Still no cloud shadow

[Guest]

birds are unecessary

[Guest christian]

What is unnecessary then? - just a matter of opinion isn't it? In my opinion (and others) birds are necessary as they are part of the same environment planes live in. I love the idea of having animal life, not just birds, but also say sheep crossing grass strips etc. I wouldn't get too hung about that feature. It's basically possible to do in FS9 already, although I suspect FSX supports this in a much more generalised framework. Screenshots suggest this feature is already fully implemented - so why cut it (cutting a fully implemented feature really would be a waste of time, wouldn't it)?!?On the other hand I agree with your main point - realistic shadows in the cockpit environment would be in my personal top 10 wish list. So are fully dynamic objects, which the animals are just part of (just think of what can be done in airport environments if the basic framework exists).Cheers,Christian

[michal 44]

>as they are>part of the same environment planes live in.True, same environment. However if considering priorities - one should compute probablity of actually encountering the "things" that are part of the environemnt. Light, clouds, sky, runways, terrain, etc .. (list is long) are BIG part of the environment. I would not be surprised if a probablity of actually seeing any birds on a praticular flight is tiny (birds may be there but pilots don't necessarily have to notice them). I have about 300 hours total experience (ok, not much) and I never saw a single bird from my cockpit (per my imperfect memory). Ask me how many times I saw stratus, cirrus, fog, river, ocean, sunsets, etc... I wished those items were at such state of perfection in the FS that birds were the only thing on my mind ;)Michael J.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/pmdg_744F.jpghttp://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6-banner-beta.jpg

[KERNEL32 500]

>>as they are>>part of the same environment planes live in.>>True, same environment. However if considering priorities ->one should compute probablity of actually encountering the>"things" that are part of the environemnt. Light, clouds, sky,>runways, terrain, etc .. (list is long) are BIG part of the>environment. I would not be surprised if a probablity of>actually seeing any birds on a praticular flight is tiny>(birds may be there but pilots don't necessarily have to>notice them). I have about 300 hours total experience (ok, not>much) and I never saw a single bird from my cockpit (per my>imperfect memory). Ask me how many times I saw stratus,>cirrus, fog, river, ocean, sunsets, etc... I wished those>items were at such state of perfection in the FS that birds>were the only thing on my mind ;)>>Michael J.>http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/pmdg_744F.jpg>http://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6-banner-beta.jpgVery well said Michael J!

[Guest garwig2]

>...I would not be surprised if a probablity of>actually seeing any birds on a praticular flight is tiny>(birds may be there but pilots don't necessarily have to>notice them). I have about 300 hours total experience (ok, not>much) and I never saw a single bird from my cockpit...I have 14.7 hours and have seen a bird come through the propeller and into the intake. Since then I've noticed at least one bird cross my path on every flight.-Gary Letona

[KERNEL32 500]

Cloud shadows are for the birds!

[Guest christian]

on the same note you could argue to not include thunderstorms. Frequent in some parts of the world - not so frequent in others. It just depends where you fly. It's not for nothing big airports along coasts install big airguns to scare off seagulls or there are warnings on small airfield AIPs to stay alert for bird activity 2nm to the West or check for cattle/deer on the airstrip before landing.The point is that thunderstorms are part of a weather system that we all experience, and animals are part of the dynamic scenery we all experience - be it animals in bush country or airport objects (trucks etc) on a major airport hub. So far we may have only seen birds and dolphins and cars on roads, but I'm sure we'll see other aspects of the (presumably) spanking new dynamic scenery engine in screenshots to be released of the course of this year (ie airport environments). Probably it was very easy to mock up some animals and include them - airport operations will be harder, hence I suspect still being worked on. What is the point to argue? Birds are in - like it or not. If you really don't like them and would like something else done instead is there really any point in arguing to remove this feature so the FS team has even less time to implement your favourite feature?!?Christian

[Guest]

as this is an alpha build, birds can easily be pulled, along with many other things.If you want to use the "well you might see it while flying" test, what about UFOs? I'm sure some pilot outthere has seen them, I demand UFOs in the game!! Screw all the important stuff!

[1mikel151 71]

>birds are unecessaryTotal !#*%!, maybe in 'your" sim world, but not in mine.In mine, tubeliners are only good for AI, so who needs an FMC.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

[Guest pixelpoke_from_MSFT]

>as this is an alpha build, birds can easily be pulled, along>with many other things.>>If you want to use the "well you might see it while flying">test, what about UFOs? I'm sure some pilot outthere has seen>them, I demand UFOs in the game!! Screw all the important>stuff!Random shooting stars have been in the product since FS 2002. They're easily confused with UFO's.Although maybe since evrybody'd know what they are they'd be IFOs...

[ibanez737 2]

I'm a student pilot flying out of Ellensburg, Washington (just over the mountains from MS), and while flying I've encountered quite a few birds. The airport has fields around it, and often times there will be a hawk or two flying around looking for dinner right at the end of the runway that I need to keep an eye on and avoid. Just do a search on airliners.net for bird strike, and you can see that birds are hazards to aircraft.-Scott Armstrong

[Guest DreamFleet]

I hardly ever notice "cloud shadows" on the ground when flying, but birds are another story.Given a choice, I'll take the birds over the cloud shadows, as I usually do not fly with my head looking down at the ground, and when looking forward, cloud shadows over the ground ahead of me mean nothing, and I really do not pay attention to them. It's a nice detail, but, the birds are better!A cloud shadow on the ground is of zero consequence to me, but a bird, who might fly into my wind screen is!Now, perhaps if you are a passenger in the back, staring out the window, then perhaps the cloud shadows have meaning, but if you are up front flying, they are irrelevant, and our eyes focus elsewhere. ;-)Regards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg

[Guest pixelpoke_from_MSFT]

>I hardly ever notice "cloud shadows" on the ground when>flying, but birds are another story.>>Given a choice, I'll take the birds over the cloud shadows, as>I usually do not fly with my head looking down at the ground,>and when looking forward, cloud shadows over the ground ahead>of me mean nothing, and I really do not pay attention to them.>It's a nice detail, but, the birds are better!>>A cloud shadow on the ground is of zero consequence to me, but>a bird, who might fly into my wind screen is!>>Now, perhaps if you are a passenger in the back, staring out>the window, then perhaps the cloud shadows have meaning, but>if you are up front flying, they are irrelevant, and our eyes>focus elsewhere. ;-)>>Regards,>http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpgHey Lou,Quit smoking.:)I've always thought cloud shadows would heighten the sense of depth in our environment, as well as solidifying the weather system as an integrated entity into the scene.Cheers,J

[Guest christian]

Don't you just hate it when one of those saucers pulls in front of you just when you are on final?Fact: incidents involving alien activity is now the 2nd largest cause of fatal crashes in Australia. I wouldn't believe it myself if I wouldn't have made it up just now.Christian

[Guest]

what a knee jerk response.a bird is in no way part of a simulation of a cockpit.go up to some of the real sim guys and ask them whether they simulate birds flying and animals roaming. give me a break.