Why isnt the 737 800/900 for FS2002?

[Guest Ruddman]

When the 600/700 product is? Kinda seems strange. Pity, because I don't really want to go to 2004 when I can keep using the awsome 767 PIC, DF's 737 and so on. Obviously its a simple reason!

[lefteris 70]

Greetings.The reason is indeed simple: Too many new things in FS2004 (VC modeling included), so keeping track of two versions was becoming a support nightmare. We are not a huge team, so we wanted to "keep it simple, stupid!" (The KISS principle) ;-)(I am not calling you stupid, that's the phrase ;-))

[Guest Ruddman]

No offence taken! Perhaps a patch that would be a world first because it down-grades the add-on - as opposed to upgrading normally - from 2004 to 2002. I wish!

[Guest BushPilot]

HiI fully support this issue. The 737 600/700 is great, but it would be more fun flying the better 800/900. There is a lot of simmers out there that would love to upgrade to the 800/900 series, but can't really, because of FS2002 restriction :-( Many a folk are tied to FS2002, including myself, for some reason and would love to upgrade to the 800/900 for use in FS2002.Looking through some of the feedback and requests in the forum, is there any chance that PMDG would in the future support the 800/900 for FS2002??? This would bring great joy to us who can't really upgrade to FS2004. Please concider this humble plea of ours :-)RegardsStephen :-wave

[crvm 0]

Well I am not PMDG but can tell you 100% that the answer would be no...Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/Animation1.gifCaution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)AMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |

[falcon999 24]

From RR's message on April 12, 2004:"FS2002:=======A few months ago we found that our efforts to ensure FS2002 compatibility with the PMDG 747-400 were going to hinder development singificantly. For that reason, the decision was made to develope the 747 for Flight Simulator 9 ONLY.As we have begun the process of integrating the 8/900, we are finding that more and more of the high end functionality we are adding to the airplane simply will not work within FS2002 without also "watering down" the functionality of the FS9 version. As an example, some of the new features added to the Virtual Cockpit make the visual models completely incompatible with FS2002. Many of the new routines that we are using to power the logic systems in the airplane will only work within FS2002 if we diminish their capabilities in FS9 or write extremely complicated routines to eliminate functionality when running under FS2002.As we began working through solutions it became clear that we could not find solutions for these problems without seriously impacting product quality for BOTH FS9 and FS2002 users.For this reason, the PMDG 737-800/900 will be released as a Flight Simulator 9 product and compatibility with Flight Simulator 2002 is not anticipated."You can read the entire text here:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...ing_type=searchIMHO Robert described very clearly why PMDG made the decision to only develop in FS2K4. :-)

[Guest Paul Heaney]

FS2004 has been out for quite a while, and I can't understand why 2002 people won't upgrade. If you love 2002 that much, install both.That's like asking them to support Window98, eventually you gotta upgrade and get with the rest of the world.Not meaning to knock, but like someone else said, it's a nightmare to support all versions.

[Dillon 2,197]

Guys if you want to keep up with this hobby you're going to have to upgrade. PMDG made a sound decision here concerning backwards compatibility. The same goes for Windows. You can't expect everything that works for WindowsXP (USB, etc.) to work with WindowsNT because you can't afford to upgrade (or should I say don

[Guest Ruddman]

Sheesh-kabab. I only asked why it wasnt available when the other is. Thats all.To be honest, I havnt seen one good reason to upgrade to 2004 when I can enjoy all my fav add-ons on 2002 - RFP 747, DF 737, PIC 767, Flightsofts DC-10 and Eurowings Pro. I know all these are, or will be available on 2004, but why spend all that money for the upgrade that seems to cause more problems that its worth? Thats $350AUD+ for all of the above and FS9 let alone the PC upgrade.And on top of that the big drop in performance. And all the problems that always seems to be with FS9 rather than 2002 which I've never had. Perhaps I might miss out on a few better features like better weather - whoopee do - and better VC which I NEVER use in ANY a/c, but who cares? I've seen a 777 real life simulator with graphics that make 2002 like awsome. Maybe if I enjoyed flying GA add-ons. Which I dont.If PMDG make the 800/900 add-on available for 2002, even if it has a few less non- essential features like the VC, I'd buy it straight away. If not, so be it. 2004? I'd rather save my money for 2008 or a later version.

[Dillon 2,197]

I guess you have no idea of what your missing out on. I won't waist my time in defending FS2k4 but I will say I could never go back. I wouldn't let the many problems that's posted on this forum sway me from a new FS version. As long as there are new versions of FS produced you will have user issues. There will always be framerate and video card or shall I say 'Hardware' problems period. You can't get away from that. Considering the improved ATC, visuals, and overall feel of the sim I pitty anyone still stuck on FS2k2. With the many fixes many of us have come up with to improve FS2k4, it's hands down a better performer than FS2k2 ever was. All the add-ons you mentioned have either been updated or in the works and offer so much more in FS2k4. I hope all this great work for once crosses over to FS2k6 (a first in the history of Flight Simulator) because I may feel just like you when FS2k6 rolls around. I won't be able to give up my PMDG 737NG, 747, and MD11. Microsoft is going to have to come up with a better approach to compatibility. I'm getting tired of throwing away the things I love every two years...

[Guest Ruddman]

I rarely or never use ATC, so again that doesnt bother me. You mention the add-ons that have improved. Some have told me that many that work on both perform just as good if not better on '02 then on '04. I'm quite happy with what I have and will be for a long time to come. So if the 800/900 doesnt work on '02, so be it. If I upgrade, it'll be a few years down the track. At least.

[Dillon 2,197]

I don't know of any add-on that works better in FS2k2 versus 2k4. Who ever told you that has given you some bad info. Everything works better in FS2k4 if it's been properly updated. How can a product that has no clickable VC move to a platform that has one and be considered inferior??? You may not have a preference for VC's but for the most part that's an important issue. You can't tell me seeing a thundercell or worm/cold front out ahead of you and being able to fly into it and out the other end isn

[Guest Ruddman]

I've never used the VC in my life and probably never will. If I DID purchase the 600/700, I believe you have the option of the 2D panel only which is all I'd install. If I wanted a 'virtual cockpit', I'd join a real airline and fly a real 737.Weather? I fly in Australia and we have perfect weather.;)

[crvm 0]

If someone likes FS2002 then great but technology moves forward and so should PMDG. There is not one reason that people mention why PMDG should make their products compatible for FS2002 any longer. Reasons I hear are typical for keeping FS2002 like PIC 767, DF's 737, Vatsim, "I paid so much for all these add-ons" (and we did not?) and "why change for pretty clouds". Funny thing is the very reason PMDG does not develope for FS2002 is the same reasons why those developer's products that are only for FS2002! Trust me, you will pay for updates for every one of those add ons you fly exclusively FS2002 to fly them in FS2004. At least PMDG developed for both flight simulators initially, that puts then ahead of all the others in my book for compatibility... Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/Animation1.gifCaution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)AMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |