1 minute ago, Silverbird said:

I consider myself a graphics freak or whatever lol but the graphic's are ok for me

HI Dave glade your doing better welcome back! I really think the maddog team should just try it out and put it on sale I really don't think they would lose money maybe even gain more I wonder did they ever talk about being the Microsoft store that would help with sales they to get away from just being on simmarket. 

I hear you man, I really do.  I understand sales, especially in the flight sim world (I've worked for enough devs and stores).  The owner of Leonardo is actually a genius.  Well, that's not accurate.  He's a what geniuses call a genius.  I'm not kidding. I believe every one of the team has an IQ of 140 or better. and Davide makes us all look dumb just by getting up in the morning.  Google "Davide Marras CERN". Then spend some time reading the papers he's written... you'll likely feel as humbled like the rest of us!

Then there's Stephano, the Leonardo Administrator, he too is just an awesome guy!  None of us including me see the sales numbers or expenses, I'm just a lowly tester with and happy to be that with such a group!  I will of course be happy to pass the message along, but I'm confident that Davide and Stefano knows what they're doing. By the way, they are both incredibly nice, humble guys. Davide created the Maddog because of his love of the aircraft, flight sim, and flight simmers, he's really one of us! Anyway, there's a little insight to things.

For my part, I just love talking about and reporting on the Maddog.  That VR Cockpit, MAN!

Anyway, thanks to all of you.  You guys be well!

Dave

 

 

 

So, will you guys forgive me if I write a little more about the Maddog?  I've been a bit long winded, so I'll make this short (you don't REALLY believe that, do you?).

First, the VC Mod on FlightSim.TO is certainly an improvement.  Tonight I tested with and without in VR and Virtual Cockpit (VC), and I do prefer the mod. Thanks to the Addon Linker (Awesome), it's easy to implement!

Obviously I love the Maddog, I'm sure I don't have to explain any of that to you fine guys as you likely feel the same.  But there is one major thing I've never liked about flying her at night in the sim.  I'm betting some of you can guess what it is... the lighting of the Overhead Panel!  Way back before Virtual Cockpits we had one front view and we had to open 2D Panels for the rest... and that put everything at easy reach.  But after Virtual Cockpits came out, most of us stuck to them and there had to be a major reason for us to degrade our sim experience by opening a 2D panel, even if it existed.

Present day.  In the Virtual Cockpit (FSX, P3D, MSFS), the Panel and Flood knobs for the Overhead are located at the very top of the overhead.  That is of course where they are in real life, but in the Virtual Cockpit (the "VC") they are impossible to see, let along get to, without a well calibrated TriackIR or VR Headset.  So anyway, when booting into the Dog (she's no lady... lol), the knobs for the Overhead Panel and Flood are turned all the way off just as they'd likely be in real life when the last crew secured the aircraft.  But it's a major pain for those in flight sim who only use a VC without benefit of a something akin to a TrackIR or VR Headset, and boot in at night Cold and Dark (I've not checked the other panel states). Back in FSX and P3D we could easily create our own replacement panel states, but I don't think this is so easy to do in MSFS.

So what do you guys think about this?  Should we leave it like it is, or change the state file to have the knobs turned enough that you can see what you're doing after the flightdeck door is closed?  For those who don't know, the light from the cabin provides enough ambient lighting to see the overhead panel when the cabin lights are on and the flightdeck door is open.

Love to hear your thoughts on this.

4 hours ago, Sunshine13 said:

sound is only problem

easily patched with FTSim addon

1 hour ago, okupton said:

I’d certainly pick this up if it went on sale.  I’ve been looking at getting it for a while but haven’t been able to justify the cost to myself for a plane that is essentially a relic of the past.

The deeper you get into this hobby, the more you will realize limiting yourself just because a plane is not common anymore is your loss.  Learning the MD-80 in my opinion is more rewarding than planes like the 737 and A320 simply because it's more challenging.  

1 hour ago, micstatic said:

The deeper you get into this hobby, the more you will realize limiting yourself just because a plane is not common anymore is your loss.  Learning the MD-80 in my opinion is more rewarding than planes like the 737 and A320 simply because it's more challenging.  

I’m pretty deep in this hobby already…

I’ve flown the maddog since coolsky in fs9 and have always loved the plane.  I just don’t know if I can justify spending €100 with the expansion pack. 
 

I know the Leonardo is an excellent plane and worth the asking price, I just prefer flying real world schedules in a VA so don’t know if I’d get €100 worth out of it.  Sure it’s my loss, but that’s how I prefer to sim.

 

I would really like to see an expansion package with the old analogue gauges. The ability to change to that back in FSX was amazing. It made you feel like you were really flying an old work horse. 

5 hours ago, DaveCT2003 said:

I get the price thing, I'll mention it, but given the detail to which this gal has been modeled and the ongoing work on her, I dunno what type of traction it will get.

I mean, we have to respect the fact that they are seemingly satisfied with their current revenue...

OTOH, one of the key premises of MSFS v2020 was/is that the market is order(s) of magnitude larger than FSX/P3D, along with the fact that many "gamers" are reluctant to consider the high prices of Tier 1 addons.

I've never seen a bad review of Mad Dog (other than textures), so they might want to dip their toe in the lower price pool via a sale now and again. Even if it's just around major holidays, etc.

It's just kinda hard to consider spending $80 on an addon when I can get Fenix for $60 and PMDG for $35. And yeah, I'm a "casual" when it comes to airliners 🙂

15 hours ago, sdirand said:

you couldn't be more right. This is an aircraft I would surely buy if it was on sale.

As this is not an aircraft I would use as often as the PMDG 737 or Fenix A320, IMHO the price is too expensive right now. Also the quality is maybe not as good compared to PMDG / Fenix.

I might not be the the only one thinking that so with a 25% or 30% discount, I'm sure Leonardo would rack some extra sales that they would never have otherwise.

The flight model and systems are excellent but the graphics and sound mostly ported

I like the graphics here in 2K. Havent tried out the mod. Is it hard on VRAM and performance? 

The digital reflections from the  fuel gauges in the FMS is great.

Might have to look into the sound thing. The sound addon for P3D was good.

Michael Moe

Edited February 23, 20242 yr by Michael Moe

Oh i highly recommend FSi Panel with the Maddog. If you have the pro version you can also fail systems in the air .There is also scenarios but havent used them though. I use it alot for testing my controls on approach and for fun.

Michael Moe 

Can anybody tell me if the pilot seat is hideable (like the PMDG) or slideable (like the Fenix)?  

21 minutes ago, KL Oo said:

Can anybody tell me if the pilot seat is hideable (like the PMDG) or slideable (like the Fenix)?  

No to both

Michael Moe 

7 hours ago, DaveCT2003 said:

So what do you guys think about this?  Should we leave it like it is, or change the state file to have the knobs turned enough that you can see what you're doing after the flightdeck door is closed?  For those who don't know, the light from the cabin provides enough ambient lighting to see the overhead panel when the cabin lights are on and the flightdeck door is open.

Love to hear your thoughts on this.

Trying to find the light switch in the dark is about as real as it gets. I think Davide got it right in this iteration. 

MSFS lets you use a flashlight if you need it, IIRC.

13 minutes ago, WestAir said:

Trying to find the light switch in the dark is about as real as it gets. I think Davide got it right in this iteration. 

MSFS lets you use a flashlight if you need it, IIRC.

Yes i also just use the flashlight

Michael Moe 

7 hours ago, micstatic said:

easily patched with FTSim addon

Can you help me understand the concept on their website with monthly payment? I am not sure what to choose. There doesnt seem to be a nornal life license?

Thanks Michael Moe