Microsoft Flight Simulator • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#111

Post by ska » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:11 PM UTC

vturner wrote: post #94

musha68k wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Long periods of sitting are actually very hard on your system and one of the reasons why so many quit doing what they love. Also tight deadlines and other maybe less obvious constant stressors might exacerbate pernicious effects. For that reason even junior and intermediate developers should think twice about fair/sustainable remuneration. Ageisim diclaimer: That doesn't mean that there aren't lots of people with exc…

What other areas do people with technical backgrounds move into that don't require so much sitting? With degrees in physics and applied math, I'm not sure where I can go and not be at a desk (or take a huge hit in $$). Just 3 years out from school, and I can definitely notice the difference in my physical health and mental agility. I have taken up gardening to get me outside and eat decently well. I can still feel th…

I think it's pretty hard without a radical shift in career. Your training correlates well with sitting/standing & thinking, then writing/typing things.

What worked well for me though was to be quite intentional about a few things:

* started at minimum walking to work - I know this doesn't work for everyone, but some variation (e.g. part way) might. This meant that regardless of how crazy my day got at the very least I had 1 hour of brisk walking - I moved to a 30 min walk from my office.

* got out of the office for a walk of at least 15 min at lunch, pretty much every day

* sit/stand desk and used it, changing position 4x a day usually (i.e. sit for a while, stand for a while, lunch, sit, stand)

* got intentional about some meeting scheduling. e.g. this is going to be a whiteboarding exercise, put it at 10am to break up the morning sitting.

* have a proper fitness routine, and stick to it. Could be activities you like or could be the gym or whatever, but don't let yourself "get busy" and miss too many days. It should be somewhat intense, and somehow cover core & hips & shoulders

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#112

Post by falsedan » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:16 PM UTC

blunte wrote: post #106

The trailer is gorgeous. I imagine this will take a pretty hefty machine to play at high quality. I miss the old MS joystick that had a throttle, extra buttons, and especially the yaw twist capability of the stick. Once you got comfortable with it, there was no need for rudder pedals. Flying the helicopter (in full manual) was quite a challenge, but it was doable.

> the old MS joystick that had a throttle, extra buttons, and especially the yaw twist capability of the stick

The sidewinder? I don’t remember it having a throttle though https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SideWinder#3D_Pro

Looks like there were relaunched and you can still get USB models from retailers.

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#113

Post by swendoog » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:16 PM UTC

vturner wrote: post #94

musha68k wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Long periods of sitting are actually very hard on your system and one of the reasons why so many quit doing what they love. Also tight deadlines and other maybe less obvious constant stressors might exacerbate pernicious effects. For that reason even junior and intermediate developers should think twice about fair/sustainable remuneration. Ageisim diclaimer: That doesn't mean that there aren't lots of people with exc…

What other areas do people with technical backgrounds move into that don't require so much sitting? With degrees in physics and applied math, I'm not sure where I can go and not be at a desk (or take a huge hit in $$). Just 3 years out from school, and I can definitely notice the difference in my physical health and mental agility. I have taken up gardening to get me outside and eat decently well. I can still feel th…

If you can work from home (big if) then you might consider looking into a standing desk + treadmill.

There are some decent options available. The "Autonomous" desk is great, I purchased JUST the legs and use an IKEA top to save money.

Now, I'm looking at the "Treadly" treadmill. Technically, this isn't an "under desk" treadmill, but it's the thinnest treadmill on the market and can be operated without the bars upright. So it's perfect for going under your desk, and then under a bed or a couch when you're not using it.

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#114

Post by mongol » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:21 PM UTC

Does the last version of MS Flight Simulator work well on Wine?

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#115

Post by TimTheTinker » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:21 PM UTC

eternalny1 wrote: post #42

I've been using Flight Simulator since the 80s and it was one of the driving factors that caused me to later become a commercial pilot. I used to be into the simulation side quite intensely, and I own FSX, P3D, X-Plane and hardware peripherals. However, the underlying engines on these platforms are suffering due to age. If Microsoft re-enters this market correctly (modern engine, focus on SIMULATION, 3rd-party suppor…

> However, the underlying engines on these platforms are suffering due to age.

Is X-Plane suffering? As far as I know, it's the only consumer flight sim that does rigorous physics calculations -- https://www.x-plane.com/desktop/how-x-plane-works/

Or did you mean rigorous simulation of plane systems, ATC, ILS/vectoring, etc.?

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#116

Post by mrguyorama » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:21 PM UTC

karl_schlagenfu wrote: post #103

Theodores wrote: post #7

Why did Microsoft let the Flight Simulator franchise go to the back burner for so long? I know these vast corporations have to focus but it is still a mystery to me why they let it go. Does anyone have any idea what the thinking was? What has fundamentally changed for them to want to get back to it?

Terrorism, they stopped making FS after 9/11.

Flight simulator X was released in 2006

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#117

Post by mrguyorama » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:23 PM UTC

pvg wrote: post #24

Theodores wrote: post #7

Why did Microsoft let the Flight Simulator franchise go to the back burner for so long? I know these vast corporations have to focus but it is still a mystery to me why they let it go. Does anyone have any idea what the thinking was? What has fundamentally changed for them to want to get back to it?

It's a niche product that requires a specialized and no-longer-common controller. Market growth was in other places and Microsoft chased that. Now the market is gigantic with plenty of room for rebooting beloved-albeit-neglected franchises.

Flight simulator X has a premade controller profile for xbox controllers as well as functional controls for using a mouse as a yoke.

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#118

Post by joshanderson » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:24 PM UTC

Microsoft Flight Simulator is, to this day, literally the only good thing Microsoft has ever done.

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#119

Post by ancientworldnow » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:25 PM UTC

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #44

yardie wrote: post #34

MS flight sim for Mac was the first game I paid for as a kid out of my own pocket. I also bought a yoke to really “simulate” the experience. With modern graphics and an updated engine I hope this version really flies! And with VR being in reach it will no longer be necessary to have crazy screen setup.

> And with VR being in reach it will no longer be necessary to have crazy screen setup. I only have a Vive to compare with, but, having tried a bit of Elite Dangerous on that, I'd say VR still has a way to go - it was hard to read all the text, and a flight simulator will have a lot more dials and the like. It needs more resolution and sharpness first.

Vive is very bad for this kind of stuff (as someone who owns one). However, the vive pro is adequate and a couple WMR headsets like the Samsung Odyssey+ or HP Reverb make text look great (and are cheaper than the vive as well). The tracking isn't as good, but for sims that's not an issue

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator

#120

Post by gadders » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 4:30 PM UTC

gnrlst wrote: post #17

Story time: as a kid I would use FS to do intercontinental flights with my cousin. My (small) room would be divided in two: passenger seating, and cockpit. We would sit down at my computer and take turns flying. I would convince my little sisters to sit down in the passenger area which were two chairs behind a curtain (they for some reason found it less entertaining than we did and often decided to leave early in the…

There was a sketch show in the UK called The Fast Show, and they had a character in it called Colin Hunt who was the office "joker". One of the episodes showed him flying a female colleague to the Seychelles on a flight simulator in his living room. I wish I could find the video clip.