+Dave 2,318 Posted January 24, 2009 http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21981 I do not know about you guys but I flew MSFS for years and years. It been around a long time. Its sad to see it end like this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+JSF_Aggie 1,291 Posted January 24, 2009 We've started using ESP, an industrial version of MSX, as a visual scene at work. It was so much cheaper than any of the other 3rd Party visual scenes. A lot of other companies had started to go the same route for their high-end simulations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pfunkmusik Posted January 24, 2009 Holy crap... pfunk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viper6 3 Posted January 24, 2009 A direct result of Microsoft cutting 5000 jobs, 1400 on thursday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MigBuster 2,861 Posted January 24, 2009 Never flew it myself but a bit of a shock still - even MS is feeling the downturn and another one bites the dust!! 1982 - 2009 - Rest In Pieces No doubt someone will try to keep it going independently Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MaverickMike 10 Posted January 24, 2009 I was just about to say the same thing Those guys are talented enough to be able to make a go of it on their own surely? Hopefully its not the end of that many careers in creating flightsims. Perhaps microsoft will let them keep the game engine and let them work on it themselves? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shaolin 0 Posted January 24, 2009 A direct result of Microsoft cutting 5000 jobs, 1400 on thursday. 5000? How many managers do you have to fire to save the same amount of mony - 2? 3? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macelena 1,070 Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) That´s what i think of Mr. Gates EDIT: anyway, sooner or later it will be restablished Edited January 24, 2009 by macelena Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Stary 2,426 Posted January 24, 2009 (...)Perhaps microsoft will let them keep the game engine and let them work on it themselves? Hardly, it's M$, they won't let their property leak with talented and open-minded creators... to much risk for such company (another reason why, as rumor says, there's beta of almost finished CFS4 encrypted somewhere on someone's harddrive in Redmond) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nixou 25 Posted January 25, 2009 Hmmm.. This reminds me that they closed the great "Ensemble studio" developpers, those who made Age of Empire/mythology series. Ironically the last Age of was the most amazingly bestseller. Go figure... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sparkomatic 7 Posted January 25, 2009 crap...this is the beginning of the end of PC games...first Lucasarts refuses to release Force Unleashed, now the very stalwart of PC games has surrendered the bastion... if we are lucky, maybe MMOs will stay around for a while... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. James Cater 62 Posted January 25, 2009 I was just about to say the same thing Those guys are talented enough to be able to make a go of it on their own surely? Hopefully its not the end of that many careers in creating flightsims. Perhaps microsoft will let them keep the game engine and let them work on it themselves? It'll never happen! Over at Mektek, people still hope for the day when M$ either gives up and lets someone else have a go OR that Mechwarrior 5 gets released. Considering all the crappy games that are out, there this is a true blow to lovers of quality. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silverbolt 104 Posted January 25, 2009 oh damn, i've just saw the news now.... too bad! FS95 Rulez! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnrey 0 Posted January 25, 2009 crap...this is the beginning of the end of PC games...first Lucasarts refuses to release Force Unleashed, now the very stalwart of PC games has surrendered the bastion... if we are lucky, maybe MMOs will stay around for a while... Damn!Hope not because I only just started playing flight sims in April 2008 and Im only 13 years old,so go figure! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emp_Palpatine 501 Posted January 25, 2009 I started virtual flying with FS 4 in the early 90's. Oh, I remember very well my Le Havre - Paris (very easy, just follow the Seine), London - Paris, Baltimore - DC, Boston - NYC, above those green with little white dots and some gray lines figuring roads. It's disturbing news indeed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+SkippyBing 8 Posted January 25, 2009 It's certainly a disturbing development. A lot of the MSFS forums are declaring the end of the world, personally even if MS do abandon FS completely, rather than merely delaying the release of the next version by a few years, I'm sure another product will emerge to fill the gap due to the demand for a civil aviation product. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Southernap 1 Posted January 25, 2009 I wouldn't sweat this completely. I have a feeling that just like MS Office is migrating to try and be an online only item. I have a feeling that MSFS might become an online enty that is provided by a service similar to Steam. That is what you buy online or via a store might be enough of the software to store your personal hangar and pilot stats. Everything from the scenery to maybe even live or pusedo-live ATC is being provided from some sort of server farm. Doing it this way would lead to better multiplayer via the internet. That way you don't have eight or nine different programs open just to have others flying with you. I also believe that some of this is fallout from the whole Vista/DX10 and Games for Windows fiascos. A number of gaming studios that were owned by MS have been shuttered up because of issues trying to get the games to work well on Vista, along with issues trying to make DX10 work. Finally the Games for Windows idea didn't work completely well out of the gate for MS. So they are probably re-structuring the Flight Sim crew to prevent some of those issues again. It isn't the end of the world, just some change in it. Oh and Microsoft weren't the original publishers of the franchise that actually belongs to a company called Logitech. I remember playing FS 2.0 on my C64 way back in the 80's. Complete with wires representing the space needle and the Cascade mountains. I also remember the only planes you could fly was a C182 or a Sopwith Camel. The Camel went with a simple combat flight sim where you tried to fly and drop bombs on a target range someplace. Again with wire graphics, not look at the game and all the different aircraft you can fly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WarlordATF 1 Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) I thought the original publisher was BAO/Sublogic, Thats what the manual said for FS on the old Atari XT. Anyway, I don't think this will kill MSFS, I think it will just be moved to a new studio once all the dust settles. I know Microsoft have made some dumb moves before, But i doubt they will kill the golden goose which has always made a profit in the past. I could be wrong though, They thought Vista was better than XP. Edited January 25, 2009 by WarlordATF Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squid 21 Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) i feel nostalgic already .... FSX rocks ... always liked the thing but especially the X version, i fell in love with it ... What a contradiction, the finest version so far, a masterpiece of combined technology, aviation beauty, fun, creativity, design, heart put into making something beautiful to share with lot of people globally , one of the few little things to have in common globally, no matter the culture ... for all i care, it was just coincidence windows instead of some other OS are that widespread, i could be as well just be a macos user, MS contributed little in a global sense to my opinion, except palmers and gates pockets, but FS ...... FS is maybe the only interesting and worthwhile thing MS offered ... and for so many years .... I still have the aviation magazines i first saw an ad in about a thing such as flight simulator for your personal computer back in the early 80s as a kid ... it was the FS (not MS property yet back then i guess) .... This thing SHOULD not be left for dead ....... The only good thing maybe would be that as hardware will carry on becoming faster and cheaper (will it really? ...) and given that there wont be newer FS versions, the thing will be easier to run more smoothly and in higher detail in the newer hardware ... personally i wouldnt mind if the FS graphics stay the way they are for another decade LOL it rocks in this aspect as it is .. Edited January 25, 2009 by squid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+SkippyBing 8 Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) They thought Vista was better than XP. To be honest the marketing department said Vista was better than XP because they had to shift the damn thing. If you look at the un-seemly haste with which they're trying to kill of Vista, to the extent of giving away the beta to anyone, it's becoming apparent they know it's a bit of a dog. I must still be drunk from Friday, I've been defending MS left right and centre today.... Edited January 25, 2009 by SkippyBing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. James Cater 62 Posted January 25, 2009 My usual thing with software is to wait a while and see what everyone else has to say about it. Without a single exception, every single person i've met that ran Vista said it's a dog. I'm going on Amazon in a while and am picking up a spare XP copy for emergency backup. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+CrimsonRoamer 1 Posted January 25, 2009 On the plus side, Thirdwire beat Microsoft Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pfunkmusik Posted January 26, 2009 I'm going to commit heresy. This may be the pinot noir talking, but I'm pretty impressed with Vista 64-bit. pfunk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viper6 3 Posted January 26, 2009 I'm going to commit heresy. This may be the pinot noir talking, but I'm pretty impressed with Vista 64-bit. pfunk But a whole lot of other consumers are not sad but true Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mladuna 0 Posted January 26, 2009 MSFS was an institution! It was someting for what you tought it would always be there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
