MSFS is back

[3WE]

Another nice teaser video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQFmpakz9Yo

So is this the same marketing BS they are doing with the new Top Gun movie...

Release late Q2 2020 (and then more like Q4)?

(or the 787 or the release of the 737-MinLav?)

[Gabriel]

I don't know. I've only seen it announced for 2020 without any specific date, month or season. So technically it can be until 12/31 (and this is a leap year so they have one more day )

The last development version I've heard was released is pre-alpha. So they still have to go through alpha, beta I, debugging and beta II before launching. I don't see it coming as early as Q2.

[Gabriel]

Updated list of official videos with the 5th Feature Discovery episode:

Episode 1: World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZL5PCZO8cc
Episode 2: Weather: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8TGT87Fxyw
Episode 3: Aerodynamics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw-opH4f8Qg
Episode 4: Cockpit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLcSNppK14k
Episode 5: Soundscape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySEWs6luN7Q

Bonus video: Let it snow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQFmpakz9Yo

[Gabriel]

Updated list of official videos with the 6th Feature Discovery episode:

Episode 1: World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZL5PCZO8cc
Episode 2: Weather https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8TGT87Fxyw
Episode 3: Aerodynamics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw-opH4f8Qg
Episode 4: Cockpit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLcSNppK14k
Episode 5: Soundscape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySEWs6luN7Q
Bonus video: Let it snow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQFmpakz9Yo
Episode 6: Airports https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10P21oFOxAU

[Gabriel]

Updated list of official videos with the 7th Feature Discovery episode: Multiplayer

Episode 1: World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZL5PCZO8cc
Episode 2: Weather https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8TGT87Fxyw
Episode 3: Aerodynamics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw-opH4f8Qg
Episode 4: Cockpit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLcSNppK14k
Episode 5: Soundscape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySEWs6luN7Q
Bonus Christmas video: Let it snow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQFmpakz9Yo
Episode 6: Airports https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10P21oFOxAU
Episode 7: Multiplayer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezcSVFQdc5g

Related to Episode 7, which looks very nice, I wonder about other on-line interaction features as live ATC (i.e. not AI ATC) and shared cockpit (multiple persons operating the same plane at once, like pilot and copilot)

Another question... as you can see in the episode, the tool will not only show the on-line players, nut also the real flights that are taking place at the moment in the area. I wonder how is a simmer playing multiplayer going to do to land in very crowded airports like Heathrow, or how in-sim ATC (wither live or AI) is going to look like in such places.

[Gabriel]

Updated list of official videos with the 8th Feature Discovery episode: IFR

Episode 1: World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZL5PCZO8cc
Episode 2: Weather https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8TGT87Fxyw
Episode 3: Aerodynamics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw-opH4f8Qg
Episode 4: Cockpit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLcSNppK14k
Episode 5: Soundscape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySEWs6luN7Q
Bonus Christmas video: Let it snow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQFmpakz9Yo
Episode 6: Airports https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10P21oFOxAU
Episode 7: Multiplayer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezcSVFQdc5g
Episode 8: IFR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8_UZT8nL-U

[elaw]

OOOH OOOH OOOH OOOH (repeat 200 more times)

https://www.flightsimulator.com/microso ... r-pc-beta/

(repeat 1000 more times)

[Gabriel]

OOOH OOOH OOOH OOOH (repeat 200 more times)

https://www.flightsimulator.com/microso ... r-pc-beta/

(repeat 1000 more times)

Nice. But I will wait until Service Pack 1 and until I find the money, the courage and room for a $2000+ computer plus accessories.

[elaw]

Heh... not me! I preordered the new one yesterday. FSX is nice, but dated and I find its issues annoying. I'm sure the new one will have glitches, but at least they'll be *new* glitches. Y'know, just like a 737 max which flies exactly like the previous-generation 737 except every once in a while when it doesn't.

[Gabriel]

Heh... not me! I preordered the new one yesterday. FSX is nice, but dated and I find its issues annoying. I'm sure the new one will have glitches, but at least they'll be *new* glitches. Y'know, just like a 737 max which flies exactly like the previous-generation 737 except every once in a while when it doesn't.

So you already have your $2000 computer? I would be ordering it now too if I already had the rig.

[Gabriel]

I suspect that if you want to see graphics that are as stunning as the ones we've seen in the preview, while enjoying usable frame rates, you will need to START with the IDEAL configuration.

The least expensive computer I found that meets those specs was $2000. (and that was just the computer, I need to buy monitor(s), keyboard, mouse, speakers or headset, and at least a quite good flight joystick). I guess I could build one myself and save some $$$ but it scares me. Last time I did that it was like 30 years ago, a 486 DX2 with math co-porcessor running Windows 98.

[elaw]

I'm already pretty close if you ignore the graphics side of things (yeah I know ha ha). I've got a Ryzen 7 2700 8-core processor, 32 gigs of RAM, 64-bit OS, and a 512 gig NVMe SSD. Oh and an 80 megabit Internet connection.

The graphics card I'm planning on replacing... it's a GTX 1050 Ti which is probably "meh" but I also have a 1440p monitor that I'll be wanting to drive with it. If things work out as I hope, I may end up getting a 3070 or possibly even 3080 card for Christmas... and a larger power supply. If those don't get released when expected or prove too expensive, I've seen refurbished 2080 Ti cards for a little under $1000. Which is more than many of the entire computers I've bought but I'm not getting any younger and I think I'm entitled to this kind of thing once!

[Not_Karl]

Ryzen Pro?! i7-9800X?!* "interesting" choices... (*evidently the list was made before Intel had "regular" , Not_HEDT 8-core CPUs)

I guess I could build one myself and save some $$$ but it scares me. Last time I did that it was like 30 years ago, a 486 DX2 with math co-porcessor running Windows 98.

Oh, I remember 1998, I can't believe it's been 30 years already . That should actually encourage you: building/configuring a modern PC is easier than a 486.

Honest question, Not_Smartass: 486DX had an integrated FPU. Is that what you meant, or did you maybe have another CPU? (Not_Karlie digs old-computerie talk )

I've got a Ryzen 7 2700 8-core processor, 32 gigs of RAM, 64-bit OS, and a 512 gig NVMe SSD. Oh and an 80 megabit Internet connection.... I may end up getting a 3070 or possibly even 3080 card for Christmas...

I hate you

[Gabriel]

Ryzen Pro?! i7-9800X?!* "interesting" choices... (*evidently the list was made before Intel had "regular" , Not_HEDT 8-core CPUs)

What? (honest question)

Honest question, Not_Smartass: 486DX had an integrated FPU. Is that what you meant, or did you maybe have another CPU? (Not_Karlie digs old-computerie talk )

Yes. I mean, that was my 2nd PC. First one was I don't remember if a 286 or a 386 (and before that a Talent that I still keep in a corner of my hart), so if things are as you say (which I don't doubt) I must be confusing which one had the FPU.

Chabón, se ve a la legua que vos la tenés clara en estas pajas. Cuando llegue el día (que ojalá no sea el día del arquero), ¿no te copás y me ayudás a elegir qué máquina comprar, o qué chasis y qué joraca le meto adentro?

(Google-translate proof)

[elaw]

Yes. I mean, that was my 2nd PC. First one was I don't remember if a 286 or a 386 (and before that a Talent that I still keep in a corner of my hart), so if things are as you say (which I don't doubt) I must be confusing which one had the FPU.

Ah... kids today... so spoiled!

This was my first "PC": http://oldcomputers.net/osi-600.html (the "Superboard", not one of the fancy-schmancy models with a case and stuff).

Thankfully at my high school we had a much more sophisticated setup... three of these: http://oldcomputers.net/pet4032.html networked to a shared dual floppy drive! Oh, those were the days...

[elaw]

I've got a Ryzen 7 2700 8-core processor, 32 gigs of RAM, 64-bit OS, and a 512 gig NVMe SSD. Oh and an 80 megabit Internet connection.... I may end up getting a 3070 or possibly even 3080 card for Christmas...

I hate you

Well the computer of course is of the specification necessary to engage in high-quality parlour talk in internet fora.

Re the graphics card, it might be the first time I've ever spent more than $100 for such a thing - my current GTX 1050 card was a gift from a coworker. He's one of those types who always has to have the latest & greatest, and when a new GPU comes out, he's happy to toss last month's in the trash.

[Gabriel]

Yes. I mean, that was my 2nd PC. First one was I don't remember if a 286 or a 386 (and before that a Talent that I still keep in a corner of my hart), so if things are as you say (which I don't doubt) I must be confusing which one had the FPU.

Ah... kids today... so spoiled!

This was my first "PC": http://oldcomputers.net/osi-600.html (the "Superboard", not one of the fancy-schmancy models with a case and stuff).

As I mentioned, my first computer was a Talent, but I don't consider those "PC" (a PC would be "IBM-compatible" and run MS-DOS)

It costed me $700 the computer + $700 the 5-1/4" diskette drive.

[elaw]

OMG $700 for a floppy drive? $700 for a computer is almost reasonable but the price for that drive is nuts. How many terabytes of storage would that buy you now? Not even taking into account that $700 today != $700 back then.

At the other end of the spectrum, sometime in the mid-late 1980s I bought a Timex Sinclair ZX-81 for $10 at a yard sale, and after bringing it home and fooling around with it for a bit, decided I'd overpaid.

[Gabriel]

OMG $700 for a floppy drive? $700 for a computer is almost reasonable but the price for that drive is nuts. How many terabytes of storage would that buy you now? Not even taking into account that $700 today != $700 back then.

Hey, watch your mouth. This thing could run floppys double side - double density. It was cutting-edge technology (and look at the massive shoe-box size). Especially when compared with the alternative means of storage: A cassette player with a TDK blank music cassette and a data transfer rate of 2400 baud max (but 1200 baud more typical).

Regarding the computer, the Talent MSX featured a Z80 CPU and 64K of RAM (which you had to divide between internal system memory, program and data memory, and video memory), and video supporting full 16 colors (don't remember the resolution but it was not good).

Then I got the next-generation Talent MSX II, which had a more modern version of the Z80 CPU, 128K of RAM + 128K of VRAM, real-time compiling of the BASIC programs (which made them run incredibly faster), and video with better resolution and 512 colors. It was a beast!

(And yes, the MS in MSX stands for MicroSoft, the computer was not PC-compatible but it could run early versions of MS-DOS, called MSX-DOS for these computers, in which you could run standard DOS BAT files)

(And remember, that was in Argentina, where everything electronics becomes available 2 to 4 years later and costs AT LEAST 50% more than anywhere else in the world)

[KPryor]

Here's my first computer. It wasn't compatible with anything. I did buy a couple 3 ton floppy drives for it.


Here's my first flight sim as well:

[elaw]

Hey, watch your mouth. This thing could run floppys double side - double density. It was cutting-edge technology (and look at the massive shoe-box size). Especially when compared with the alternative means of storage: A cassette player with a TDK blank music cassette and a data transfer rate of 2400 baud max (but 1200 baud more typical).

Hmm... how long would it take to read 75,000 floppies? https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/ ... -ten-dvds/

[Gabriel]

Hmm... how long would it take to read 75,000 floppies? https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/ ... -ten-dvds/

Not as much as it would take a Z80 to render 1 frame while calculating the aerodynamic equations on the 1000 surfaces that the plane is divided in.

That said, those floppies were infinitely faster than 1200 bauds.

[Gabriel]

The first flight sim I flew was Bruce Artwik's Sublogic Flight Simulator II for the Commodore 64. Microsoft eventually partnered with and then bough Sublogic and the franchaise became Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The Flight Simultor II was great for the time. 16 colors, 3D world which was mostly flat with some buildings and very few mountains, 9 viewpoints (the 8 cardinal points + top-down), engine sound, O-M-I markers sound, stall warning sound and light, touchdown sound, full General Aviation instrument panel including VOR, ILS, ADF, and DME, ATIS, a lot of airports in the USA with their NAVAIDS, ATIS, basic weather including QNH, temperature, 2 layers of basic clouds (in the clouds / out of the clouds) and 3 wind layers, day and night scenery, random system failures option...
Controls incuded elevaotr, ailerons, rudder, throttle, mixture, magneto key with Off-L-R-Both...

The 2 main problems that it had were:
- Frame rate was like 1 FPS (no kidding).
- Joystick was accepted but super unfriendly to use. it was Atari-like, yes/no, so if you wanted to pull up you had to pull back on the joystick and monitor the elevator indicator until it reached the desired position, and when you wanted to stop pitching up you had to push down to move the elevator indicator to the desired position. And with bank it was even worse, it was almost impossible to stop rolling or level the wings. So I played exclusively with the keyboard with was much more precise, easy and even intuitive.

Here looking back departing Meigs field. The white thingie in the middle of the screen is the tail (you would see the low wings in the side view since it was an Archer).

Extra bonus points for the one who guesses what is the CH in the bottom-right corner.

[elaw]

Carb heat?

I remember playing a very early version of FS, probably MSFS 1.0 or whatever it was called. It looks primitive now but they did an amazing job considering the hardware that was available at the time.

[Gabriel]

Carb heat?

Yes!