Take On Helicopters Released!

[toby23 35]

WebsitePurchaseIt's out! And for the price of an add-on aircraft!

[Paladin 8]

Well, I'm a Pre-Pay on this sim and am still awaiting notification of readiness. Checked "My Account" downloads page and there's no indication there either.M.

[N1G 88]

Wow, this really looks nice. From what I can tell even though most of the scenery seems a little dark, it is really detailed. Seattle area looks incredible.Bob

[N1G 88]

Purchasing now. Looks like they either have slow servers, or the servers are hammered. Download time estimated @ 3.5 hours. Bought this through JustFlight. Simmarket with the US conversion was $52, but got it for $42 from JustFlight.Bob

[Damien 4]

Well, I'm a Pre-Pay on this sim and am still awaiting notification of readiness. Checked "My Account" downloads page and there's no indication there either.M.

I had the same problem with Simware Simulations. I requested a refund this afternoon and put an order in on steam.-Damien

[N1G 88]

I had the same problem with Simware Simulations. I requested a refund this afternoon and put an order in on steam.-Damien

What did it cost you buying through Steam?Bob

[David Roch 304]

Guys,This is FSX forum.I'm moving your thread for his time.

[spilok 192]

Can't wait to read the 1st review from a simmer that I trust on AVSIM.Stan

[flyerkg 28]

Well, I'm a Pre-Pay on this sim and am still awaiting notification of readiness. Checked "My Account" downloads page and there's no indication there either.M.

I did the pre-pay only the night before the full release on Aerosoft and after the release came out my download link still shows the pre-pay purchase but it actually turns into a 13GB full release. So maybe This is the case with the other sites?Good luck. I haven't installed it yet and this is only the 3rd of 4th time I have ever purchased a payware of any sort without reading some reviews first. So maybe I will be back soon to let you know how everything went.

[N1G 88]

Guys,This is FSX forum.I'm moving your thread for his time.

Hi David,Where too?Bob

[kaydub 2]

Hi David,Where too?Bob

Hangar Chat

[Damien 4]

What did it cost you buying through Steam?Bob

Sorry for the delay.. Was out to dinner. Steam is selling it for $49.99 USD. I'm loving the game..-Damien

[toby23 35]

stan, I don't know if you consider my opinion worthy but here are my thoughts..So... after half a day with Take On Helicopters, here's some feedback.Please note that I am not a real world helicopter pilot, I've flown in them but not as a pilot...Take On Helicopters is good.As it stands now six out of ten.That's not bad but once it gets patched, I'm sure it will be better.Flight ModelThe flight model is very different to ARMA2, much more realistic and harder to control.It doesn't feel as realistic as Black Shark but that might have more to do with the surroundings than the flight model.GameplayTake On Helicopters feels like ARMA2 in civilian clothes.What doesn't help are elements like the ARMA2 compass, gps and watch when you open the map. It doesn't fit and feels rushed.The Career mode is fun but full of spelling mistakes and weird bugs.It's very playable but not very professional.I know that English isn't BIS's native language but that's not an excuse.I had more fun in ARMA2's campaigns and found them more polished.You will often encounter silly mistakes, for example, in the training mission, you start mid-flight with your brother at the controls.He gives you control shortly afterwards but the collective isn't synced to the position of your joystick throttle, so as soon as you move it, bang crash wallop - game over.When the AI flies, the helicopter flies a classic bobbing ARMA2 AI pattern instead of straight through the air... I could go on...PerformanceIf you want to see trees and buildings off into the distance and still get a good, playable frame rate (30fps) at 1920x1200, you will need to be pushing 5ghz, I guess.I can run about 10km view distance (max is 16km) which gives me a nearly constant 30fps and I have an i7 2600k overclocked to 4.5ghz and run 2560x1600.There are plenty of sliders to adjust, so everyone will be able to play this game, you'll just be missing out on a lot of eye candy.I tried using the settings I use in ARMA2 but this game needs a higher view distance, as you're flying, and that hits performance heavily.It would be great if BIS could find a way to implement a believable fog beyond the selected view distance instead of just clipping objects at that distance.GraphicsThe new weather/ cloud system is great. Just don't turn your head because it will look like the clouds are melting...Modelling of the helicopters is great.The environment, water, sky and lighting are great and really make TOH look really nice.There is car traffic and air traffic which adds to the feeling of a living and breathing city.The antialiasing in-game is not good and distant buildings shimmer.I haven't found a way to force higher AA but you can use this add-on to make it look sharper and better.You can also use the in-game post processing to add motion blur or to make it look like someone smeared butter over your eyeballs but I don't.Hopefully the ARMA2 No Blur Mod will soon be released for this game.The cockpit textures remind me of Alphasim models in FSX, which is strange because I had expected them to be much better.They're not as low res as ARMA2 but nearly. The main dials work and you can flip some switches but it feels very gamey and not very realistic.What's nice is that you can go through start-up and shut down routines.The ground textures are grainy and not very sharp or detailed. You can see what it's meant to be but it's not very clear.Nothing to write home about but nice enough and if you don't stare at the textures, they definitely add to the feeling of flying over Seattle.Oddly enough, the character textures and not the cockpit or ground textures are the best in this game.ControlsI used a TM Warthog and Saitek Combat Pedals and had no problem setting them up.I also use Track-IR and that worked ok. The only problem is the default position in the cockpits is very high and close to the doors, so if you turn your head, you will look often through the 3d model, which kills the immersion.The Track-IR range of motion also seems to be limited by code and not by the Track-IR settings. I would welcome more freedom of movement in the cockpits.Controls work great and are very sensitive, turn off deadzone and you'll be fine.ConclusionBased on my experiences with ARMA2, I am sure that once the modding community embraces TOH and BIS release a couple of patches to fix the problems and improve performance, this will be a great game.I will probably wait a few weeks before I pick this up again, at the moment it looks good but is annoying to play.If you're into helicopters and you like ARMA2, I would recommend this game.It's fun and in a few months, it will be great.My opinion is just that, your mileage might vary.Overall 6/10__________________

[flyerkg 28]

Toby23,Thank you for this feedback. I have the software, but haven't installed it yet. I would be disappointed to learn that the flight model was simple and easy to control. So I am looking forward to the challenge. Hopefully, a fix for the high eyepoint in the cockpit will come. A lot of FSX helicopters have this but you can adjust.

[Damien 4]

simware is trying to deny issuing me a refund... Currently having out of memory issues with the game on a win 7 machine with 6gigs of ram and steady frames. -Damien

[ZachLW 36]

simware is trying to deny issuing me a refund... Currently having out of memory issues with thegame on a win 7 machine with 6gigs of ram and steady frames.-Damien

So you're immediately requesting a refund and it has just been released?.... You'll get no sympathy from me.

[Damien 4]

Yes, I'm not a fan of pre ordering a game and on release day it not being available to download. 36 hours later it was still not available. It had a "files are being downloaded and will be available in a few hours" note on their website for at least 36 hours before I emailed them asking for a refund. steam had the software ready for download in the first few hours after release, not 2 days later. I am not the only one ###### about the lack of speed.. there are others not to happy about simware taking their sweet time to release the files. I know I'm not the only one who requested a refund from the distributor.I don't need your sympathy.-DamienOh yeah, let me add that I went and purchased it on steam.. Love the game, didn't download it from simware. -Damien

[spilok 192]

Toby 23,Great review. Very inclusive. I think I'll wait on that program. I really appreciate your input.Stan

[tutmeister 169]

Having spent many hours in Operation Flashpoint, Armed Assault and later ArmA II, this seems to be on par with how BIS do things. They release an unfinished game, knowing the community will embrace it, mod it and essentially finish their job. While mods certainly have their merits--I know of some highly professional mods that put the developer to shame--the product should be sufficiently finished to avoid huge amounts of patches. But as with all their other offerings, this is how it'll be. I'm sure many people will buy this and I truly hope it helps BIS out financially, so they may be able to spend more time on ArmA III to ensure it comes out in better shape, with a new engine and perhaps better physics.Thank you for your review, it was very thorough and much appreciated, as I'll save my cash for now.