Microsoft Flight Catch-All

After shutting down the Flight Simulator program, Microsoft announced a new entry into the civilian flight simulator market - Microsoft Flight

A recent press release:

January 4th, 2012 – Microsoft Flight Takes to the Skies
Today, Microsoft Studios premiered Microsoft Flight, a PC game that lets players jump into the challenge, fun, and freedom of flight. Microsoft Flight will be available as a free download this spring, giving players the freedom to fly the skies over the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii, complete a variety of exciting missions, test their skills in flying challenges, or find hidden aerocaches on the island.

In Microsoft Flight, players view the world from above in a visually stunning and realistic representation of the earth, complete with region-specific weather patterns, foliage, terrain and landmarks. Players can choose to take the helm using highly rendered, accurate cockpits and authentic piloting procedures, or simply use their mouse and keyboard to control the plane in an exterior view. More experienced players can tailor the flight controls to match their skill level, making Microsoft Flight easy for beginners while still challenging for the most accomplished PC pilots.

“Many people dream of flying, but few have the chance to experience the fun of exploring the world from above. Microsoft Flight provides players the opportunity to explore that curiosity and interest,” said Joshua Howard, executive producer of Microsoft Flight. “Aviation can be incredibly technical, but we’ve taken great care to build an experience that makes taking to the skies thrilling and accessible for everyone.”

Start Exploring For Free

After downloading Microsoft Flight for free, players can jump into hours of exciting gameplay on the Big Island of Hawaii.

In addition, players who sign in to their Games for Windows – LIVE account automatically receive additional free content, including the legendary Boeing Stearman plane, supplementary missions, and access to Achievements and an Online Pilot Profile. Those looking to deepen their experience can purchase and download additional content that adds new aircraft, regions and customization options. The frequently released new content for Microsoft Flight includes daily aerocache challenges and updates that make every flight unique and fun.

Be the First to Fly the Definitive Light Sport Aircraft ICON A5

Microsoft Studios worked with the personal airplane manufacturing team at ICON Aircraft to give aviation fans the exclusive opportunity to fly the all-new ICON A5 before real-world production starts at the end of 2012. Designed by the world-class aeronautical engineers behind the Voyager spaceship, X-Prize winning SpaceShipOne, and Virgin Galatic’s SpaceShipTwo, the ICON A5 is the “jet ski for the skies,” a high-wing amphibious monoplane with a carbon fiber airframe and a comfortable, automobile-inspired cockpit with space for two. The ICON A5 will be the first aircraft available to players for free in Microsoft Flight.

“ICON Aircraft and Microsoft Flight both share the goal of making the fun of flying accessible to everyone who’s ever dreamed about it. ICON does this by fusing world-class product design with the very best engineering, and Microsoft by combining the excitement of a great gaming experience with the authenticity of a top notch flight simulator,” said ICON Aircraft CEO Kirk Hawkins.

Be the First to Experience Microsoft Flight

Today the team behind Microsoft Flight released an exclusive video that features all-new footage of Microsoft Flight. To view it, click on the 'Video' tab.

Additionally, sign-ups for beta are still open! Be among the first to try Microsoft Flight by applying for the closed beta at:
https://connect.microsoft.com/site11....

The voyage continues at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from January 10 – 13. Those that attend will have the chance to play Microsoft Flight before it releases this spring at the Microsoft booth, located in the Central Hall.

A Teaser

Looks pretty arcadey to me, I really hope they leave some sim in it.

So happy I don't have to make all the flight sim catch-alls anymore

I'm skeptical about this as I've not yet received an invitation to try it out. For those that have, a non-NDA-breaking question: TrackIR, does it work?

Stylez wrote:

So happy I don't have to make all the flight sim catch-alls anymore

I'm skeptical about this as I've not yet received an invitation to try it out. For those that have, a non-NDA-breaking question: TrackIR, does it work?

I haven't tried but I hear no.

Early impressions on the web from simmers are NOT favorable.

El-Producto wrote:
Stylez wrote:

So happy I don't have to make all the flight sim catch-alls anymore

I'm skeptical about this as I've not yet received an invitation to try it out. For those that have, a non-NDA-breaking question: TrackIR, does it work?

I haven't tried but I hear no.

Early impressions on the web from simmers are NOT favorable.

That is HORRIBLE if true. I despise this whole concept now. First the F2P thing and then ignoring TrackIR? To hell with you MS!

Don't you think support for peripherals most people don't have would possibly be added later on? I'd assume from what they've said publicly that this will be adding stuff along the way, so maybe later?

MannishBoy wrote:

Don't you think support for peripherals most people don't have would possibly be added later on? I'd assume from what they've said publicly that this will be adding stuff along the way, so maybe later?

At this point in the game not having TrackIR support is like not supporting joysticks, that doesn't bode well for the direction of this product, even if it is added later. The Naturalpoint folks are easy to deal with and are eager to get their product to work with more games, so this seems kind of shocking.

Yeah, if it calls itself a sim, it needs to have TIR support.. no excuses.

If it's a game.. well that's a different story, but I can tell you it will get NO support from the sim community if they don't include simple things like TIR support.

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a sim or not. I think it sounds like a casual F2P flying game

Barab wrote:

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a sim or not. I think it sounds like a casual F2P flying game

And that's what it is.

The "sim community" will definitely be up in arms about MS Flight, but this thing isn't marketed to simmers, it's being made for the masses, and made to be accessible. It's as much a 'game' as it is a sim. This is not a hardcore sim, and not meant as a replacement or spiritual successor to Flight Simulator.

One problem is that MS is pretty bad at naming things. ("Windows Phone", "Office", etc). Proper marketing would give a better impression of what this product is supposed to be.

One word.

Yikes.

El-Producto wrote:

One word.

Yikes.

In response to what?

Jeff-66 wrote:
Barab wrote:

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a sim or not. I think it sounds like a casual F2P flying game

And that's what it is.

The "sim community" will definitely be up in arms about MS Flight, but this thing isn't marketed to simmers, it's being made for the masses, and made to be accessible. It's as much a 'game' as it is a sim. This is not a hardcore sim, and not meant as a replacement or spiritual successor to Flight Simulator.

One problem is that MS is pretty bad at naming things. ("Windows Phone", "Office", etc). Proper marketing would give a better impression of what this product is supposed to be.

Then why even bother? It isn't like MSFS was particularly hard to get into, flying basic aircraft anyway. It also sold very well.

I am betting this does not.

Jeff-66 wrote:
Barab wrote:

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a sim or not. I think it sounds like a casual F2P flying game

And that's what it is.

The "sim community" will definitely be up in arms about MS Flight, but this thing isn't marketed to simmers, it's being made for the masses, and made to be accessible. It's as much a 'game' as it is a sim. This is not a hardcore sim, and not meant as a replacement or spiritual successor to Flight Simulator.

One problem is that MS is pretty bad at naming things. ("Windows Phone", "Office", etc). Proper marketing would give a better impression of what this product is supposed to be.

I'm probably falling to some bait, but I think dropping "Simulator" from the name would indicate that a simulator is not the focus any more.

It's going into another discussion, but I wonder if people's tastes really change over the years, like a fashion or trends in music, or if increasing costs mean it's no longer viable just targeted at the sim market.

Jeff-66 wrote:
El-Producto wrote:

One word.

Yikes.

In response to what?

No response just my impressions.

Either the F2P market is very profitable, or certain publishers think it is. I believe I read LOTRO doubled or tripled it's income after going to F2P, because perhaps people are much more likely to spend $100 in smaller increments over, say 18 months and with no up front cost, than they are to spend $50 or $60 immediately.

MS Flight will no doubt be a grab at this F2P model, and it may work.

MisterStatic wrote:

Then why even bother? It isn't like MSFS was particularly hard to get into, flying basic aircraft anyway.

I didn't mean to indicate that MS Flight has a 'press spacebar to fly' button. There's definitely some sim in it.

Scratched wrote:

I'm probably falling to some bait, but I think dropping "Simulator" from the name would indicate that a simulator is not the focus any more.

Ha! Very well put.

I'm kinda interested in this. I liked flying helicopters in BFBC2. I can see flying more things being fun. The crazy dedication to realism in stuff like ArmA is massively intimidating to me. I wouldn't be willing to invest money in something that was so far outside what I normally play.

Sounds like I'm exactly the market for this game.

I'm always a little confused by people who seem upset that a game isn't for them... Why is it such a travesty if it's not a hardcore sim? If it's not pretending to be one, I don't at all see the problem.

Floomi wrote:

Sounds like I'm exactly the market for this game.

I'm always a little confused by people who seem upset that a game isn't for them... Why is it such a travesty if it's not a hardcore sim? If it's not pretending to be one, I don't at all see the problem.

I agree, and I'm someone who put over $500 into FSX hardware and FSX add-ons. I don't think it's a breach of the NDA to say that I'm enjoying MS Flight -- very much, in fact.

I think the problem arises in many simmers' disappointment in the closing of the studio that developed Flight Simulator, and the loss of a 25 year franchise. Plus, a lot of people had a lot invested in it, and that investment won't carry over.

That said, there's still X-Plane if people are looking for something more hardcore.

Jeff-66 wrote:
Floomi wrote:

Sounds like I'm exactly the market for this game.

I'm always a little confused by people who seem upset that a game isn't for them... Why is it such a travesty if it's not a hardcore sim? If it's not pretending to be one, I don't at all see the problem.

I agree, and I'm someone who put over $500 into FSX hardware and FSX add-ons. I don't think it's a breach of the NDA to say that I'm enjoying MS Flight -- very much, in fact.

I think the problem arises in many simmers' disappointment in the closing of the studio that developed Flight Simulator, and the loss of a 25 year franchise. Plus, a lot of people had a lot invested in it, and that investment won't carry over.

That said, there's still X-Plane if people are looking for something more hardcore.

Well, as one of those guys, it is very disappointing. I was looking forward to an update to my sim of choice. I understand I can go to X-Plane, but it doesn't mean I am not upset that MSFS is not reborn. This Flight thing will fail I'm afraid. Unless the missions are truly exciting, Hawaii will get boring fast.

I don't have a problem with casual flight sims in the least. I think anytime a "game" like this is released it exposes more people who might just get interested enough to move onto X-Plan, DCS, etc.

I guess I just fail to understand why, when it appears that the model like this is to make money.. would they would exclude a huge segment of potential income. Most if not all of the complex, hardcore sims have an arcade mode.. why can't this go halfway?

And for a 2012 game, the tech seem quite far behind, I can fire up Jane's F-15 and witness better ground textures. But that could be beta problems as well.

My 2 cents.

El-Producto wrote:

I guess I just fail to understand why, when it appears that the model like this is to make money.. would they would exclude a huge segment of potential income. Most if not all of the complex, hardcore sims have an arcade mode.. why can't this go halfway?

I guess on one hand it should be easy to just set a few options and then you've got a simulator (just like that), but I think simulators are a bit like the uncanny valley in that it's easy to get a good approximation, but needs a mountain of work to get a good simulation, which may be what MS doesn't have the stomach for. Plus, if Flight is fully new or carrying on from FSX after a few years of sitting idle, with new staff, then the competition has a few years lead on them and will have gained customer loyalty and reputation in the meantime.

MisterStatic wrote:

I was looking forward to an update to my sim of choice.

Which puts you in the same situation as you were in two days ago when you'd never heard of the game, no? You might as well complain that Assassin's Creed isn't an MSFS update; that too isn't a game for you!

(Sorry, I don't see race brands.)

El-Producto wrote:

I guess I just fail to understand why, when it appears that the model like this is to make money.. would they would exclude a huge segment of potential income.

Because it's more work to develop? And maybe they're not prepared to accept the risk of additional investment required to do so?

Floomi wrote:
MisterStatic wrote:

I was looking forward to an update to my sim of choice.

Which puts you in the same situation as you were in two days ago when you'd never heard of the game, no? You might as well complain that Assassin's Creed isn't an MSFS update; that too isn't a game for you!

(Sorry, I don't see race brands.)

El-Producto wrote:

I guess I just fail to understand why, when it appears that the model like this is to make money.. would they would exclude a huge segment of potential income.

Because it's more work to develop? And maybe they're not prepared to accept the risk of additional investment required to do so?

Umm, what makes you think I had not heard of the game until two days ago? I have actually been following it for a long time. Two days ago I found out that it would be this abortion. And your AC analogy is ridiculous. This was announced and anticipated by many as the return of MSFS over a year ago.

I appear to be incapable of not stirring things up here, so I'm going to back out of this thread until the simmers have exhausted their rage and us unwashed casuals can get back to talking about the game without a backdrop of anguished wailing.

Just out of interest, what is it that raises (raised, past tense?) MSFS over other products such as X-Plane?

Scratched wrote:

Just out of interest, what is it that raises (raised, past tense?) MSFS over other products such as X-Plane?

To be honest, I have not tried X-Plane 10. It looks fantastic and I intend on diving in later this year. I have played 9 which had a better flight model than MSFS, but lacked the same level of third-party support among other things. I always felt the MSFS world, although imperfect, had a sense of character that X-plane lacked.

Many of us have so much tied up in MSFS that it is kind of like going from an iOS device with a million apps purchased to the new shiny Android machine.

Floomi wrote:

I appear to be incapable of not stirring things up here, so I'm going to back out of this thread until the simmers have exhausted their rage and us unwashed casuals can get back to talking about the game without a backdrop of anguished wailing.

I just think you made some assumptions in your post that are simply not accurate. Nothing personal.

Scratched wrote:

Just out of interest, what is it that raises (raised, past tense?) MSFS over other products such as X-Plane?

For the new player? Free to get into with less intimidation of having to shell out a lot of initial money? I'm sure that's MS's thought anyway.

For instance, me. I've known of X Plane and all the MSFS stuff for years, but having touched them for well over a decade. But if I can just hop in and see if I have any interest easily like this, I might try it.

As to whether it's a good "sim"? No idea.

Maybe they're going for kind of a flight F2P version of Forza, where it goes from arcade style controls up to somewhere in the mid-sim range, but doesn't really go for the hardcore too much. Probably thinking they'll hit a bigger market.

Floomi wrote:

I appear to be incapable of not stirring things up here, so I'm going to back out of this thread until the simmers have exhausted their rage and us unwashed casuals can get back to talking about the game without a backdrop of anguished wailing.

Seriously? LOL

I'm being hard on the game because it's Microsoft. We aren't talking about some indie studio here, it's "bottomless wallets" Microsoft, who've been in the game for a LONG time. In a landscape with games/sims like Wings of Prey by a relatively small developer which seems to be able to give something to both ends of the demographic, I'm just lost as to why MS can't with this. If that wasn't their goal, than so be it, my civsim money will go to X-Plane. I'm mostly sad, because I really enjoyed Flight Unlimited.. and I got the impression this was going to be similar. Mission based, small geographic simming.

I've been simming for over 25 years, since the Commodore 64, so forgive me for being passionate about the genre. Like I said in a previous post, if games like this open up the genre to more people I'm all for it. I can see now, even with my limited experience with it, that it's more Pilot Wings, than MSFS which is totally fine, too bad it's just not very good.

When the NDA is lifted, I'll post my thoughts.

Update - OrbX a well known 3rd party MSFS dev. has broken his NDA.

From the sounds of that, so long as FSX is still available then MS wins either way if 3rd parties stay with them, at least for the enthusiast market.

Scratched wrote:

From the sounds of that, so long as FSX is still available then MS wins either way if 3rd parties stay with them, at least for the enthusiast market.

Which I suppose is good, so hopefully Flight will succeed and bring some casuals into the enthusiast side of things.

This is the travesty:

OrbX wrote:

MS don't know what they have in the FSX engine source code, or they would not have licensed it to LM. It is by far the most capable and impressive 3D far-horizon engine ever coded - bar none. Nothing, even in 2012 comes close to the number of pixels and terrain the FSX engine can push at a locked 60Hz. Problem is, the code needs a little loving and MS won't fund that. So good thing we have a dev team at LM who are doing just that. Can't wait for that engine to be running close to the metal and off the CPU and onto the GPU. Yes, that's coming and it will rock.

I tried running Flight Simulator a while back and found it to be a ridiculous system hog.

I realize that Train Simulator is just Railworks (and wasn't developed internally at MS), but it also is a system hog - given the fact that the graphics are sort of terrible except on the train itself, there is no reason for a 2GB 6950 to chug like it does.

Are all niche products like this? I feel like there is more optimizing they could do. Maybe I'm out of line with MSFS, but on MSTS, I feel like the physics it has to calculate can't be that complex compared to say, the Frostbite 2 engine.