“Game license cannot be authenticated” and then
“Please insert Microsoft Flight Simulator Game Disc”
So that much for today’s flying According to the MSFS forum, I am not alone. Apparently the Xbox Services are having issues. Not a big deal, I will hit the bed a bit earlier today.
However this issue made me think (again) about something potentially bigger: What will happen once Microsoft decides to pull the plug?
I mean the sim looks absolutely fabulous (yesterday flying in Alaska and wanted to try Iceland today) but have you ever tried to disable the on-line services? Did you like what you saw?
My worry is what will happen once Microsoft decides enough is enough and stops the servers. We will be left with a platform without data. A platform which without the data will be just an empty shell.
Some time ago I tried to google left and right to find out whether Microsoft made some kind of a commitment to keep the MSFS alive (= data streaming). I stumbled over an interview with someone from Asobo (so not Microsoft, actually) who claimed the current plan was to support the MSFS for some ten years. Good, but plans can change and some more solid commitment would be great.
Did you see Microsoft saying / writing somewhere that they guarantee to provide the data for the sim for some time? (EULA, interview, article)?
What are your feelings about the whole issue? Maybe it is just me… dunno.
Microsoft’s main data center services ‘Azure’ are down at the moment, at least the authentication stuff.
That means Office 365, Xbox, you name it are going to have a really bad day.
For commitment to providing the online services long term, no they haven’t said that. I’m not sure a lawyer would allow them to do that either. For the money it works today, but in 5 years then no guarantees.
If they cancelled it I feel I would have done ok for the $59 vs per area Orbx scenery, ActiveWeather, World Traffic, Pilot2ATC purchases on other sims, but would be a shame of course. So far it’s been one of their most successful Xbox PC launches ever, so thinking it will shutdown soon doesn’t feel likely. They are hiring like crazy.
The scenery data service isn’t even authenticated, so people would probably patch any defunct title and allow you to provide your own scenery service. Nature always finds a way etc…
I guess this provides a very good reason to purchase 3rd party addons from the marketplace. As long as the Microsoft bean counters stay happy, all will be well. I voiced similar concerns last year before they launched.
I’d like to see them adopt a system where authentication isn’t required every time you launch the sim. This isn’t the first time this has happened, making it impossible to play until they fix whatever problem they are experiencing. The way Eagle Dynamics handled that was pretty reasonable I think.
Ironically the DVD disk edition does work offline, you just need to the disk to authenticate. A lot of people are seeing the ‘Insert the Disc’ prompt because the Xbox Live license authentication is down. Good ol’ discs!
My pc doesn’t have an optical drive either. But I wonder how much those discs will be worth once MS shuts the servers off.
Will it be like Falcon 4 and BMS where I can get falcon 4 for a few dollars on steam or will it be like NASCAR 2003 where it’s like 200 dollars to buy it now.
Not nearly as bad a day as the support staff are having right now.
Disaster recovery processes invoked, pressure from senior management “Are we nearly there yet?” conference calls every hour, then when it’s fixed, the blamestorming sessions.
It’s a discussion of cloud based software with subscription based license models vs. the old way of buying software and then paying for maintenance (or not getting any).
Everything will end eventually. You all know that, right?
At least now they will tell us when it’s time to let go.
Tl;dr: Keep the dollares flowing and we’ll be just fine.
According to the MSFS forum, I am not alone. Apparently the Xbox Services are having issues. Not a big deal, I will hit the bed a bit earlier today.
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