Cliffs of Dover is more recent and still has issues, but according to the developer in an interview, was designed specifically with world expansion capability's in mind.

Just purchased this one recently, got it setup now on my pc and started checking it out today, really nice sim - very nice graphics. ahh so good to use Track IR again!Still loving Flight though, flew some with it early this morning...

... But come on, the zero due to it's speed and agility was used for kamikaze runs which include operations in Pearl Habour, it's sick to release this when the only scenery on offer is Hawaii.

Not really. The japanese military was not crazy. At the time of Pearl Harbor there were no real Kamikaze attacks. At that time, the Japanese had simply much better pilots, that were battle proven and 6they had better weapons. In the US understanding it would have been completly impossible to attack with torpedoes in a harbor.The real Kamikaze concept was much later developed when they had lost most of their good pilots (US aces were called back to teach new pilots, while the Japanese pilots simply flew their missions, till they were out of luck. The weak armament, the real secret behind ist capabilities) was another big problem. But while the Japanese thinking didn't put so much value to individual lives, it would have been considered stupid to crash a small plane into a ship.It was only a last resort, when they had to find a solution how to win with totally inexperienced pilots agains a vastly superior enemy. This was not the japanese military at the time of Pearl Harbor.

Not really. The japanese military was not crazy. At the time of Pearl Harbor there were no real Kamikaze attacks. At that time, the Japanese had simply much better pilots, that were battle proven and 6they had better weapons. In the US understanding it would have been completly impossible to attack with torpedoes in a harbor.The real Kamikaze concept was much later developed when they had lost most of their good pilots (US aces were called back to teach new pilots, while the Japanese pilots simply flew their missions, till they were out of luck. The weak armament, the real secret behind ist capabilities) was another big problem. But while the Japanese thinking didn't put so much value to individual lives, it would have been considered stupid to crash a small plane into a ship.It was only a last resort, when they had to find a solution how to win with totally inexperienced pilots agains a vastly superior enemy. This was not the japanese military at the time of Pearl Harbor.

The story of how Kamikazes developed is an interesting one, in 1944, when the Zero was in fact well obselete in the face of devastatingly effective powerful US fighters such as the new F4U Corsair and others of its ilk, the attacks which IJN Carrier wings carried out against the USN carrier groups were proving largely ineffective, most aircraft were cut to pieces by barrier CAPs and a deadly wall of Triple-A put up by the the entire battle group, and the fragile A6M, with no self-sealing fuel tanks and little armor, was extremely vulneable to such barrages, which is why one sees many shots of Japanese aircraft putting out a blazing meteor-like trail as they dive to destruction.But well before 1944, more than one IJN pilot had attempted to crash his doomed aircraft into a ship, and some had actually managed to hit ships too, one such possible impromptu Kamikaze incident actually did occur as early as the attack on Pearl Harbor, when an A6M crashed into a building, giving the US the first good look at the remains of an A6M, however, it was the fact that this tactic occurred in the battle of the Phillipine Sea (June 1944) which was the catalyst of the idea as a genuine official tactic. The incidents at the Phillipine Sea battle were brought to the attention of the commander of the light aircraft carrier Chiyoda, of IJN Carrier Group Three, Captain Elichiro Jyo. Several then obselescent A6M 21 models in that battle scored hits on US ships with 'crash dives', bombs hit the USS South Dakota, but the USS Indiana was actually hit by a crash diving aircraft.Captain Jyo forwarded a proposal that a special attack unit, to carry out such suicide dive tactics should be formed, he had the support of some superior officers, but even higher up, some commanders continued to believe that the soon-to-be-available new generation Japanese fighters and bombers would negate the need for such units, and the idea did not go ahead at that time. However, Rear Admiral Takajiro Ohnishi, who would soon take command of the IJN's First Fleet, was a supporter of the tactic, but much of the credit for the drive to make this come to fruition must go to a frustrated IJN transport pilot who worked in munitions supply, Ensign Mitsuo Ohta. Ohta had postulated the idea that a 'manned glider bomb' transported to attack range by a mother aircraft and then released to fly the final attack phase, in much the same way as the Luftwaffe sometimes launched autopilot-guided Fieseler Fi-103 'V1' bombs from under the wings of He-111s at the UK, would be able to be guided flawlessly to the target without the need to develop a complex guidance system. Ohta is reputed to have replied, when asked incredulously as to who would fly such a thing: 'I would fly it'.Ohta's dedication was born of his devout beliefs in the Bushido code, which had buried itself in religious Shintoism in 1871, when the Samurai were legally abolished in Japan, and so the selfless dedication and willingness to die for one's master of the Bushido cult lived on as a 'religion with in a religion', and found an appeal amongst young idealistic Japanese Officers. It was these officers who, demonstrating their willingness to readily take a suicide mission for the honour and glory it would bestow upon them in service of their master, the Emperor, who were ultimately the driving force which meant the idea of suicide units could rely on a supply of willing pilots. Ohta, in his position as an armaments officer, was intrumental in pushing for the development of his 'glider bomb', which ultimately manifested itself in the rocket-powered Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka (Cherry Blossom), many of which were captured intact by the US as they leapfrogged from island to island back across the Pacific.The name was quite appropriate, the cherry blossom was already culturally significant in Japan; its rapid bloom and the short lifespan of its beautiful flowers was associated with a quick and noble death for the flower of youth, and also of the clouds in the skies, so the Japanese government twisted this notion a bit to encourage the idea that the souls of brave dead warriors who died in the skies would be reincarnated in the cherry blossoms which would bloom ever after their sacrifice. American sailors however, with typically US sardonic wit, christened the Ohka 'Baka', which is Japanese for idiot.As it turned out, cheap and simple as it was, the Yokosuka Ohka took quite a long time to develop, so in the interim, obselete aircraft such as the A6M were used as makeshift suicide aircraft, with a 550lb bomb slung under them. The A6M had the advantage of being relatively easy to learn to fly, so it was not difficult to persuade a large number of Shinto-following young Japanese lads to climb aboard them in order to seek honour and glory for their families. What is not generally known, is that quite a few IJN pilots flew more than one Kamikaze mission, and some Kamikaze pilots survived the war, since they were not always guaranteed to locate a suitable target, and would return to base if they did not do so.Kamikaze attacks were more successful than most people are actually aware, there were reportedly around 5,300 aircraft earmarked as being available for Kamikaze attacks at the end of the war. Of an approximately 2550 individual official Kamikaze sorties flown, 363 ships were damaged by these, 71 ships were either sunk or damaged beyond economical repair, and well over 6,000 allied men and women were killed as a direct result of such attacks on ships. Their effectiveness, and the fact that such a tactic had no shortage of volunteers, was one of the reasons why nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were countenanced, as it was thought that the allied death toll in a conventional invasion of the Japanese homeland would be truly massive, and the bloody experience of recapturing Pacific islands from suicidally-dedicated young soldiers probably means this appraisal was correct.Ironically enough, Rear Admiral Takajiro Ohnishi, who was so in favour of the tactic, killed himself at the war's end, and he left a suicide note addressed to the youth of Japan which read: 'You are the treasure of the nation. With all the fervour of the special attackers (Kamikazes), strive for the welfare of Japan, and for peace throughout the world'.Al

^^^^ Thank you Al. As always a very good review and a history lesson.

Most kamikazes who faced the enemy were in fact poor pilots. The good ones managed to hit their targets in training and didn't survive. (rimshot)

LOL only surpassed by the classic: Did you hear about the Irish Kamikaze pilot? He flew 33 missions before being shot down.Al

The post on the beta forum was not devoid of emotion, indicating that this question had come up before internally and wasn't resolved to everyone's satisfaction. The poster herself may totally understand our position, but still has to stick to the company story line.I'm sure that the target demographic couldn't care less what is done to the USS Arizona memorial, so that won't affect their sales. We have to wonder if the geopolitical group went beyond that to the possibility of the doomsday scenario where Sixty Minutes shows up on their doorstep with a camera crew and a bunch of angry WW2 veterans. Maybe they'd consider that a good thing. There's still a possibility that there's a legal group somewhere that could get them shut down.Hook

WW2 veterans came from a different era when men were men they don't get offended by stuff like that. In other words they would not care. My grand father is a WW2 navy vet served in both theaters, he let the war go many years ago. He uses Japanese products, He even has a Mitsubishi TV. I will ask him the next time I see him what he thinks of the zero being in a game when the only play you can fly is Hawaii.

WW2 veterans came from a different era when men were men they don't get offended by stuff like that. In other words they would not care. My grand father is a WW2 navy vet

I'm a little older than you. My grandfather served in WW1.Don't get me wrong, the Zero was my plane of choice flying WarBirds due to its manauverabililty. The very first pic of the Flight Zero brought back some good memories. I have no problems with an air combat game that features the Zero attacking Pearl Harbor, which is defended by various American aircraft.The problem I have is the Zero "paying its respects" at the USS Arizona memorial. This isn't about me being concerned that someone else might be offended... *I'm* offended. Had I been on the development team and found out about the Zero, I would have considered turning in my resignation. I'm serious. I used to fly over 4 hours a day average. Now, it's less than 1 hour, and a lot of it is because every time I boot the game the Zero is right there staring me in the face, and it's also there every time I go to the hangar. Of course, I don't expect everyone to feel the same way I do. Either you understand the problem immediately, or you probably never will. Not understanding it doesn't make you less of a person. Those who do understand it will know what I mean.Hook

I am under the impression that all Flight potential customers in the world reacted to the Zero in the same way of this thread poll.I am also pretty sure that it takes 2-5 seconds to know this would have been a huge flop from a DLC point of view.So, why does MS did that ? 1) Just to let people speak about Flight and therefore make to it some free advertising ?2) To probe the market with a delusion in order to boost the selling chances of Alaska ?3) To persuade people that jets do not exist ?4) To convince people that Alaska Beaver is a brand new cool model to fiddle with ?5 ) To persuade people there is something worst than a Joshua Howard interview ?I am really puzzled now

So, why does MS did that ?

To me it leans more towards MSGS6) To show the world it's their way or no way.7) To show the world they can also follow the steps of KodakI don't know, but for me the buzzzzz is gone, You are puzzled. I’m disappointed. :sad:I'm taking Flight vacations.

I am under the impression that all Flight potential customers in the world reacted to the Zero in the same way of this thread poll.

If they had, you'd never see any Zeros in mulitplayer or in screen shots of multiplayer. No one would be posting reports of seeing Zeros in multiplayer. They just wouldn't exist.Now... if the poll percentages ring true for all potential players, and only 1.5 percent of them have downloaded the Zero, and we're seeing a LOT of Zeros in multiplayer, then there must be a metric crapload of new users.So, Mark... how many Zeros have you seen in multiplayer? Been looking much?I kinda hope the next aircraft DLC is a cockpitless F4U. I'd buy it. Hook

Technically, the A6M does have a connection with Alaska though, and not one as grim for Americans as Hawaii does. In fact it is one which proved to be a turning point in the Pacific Theatre, and one which would prove a bitter blow to the Japanese. Alaska is where the so-called 'Akutan Zero' was found in 1942, named after Akutan Island in the Aleutians, which is about halfway along the chain. The Zero was hit by small arms fire after raiding Dutch Island, it lost an oil line and managed to limp to Akutan, where its pilot, Tadayoshi Koga, foolishly elected to make a wheels down landing on marshland. The wheels dug in, it flipped over and killed Koga instantly when his neck broke. His fellow flight members should have destroyed the aircraft, as that was a standing IJN order, but since they could not land, and did not see Koga climb out as they circled overhead, they could not be certain if he was dead or merely unconscious, so they left him and returned to base. A Japanese submarine was despatched to try and rescue him, but finding no sign of him, it gave up the search.About a month later, a PBY Catalina crew, who by chance were somewhat off course, spotted the wreck and it was subsequantly recovered. Apart from the wrecked undercarriage and some damage to the tailfin tip and propeller (both of which were repaired and flew on the repaired Zero), the A6M was virtually undamaged and was test flown some months later. This was when the tactic of putting on neg G, diving past 200 knots and then making a hard right turn was discovered to be effective in evading the A6M, making it possible to come around back at it for an attack from above and behind.Given how costly Tadayoshi Koga's landing error proved to be to himself, and indeed to fellow Zero pilots once the Zero's Achilles Heel was known, it is ironic that the etymology of the name Akutan, is thought to derive from the Aleut word hakuta, which means 'I have made a mistake'. He sure had.Al

I kinda hope the next aircraft DLC is a cockpitless F4U. I'd buy it.

About a month later, a PBY Catalina crew...

And the DLC after that, a PBY Catalina. WITH cockpit. :DHook

Hey, it might work for them, just today I actually installed X-Plane Ten, which I've had since it was released, and I only now bothered to install it because a payware DC-3 has been released for it today, so I bought that. One decent old big twin could make a huge difference to the success of Flight too, and unless that was a DC-3, then why not a Catalina, which would suit both Hawaii and Alaska. At least Catalinas did actually cross swords with Zeros a fair bit too. Besides which, the Catalina is just about the coolest flying boat ever.Al

If they had, you'd never see any Zeros in mulitplayer or in screen shots of multiplayer. No one would be posting reports of seeing Zeros in multiplayer. They just wouldn't exist.

 

Now... if the poll percentages ring true for all potential players, and only 1.5 percent of them have downloaded the Zero, and we're seeing a LOT of Zeros in multiplayer, then there must be a metric crapload of new users.

 

So, Mark... how many Zeros have you seen in multiplayer? Been looking much?

 

I kinda hope the next aircraft DLC is a cockpitless F4U. I'd buy it.

 

Hook

 

I would answer you but I quit playing Flight 2 weeks ago.

 

I would prefer to base my assumptions on this forum and on the MS Flight official website where the vast majority is aligned with avsim.

 

I do not think this community represents the world but it is a reliable source to gauge Flight trend in terms of DLC success/failure along with MS Flight official site.

 

 

Told that, if you are having fun with the Zero I am happy for you.