Ohhh my goodness! ANOTHER post on FS2004!

[Deaf Pilot 1]

Okay, I hadn't planned on posting anything about this but with all the confusion, complaints, etc etc, I just felt that I needed to put some of my thoughts here.First of all... FS2004 is NOT a patch.FS2004 is the new version of flight simulator. Just like FS2000 was the next version after FS98.... just like FS2002 was the next version after FS2000. FS2004 may currently look alot like FS2002, but does that mean its a patch?No.It is a completely new simulator. Yes, it may carry over alot or even most of the FS2002 features and looks. You know why? FS2002 is a great sim. The terrain model is excellent, although some people have problems with blurries. The flight model system is not super-excellent but it does the job. We just need excellent flight model developers. Take a look at the SF-260 by FSD... with people who are willing to work really really hard on the flight models, its possible to make them very realistic. The autogen does a great job. I dont think I can really think of anything bad about it. Maybe they can improve the textures and make the trees thicker and heavier in the forest areas... The ATC was actually pretty decent, although the AI taxi'ed excruciatingly slow, and they didnt seem to respond to your aircraft at all unless ATC told them to... which they often didnt during the landing phases. The weather system wasnt so hot but it did the job. Among other things...You know it, and I know it... FS2002 is a great sim... they did a great job on it. Yes, I know there were alot of little bugs and things that prevented it from being perfect. FS2002 was a all-new sim from FS2000, as far as I can tell. So... if FS2002 was really good, with the exception of little bugs and errors and whatnot, why make a whole new engine? Why not just take FS2002, look at all the notes or whatever they have on what all the errors and bugs are from reading all the forums such as the avsim forums and flightim forums, etc, (Which I know they do) and rework FS2002 to the extent that its worth of a new sim. Look at all the things I pointed out above... and I'm sure thats not all the errors in FS2002, but thats most of the big ones, I think. I think they kept FS2002, and just redid the whole weather system so that now it works properly and realisticly (I'm most excited about the cloud system... being able to see weather fronts in the distance and avoiding them, etc), worked a little on the autogen to improve what they could, worked on the AI and the ATC to try to remove all the shortcomings, finally got rid of the old GPS and replaced it with Garmins. Along with the new weather system I'm sure lots of flight model upgrades come with that to make the aircraft behave realisticly with the new weather engine. Lots of other little things. All while maintaining frame rate decency. So.... FS2004 is NOT... I repeat.... NOT... a patch. All the above explainations, thoughts, etc. are exactly why I think they never came up with a FS2002 patch. In my opinion, I think that was wise of them. Take the blows from angry people who demanded a patch, and just come out with a incredible new sim that takes care of all of the previous problems and adds lots of new things too. Very good thinking by them is what I think. So... I can completely understand why people would think its a patch, but its not. Is it an improvement based upon FS2002... yes I definitely think so, and I think thats the best thing they could do. Second of all... (wow... I'm just NOW getting to the second point?)Hey guys, come on... wake up! :-lolTry not to judge FS2004 with the screenshots and the short videos. Seriously... really try not to do that. I think it looks great, and I think its going to be awesome, but thats all I will say... Don't tear it up just by what you see in screenshots. Not only could you be completely wrong since its only in Alpha stage... but how do you think it makes them feel? The developers. They're people, you know? They put their time and effort into this to make the best flight sim out there for us to enjoy... So when we go and put the sim down and start telling all kinds of bad things about it just by looking at a few screenshots and 2 videos, I would think that makes the developers feel somewhat bad, at least. I know I would... I would feel like... Whats the point? They're never gonna be happy with it. Yes, it's their job and they get paid to do it... but dont force them to resort to that, you know? Don't make them feel like working on it just because their job depends on it. You know what happens then? They start putting careless work into it. When they're happy... when they are determined to make a good sim for you guys because they want to satisfy you and make you happy with it, they will put in their best work. It's gonna be the oppisite if you start complaining about it months before youre even going to get to use it. My point? Exercise patience. WAIT until you have the sim and you've had a chance to get to know it before you start pointing out mistakes. And even then, dont point them out in an angry, frustrated way. Do it politely, decently. I know you may see things that look bad right now, etc. But remember its still in development. Let them develop the game without the strain of unhappy simpilots on their shoulders just from some pictures and videos. Lets all take it a little easy... If you want to post something bad about it, something you want to complain about... write it down on paper. When you get the sim, see if that problem is still there. If it is, then complain about it but in a polite way. But for now lets just stop the complaints and just trust them to do their best. Just remember that they are real people, spending their time to build this sim for us. They have real feelings and they, like all humans, make mistakes. Just dont rub it in their face before you even have the sim in your hands. Sorry this post was so long... :-lol

[greenland 0]

Hi ToddI couldn't agree more with all oyur words but one little thing !I think Realair Simulations are getting a little offensive when you give FSD the honour for the great SF-260 :-cool

[Deaf Pilot 1]

:-lolOh boy what a bad mistake by me... I'm really sorry, guys... I meant RealAir Simulation's SF-260... so sorry... That goes to show what happens when you write a long post at 3 in the morning... :-lol

[LAdamson 240]

I caught that too..... :)FSD provides the good twin engine flight modeling & RealAir --- the spins!

[Guest]

Where is all those extras to justify 54 bucks??in century of flight - celebrations or whatever it is!to be honest I do not see it! perhaps you all are getting far to easy with presentations - and became an easy catch.many features of century of flight are already available for fs2002 with addition of addons freeware and payware - sorry it takes a bit more to convince me that 'century of flight' is not a fs2002 patch - enhancement - neitherless of a good sim as is fs2002.spotters

[Guest abent]

If the new weather system alone is cracked up to what it is supposed to be, that will be reason enough for me to buy it. I think the screen shots look fantastic. Also, it appears that MS has done a spectacular job on the textures (both exterior and interior) of some of those vintage aircraft. Who knows...maybe more of us will develop a taste for flying the oldies.I'm eagerly anticipating the new version.Adam

[Deaf Pilot 1]

I agree with abent... I would definitely pay 54 bucks for an all new weather system that is as good as they are making it sound. Thats just if they had just a weather upgrade... but with a whole new sim... I'm definitely buying it.

[Guest abent]

Yeah Todd, I've spent more than that already on weather add-ons. It looks as though we will be getting a lot more than just a new weather system.If $54.00 is the ballpark figure, I've got no problem with that for sure.Adam

[Deaf Pilot 1]

Yeah... To be honest, I have seen a couple of things in the pictures that might disappoint me if they were there in the release, but as soon as I start pointing them out and complaining about them, I'm a hypocrite (sp?) so I am just going to wait til I buy it and fly with it for a few days before saying anything about it. I might just not say anything even then because I think that overall, it might just be good enough to not warrant the time it takes to post a complaint about something, you know?

[Guest]

I'm happy to be confused with FSD as they make fine aircraft. I only hope they don't mind the confusion also!Rob YoungRealAir Simulations

[badderjet 181]

I totally agree with you Todd...And 54 bucks?? Hey how much do you spend on a SINGLE add on like DF734? PSS products? Well they're great, but just a small addition, in comparison to $54 and a new sim...Just my 2 cents (still don't really know what this <<<--- 'proverb' means ;-))

[Guest ssurjap]

I couldn't agree with you more. Heck, just the ATC improvements alone (request changes enroute) makes me want to buy it.Steven

[Guest Bigshot]

I'll buy it even if it only runs in D3D. I don't suppose ole Bill would consider giving us the option to run in OpenGL? Nah, didn't think so.

[Guest Don_Eliot]

04This is for Spotters. Please don't buy the new sim. I know you wouldn't like it. Save yourself the aggrevation.

[Guest Coneman]

Great post Todd. Just another thought, and maybe I missed this....but if you are concerned about something in the sim, send them an email. They have it on their Insider website. Maybe if they get enough feedback about something, it might affect the final build. But as Todd says, be polite. They won't bother looking at them if you are rude and demanding.Todd