FSX Gold Steam Beta

[hurricanemk1c 195]

An invitation to join the Microsoft Flight Simulator X Steam Edition BETA programme

 

AN INVITATION TO JOIN THE 'MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR X: STEAM EDITION' BETA COMMUNITY

 

As you will have heard in recent months, Dovetail Games has announced that it has acquired the rights to distribute Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Gold Edition via Valve’s popular digital retail channel, Steam. This will be titled ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition’.

 

As part of the process readying the product for Steam we are undertaking rudimentary bug fixing and testing of the software, which includes improving the way the software works with newer versions of Windows, multiplayer integration and compatibility checks with existing and future add-ons.

 

As someone who has previously shown interest in Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition, we would like to extend an invitation to join the BETA community to test across the areas above. This would give you the visibility of the core software bug fixes and upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition. Active BETA testers will also have the opportunity to get involved in future flight products currently under development.

 

If you are interested in joining the BETA community, please click the link below to complete and submit your details.

Sign up to the Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition Beta Community

 

Once we have received your completed form, we will email you with further details of how to join the BETA community.

 

 

 

Pretty sure you need a Steam account. Not sure how I have previously expressed interest other than here!

[stu7708 244]

Yay.. bug fixes and some development!!! Did not expect that, thought that they would just get a Steam version ready and launch it...

 

Signed up, thanks for the heads up Kieran!!

[brett 2,315]

It asks how many years have I been playing FSX?

 

and all this time I thought I was serious about learning how to fly, now I come to find I have only been playing around.  

[hurricanemk1c 195]

They released a new beta of Train Sim 2015 this week Mikael, so prehaps shows a new direction for them.

 

As for playing Brett, try the railway signalling "game" SimSig. Not really a game, more like a super-realistic simulation, made to the same specs by the people who making training sims for Network Rail!

[allardjd 1,853]

I'm cautiously optimistic about this development.  It's precious little, but it's sooner than I expected to see anything from them and it seems to be a positive development.  Fingers crossed.  

 

Wouldn't it be great if Dovetail/Steam and Lockheed-Martin ended up as competitors, driving one another to push the software forward?  When there's true competition in a truly free market, the consumers are almost always the winners.  On the other hand, I'm not so sure the market for this is large enough to support two competitors at that level.  Time will tell, but looking good for now.

 

John

[Andrew Godden 943]

John,

 

To your points, I couldn't agree more.  Furthermore, I would also proffer that, in the case of FSX, the market will be further reduced on the basis of a large percentage of current users not seeing significant tangible benefits to warrant a reinvestment in money and time to rebuild on the FSX Gold Steam Edition product.  A patch / upgrade option won't be in the mix here.  Support for current OS platforms is to be applauded but is not such a panacea when you can still purchase a new system with Windows 7 installed as the OS (at least here in Australia you can).  If this does indeed drive competition and LM lift the work rate on P3D development, I can only see it driving current FSX users in a final move across to P3D.

 

I also treat with some skepticism, the extent of development work to be undertaken, particularly when Dovetail use terms such as "...rudimentary bug fixing...".  This does not instill confidence in this venture being nothing more than just a relaunching of FSX via a different distribution channel.  Since it's inception, the Steam platform has become a repository for such relaunches after the inventories of boxed versions were consumed.  This move was an alternative to the budget republishing of boxed versions often seen in the market, or as a parallel distribution to such budget republishing.

 

Yes, FSX is still only a 32bit based product, but when all is said and done and we cut through the incessant whinging of the naysayers and those who will never be happy, we have come to live with, and make FSX work, with all its shortcomings, often improving or overcoming the shortcomings through the ongoing advances in technology, particularly graphics cards.  Not only have we, the flight simmer, overcome this, so too have the software developers.

 

For me, FSX is, and has always been, merely about the joy of flight sim flying and, as such, I have been, and remain, content with a less than perfect platform, with a less than pure photo realistic representation of the world in which I fly, for two fundamental reasons: the aircraft are less than realistic, and I am sitting behind a desk in front of computer screen in my study.  Oh, and with a bottle of fine red wine at hand.

 

Cheers

Andrew

[hurricanemk1c 195]

As far as I know Andrew, DTG are looking to produce a completely new Flight Sim with their new super-duper game engine. How good it'll be, I don't know. The recent add-on for Train Simulator, the Class 45, suffered from stuff like poor colours and incorrect type face for numbers. Having seen this time and time again, I'm not that optimistic about the future. I'm willing to be proven wrong though

[jaydor 345]

It asks how many years have I been playing FSX?

 

and all this time I thought I was serious about learning how to fly, now I come to find I have only been playing around.  

Brett, I been playing with myself for years.. 

 

Don't you just love FSX..  :D

[J G 927]

Why would I reinvent the wheel so to speak.

 

I think I would rather go to P3D as my next step. 

 

I will watch what the critics say on this with interest.

 

 

[britfrog 180]

for me it is how each company perceives the products , DTG talks about a game, LM a simulation. Personally I have never thought of any of the m.s. flight simaltion versions as anything but a simulation. When m.s started talking about FSX as a game , they went out and produced flight.

So for me the future will be P3D , but only when it goes 64bit, because at ther moment whilst they have done some small mods p3d is nowhere near as solid as fsx, especially if you use dx10, luckily it now appears from bits of info gleaned , it is not  a case of, IF P3D will be going 64 bit but a case of, when.

[jaydor 345]

I'm with Nigel and staying with FSX. Since Steve's DX10 fixer I am as solid as a rock with FSX..

[Christopher Low 63]

P3D is graphically and operatively superior to FSX in DX10 mode on my PC (apart from possibly the VAS issue). P3D appears to be better at avoiding OOMs than FSX in DX9 mode, but FSX in DX10 mode may well be the best in that department. However, FSX in DX10 mode never equalled DX9 mode in terms of graphics quality on my old i5 2500k powered PC. Too much texture shimmering and other oddities (like no navigation and strobe lights on the AI planes; a problem that ironically also afflicts P3D in its current form).

[Corsaire31 419]

For the time being I think I have invested enough time and money in my FSX install ( still adding freeware scenery when needed and a couple of payware planes ). For the kind of low and slow flying I'm doing, I'm quite happy with my FSX DX9 running smoothly at 30 fps. I don't use photo scenery either. 

Looking at what I read on several forums, I start thinking I'm too easily happy ?

 

I really don't know where I will go next, I have been tempted by trying X Plane 10, but also might wait until P3D comes out with a 64 bits version ( getting kind of lazy, having to learn a totally new world with X Plane ... )  Could be also for a change I will have a look at Aerofly FS  for some easy flights ? Anyway I'm in no hurry and FSX will stay on my PC for a few more years.