Would Air Hauler 2 suit me?

[pete_auau 1,158]

21 minutes ago, J van E said:

Ok, so this is a bit like Air Hauler 2 but without a program...? Is it free? Are Easy and Delta part of vAMSYS? Can you pick whatever flight you like? I can't really find a site that tells me all about it: the vAMSYS site only shows a login page and NOTHING else.

I know my Comanche won't be any good here but I am interested for when I (and if I) get an Airbus.

yes its  free  just like  any other  va   out  there, you need  to click  one  of  the three   icons   on the login  page  will take  you  to the  page  your looking  for

Just  to confuse  you more  since  your  said  you  are  flying  ga   this  va  allows  you  to fly  ga  aircraft  and any  other  aircraft you have  anywhere  in the world.  Dont  know  about  the other  va  that  Dave  in if  they  allow  ga  flights,  also  you can  fly offline  as  well and  you can save  your  flight  as well  and resume  the next day

http://air-source.us/default.asp

 

[Chock 17,769]

The various modes in AH2 when you set up a company:

Nomad mode is a hardcore play, you're not allowed to own any bases, and can only pick up jobs and missions from airports you've already visited. You can drop out of Nomad mode at any time, back to the more standard gameplay with bases etc, but once you've dropped out of Nomad mode, you can't revert back to it..

[ZKOKQ 984]

1 hour ago, Nyxx said:

Its 3 airlines under one site. Ryanair EasyJet and Flybe.

All you do is join =easy as it can be. DL there Software. Fly when ever you like. They do not even ask you fly once a month. I took 10 months out with no problems. 

https://vamsys.io/select 

Many thanks David.Seems I Joined when they first started, and it was only Ryanair then. And my account is still active :)

Real life got in the way, and never got back to it, after completing 100 hours. So have downloaded Smartcars, and back into it.

I like Flybe is included, will give my MJ Dash 8 a sense of purpose.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Nyxx 6,993]

42 minutes ago, Travelling_Wilbury said:

Many thanks David.Seems I Joined when they first started, and it was only Ryanair then. And my account is still active :)

Real life got in the way, and never got back to it, after completing 100 hours. So have downloaded Smartcars, and back into it.

I like Flybe is included, will give my MJ Dash 8 a sense of purpose.

 

Thanks for your help.

Great, yer there great like that with people's accounts. Yes flybe with the Q400 is a winner.

[VeryBumpy 272]

I own both AH and AH2. I find them klunky, unintuitive and high maintenance with little reward. AH2 is taking way too long to complete with things being added, changed and bug squashing all the time. AH2 is more of a business management sim, not flight sim enhancer.

 

I get the feeling the OP would prefer something like FSPassenger or FSCaptain along with FSEconomy.

[GHarrall 494]

I really like Air Hauler 2. Nice upgrade on the original and keeps me flying to places I would never normally consider. I also like the business aspect. It is early access still so you have to keep that in mind but newer versions are coming out on a fairly regular basis. Support is good too. Slopey is quick to squash bugs and is responsive to questions.

 

 

[Nyxx 6,993]

1 hour ago, J van E said:

Ok, so this is a bit like Air Hauler 2 but without a program...? Is it free? Are Easy and Delta part of vAMSYS? Can you pick whatever flight you like? I can't really find a site that tells me all about it: the vAMSYS site only shows a login page and NOTHING else.

I know my Comanche won't be any good here but I am interested for when I (and if I) get an Airbus. So feel free to go off topic here!

Hi J,

Yes its free and your account stays active all the time you don't have to fly any set amount ever.

Easy is here https://vamsys.io/select

Delta is here http://deltavirtual.org/ 

Before I move on, I fly offline but with Delta (and BA) you have to have a VATSIM ID. So you have to sigh up with VATSIM to get an ID but you don't have to fly online. 

Easyjet fly Easyjet routes so you cannot fly from where you like to were you like. But I fly sort routes and never have  a problem. 

Here is Easyjet Map of routes http://www.easyjet.com/en/routemap

Delta is amazing I wish I had found them along time ago. They do code sharing with Skyteam. So unlike EasyJet with Delta you can find yourself flying with AA, Jetblue, Southwest etc for the USA, but because of their code sharing you can fly BA KLM AIr france and more around europe.

With Delta you have a huge about of freedom but all flights are real world flights by the flight operators that operate them routes.

Delta ask you unlike Ryanair and EasyJet to log 1 flight per month to say active, 

One you join you start the software after you in the VC all you do is enter the FL PAX number and your route. Press fly. 

What you them get is really nice you can set the volume to your liking, even turn it off if you like. I set it just low enough so I can hear it but very low. You get the Flight attendants doing there briefings, announcements and the thanking everyone when taxiing in on arrival.  It's really nice if set up to your liking.  

Once your engines are shut down you end your flight and you file your flight. 

If and it would be more when you get the FSL A320 also bare in mind the PMDG NG as them to aircraft could keep you happy with the VA's for years. FSL are hopefully releasing this year the A319 and it will be nothing like the other one you owned. At a price like the 600 addon for the NG.

Any question, anything you need to know you know where I am J

 

 

[zmak 331]

Great thread its veered off topic but in a good way. 

Virtual pilots association is highly professional outfit and your flight has to be real world from one of the tracker sites like flight status. You have to report every one hour but that makes you work a bit. You can fly any airliner including dash 8 as long as you fly its real world schedule and within normal time limits... No long pausing 

After a dozen va"s including high up in delta it's the one I settled on 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Chock said:

Nomad mode is a hardcore play, you're not allowed to own any bases, and can only pick up jobs and missions from airports you've already visited. You can drop out of Nomad mode at any time, back to the more standard gameplay with bases etc, but once you've dropped out of Nomad mode, you can't revert back to it..

Thanks. Seems this is my kind of mode but at the same time it seems I would only use a small percentage of  AH2...

20 minutes ago, Nyxx said:

If and it would be more when you get the FSL A320 also bare in mind the PMDG NG as them to aircraft could keep you happy with the VA's for years.

Thanks for the additional information! I had a look at the sites and was wondering: when you pick a flight do you get a flightplan with it? Or do you have to do your own planning still? I am actually considering getting the NGX (anyway) and try on of those VA's (once I am comfortable enough with the plane). Hearing those flight attendants and briefings sounds nice too btw.

[Nyxx 6,993]

25 minutes ago, J van E said:

Thanks. Seems this is my kind of mode but at the same time it seems I would only use a small percentage of  AH2...

Thanks for the additional information! I had a look at the sites and was wondering: when you pick a flight do you get a flightplan with it? Or do you have to do your own planning still? I am actually considering getting the NGX (anyway) and try on of those VA's (once I am comfortable enough with the plane). Hearing those flight attendants and briefings sounds nice too btw.

Here, I have just booked a flight to show you. Note it's only a 31 min flight, like I say you don't need to fly for a long time if you wish not to.

Think you can see everything you need to know here J without me explaining it.

 

Delta dont give flight plans. 

Flight planning can be a topic within itself.  

[Guest]

Thanks, David! I will surely look into this when I get my airliner!

[tjstreak 53]

On 9/2/2017 at 3:14 AM, J van E said:

Could anyone here tell me some more about that Nomad mode in AH2? 

My opinion of nomad mode in AH2 is it basically sucks.  The Developer obviously does not like it and does not want players to use it, so he has made it so miserable to use that it is of little value.

First of all, it is the most difficult level of play.  In career mode, which is the most difficult level of regular play, you get an A36 Bonanza, $250,000 and 20 reputation.  In Nomad mode, you get $1,000, an A36 Bonanza and 20 reputation.  This is an absolutely crippling level of play.

Second, let's talk about that $1,000 in starting funds.  After your check ride (you have to pass a check ride to be able to use any aircraft in the game), landing fees, and fuel, you will have almost no cash left.  Heaven forbid that you fail that first check ride, because you might as well dump the game and start over again.  Likewise, your first mission has to be a success, or you are going to be done before you even get started.

Third, let's talk about the plane.  When I used nomad mode, I had the choice of one plane, the default C172.  This is the plane you have to fly for the first 300 to 400 missions.  You do have the option at the beginning of the game to sell the 172.  And with that money, maybe you can purchase a hang glider.  But the 172 is probably the least expensive functional plane in the game.  To purchase anything else, you have to sell your plane and have cash.  However, that initial $1000 will not get you very far; if you spend it on another aircraft (as if another $1000 will make the least bit of difference), you won't have any money for fuel, landing fees or you check ride -- game over.  So forget your nice A2A aircraft, which you have spent a lot of money to purchase!

Fourth, with the initial $1,000, you cannot afford insurance for your aircraft.  This is significant because even a hard landing will cost more than $1000.  Insurance can  help pick up the cost of repairs - especially those coming from a random breakdown.  Moreover, a lot of destinations will be dirt or grass strips with no lights, no ILS and no navaids -- i.e. where there is a higher probability of a crack up.  If the game decides your plane was damaged on landing, and you don't have insurance, it is game over.

Fifth, the 20 reputation is also crippling.  You need to have 40 reputation to really do much of anything.  You need 40 reputation to get loans, or even to lease an aircraft.  So not only do you start the game with almost no cash, you really have no way to get any more.

Sixth, you have to start the game in nomad mode.  While you can leave nomad mode and back to regular play, there is no going back to nomad mode.  So for example, you could not start the game at an easier level with a better aircraft and more cash, then switch over to nomad mode.

Seventh, gaining reputation is mind numbingly slow.  I tried using nomad mode for an around the world trip.  I found that it took about ten missions to gain one point of reputation.  Getting that 20 additional reputation points will mean flying about 200 missions.  At this point, you can borrow money for maybe something better than the default 172.  Or you can sell your 172 (at half price) and lease a nicer aircraft.

Eighth, maybe I was just unlucky, but the missions never took me in the direction I wanted to go.  As I said, I was using nomad mode as part of an around the world tour.  At least half of my flights were deadhead flights because there were no missions heading in the direction I was travelling.  If I needed to go southeast, all of the missions were to the northwest.  I would fly from airport to airport, and all of the missions were going the wrong way.  Most airports generate about two missions when you land, meaning your choices are limited.  Thus, you can count on having to fly, not 200, but between 300 and 400 missions before you can escape the crappy C172 for something nicer.

Ninth, for a smaller plane (like the default C172 you are forced to start with), most of your missions will be to bare naked grass or dirt airstrips. We all know FSX and Prepar3d have a lot of airstrips which are a simple airstrip, with no buildings, taxiways or parking places.  In Air Hauler, you will see many of these.

Tenth, if FSX or Prepar3d crashes on you, you have to start the mission all over again.  I think we have all experienced FSX or Prepar3d crashing while we are on short final following a five hour flight.  With AH2, you have to start that five hour flight all over again.

So, no, I would not recommend AH2.  A game is supposed to be fun and not an exercise in misery.

[Chock 17,769]

15 minutes ago, tjstreak said:

My opinion of nomad mode in AH2 is it basically sucks...

So, no, I would not recommend AH2.  A game is supposed to be fun and not an exercise in misery.

Nomad mode is just one of very many options in Air Hauler 2, and it was put in there as a challenge, it's meant to be tough, but you don't have to use it just because it's there, you can choose loads of other ways to start. To completely damn a game which has numerous different was to start simply because you did not enjoy one of its (deliberately) very tough (and entirely optional) ways to start an AH2 career, is ridiculous.

[tjstreak 53]

2 hours ago, Chock said:

To completely damn a game which has numerous different was to start simply because you did not enjoy one of its (deliberately) very tough (and entirely optional) ways to start an AH2 career, is ridiculous.

I think you totally missed the point of my post.  The original poster was asking about nomad mode.  I responded to that question and limited my discussion to nomad mode.  If anyone is interested in my comments on the base game, I have spent many many hours playing that as well.

I felt qualified to post about nomad mode because I had spent over 88 hours of butt time flying in nomad mode.  I believe this is a fair trial and puts me in a position to comment about it.  Reluctantly, I had to give up on Air Hauler.

There are a lot of people posting who will write about a product, when it is fairly clear they have not actually used it and don't know what they are talking about.  Along those lines,  how many hours have you spent using nomad mode?  Do you know what you are writing about?

One of the questions is why someone would even want to use nomad mode in the first place.  If you like going to grass or dirt fields, the base game gives you plenty of opportunities to do that.  If you like flying to bare naked airstrips with no buildings taxiways, there are plenty of those in the base game.

I was using nomad mode in conjunction with an around the world flight.  I was not interested in something boring and difficult.  I just wanted to act as a rogue trader working my way across the world.  This strikes me as the most useful use for nomad mode.

I would also note that an around the world trip with the default C172 is well nigh impossible.  The problem is crossing the Pacific, particularly between Japan and Russia.  The distance between RJCN and UHPP is over 800 miles, while the default C172 has a range of around 500 miles.  Yes, there are airports and abandoned airstrips on the Kuril Islands which do not appear in the game, and yes, it is possible to cheat.  That the game sticks you with an aircraft which cannot do the job is just a major designe defect.

I think part of your problem is that you are confusing difficult with boring.  Nomad mode forces the player to use the default C172 for 200+ hours before one even has a shot to fly a nicer plane.  I don't know about you, but the thought of being stuck with the default 172 for that period of time is ghastly.  I have spent a lot of  money developing a nice hanger, and to have a game developer tell me I can't use those aircraft is just plain wrong.  Plus it is more boring than watching paint dry.

I think the problem is the game developer claims he developed the game for himself, and he expects everyone else to want to play the game the way he thinks it should be played.  He is not open to different modes of play, and actively punishes gamers who don't want to play the game exactly the way he plays it.

But if you like boring games, go for it.

[Chock 17,769]

1 hour ago, tjstreak said:

I think you totally missed the point of my post.  The original poster was asking about nomad mode.  I responded to that question and limited my discussion to nomad mode.

Nope, I did not miss the point, because you actually did not limit your discussion to Nomad Mode at all, your comment concluded with this: 'I would not recommend AH2.' which most definitely is not limiting your comment to that one mode of the game at all. Nor was the original poster of this thread asking about Nomad Mode, the OP was asking if AH would suit them, as per the title, so to base a recommendation, either pro or con, on one option in the program, which you did not like, rather than overall, is misleading to say the least.

Nomad Mode in Air Hauler 2 is by its definition intended to be difficult; whilst it's not going to appeal to someone who does not want to be limited by its constraints (and I'll admit it doesn't appeal to me either) there is absolutely no compulsion to use it at all. So when you write that: ' I have spent a lot of  money developing a nice hanger (sic), and to have a game developer tell me I can't use those aircraft is just plain wrong'. it is a misrepresentation of what can and cannot be done with the program.

It's no secret that I like Air Hauler, and have done from its first incarnation way back in 2009, but the fact it appeals to me does not mean it will suit everyone, nor would I expect it to suit everyone. But when someone asks if it would suit them on this forum, as people do from time to time and as was asked on this thread, I am always careful to explain exactly what it can and cannot do purely in terms of functionality in an attempt to answer such queries, rather than to let my own preferences colour anybody's buying decision, because it costs a not inconsiderable 34.99 (or 19.99 as an upgrade), so to do otherwise would not only be unhelpful, but might result in someone spending money on something which does not do what they wanted it to, or hoped it might do. But that works both ways, and to claim that it forces one to do things which it does not do at all, is hugely misleading and not helpful at all in allowing people to make an informed choice.

Anyone is perfectly entitled to say they don't like AH2, or a particular aspect of it for this or that reason, and it might even be helpful to do so. For example, someone said on this thread that they thought the GUI was a bit dour, and I agree, it is, although it doesn't bother me too much since I find it functional. Nevertheless, that is a completely valid opinion, whereas to misrepresent any product by claiming it forces one to do things which it quite demonstrably does not, is not helpful at all.

If you dislike AH2 or any other add-on, fair enough, that is entirely up to you, but directing your dislike of it at threads such as this one which was intended to inform, by misrepresenting its capabilities and options is most definitely not a helpful thing to do.