The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

[GreyGeek]

http://www.itproportal.com/2012/01/0...#ixzz1iaqvE26S

The game is free, but the catch is you'll have to buy the aircraft and airports and perhaps the scenery.

However, as a former pilot who as flown the Citation flight simulator at Flight Safety Inc., the Microsoft Flight program is the best flight sim ever written. I've run flightgear and the Linux commercial version of X-Flight. They aren't even close to MS Flight sim. My grandson got the app, and C&H's yoke, peddles and throttle mount for Xmas several years ago. Setting in it in "hood" mode was just like flying under the hood in real life. Except for being able to feel the aircraft in your seat, or fell the bumps or hear the wind, flying Flight is as real as it gets. The Cessna Skyhawk in Flight behaved EXACTLY like it did when I was flying it. So did the Cessna Centurion 206, which I also flew. I am seriously considering downloading the app for my Win7 side.

[ardvark71]

Re: The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

The game is free, but the catch is you'll have to buy the aircraft and airports and perhaps the scenery.

Hi GreyGeek...

I'm not trying to knock the game but why not just pay for the entire game upfront, get all of what you need to play it and be done with it? I've seen this "business model" with another Microsoft game and I can't say I was very impressed.

Regards...

[ScottyK]

Re: The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

I agree with ardvark - this seems to be the new buisness model for games. Give the game away, but nickel and dime you on everything else.

I'd rather pay $50-$60 up front, get the DVD's with all the aircraft, and just go for it.

But that's me.

[SteveRiley]

Re: The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

Isn't that pretty much the same business model as Minecraft and World of Warcraft? Your first hit is free, and then...

[ardvark71]

Re: The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

Isn't that pretty much the same business model as Minecraft and World of Warcraft? Your first hit is free, and then...

Hi Steve...

I don't play those particular games so I had no idea. I still don't agree with the model, however.

Regards...

[SteveRiley]

Re: The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

"Freebie marketing" has been around for a looooooooong time. And contrary to conventional thought, it was
Gillette's competitors who came up with the free-razor-charge-for-blades model.

[GreyGeek]

Re: The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

Isn't that pretty much the same business model as Minecraft and World of Warcraft? Your first hit is free, and then...

I bought Minecraft and downloaded the client jar file. You have to have an account and purchase it to be able to download it. The "free" version is (was?) a web-based model of an older version. It didn't appear to be the cocain pusher model to me.

I did discover that when I played Minecraft on my new Acer it destroyed all the hard work invested in creating my primary world while playing the game on my old Sony. When I moved over to my Sony and checked !/jerry/.minecraft/saves I found the old worlds were deleted!

I had even accumulated enough diamonds to create diamond armor! , but I hadn't done a backup since Dec 8th, so I lost all that work...

[MoonRise]

Re: The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

Isn't that pretty much the same business model as Minecraft and World of Warcraft? Your first hit is free, and then...

I've played both and the model is similar. Why I don't play them any more.



EDIT: take that back about MineCraft. My daughter uses it and I never hear her wanting "extras" for her Character. Now ROBLOX is totally that. That's all I ever heard. It's ONLY 5$. Yes, 5$ for something you really don't own.

[GreyGeek]

Re: The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

My 10 year old grandson got Skylanders for christmas (he saw it at a friends house and just had to have it). My daughter gave us a heads up about purchasing "character" sets, 3 for $25.

Watching my grandson play I saw that the game is similar to Mario Brothers, except that combat in various zones is better with different characters. To change characters you place that toy character on a small platform the connects electronically to the PS3. He was always changing characters to be able to defeat certain villians. Often I'd hear "darn, I don't have (some character)", which meant that winning in that zone was a lot tougher. Skylanders is a perfect dollar trap for Sony.

We baby sat him the day before yesterday. He played PS3 NFL/College Football. I guess the interest in Skylander is over. With the right character winning is just going through the motions. Besides the game itself it only cost an additional $75 for characters, and his mother put her foot down on buying any more. Yesterday, he and I went out into the lot next door and tossed a football back and forth for a few hours, then we went bowling. He and my wife split two games, but he beat me in air hockey. Everyone had a good time.

[GreyGeek]

Re: The BEST flight simulator ever made is now free...

.....
EDIT: take that back about MineCraft. My daughter uses it and I never hear her wanting "extras" for her Character. ...

That's what I've observed. There are "mods", but they are free. However, they involve, in effect, jail breaking your jar file. And, they take the fun out of the game by giving you God like powers beyond what the "Creative" mode gives.