Project FS2006? What's this all about?

[Brad]

While we're enjoying FS2004 to its fullest, we can't help but look to the future. And after as much of an improvement as FS2004 was over FS2002, we can't wait to see what Microsoft has in store for us in FS2006!

And speaking of what's in store for FS2006, there has been a lot of discussion and speculation in these forums about what features should be added/fixed for the next version. And a forum thread pointing us to the MSFS Team's feedback form got us thinking...

Let's all put our heads together and narrow down our ideas for FS2006 into a reasonable and concise feature list that we will eventually submit to the MSFS team as a group. While we encourage everyone to submit their ideas to the Team individually, we will be a more influencial voice as a group. The collaboration with other members in brainstorming sessions will also sift out the wacko ideas we all come up with sometimes.

So here's the plan. We will have a brainstorming session in this forum roughly once every 2-3 weeks, with the results of that session being turned into a poll for all members to vote on. The winning suggestion in that poll will then be broken down into subcategories in the next brainstorming session. That brainstorming session will again result in a new poll, with the winning suggestion of that poll again spawning a new brainstorming session. This cycle will continue ad infinitum until we agree that we have a reasonable and concise list to present to the MSFS Team. At that time, Jon and I will submit it to Microsoft on behalf of our members (you!), and will do our utmost to solicit some feedback from the Team. They're a busy group, but if we do this right we will have a good chance of getting their attention.

We would like each and every member to pitch in on this project. Whether you're a novice who just picked up FS2004 off the shelf last week, or if you're like us and you've been addicted to simming for longer than you care to admit, your perspective is important. The novices will likely pick up on problems with the sim that the old-timers have just grown used to - and the old-timers, well, we've always had our bickering points right? Seriously though, we want this to be a team project.

To participate, find the most recent brainstorming session and give us your thoughts. Or if we've recently finished up a brainstorm session and are in voting mode, place your vote. Keep in mind though that we plan to moderate this project with somewhat of a heavy hand - immature or Off-Topic comments will probably not make the cut and just end up removed. This is not the place to slam someone else's idea, even if you deem it less than satisfactory - we encourage you to input your feedback on that idea, but back up your assertions with a well thought-out response.

So let the ideas flow!