worked properly(color covered the airplane body,sound, panels...). after checking I found that in some cases the problem raised from incompatibility of directX10 and some others comes from improper installation. However I want to appreciate from the manager of this site and all people that produce and prepare this addone for the user of FSX. Thanks, Good job.
I love flight sims but getting a ride in a real P-51 is so much better than any cheesy computer game
Its bloody ms again! They brought out several versions of FS until getting it right with FS2004, then they tried to screw more money out of us by bringing out FSX which is probably inferior to 2004 and won't work with W8-64. I am not wasting money on Flight and will probably go over to Flight X which at least is an MS-free zone.
its like a game, not simulation
I like it very much as far as the 'games' within the game itself. Love finding aerocaches and exploring in general. I have FSX too so I switch back and forth depending on the mood:-)
Actually I have both MS Flight (great for exploring and finding stuff) and FSX for a more realistic global exploration experience as I have all Orbx FTX items and Megascenery Earth for the United States plus all Fly Tampa items. Dubai by Fly Tampa for example is amazing.
I have MFS2004 and MFSX but I like MS2004 because It has the Boeing 777 and I fly that it in American Airlines in real life. But MFSX has more options and I downloading the 777 add-on on MFSX right now.
I really love the Microsoft's Flight Simulators but this one is the worst game that is said to be a simulator. I really hope they do a new Flight Simulator, if they dont, I'll download X-Plane 10 because FSX is too old for my computer. So, if Microsoft really wants money, they'll do that because they won't get too much money with FSX as it's already bought by most Flight Simulator fans.
Iv always been interested in flying, Bought all the mfs through out the years, mfs x is really good. been flying for Delta virtual for the past 7 years. Lots of fun, flying a boeing 767-200 as a captain. And now in the verge of jumping to the seat of a airbus a-320. Thats if i pass pass all requested criteria.
I "played" Flight for several hours and enjoyed some aspects, but it misses the truly technical depth of FSX and the previous versions. People who fly flight simulators (the non-military sims) usually stick with it because it's technically immersive. Casual users might be drawn to an easier sim, but consistent users want the option of technical depth. Back to FSX for me.
I still have FSX because I don't like the other simulators and also for me this is the best.
I participated in the Beta and received the free planes and flew in Flight for a few days before I accepted that this was an arcade game and not meant to be a simulator like FS2004 or FSX. That's OK, I guess. Microsoft can aim for which ever market they think will give them the best return on investment. I think they made two mistakes: 1. Thinking that flightsimmers would go for it 2. Thinking that gamers would like a boring "fly around Hawaii" game without the enemy and guns to shoot them down with. One thing though, I can't help thinking about all the negative response to FSX when it came out. "I'll never change from FS2004" was the war cry. Look how that worked out.
Very very disappointed,I will be sticking with FSX for sure. The Arcade style game is just what it says. An Arcade! Online is of course not an issue as myself, along with many other brother pilots have mulitple servers, the best thing that could have happened with gamespy did happen for those of us who are serious or real world pilots. Many of us went out and spent the money with the hopes of something maybe just a little bit better or a little bit more realistic. Again, a BIG disappointment. Bottom Line, It will be a very long time before anyone comes up with a better solution then FSX. Keep rocking FSX, myself and at least our VA groups are still using it hard core.
Try Orbx 'Global', now we are talking real scenery.
nice video and the game seems realy cool. but... someone knows what's the name of this song?
I love fsx, I downloaded half of all planes
Its not for me. I have never really played 'games' on my PC apart from say Solitaire or Spider, so this variant has no appeal for me. It is a game, aimed fairly & squarely at the non-simmers market but I think it will fail there too as it doesn't offer enough excitement for people who are used to epic battle games etc. Shame.
Dave,
Do you work at Microsoft?
"understand there are many more projects for them to work on than just flying games over there"
Seriously?
Yes I would agree with you, it is obvious they are working on other projects because they certainly haven't put the time, technology and manpower in the "New & Improved Version Flight Simulator" Microsoft Flight.
Microsoft should be hiding in shame with this "new" release. After 5 years this is what they have developed. FSX compared to the new Microsoft Flight is like "upgrading" the MS Xbox 360 to the new Xbox version coming out soon, starting the game and having it look no better than PONG. A huge disappointment.
The biggest mistake is following Apple's attitude of "we are so great alone the customer does not need other companies" they lock out all the 3rd party developers which is where most of the creativity and best add-ons come from, many great ones being free, keeping FSX up to date in every category possible on a daily basis. In my library of add-ons, hardly any of them have come from Microsoft, so they have shown over the previous years going forward alone isn't going to make for happy customers of MF.
MF is a total failure and by the comments, 90%+ of the people agree. I had to look at the month to make sure it wasn't April 1st.
I can't remember all the details it's been so long now. From what I can remember, the ecomomy played a big part in Microsoft dumping the franchise. The market was too narrow to make the cut. The sub contractor that made FSX has done one hell of a job! I have followed MSFS for a long time, X-Plane too! I like that X-Plane has a design studio built into it, no multiplayer though...
The thing that my disbanded FSX brothers and I have been craving is a multiplayer combat sim! A good one! Anyone ever have the Janes Combat Sim years ago? I really learned a lot there! I really think Microsoft is missing the boat here. I know I would pay MORE for a MSFS11 that was worth a damn. Thx, J
Dave said, "Stop your damn complaining". The fact is: Constructive Criticism is not complaining
This post should go away as did MF. Let's get more on Prepar3d in here instead! ;)
Wasted my money on X-Plane. Got NO HELP from Them. They never responded to my calls or my e-mails.
I fly the real deal... this new game is exactly that. It will appeal to everyone because it is a game. It has very little that even comes close to real aircraft. MISSED OPPORTUNITY HERE I THINK. FS 2004 is still the closest simulator to real world reality. There is a dedicated community in the world. providing as real as possible an environment for them would have been a better idea.
I too have FSX with all the trimmings-Orbx entire library, loads of add-on planes/helicopters (that's one thing that Flight left out and a jet or two would have been great as there are some aerochaches only obtainable by heli or high altitude jet). Also lots of other scenery add-ons for FSX including Megascenery Earth (several states and a couple of city packs). The list goes on however with both FSX and Flight on my system I switch back and forth, Flight for fun and challenges/imagination (BTW the Alaska add-on for flight is actually really cool). FSX for more realism and the 'simulation' aspect of flying aircraft/helicopters and real time weather and time of year.
As a flight simulator enthusiast dating back to 1988 with Microsoft flight simulator 3.0, I was really looking forward to the next generation after FSX. If you've tried "Flight" you can imagine my disappointment. I can understand the thinking of making something with a wider appeal but Flight doesn't appeal to the gamer or the simulator flyer. On top of that, so many addons , it would take a fortune to cover the world and forever. Why would anyone buy it? I'm looking forward to the next generation after Flight, in the mean time I'll continue to buy addons for FSX. Microsoft sim dudes, wayyyyyyyyyy off this time.
I flew Micosoft for many years and loved it. I will download the free version on my Mac.
I have attempted to reconcile my views with this new offering of Flight, but it is glaring obvious that to control the fiscal side of the product, the FS community is lost. Surely the loss of the development team for FSX was a ideal time for a new approach to the FS community. This development has missed the mark and I would suggest as an element of greed that has crept into the mind set of the flight development, it is a sad day for all concerned for this long established community. It is not too late for a rethink and remodelling for the long term product. I feel sorry for the flight development team who were riding the tide based on the past only to be led by the nose for product that,from all data shows it is a flop.
It is designed and offered free to get more people interested in FSX. I still fly FS9 (2nd hand) and thoroughly enjoy the technicality of airline piloting. I wouldn't expect all teenagers to understand the rules and regulations of separation, flight planning and VFR regulations. Some I fly with do, from a fascination with aeroplanes and flight. It's free, it will bring more people to the hobby. I hope they join Fly UK, one of the many vitual airlines that fly in virtual airspace to rules as close to AS REAL AS IT GETS as possible.
My opinion using FX or FS2004 is quite a big difference I'find FX no good so FS2004 is the best. Joe.
I love Microsoft Flight simulator X is the best one i have tried so far
I use FSX flying on VATSIM with a virtual airline within the VAFS framework. I am able to fly any aircraft in the VA hanger usually using the Twin Otter or Boeing 738 taking passengers across Europe. Am I able to do this with Flight? No. Will I ever be able to do this with Flight? Not very likely. Microsloth left FSX to die.... but it didn't. 3rd party developers have picked it up and run with it producing freeware and payware aircraft and scenery and populated at least 2 online flight networks. Will those 3rd groups get behind Flight in the same way? Since Microsloth have already abandoned it the answer is probably a resounding 'No'. I suppose I wanted a FSXtra. A flight simulator able to use today's modern multi-core chips, high-end graphics cards and high-tech sound-cards and yet, be compatible with these 3rd-party add-ons we all have. Was I asking too much? Apparently 'Yes' because Flight isn't this. And never will be!
I just don't get what Microsoft was thinking about this. Why do you need the game to appeal to more gamers? where the few million simulator pilots not enough? you people must have been high or drunk or something when making this game as it is the supreme ruler of epic fails? I think that should cover it all. Just plane old don't get it. plus Microsoft is lucky this web forum don' let its users curse because believe me it wouldn't be pretty!!!
P.S. note that about 99% of the reviews here are negative!!!
FSX is continuing to expand...look at all the hardware and add-ons that are available for it! Everything from joysticks, to overhead panels, to complete cockpits. It didn't happen because of Flight. It happened because of FS9 and FSX. Flight would seem to be a lame duck in regards to third party support, so why bother? Microsoft is the loser on this, not the flight sim community.
Flightgear is the best. It's free too. Microsoft is s***.
Why would you develop a new product without Aircraft compatibility? I have finely tuned 160 FSX and 2004 Aircraft to maximize my experience. I am not a Gamer but I do run FSX on a Alienware18 for performance. I think Microsoft Flight is a product without much of a future in its current form.
wow the demo and full version is terrible it won't even find my equipment without crashing the whole application
I just bought a joystick, apparently they're out of fashion!!! I like to play games but I like Flight simulators too. Microsoft's latest effort is neither. I'll continue enjoying FSX flying all over the world & when a good space game is finally released (yes I spent a younger life on an Amiga playing Elite) I'll enjoy that too. This shift away from anything using a joystick or heaven forbid Force feedback is simple laziness in the race to make the next easy dollar. Shame on you Microsoft.
I love Flight! It's not a replacement for Prepa3d, but it's a fun quick jaunt. I bought the AK pack as well as the standard HI pack, and I love it. I live on the Big Island and have lived in Alaska, so I love flying around them.
Fun!
I'm disappointed with it. that took the simulator right out of it quite literally
Sounded nice, looked interesting, BUT I could not find any instructions for the dumb thing. No control if the aircraft on the ground. VERY disappointing.
Kind of pissed as well as heartbroken about the gamespy closing with the fsx online BUT I havw found a site thats doing ok whereas you can play online. Kinda quiet there ,one of those teamspeak trips.personally i think the use of comminication should be up to the user rather than the session. But, you got to do what you got to do. Thats whats so different about the newsite located at 23.255.207.47. If you dont have communication as none of the 60 flyers did to day its unreal. A tower is importtant if you take the flying serious. Now if your flying formation or missions again the com helps. They need to get over the teamspeak. Users need to familiarize themselves and look at the histort of ms flight systems and understand that it takes time to encompasss all of the things that make fs fun. They are cautious not to go onto the internet and not just download programs for fear of viruses. I cant blame them, I hadthe 5th fs fsx download website and i lasted 3 months before i was hacked. Hey ,some competitors dont like freebies other than there own. Have a great flight and see you at that site.
its alight but FSX is beater trust me I no
Very Bad. Sticking with X-Plane 10
Microsoft you really screwed the pooch when you closed ACES STUDIO you sold out your gravy train because someone in ''MANGEMENT'' thought the holes in his feet were GOLD and his stupid ass could walk on water. EVERYTHING after FSX was a flop except STEAM and its a mirror of FSX. WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU THINKING OH THATS RIGHT YOU WEREN'T!!!!