Hm, does that mean that new airplane will not be in air before Steam sale ends?

I really want to stand on principal and not buy anything that includes another cockpitless aircraft. I bought the Mustang only because getting it was $5 cheaper than buying Hawaii and the Maule without it. And I've felt guilty about it ever since. Now they test my resolve by offering me Alaska with a cockpitless Carbon Cub for $9. It just isn't fair. ;) I may relent & buy AK but I have 10 days to think it over first.

 

A bunch of years ago I was a big fan of Looking Glass Software's Flight Unlimited series of flight sims. In fact for years I served as the moderator of the AVSIM FU Series Forum. In their day FU2 & FU3 were the best sims around bar none IMHO. They easily beat FS98 & FS2K for my tastes. FS02 was about a wash with FU3 and FS04 was superior... FSX more so.

 

Back in the days when FU3 was supposed to be coming out any day the Looking Glass FU forum was a very big deal to those of us that were passionate about FU. I am not talking about a AVSIM forum. AVSIM was here but hadn't really caught on yet... not for about another 6 months. Anyway things got very crazy on that LG FU forum in the months between the time that FU3 was supposed to have been released and when it actually came out. During that time little things started leaking out about how various features that had been promised were being scaled back and in some cases were eliminated entirely. There was a woman who acted as a moderator on that forum (1 of them) and also served as a link between those of us who frequented the forum and the developers. I don't remember the lady's name. I'm not meaning to be rude... it has just been too many years that have passed and I am old. Right at the time of the release things on the forum and with LG in general went from a little crazy to very, very, weird. LG sold FU to another developer and locked it's forums but not until the lady posted a really wild statement about how picked on she felt that she had been. It really appeared that she had way too much to drink when she made that post but that was my opinion and there were lots of others who disagreed. I'm not real sure if she quit or had just been let go as part of the reduction in force that had just taken place with LG. FU3's development team was let go and the source code locked away.

 

Anyway FU3 was a great sim in it's day but the developers had spent their development cash on some features so heavily that other features had to be abandoned. It could have been much better had the project been better managed. (Again that is my opinion.) I have always felt that the FU series would have continued to be a major force in the flight sim (lower case as I'm not talking about a specific product) world if only FU3's development had been better managed. There were a lot of bitter people and LG's site ceased to exist.

 

I bring all this up because the "atmosphere" around Flight is beginning to feel a lot like that around FU3 during that period. I am not suggesting that Delafina has been drinking or that we have been mislead about anything. I am just saying that I would not be very surprised if we were to get some sad announcements from MS over the next few weeks or months. I hope I am totally wrong about that.

 

In any event I can not complain about things. I've got a total of $30 invested in Flight and even if I buy AK it will only come up to $39. That is nothing compared to what I've spent on FS, FU, and various other sims over the years. Also MS was nice enough to not stop updating the Aerocache (SP?) of the Day until I had just got my 100th one the evening before. How is that for luck? :)

 

Please MicroSoft... if possible please put out cockpit versions of the CC and the warbirds plus a few more good planes before you shut anything down. Please. Pretty please.

 

Guys I do hope that I am all wrong about this and Flight has a long and bright future. It just doesn't feel like it is going that way. I guess I should do like Donald Sutherland once advised and "Stop with the negative waves...".

 

Have a great flight,

 

Tom Wunder

Going off topic here, but I read that you shouldn't install the Steam version of DCS: A-10C. Just install DCS: World v1.2 from the DCS website, then use your Steam serial number to add the A-10C addon module.

 

That is correct. While I purchased A-10C through Steam, I downloaded and installed it directly from DCS using my product key I got from Steam.

Then on July 10th, when DCS World and the modules for A-10C and Black Shark 2 came out in released form for DSC World, I grabbed them and installed them.

Don't know about those titles. After watching videos of people taking about three years just to start the engines, that looked more like a job getting your teeth extracted than fun to me! :P

 

See a video on YouTube called: DCS: A-10C Warthog - Too Dumb to Fly. I would not be that bad (I hope) but I am not sure I would be able to persevere. I tip my hat to all with the infinite time and patience to wade through Gideon Bible sized manuals on operating a zillion different radar modes, though. :lol:

 

I don't know if I will either, but for $16 I figure it's worth the risk. And I'm a switchology kind of guy. :)

 

I can handle engine starts and run-ups on aircraft of similar complexity, so I'll give it a whirl. The avionics will be more challenging, but I was a military avionics tech for 20 years so I at least speak the language. :p0302:

 

Note that Steam's Black Shark is the first one and you have to buy an upgrade to version 2 from DCS (not sold on Steam) if you want to fly it in DCS World, unlike DCS: A-10C.

 

Correct. But at $4.99, I'm happy paying for the upgrade directly.

I would buy the p-51 if it was available...

I would buy the p-51 if it was available...

 

It is available by pre-purchase, in beta form. I understand the beta is pretty darn good though I have not got it yet.

You may be able to get your Flight DLC access codes from Steam without actually installing the Steam version of Flight using this little trick I just saw suggested on the Steam Forum...

1. Install Steam (if you don't have it installed already).
   
2. Start the download of the free base Flight package.
   
3. Pause the download.
   
4. Verify Flight is showing up in your Steam Library.
   
5. Buy your Flight DLC from Steam.
   
6. Note the DLC access codes now showing in your Steam Library under Flight.
   
7. Start your GFWL version of Flight and enter your access codes from the Main Menu.
   
8. Cancel your (paused) Flight download in Steam.
   

I have not tried this myself, as I run the Steam version of Flight to ensure I can buy from both stores. Please let me know if it works.

I absolutely love STEAM and had no idea I could buy DLCs from steam and enjoy on my LIVE Flight account. Brilliant and Thank you to all who figured that one out.

 

Also, for this sale, I am buying all the sims that were in the first post (minus any of the MS FLIGHT DLC's, because I already have AK and dont want any of the other warbirds)

 

I am also thinking about buying Take-on Helicopters and the Hinds bundle(http://store.steampo...1_7_suggest__13)

Edit: I know it is off topic, but have any of you purchased take on heli's and is it as fun as it looks?)

 

Now, I just need to buy my X52 Joystick because I only have a Yoke/Throttle.

 

w000t!

I guess I just don't get this "Steam" thing. I'm not a gamer so never heard of it until I joined this forum and started reading about it. Seems to be unnecessarily complicated if you get Flight from Microsoft, and then want to get something from Steam. I am reading about having to uninstall your present installation and then re-install it from Steam or something. What is the point of all that? Seems like alot of aggravation to save a couple of dollars.

I just hope they are getting the volume of sales they need at those prices! They are clever in at least one way though: People who were sitting on the fence over Alaska have apparently been pushed off of that fence by the sale price, and I note a sudden surge of players into Alaska in multiplayer, which is a good thing, since it was feeling a little lonely in there. Now, if only they had set up some Missions and Aerocaches for those new players!!!

 

I guess I just don't get this "Steam" thing. I'm not a gamer so never heard of it until I joined this forum and started reading about it. Seems to be unnecessarily complicated if you get Flight from Microsoft, and then want to get something from Steam. I am reading about having to uninstall your present installation and then re-install it from Steam or something. What is the point of all that? Seems like alot of aggravation to save a couple of dollars.

 

Steam is the largest distributor of online games ever, and the DLC model was pretty much born, or at least perfected there. By having Flight on Steam, Microsoft places the program within a distribution system many feel is more robust and active, and places Flight in front of the eyes on millions and millions of avid gamers. Not to mention the frequent and well known Steam sales, which nobody in thier right mind looks to Microsoft to emulate.

I guess I just don't get this "Steam" thing. I'm not a gamer so never heard of it until I joined this forum and started reading about it. Seems to be unnecessarily complicated if you get Flight from Microsoft, and then want to get something from Steam. I am reading about having to uninstall your present installation and then re-install it from Steam or something. What is the point of all that? Seems like alot of aggravation to save a couple of dollars.

 

Steam is merely a software store. Rather than buying physical disks locally, or having them mailed to you, you just download the software directly from Steam. If you get a new computer, you don't have to fumble with a bunch of disks, you just have Steam download all your games again.

 

Microsoft's GFWL is essentially a knock-off of Steam. But GFWL is tiny in comparison, both in software available and in user-base. MS hoped that by releasing Flight on Steam as well as in their own store, they might tap into Steam's huge user-base and draw more customers.

 

If you run the GFWL version of Flight, yes, it can be a hassle to get DLC from Steam. It's up to you if that money you save on bundles and sales is worth it.

 

If you run the Steam version of Flight, you can buy from either store without any hassle at all.

 

If a few dollars aren't a big deal, and you have the GFWL version of Flight installed, it may not be worth switching versions. But if you do end up having to reinstall Flight in the future (new computer, or whatever), I'd recommend the Steam version. It just gives you more options.

Thanks for the explanation.

I once wondered why Xplane-10 was not being distributed through steam. The demo is the right size, and even though the game itself is huge, I noticed though, that not all of the regions need to be loaded at one time: they could have split it up and sold the regions as individual downloads at a nominal price.... Like DLC.

 

When I asked the question though, nobody answered, so I assumed I was being an idiot and dropped it. :P

I have Take-On Helicopters and its very good, though the cut scenes get a bit tedious and the tasks arbitrarily difficult.

Definitely worth getting.

Not heard good things about the Hind pack, still waiting on that, maybe when 75% off...

 

Austin, the X-plane author is a bit of a maverick ... probably wouldn't agree to the Steam T's&C's

 

Cheers

Keith

I've got both the GFWL and Steam version installed. I can download DLC with either version and it instantly works on both versions without any special settings or tweaks.

I have some issues with purchasing in de Xbox live marketplace, so i use the Steam version for downloading stuff with great discounts, but i always play the GFWL version because then you dont have to start up steam and press OK all the time when VCredist or something like that needs to start.

 

With Alaska i got really impatient, so i purchased that within the build-in marketplace in Flight. Now the Steamsale is too late for me.