Missing in action

Sorry, I've been a little remiss lately with my postings. I blame it all on FSX. Now that big brother has released we happy few, we band of beta testers to squawk to the world that we're on the team, I guess it's okay to say it. It's been an interesting ride. This version of the sim is a great leap forward in several areas, and I've been enjoying my latest flights around the new and improved digital world.

A truly round Earth, flights as high as one million feet, sexy reflective water, and much higher res ground textures are some of my fave features so far. But far and away the element that most interests me are the missions. If you've not heard yet, they have implemented a new system that allows for more purpose-driven flying in FS. Sure, it introduces a gaming aspect to our precious simulator, but it also gives us control over things we never dreamed of before, like triggering bird strikes or keeping track of which airport we land at, even controlling not only AI aircraft around us, but also ground vehicles and even animals! The narrative possibilities are endless.

One of my other pursuits, besides banging my head against FS scenery development, is fiction writing. I'm currently working on a draft of my first novel, The Big Spin, which I'm hoping to complete this year. I've had meetings with agents already about the premise, and got some positive feedback, so fingers crossed! Now with FSX, I'm seeing the chance to meld my love of creating digital environments with my lust for storylines. I'm in the early stages of planning, but watch this space... it could get interesting!