Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 - News and Footage

[patful]

What plane would be absolutely perfect for exploring the new high-res world with procedural grass/vegetation and all the other bells and whistles?

Lancaster!

[TymK]

What plane would be absolutely perfect for exploring the new high-res world with procedural grass/vegetation and all the other bells and whistles?

Lancaster!

Well, NOE flying from the nose turret view would be rather spectacular, I have to agree...

[AKar]

Finally, 3D volumetric rain. That alone would get me to pay a new sim engine, to get rid of this 'appears from nowhere' stuff in current FSX/P3D.

Now, I want to have proper seasons and snowstorms!

-Esa

[MkIV Hvd]

Finally, 3D volumetric rain. That alone would get me to pay a new sim engine, to get rid of this 'appears from nowhere' stuff in current FSX/P3D.

Now, I want to have proper seasons and snowstorms!

-Esa

Now THAT would be worth whatever computer upgrade you might have to make...!!

[AKar]

Finally, 3D volumetric rain. That alone would get me to pay a new sim engine, to get rid of this 'appears from nowhere' stuff in current FSX/P3D.

Now, I want to have proper seasons and snowstorms!

-Esa

Now THAT would be worth whatever computer upgrade you might have to make...!!

Twice!

-Esa

[Dan M]

Proper seasons - however implemented - would definitely be nice. But maybe we should be wishing for seasons, period. As far as I know, the devs have said having four distinct seasons is technically possible, but it's not even in the planning stages. Or to put it another way, at one of the early MS sessions they basically said "if it happens, it will be much later." So they aren't even sure on this. It's too bad really, I'd have given this new sim a chance but that one is a deal-breaker for me.

I think anyone who prefers flying with real-world time/season/weather is going to be disappointed. The visuals they've shown are very nice, but I would have liked to see something a little more versatile than a summer simulator.

There's probably an audience (and a market) for this new version, I just wonder how big it will be and how long it will hold peoples' interest.

[BPL]

Microsoft Flight Simulator - X019 - Gameplay Trailer

[patful]

.

[alehead]

Well, a comment made by a Microsoft representative in one of the interviews at the X019 in London published on YouTube imply that they have modelled in some way all the 48000+ worldwide airports...

It is probably unlikely that all will have been modelled to some reasonable depth, but who knows what is in store here...

A

[patful]

.

[FAC257]

What plane would be absolutely perfect for exploring the new high-res world with procedural grass/vegetation and all the other bells and whistles?

Lancaster!

Well, NOE flying from the nose turret view would be rather spectacular, I have to agree...

The ability to enjoy the scenery while in the VC, is one of the things I always liked about using the WOP B-29 and the B377 for world touring. The view from both is really good.

[Solareagle]

I can't wait to see wait to see what the A2A Spitfire is going to look like with PBR materials and THAT lighting! lol

[patful]

.

[r4y30n]

Those are the people that make up the bulk of aviation enthusiasts and they run for cover when people start throwing around words like center of gravity, pFactor, and manifold pressure, they just like airplanes, and don't care about all the ins and outs of their operation, and those are the people that will be the target for the new MSFS,

I believe you might be mistaken about your choice for the target base for Microsoft and the new simulator.
(Don't ask me how I know this
Dudley Henriques

I'll ardently disagree with that statement. If it were true, Xbox One would never have even been mentioned. The Xbox Live install base is where I draw my conclusion from. If you can show me that there are more hardcore flight simmers out there than the 2 million+ Xbox Live subscribers, then I'll admit my thoughts on the target base are off. The biggest reason for this is simple: If MSFS is good, then hardcore sim users are a given, if MSFS bad, then appeal to the massive Xbox Live install base and make some quick money back on the development costs before it goes the way of MS Flight. So, no, I don't think my target base if off even in the slightest. MS doesn't want OUR money, if it's as good as they say, they will already have it, but as we know "we happy few" are not enough to entice MS to develop this. They must be reasonably sure that they are going to make money with this, and they are looking at way bigger numbers than the hardcore flight sim group. We might drive the simulator industry but simulators are already niche, and those looking for more such as A2A and PMDG are not the numbers that will support a new flight simulator alone; so where do those numbers come from? Casuals. I welcome rebuttal.

Working under the Microsoft Studios umbrella I can say this sounds like our Gaming for Everyone initiative. Yes, it's going to come out on Xbox One and more than likely it'll be on Game Pass and streamed on Mixer for maximum exposure because you're right, the hardcore sim community can't pay for a project as big as FS2020 on its own. But beyond that, these platforms (Game Pass in particular) are great for getting people to try things they never would've approached before. Believe it or not, this kind of inclusive thinking is going to grow our community. Making FS2020 playable with an Xbox controller on an Xbox lowers the bar for entry and Game Pass takes away the monetary risk of trying something out of one's comfort zone.

As a kid, I dabbled in flight sims occasionally because I like airplanes. It wasn't until I spent years reading about aircraft and aviation and months of watching A2A's AccuSim videos that I decided to get serious and dive into FSX. I made a check list of all the software I needed in addition to FSX itself. I bought a stick, throttle and rudder pedals. I bought a TrackIR. I read multiple guides on how to get all this working together, and I'll be honest, it was a lot of work. I also have a passion for military aviation but I never would've given DCS a chance had I not already spent so much time and money getting into FSX, much of which would transfer over. I happen to love flight simming, both civilian and military, but it was quite a cliff to jump off on the hope that I'd like it as much as I thought.

And as for the product itself, I don't think the added accessibility will take away from the depth of simulation. Think about it, what does it really take to get a Skyhawk to fly on a game pad? Put a layer of fly-by-wire on top of the study sim. As players get more comfortable they can start to take the training wheels off. Then they might get curious about the wider world of flight simming. Say, that's a cool add-on plane I've never seen before... A2A, take my money.

FS2020 isn't targeting casuals or hardcore simmers. They're targeting everyone.

[BPL]

Feature Discovery Series Episode 3: Aerodynamics