announcement First Products Announced for Microsoft Flight Simulator

[Car147]

Wow, looking great.

[KVSandleben]

18 hours ago, wolfko said:

 

Yep, correct. And not even the whole airport ist customly modeled, but only the buildings south of the runway. The northern GA and glider area consists only of generic buildings. And there are also trees within the perimeter where there are none in real world. 

I see the overall accuracy of Microsoft's custom made default Airports has not improved. They still only do half measures.

[JariJr]

Amazing, can't wait to buy it

[bean_sprout]

Can we know what airports Orbx did for the new sim?  I suspect KTEX / KSEZ are 2.

 

Cheers

 

bs

[Ed Correia]

15 minutes ago, bean_sprout said:

Can we know what airports Orbx did for the new sim?  I suspect KTEX / KSEZ are 2.

 

Cheers

 

bs

Our involvement in the sim was not related to uplifting the Star default airports. 

[dvj]

Great to see the discounts for existing customers.  For me, I am going to be highly selective as to what I choose.  Even with many Orbx airports on my hard drive for FSX,  there are only a handful that I fly regularly.  Would love to see Milford Sound, Queenstown, Wellington ported.  New Zealand has so much to offer visually.      Cheers,  jg

[JParzival]

This looks great!

I am from Spain (My webpage) and I would like you to make some airports of Spain!

Barcelona, Málaga and Salamanca would be great!

[olibarke]

Nice to see the discounts available but it is cheeky implying that it saves you money if you take the P3D discount (to pass the time) and then the MSFS upgrade as overall that will cost you more money. 

 

Not trying to sound ungrateful at all, just the opening header of the email:

                                                              Save big on Orbx Microsoft Flight Simulator launch products!

Implies that you save money on buying for P3D and getting access to the 40% upgrade discount. As the launch prices are open to anyone.

 

Leeds Bradford Full Price                23.39 USD

With Pre-MSFS  25% Discount       17.55 USD

MSFS Upgrade Price                       10.79 USD

                                              Total     28.34 USD

 

This versus just paying 17.99 USD when it launches. 

 

I get that if you intend to keep P3D and MSFS running side by side this is an overall discount but if you intend to drop P3D this is more expensive.

 

 

Edited August 12, 2020 by olibarke
Formatting

[olibarke]

14 hours ago, KVSandleben said:

I see the overall accuracy of Microsoft's custom made default Airports has not improved. They still only do half measures.

 

I see expectations have not changed. They are literally making an entire simulator. Orbx make one airport at a time. If you compare the base sims FS9-FSX-P3D-MSFS I think you'll find they're not exactly going half measure.

Edited August 12, 2020 by olibarke

[wolfko]

1 hour ago, olibarke said:

 

I see expectations have not changed. They are literally making an entire simulator. Orbx make one airport at a time. If you compare the base sims FS9-FSX-P3D-MSFS I think you'll find they're not exactly going half measure.

 

Yes, but most of us had the impression that the announced 30/35/40 highly detailed airports will indeed be highly detailed and have today's standard payware quality, which does not seem to be the case, at least not for all of them.

Edited August 12, 2020 by wolfko

[olibarke]

32 minutes ago, wolfko said:

 

Yes, but most of us had the impression that the announced 30/35/40 highly detailed airports will indeed be highly detailed and have today's standard payware quality, which doe not seem to be the case, at least not for all of them.

Well the sim isn’t pitched solely at the hard core simulation market. If it were I’m sure they would have spent more time and charged more. 
 

Bear in mind we are spoilt with some 3rd party devs, but your newcomer or casual summer won’t turn their nose up at the offering. Hence why I will buy the base version and update everything with 3rd party. 

[Spoonsnz]

Really hope that New Zealand gets a bit of the Orbx magic, NZGS world be great to have train crossing the Main Runway.

[wolfko]

3 minutes ago, olibarke said:

Hence why I will buy the base version and update everything with 3rd party. 

 

I will do the same.

[Mickel]

14 minutes ago, wolfko said:

 

I will do the same.

 

And how this hobby has been for years... the base sim is just that - a base for others to build on.  It appears that the sim developers are more than happy to continue this arrangement is what seems to be a pretty constructive manner, base on the number of third party devs (including the usual suspects) already on board.

 

I was gunna wait to pick up the base sim, with plenty still to do in V4.  Kinda thinking I won't now...

 

 

Mike

[Donka]

The main issue I have with the offers is they need to be purchased through Orbx Direct to validate current ownership. I realise there could be a number of reasons for this but the current lack of knowledge if these will translate to an Xbox version will have me holding off. Not knocking Orbx for this, genuinely grateful for the discounts for existing customers but if you would need to purchase again via the MS Marketplace to get them in the Xbox version (if supported) means you would be worse off.

[Matt_B_1978]

Looks nice, but why nothing at all for Australia? Was hoping Australia would be one of the first.

[Seanmo]

1 hour ago, Matt_B_1978 said:

Looks nice, but why nothing at all for Australia? Was hoping Australia would be one of the first.

If you were in charge of preparing Orbx products for the FS launch and the aftermath, would you focus on the most popular/best selling or... Australia? 

[Paul B]

Hi, I'm new to flight sims and unfamiliar with Orbx. If I wish to purchase the Orbx add ons (particularly London packs) for MFS 2020, will it matter which version of the flight sim I purchased (standard, premium or delux)?

[wolfko]

27 minutes ago, Paul B said:

Hi, I'm new to flight sims and unfamiliar with Orbx. If I wish to purchase the Orbx add ons (particularly London packs) for MFS 2020, will it matter which version of the flight sim I purchased (standard, premium or delux)?

 

No, it won't.

[CaribbeanCLANK]

I don't remember what my first Orbx product was but I do remember debating with myself and being very unsure of that first purchase. "Too expensive" I thought to myself when looking at their stuff online. 

 

Now, I couldn't imagine using ANY flight simulator without Orbx products. So glad to see this AMAZING team already showcasing their talent in the new Microsoft Flight Simulator. All the best Orbx, keep up the FANTASTIC work.

 

Anthony

 

 

P.S.     C A R I B B E A N      I S L A N D S  

[Badl4ndz]

5 minutes ago, CaribbeanCLANK said:

I don't remember what my first Orbx product was but I do remember debating with myself and being very unsure of that first purchase. "Too expensive" I thought to myself when looking at their stuff online. 

 

Now, I couldn't imagine using ANY flight simulator without Orbx products. So glad to see this AMAZING team already showcasing their talent in the new Microsoft Flight Simulator. All the best Orbx, keep up the FANTASTIC work.

 

Anthony

 

 

P.S.     C A R I B B E A N      I S L A N D S  

 

I remember, It was Monument Valley and Global Base which I believe was required as a prerequisite for Monument Valley.

[Seanmo]

This new Q&A with the FS devs might answer some of the questions about scenery and free updates to it, the SDK, the 37,000 hand-crafted airports versus the 30, 35 or 40 "Hand-Crafted" airports, the eventual inclusion of helicopters, etc. Very informative.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2020 by Seanmo
Better link

[Sun Man]

This is fantastic news as I have been using Orbx since inception in MSFS and later in XPLANE 11.

The new MSFS 2020 looks fantastic and I can't wait for next Monday 17th.

Orbx should remember its original roots and develop  more MSFS 2020 products for Australia.

Looking forward to the future of Flight Simulation.

 

[Rob Abernathy]

I love how  the  MSFS team will be working for years on updating, improving this sim.  That and the 3rd party Devs will bring in a new era of simulation over time.  Really looking forward to it.

[wolfko]

7 hours ago, Seanmo said:

This new Q&A with the FS devs might answer some of the questions about scenery and free updates to it, the SDK, the 37,000 hand-crafted airports versus the 30, 35 or 40 "Hand-Crafted" airports, the eventual inclusion of helicopters, etc. Very informative.

 

 

 

Great video! Thank you so much for sharing.

Edited August 14, 2020 by wolfko

[Airlifter]

3 hours ago, Rob Abernathy said:

I love how  the  MSFS team will be working for years on updating, improving this sim.  That and the 3rd party Devs will bring in a new era of simulation over time.  Really looking forward to it.

Agree.... very exciting.... although way way waaaay back in my (46 year old - already simming for 32 years) head I have this little warning reminding me of how sudden, unexpected and abrupt Microsoft pulled the plug on the ACES team shattering all promises and expectations on future improvements of FSX.....

 

[Nick Cooper]

4 minutes ago, Airlifter said:

Agree.... very exciting.... although way way waaaay back in my (46 year old - already simming for 32 years) head I have this little warning reminding me of how sudden, unexpected and abrupt Microsoft pulled the plug on the ACES team shattering all promises and expectations on future improvements of FSX.....

 

 

Hello,

I guess that your glass is half empty.

[Mawson]

18 hours ago, Paul B said:

Hi, I'm new to flight sims and unfamiliar with Orbx. If I wish to purchase the Orbx add ons (particularly London packs) for MFS 2020, will it matter which version of the flight sim I purchased (standard, premium or delux)?

Hi Paul, I notice you have a helicopter as your picture and  that you are new but do you realise MSFS 2020 has no helicopters? If you are chasing helicopters then I suggest Aerofly Fs2 and Orbx have a few nice add ons for Aerofly.

[Mawson]

32 minutes ago, Airlifter said:

Agree.... very exciting.... although way way waaaay back in my (46 year old - already simming for 32 years) head I have this little warning reminding me of how sudden, unexpected and abrupt Microsoft pulled the plug on the ACES team shattering all promises and expectations on future improvements of FSX.....

 

I am also somewhat cynical about the long term survival for this franchise based on the FSX and MS Flight experience.  I am going to hang back and see how well it's received while they deliver VR and helicopter to the sim some time in the near future, I'll jump in then.  The problem potentially as I see it is that MS does this soley to make money and their is no real passion for flight simming, which MS unlike say X Plane,  which only does flight sims or an Aviation based Company Like Lockheed Martin, that does P3D or the IPACs guys with Aerofly, there is no passion at the "corporate"  level,  so if it doesn't fly high it may end up in the discount bin like FSX Gold. Time will tell.

 

Now this is not a criticism of Asobo they  obviously  have the passion but they are no different to the Aces Studio , they will fly or they will be binned. This is not to say Orbx are not passionate either because clearly they also have a deep interest in flight simming as well as a business and in many ways they have kept the genre alive during the lean years with their wonderful add-ons, This is a good opportunity for Orbx to develop more content and I hope some of that spills over into the other sims and it doesn't just become focused on DLC selling to X Boxers, not much I can do about it than wait and see. 

[Airlifter]

1 hour ago, Nick Cooper said:

 

Hello,

I guess that your glass is half empty.

On the contrary Nick. However, working in a large (30.000+ employees) company myself in a management position, I more or less know how the economics of a large company work. It's all about the business case. Return on investment and the time it takes for that return on investment. It determines for a (big) company where to put their resources on. 

In the end, that was what shut ACES down. It simply was not profitable enough compared to other opportunities Microsoft could invest their money and resources in. Microsoft is not building this new simulator as a charity towards us, the simming community. They currently see a solid business case for it and as long as they continu to see that, we're safe and Asobo will be given the time and resources to continue development. 

I am positive (glass is half full) for the future, but I will not be naive. 

 

Side note; I did preorder MSFS and will purchase the Orbx addons that have been announced in this topic. I wouldn't do that if my glass was half empty 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Airlifter

[pmb]

38 minutes ago, Mawson said:

I am also somewhat cynical about the long term survival for this franchise based on the FSX and MS Flight experience.  

 

No one knows the future, but you could as well base your expectations on the many years of FS1-FS9 experience, which were successful and stable.

 

Kind regards, Michael

[FlightSimHero]

If you have not purchased a copy of MSFS yet, hold on to your money and join me on my stream Sunday, August 16th starting at 6am PDT. I will be flying from Bangkok to Dubai then off to London. At the end of the marathon stream I will give away a copy to 1 lucky viewer. The longer you watch the stream, the more entries you can earn. Http://www.twitch.tv/flightsimhero

Edited August 14, 2020 by FlightSimHero

[chumley]

28 minutes ago, pmb said:

 

No one knows the future, but you could as well base your expectations on the many years of FS1-FS9 experience, which were successful and stable.

 

Kind regards, Michael

Cynical or not with this model MS is effectively locking people in once they have invested in the Sim. There are many directions it could take but the most scary one from my perspective is that good scenery relies on streaming data. MS could easily decide that once they have a locked in cohort to start increasing the download connection charges to a find a a user pays sweet spot  that doesn't drive away their base. Pessimism is my middle name.

[Airlifter]

1 minute ago, chumley said:

....... to start increasing the download connection charges to a find a a user pays sweet spot  that doesn't drive away their base........

 

You're implying we'll already have to pay to download the data. Where did you pick up that? Haven't read it anywhere. Most certainly not the MSFS website.

I don't expect MS to start charging for downloading the Bing / Azure data. But I do wonder how their business case is buildup justifying all the server and dataconnection costs involved. On the other hand; MS is a HUGE company and I think it could very well be that the overall impact on their servers from MSFS is extremely small compared to the whole of all the stuff running of those servers.

 

[pmb]

1 hour ago, chumley said:

Cynical or not with this model MS is effectively locking people in once they have invested in the Sim. There are many directions it could take but the most scary one from my perspective is that good scenery relies on streaming data. MS could easily decide that once they have a locked in cohort to start increasing the download connection charges to a find a a user pays sweet spot  that doesn't drive away their base. Pessimism is my middle name.

No doubt, this is all possible, yes. LM could request certificates for academic use or cancel P3D completely. Austin could be killed in a car accident.

 

I am 68 years old and prefer to use what I get now.  For me, the whole package is a huge step forward and I will use and expand it by addons. I say this after testing for half a year, thus I know what I'll get.

 

Kind regards, Michael

[Seanmo]

I will post a video here of me eating my RTX 2060 - every last (giga)bit of it - if MSFT either abandons FS in the next 10 years or begins charging a monthly fee for it to those that purchase the sim. There are few things I'm certain of in this uncertain world. Their commitment to Azure and of this sim as a showcase of that technology is one of them. 

 

"In the end, that was what shut ACES down. It simply was not profitable enough compared to other opportunities Microsoft could invest their money and resources in."

 

In the end, what shut ACES down was the Great Bush Recession. I don't know if you remember late 2008 as I do, but there were lots of companies that were laying of tens of thousands of employees on a daily basis. That lead to other companies doing the same, and the economy quickly tanked. (That continued until the new regime smartly spent their way out of the crisis and created an unprecedented 10 years of economic growth.) Like virtually all publicly-traded companies in late 2008, MSFT had to cut costs in the face of declining revenues. That was not going to happen in the very profitable server, Office or Windows divisions. FSX was an ageing platform that was not likely to produce significant new revenue streams in the short term (just about all simmers already owned it) and was going to be costly to upgrade in the long term. They closed ACES (and those employees lost their livelihoods) in January of 2009. 

 

The current economic crisis is far worse and will last longer, but this is a brand new investment on MSFT's part. By the time the platform really starts to mature, the new regime will likely have once again turned around a mismanaged economy and there will not be a need to lay anyone off in the FS divisions. But if you are really worried about people losing their jobs, pray for the people who make X-Plane or P3D. People will continue to fly in those sims for a while. But neither platform can realistically compete with FS especially as every little gripe with the version that ships in a few days is dealt with in free updates. The version that ships on Tuesday will be amazing to all but the most jaded of X-plane owners. But it will also be quite different than the greatly enhanced version we all will be playing in two years after all the free updates.

 

Now can someone please develop a Connie and a TriStar for this?

Edited August 14, 2020 by Seanmo

[carlosqr]

Greetings

I have a question for Orbx staff about this offer

 

I will buy the deluxe premium version of MSFS  but I don't think I'll buy it on the 18th or soon right after the launch as it represents an unnecessary expense being yet unemployed but I will definitely want to  profit the discount for the Orbx products.

 

As far as I understand you can only get them through Central

 

"*As ownership needs to be validated, this discount can only be applied via purchases from OrbxDirect."

 

And I assume MSFS must "show" in Central as an installed sim, as the other platforms do so you can choose, purchase and install but if one have not yet bought MSFS how can one still buy the 7 Orbx products? (Though the announcement says 8 only show 7 products)

 

https://sites.google.com/orbxsystems.com/promotions/home

 

I would like to have the chance to buy them on the website and then when I can install MSFS then install them through Central.

 

Can you please clarify?

 

Thanks a lot

 

Carlos

Edited August 14, 2020 by carlosqr

[andy1252]

Gush! Whinge! Praise! Bitch!

 

I think that about covers it.

[Smudger]

2 hours ago, carlosqr said:

I would like to have the chance to buy them

Hello Carlos

It has always been Orbx policy that a product once purchased can be installed at a time of your choosing.

Until you are able to purchase and install MSFS2020 you would not need the installation of the 7 Orbx products, they will just sit in your account.

The only concern at present is that you had previously purchased the said products for one of the other sims to be eligible for the discount.

Personally, I do not think you have anything to worry about

[carlosqr]

5 hours ago, Smudger said:

Hello Carlos

It has always been Orbx policy that a product once purchased can be installed at a time of your choosing.

Until you are able to purchase and install MSFS2020 you would not need the installation of the 7 Orbx products, they will just sit in your account.

The only concern at present is that you had previously purchased the said products for one of the other sims to be eligible for the discount.

Personally, I do not think you have anything to worry about

 

Hi Smudger

 

Thank you for your reply. Yes I am aware I can buy a product and install it later but it was not clear to me if I would be able to buy them without not having purchased MSFS first. I had the impression it was needed and it is yet unclear  to me if it is mandatory.

 

As per the products I'm fine. I have all Orbx products for P3D except 7:

 

TE Washington & TE North California

TE GB Central & TE GB North

Because I have not made my mind on those yet

 

LOWW - EGGD & EGNT   Because these will be replacements for the ones I already have. I prefer to buy totally brand new products , so these can wait

 

This said, I hope to be able to buy the products in the website as MSFS won't show up yet in my Central.

 

Thank you again for your concern, I do appreciate it.

 

Have a great weekend

 

Carlos