Microsoft Flight Simulator X

[Big Foot 48]

Images from the next version of this simulator due out in late 2006 are shown here: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/microsoftflightsimulatorx/screenindex.html

[CoastalFlyer]

Gorgeous image :cool:

I can remember Flight Sim (before MS bought them) from the 80's when I ran it on my Apple IIe. The plane was nothing more than a stick image and moved in a herky-jerky motion. I only had a B&W monitor then (actually a green one :p ).

The amazing thing is that the algorithm was still incredibly realistic and the program was great fun to use.

Spent more hours than I care to admit running it..... :)

I may have to upgrade - I think the last one I bought was 2002, which is still a darn good program.

[Big Foot 48]

Coastal, I spent many an hour staring at that same green image just north of you in Half Moon Bay. Wiki reminded me of how we used FS as a test to see if a computer was 100% compatible with MS-DOS. If it didn't run FS, you bought some other start-up company's 4.7MHz computer!

Here's some shots of the original Apple version, and shots of the Green/B&W version 1.0 and the improved 2.0 version from the Microsoft port. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Microsoft_Flight_Simulator

Amazing what 20 years have done to the program (and too me!)

[Big Foot 48]

Interesting reality vs. simulator comparison:

http://www.simhq.com/_air7/air_246a.html

"When Chris Frishmuth learned that the FSX demo was featuring one of his favorite airports, the Princess Juliana on the island of Saint Maarten, he was ready to take the demo out for a ride. This video is hosted on SimHQ.Com"

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/microsoftflightsimulatorx/video_player.html?id=JnBlxWH65bsFvj_Y

[gouch]

I'm looking forward to its release, it looks good, as I'd expect. I started at FS 95? or was it version 5?


Here's a cool site that chronologically organizes a heap of flight sims over the years.

http://www.migman.com/

Cheers
Paul

[RickDelten]

FSX is out, I got mine at Best Buy over a week ago. Its awesome but requires a fast PC.

[Ercoupe Ed]

Walmart in Ft Wayne Indiana has them, but not allowed to put them on the shelf until Tuesday 10/17/06
Price will be $69.82 (Deluxe version)

I asked the young man in the electronics dept, he pulled one out from underneath the cash register and showed it to me.
They have orders to put them on the shelves at midnite Monday going into Tuesday.

Requires a PC WITH AT LEAST 1GHZ PROCESSOR and 15 megabyte of hard disc space and running either Windows XP or Windows Vista.

When I was at the Oshkosh Air Show earlier this summer, they were demonstrating FSX at the Microsoft display booth, but it was the BETA version.
I was impressed with it, but it was hard to get a chance to get close to one of the consoles without throwing 50 kids out of your way!!!

The Microsoft display has usually become the "on-airport-day-care -center"-for kids during the annual air show.