Personal Preferences, A Question to the General Community

[Guest Fly1]

Greetings All,I have a dilemma. I am about to release a freeware project, and I am now concerned about the possible reception due to certain design decisions made.The subject involves performance of the sim while in the virtual cockpit. I have tried several freeware and payware ships that have been awesome models, but noticed that due to the complexity of the VC environment, flight smoothness can be impaired. When designing my project, I studied various configurations of panels, gauges, etc., and took into account the performance of each ship while in the VC. While considering these, I made the decision that the most important thing to me was smoothness during maneuvers, and second clarity of the gauges. Based on this I found a method to achieve very smooth performance while in the VC, and clear gauges, BUT, the refresh rate of the gauges is a bit slow.So, now I am wondering how others feel about these items. Do fuzzy gauges, a bit of step, and good gauge refresh appeal more to you? Due to FS, there is a bit of compromise needed in this area. Also I am a one-man team, still rather new to the design game and have a lot still to learn.Ultimately, I know what I like and feel good about my design. but I am curious how to the community feels. I have remotely considered putting an alternate panel option or add-on into the project. I have spent a long time on this one, and would like others to enjoy it as much as I have.Any comments would be appreciated.Best RegardsBob C.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I can speak only for myself, but seldom do I use the V/C for knowing the fine details (millisecond by millisecond) of my aircraft's state. I tend to prefer a clearer V/C...like Flight1's 421 or Yannick's Robin. Seems more immersive--so much so that any lags in the gauge refresh rate are quickly forgotten...Great luck on your Lancair rollout....I've been eagerly awaiting this aircraft. I hope you saw my post in the A/C design forum regarding how I got my window reflections back to their FS2002 level in FS2004...-John

[Guest]

This doesnt matter at all to me - I have been waiting for a decent looking Lancair since FS98, and you have gave it to us. Thanks man.

[Guest crashing_pilot]

well,i don't mind the vc very much,but:you are the guy who designs it,and you are the guy who makes the decisions...if others don't like that:tough on them,they should build something theirselves...only then you realize how much time and effort goes into creating great stuff for fs.if i were you,i would not worry too much:if you like it,there's bound to be others who like it as well,and there will always be space cadets who think they know everything.i say:release the thing,and be proud of it!i'll be looking for it ;-)regards

[Guest Fly1]

Well, I appreciate the feedback guys. A bit more at ease now.Oh, and John, yes I did catch your post, and if you check the link below you'll see the attempts at getting her ready for FS9. If anyone has any comments about the night chrome problem please let me know. It seems the alpha drops out during night hours, leaving only the base texture. Hmmmm ...http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=13270&page=Thanks again!!Bob C.

[Jimmy Angel 19]

In some respects it depends on the plane your modeling. It it's a high performance aircraft, gauge smoothness might be a bigger factor. If it's a relatively slow GA plane, than I wouldn't object unless it was really noticable or hampered my ability to achieve level flight, smooth turns, etc.Speaking for myself, I have bought a few payware GA planes, and they often look great and have very smooth gauges, but the hit on performance is often unacceptable. I've sort of resigned myself to the default planes for that reason, but I'll certainly check out your contribution if you've put a focus on performance.Edit: Just checked out your screenshots. Very pretty! That plane must have some awesome visiblity from the cockpit (a big plus for me, since I love sight-seeing in FS9).

[spotlope 0]

Bob, I'm speechless! What a stunning model you've created! It looks just fantastic, and I know how hard it can be to get a curvaceous, organic fuselage to look just right. As for your question about textures, I'm not positive of the answer, so I'll keep my mouth shut. Just wanted to let you know how great your plane is looking. BTW, I dont' know how MS did it, but somehow their gauges are far smoother in operation than the ones from FS2002, so you might look into that. I like a detailed VC, as I always fly from there, but I'd take high quality textures over fast gauge redraw any day.thanks,

[Guest Fly1]

Great comments.Just for the record, the first release will be for FS2002, which has a lighter gray paint scheme. Once I solve some of the texture and FDE issues, the FS9 version will be uploaded.Thanks again!!Bob C.