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Beardyman

12 months

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There is no new product that can replace RC4 at the moment:

 

I realize it, but if the v5 isn't coming, I wouldn't mind trying some other add-on. :)


Jacek G.

Ryzen 5800X3D | Asus RTX4090 OC | 64gb DDR4 3600 | Asus ROG Strix X570E | HX1000w | Fractal Design Torrent RGB | AOC AGON 49' Curved QHD |

 

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I will add that whatever decision JD has made or is making I will respect, he has made a great ATC facility in RC4 for us and it probably took a lot to step away from it and I hope everything is well at RC.

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It would be nice to hear something about the future of Radar Contact.

I have and use version 4.3, but some of it's shortcomings do make me want to take a look at a competitors ATC software.

 

When JD returns from his holiday (sure wish I could take long holidays  :P ), some statement on where RC goes to in the future would be very appreciated by the FS/RC community I'm sure.


Regards,

Frank van der Werff

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I understand jd is back as he's started posting again here?

 

I will accept and support any decision concerning RC (what a great contribution RC4.3 is already!) - just curious what he'll announce ...

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While it is my hope that JD plans to continue development of v5, I must say, I have looked into other ATC programs and have not been overwhelmed by what I am seeing. It makes me appreciate what JD and his team have created with RC4 that much more.

 

Every ATC program is going to have shortcomings. No way to get around that. Realistic voices, interaction with AI aircraft, and even calling aircraft by their actual callsign (such as "United" rather than "Uniform Alpha Lima"), for example, are just a sampling of the little things that make RC4 better than the competition. I also appreciate the easy workarounds available to fly an entire SiD or STAR, or the ability to save a flight with ATC so you can pickup the flight later using the same ATC. All great features.

 

But I think we also have to face a stark reality. Flight sim involvement has declined significantly since Microsoft ended Flight Simulator. In fact I've seen one source say it has declined by as much as 70%. It's a sad reality. It's scary. Look at the facts: FS9 is old (but very stable, I know, as I was a FS9 user until recently) and has fewer supporting developers. FSX isn't far behind and is continuing to be plagued by CDT's and other issues, even on high end computers. Just look at the front page of AVSIM to see there is always someone reporting an issue with FSX. P3D has a lot of promise but still has questions about whether entertainment use will be supported in the future or not. X-Plane 10 also has promise but still has a long way to go in terms of addons, etc, plus it has always had only a fraction of users compared to the following MSFS had. I'm not saying it's not good. A lot of my friends swear by it, many former FS9 and FSX users. So the big question is what sim platform is the future of flight simulation? What's the future of flight simulation period!? This is a big issue JD will have to face should he decide to move forward, as it is as much about economics as it is doing something he enjoys. He should take as much time as he needs because the landscape has shifted a lot this past year and will continue to do so for the next few months.

 

Todd

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I agree with most of the "posters" here BUT it is a bit rude to customers NOT to give any infromation att all, when it was promised! JD PLEASE say something!

 

Jack

the Swede in Spain

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There is no new product that can replace RC4 at the moment:  if you're thinking of ProATC it cant interact with AI jets, a sure show stopper for me.

 

How about VoxATC?  I was waiting to hear something re RC5, but...  The silence from JD is deafening -- afraid we're going to have to move on.

 

Alan

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Did JD ever get back to us after his vacation? I've been eagerly waiting for over a year now for some news!


James W

 

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While it is my hope that JD plans to continue development of v5, I must say, I have looked into other ATC programs and have not been overwhelmed by what I am seeing. It makes me appreciate what JD and his team have created with RC4 that much more.

 

Every ATC program is going to have shortcomings. No way to get around that. Realistic voices, interaction with AI aircraft, and even calling aircraft by their actual callsign (such as "United" rather than "Uniform Alpha Lima"), for example, are just a sampling of the little things that make RC4 better than the competition. I also appreciate the easy workarounds available to fly an entire SiD or STAR, or the ability to save a flight with ATC so you can pickup the flight later using the same ATC. All great features.

 

But I think we also have to face a stark reality. Flight sim involvement has declined significantly since Microsoft ended Flight Simulator. In fact I've seen one source say it has declined by as much as 70%. It's a sad reality. It's scary. Look at the facts: FS9 is old (but very stable, I know, as I was a FS9 user until recently) and has fewer supporting developers. FSX isn't far behind and is continuing to be plagued by CDT's and other issues, even on high end computers. Just look at the front page of AVSIM to see there is always someone reporting an issue with FSX. P3D has a lot of promise but still has questions about whether entertainment use will be supported in the future or not. X-Plane 10 also has promise but still has a long way to go in terms of addons, etc, plus it has always had only a fraction of users compared to the following MSFS had. I'm not saying it's not good. A lot of my friends swear by it, many former FS9 and FSX users. So the big question is what sim platform is the future of flight simulation? What's the future of flight simulation period!? This is a big issue JD will have to face should he decide to move forward, as it is as much about economics as it is doing something he enjoys. He should take as much time as he needs because the landscape has shifted a lot this past year and will continue to do so for the next few months.

 

Todd

 

Interesting viewpoint Todd, but I have to disagree...

 

You are probably right saying that flight sims users base had declined in the last few years. But... It's mainly true for the 'basic' user that will search for a flight sim in a PC game store or internet and will not find anything new... Who is buying RadarContact stuff ? certainly not the basic flight sim user... 

The passionate users, those that fly using VFR, that love to prepare flight plans and take hours to learn how to start the cold and dark cockpit of a liner, are still using flight sims even if they are not up to date software... And those users WILL buy a new version of Radar Contact.

 

If you were right, one can say that software publishers like PMDG, OrbX, FSDreamTeam, etc... will already have stopped any business... And they are launching new products and planning others !

 

So I have to disagree about your explanation... JD just could have other priorities in life now, I just hope we will hear from new versions or interesting alternatives in the next months...

 

Chris

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Interesting viewpoint Todd, but I have to disagree...

 

You are probably right saying that flight sims users base had declined in the last few years. But... It's mainly true for the 'basic' user that will search for a flight sim in a PC game store or internet and will not find anything new... Who is buying RadarContact stuff ? certainly not the basic flight sim user... 

The passionate users, those that fly using VFR, that love to prepare flight plans and take hours to learn how to start the cold and dark cockpit of a liner, are still using flight sims even if they are not up to date software... And those users WILL buy a new version of Radar Contact.

 

If you were right, one can say that software publishers like PMDG, OrbX, FSDreamTeam, etc... will already have stopped any business... And they are launching new products and planning others !

 

So I have to disagree about your explanation... JD just could have other priorities in life now, I just hope we will hear from new versions or interesting alternatives in the next months...

 

Chris

 

I agree completely Chris.   The passionate users are still here.   The eye candy crowd and the uninformed are the only groups that are declining.

 

For 8 years I used FS9, at the beginning of the year I had a brand new FSX system built and shipped to me and it is without question, the most stable and highest performing sim computer I have ever owned.   It took me over 4 years to finally switch from FS9 to FSX.   Now, I no longer run out of memory or experience CTD's that invariably happened in FS9, especially on long flight, no matter what tweaks were made.  

 

Tons, TONS of development is going on with FSX and P3D and XPlane.   Some aircraft and sceneries are the best I have ever seen.  

 

In fact I've seen one source say it has declined by as much as 70%."    

 

What's the source?   There are all kinds of people posting lame brain information on Flight Simulator.   

 

Do wish there was some kind of post about this program though.   I don't think its unreasonable for the author to say something.  It was his own words indicating he was going on holidays and we could expect some response on his return.  We all have priorities, that's life.    I took 5 minutes from my busy day to write this post.   Would have thought the developer of Radar Contact could do the same.

 

If its dead, its dead.   Let's move on to something else or continue to use the latest version.   

 

JH

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It has declined considerably. I have been using FS since FS5. It seemed like a new aircraft would be released weekly. The freeware designers are very few now. Heck we have had FSX for 7 years and no DC-8, No 727, No decent classic 747 panel. No groups any more like Project Freeware, SGA, Eric Cantu, Project Open Sky (yes, I know they have broken off to a different group but not putting out aircraft like they did).

 

I have had to change usernames on here at AVSIM a few times over the years and do not post very much. I can honestly say we have lost a lot of designers and core contributors over the years. Since MS dropped the FS product there is nothing new to look forward too. Xplane has too little in the way of addons like FS. Even today FSX doesn't run as good as it should have.

 

Then you have the computer industry changing very fast. Desktops are falling by the wayside, even laptops are losing sales to tablets. Look at the PC gaming market, how much that has  declined to consoles and apps on tablets?

 

I don't believe we will ever see a new version on RC. JD had a dedicated blog to RC5 that is gone. JD hasn't said a thing about it to create some excitement for us dedicated simmers in years. I don't fault him for losing interest because there is no new platform to work with and what we are using is either a 10 plus year platform or a 7 year old platform to work on.

 

I'd love to see a new version of RC and would probably buy it. I am discouraged that JD hasn't said anything about it though. Most of us are adults, if there isn't a new version let us know, we can take it. If there is then give us some details. Create some excitement to look forward to the new version instead of silence. I've notice Bobby doesn't even post anymore. Thankfully we have Ronzie here as a huge help and asset to help with problems we incur with RC.

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PC gaming market is doing quite well actually. Yes sales of desktop and Laptop PC's are down as tablets have done some replacing but gaming side of the spectrum is doing quite fine. Infact many PC titles have had substancial budget increases (Total war series, Elder Scrolls etc) and steam is doing very well. Especially with the popularity of indies these days outside of iOS and Andriod versions.

 

The PC is dying story has been around for 20 years or more.


I would rather just stick to the thread topic, it's dissapointing to enter this thread with all these new posts only to see discussions on the health of flight sim/PC's/PC gaming.


So does anyone know if JD still intending to make a response at some point? I am assuming his holiday has ended?

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Viper,

 

I was sticking to the thread. With so many changes in gaming, hardware and nothing new in the Microsoft Flight Simulator platform we have seen a decline in contributors. This may be the reason why we have waited so many years for a new version of RC.

 

I remember the days GameStop was loaded with PC games. Now there is virtually none on the shelf. You would have two or three PC game stores in a mall. Best Buy use to have 3 or 4 racks of PC games now it's lucky to have half a rack. Walmart and Target same thing.

 

We are using an old platform 10 plus with FS9 and 7 with FSX. Maybe JD's interests have gone elsewhere. There isn't many new exciting things in the works which is a shame. I feel JD released version 5 it would create new excitement. So many things in FS have been planned but then disappear. I was really looking forward to the DC-8 by Paul Golding and Lou Betti and team, like their 727. That never happened. They were supposed to do their 727 for FSX and that disappeared. It would be nice if developers like JD would turn the project over to a group willing to complete it if he has lost interest. I give the Original Proflight team credit along Dave March. They showed that you can take a product that was abandoned and expand, update and put out a great product.

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As a long-time RC4 owner, I agree: JD needs to make kind of statement as what's happening with RC5...else I need to look for a replacement that is still being updated.


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