Google docs updates:1. BSP has correct stable download links that should always work now (Volcano). Plus new official Mustang link.
Also they found the 3 BSP war room developer journal videos (Journal Authenticity, Epic Battles, Dev Diary 3).2. Complete non-GOTY Fallout 3 DLCs (all language packs).3. Stable download links for Dawn of War II pre-order DLCs.4. Misc game trailers - BioShock 2, Battlestations Pacific, Game Room, Fallout 3.I'll keep updating this thread if there's new developments.
Super Member Posts: 316 Joined: Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:59 am Location: Recharging Thanks: 1553 Thanked: 177 times in 147 posts. They've updated the docs with 2 new items:- Fallout 3 digital d/l links- Bulletstorm Gun Sonata (v1) dlcThese haven't been added yet for MS Flight by davispuh but mentioned by aclair:Hawaiian Adventure PackMaule M-7-260CNorth American P-51 MustangMitsubishi A6M2 ZeroP-40 WarhawkVought F4U CorsairCarbon Cub DLXC-46 (official link)Alaskan Wilderness Pack (official link)So MS Flight is now the 'Complete Edition' Super Member Posts: 316 Joined: Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:59 am Location: Recharging Thanks: 1553 Thanked: 177 times in 147 posts. Basetta wrote:60 days left to raid what you can from the MS servers. Shutdown on July 1.I haven't seen any official confirmation from Microsoft that GFWL is actually shutting down or that July 1 is the actual date. Do you have an official link? All I have seen are rumors masquerading as news posted on gaming websites.I actually purchased a couple of games from GFWL, and Microsoft has sent me nothing about being unable to download those games after July 1.
Super Member Posts: 265 Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:23 am Thanks: 1 Thanked: 1 time in 1 post. I checked everything over carefully. I believe you're right: rumors started based on a deleted Microsoft statement on Age of Empires Online page.
That 1 game will be stopped on July 1 2014. Which must've sparked the phantom imagination. Marketplace shutdown for games/demo/dlc purchases likely made it worse (and terrible for those of us who missed out).
I can't activate new dummy pc LIVE accounts either so that's a downer.The rest of the GFWL service may still be available for a few more years (Halo 2 Multiplayer was supposed to be shutdown in 2013 (?) but it keeps getting extensions).Sorry for the confusion - I likely made a mistake. I resign for now. Super Member Posts: 316 Joined: Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:59 am Location: Recharging Thanks: 1553 Thanked: 177 times in 147 posts.
Microsoft Flight3Release date(s)February 29, 2012Mode(s),: E/System requirements. Dual Core processor, 2 GHz or higher.
256MB Shader 3.0 (DX 9.0c compliant) supported video card or higher. 2 GB RAM. 10.0 GB free HD space. Broadband internet requiredMicrosoft Flight is a from created as a successor to the long-running, discontinued series. The simulation game is offered ““; only charging gamers for downloading extra content, or scenery.Unlike the enthusiast-centric Microsoft Flight Simulator games,Microsoft Flight focuses much more on the universal appeal of flight andaims to engage a much wider audience. Contents.DevelopmentThe game was officially released on February 29 2012.
Previously limited details were released on Flight,but Microsoft suggested that its realism and accuracy will appeal toflying enthusiasts, while new types of gameplay will appeal tonewcomers. The game is integrated with the platform, which allows players with Live accounts to join and host sessions using a. The introduction of Live means that the client will no longer be in use.It introduces a new model of DLC , integrated with the Marketplace. All Flight add ons can be purchased and installed in-game from a central marketplace. There is currently no public (Software Development Kit) planned for Flight, with all DLC being developed by Microsoft’s in-house team.The official Flight website now features a download link for Microsoft Flight, as well as FAQs and a handbook.On December 1, 2011 a beta application was set up on the website. An announcement was posted on the official Flight facebook page (on December 13, 2011) stating that an official Youtube channel was published containing the current Webisodes.It was announced on January 4, 2012 that it would be free-to-play on release in Spring 2012.On February 6, 2012 it was announced that Microsoft Flight would befree to download on February 29, 2012.
Also it was announced the firstexpansion pack would be released on the same day.Upgrades. A screenshot of Flight released by Microsoft, showing the new lighting/shadowing capabilities of the engine in the aircraft virtual cockpit. Flight features new aircraft, scenery and terrain, a revamped weather engine, and new gameplay elements for users of all skill levels.The new weather engine renders more realistic clouds and weathereffects, including fog that blends well with the surrounding terrain,which Microsoft’s previous flight simulator release, ( ),was not capable of. As seen in the screenshots, the most noticeablegraphical improvements are the newer shader models and the use of newversions. Part of the improvement is more realistic lighting and selfshadowing on aircraft, as well as the ability for terrain and sceneryobjects to cast shadows onto other objects and terrain.
The aircraftvisual models are much improved over those of the previous flightsimulator releases. Flight also features a new missions system.System requirementsMinimum:.
CPU: Dual Core 2.0 GHz. GPU: 256 MB card capable of shader 3.0 (DX 9.0c compliant). HD: 10 GB Hard Drive space. OS: WinXP SP3 or newer. RAM: 2 GBRecommended (high settings):.
CPU: Dual Core 3.0 GHz. GPU: 1024 MB ATI Radeon HD 5670 or 1024 MB NVIDIA GEFORCE 9800 GT or equivalent.
HD: 30 GB Hard Drive space. OS: Windows 7 64-bit. RAM: 6 GBDownloadable ContentThe core game, which includes the aircraft and the Big Island of scenery area, is free to download from the game’s website. It can then be expanded with additional DLC from the integrated Marketplace. Current DLC available is:.
for free if signed into. for 1200. for 640 (External view only.
No cockpit view). Scenery Expansion ‘Hawaiian Adventure’ which includes the rest of the, plus the, for 1600 Microsoft Points. ( To be released this Spring) Scenery Expansion ‘Alaskan Wilderness Pack’ which includes the state of, plus currently unannounced aircraft. Price TBA. for 560 (External view only.
No cockpit view).Reception ReceptionAggregate scoresAggregatorScore64.29%64/100Review scoresPublicationScore6/107/105/10Strategy Informer7/10This section requires.References. Dan Stapleton. February 6, 2012.
Retrieved February 7, 2012.See FAQ. Eric Caoili (4 January 2012). Retrieved 12 January 2012.
Ina Fried (18 August 2010). Retrieved 17 October 2010. ^. Retrieved 13 October 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
Retrieved 2012-04-09. Paul Presley (2012-03-08). Retrieved 2012-04-09. Brett Todd (2012-03-13). Retrieved 2012-04-09. Mike Nelson (2012-03-11).
Retrieved 2012-04-09. Gord Goble (2012-03-14).
Retrieved 2012-04-09. Marco Fiori (2012-03-12). Strategy Informer. Retrieved 2012-04-09.———————————————. Flight Simulator used to be scary.
In days of yore, you’d wait forthe loading screen to fade, squint at the various incomprehensible menuscreens, become bewildered by the sheer amount of options thrown rightat your face, then spend an hour or so accidentally crashing a Cessnainto various parts of Chicago using the default flight options beforeloading in your home town and trying to see if the developers hadmodelled your house.There was so much to a Microsoft Flight Sim title. The worldwas your playground. Every class of aircraft you could think of wasyours to sample. And not one part of the entire experience was everwelcoming, user-friendly or attractive to anyone who didn’t already knowhow the combustion chamber on a turboshaft engine works.They were never really games and, to be fair, nor did theyever try to be. They were simulators, first and foremost. You got thembecause you wanted to see what flying a plane was really like, down toevery last switch and knob in the cockpit.
They were staggeringlycomplex, frustratingly off-putting to the outsider and scary, scarybeasts of programming achievements. And they were magnificent for it.
The quality in detail varies from gorgeous for the planes to baffling for scenery.But a limited, faithful audience of hardcore flight simmers does not aprofitable bank balance make, so now we have Microsoft Flight andeverything is different. From the ground up this has been built to be a game.You have missions, career modes, challenges, achievements, trophies, XPlevels, cut-scenes, unlockable rewards.
In short, everything we’ve cometo expect from our gaming lives.Everything that would (and already is, if you look at most dedicatedFlight Sim forums) make the aforementioned hardcore crowd scream inhorror. Everything necessary to make the experience of playing aMicrosoft Flight Simulator title warm, approachable and friendly to thelarger, untapped market of casual virtual pilots.This it does with aplomb.
Right from the start you’re being led bythe hand through the flight menu options, trying out the different typesof activities, being encouraged to explore this new world of aviation.Your tutorial in the ultra-modern, car-like Icon A5 runs you throughbasic manoeuvres, in-game iconography and how to actually land a damnplane intact. It’s right here, in your first flight, that you realisejust how different this is to what’s come before.For a start, controls are all highly geared towards mouse jockeys –something that was almost unheard of in previous editions. It’s beendesigned that way in order not to put off the casual pilot that doesn’town a replica 747-cockpit in their spare room. This has the twin effectof making everything comfortable and playable, but also reducing thesense that this is in any way reminiscent of true flying. You’ll believe a mouse can fly (an aeroplane).You can make use of joysticks, flight yokes and whatever dedicatedcontrol devices you may have should you want.
While that will add to thesensation, even when you turn off the flight aids on the optionsscreens you’re never really going to believe this is anything more than agame about flying experiences as opposed to a true simulation ofkeeping a ton of metal above the ground.Not that Microsoft is trying to claim anything but that. Pre-releasebuild up has been all about ‘experience’, and the lack of the scary ‘S’word in the game’s title is the most obvious clue. With that in mind,all the various missions, challenges and other activities actually playout very well. There’s a good sense of progression, each airport on themap can be accessed for ‘jobs’ (even if they are all mostly variationson a handful of basic themes), and specialist challenges at least nodtowards a higher level of piloting skill being needed to win thehigher-tier trophies.By far the most interesting (and clever) additions are theAerocaches.
The world is dotted with hidden, floating gold icons, eachworth a differing level of XP depending on how well they’re tucked awayor how dangerous they are to reach. These are always active regardlessof which game mode you’re in and can be found even while flying othermissions or jobs or, most usefully of all, even just in Free Flight,adding a small sense of purpose to being up in the air at all times. Itis good fun. You’re just flying along when you suddenly notice arotating gold icon under a bridge, and right away your leisurely tripinto the clouds has become an impromptu stunt pilot challenge.You can actively hunt them out, of course, and each Aerocache has anassociated ‘clue’ that requires a small degree of internet research tohelp locate in-game. The idea is a boastful one from Microsoft, as if tosay, “Our scenery is so detailed you can use real-world maps tonavigate it.” Which would be great if not for one small thing.
Thescenery (or at least the Hawaiian locale available at launch) reallyisn’t that detailed when you examine it for any length of time. Never underestimate the market for a third-party, downloadable cockpit canopy texture.Flight is a very ‘empty’ world. The Flight Simulator series hasalways been much more at home in the air than when close to the ground.Whereas before the developers had the excuse of having to model theentire world thus necessitating a degree of corner-cutting, havingreduced the scale so much here to just a single island state, it’s hardto understand why Hawaii feels so badly replicated.There’s no sense of population – either airborne or ground-based.Even older versions of Flight Sim recreated traffic. There’s no ATC atairports offering a feeling of immersion, no AI of any type. Everythingaround you is lifeless. Even multiplayer just opens your currentairspace to a dozen or so other online pilots, but there’s nothing youcan do with them (other than pointlessly buzz the same runway as you tryto ‘build a community’).Worse, the old Flight Sim problems of buildings just droppedhaphazardly onto generic ground textures is present and correct. Almostunforgivable when you’ve been able to narrow your development focus insuch a way as Flight has.
Even a cursory look at Hawaii on Google Mapsshows so much ground detail that is just missing completely. The genericfeeling of the environment quickly proves tiresome and you’re rapidlylonging for some of the variety in locations that the older gamesoffered.There’s a sort of excuse for this, but it’s not much of one. No subscription fees, no one-off payments, not even a Donatebutton.
You can download Flight and take to the Hawaiian air withoutever opening your wallet. Where the money comes in is through good oldDLC in the form of new planes, mission packs and scenery. At launch youhave the P51-Mustang and Maule M-7 to add to your hanger for $7.99 and$14.99 respectively (the price difference down to the Mustang not havinga modelled cockpit view), as well as the Hawaiian Islands mission packfor $19.99, opening the rest of Hawaii to you and adding more missions,challenges and Aerocaches.