It's a wonderful world

Just look at this:

This is from my short flight this morning. I was using real-world weather, and actual date and time. I think the clouds here look pretty good, and are a reasonable representation of the actual weather. (There was a moon out this morning, and I saw it in the sim). The airport is Quonset State (KOQU), as portrayed by payware add-on scenery from Flight Scenery. I was flying the default Cessna 172, with improved flight dynamics and add-on repaint, both downloaded for free. The Stearman biplane is another free add-on. The fact that it is sitting there is due to another add-on that allowed me to place custom traffic where I wanted it.

Microsoft is working towards releasing the next version of flight simulator. There's been a lot of talk on the forums like "I hope they improve X, I hope they get Y right this time, I hope we'll finally see Z". I can understand. I have my own wish list (more trees! higher contrast in the clouds!). However, if you think about what we have already, it is pretty astounding. If Microsoft had folded the franchise after the 2004 release, I would still look forward to years, maybe decades, of enjoyment in the world as portrayed in this shot. Let's count our blessings!