Nope, not a bash. Slow here too. ;-)

>>>There is another game forum which I will not name here that>>has taken a policy of locking or deleting threads by users>who>>are disappointed with their purchase. >>>Oh please, it isnt that bad ;-).Hehehe - checking the opposition??? :-)He did say "another Game" LOL - guilt conscience? LOLSame thing happens here anyway

>I rarely post on here these days but am a frequent visitor>all the same.>>With regard to the daily FSX bashing, which is becoming>increasingly difficult to circumnavigate, I must say it is all>getting quite boring now. I'm sure if we all took the stance>of not replying to such posts they may eventually disappear>into the AVSIM archives.>>I'm not suggesting for one minute that such users should not>be allowed to voice their opinions but I think we only fuel>the fire by continually replying and counter attacking>negative comments and prolonging the thread needlessly. If>you're happy with FSX please don't waste your time tackling>such negativity, unless the poster is requesting assistance>which is an entirely different matter altogether. Your time>would be better spent (and appreciated) by sharing your>pleasant FSX experiences and tips with us all.>>Cheers>>Dave MarchDave,Good advice.However, the corollary to answering contrary positions is that, aside from mindless and repetitive argument, we occassionaly learn from the discourse.

Dave, I have to humbly disagree. The true "bashing" threads are minimal here with this release. Avsim has a VERY aggressive policing policy and very few warnings and locks have been applied. Yes, a small minority of inclusions DO exist with the childish "Microshaft Sucks", "M$" sophomoric tripe and that should not be tolorated. However, the general outcry from a majority of generally respected members of the community is decidedly negative. Now, many have a problem with the "make do with what you have, stop complaining, everything will be okay when DX10 comes out, so stop whining, 'I' love this sim, I can't see what's the problem, I am only concerned with bushflying so I'm happy everyone else should be happy too" crowd. They are just as unwanted as those who are guilty of disparaging comments because those who say that "all is well" are the opposite swing of the "radical pendulum." And the "all is well" threads are just as useless and baseless as the "bashing" threads because neither serves any purpose what-so-ever. There IS such a thing as a "Grinning Idiot" as much as there is a "Whining Idiot".The fact is, all is NOT well with FSX and neither is Microsoft or the crew from Aces deserving of being denegrated or insulted, the truth indeed lies somewhere in the middle. There is indeed a middle ground of passionate voicing of opinion and fact and most threads have fallen into that category.BUT, let me point out where a lot of extreme bashing stems from: Imagine, you spend your ALL savings on a new dream Ferrari (FSX) and you are extremly excited BUT after you purchase it you find out that to make it go above 5 mph you have to put in Super-GOMO-Hyper Gas (DirectX 10). Well, no problem you say, where do I get it? To which the dealer replies: "Well, it doesn't exist yet, it will probably be out in about 6 months and it will cost you $10,000 to upgrade your gas tank (video card) to use the new gas and will require an engine upgrade (Vista Upgrade) that will cost about $50,000 to use the gas tank (video card) because the gas (DX-10) are not available the old engine(Windows XP). We've built this new car (FSX) to take advantage of the future (DX10-Vista-DX10 Videocard), just think how much you will love it in two years!" And as your blood pressure rises you begin contriving in your mind a 1 hour uninterupted spewing spree of obscenties that would make the drill sargeant from "Full Metal Jacket" hide in shame.LOL.A $70 "game" will cost a minimum of $500 to run (Vista upgrade plus a crappy level DX-10 card) as advertised. The price for many will be well into the thousands! AND that's the big picture, and that's why many are very angry and that's why there is an outcry.Now, I agree that doesn't give anyone the right to be uncivil, but the truth IS the truth no matter how much sugar coating one puts on it. If anything I wrote above is inaccurate I am more than willing to stand corrected, but I don't think there is much wiggle room. I leave you with this: The reason we feel pain is so that the body knows that there's something wrong and action can be taken to remove the pain, ergo, hand is burning:remove hand from fire. Therefore: People are complaining, MS takes notice, attempts to remedy the pain OR people are grinning like idiots, MS takes notice, attempts to apply more of the same...your choice. Disclaimer: My opinions are my own and not that of Avsim in any way.

I never think of it as opposition. I am not in competition with anyone. There is always good things to learn from multiple sources.-Brian

Well Said Mike.

Mike, I greatly respect your FS experience and views on this and other forums. That's why I read and learn from the very many computer experts who give their time to contribute here. However, some have been getting very repetitive and this tends to hide the gold nuggets in the chaff {a good mixed metaphor}. I do not own and cannot afford a Ferrari - rather its an old Volvo {and my FS System is also now nearly 2 years old}. Having seen all the early posts I decided to stay away from FSX but recently I bit the bullet and downloaded the latest demo. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised - yes, it needed some tweaks {the great guys in our hobby}, but I could import one of my favourite freeware aircraft and fly around the demo in VC with very smooth fps and with basic visuals much improved on FS9 at that stage. Next it will be the full version when it is released here - we'll see what happens then and I am aware of the comments on the differences between the two. Finally, I do agree with your last para - if I owned a Ferrari I would feel as you do. That's the major reason why I have decided to save the multi-GBP I was planning to spend on a FSX upgrade {at least for the present of course!}. I hope that MS get the nmessage.John Rooum

Mike,I greatly respect your FS experience and views on this and other forums. That's why I read and learn from the very many computer experts who give their time to contribute here. However, some have been getting very repetitive and this tends to hide the gold nuggets in the chaff {a good mixed metaphor}.I do not own and cannot afford a Ferrari - rather its an old Volvo {and my FS System is also now nearly 2 years old}. Having seen all the early posts I decided to stay away from FSX but recently I bit the bullet and downloaded the latest demo. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised - yes, it needed some tweaks {the great guys in our hobby}, but I could import one of my favourite freeware aircraft and fly around the demo in VC with very smooth fps and with basic visuals much improved on FS9 at that stage.Next it will be the full version when it is released here - we'll see what happens then and I am aware of the comments on the differences between the two.Finally, I do agree with your last para - if I owned a Ferrari I would feel as you do. That's the major reason why I have decided to save the multi-GBP I was planning to spend on a FSX upgrade {at least for the present of course!}. I hope that MS get the message.John RooumPS Sorry folks - tried to edit a spelling and ended up with two posts .........??

Re:>Now, many have a problem with the "make do with what you have,>stop complaining, everything will be okay when DX10 comes out,>so stop whining, 'I' love this sim, I can't see what's the>problem, I am only concerned with bushflying so I'm happy>everyone else should be happy too" crowd. They are just as>unwanted as those who are guilty of disparaging comments>because those who say that "all is well" are the opposite>swing of the "radical pendulum." And the "all is well">threads are just as useless and baseless as the "bashing">threads because neither serves any purpose what-so-ever. >There IS such a thing as a "Grinning Idiot" as much as there>is a "Whining Idiot".and>I leave you with this: The reason we feel pain is so that the>body knows that there's something wrong and action can be>taken to remove the pain, ergo, hand is burning:remove hand>from fire. Therefore: People are complaining, MS takes notice,>attempts to remedy the pain OR people are grinning like>idiots, MS takes notice, attempts to apply more of the>same...your choice. >Priceless Mike! IMO, there is no place for insults, slander, etc in any level-headed forum discussion, but we should also be able to express our views and experiences regardless of whether they fit in the good or bad experience camp. People who are overly negative or positive tend only to annoy their opposite camp rather than getting the message across. The middle ground is where we should all be playing and measured comments from either experience camp should be equally considered by fellow forum members and MS alike.Gary

Very good post Mike.

Indeed it is amazing. And, to me, it is even more amazing how few have given a moment's thought to this new activation requirement and how easily it could render their $70 purchase useless down the road apiece.What this release has done for me is to increase my appreciation for FS2004 ten-fold.

A breath of fresh air, Mike. Thank you.BTW, are you by chance the same Mike T. that was formerly a moderator on the Gathering (of Developers) forums?

>I never think of it as opposition. I am not in competition>with anyone. There is always good things to learn from>multiple sources.>>-BrianNo, it's not that bad here... yet. But it's close. I'm already seeing hints of people wanting to clamp their hands over their ears and go "LALALALALAAAAA!!!" because they don't want to hear that there just might be a scratch in their new pearl. But what gets me the most is how anyone could get upset if SOMEONE ELSE is having a problem with the game. Uncalled for bashing of Microsoft and ACES team members is something that I agree that we don't need, but don't lump everyone who has a problem with the game as whiners and complainers. I don't even have the game yet, and it may turn out that when I do get it, I have no problems with it. It could very well be that those who are have some system issues like hard drive fragmentation, or some kind of bloatware running in the background hogging resources. In fact, I'd highly recommend everyone make use of FS AutoStart to eliminate that. I did with Demo 2 and noticed a significant increase of frames around Julianna. By that I mean about 5 or 6, which is a great improvement over the 15 or so that I was getting. I guess my point is that if you don't like reading that someone is having problems with the game, don't read the posts. Go fly. As for trolls, the tried and true method of not feeding them is really worth it. I see making posts denouncing "whiners" as feeding them and it's just as useless as the troll posts are.

I never bashed FSX. I enjoy it, just a little annoying and frustrating that one of the key features that FSX boasts is unplayable with today's high end hardware, or unlikely with anything in the next year or more. It is an obvious shortcoming of the released product.I am just waiting for MS to address this issue in some form or another. Just tell us that it is the way it is and only better hardware will improve it (and what kind of hardware). Or issue a patch to fix it if it is a software issue. I'd at least like MS to acknowledge the slowdowns due to autogen.

Great post Mike, well thought out and written.