My Big Question...!

[hobofat]

I don't fly MP because my free time for flying in the simulator is quite erratic, and never seems to align with most people's multiplayer schedules. This might partially be my timezone (GMT -10), but even so, I fly when I'm willing to devote what little freetime I have to flying, and that pops up at the weirdest of times these days.

 

[glennc]

I never fly MP for several reasons:

I think I'm a reasonably proficient FS pilot and I'd rather not have anyone else tell me otherwise.

My FS machine is about five feet from the couch where my wife is when she's home. She wouldn't understand the conversation over the head set, and it would interfere with her watching TV or on the phone - not to mention, "Why can't you talk to me?". In the real airplane is one thing. In the living room is another.

I don't want the structure. Again, real aviation is one thing, the simulator is another. In the simulator, I can be as procedurally correct as I want, or not. If I have only a few minutes and I want to cut it short, I can just do a straight in approach that I would never even think of for real.

Most of my flights last less than an hour. 30 - 45 minutes isn't unusual, neither is 15 -20.

And, I'm just too lazy to set it up.

Glenn

 

[Kiwikat]

I don't want the structure. Again, real aviation is one thing, the simulator is another. In the simulator, I can be as procedurally correct as I want, or not. If I have only a few minutes and I want to cut it short, I can just do a straight in approach that I would never even think of for real.

A LOT of people seem to have this impression. You don't have ANY structure when flying around with just your friends. Usually it's flying formation or practicing navigation. There seems to be a generalization that all multiplayer is strict like VATSIM.

 

[falcon409]

Ok, one more plug for MP and I'll quit, lol. Time zones can be a back breaker when you are trying to setup a coordinated weekly or more often MP flight online. Right after Lago released their MB-339, a group of us (about 10) got together and started flying 3 times a week. At that time I was working night shift so we flew from about 9am CST til around noon I guess and we did that for almost 2 years before Lago finally decided to pretend like no body existed anymore and we were forced to go our separate ways. I set up a server using FSHost and a TS server for Comm and we flew and had a blast. Pilots in that group were from Italy, Scotland, Israel, Canada, Great Britain and the US. The club we had organized, called "The Flight Zone", had as a total membership over 280 pilots. . .10 flew every week. . .the same 10. The reasons for such a small participation were endless, but mostly because the times we flew, it was difficult for them to make it. So time zones play into why some folks don't bother.

 

[falcon409]

. . . . . My FS machine is about five feet from the couch where my wife is when she's home. She wouldn't understand the conversation over the head set, and it would interfere with her watching TV or on the phone - not to mention, "Why can't you talk to me?". In the real airplane is one thing. In the living room is another. . . . . .
Glenn

Oh man Glenn, the puter needs a new home, lol.

 

[mike_cyul]

I'm sort of with N2056 on this - there's only so many hours in a day, and making planes is veeery time consuming.

The times I have flown have been nice, however. The last time, I just casually entered a room, and found these guys flying formation in the Grumman Goose, in a strait line, on and on, and so I joined in and no one said anything. They were all talking with each other, and eventually I realized I was with a group of long-distance truckers, who were, I'm pretty sure, flying together from their cabs as they were parked for the night. Then the flying style sort of fit in, I thought. It was nice to be a part of it.

Mike

 

[MCDesigns]

I tried MP in FS9 and the actual visuals really put me off, non turning rotors, hide and seek mesh, making sure everyone had the same addons. Is FSX any better?

If so, I'd love to hook up, what are the things needed, especially for voice?

I'm wiith Glenn, no desire for any kind of structure, but more scenarios and such.

 

[glennc]

Ed, roger - but I want to be where the big TV is, too. I added another observation about the length of most of my flights - short.

Kiwikat, I guess I understand that. I have a feeling if I ever did it, I'd get hooked. Most of my week day flying is in two windows about an hour and a half wide so that limits availability.

One of the reasons I love these forums is conversations like this.

Glenn

 

[Kiwikat]

I tried MP in FS9 and the actual visuals really put me off, non turning rotors, hide and seek mesh, making sure everyone had the same addons. Is FSX any better?

If so, I'd love to hook up, what are the things needed, especially for voice?

FSX's multiplayer fixes most rotors and problems like that. Rarely you'll run into an issue, but I'd say it works about 95% of the time. You only play hide and seek if your fellow simmers are using different mesh. Even then, it is rarely a problem.

As for voice, download teamspeak. It isn't required though as FSX has its own voice transmission, however I find it to be far too quiet to be useful. Teamspeak always works better.

Kiwikat, I guess I understand that. I have a feeling if I ever did it, I'd get hooked. Most of my week day flying is in two windows about an hour and a half wide so that limits availability.

Most of my flights on multiplayer are less than an hour or are broken up into smaller hops.

 

[THibben]

Mp

Have never flown MP. I don't have the slightest idea how and guess I have never had the urge to try.

Tom

 

[spotlope]

I've flown MP maybe three times in six years, so I voted "never" (that's pretty close to never). The primary reasons are that I tend to fly on a whim here and there when I can squeeze it in between development sessions and the rest of real life, and secondarily that every time I've tried it, it's been a huge pain from a software and setup perspective. My rig, which is tuned very nicely for single player flights, seems to develop all new quirks when I join a MP flight. Consequently, I tend to take the easy way out and just fly alone.

I love the concept of MP flying, but the execution still leaves a lot to be desired IMO. Not counting it out for the future, though.

 

[Lotus]

Haven't flown singleplayer for pleasure in 3 years, not once. Can't be bothered, it just holds no attraction for me anymore. I didn't do much single in FS9 either. The two most memorable multi flights for me were both round-the-world hops. One in FS9 with two Spitfires (96 legs, 160 hours to complete) and the other the exact opposite, five SR-71s (12 legs, 13 hours of magnificent mach 3.2 mayhem).

I wish I could still enjoy singleplayer flight, but I get bored silly in about 5 mins, but then I've been using FS nonstop for 22 years haha.

Oh and my sessions have zero structure or rules. Put on some good tunes, pick a destination, blast through the mountains and have a cool philosophical discussion with my friends on whatever comes to mind. Sometimes we go for serious realism, sometimes we just do whatever we like, but I love it all.

Wish I had more time for them lately.


-Mike

 

[HeyChief]

Haven't flown MP for about 2 years now.
Did it all the time on the WSP servers with falcon and the rest of the gang.
My power supply burned up and it gave me a chance to get back into photography.
But now that I'm fully retired, I'll have the chance to do some online flying again.
I marked "rarely", but that will change in the weeks ahead.

HC

 

[jetstreamsky]

I fly MP once a week with a friend, I enjoy it immensely there`s something special about jumping in one kind of flying machine or other and just striking out somewhere different in the world. The shared experience and the views with two craft flying together over some interesting scenery is just great, perhaps the best flights are ridge soaring in the DG808S glider or the Genesis, you`ve got to work just that little bit more to stay aloft and together. The experience changes too whether it some GA machine, helicopters, gliders or even heavy metal navigating somewhere in foul weather.

 

[Hanimichal]

2.)
Multiplyer often flying.
because I prefer live real people in the trafic
And I´m not pilot and never be one. i'm only gamer and I like play with others :ernae:

3.)
I dont know

GameSpy: Hanibal__111

 

[falcon409]

Oh well, I just spent about 10m minutes typing a long winded response to what we've seen on the poll and instructions on how to get into an MP session using FSHost Client and Team Speak and I look up and the stupid browser closed on me. Geeeze Louise.

Oh well, if anyone is interested (and it would appear that's not the case, lol), download FSHost Client and Team Speak and Kiwikat or myself or anyone else who wishes to can answer any questions about getting up and running.

Thanks Kiwikat for a really eye opening poll. . .I'm still a bit zonked by the poor numbers for true MP aficionados. Hey, maybe when I wake up tomorrow morning we'll be ahead, lol.

 

[Francois]

I used to do it quite often and even have a MP server running still with some 10 groups on it using it.....

But I simply don't have the time anymore. It requires planning, for me usually at odd ours (being most people I know are in the US and I am in Western Europe), it requires a stable PC (which I have not due to teh many add-on projects and other work I do on it), and it requires some peace to sit down and 'waste' a few hours on others.

Waste of course is a joke... it was really fun while it lasted, for many years, but can't afford it now.

Still, I hope to see more people doing it again... it adds a separate facet to the simming.

 

[Overshoe]

I voted "never." One man's pleasure is another man's pain. I flew MP in FS9 for a year or so, but it was hit or miss and in the end seemed more like work than fun so I quit. I enjoyed flying with 2-3 friends on the one server with teamspeak, but that server went away and I never got comfortable anywhere else.
With FSX, the effort has not seemed worth it, although one of my close friends has started flying online so who knows?
Why don't more people fly online? Some don't know they can, some can't figure it out, some can't be bothered, some played all the missions and beat the game and tossed it in the corner, some don't have the equipment, some don't have the time, some have been insulted or abused. As many reasons as people I guess.

 

[SpaceWeevil]

Another MP virgin here. I tend to squeeze in short flights in the gaps between family, romance and music. Many times I've been at Duxford on non-show days and the Corsair or one of the Spits is trundled out for an air test and a short practice display - that's what I do most of the time.

The other issue is good old British "broadband." With my blistering IP profile of 1750kbps and two teenage daughters sharing my wireless connection, I barely have the bandwith for e-mail.

 

[Nick C]

In FS9 I used to fly on-line all the time, either on the Emma Field server (thanks Francois) or on occasion when that was down, on Netwings. Always with FSHost. The EFC server always used to have a few friendly people kicking around as did the Netwings server, although I preferred the EFC server as it was password protected and I wasn't asked "hey look at me landing on this roof in my 747" all the time...well except when members were drunk!

Then FSX divided the community and the servers grew quiet. Wheras before you could just fire up FSHost and Teamspeak and join a like minded bunch (of nutters usually), any MP event had to be planned otherwise you'd be on your own. So after a short while you stop dropping by the servers.

FSX - Gamespy. I took part in my first MP session in quite awhile on Sunday afternoon with Ian Pearson. We loaded up Gamespy and ran the L-39 in shared cockpit mode. I certainly had a blast. However, I had the sim set up to start Multiplayer in the Bushflying room where it's much quieter, but when I swapped to the Freeflight room afterwards to see what was going on, I was almost immediately kicked out. It took me 15 attempts to get logged back onto MP long enough to switch to the Bushflying room where it seems more stable.

Now in three weeks I won't remember tooling around having fun with a mate, I'll remember the bruise on my head which occurred while trying to log onto Gamespy.

So what about FSHost? It was excellent with FS9 and most likely still is, but it never worked as well with FSX and the lag stutters made it unusable in my eyes.

So to summarise, I love flying in MP, but I've found the environment in which I have to do it severely lacking. Sad really as I've never really enjoyed flying in the sim very much since I stopped flying FS9 in multiplayer.