Lockheed Martin purchased Flight Simulator from Microsoft and now licenses it to commercial training firms under the brand name Prepar3d (pronounced Prepared). There's a rumor that LockMart plans to offer a consumer version that will keep all of what FSX fans loved and add new content. For those interested in learning more, the website is www.prepar3d.com. SP
I'm going to have to break down and get X-Plane. FSX was just a glossier (and more system-intensive) version of FS9, and Flight is a complete joke that seems to be targeting the lowest common denominator among the groundhog crowd.
I applaud Microsoft for trying to lure new pilots, but the best way to do that is to provide a realistic simulation and Flight just doesn't cut it.
As a private pilot, I was very excited to be invited to participate in the Beta testing of Microsoft Flight. What a disappointment! I played around with it a couple of times and found it to be a total disconnect with reality and a waste of time.
As other have stated both in this article and comments, anyone can play this "game" without any actual flying time. Don't expect to experience what a "real" flight is like at the controls of a plane. Even the game itself provides little excitement in my opinion.
Another disappointment from Microsoft. What a surprise. Like they ever had a name in quality
I guess I'm going to have to try X-Plane, too. I've been using FS since the VERY early days and I was hoping that somehow Flight would be a decent follow-up, but it sounds like it's not to be. Such a shame!
Does anyone have any insight as to why Lockheed Martin would buy FS and then kill it?
Anybody know what the story is with Flight Simulator and Lockheed Martin?
Microsoft Flight Simulator is the ONLY microsoft product I've paid for in every iteration. I felt that since the product was so well done and valuable to me, I should support the company. Now they foist Flight (sorry) on us as a replacement for FSX? I;m so mad at them for killing the only really good product they had that I am thinking of switching to LINUX and Open Office rather than support MS with any more of my time and money.
The bean counters that did this should be horse whipped! They should rename it Flight POS and I don't have to tell you what POS stands for.
Very nice review thanks. I totally agree that MS FLIGHT is disappointing.
Microsoft has taken the franchise in the wrong direction.
Some Flight Sim forums are subject to censorship & users can't express there honest disappointment in MS Flight without oafish old men deleting their postings.
Sites like AVSIM are paid off by Microsoft & soaking in Microsoft advertising dollars.
Simulator fans have waited and hoped for filet mignon, but instead, got handed dog food. I guess Microsoft figured that there are more idiots out there who will hand over their money for junk than there are true fans of aviation. Time will tell how this works out for Microsoft, but in the meantime, I will not be eating dog food even if they hand out free samples of it.
Three cheers for the AOA indicator! I've only ever flown the 172 in real life, but I do a fair amount of flying in the simulator (X-Plane), both for practice and fun, and it really is a very useful instrument. My homebuilt (if I ever get there) will definitely have one!
An airplane without an artificial horizon?! Thats.... quaint. But it leaves the pilot in no doubt as to the mission of the A5 - this is a serious *fun* plane! Hold that thought... because it carries over to Microsoft Flight itself. This is a game, people, not a serious sim for us to practice our instrument procedures!
If you think of Flight as "just a game" then I think you will start to enjoy it a bit more. I only downloaded the software today after reading this article and I think the review and the comments are a bit harsh. If this software promotes interest in aviation and leads someone to start flying lessons, then that can't be such a bad thing, can it?
If one of the goals of Microsoft Flight is to draw new pilots into the mix, I don't think a "game" that encourages someone to buzz a boat (during the FIRST LESSON, no less!) puts the best foot forward for aviation. Flying is a helluva lot of fun... but it is certainly not a game, and should not be represented as such at any level.
What a load of rubbish that review is. I would call it a preview. The reviewer only spent 5 mins trying it out. Have they tried flying the Stearman in landing challenge 6.
I have spent many hours with flight a really enjoy it. I have all MS FS since 98. I cranked up FSX the other and flew around Hawiai and found the scenery bland and washed out compare to flight.
I was also in on the Beta of FLIGHT. I tried to give it a fair shake, but came away profoundly disappointed. I thought the idea behind the product was to start out Arcade-y and then get more realistic as your progressed, teaching people how to fly along the way. But if you're an experienced pilot you'll be disappointed at how arcade-like it is (per the author's comments).
And if you're a newbie to flight they throw you into action without telling you why or what you're trying to achieve; and they use aviation terminology without explaining it first. If they wanted to appeal to "run and gun" types they shouldn't have made takeoffs and landings early lessons. And if they wanted to appeal to people who want to learn (even at a semi-realistic level and not a full-on level), they should have structured the missions much better and provided better preparation and information.
In summary: By trying to find a way to appeal to everyone, they've found a way to appeal to no one...