Pretty sure Track IR is one of the reasons for the products 1 month delay so that and other features can be added, it has been confirmed track IR will be added.
I really dont think this product could be compared to MS Flight, I know it has its followers still, but it seemed to me MS Flight had no real goal, no real future planning and came at a very bad time when even more MS cut backs were deemed necessary by the bean counters who could not look at the bigger picture and see profit was not the Holy Grail, but MS involvement in serious Flight Simulation was a good investment, not just in the educational value but for the entertainment value too should MS ever be king again ā¦ But No MS dumbed it down at every subsequent step and just before it ended we were getting cockpit less add on aircraft as the norm, it became a product that appealed to practically nobody with zero focus on anything and that was sad after all the years MS did give us good Flight Simulators.
In contrast I think and hope Dovetail have taken note of what has happened, they seem to have taken note of the delay in going to 64bit LM have done with all versions of P3D (despite LM saying this is their goal) and seized that bull by the Horns!.
I still maintain from all Iāve seen and read so far about Dovetails Flight School, especially at its ridiculous low price point is its a good idea and primer for a new generation of simmers who might also follow on with their full simulation a bit later this year, even as a seasoned Simmer Iām keen to give it a whirl and then be able to maybe read between the lines in what to expect for the full Dovetail Sim later this year and hey even with delay if needed, early in 2017
There seems to be a lot of disagreement here and other forums on this new venture that I cant quite fathom out? surely any brave new venture should be welcomed?
I agree with everything you wrote @katana1000s - and I agree with your assessment of MS Flight. Iām hopeful that Dovetail will have a lineup of both missions and aircraft ready to go in the pipeline pretty soon after the release of Flight School. Letās face it, even a zero time sim pilot will not take long to figure our (or be taught) how to do takeoffs, landings, and basic navigation. So they had better have the follow on content (payware or microtransactions or whatever) closely nipping at the heels. The generation they are targeting (Millennials? Late Millennials?) has 1) a fairly short attention span and 2) a HUGE spectrum of alternative software to choose from, so Dovetail has to be Johnny-on-the-spot if they want to retain whatever initial wave of interest they generate with Flight School.
In my opinion, they are going to need (at the minimum) content that:
Take the user beyond initial flying lessons. VOR navigation, emergency procedures, ILS and IFR flying.
More advanced airplanes. I like that they will start out with a basic stick and rudder plane, but they are going to need something with IFR capabilities, and preferably with a clickable cockpit. And something more cutting edge than a Cessna 172, but simple, would be nice (like a DA20 Katana). This crossover point serves two purposes - it draws the basic flyer forward, but it also serves a large part of the FSX community - theyād fly a detailed Katana in a new environment too.
Multiplayer stuff that is fun to do.
Missions - or a career path with something WAY beyond what Flight did. Flightās missions (in my opinion) were the breaking point of that sim. They were horrible, werenāt enough of them, and they all felt exactly the same. A diverse set of missions (like FSX shipped with) that had varying levels of difficulty will be essential to retaining customers. Again - I donāt mind if Dovetail wants to approach this like their train stuffā¦with micro-transactions. Fine with me.
I guess we are all somewhat skeptical after MS Flight. I lean toward being optimistic about it, and Iāll buy it even if it isnāt exactly something I really need. Iām always interested to try out new sims regardless of who they are aimed at. An FSX simmer with Level-D airplanes and a ton of ORBX scenery who flies on VATSIM all day long is probably not the target audience here, so their criticisms should be taken for what they are.
Iām really hoping Dovetail has done their market research and has steps 2,3,4,5, and 6 already mapped out and ready to inject into the pipeline. Weāll see!
Wowā¦this really does not look great. I do understand that this game isnāt geared toward experienced flight simmersā¦BUTā¦I really just mostly see some GUI updates and way inferior gameplay to stock FSX. I mean, there is sooooo much to do in FSX (stock)ā¦flight training, missions, adventuresā¦
Well I can always let the kids and/or my wife have at it. One thing that I do recall from being involved with the pre-launch/launch of their Fishing game is that they actually did have a rather large update the day of release from previous āpreviewā builds. So guess that bit is possible, of course they are different dev teams though so who knows. Iām sure I can probably get $15 worth out of it.
Well, its out now and it does seem a bit raw I have to admit, what I was curious about for this product was the 64bit aspect and how that would affect load times, because with Vanilla FSX, Steam FSX and even P3D V3 I have installed, it can take ages depending on how many add ons are installed, with Flight School, its pretty snappy, but yep, not much DLC on it part from the included FTX Global? and it looks a bit FTX Global lite so far.
As for refunds ETC, wont be doing that, it was dirt cheap and worth a look at that price and helps keep the company afloat for hopefully a more solid Dovetail Flight sim later this year, also perhaps they can get good user feedback from this release that usual Beta testing never seems to give.
Been looking at some early feedback on other sites and some people are having problems with their controls, in this respect its exactly how it was with original FSX though and it seems you need to spend a little time configuring your controls first, same mechanism, just a new visual interface to do it.
For sure Iāll go through all the lessons and try the few missions even though I should know most of that stuff by now, sometimes its good to go back to school as short cut bad habits can take over, even in Sim life!
Some more thoughts, it really is raw, but I suppose for the targeted audience for newcomers to GA sims, that wont matter, what would matter is if DT never improved lots of stuff drastically for the forthcoming full sim IMHO.
Coastlines are white bands that look horrible, sea textures are OK I suppose for the areaās Iāve tried so far, clouds and general sky lighting not so good, does not look like there is any proper terrain mesh going on? I say this from trying the ferry flight Wick mission just now, that place is not too far up North from here and Iāve been there a few times, not in an Aircraft but on a Motorcycle and thatās enough to let me know its not flat as depicted in DT Flight School.
Cant seem to get my Saitek Trim wheel working properly so far, might have made a mistake in the new interface though, all other controls from TM Warthog, Saitek TPM, Saitek Combat Rudder Pedals, and Saitek Cessna Yoke all work fine though once set up properly, not tried my Saitek GA panels or FIPās, as I do not think they are supported as of yet or ever, but surely they will need to be supported in the full sim I hope. Not tried track IR either yet but apparently support is included now.
Overall, for a lite sim that is not aimed at us died in the wool enthusiasts, its not too bad for its price, however I think its us seasoned FS fans that will be the biggest customers, MS tried the newbie approach and that never worked, as Beach hints, everything this sim can do, (MS Flight too) FSX can do better, both for training and fun and onwards to more serious stuff, but maybe this sim is just to get some cash flowing for DT to help keep them afloat and help produce the fuller sim? these are hard financial times for sure and if thatās the case I donāt mind.
Was planning on giving it a go tonight/tomorrow (of course I now just got an email with my War of Rights alpha keyā¦ go figure) Iām going to just use a TM Hotas X or Logitech Extreme 3d pro, no trackir, no rudder pedals, basically try and do it like I was new, since I doubt anyone is going to sink the money I have into FS gear as a newbie.
I only briefly loaded it up this afternoon when it launched, noticed it did also have mouse controls of some sort, so might try that out as well. Maybe Iāll do that tonight.
*Ok, I guess mouse yoke in the game is not what I thought it meant lol. Will have to wait to get the old sticks outs to test.
MS dumbed it down at every subsequent step and just before it ended we were getting cockpit less add on aircraft as the norm, it became a product that appealed to practically nobody with zero focus on anything and that was sad after all the years MS did give us good Flight Simulators.
