Really good preview...

[CaptainCernick]

...over at simhq.

I have been anticipating, and fearing at the same time, the pending release of the new Flight Simulator. This preview quells some of my fears about this new release merely being an "eye candy for a broader market" sequel.

Highlights:

I noticed a lot of model aircraft and aviation related stuff littering the cubicles. These guys really do live and breathe this stuff and it was really nice to chat with kindred aviation nuts!

The weather also is getting some decent improvements. I asked specifically about the overcast problem with FS9. Currently you just can’t get a real layer to look solid enough from above, and you see the ground right through it. I was told this will be improved but may not go away altogether with the DX9 release this holiday season. Things may change with DX10 but we will have to wait for that hardware to arrive to know for sure. I was told that there will be separate visibility layers and this will improve the situation a lot from where we are now. Weather transitions are also getting smoothed. Going from one weather system to the next should work better now with little or no abrupt visibility changes.

I was really hoping for the weather issues to be fixed. And I'll be glad to be rid of the abrupt changes in real-time weather!

The biggest change this time around is Microsoft’s commitment to the community. Its refreshing, it’s overdue, and it’s going to mean bigger, better, and more quality add-ons for all of us who enjoy this sim. Microsoft acknowledged that this is the way to go and moving forward with the Flight Simulator legacy.

The cockpits and VC’s have been greatly enhanced. Texturing is excellent, and flying the VC’s is a real treat. I was particularly impressed with the night lighting in the general aviation cockpits, it’s a huge improvement. Most of the models that needed it have received much needed facelifts.

Good news indeed. I hated the red floodlight in the cockpits at night and the bland, low-res textures in the VCs.

ATC is not getting any real new investment from the team. The bugs which existed before may get a tweak or two, but overall not much is going to change.

Bit of a missed chance here. I do hope they'll fix the annoying zig-zag approach thing.

As far as flight dynamics go, what you have now is what you get, plus a few minor enhancements.

Hmm... I guess that still means half-hearted stalls, no spins and no side-slipping. That would be really too bad.

I noticed while in VC mode a subtle "head bob", which you get with changes in G, angle of bank, and pitch.

This is a cool addition!

The missions are engaging, they are fun, and they can even capture the interest of the more... ahem… hard core among us. Namely me! There will be 50 missions shipping on the DVDs and are geared to the easier spectrum of challenge for newer and less hard core types. While taking the tour, I saw some well developed story board type characters who will be part of these missions. It will add depth and immersion to have these animated and interactive characters within each mission.

Yeah! A real storyline!

The Deluxe Version is going to ship with the mission editor, just like the one the team is using to develop the 50 missions. [...] It appeared easy to use and able to create very complicated scenarios. I think this is going to be a very popular part of this version and could lead to some wonderful and exciting missions from the third party folks.

Oh...yeah!

So, in conclusion, my personal opinion. I am a bit surer about this now. It seems Aces and Microsoft are doing quite a good job. I am a bit disappointed about the Flight models and ATC, though. But there'll be tons of new cool stuff in this as well, especially the "alive" world, new aircraft (Airbus 321, Legacy, Beaver, Goose, Maule, Ultralight), better cockpits and mission system with editor.

[scubakobe]

They sure are getting back up to today's standards in gaming. Not sure if you would call FS-X gaming, but that is what I am refering it to for now.
The game Battlefield 2 that I got awhile back really amazed me at its details. I went from ugly FS9 textures to detailed ground textures in objects in Battlefield 2. Now that FS-X is being developed in a more capable era, I would say it is great they are improving all of the detailing.
Just check out this picture!!!


Amazing!
I am, too, disappointed to hear about almost no changes in ATC and flight models, I figured ATC would be one of their main improvements.

One thing I was happy to see, was the VC improvements. Now they are catching up with the payware designers, although it doesn't look like they matched up with Level-D or PMDG yet.


And now, I will live through many restless nights waiting for this special object to appear on the shelves of a Best Buy store near me....


but wait! Wasn't FS-X going to be on DVD's, not a CD?!?!

[Admin]

I love speculation. Many of the reports you have seen, heard & read have originated from people who are analyzing screenshots. Screenshots! And the demos that have been available at a couple shows are early betas (and DEMOS) There IS no FSX. It is in beta testing. It is unfinished. Everything you see is posed. I can't tell you when it will be released, but neither can Best Buy or Amazon, or EB Games. Here is the link where you can get THE FACTS about FSX. www.fsinsider.com/ That is the ONLY place to get FACTS.
I do have a couple suggestions though for better health. Don't hold your breath waiting for it to appear on the shelves. I doubt you will see it before mid-October and probably later than that.
Now, this is opinion (and I am entitled to them once in a while) I am glad they didn't waste any time on ATC. They have already invested too much time in an impossible situation. No matter how many DVDs of data you throw at canned ATC, it will still be canned ATC, which will never please anyone. It would be better to include the possiblity to have online controllers as part of multi-player. Real controllers can give you real ATC. No computer program can. Flight models are another subject for debate. I suggest debate on FSX flight models is pointless since we have not had the opportiunity to install and fly any FSX aircraft. Remember, the demos at the shows are using betas, not the finished product. When FSX is released will be plenty of time for the debate to begin. Meanwhile, have fun speculating

[jimslost]

Yes, Tom, I too live in that sweet land between speculation and wishful thinking .... On a more useful note, though, I believe I have an answer to the side-slip issue for those willing to experiment with their .air files and I am still working on the stall/spin problem - with an occasional fleeting success. However, I, too, am disappointed to hear that the Great Brains have passed on this issue, as it would be nice to have someone who knows what he is doing tackle the problem. The problem with the hit-and-miss method is the extremely high ratio of misses to hits.

[scubakobe]

Not sure if you read the preview or not, but the person actually visited the heart of the creation of FSX. The person wasn't analyzing screenshots, he played the simulator.
As you said Tom, the others are speculating of how it will turn out, while this person actually was hands-on with the simulator so I gave it more attention and actually read the whole preview unlike other times where I glanced at the shots.
But of course we certainly won't know until they release it, like you were saying, Tom.

The slight modifications they stated were being done to the flight modeling may just be in the Stall and spin category. Or, it just might be a bug fixer.
There should be a fantastic outcome none the less.

[Admin]

Yes I read the article and Jim Campisi is a reliable source, BUT he was still looking at a beta and talking to guys who want to get plenty of publicity for the product. Notice that the guy he met with was from the Marketing Dept. I will also say that I will get it when it comes out as I have done since FS4. I hope it is as good as it looks, but I won't get excited until the first flight is in progress.

[CaptainCernick]

admin said:

I love speculation. Many of the reports you have seen, heard & read have originated from people who are analyzing screenshots. Screenshots! And the demos that have been available at a couple shows are early betas (and DEMOS) There IS no FSX. It is in beta testing. It is unfinished. Everything you see is posed. I can't tell you when it will be released, but neither can Best Buy or Amazon, or EB Games. Here is the link where you can get THE FACTS about FSX. www.fsinsider.com/ That is the ONLY place to get FACTS.
I do have a couple suggestions though for better health. Don't hold your breath waiting for it to appear on the shelves. I doubt you will see it before mid-October and probably later than that.
Now, this is opinion (and I am entitled to them once in a while) I am glad they didn't waste any time on ATC. They have already invested too much time in an impossible situation. No matter how many DVDs of data you throw at canned ATC, it will still be canned ATC, which will never please anyone. It would be better to include the possiblity to have online controllers as part of multi-player. Real controllers can give you real ATC. No computer program can. Flight models are another subject for debate. I suggest debate on FSX flight models is pointless since we have not had the opportiunity to install and fly any FSX aircraft. Remember, the demos at the shows are using betas, not the finished product. When FSX is released will be plenty of time for the debate to begin. Meanwhile, have fun speculating

As Kobbe said, he actually went to visit Aces studio. And I agree with your point about publicity-guys point only partly. It's true that these guys will do anything to make the product sell better, but I also think they'll be heavily regulated from above and they'll be sure not to make promises the developers can't keep.
Of course, you're absolutely right that we won't be able to judge the final product until we have our hands on it.

About the ATC, I actually love it in FS9. It was something I had been yearning for since FS98 and I do believe they did quite a good job at it in FS9. Of course, you aren't able to declare an emergency and it might still not be 100 percent realistic ("0MS, turn next taxiway" ;D) but I fly with it all the time, except in GW3.