I'm yet to see any official word on wether the NDA has been lifted or not.

I received my "Gold" copy yesterday and its much different (better) than the Beta I received last month. Question: "How well will FS2004 run on your system"?Answer: If FS2002 is running satisfactorily on your system now, then I would speculate that FS2004 will perform equally as well or better.Question: Which aircraft have VCs and which have "clickable" VC panels?Answer: They all do!Question: Is the Weather and ATC better?Answer: Yes, much much better!Overall, I don't think anyone will be disappointed, except for those wanting too much in their $50 sim.(secretly my favorite "new" FS default aircraft are the Cessna 182S, the Piper J3, and the "new" Lear45. The default 3D virtual cockpit in the Lear is beautiful)Bear!

As I read this headline...I had a fleeting image of two shadowy figures in trench coats loitering on the street, and under their breath one says to the other....."the nda's been lifted...pass it on".just having a smileB

You know, actually I was pondering the delay from the product going gold to the release on the 29th, and trying to figure out why it was taking them so long. Hell, I remember a couple of games that went gold and were shipping 2 weeks later. So my theory is that they're busy doing the localization...translating all the text into the other languages, redoing the voices, that sort of thing.What do you think? Is that a possibility, or does that defy the definition of "Gold Version"?

Well the gold copy is already out on the internet if you know where to look....so someone has leaked it already. :(

>You know, actually I was pondering the delay from the product>going gold to the release on the 29th, and trying to figure>out why it was taking them so long. Hell, I remember a couple>of games that went gold and were shipping 2 weeks later. So>my theory is that they're busy doing the>localization...translating all the text into the other>languages, redoing the voices, that sort of thing.>>What do you think? Is that a possibility, or does that defy>the definition of "Gold Version"?A game should be able to go from gold to store in 2-3 weeks, tops. I'm not sure why MS is waiting until the end of July, but there must be a reason for it.

>A game should be able to go from gold to store in 2-3 weeks,>tops. I'm not sure why MS is waiting until the end of July,>but there must be a reason for it. That's because July 29th is the first day of the EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh.http://www.airventure.org/MS is a sponsor with this, so I am sure this is why it is being release on July 29th...you know this whole 100 years thing.[div align=center][link:www.jetdoc.com/STO/]Visit The Bookstore & Gift Shoppe][/b

>You know, actually I was pondering the delay from the product>going gold to the release on the 29th, and trying to figure>out why it was taking them so long. Hell, I remember a couple>of games that went gold and were shipping 2 weeks later. So>my theory is that they're busy doing the>localization...translating all the text into the other>languages, redoing the voices, that sort of thing.>>What do you think? Is that a possibility, or does that defy>the definition of "Gold Version"?Do you think the release is delayed to better compete with the release of LOMAC??

Whatever the reason I would say 99% of its marketing as with all products. The only thing I can think of that is pushed to the shelves as fast as it can would be prescription drugs. Other than that most companies enjoy marketing there products more than just supply shops with them as soon as they can. This includes running ad's in magazines and other point of purchase promotion stuff to get to stores. WHen you place an ad in most magazines it takes 3 months from when its due to when its printed. So like most companies that release a new product and have a good advertizing budget they want to come in with a bang and have a good promotion of its awarness. My 2 cents.Kilstorm

Well I dont know if this could be related to the NDA or whatever.But I have just seen fs2004 has already been pirated on the net, and is available for download. Does not say beta or anything, so who knows.they work fast

The pirate apparently doesn't know about the ability of MS to track pirated copies of this sim then.Woe to those that download it.KJhttp://fsgateway.com/frank/fs9paibeta.jpg

>The pirate apparently doesn't know about the ability of MS to>track pirated copies of this sim then.>Woe to those that download it.MS doesn't apparently know about the ability of pirates to get around tracking services...woe is MS. :-hahNot that I am condoning software piracy or anything like that.

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about pirated "copies" of FS2004 quite yet. When FS2002 was released, several "pirates" tried to hawk FS2000 as FS2002. There are still others who use the clamor over a new release like this to lure the gullible, who spend hours downloading what they think is a great new sim, only to find that a trojan is installed on their system which logs personal information or does even worse.I agree--woe to those dumb enough to download these things. Most aren't as smart as they think....

Yes, FS2004 has been leaked on the net. It is a Gold version. That much I am sure of, wanta know more head over to Simflight. A big conversation is going on there.Pretty interesting reading! ;)RegardsJohnhttp://www.bavirtual.co.uk 650Hours ;)P 2.53 GHZ512 RAMWINXPGFORCE 4 128MB Ti4600http://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg

I have personally seen a very professionally prepared and pirated version of FS2004 up for DL grabs today, and it appears to be the real deal. Even the pointers to it's various locations are rampant. I was in shock!....:-boomIf Microsoft has finished product coming off the line, I cannot for the life of me understand why they are allowing the pirates/downloaders to get a 30 day head-start into their profit.I, for one, want to see them get their full due on this product, as it (among other things) only promotes a better 2006, 08, etc. But I don't think the delay (if it is not needed) is a wise business decision, based on my observations here today.I hope they reconsider, and release what they are making.Hard to believe what's going on... Bob (Lecanto, Fl)AMD, Athlon XP, 1800+MSI, K7T266 XP ProPC 2100 DDR, 1024 MBXP, Home Edition Elsa GLadiac 920, GF3/64Mb andPNY, Verto nVidia TNT 2-M64/32WD, 100 MB, 7200, Ultra 100Sound Blaster, Audigy MP3+CH Prod, VPP Yoke - Sound CardCH Prod, Pedals - Sound Card