Noble idea. But, are you sure that Lockheed Martin would desire to build such a thing for the entertainment market? I wish that would be the case, but I'm just not sure LM would desire to do such a thing.
That said, while I think the petition is another noble idea, I must confess I think it's waste of time, but I think less wonderful desires have drawn attention in the past, so I wish this one all the best.
Ken
From LM's FAQ:
Can Prepar3D be used for entertainment?
No, Lockheed Martin does not offer Prepar3D for entertainment, and we have no plans to enter the entertainment space.
My emphasis.
Beyond that simple answer. I seriously doubt that LM is going to change corporate direction and enter the Consumer/Entertainment industry.
All previous info from them points to keeping all of their Simulation efforts in their Mission Systems and Training Division.
IIRC, their ESP/P3D code is not owned outright, but, licensed from Microsoft. LM and MS would have to write a new contract allowing Consumer/Entertainment distribution.
Here's some fodder for the manure spreaders:
Flight Simulator 2002 was released in October 2001.
For me, FS2K2 marked a new Generation of the Flight Simulator series, with much better modeling(the compiler improved dramatically), and, the introduction of xml text based gauges and major improvements in "C" language instrumentation/control.
Flight Simulator 2004 a Century of Flight Retail Release was late July, 2003 after roughly 21 months of further development.
Flight Simulator X release occured in October 2006. Some 40 months later.
On January 23rd, 2009, IGN confirmed that the Microsoft ACES studio was being closed.
Microsoft publicly announced the closure on their FS site a few days later:
By now, many of you have heard that Microsoft has closed Aces Studio, the publisher of Microsoft Flight Simulator. This was not a reflection of the quality of the products Aces has developed, the sales performance of the games, or the quality of the team at Aces. This difficult decision was made to align Microsoft's resources with our strategic priorities. Microsoft Flight Simulator X will remain available at retail stores and web retailers, the Flight Sim community will continue to learn from and encourage one another, and we remain committed to the Flight Simulator franchise for the long term.
Continuing work on FSNext obviously occured over the 27 months between FSX's release, and the ACES demise.
If FSNext's development was on track, with MS previous releases time frame, it should have been more than halfway there. Full Multicore? 64Bit? Who knows?
Everyone says MS is about the almighty dollar, so, it is hard for me to fathom them throwing away that much costly development work.
Zero, None, Nada, Zilch, No ROI.
IMO, right now, Flight's core code, and, FS11 code, is money in the MS Bank, so: C'mon Microsoft. Sell it, Auction it, or Finish it. Pick one...Please...Don