Nick Needham

[vgbaron 3,726]

My friend Nick Needham aka NickN has passed.  He will be sorely missed. He could be brusque but , if you listened, he always had solid information on software and hardware. He was a master at overclocking and many things. He didn't flaunt it much but he had a Phd in Electrical Engineering and was a respected member of the NASA team.

Farewell my friend -  "I am the stuff stars are made of"

Vic

[Bob Scott 7,759]

I'm truly saddened to hear that.  Nick's guides to setting up PCs for simming were legendary back in the FSX era, and his work on Ground Environment was appreciated by many.

RIP

 

[Biggles2010 344]

Thanks for notifying us Vic. It's very sad news.

I suspect there are many current forum users who will not be familiar with Nick's contribution to flight simulation, particularly with the graphics improvements which he introduced with the Ground Environment series. There was notable collaboration with Steve Halpern and the Ultimate Terrain team, to make their products compatible and complimentary, so they became essential addons for most of us veteran simmers. The difference those products made to earlier FS versions was as striking as going from FSX to MSFS.

Nick's work prompted the drive towards the kind of graphics we expect and take for granted today, He provided a great service to the whole flight sim community.

[mwilk 1,107]

That's a shame. I used his guides for years.

[FBW737 519]

May he rest in peace. I corresponded with him many times over the years. Honestly, I'm very sorry to hear this news, I had a great fondness for him and found him to be totally hilarious. He beat the word not allowed out of me on numerous occasions:

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by FBW737

[overspeed3 410]

I know Nick probably stopped and kissed the sky on his way up...

[SierraHotel 989]

Very sad to hear this news, I followed Nicks advice for many years. RIP my friend.😢

[rayharris108 259]

Saddened to hear about Nick. He did not have an easy time and was not afraid to speak his mind, but he really added to our experience of FS2004 and FSX. 

I also remember him, who with Anthony Vos, brought us Ground Environment (and helped with UTX Flight Environment?) as well as giving us 'the FS Bible'. Way ahead of his time he gave incalculable support and a great and essential products to so many simmers without whom the FS world, particularly pre P3D would have been much the poorer.

You only have to look at Avsim archives to see the amount he contributed to FSX, making what was a promising but frustratingly basic platform much more enjoyable: 

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/65992-a-big-thank-you-to-nick-n-and-the-folks-who-brought-us/

RIP friend - many of us have fond memories of you!

[pmb 5,138]

Thanks for making us aware. Nick was a legend, I still recall his guide which was kind of a bible for optimizing all aspects of the machine for making fsx running well at its time.

Will keep him in good memory.

Kind regards, Michael

[markmasterson 65]

I echo everyone's comments.  I used his guides, ultimate terrain and received many years of enjoyment from his dedication to our hobby.  Let's all keep in mind we only have right now, tomorrow is not guaranteed. Speak (Or write) softly, peacefully , and respectfully.  Nick was always helpful to me as respect was always shown.  Lessons in these forums that I wish our hobbies will remember.  Rest in Peace Nick

[jrhoads 6]

Nick was a good friend of mine.

Many a long and fervent conversation were had. And often! 🙂

Nick called a few weeks ago and said in advance that it was going to be rough, but he wanted to call one more time and try it.
It was rough but I'm glad he did.

Nick, you were a huge contribution to this thing we call Flightsim.and a lot of times your message was misunderstood.
You were brilliant, passionate and did not suffer fools gladly. A man after my own heart.

As Vic said "I am the stuff stars are made of" 
If you understand that statement, then very likely you were a friend of Nicks.

They threw the mold away when they made you.
I will miss you my friend.

[cmpbellsjc 2,963]

Wow, I had no idea that Nick had passed. He was a really nice guy and am sorry to hear the news.

I first found out about Nick's guide when I needed assistance with a new build, OC and set up for FSX after Michael Greenblatt from FS-GS had passed away.
 

I contacted Nick and he communicated privately in email exchanges helping me pick PC components for a build and then spent hours for me with set up and sending me zip files of drivers, BIOS updates and all kinds of stuff to make sure I was set up completely.

I thanked him profusely for all the help and offered to send him some gift cards to his favorite restaurants or anything he wanted, but he declined and said it was his pleasure to help out.

I never new he had health issues but I think he’d told me he’d once been into competitive weight lifting or power lifting.

 

On 3/30/2022 at 3:37 PM, jrhoads said:

🙂

Nick called a few weeks ago and said in advance that it was going to be rough, but he wanted to call one more time and try it.

 

Was he battling cancer and undergoing chemo? I’m glad he reached out to you before he passed.

[vgbaron 3,726]

He'd been fighting cancer for quite a while. I talked to him a few weeks ago and it was very painful for him to carry on a conversation. He knew what was coming but had the same attitude as always. Told me his main regret was that he and I never had time to go out and see who could drink the other under the table.  🙂 

Your experience with Nick was not unique - he helped many people asking nothing in return. Some he did online in forums and some, like you, were back channel with no publicity or recognition except in that he helped someone who wanted to learn.

I shall miss our chats.........

[sniper31 651]

Very sad news indeed. I too remember NickN's guides and assistance from back in the day. I followed his guides for years! Definitely one of the Flight Sim Greats. May he rest in peace.

[stans 710]

Very sorry to hear of his passing.  Nick really was a legend in the FSX community with his guides and fixes.