When Asobo / MS decided to release the alpha as a product we are all flabbergasted. I don’t think that there was anyone in the know - including at Asobo / MS that thought that it was ready to be released in that state, but there was nothing that we could say or do to change that trajectory. So we had one piece of advice that would have AVOIDED this current mess (for lack of a better word). And that was HONESTY.
IF you’re going to release an alpha then tell people that it is early access. Many software houses do this and they charge a reduced price to get the software now, with full knowledge that it is going to be full of bugs, lack functionality, and patches may well break things. It’s standard industry practice now, so it’s no big deal. Just be honest because:
Those who want to pay to be alpha testers for MSFS would buy it - and be happy with what they have.
Those who want a finished product would wait - and be happy that they waited.
Those who are just curious would still buy MSFS anyway - but wouldn’t be here on the forums complaining because they spent their money willingly for a product they knew wasn’t ready.
SO, we all begged and pleaded NOT to release the product without being honest and transparent to the community. In the end that’s not what happened. The You Tubers, and all the review houses ingratiated themselves to Microsoft by giving the title 10/10 ratings and glowing reviews. There was no mention that the game was still an alpha product. And the money flowed in. And…now there is an uproar that Asobo / Microsoft brought onto themselves. It’s their own fault so I am hard pressed to feel pity when they were warned, and warned, and warned, and warned, and warned, to simply be honest.
If I were Asobo / Microsoft I would:
Admit that they should have been more open about the release. The FS community are not only very intelligent, they are also very forgiving. A mea culpa would go a long way.
Admit that it’s going to be a bumpy road for the foreseeable future. Roadmaps need to be MUCH more transparent. Make patches optional for non-online players.
Advise simmers NOT to use hacks and non-marketplace addons right now since that’s just going to make matters worse by breaking functionality across patches.
Be MUCH more diligent with their regression testing. The patches are breaking obvious things and that is unacceptable.
RE-start the alpha / beta group testing as promised before release to help test the patches before release.
We’re all in this together. Some are angry, some are happy, some don’t care anymore and have uninstalled the product. It’s time for Asobo / Microsoft to BRING the community TOGETHER. Be open and, be engaged, but most importantly BE HONEST.
Great post! All that I can see is they have polarised the community, which in the long term will cause damage to Flight simming in the future! I also think that there has been irreparable damage done to the reputation of both companies.
It honestly seems like Asobo is getting corporate demands from big daddy Microsoft to hit releases on pre-determined dates rather than on the appropriate timeline to release a stable update. If you watched their dev stream yesterday, they apologized and noted that they were on a “2-week” cadence for patches, but that they are planning to change that and release “beta” versions of their new patches to community testers.
I totally agree with your post…There was so much positive hype by the ‘pro broadcast’ simmers that it came as a big shock to most to get an unfinished and badly bugged product. I love the sim but it is sadly all over the place right now and only good for VFR GA flying. Each patch kills something that was working and that is ridiculous. We need Asobo to be more honest and up front just like you said…great post and well put!
Thank you, wareaglex16, for an intelligent and, I believe, accurate explanation of why we have so much frustration and “complaining” in these Forum threads.
After watching the dev video, which I fo8und very informative and encouraging, I feel like we simmers are at least being acknowledged and we have a partner in wanting to solve all the problems- they are undoubtedly sincere about their commitment to making FS2020 an amazing, “complete” flight sim. They admitted to all the bugs and problems. That, however (as you point out) does no absolve them from releasing a product knowing it was not close to finished (in the basics, not of course every detail) and not letting the buyers know of it’s unfinished state.
So, while I am very much encouraged, I also realize, like you, that all this turmoil could have been avoided by the honesty you mention.
Yes I am with you on the the last patch before 1.9.3 mess things up and I had to restore MSFS again I got it working well and the came Japan 1.9.3 Now it starts up as far as Hit any key.then I get the mountain .and that is as far as the sim will go I just see it spooling hours on end. So has any other person had the same thing. Do I just have to wait for another patch Or is there anything I can do Ok I am happy to wait at 82 but dont be too many years putting right,
I certainly agree with your post and I would also add that instead of focusing on new content like the Japan DLC, I suspect the majority of customers would prefer to see the team concentrate 100% on getting the product to a PROPER launch state first (i.e. stable, significant bugs resolved). I knew when they asked all of the Alpha Testers in a survey if the game should be launched in its current state that they intended to do so and I knew what the result was going to be. I’ve been in the software development business for over 30 years so I get it. I know how IT projects work with today’s agile development methodologies designed to deliver functionality sooner, more frequently, and hopefully better aligned to requirements due to the iterative nature of the process but ultimately it is always Management’s tendency to base releases purely off of a Gantt chart rather than listening to the technical leads that results in releases being rushed and/or published before they are ready. This is common at every client I’ve ever worked with and the result is always the same. Microsoft and Asobo Managers, please listen to your technical leads and let THEM decide if the product is ready or not for a release even if your Gantt chart has to be updated.
uhm , they released this as a part of gamepass
so you could play this game for 5eur per month (10 in near future) if this is not the best bargain in the world. Then i really dont know what is…
Totally agree… That s why I recommend rolling back to 1.8.3… I just don’t see how we can fly with 1.9.3 and fix things… Adobo/MS do something good for once and rollback us to 1.8.3
Respectfully, I think you’re missing the point. Software shouldn’t be sold in the state that this one is in unless they say that it’s an “Early Access” release. That would have set expectations correctly for the product they released.
You’re entitled to complain, just make sure it’s constructive and encourages the devs to make a better product by helping them objectively identify shortcomings.
I sim to have fun, not wade through a pile of disheartening ■■■■■■■■ on the forums ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ each other about how bad the sim is.
Equally, it would be nice for those bashing the sim to be honest with themselves. It’s a new sim, just a month in, most individuals making complaints I’d hedge my bets on not having a clue how the development process or an aircraft works - then spend their time doing what they can to be negative about the game. If it was really that bad, they’d be playing another sim and not constantly on the MSFS forums.
Excellently put. Well said. Like all modern companies, especially around the size of MS, communication is pretty poor. Everything gets pushed through media and marketing and if it doesn’t suit their active message at the time, it gets washed out or left out.
Companies need to remember we’re all human. We are, and they are. I mess up, you mess up and they mess up. Be honest about it, fix it and chances are, we’d all have a laugh about it.
Last nights stream was the first time I actually felt like they were being honest and answering genuine questions rather than pushing their own narrative.
@WareagleX16 Really nice to see a well structured post with robust reasoning and rationale and most of all, without getting rude or heated. Kudos friend.
please show me one game which was released without bugs , and which is updated fast like this …
universally acclaimed witcher 3 has game breaking bug for months , and still it is considered one of the best game ever made
also this is extremely complex game , with unique combination of offline and online features
also near everyone here has different setup , different addons , different 3party programs added to sim
people start tweaking planes internal working almost imediatelly …
i think many here had unrealistic expectations
No they didn’t promise the world (assuming their was no pun intended in that comment). They promised a Flight Simulator in 2020 with the vision it would be a 10 year project. They never once suggested it was a complete product.
They absolutely did not ‘take a dump’ on their customers. I’m one and I haven’t been. Search the forums, you’ll find plenty of other who will say the same thing. However, they rushed the release, all but admitted last night. They got it wrong and are now working to fix it.
