Dovetail Games’ vision and mission statements are remarkably similar to The Flare Path’s. Replace company with column , hobbies with articles , and delight and retain customers with debag and retrain readers and they’re pretty much identical. Whether we see eye to eye on flight simulation matters remains to be seen. I was rather hoping that this week’s word slab would serve as a Rosetta Stone to the exciting but enigmatic press release issued by Dovetail on Wednesday. Searching questions were sent Kent-ward, lengthy responses received, yet somehow I still find myself confused by the Chathamites’ aerial intentions. … [visit site to read more]

Microsoft are shutting down Microsoft Flight in October, they announced only last week It’s a sad, small death for what was once of The Big Names in PC gaming. Well, sort of. This week brings news that as Microsoft Flight prepares to fly off into the sunset, Microsoft’s fly ‘em ups will live on in an unexpected way. Train Simulator creators Dovetail Games have licensed the rights to Microsoft’s tech, planning to start making their own flying machines. They’re also re-releasing ye olde Microsoft Flight Sim X on Steam later this year.

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Blimey! What a week! Not only did Harris, the Flare Path quartermaster, pick up twenty thousand exclamation marks dirt cheap at a local fire sale, the world of flight simulation was rocked by a trio of 2000lb news Paveways!!! We literally can’t move for !s in the office at present! I’m actually thinking of taking a saw to some of them! Extra full stops and ‘i’ dots are always useful, and the uprights could be resold as war clubs! For ants!! Or other tiny invertebrates!!! With a fondness for melee!!!!

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First-time readers of Flare Path, before you go any further, be aware that the following may contain references to obscure 1920s RAF biplanes. The writer will probably assume you find tankettes, midget submarines, and Welbikes inherently charming. At some point in the text he’ll almost certainly use the phrase “almost certainly” and the words ‘tad’ and ‘Panzer’ (Or, if the column is looking a tad short, ‘Panzerkampfwagen’). Alliteration will go unforgivably unchecked. Semi-colons and hyphens may be used; incorrectly.

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Nobody knows for sure why the Hawaiian Giant Booby (Microsofta Flightus) died out. Some say its nest sites were invaded by shipwrecked rats. Others suggest Polynesian cloak-makers hunted it to extinction. A few believe the bird’s demise was directly linked to its unusual habit of aero-ovulation. Me, I’m a subscriber to the ‘Fatally flawed DLC’ theory. MS released the wrong add-ons at the wrong times at the wrong prices. (more…)

Rumours that Microsoft’s Vancouver studio had been completely shut down were swirling around the internet this morning, but in a statement to Gamespot, the company has specified that the studio will survive despite cuts. One of the projects that will cease, however, is Microsoft Flight, which means Tim Stone’s desire for “jets, smuggling, and air-sea rescues…via DLC” is likely to be forever unfulfilled, at least in this game. The free to play title seemed to have been designed as an expanding world but there will be no growth now. Our thoughts are with those whose jobs are affected, on this and other projects. Statement below.

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