Is there anything good with Microsoft FLIGHT?

I've spent (wasted, actually) a bit of time on various forums reading
posts of speculation on the new FLIGHT.

I've spent (wasted, actually) a bit of time on various forums reading
posts of speculation on the new FLIGHT. There is a lot of negativity
surrounding this "game" (yes, they dropped the Simulator from the name),
but no one really knows what it's capable of doing for US (the hard core
faithful). A lot of attention is given to the basic application being
free, with add-on modules for a fee, and the fact that a few high profile
developers have been shown the door for refusing to give MS exclusive
rights to sell their products (PMDG is one).

So in an effort to be positive, I've looked at the official screenshots
from the official web site in full screen 1920x1200 and I'm seeing a lot
that I DO like:

http://www.microsoft.com/games/flight/ Comments reference screenshots
and dates from the web site:

December 2010 - frame #3
1) Ground cover and waterfalls in Hawaii look very realistic, although
some of the screen shots show far more waterfalls than I remember from my
10 days on Kauai which has the most rain - I've never been on the big
island.

2) Water is an appropriate color with nice reflective waves and
transparency.

January 2011 - #1
3) Ground detail appears to be photorealistic with cultivated ground and
irregular patches - although this could be fractal-generated.

4) Clouds here and elsewhere look very realistic.

January 2011 - #4
5) Threads of reflected water from streams, if realistically depicted,
are good. I'm a bit skeptical, however, that there are that many running
rivulets coming off the hills except perhaps after a rain.

March 2011 - #1
6) Nice Stearman

May 2011 - #2
7) Nice handling of waves on the shoreline
8) Well forested ground cover - may be graphics card related

May 2011 - #5 & #6
9) Clouds blend well with terrain - a problem in FS9 and FSX even with
add-ons.

Oct 2011 - #1
10) Awesome battleship

OVerall, there seems to have been an emphasis on weather and cloud
display, which was certainly needed from the default FSX and FS9 platforms
Shots of the Maule panel suggest the same realism with instrumentation.

On the other hand, no mention of ATC, what modules will be available and
when, cost of add-ons, etc. But absence of evidence is not evidence of
absence, so we'll just wait and see. There are a few beta testers who
sound more of less optimistic, but they are strictly following their NDA
agreements and not talking about anything.

So, yes, it has potential if you forget the arcade videos and look beyond
the hype.

If M$ is going to play
Apples game of Monopoly we are going to wait for ages to get our home turf
to fly over, and an other few years to get the right type of buildings
there.

So in an effort to be positive, I've looked at the official screenshots
from the official web site in full screen 1920x1200 and I'm seeing a lot
that I DO like:

So, yes, it has potential if you forget the arcade videos and look
beyond the hype.