Microsoft To Offer Flight For Free This Spring 241
hypnosec writes "Microsoft's Flight Simulator series, which was in dormant state until now, will see a re-launch this spring and that too for free. The name of this series will be simply Flight, and players will have free access to the digital sky with this simulator. In other words, it will be available as a free download; however, the user would need to buy additional content to enhance their experience. The content that can be purchased includes aircraft as well as new environments. Microsoft states that the most amazing part of this game is the user can experience some real life locations like Big Island of Hawaii along with 'region-specific weather patterns, foliage, terrain and landmarks.'" [Video demo here.] I'd like to know where the ESRB finds "crude humor" or "mild violence" in there.
Why isn't this on XBox360? (Score:5, Insightful)
The only games I play are on XBox360. I might be interested in that game/simulation. If I needed to buy some fancy control devices, so be it. But having my nice big TV and all it would make the flight simulation pretty nice. And doing the the Live networking would be kinda fun too where you could join groups of flyers and such... interacting with them and all.
Not long ago, I saw my brother doing the flight sim thing on his PC. It was impressive enough, but not impressive enough for me to want to buy and set up a Windows PC... game system? Okay. But my stuff is Linux. I'm comfortable there... got some Apple stuff collecting dust but otherwise all Linux. A free game isn't enough to pull me back to Windows at home.
Re:I prefer the old model... (Score:4, Insightful)
MS is clearly trying to turn MSFS into a walled garden they can milk. This is the structure of a "freemium" MMO they're emulating.
Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 (Score:5, Insightful)
I've often wondered though. . . yeah, you can make money that way, but for every person who spends hundreds or thousands of dollars on DLC, I bet you have hundreds or thousands of players who never buy anything?
That kind of logic is what's causing problems for the movie and music industries. It doesn't matter how many people are not paying for your product, it matters how many people are. Your job, as a capitalist business, is to maximise the product of the number of people who are paying by the amount that they are paying. The movie industry has spent a huge amount on marketing campaigns to try to get people to stop pirating their products, forgetting that their goal should have been to make people start paying for them.
Re:I got my beta invite yesterday (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I got my beta invite yesterday (Score:5, Insightful)
Am I free then to point out thousands of accounts that seem to be shills for Linux, Gnu, RMS etc etc?
Re:I got my beta invite yesterday (Score:5, Insightful)
No... that was a contribution. It was on topic and relevent, contained information someone interested in this flight simulator might find interesting (a link to the beta signup) and an opinion about the quality of the game. The only problem you have with this post is that it is positive toward a company you don't like.
You are the one getting argumentative, you are the one derailing the conversation, you are the one who is adding exactly 0 value to this discussion, and your stance boils down to an ad hominem attack. You look absolutely petty. So even if this person is being paid to say what he's saying, what you're doing is much much worse.
Re:compares to flight gear? (Score:5, Insightful)
It doesn't compare to FlightGear. FG is built with a focus on simulating the physics of flight.. It's seen some really nice improvements in the eye candy department as of late as well.
Plus, with FlightGear, it's free, as in freedom, and as in beer, as in "here's the source code and all the artwork!"..
There isn't a market place to buy new locations because the ENTIRE PLANET is available for free in FG. Not to mention hundreds of planes, from gliders to cargo/passenger jets, WWI bi-planes to WWII fighters and bombers, to F-15's, etc.
Local weather phenomenon, real-time real-world weather conditions from live METAR data on the internet, multiplayer support allowing you to fly with people all over the world, all free.
All for free... Any other flightsim is pretty much DOA as far as I'm concerned.
Re:I prefer the old model... (Score:4, Insightful)
I wouldn't mind so much for something like this. There are only a few simulated aircraft I'd like to fly, so if I could get those for cheap then I say no problem - I'll pay the few $$$. Better to let it be focused on the stuff that I actually want to do rather than pay a huge lump sum to get a bunch of stuff I have no interest in.
Basically, the main plane I want is the Piper J3 Cub. Older stuff like a the Taylorcrafts, Luscombes, Aeronca Champ, etc, would all be nice too. Basically the stuff I'd actually want to fly in real life (which I currently can't - I have my PP-ASEL but can't get my medical renewed due to some issues - simulation is a good substitute).
Re:Why isn't this on XBox360? (Score:4, Insightful)
The only games I play are on XBox360. I might be interested in that game/simulation. If I needed to buy some fancy control devices, so be it. But having my nice big TV and all it would make the flight simulation pretty nice. And doing the the Live networking would be kinda fun too where you could join groups of flyers and such... interacting with them and all.
Not long ago, I saw my brother doing the flight sim thing on his PC. It was impressive enough, but not impressive enough for me to want to buy and set up a Windows PC... game system? Okay. But my stuff is Linux. I'm comfortable there... got some Apple stuff collecting dust but otherwise all Linux. A free game isn't enough to pull me back to Windows at home.
It is a flight simulator. Doesn't exactly match up with the gameplay demographic of consoles, though it does sound like there will be some arcadey options. Oh, and there is the fact that high-quality simulators are often CPU-bound, so they would have to make serious compromises to make it playable on a console. Not that this has stopped any other game companies from designing down to that level, and it is too early to really have an idea of how advanced the simulator element is, but that could be a real problem.
Personally I like the idea of a flight sim, but so far the ones I've tried have all been pretty boring. While one can theoretically use them for actual flight training (if you get the extra-special dongle that doesn't do anything but cost you an enormous amount), to me the fun part is doing stupid shit that would get you killed in real life. PC sims like Flight Gear and X-Plane do a decent enough job of simulating routine flight dynamics, but as soon as you start doing anything remotely stupid (or fun) they just fall apart. And they don't even have the decency to show pieces of your plane flying apart when you hit things :( I'll probably give MS Flight a try, since it is free, but I'll likely stick with Il-2 for my flight sim cravings; the flight model might not have quite the same fidelity, but it rewards stupidity with bits and pieces flying off - and then there's the fact that you can blow shit up when you're tired of just flying.
Re:Reminds of me Railworks 3 (Score:5, Insightful)
They'd never do that - people would too easily realise how empty most movies are without the eye candy of the explosions. Worst case scenario, people might actually start demanding well written stories that aren't full of holes.
No, but they do do the reverse.
You buy the DVD, you get the movie.
Alternatively, you buy the "Directors Cut", you pay $3 more and get it with a couple of extra scenes which were left on the cutting room floor for a good reason and a director's commentary (which it turns out is fantastically boring and you can't bear to watch more than 5 minutes of).
You could buy the "Special Edition" a couple of years later for $8 more. You get the Directors Cut version but the box is in a tin and includes a poster. The tin doesn't quite fit your bookcase and makes it look all untidy next to all the normal DVD cases; the poster you never take out and indeed you're surprised when a friend who's a real movie buff shows you it - you didn't even notice it in the tin.
If you're patient and want something special, you buy the "10th Anniversary Special Edition" ten years after release for $10 more, you get the Directors' Cut, a "Making Of" documentary (where they cobbled together some footage from the original green-screen shots; occasionally these are interesting but as often as not you find the guys who make the movies are excellent behind the camera but terrible in front of it) and version with a different ending. Why was the ending different? Turned out that the original idea that looked great on paper really didn't work when it was filmed and edited, so they had to write another ending. You watch the original ending once, then never again.
Re:I got my beta invite yesterday (Score:4, Insightful)
I've been somewhat passively following this ordeal for about a month (maybe longer) now. Personally, I think if someone is constantly changing account names and trying to game the system, it's a clear violation of the "spirit of Slashdot" to begin with... so you are arguing with an AC who pointed this out. (Articulate are not.)
Main Points:
First post is well known to be the premium spot. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out they get the most views.
He/they regularly changes accounts because they want to keep good karma so people read the posts. (I can't seem to find the post where they stated it, mainly because I don't remember which account it was posted under and I didn't keep the link. [didn't find it that important until now...])
They get first post on Google/Android stories and Microsoft stories. Always with the same bias. (Usually "selling" something great about Microsoft either way...)
Side Points:
There are companies called "Reputation management" companies that specifically try to game online systems to try to steer opinion.
Slashdot's Karma system is not flawless and can be exploited (Hell, everyone knows about sock puppets.)
I personally don't like to be played.
I can't help but watch this train wreck.