It is an interesting time!
As l mentioned previously the simulator is a spin off from Asodo Studios work
creating a Google Earth,Maps and Street view for Bing (MS owned).
They mention 600km visual range, so that would identify the data pipeline
required x the speed/direction of flight. Probable cache of base/regular
destinations.
Obviously between alpha and shipping there will be optimisations but also
increased overheads with atc, jets, rotary etc. If the bones are FSX then we
should expect missions, lessons etc as it wouldn’t take much to include these
elements.
The greater concern for cockpit builders like me is the stated single screen
limitation.
Excited none the less
Regards
Kev
On 5 Oct 2019, at 02:01, Bones <bones@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Pollute rum? Me? Never…
I may water it down a bit but it would be a sin to pollute it….
Ooops…
Bones
bones@xxxxxxx
From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
Fred Stopforth
Sent: 04 October 2019 20:21
To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jhb] Re: More on FS2020
Hey lads make sure he doesn't put that polluted rum back in the bottle and in
the Mess bar. It'll only be fit to give it to that mangy dog at the door.
Fred D207
From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of Bones
<bones@xxxxxxx>
Sent: 04 October 2019 19:00
To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [jhb] Re: More on FS2020
Silently weeps in my rum… J
Bones
bones@xxxxxxx
From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
Mike Lucas
Sent: 04 October 2019 18:36
To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jhb] Re: More on FS2020
I hate to put one over on MikeB but I'm one of the lucky b***s who has 300
Mbps download + 50 Mbps upload - and that's without full fttp! The BT cable
cabinet is more or less outside my house so there's only the last few metres
of copper.
Mike L
On Fri, 4 Oct 2019 at 15:19, Mike Brook <pot.holer@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Oh Bones, you really do have my sympathy…! I wouldn’t dream of mentioning
that here in Warwickshire I currently get fttp 150 Mbps download and 30 Mbps
upload and that BT have even offered me 300+ Mbps download (which I’ve turned
down).
Sorry…!
Best wishes to all we few JHB flyers left 😉
MikeB
From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Bones
Sent: 01 October 2019 18:08
To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jhb] Re: More on FS2020
Not much chance for me then.
They recently announced we were getting an upgrade to our connections. When
the day came I ran the usual tests and yep, we got 2MBps rather than 1.. J
You can all stop laughing too….
Bones
bones@xxxxxxx
From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
Mike Lucas
Sent: 01 October 2019 17:21
To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jhb] Re: More on FS2020
I'm going to ignore all the sumptuous visuals for now because I can see
that a huge amount of work with Bing was needed to build a full 3D world
from mapping data. I shall ignore the atmospherics too despite them
looking more >> realistic than anything I have seen previously.
What sort of horsepower will be necessary to render this quality of scenery
and weather? I imagine the demo was running on something pretty powerful and
beyond what is readily available to Joe Public and his budget. In addition,
the internet connection speed required to deliver the data to be rendered
locally will probably need to be FTTP Gbps rather than Mbps.
And, as Bones hints in his penultimate paragraph, likely to be a pricing
model which will be a tiered monthly subscription like a lot of business
software.
It'll take a lot to prise me away from XP11 ...
Mike L
PS - Bones: I've just seen the flooding in Laxey - hope you still have your
head above water in Castletown.
On Tue, 1 Oct 2019 at 15:09, Bones <bones@xxxxxxx> wrote:
I wonder if MS have used any of their development of FSX in FS2020 or did
they relinquish all that to Lockheed for Prepare 3D? If this is a new from
the ground up sim it will be fascinating to see what has changed.
I'm going to ignore all the sumptuous visuals for now because I can see that
a huge amount of work with Bing was needed to build a full 3D world from
mapping data. I shall ignore the atmospherics too despite them looking more
realistic than anything I have seen previously. Moving back to aircraft it
may take some time to make all new ones, their cockpits and the performances
- and heavy metal may be lagging in the development process. It may be a
question of relative speeds and render times but at high level I would have
thought ground data would be rendered at a lower LOD, or set to a limited
render distance.
Back when we were making the England and Wales VFR scenery each object had a
default render distance. With most scenery it was not necessary to alter the
default draw distance as things would pop up in sensible sequence as the
aircraft moved forward. When you got to a very dense scenery area, like an
airport, we found in testing that a PC could get slammed with a sudden demand
for object rendering so, to reduce any sudden drop in FPS, we started to
change the DD for each airport object, small things like runway lights and
direction boards being given much lower DD than runways or buildings.
But maybe not, for as I wrote that I recall very well that even in a cruise
at FL250 the detail down on the ground is startlingly clear so render
distance would need to stay sharp at that height. Cruising at FL410 you still
see good detail though not actually pick out individual houses, so a slight
drop in LOD could be acceptable.
If the focus has been on getting the scenery working may the teams (if any
exist) for aircraft, ATC and missions are still working away at them. Again I
wonder if these are all new teams as I cannot see, after all this time, and
original FSX guys still around - or willing to go back after being laid off
after FSX had the rug pulled..
With an entirely new system it is quite feasible that FS would come as a
basic package and that any aircraft, missions or ATC may be extra purchases
to download. Considering the cost of making this 3D Earth model, and the hint
that it may constantly be updated as Bing updates their satellite imagery the
concept of rolling purchases becomes a feasible consideration to keep capital
pouring in..
All conjecture but it's fun to speculate- even when you know you are going to
be completely wrong.:)
Bones
bones@xxxxxxx
From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 01 October 2019 14:17
To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jhb] Re: More on FS2020
Although I posted links to Airboyd's videos there were a whole bunch of
videod released by different bloggers on YouTube yesterday. They all feature
the same in game footage and talk about their experience of being given early
access.
Though, for me, the more telling part was the developers Q&A. The key point
being the guy from Microsoft saying he was not being constrained by Microsoft
and their intention was to develop a flight simulator, not a game, aimed at
the hard core sim fan that has supported them over the last 40 years. He was
keen to emphasise they were open to working with developers to bring in
suggestions and envisaged continued development over 10 years. He also
emphasised that although they first announced it at E3 they weren't happy
that it gave the wrong impression they were aiming the product at the XBox
community.
One thing that stood out though was the focus on VFR in the video they
released. Those attending (I've watched several other bloggers versions) talk
about there being no or very little ATC at the moment and no air traffic. The
lack of heavy metal developed so far and available to the bloggers is unusual
for MS. Rendering issues once the airspeed increases? There was also mention
of adding in support for third party ATC, helicopters and military. That led
me to wonder whether they would be added in later or on release. While
checklists and new user training was mentioned, another thing not mentioned
specifically in the videos I've seen was whether this release would include
missions or not. Given the level of detail they're putting into the visual
elements, doing so would be a no brainervin my opinion.
Paul Reynolds
Sent from my Huawei phone
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [jhb] Re: More on FS2020
From: Bones
To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
CC:
Fascinating the way FS has evolved.
We started with a split screen showing a cockpit in the lower half of the
screen and a very minimalistic outside view in the top half. What little CPU
power we had drove the aerodynamics engine and the resultant readouts on the
dials. Further versions saw visuals evolve, both outside and inside the
aircraft. Then photoscenery burst upon us and outside realism exploded, both
in scenery realism and atmospheric realism.
This new version seems to be a fully rendered and accurate globe with an
aircraft on top. :) Nothing wrong in that as the scenery is in the cloud and
streamed (I've been working in SL for 10 years which does the same thing). In
fact the same issue affects both in that density of scenery increases render
times and lag and so designers need to make accurate mesh objects yet with as
low a poly count as possible to minimise GPU/CPU load.
The visual are stunning and I think that is what the biggest selling point
will be. I'm not sure if this is the first fully rendered globe in software
(I'm sadly not up to date with things) but that will be the draw for most. As
the guy himself said, the first thing he did was fly over his house (hands up
everyone) but then he said the exploration of the scenery took his thoughts
away from the aircraft and its performance. That is what I am curious about
because he kept calling it a game rather than a simulator. It makes me wonder
if the aerodynamics are improved too or have not moved on since FSX days - or
may be more basic.
I shall watch with interest. :)
Waves to everyone from a slightly wet island.
Bones
bones@xxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
Paul Reynolds
Sent: 30 September 2019 23:14
To: JHB Airlines
Subject: [jhb] More on FS2020
Some interesting videos posted on YouTube today...
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 • Global Preview Event:
https://youtu.be/mkMoZkGhIog
Developers Q&A
https://youtu.be/a-ppN8HjZGk
Paul Reynolds
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