-
There seems to be an uptick in Political comments in recent months. Those of us who are long time members of the site know that Political and Religious content has been banned for years. Nothing has changed. Please leave all political and religious comments out of the forums.
If you recently joined the forums you were not presented with this restriction in the terms of service. This was due to a conversion error when we went from vBulletin to Xenforo. We have updated our terms of service to reflect these corrections.
Please note any post refering to a politician will be considered political even if it is intended to be humor. Our experience is these topics have a way of dividing the forums and causing deep resentment among members. It is a poison to the community. We appreciate compliance with the rules.
The Staff of SOH
Microsoft Confirms Aces Closure
- Thread starter Chuck_Jodry-VJPL
- Start date
Major_Spittle
Charter Member
Time for me to embrace X-Plane and throw money and support their way. FS to MS has been just a small hobby project, we need a company that will make it THEIR bussiness.
Why the hell is there no X-Plane forum here?
Why the hell is there no X-Plane forum here?
heywooood
Mayor Emeritus of Taco City
One last point ... FSX did not just DIE , in fact i see that its now the responsibility of the 3PD's to keep adding to the "BASE PLATFORM" , we can do anything we like to the game , it’s our plaything and the future viability of our use of it as a SIMULATION PLATFORM is now assured , it’s no longer going to be reprogrammed into something else as was the case when FS9 became FSX , then SP1 SP2 Accell , it’s no longer a moving target , FSXI if it comes out will be a game title running on a game platform , what WE have now is a SIMULATOR , and a damm fine one at that , Phil , Paul and all the ACES that made it what it is did one fine job ironing out the bugs , MS can’t take it away from us .. it’s OURS . - Chuck Jodry
Yes - thats the only thing within this event that could have a positive meaning for us - and it is a very positive notion.
FSX can be opened up and expanded on by the 3PD's without reservation or concern about forward compatability and wasted effort or unrealised gains - Its here for the long haul and at its core is a very high quality program just waiting for the right people to exploit it :ernae:
<o
></o>
Yes - thats the only thing within this event that could have a positive meaning for us - and it is a very positive notion.
FSX can be opened up and expanded on by the 3PD's without reservation or concern about forward compatability and wasted effort or unrealised gains - Its here for the long haul and at its core is a very high quality program just waiting for the right people to exploit it :ernae:
<o
></o>
N2056
Charter Member
FSX can be opened up and expanded on by the 3PD's without reservation or concern about forward compatability and wasted effort or unrealised gains - Its here for the long haul and at its core is a very high quality program just waiting for the right people to exploit it :ernae:<o
I fully agree...in many ways life just got a lot easier. Time to get to work! :typing:
From what I gather, Acers Studio consisted of 1400 employees. Perhaps they can settle an agreement with Microsoft that they allowed to continue Flight Sim development as a independent agency. From what I can see Flight Simulator 11 is pretty far along. As far as ventures in software development is concerned, this is a good bet. They should not want for venture capitol.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
Even though they cannot reach an agreement Theres nothing to say that they have enough reputation as Aces studio to produce their own software. Possibly with a tie in to Austin Meyers X-Plane small organization. I look at this as being an interruption and nothing but good will come of it. There are too many die-hard Flight Simmers that will allow this to go away. Microsoft has out lived it usefulness and is slowly, reluctantly, fading away. The weight of Vista around it's neck will cause it to die...<o></o>
fficeffice" /><o></o>Even though they cannot reach an agreement Theres nothing to say that they have enough reputation as Aces studio to produce their own software. Possibly with a tie in to Austin Meyers X-Plane small organization. I look at this as being an interruption and nothing but good will come of it. There are too many die-hard Flight Simmers that will allow this to go away. Microsoft has out lived it usefulness and is slowly, reluctantly, fading away. The weight of Vista around it's neck will cause it to die...<o
></o>PhilTaylor
Members +
From what I gather, Acers Studio consisted of 1400 employees. Perhaps they can settle an agreement with Microsoft that they allowed to continue Flight Sim development as a independent agency. From what I can see Flight Simulator 11 is pretty far along. As far as ventures in software development is concerned, this is a good bet. They should not want for venture capitol.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
Even though they cannot reach an agreement Theres nothing to say that they have enough reputation as Aces studio to produce their own software. Possibly with a tie in to Austin Meyers X-Plane small organization. I look at this as being an interruption and nothing but good will come of it. There are too many die-hard Flight Simmers that will allow this to go away. Microsoft has out lived it usefulness and is slowly, reluctantly, fading away. The weight of Vista around it's neck will cause it to die...<o
no.
Aces was 100-120.
1400 total at MS got RIFed yesterday. Aces was roughly 10% of the total.
until there is more data on the currently unknown but hinted at "future opportunity" within MS it is fruitless to speculate on the future of the franchise.
given there is a possibility of a "future opportunity"; it is highly unlikely MS would release the IP and the brand name to any outside entity.
we all will just have to wait and see how it plays out.
SolarEagle
Charter Member
According to one of the 3rd party devs FS11 was only in planning stages with no pre-alpha code.
RCAF_Gunner
Charter Member 2012
Exactly. In addition to taking some serious software (i.e. FSX) and mangling it into a kiddies game, there are also issues to consider with the platform / hardware.
I have an XBox 360... don't know how many others here do but, from my experience, the hardware is terrible. I've replaced it twice under a paid for extended warranty. The first one lasted barely a year, the second one latest less then two weeks and we've had the third one for a few months but it is starting to go.
The "box killer" game on mine seems to be Call of Duty 4. I believe COD4 just heats up the graphics hardware to the point where the chips fail completely. The overheating is a known issue and MS came up with a supposed "fix". The factory mod to deal with the heat that came on the last one I got makes it so loud it sounds like a jet engine very shortly after starting up ~ even when my wife plays a very low intensity game (graphics wise) called Hexic. I have the HD-DVD add-on for it too but the fan noise is so bad I can't stand watching movies using it. We started getting the RROD (red ring of death) on the latest box shortly after trying COD4 again so we immediately stopped using the game. I'm not under warranty any more and not willing to pay again for another "re-up".
It doesn't take much searching on Google to find out many people are having the same issues regardless of the "fixes". It's not just the XBox 360 either. There are similar issues with the PS3. Don't even get me started about the new "Wii ripoff" interface for the XBox 360...
Anyway, once I learned about the experiences of the repeated flakey hardware first hand, then got frustrated by having to do without the console for 3+ weeks at a time because I couldn't fix it myself (like I can with a PC), I decided when it dies this time it won't be replaced. I won't spend any more money on games for the XBox 360 and I won't replace it with an alternate vendors console either.
On a similar train of thought, the only reason I run Windows at home is to support the MSFS series. This is something I think the MS "bean counters" need to think about a little. PC Games DO sell operating systems. That's a double revenue stream they wouldn't necessarily have otherwise and for some us if you kill one you're going to kill the other.
I did buy Vista Ultimate with the new hardware I built for FSX ~ sure I fought with it for nearly a year and then reloaded XP in the end but MS still sold an OS to me because I wanted to run new hardware to support their game (yes, it's more then a game to most of us but you know what I mean). I was going to buy Windows 7 / Vista R2 as soon as it was available. Not now.
If FSX stops working on my PC (can't be validated anymore or what have you) and if there is no FS XI for the PC platform in sight or it's released as a gaming console title I will have absolutely no reason to own a Windows platform in my house ~ it'll be "hello X-Plane" on my iMac.
My rant is not aimed at our friends at Aces Studios ~ far from it. I just see the MS execs killing what is probably their longest running title (next to Windows itself) as extremely narrow minded. Our access to PC based games DO have an influence on other decisions we make regarding our home computing needs. As consumers we DO have more choices then just Windows.
Rick
To me, the real issue is how long MS will continue to sell FSX, and FX9 if its still available. If they will still sell it, there will still be a market for the developers. Even if it does disappear off the shelves, those of us that are still addicted will continue to buy. Personally, I plan to buy a copy of FSX-Gold and just sit on it until I buy a new computer. I'm not planning to replace the box any time soon, but sooner or later, it will happen.
X-Plane - Yeah, I'll consider that.
Glenn
X-Plane - Yeah, I'll consider that.
Glenn
Prowler1111
Charter Member 2011
Guys!:
Prowler
Prowler
Francois
FS Veteran
We've started a Facebook Group yesterday in support of FS and more specifically in support of the axed developers, many of whom are our friends and fellow sim-enthusiasts.
JOIN NOW !! :welcome:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59637588200
JOIN NOW !! :welcome:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59637588200
Chuck_Jodry-VJPL;92431 [COLOR=#111133 said:
One last point ... FSX did not just DIE , in fact i see that its now the responsibility of the 3PD's to keep adding to the "BASE PLATFORM" , we can do anything we like to the game , it’s our plaything and the future viability of our use of it as a SIMULATION PLATFORM is now assured , it’s no longer going to be reprogrammed into something else as was the case when FS9 became FSX , then SP1 SP2 Accell , it’s no longer a moving target ,
[/color]<o
An intelligent remark.
Yes indeed, we have now a stable platform for the years to come that will grow more attracive with the evolution of hardware (hopefully ) and a rejuvenated addon industry.
The two stage FSX (FSX/SP1+SP2) made the life of the cottage industry miserable, to the point of decouraging several payware and freeware developpers who just quit. I find it ironic that some of the survivors are now petitioning MS
. The reality is that now, developpers can start up 18 months projects knowing that, at release time, FSX will still be here and not replaced by a non compatible FS11. On our side, we can help them live buying addons knowing that we will not have to throw them away in 18 months. As for Aces sorry for them but whose fault is it ? The beancounters or rather the heads of the studio who killed the golden egg hen. By forsaking any real compatibilty (aircraft and scenery) in order to push the sales of FSX thru our wallet, without the savvy to see that the situation at FS9 end of life was entirely different than the situation of previous installements due to the massive creativity of this community, they gave a new life to the FS9 mature market, reducing the profit for the new sim and endangering, in the long run, future installments. They split the market in two, putting themselves out of half of it.
Playing with the flight simulator since 1981 and no ready to quit anytime soon, I am not particulrlay worried today.
Now lets dream a bit. What about Paul Allen buying back the franchise and hiring Bruce Artwick to drive someting anew
...foreigndevil
Charter Member
Let's take CFS3 as an example: after MS decided not to continue the CFS series some talented people transformed it into OFF (Over Flanders Fields) & MAW (Mediterranean Air War) and both are a lot better than the original! There's still a lot of life in the (not so) old dog yet! Consider also that, if there will be no FS11, we can continue using our present gear instead of having to buy a top notch brand new very expensive rig every other year to find out that it still can't make us max out all those sliders in the new FS product!:amen:
Major_Spittle
Charter Member
F-U MicroSoft, you can shove your Monopoly you know where. Making billions and no competition and you whack 5K employees to try to bump a stock ticker 5 cents. Screw you I am selling my stock for your ****ty bussiness decisions.
If it isn't the big corporations buying the politicians off to screw us over, it's the companies doing it themselves.
I see your points completely..but please lets calm down some..This will get us all nowhere.....Thanks.....Harleyman......
Glad my stock is in Harley....LOL
If it isn't the big corporations buying the politicians off to screw us over, it's the companies doing it themselves.
I see your points completely..but please lets calm down some..This will get us all nowhere.....Thanks.....Harleyman......
Glad my stock is in Harley....LOL
SkippyBing
Charter Member
Err.. actually MS do have competition, especially in the mobile market which they've barely dented. PC sales are down which is where they get most of their revenue from and the long term future is certainly less golden than it has been for the boys from Redmond.
Ironically you'll get more for your stocks because of their decision....
It's pure speculation on my part but I wouldn't be surprised to hear in the near future that someone still left at Microsoft would come to the realization that closing down ACES studio was not a good idea. To fix it, they'll outsource future development of the FS franchise to a studio in India or Hungary or Russia. :gossip: