If I had rushed out and purchased a high end DX10 card and Vista I would be pretty upset right now. That is exactly why I didn't!!I was hoping that the DX10 update would convince me to upgrade, but if anything I have decided my $ will be better off going to a motherboard and CPU upgrade. The DX10 'preview' adds nothing that I see of benefit from the expense of an 8800GTS/GTX and Vista.According to Phil's blog, developers will mostly be sticking to the DX9 path anyway further negating the value of the DX10 features.Glenn

Phil,Focusing time on SP1 was absoloutley the right call. No question in my mind.Anyone buying Vista / DX10 hardware BEFORE SP2 must have understood they were taking a calculated risk?Since when has software development ever followed the plannned path and timeframe?Glenn

The Citations displayed in that post do not reflect the context or the logic that was originally being conviened by the writer. Their incomplete nature also renders them as an invalid arugment support.I too am a very dissapointed customer (as I have written earlier). Although I have expressed my thanks to Phil Taylor for his contribution based on what he has said. In general however:Promises were made, proises were broken. Customers like myself have an adequate reaction to business marketing decisions and the final product. Some of us feel that there maybe a need for change as goals and expactations have not been made. The more of us that agree on this, the easier and sooner this change will occur in order to get the product (or its quality) that some customers feel they deserve.Thanks,Nick MatveevFlight Sim Enthusiast since 2002

>Phil,>>Focusing time on SP1 was absoloutley the right call. No>question in my mind.>>Anyone buying Vista / DX10 hardware BEFORE SP2 must have>understood they were taking a calculated risk?>>Since when has software development ever followed the plannned>path and timeframe?>>Glenn>>Glenn,I probably have a different perspective on this because my computer has a life outside of flight sim.I just finished Portal, and I am laughing so hard I'm crying. It's the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life.

I have yet to even preload it myself. Too busy this week to bother. UT3, COD4 demos both out as well and no time for them. Next week I plan to do a sitdown with portal and test that badboy out. I'm guessing you liked it?________________________________________________________________________________________________Intel D975XBX2 'Bad Axe 2' | Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.20Ghz | 2 GB Super Talent DDR2 800 | Big Typhoon VX | eVGA 8800GTS @ 565/900 | Seagate 2x320GB SATA RAID-0 | OCZ GameXStream 700W | Creative X-Fi | Silverstone TJ-09BW | Matrox Triplehead Setup

Now I am puzzled. I can feel the obvious frustration of several posters BUT what the main crux of the post is the difference between marketing hype and technical delivery. Who says Microsoft has a monopoly on this? If I had a buck for every marketing type who hyped a new product that vaguely resembled the final product, I'd be a rich man.Give it a rest folks! If the marketing types had to wait until the engineering types were really sure they could deliver, we'd have very slow development.To compound this fact and let it detract from the enjoyment of a product is looking at the glass half empty.I prefer to enjoy flying FSX and not dwell on all the things it isn't.I run both XP and Vista and as I've said before, IMHO FSX runs better in XP but looks better in Vista (and I do not have Acceleration).I guess that makes me a MS shill to some, probably because in all the iterations of FS, I have never had a problem that I couldn't resolve to *my* satisfaction. I have many thousands of RT hours and no, FSX is NOT like flying a real a/c but it's pretty darn close. What DOES look realistic is the view, the visual sensation of flight. Stop complaining about the world and just enjoy.Just MHO,VicQ6600 G0 CPU 2.4 o/c 3.6Evga 680i A1 with P30 BIOS 2G XP2-8500 DDR2 1066FSB Mushkin 996535 RAM 5-5-4-12-2T320G 7200 HD partitioned for XP/Vista/Programs 2 - 74G Raptors in RAID0 500G 7200 HD for backup SATA DVD burner Evga 8800GTS 640 PCIx Kandalf LCS case w/ built in liquid cooling 850W Thermaltake power supplyVisit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/

You know what folks? ACES delivered on each and every promise that THEY made.Those screenies, from the start, were clearly labeled as artists' rendition to illustrate the "possibilities" of what DX10 was/is capable of.I still has some old gmax files that our Alex did of the DLR for our LCY project way back. He modeled it exactly...so exactly in fact that the files wouldn't open on any of our computers.The point is DX10 like Gmax or 3ds or any of your other favorite programs can go as far as the eye can see in their own way, but does not mean that you can use all those exacting features.I also don't think it's fair one bit that we let Phil fall on his own sword simply because he's actually trying to make the 'buck stop' with ACES. I feel people are taking advantage of the fact that he's basically being a nice guy (to include the rest of the team)and seemingly, personally, committed himself to delivering the best possible product that they/he can possibly do.YOU ALL MUST LEARN the OBVIOUS differences between 'trying' 'shooting for' and 'will be' or 'promise'. Show us 1 post folks, anyone, just 1 post, where you were actually promised something that was not delivered. *Side note: Same goes for all you guys in the PMDG forums complaing about how they aren't delivering or giving you updates (I can show you about 21 straight days where they did give 'additional info out'.This 'forum-itus' that we all have needs to be at least be fair folks.

>Perhaps I wasnt clear.>>There is one graphics team. So SP1 took away from SP2(DX10).>Count the time since SP1 and you get the focused time we had>on DX10.>>Acceleration planes and scenery are not made by devs, they are>made by content people. The sim devs ( carriers, helos ) and>the multiplayer devs (MP racing) are also distinct. That is>why Acceleration did not impinge on either SP1 or SP2.>>The tradeoff we made on the graphics team was SP1 and fixes>for everybody, versus more DX10 work. >>I repeat I think we made the right call. Phill isn't it actually the opposite regarding software development in general?To much room for errors?In software land they call it a service pack but in general it's most of the time bug fixing (which is a human mistake, hence they build debug functionality in development software)...So in general every SP or bug fixing is a loss for the customer and the developer regarding:- features- price- time- development cost- etc...Time is money ;-) so was it done correct in the first place DX10 should have looked totally different?Actually it's largely accepted a SP but when software development could be done correct in the first place (less complex to develop for the human), we could have a win win situation?Just curious ;-)As for the topic actually I like the shadow stuff and thank you at Aces for all the hard work :-)Will add this one to my FSX installation :-)Cheers,http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/awf1/sign1.jpg

>I have yet to even preload it myself. Too busy this week to>bother. UT3, COD4 demos both out as well and no time for them.>Next week I plan to do a sitdown with portal and test that>badboy out. I'm guessing you liked it?>________________________________________________________________________________________________>Oh man, I hate you dude.I didn't know either of those were coming out soon. There goes next week. To put it simply, the gameplay is fun and challenging in an inventive way, the design is fabulous and the humor...the humor has to be experienced.I'm still laughing about it.

>>I have yet to even preload it myself. Too busy this week to>>bother. UT3, COD4 demos both out as well and no time>for them.>>Next week I plan to do a sitdown with portal and test that>>badboy out. I'm guessing you liked it?>>________________________________________________________________________________________________>>>>>Oh man, I hate you dude.>>I didn't know either of those were coming out soon. There>goes next week. >>To put it simply, the gameplay is fun and challenging in an>inventive way, the design is fabulous and the humor...the>humor has to be experienced.>>I'm still laughing about it.>Actually my both sons had a lot of fun with the beta COD4 at XBOX 360 with stunning graphics I have to say ;-)Cheers,http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/awf1/sign1.jpg

Brian,I will have to take your word for it as I have no idea what 'Portal' is!The only 'games' installed on my PC are FSX, Football Manager 2007 and Pro-Evolution Soccer 6. Not much incentive to go DX10 in any of those titles.....Glenn

"we can only hope that MS itself absorbs the lesson." Yes,and Microsoft might just do that by no longer allowing ACES to communicate on these forums. That would be a pity.Randall

>I think where the guy lost me was when he launched into a>personal attack, calling ACES liars, saying they're>irresponsible, unforthcoming ... impuning their skills as>programmers, making unfounded accusations about their>motivations.>>To wit:>>"Do I think ACES and Microsoft Marketing have been>irresponsible, inconsiderate and less-than forthcoming about>their development plans, engine capabilities and product>functionality?>>"... But I hate feeling like I'm being lied to.>>"... ACES can't figure out how to program for it. >>"... I stand by my accusation>>So, no, I really didn't read the guy's eighth post. Don't want>to read his ninth one either. And I hope his posting priv's>are under review.>>That's inappropriate commentary, and shouldn't be encouraged.Well at least you previously set out your pecuniary interests in MS/FSX so we can plainly see your bias. That's fine. We can put the appropriate weight on your rebuttal/rejoinders.To Josh - I think you've been candid in your comments as to your emotional response to what you perceive as a wrong. But I think the claim you're making amounts to an accusation of fraudulent misrepresentation. Pretty weighty accusation but think it's entirely overstated. The YouTube comments linked to are speculative in terms of FSX "moving forward" with DX10 in mind. Nothing concrete but expectations. So when he states,"we expect..." it's hardly the stuff in the world of software development which could be reducible to "we will..."

Your DX10 card (if you bought one) will not be wasted. Take a look at these Dx9 vs Dx10 screenshots of Crysis. Dx10 itself actually lives up to expectations. You can see nice water, HDR lighting, god rays, lush forest. The magic screenies will come to life......http://www.incrysis.com/index.php?option=c...ask=view&id=511

so... going back to the original post - point 2.how do these shadows perform during limited light, eg. dusk and cloud, anyone know?