DVD Only?

The main reasoning behind the DVD disc I believe is because Microsoft can make the simulator 16x more detailed. Obviously it will have the added bonus of only being on one disc particuarly during installation.

For a program that would take three or four CD's or more it makes sense to put it on a DVD. I know not all computers have DVD drives but DVD is pretty common now and DVD drives are cheap to buy now. I just installed a DVD drive that does it all for just under $100, and bare bones DVD drives are a lot cheaper than that.

You are going to see more and more software coming out on DVD only. Browsing through software I have already seen programs on DVD, this won't be the first one to be on DVD.

If you put it on a DVD you can get better graphics. Plus, it's easier to program.

Look at it this way. 4 CD-ROMs can hold 2.8GB maximum. A single layer DVD-ROM holds 4.7GB and a double layer holds 8GB.

My guess is that the extra space is going to be used primarily by the scenery.

From a business perspective it costs much less in time and money to burn 1 disc than 4. They will not sell the new version any cheaper so more $$$!!

PH wrote:

From a business perspective it costs much less in time and money to burn 1 disc than 4. They will not sell the new version any cheaper so more $$$!!

You hit the nail on the head PH

Am I the only one who buys PC-magazines? You used to get a CD or a double-CD with each issue containing all kinds of freebies.

They've changed from CD to DVD months ago. I found myself not being able to utilize the included disks anymore until I'd upgraded to a DVD-drive, yes sir.

Tailhook wrote:

They've changed from CD to DVD months ago. I found myself not being able to utilize the included disks anymore until I'd upgraded to a DVD-drive, yes sir.

They call it progress I guess. I've been in computers long enough that I have went from the old floppies to the three and a half inch floppies, to CD's and now to DVD's. I can remember buying magazines that had floppies in them (three and a half inch).

DVD drives are standard in new computers now and it won't be long until most if not all software will be on them.

Even Demo versions of programs are getting bigger and I guess to get what they want in the magazine they need to go to DVD's.

My first hard drive was 110 MEG and it seemed huge at the time. I had lots of programs on it too. Today you couldn't even load Windows on that.

Why do we all think that FSX will be on only one DVD. 🙄

RadarMan wrote:

Why do we all think that FSX will be on only one DVD. 🙄

Very clever thought RadarMan.
But i think that we make the 4 x 750 =3000 so 4.7Gb of a DVD Storage would be more than enough.But will it be on this size?
You have right to think and to be suspicious that probably it wont... 😉

Of course there is always the possibility MS use a dual layer one... 😉 😂 😂 😂

RadarMan wrote:

Why do we all think that FSX will be on only one DVD. 🙄

If it takes up more than one DVD what will it take up on the old hard drive.

WarHawk42 wrote:

RadarMan wrote:

Why do we all think that FSX will be on only one DVD. 🙄

If it takes up more than one DVD what will it take up on the old hard drive.

😂 I don't even want to think about that, although by then I'll have a new machine because of FSX with ample space.

I am planning on doing a major upgrade this year, but still, if it takes more than one DVD that's a lot of program. 🙂

We will never know what they are doing to make it worthy of being their first Flight Sim in 64 bit, just doing that may bloat it way out of proportion.
H/D's are so cheap and huge now they aren't worried about space.

RadarMan wrote:

H/D's are so cheap and huge now they aren't worried about space.

Considering what little we know about Vista it looks like they aren't concerned about hard drive space. That is reported to be another huge program.

WarHawk42 wrote:

RadarMan wrote:

H/D's are so cheap and huge now they aren't worried about space.

Considering what little we know about Vista it looks like they aren't concerned about hard drive space. That is reported to be another huge program.

Maybe it has to be because it's 64 bit, I don't know enough about that.
Games for the consoles (XBox360) come on DVD's don't they, I never had one of the new ones. They are 64 bit.

RadarMan wrote:

Maybe it has to be because it's 64 bit, I don't know enough about that.
Games for the consoles (XBox360) come on DVD's don't they, I never had one of the new ones. They are 64 bit.

My grandson has an Xbox, but I can't tell you anything about them. I don't think his is 64bit, but I could be wrong. There is no getting around it, DVD's are the furture until something even better comes along.

Like I said in an earlier post, it was five and a quater floppies when I first got into computers. Things change and in that respect it has all been for the better. I had onr game that was on five CD's and you had to switch back an forth between them, it also came with a DVD that had the entire game on it with much better graphics in the cut scenes. At the time I didn't have a DVD drive, they were new and expensive back then.

If... FSX will be released on more than one DVD, could it be that Microsoft has the foresight to allow for a transition period? ...such as allowing extra time for simmers to upgrade their hardware?
It could work if for example a full installation has two options we can choose from : a basic one, less details in worldwide scenery, airports etc. - and an upgraded one for which a second DVD is required.

It's all speculation of course

DVD drives are inexpensive. I bought a Toshiba DVD burner and after rebate and shipping I think it cost me all of $50. Hard drives too. But Vista is likely to be another story, even in an "upgrade" version. ($199.99 sounds to me like a nice round number.) And so far, not only don't we know exactly what advances FSX will offer over FS'04, we don't know which ones will present themselves even under older or current Windows versions and which will be enjoyed only by Vista adopters.

Waxing a little pensive here, it seems to me that, try as it might, MS has never recovered that Windows 95 magic -- you know, where the upgrade seemed like a really exciting, way-to-go kind of thing. Since then, MacOS users get to enjoy the bright, premiere night spotlights, and with Windows it's just, "well, here we go again." And the cycle of install, bugs and patches, security holes, and service packs, and blah blah blah, begins again. It'd be great if Vista turns out to be something really different, but.... MacOS users are the flyboys, and Windows users the infantry, slogging the slow miles away in the winter mud. (A strange analogy in a Flight Simulator forum, I know.)

HL

HardLanding wrote:

Waxing a little pensive here, it seems to me that, try as it might, MS has never recovered that Windows 95 magic -- you know, where the upgrade seemed like a really exciting, way-to-go kind of thing. Since then, MacOS users get to enjoy the bright, premiere night spotlights, and with Windows it's just, "well, here we go again." And the cycle of install, bugs and patches, security holes, and service packs, and blah blah blah, begins again. It'd be great if Vista turns out to be something really different, but.... MacOS users are the flyboys, and Windows users the infantry, slogging the slow miles away in the winter mud. (A strange analogy in a Flight Simulator forum, I know.)

HL

I agree with you, Windows 95 was a breakthrough program from Windows 3.1. All since have been more like fine tuning and tweaking the existing program, complete with a whole new set of bugs. I could be wrong but it seems like Windows XP has had more patches and updates than any other version of Windows, all to fix problems that weren't addressed in the original program.

From what I've read on Vista it will have a whole new set of bugs to be worked out, so be sure and turn on auto updates.

Now as far as your analogy of Windows to Mac I couldn't say, I've never laid a hand on a Mac. For all it's faults I will take a PC over a Mac any day.

WarHawk42 wrote:

I could be wrong but it seems like Windows XP has had more patches and updates than any other version of Windows, all to fix problems that weren't addressed in the original program.

From what I've read on Vista it will have a whole new set of bugs to be worked out, so be sure and turn on auto updates...

According to what I've read and experienced, most patches and updates are security related. Most of those if not all are in one way or another intrinsically linked to I.E..

Different sources also agree that the only way to fix I.E. properly and once and for all would be to create an entirely new OS - rather than building on an existing one, which has been the case to a more or lesser degree in the past.

It has been well documented that even Microsoft has acknowledged the I.E. dilemma by now.

So yes, whether it's called Longhorn, Vista or Burnout... I'm sure we'll see improvements as such. At the same time we'll be stuck with countless patches and updates.

Microsoft could be accused of being greedy. If I.E. wasn't bundled with Windows, other companies could compete more freely for the browser market. If Microsoft ditched I.E. completely, it would be much easier to develop a new OS from scratch.

Most of the problems are security problems associated with I.E. and other Windows programs like Outlook express. I don't use them, in fact Outlook Express and Messenger are disabled on my computer and I.E. is only used on a couple of sites I visit that won't work well with Netscape.

While I.E. and the others I mentioned do come bundled with Windows you can eliminate them or disable them.

WarHawk42 wrote:

Now as far as your analogy of Windows to Mac I couldn't say, I've never laid a hand on a Mac. For all it's faults I will take a PC over a Mac any day.

I'm a longtime PC user too, but it still amazes me how MacOS users--some of them writers I really respect, like Verlyn Klinkenborg (currently at the NY Times)--get positively poetical when they discuss MacOS. I feel like quoting the Cowardly Lion: "Whadda they got that I ain't got?"

HL