At the moment there is much hype about FS2004, but I bet...

[John_Cillis 2,406]

"Patches are ONLY meant to be fixes for critical problems with a product, not to change or add functionality or fix minor flaws like the colour of a texture (a missing texture might be included in a patch for something else, but would not warrant one of its own)."There is no standard definition of what is a patch and what isn't. It really depends on the company involved, the product, and the contract (whether written or implied) with the customer...and probably a few more items.As part of my role in my company, I provide oversight for a team of eight programmers for an internal product--but one which serves as the interface between the customers and our revenues. Without functionality in the product, we'd be out of business as a company. One unhappy customer can costs us tens of thousands in revenues--and we've lost customers, simply because one of our staff couldn't read a premium, because they had to click a scrollbar twice instead of once, which is what they were used to.Our contract with our internal and external customers is very strict. In fact, the people who pull my purse strings are non-IT--they sit on a board that controls the direction of our project. What we define as a patch includes any cosmetic fixes, critical fixes, or high payback enhancements. Ole had the same approach with his sim. None of the issues he patched were critical (yet there was as much dispute over the issues that cropped up as there are in these forums). But he saw the need for a patch because he saw some high payback enhancements--features that would cement his rapport with the community.In our own hobby, Dreamfleet comes to mind with their work on the Cardinal. As part of a patch, they also included a high payback enhancement (the RG). I would recommend their product to anyone. That sometimes pays for the effort of releasing something like that as part of a planned patch.I'd recommend FS2002 for anyone, and I bet that will be true for FS2004. I don't think Gold is coming too soon--you look at the screenshots posted, and it sounds like Microsoft had a very clear direction with this release. Some call it a patch for FS2002, but if you compare screenshots between FS2000 and FS2002, the same crowd called FS2002 a patch for FS2000. Was it? I don't think so.Having said this, I just think people need to be honest, and understand that just because Microsoft doesn't fix it, doesn't mean it's not an issue in the eyes of some. By your own definition of a patch, multiplayer was a critical problem within FS2002. Why is it ignored in all of these threads? Truth is, with the advent of AI, few people use it (I think). AI players don't play silly games (as multiplayer participants tend to do), AI players generally listen to ATC (although it's fun to see what happens when they don't), and I've never seen an AI player swear at the host (me). :)

[Guest]

whats worse than whining is a "pre whine" thread.and no, i dont agree with a lot of your opinions...so i imagine im a whiner..*yawn*jim.

[Guest Douglas K]

>There is no standard definition of what is a patch and what isn't.Patches are ONLY meant to be fixes for critical problems with a product, not to change or add functionality or fix minor flaws like the colour of a texture (a missing texture might be included in a patch for something else, but would not warrant one of its own).:D

[Guest Wichita]

LOL,I guess it depends on what is considered a "whiner". I think Franks banner sig that he had a year or so ago might have put him in that class but...I agreed with the context of his banner.I guess if you complain about every building,tree and doorknob at your home airport being out of place you could be classified a whiner but..when you complain about missing ramp/apron textures,disappearing ramps,ramps/tarmacs that flash,flicker and disappear as you taxi across them hardly makes you a whiner IMO.We received no patch for 02 but there were some serious issues in an otherwise solid sim. There are two files that fix 241 airports on the ramp/apron problem. Sheeesh...most BGL fixes per airport are as small as 1-2K. Its ridiculous that paying customers need to spend time fixing issues like that while MS tells you to wait for the next version. IMO they do have an obligation to fix certain aspects in any sim they release. No..I'm not going to gripe about the radar at ICT being on the wrong end of the field and demand a fix, but the ramp/apron problem at hundreds of airports deserved a patch from MS.David

[Bill A 68]

I saw a pic of KSAN in FS2004 and the tower was in the wrong place, it was in the southern part of the airport instead of the northern area.Hope this gets fixed with MSBill