Dovetail (FSX) to launch two new flight sims in 2016

fearlessfrog · February 12, 2016, 5:18pm

The train simulator people that bought the consumer license for the FSX code and put it on Steam, are making a couple of new flight sim titles to launch in 2016. DX11, 64-bit modern updates apparently. The two are (with the latter releasing first):

‘Dovetail Games Flight Sim’ - the updated FSX I guess, with the big question being do that make it compatible with the existing FSX packages (they might not be able to do that for licensing reasons, dunno).
Flight School - here’s how they describe that:

Flight School has been developed to give anyone who wants to give flight simming a try the chance to do so. While established simmers will likely already know what we are aiming to teach, it is a chance to get an early preview of some of the new technologies we have implemented which will be carried over to DFS. Of course if you fancy brushing up on your skills or putting them to the test, then Flight School has piloting tests and missions which will also do just that.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/314160/discussions/16/412446890550990408/

A screenshot from Flight School:

fearlessfrog · February 12, 2016, 5:19pm

Two comparison shots from FSX as it is today and Flight School - you can see where they are using their FSX license money:

FSX:

Flight School:

boomerang10 · February 13, 2016, 1:40am

Verrrrry interesting. I’m curious to see what they do with DFS.

I do hope they update the AFCAD files, though. Getting airport data from pre 2006 would be a shame.

Bogusheadbox · February 15, 2016, 3:42pm

Well as long as they don’t do the really retarded pitfalls fsx took, it will be a winner.

Fsx died way to early purely because of the stupidity of the developers and marketers not knowing what each other are doing.

Who remembers all those wonderful multiplayer promo vids promoting the next step in multiplayer?

They looked so good right. But they didin’t mention that out of the box multiplayer would be a sterlile and very limited experience.

Who in their right mind thought it would be ok to have multiplayer without ai traffic, without functioning ai ATC. WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING.

Sure you could have a human ai controller…great. But you couldn’t fly off any where else and get a controller, so everyone just flew aimlessly around the proximity of the one airport where chaos ensued. very very far from the amazing online experience.

Add to that the god awful fs9 ports that came stock with the game and hell, you could just see monumental lack of direction and production values that went into fsx.

Who remembers the grumman goose on release. Half the buttons didn’t work and switches and levers (like the landing gear lever) were in different positions between 2d and 3d pits.

Lets not also forget the absolutely retarded aircraft state multiplayer synch issues. I.e. if i spawned into a multiplayer event and opened my canopy, then someone joined my session, my canooy would be closed to them. I closed my canopy and it would open on the other persons view.

Fsxbhad moments of greatness sideswiped by moments of poor production values and corner cutting.

I certainly hope dovetail take these lessons and keep the inspiration of greatness and can bypass the shortcutting of production values

katana1000s · February 16, 2016, 9:00pm

I think this is fantastic news and looking forward to both these sims from Dovetail.

Its interesting to note too, and please I’m not trying to cause a ruckuss … its just my humorous analogy LM were saying its too difficult to go for 64bit just yet (something along those lines) so they gave us P3D1, P3D2, P3D3 as separate full price releases, maybe V1 to V2 was an upgrade, cant remember? and all that awful amateur fan lawyer stuff we saw on forums too that seemingly gave some after market add on company’s free reign to charge loads of money for their add ons to the LM higher Professional products )

Then out of the blue Dovetail tell us they have FSX engine ported to 64 bit with DX11 too already!, with the LM delays in the F-35 you have to wonder if that is their company policy and keep the profits coming in? just kidding

I’m actually quite impressed with Dovetails FSX Steam version, there do seem to be some good changes from vanilla FSX/Acelleration and had already decided this would be my GA sim of choice now and retiring my old FSX discs for good probably … I really do like Steam too, so bonus for me right there.

Bring it on I say.

Bogusheadbox · February 16, 2016, 11:11pm

I am a fan of steam too.

So is this a "rehashed " version of fsx or a completely new flight sim built from the ground up.?

katana1000s · February 17, 2016, 12:17am

There is a fair bit of info out there already on the upcoming two versions from Dovetail.

From what I perceive it is not a ground up refresh, the flight sim economy has collapsed it seems and we need to get by on refinements, indeed thats what we have been doing since that last ground up build of the MS Flight sim engine … I’m not in a position to say when the last major refresh of this code or engine was? but I’d guess FS2000, that was a major, very major revamp over FS98.

FS2000 was when my jaw started dropping and I thought, this is starting to look really good, but it performed terribly on machines of time.

FS2002 was a major refinement on same engine and was starting to perform much better on similar hardware and then the infamous FS2004 or FS9 if you prefer.

You have to remember, about that time of FS98 Looking Glass’s Flight Unlimited II and III were way ahead of everything Microsoft were doing apart from the whole world … and I mean everything, absolutely everything, they were doing some very good innovation including missions as clever as you like back then and long before MS dreamed up the missions for FSX. even the DOS based Flight 1 was ground-breaking in a photo scenery aerobatic sort of way for its time, but we lost those clever guys completely with their awesome GA flight sim vision, they even had a Flight Combat sim lined up … but the plug was pulled.

I’ve been into the MS series since FS2 though and recognise something new and fresh when I see it, even if it is a refinement.

Yes, Dovetails code is based on old stuff, what’s wrong with that? every-time one of us makes a child, its based on old code DNA wise but it self improves and is better.

Thats how it works in nearly everything in life … I can trace the linage of my Motorcycles, from GS to GSXR its been one constant series of refinements.

I’ve seen some awful comments from the main GA sim site already about this and I hope we can be more mature and receptive here.

katana1000s · February 17, 2016, 12:30am

I think anyone expecting a brand new 64 bit DX11 sim from the ground up has unrealistic expectations to be honest

Bogusheadbox · February 17, 2016, 9:47am

No unrealistic expectations here katana, i only asked if it was based on fsx code or built from new.

I personally think there is a lot of money to be had in flight sims, especially if the multiplayer aspect is done right.

katana1000s · February 19, 2016, 3:23am

You are quite right to ask my friend.

Incidentally, you mention FSX multi-player, FSX Steam and Dovetail list this as one of their improvements over the old sim … I’ve done very little FSX multiplayer and that was from the old early days on vanilla FSX/Acceleration but may try on my PC that has FSX Steam installed, I must give it a go soon.

I don’t think GA sims were ever really a multi player strong point tough unless you go hardcore like Vatsim.

fearlessfrog · February 19, 2016, 10:53pm

Some new info here:

Summary (stolen/borrowed from here):

64-bit
They know why Flight failed and won’t make same mistakes
No plans for backward compatibility
It’s not a completely new sim, but based on FSX
They will still use BGLs, maybe this will make it easier for addon developers to convert over??
Some big changes coming to scenery. “we have something very exciting we are working on in terms of scenery in general”. New lighting system.
“Living world” on long term plans
Updates to outdated nav data, vector data, etc.
Will cover the entire world
“We are indeed working with a number of very well known third party developers on both Flight School and Flight Simulator.” Details possibly next week.
Living, personalized, aircraft…will require maintenance, might have individualized registration #s, etc.
Will focus on depth of aircraft instead of volume
Multiplayer???
Economic model being considered
Flight School will be geared towards GA aircraft and learning to fly.
AI and ATC “being looked at very carefully”

Hmm, interesting…

boomerang10 · February 20, 2016, 3:00am

Interesting, indeed.

I really like a lot of those points. Hope they can deliver.