MS Flight Simulator future looks grim

[Insuber]

Bad news,

The 5000 developers of Aces Studio have been laid off by MS ... the entire development team. The probable end of the story for Flight Simulator, the longest running computer game as far. But MS still says it is "committed" to the series ... funny. Remembers me of Goebbels propaganda doctrine.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7874937.stm

Regards,
Insuber

[Antoninus]

Maybe the end for MSFS as serious flight simulator as we knew and love it, but it seems that MS has indeed plans for new game in the series. They are searching already new developers for a kind of flightsim.

http://members.microsoft.com/careers/search/details.aspx?JobID=5DFAFC0D-A445-4E2E-A64D-9EB027033424

Job Title: Lead Program Manager
Job Category: Program Management
Product: Games
Date Posted: 02/06/2009

Job Code: 252512
Location: WA - Redmond
Travel Required:


*To consider similar job openings on MS Careers, use keyword: GAMES

Join the team responsible for building the most fun and rewarding flying experiences available on Games for Windows Live. Microsoft Game Studios is looking for a veteran Lead Program Manager/Producer to help lead the development of a new broad-attraction flight-oriented game on the PC.

[ECV56_LeChuck]

Aces studios doesn´t have 5000 ppl. Microsoft fired 5000 employees, Aces included.
And for the job, it´s a "Most fun", "Broad", "Flying Game"... looks like just that, a game, not a Flight Simulator.

[Igo kyu]

Aces studios doesn´t have 5000 ppl. Microsoft fired 5000 employees, Aces included.
And for the job, it´s a "Most fun", "Broad", "Flying Game"... looks like just that, a game, not a Flight Simulator.
Crimson Skies 2?

[ECV56_LeChuck]

Yeah I thought that too, however, Crimson skies was a good game.

[Antoninus]

Another one:

http://members.microsoft.com/careers/search/details.aspx?JobID=0E538722-B2E3-4B72-A510-0EE92F108D14

Job Title: Art Management
Job Category: Game Design
Product: Games
Date Posted: 01/30/2009

Job Code: 252532
Location: WA - Redmond
Travel Required:


*To consider similar job openings on MS Careers, use keyword: GAMES

Join the team responsible for building the most fun and rewarding flying experiences available on Games for Windows Live. Does working on a small, innovative team that delivers the most immersive flight experiences available today on the PC intrigue you? Our technology makes available entire continents - potentially the entire planet - for a detailed and dynamic 3D experience. We are looking for a Project Art Lead who can define, refine, and extend the visual elements while balancing the need for fun and approachability for a broad set of users.


Surely that does not sound like they want to make a real simulator, but neither a limited action game like Crimson skies. Immersive flight experiences, entire continents sounds more like fly a highly simplified beautiful aircraft over beautiful scenery, perhaps missions as in FSX.

[JoeA]

Another one:

http://members.microsoft.com/careers/search/details.aspx?JobID=0E538722-B2E3-4B72-A510-0EE92F108D14


Surely that does not sound like they want to make a real simulator, but neither a limited action game like Crimson skies. Immersive flight experiences, entire continents sounds more like fly a highly simplified beautiful aircraft over beautiful scenery, perhaps missions as in FSX.

Still doesn't sound like what I would want, sigh. Anyway, even with FSX as it stands now, or any version of FS, you can set things simple and just fly (turn off automix and rudder, no compass drift, simple weather etc.) and have more complex simulations so why limit the choice?

[Antoninus]

From avsim.com


The Facts Emerge - The future of MS Flight Simulation

Posted: Sunday, February 8, 2009 - 20:01
There has been a lot of speculation, rumor and simple guesses as to what Microsoft is going to do with the Flight Simulator “enterprise”. Through a number of sources, some of whom are former ACES members, we have been able to get to the bottom of where our hobby is heading, at least as far as Microsoft is concerned. Our sources will remain anonymous, for obvious reasons. Here are the hard, cold, and very disappointing facts:

FACT: Microsoft Flight Simulator for the PC is dead. There are no plans to continue the FS series in a form that we would recognize. The wholesale dispatch of the ACES team speaks volumes to this.

FACT: ESP is dead. Boeing, Raytheon and presumably Northrop Grumman (ESP’s first adopters) received notification that the ESP franchise is done and that, in effect, they are on their own. We have seen some discussion putting hope in the emergence of ESP as the next "engine" for flight simulator. That is not going to happen.

FACT: Some developers in our hobby approached Microsoft to purchase the MSFX code. Microsoft rebuffed that offer in total. We presume that this is because having the FSX code out there would “diffuse” their future intent and model for a flight simulator “replacement”.

What is Microsoft’s future intent as regards flight simulation? Simple really… Create a flight simulation system for Windows Live, and sell applications for it much like Apple does for their IPhone / Ipod family. Third party developers will have to submit their applications, as do Apple developers, for approval by MS and they in turn would earn a percentage from the sales of those applications. Vendors that we have talked to are extremely upset about this. It also brings back memories of the infamous Papa Tango attempts to hijack freeware.

Imagine for a moment a “live” simulator that has as its core a “Flight Unlimited” like virtual world. You can fly around a very small part of the world in the default system, but to add to your simulation world, you have to purchase the additional scenery from MS. You want more than a 172, a Baron, or a 737? Simple, purchase it via the Live system.

Imagine for a moment the availability of liveries that would be made available. Without approval by the airlines, you can imagine the lack of variety in the “live” modeled aircraft. Under the present arrangement, freeware is seen as free advertising for the United’s, American’s, Lufthansa’s and others of the world. Insert the dollar into the equation, and it is reasonable to expect that our current arrangement with carriers would evaporate. Would MS consider providing freeware via its live system? Don’t hold your breath – too many liability concerns, copyright infringement risks, product support and management issues to take on for free.

What about VATSIM, IVAO and the plethora of other peripheral attractions that we now benefit from? Imagine paying to connect to VATSIM for an hour or two of supervised flight. Spend some time thinking about the ramifications of this, and it only gets scarier.

We have a simple new reality to face up to; Microsoft has changed their business model as regards the flight simulation genre and we are seeing the first steps of that new model taking hold. We can assume that a “live” version will entail online subscription costs per month or year, and additional add-on’s will cost us.

[ECV56_LeChuck]

Oh... I was more optimistic before reading this. Thanks for the nfo

[SPUDLEY1977]

Antoninus,
The approach you mention sounds par for the course. Bill's vision in the future is that we would all have dummy terminals with keyboard, visual screen, and some basic net connectivity equipment. All the hard drive, software, etc, etc will be resident at a remote site owned and managed by Bills team of foreign speeking ants - no insult to ants, or most foreigners, but a definate insult to US Citizens.

The end user with his lil dummy will pay a monthly bundled fee for net access, storage, software, and processing, etc, etc.

This would pad their bottom line as the current market is pretty much saturated. These kind of rental deals are:

1. Exponentially expensive for the end user
2. Very poor value relative to the skyscraper costs
3. Terribly cumbersome for the end user
4. Rigidly inflexible
5. You will need to learn the art of Indie_glish