========================================================================
Microsoft Responds re: FS5 -- June 1993 -- CompuServe FSFORUM


The following are two messages posted by Microsoft officials in response
to questions about the compatibility of FS5 with various FS4 add-on
programs such as ASD-generated scenery files, and AAF-generated
aircraft.
========================================================================


#: 193702 S2/General Aviation  [FSFORUM]
    09-Jun-93  15:45:43
Sb: #Flight Sim 5 Compatibity
Fm: Brad Hinkel 76640,3640
To: ALL

I am the Program Manager for Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.0 & I'm excited to
see all this conversation on Compuserve about this new version of Flt Sim
coming down the pike. We here at Microsoft do watch this forum and I'm a
little concerned to see some of the anxiety and concerns out there about
support for existing FS 4 technology in FS 5.  I wanted briefly to address the
question of backward compatibility , and hopefully to set some minds at rest
regarding what we will and won't be able to do and why we've made these
technical tradeoffs in Flt Sim 5.

Microsoft completed extensive focus group research with our customer base
regarding product and feature requests for Flight Sim 5.0.   The most
requested features were:
1)  increased graphics quality
2)  support for a true lat./long. coordinate system

These then were two key features to implement in the new product.  However,
both of these features pose problems for backward compatibility.  It is very
important to Microsoft that we support our loyal users' investments in FS 4
technology, and we are working to provide a good migration path to FlightSim
5.0, but we have to consider these technical constraints in evaluating the
level of backward compatibility possible with FS 5.

To be specific, we plan on Flight Sim 5.0 supporting:
1)  Flight Sim 4.0 standard scenery files.  These include the F1 database and
SCN files, including those from Mallard.
2)  A&SD 4.0 files are displayed and usable with the Flight Sim 4.0 database,
within FS5.  This means that you will be able to use your A&SD 4.0 scenery but
FS 5 will return you to the FS 4.0 scenery world when these scenery elements
are called up.
3)  Also, MOD and VID files will be supported.

We plan to update Aircraft & Scenery Designer to support the new FlightSim 5.0
features and provide additional backward commpatibility for A&SD 4.0.  This
product would provide converters to translate both A&SD 4.0 scenery and A&SD
4.0 aircraft into A&SD 5.0; these could then be further modified as A&SD 5.0
objects and would work fully with FlightSim 5.0.

The whole Flight Sim team wants you to be able to enjoy FlightSim 5.0 even
more that you have enjoyed FlightSim 4.0 and we all feel it is important to
support FlightSim 4.0 files.  We believe that our strategy will give users
both the greatest possible FS 5 product and the important protection of
investments already made in the product and its add-ons.  Hopefully this mail
has cleared up some of the confusion regarding MS strategy and FS 5 support
for backward compatibility.

I would like to add that I am focused solely on getting this product out to
market as quickly as possible-- however, we will continue to listen to your
comments and suggestions and strive to incorporate them into future releases.
I will not be able to answer all of your questions in as timely a manner as
you might like and apologise in advance for this!  I will try to support you
as best as possible.

thanks,  Brad


#: 193845 S2/General Aviation  [FSFORUM]
    09-Jun-93  22:13:10
Sb: #193578-OPEN LETTER - FS5 DEBATE
Fm: Harry Emil/Microsoft 76711,166
To: Stamatis Vellis 71020,2502

Hi Stamatis, your message to Rick re: FS5 compatability was forwarded to me.

Everyone working on FS5 agrees that backward compatability is important for a
number of reasons.  We also agree that it won't stop us from making progress.

FS5 has entirely new scenery technology that allows to model the entire world.
(trans-atlatic flights!) We will make sure FS5 can read .SCN and .SC1 files
but they will be limited to working the same way the did in FS4 until we can
update A&SD (no date announced.)

We will be announcing all FS5 features soon, but there's still a lot of time
until the August release date.  We don't want to promise features that may not
make it to the final version.

(To answer your autopilot question, we plan to have the following features:
Wing leveler, pitch and bank hold, altitude hold, glide slope hold, nav 1 hold
(it will work this time), heading hold, approach hold, and back course hold.)

Harry Emil / Microsoft