Microsoft Aces Studio is Closed

[B52STRATO 215]

What a stupid choice !! I flew on FS since 14 years and this is a choc. Even SP1 is one of the worst simulator why they do that ? Now it's the most ugliest simu ( X-Planes:last of the family looks like FS98 :fuk: ) who take the seat on the sim market ?

[+Julhelm 266]

They've dropped the studio, not the franchise itself

[JediMaster 451]

Well if all the programmers and minds behind it are gone, what does that leave? An idea? New programmers will have to start from scratch with piles of code and notes to pore over. You can pretty much bet the next title, whenever it comes, will be:

1. Lesser than what came before, until they get at least a couple of releases under their belts

2. Likely "reimagined" into who knows what the marketing guys think will be best, regardless of what the community itself wants

[squid 21]

Well if all the programmers and minds behind it are gone, what does that leave? An idea? New programmers will have to start from scratch with piles of code and notes to pore over. You can pretty much bet the next title, whenever it comes, will be:

1. Lesser than what came before, until they get at least a couple of releases under their belts

2. Likely "reimagined" into who knows what the marketing guys think will be best, regardless of what the community itself wants

 

+1

[+Julhelm 266]

Well if all the programmers and minds behind it are gone, what does that leave? An idea? New programmers will have to start from scratch with piles of code and notes to pore over. You can pretty much bet the next title, whenever it comes, will be:

1. Lesser than what came before, until they get at least a couple of releases under their belts

2. Likely "reimagined" into who knows what the marketing guys think will be best, regardless of what the community itself wants

Why would it have to start over from scratch?

[JediMaster 451]

All the experience is gone. All of it. They'd be lucky to have anyone who'd ever worked on any flight sim EVER on staff.

An existing dev says "ok, we know what didn't work last time and what we couldn't get to work...what can we get to work NOW with the better PCs available?"

[Salamander67 0]

All the experience is gone. All of it. They'd be lucky to have anyone who'd ever worked on any flight sim EVER on staff.

An existing dev says "ok, we know what didn't work last time and what we couldn't get to work...what can we get to work NOW with the better PCs available?"

 

I would agree completly with you, if it wasn't for one thing: the fame that the MS Flight Sim name has aquired.

 

When MS releases the next one, it will probably be a disappointment for the simming community. But what about the seven-year olds who ask their mothers for an "airplane game"? Their parents will go to the stores, and there they will find MS FS, togheter with some alternatives. As they probably wont have too much of an idea about the pros and cons of different sims, they will choose based on the look of the box, and the reputation of the companies.

 

Now, I doubt that my mother could identify Ubisoft, and then my brother and sisters have a shelf full of Ubisoft games for PC annd PS2. However, she most certainly can identify Microsoft.

 

Bottomline, when Microsoft takes up the FS product-line again, they can afford releasing a few quite bad sims, because they will sell them anyway. After a while, they have trained up a bunch of new guys, and so a good sim might eventually appear.

 

The closing of Aces might be a small disaster for the flight-simming community, but I doubt that it will have such a great effect on the sales-figures of the MS FS series when/if it is restarted. Sad but true.

[Lt. James Cater 62]

I never once did any FS.

 

But now i'm tempted to go and search for the perfect setup for my comp just so i can do something to spite M$.

 

(Revenge of the Mechwarrior!)

[skunkworks 0]

I think microsoft will NEVER let anyone work on FS,because when the crisis ends it will re-open aces studio,just think in all the money the will be losing,as for me i will run to a store to buy FSX

[JediMaster 451]

Oh, I'm not talking about sales one way or the other. The rank and file masse won't know about the dev, all they see is "MS."

However, it's like Far Cry 2...other than the name, it has NO relation to Far Cry.

[squid 21]

Oh, I'm not talking about sales one way or the other. The rank and file masse won't know about the dev, all they see is "MS."

However, it's like Far Cry 2...other than the name, it has NO relation to Far Cry.

 

+1

[MalakieUSN 0]

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.

 

 

Actually there is hope. I was part of the Battletech scene, my partner was Ralph Reed of Mechforce fame, when we helped do some work on the Battletech simulators. Anyhow, word has it that Jordan Wiesman who created FASA along with L. Ross Babcock, has obtained back the rights to the Battletech franchise from Microsoft. I still cannot figure out why he sold out to them in the first place.

 

In any case, is this is true then hopefully we shall see a renewed phase of development in the InnerSphere. I was always angry because there was supposed to be a movie made and it never was... could you imagine ... it would be most awesome I think.

[MalakieUSN 0]

Just read on another site FSX made ~$14 Million in sales, vs Halo 3's $300 Million in it's first week. Certainly gives you a feeling for the size of the niche we're in these days.

 

You know if Microsoft doesn't want that paltry $14 million, I will take it and NOT complain.