Microsoft Closing Aces Studio - Developer of Flight Simulator

What is Microsoft thinking? Flight sims never made anyone much money, but Microsoft was the exception, and one of the few things they did RIGHT and it actually makes money. Now it's closing their doors... ?

http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/...rmed-microsoft-flight-sim-studio-closing.html

Not only that, but Microsoft made some of the best PC joysticks, and they sold well too, but they eventually closed their doors too. I guess if you're only making $100 Million you're not worth keeping open...

 

Yeah I think that is the stupidest thing they could do too... Wasn't FS11 in development too? So basically now the only civilian flight sims are flightgear and X-plane.... While Flightgear is OK'ish and free it's nowhere near the level of MFS and X-plane is kinda pricey... I hope they come out and say something like the FS team as been absorbed in the main MS workforce and that the FS development will continue there.

 

Yeah. Much gnashing of teeth in all flightsim websites around the world.

Oh well, I think FS will take the Falcon 4.0 way. The community is strong enough to keep the sim up for years.

I other case, there will always be X-Plane. which must be seeing this as the window of opportunity of the century.

 

If Microsoft truly scraps the FS team, then I hope they make FSX open source. Or maybe one of the team members will "leak" the code somehow. X-Plane is good, it's got a better flight model, but FSX had a good flight model, but an even better environment engine and great graphics overall.

 

Not mentioning that it is fairly easy to pick up and play with the missions system and what not... I had the chance to pick up Xplane 9 when they were doing some kind of promotion, I think it was 50% off or 25 but it was a sweet deal... I wouldn't hold my breath on MS making FS an OSS software, they'll try to make money off it for as long as they can.

 

wow...this is crazy news i own every MS sim from version 4.0a forward sans FSX because i cant run it decently..but even so, I cant believe they are doing this

 

Good NEWS! The posted an update saying that they are commited the FS so it is there to stay.

 

And...maybe,gone is Train Simulator 2 as well!
Was supposed to be launched sometime in mid-2009....

 

I still haven't forgiven Microsoft for shutting down FASA Interactive.

 

Oh yeah, that too!

What is up with Microsoft. They actually have had successful software titles, but it seems that since they don't make the billions of dollars they're used to with Windows, then it's considered peanuts and not worth it I guess.

Seems like they'd be better off selling that division to someone else and at least taking a chunk of change with them. I'm sure the "Flight Simulator" name brand is worth a couple hundred million.

 

I'd highly doubt that this means the end of Microsoft Flight Sim.... maybe a change in the name of the studio that develops it, but as a player back from the early dos versions of FlightSim and Simlogic ATP, I think we'll see a new version again in a few years.... just too much history and enjoyment to go away.

As for X-plane, I purchase each version to support the community, and enjoy aspects of them, but in my opinion they just don't provide the same experience and enjoyment as FSX or even FS9. And, I know all the technical reasons why the flight model should be better in X-plane, but it just doesn't ever feel that way to me. Flight sim's not perfect, but has always felt much better. And yes, before I get blasted, I am a licensed pilot.

And as a fun fact, FSX runs fine on my tablet with the 3200HD IGP, so I think we've finally gotten to the point where most should be able to run and enjoy it.

EDIT: Didn't want my post to sound negative ha... I am sad to see this news, long live flight sim!

 

becoming a liscenced pilot is not difficult.

 

lol, who said it was?

 

huh?

If you are logical, calm, and can memorize stuff well, it's not too difficult. It requires dedication and serious concentration.

It also depends on the flight school and the FAA Examiner. I went through a pretty strict program. Even though you only needed 70% to pass the written, they wouldn't let you take it until you got a 90% on the practice. They also taught a lot of practical IFR stuff without us realizing it, and it made you a much better pilot, and could breeze through the final VFR certification check ride.

When I was on my check ride, I was just having casual conversation with my examiner, while doing what he told me to execute, and next thing I knew we were back on the ground and he said "congratulations". It was funny. It was like I was just having fun. That's how it should be. ...sigh... Now if I could only get enough time and money to get back up there.

BTW, if you're a pilot, you'd know it's not a license... it's a certification.

PP-ASEL

 

Huh huh (rolleyes)

 

This game seemed to have a HUGE fanbase i know when i helped people on this site decide which notebook is best for them alot of them said can it play flight simulator X? but anyway its not over yet someone will take it over.

 

I hope a smaller company takes it over. I don't want an EA or Ubisoft to get their hands on it. They won't bother spending the required $$$ to make a successful product, and it also won't port to the consoles. Or worse yet, it'd be a console game first, and then to PC with ability for only ten buttons - lol.

 

I see what you're saying kinda like how EA is slowly destroying the starcraft series.

 

EA doesn't own Starcraft... I think you are talking about Ubisoft...

 

I was also very sad and upset to hear about the closing of ACES Studio. I've been a MSFS user since v5.1 when I came across 3 floppy disks at a friends and decided to see what it was all about. Since then, I"ve purchased every single version, dozens of addons, flight yoke, rudders, throttle quadrant, and just last year, a nify navigation stack.

I have toyed around with X-Plane several times, including its latest version, and while its flight model technically is better, the overall experience is far from MSFS. The visuals in X-Plane seem 4-5 years older than FSX, and the controls are so different that its hard to make a transition over.

FSX is quite customizable. Special add-on packs for cities or states bring extreme detail to the table. So even if MS never does pick up the FS series again, I think the fan base is large enough to get some more good add-ons out there.

Aces was in production for FS11. Rumors were floating around that the aging .BGL was finally going to be replaced, and that the game engine, which is still using a large portion of FS95 coding, was going to be built from the ground up; this would naturally equate to a far more optimized and efficient render system, and likely improved flight dynamics of the FSX series.

From my research, MSFS is not over, but will be re-branded as a LIVE title. So long as they don't turn this 'Simulator' into a 'video game', I'll be just fine with whatever happens.

 

If it's turned into a 'video game' it's all over. Period. If they want to make a civvie sim for the consoles, then just don't call it "flight simulator". Leave the real stuff for the PC.

 

Very much agreed! I have wondered why they haven't done a flight sim for consoles ever since the XBOX first came out. But real simulators need to be left to PC only. PC Gaming is really tanking these days. Dang pirating and console ports are ruining it.

 

I'd love to see a good console action combat flight game with some sense of flight model and avionics realism. But there's no way a console can compete with a PC as far as flight model, avionics, and controls are concerned.

Something like Steel Battalion with controller and all, is what I'm looking for if they do want to make a decent console flight "sim".

 

Falcon 4 would make a great console game, were there more controls... When on the go, I use my XBOX 360 controller to play FSX, and I really like it. Granted, I still use the keyboard for all those extra controls...