MS Flight Addons

[Anteara]

Hi all, I've searched many forums and couldn't find an answer for this question.

For some context, I have FSX with many quality payware and freeware aircraft. I also have some freeware and payware scenery. FSX runs horribly on my PC. However, I donwloaded microsoft flight, put everything on max, and it runs wonderfully.

Specs:
Nvidia GTX 560
Intel e6500 at 3.5 GHZ
4GB Ram at 800 mhz

Basically my question is, will it be possible for ORBX, PMDG and other quality payware companies to write addons for Microsoft Flight? I really want to like Microsoft Flight because it runs wonderfully, but I dont know if I can like it if it doesn't support 3rd party development. I use FSX as a training aid for my real life training, and I love the engine in Microsoft Flight and it actually feels kind of like how it does in real life, but I would really need a good LSA plane with flight characteristics similar to the Aeroprakt A22-LS I fly. I also like to fly big heavies and I doubt Microsoft could make something to the quality of 3rd party developers.

Thanks.

[loki]

Basically my question is, will it be possible for ORBX, PMDG and other quality payware companies to write addons for Microsoft Flight?

At the moment, no it isn't possible as Microsoft has decided that they themselves will be the sole source of add-ons for Flight. It is possible that this will change down the road, but for now it is an MS only show.

[azzaro]

I suspect if the game catches on in any substantial way, Microsoft will not be able to produce enough content in-house to meet demand,
and will licence it to 3rd party developers. Better to get a percentage than nothing at all. IF, it catches on. Time will tell. — Bob

[JSkorna]

And MS has stated that an SDK, if released at all, is one to two years away.

[jomni]

I suspect if the game catches on in any substantial way, Microsoft will not be able to produce enough content in-house to meet demand, and will licence it to 3rd party developers. Better to get a percentage than nothing at all. IF, it catches on. Time will tell. — Bob

What demand? A lot of peple doesn't even want to give Flight a chance.
MS needs to put out some something subtantial than what it currently offers for the demand to come in.

[alaskancrab]

jomni: I agree with you.. but the problem really is will people still continue to buy FSX products. Very easy to have 99% support for FSX but that doesn't mean business as usual. I love my FSX collection but certainly there won't be any new additions to it.

[ricardo_NY1]

And MS has stated that an SDK, if released at all, is one to two years away.
Jim, do you have a link to this information? I haven't seen that but would like to take a look at it. Thanks in advance.

[Rickenbacker69]

And MS has stated that an SDK, if released at all, is one to two years away.

Makes sense, I think they're in this for the long run (hell, one of the achievements in the game takes eight years of full time flying to get :)). Which hopefully doesn't stop them from releasing another Flight Sim in the meantime.

[paul roberts]

Anteara, As it appears at the moment there is no way third party designers are going to be able to produce addons, I was unable to download MSFlight as i kept getting corrupt files ( has never happened before even with large downloads) so I have abandoned even looking at it. Also my PC runs FSX horribly so I still use FS9. I am an experienced scenery designer and so far very disappointed with what I read about MSFlight and of course MSFlight will run wonderful as the only scenery is the one island I am led to believe.

[JSkorna]

Jim, do you have a link to this information? I haven't seen that but would like to take a look at it. Thanks in advance.

No, but it is in the interview with J.H. from last week.

[Paxx]

... but the problem really is will people still continue to buy FSX products. ...

Of course they will for the foreseeable future. Flight offers very little for sale, and very little too do for the FSX/FS9 audience which isn't the target anyway, remember? You are correct though, it is a problem - for Microsoft.

[fxsttcb]

Very easy to have 99% support for FSX but that doesn't mean business as usual.Why not? Because Flight is a totally different animal, I would expect FSX business would be as usual. The two sims are so different, I doubt that Flight will have any affect on FSX, other than possibly boosting sales to folks that don't get enough immersion from Flight
When/If, MS DLC starts coming out that is more in the realm of simming, then maybe, just maybe, FSX add-on sales could drop off. Still doubtful...Don

[luap]

FSX runs horribly on my PC. However, I donwloaded microsoft flight, put everything on max, and it runs wonderfully.

If you were to add back in all that Flight has stripped out, you would likely be back to FSX performance levels.

[alaskancrab]

It's really a problem for Microsoft Game Studios and they are a small studio on the Xbox/GWFL site, which is a spinoff from Microsoft yes. 2 degrees of seperation. So anything better than 0 will do for now. Though if I were Microsoft I'd be really interested in how MGS does as well, looks like a lot of potential in this startup. Obviously Microsoft paid for this exclusive title to appear on GFWL, but that is about it. It's really a promotional thing for Windows as far as they're concerned... ie your free gift for buying Windows 7/8.

[Paxx]

It's really a promotional thing for Windows as far as they're concerned... ie your free gift for buying Windows 7/8.

Nice spin.

The glaring lack of depth and available add-ons for their newly released title means that the Microsoft Game Studio needs to get crackin'. How they expect current "content" to last most users beyond two weeks was a major miscalculation. I almost jumped on my desk and yelled "Aloha".

[alaskancrab]

The glaring lack of depth and available add-ons for their newly released title means that the Microsoft Game Studio needs to get crackin'. How they expect current "content" to last most users beyond two weeks was a major miscalculation. I almost jumped on my desk and yelled "Aloha".

Alaska for Easter? :) That's the thing. what if Flight for me is so good I already got the P51 just to get some achievements that would be impossible otherwise? Say G-LOC. There are enough minigames to last me more than 3 months and that's the point of DLC release cycle. If they flood me with too much it's not good either. information/mission overload.

The challenge is simple the current 3rd party developers just have to make a better engine.

[Paxx]

Alaska for Easter? :) That's the thing. what if Flight for me is so good I already got the P51 just to get some achievements that would be impossible otherwise? Say G-LOC. There are enough minigames to last me more than 3 months and that's the point of DLC release cycle. If they flood me with too much it's not good either. information/mission overload.

The challenge is simple the current 3rd party developers just have to make a better engine.

Yes it is good they announced Alaska. The Achievement/Award/Mission/Job/Activity stuff is pointless as designed in the context of the "other" RPG/Quasi-persistent world features attempted with Flight. Unless of course, the point of it all is a secret at the moment that will be cleverly revealed sometime in the future. Now that would be outstanding.

Aloha!

and (soon) ...

Kutaa!

[alaskancrab]

I admit that's a slight problem, but we don't get to define what a Video Game is... Xbox/Nintendo/Sony do. And if they say, must have mission content, must have achievements regardless of the type of game, MGS has no option but to comply. So Flight/Hawaii lets say is 10 hours worth of content and you paid $40 dollars for it. Alaska might have 25 hours and be $60.

As stupid as that sounds... it's quantative and less subjective and hence can be applied uniformly when subjecting games to standarization. And sure some of this may apply more to First Person shooters, but then again that's what most titles are these days. And certainly you wouldn't want just a map and a character.

[Paxx]

The icons for Awards and Achievements are pretty nice graphically speaking. Nice, though, is not a carrot. I cannot believe how simplistic that aspect of Flight is. High schoolers running EMUs have a better sense of game theory.

Its tacked on and it shows. Just like multiplayer. They can do better.

[scruffyduck]

Josh's interview is here:

https://news.microsoftflight.com/blogs/post.aspx?App=news&y=2012&m=03&d=02&PostName=interview-with-joshua-howard&wa=wsignin1.0