Requesting APPLE's support for FLYII

[Fall_guy 1]

This was mailed as a responce to Jim's post on the OLD forum.Hi Jim,.....not sure if this is practicle, but how about writing a couple of paragraphs highlighting the unique opportinity, Apple have in capturing a sector of the gaming market and of course how dissatisfied we are with the lack of support. Followed by a list of names and country of origin (Important to highlight the fact its a global concern). Hopefully if we can generate enough interest and concern......and possibly a little help from our PC friends??.... we should be able to saturate Apples various Sites by emailing the listings. If we can send the listings to as many Apple addresses as possible, its bound to draw attention to our cause somewhere within the Apple community.I'm not saying for one second that we will get results, but if we can get our message accross to APPLE we can certainly start a fire.I for one think its time to fight for what we enjoy.Regards JohnDC-10 Project

[Guest]

This is exactly what I meant with my posting below: I think the only hope we have to get some positive evolution is to get together and start a common action (e-mails, letters ..).Unfortunately my English is not very good, but I could write something in French or German to show the global concern smilie(';)');) Max

[Mac_Paint 35]

John,Count me in.Peter Sterling, US of APete

[Guest ftessler]

Back in November, I emailed Apple's game group (using the address on Apple's game page), and pointed out several discrepancies. For example, their Fly! Ii page says the following:"If you choose to fly in Mac OS X, you

[Fall_guy 1]

Hi Franklin, thanks for the input...........I know flight sims don't account for a whole lot of sales, where Macs are concerned, so perhaps we should stress the fact that we are the gaming community and we want to purchase FLYII and therefore increase Flight Sim sales. I also think one of our strongest points maybe to emphasize the fact that due to Apples poor gaming support for FLYII......... Apple is leaving us with no alternative, but to purchase PC's in order for us to continue enjoying our hobby. After all!..... Apple are in the business of selling computers and if we can stress the point that sales may be affected it may add fuel to our cause.Only a suggestion,......but I think if Rich can spare us five minutes and list the main drawbacks and perhaps suggest what Apple could do in order to make FLYII more playable on the MAC, then I think we should pursue this support . Afterall we can only make Apple aware of our dissatisfaction........and if Apple decline in someway then at least we know where we all stand.If anyone has any suggestions......please respond and get involved.....if you think its a lost cause, then let us all know......on the other hand do you think this is a cause worth fighting for??Thanks for your time JohnDC-10 Project:-roll

[Guest]

Hello Johnmaybe that Frank is right, but I would prefer too to fight and then, as you say, really "know where we all stand". But I have no idea where to send our complaints and reflexions.To be successful,it might be crucial to place our mails at the "right place" ...Max

[Guest ftessler]

Hi, John.Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that we don't do this... I'm only trying to be realistic.As I see it, the only circumstance under which Apple would consider changing its OpenGL implementation would be if the change could benefit other games as well as Fly! II. Apple is a large company with a bureaucracy to match, and decisions are often driven by the bottom line.Another possibility would be for someone at Apple (or elsewhere) to do this on their own and release an unsupported patch, but that would be less desirable, since it could "break" with the next OS revision.Still another question to ponder: Should this change be done for OS 9 or OS X? I think that we're less likely to meet with success if we request the change be made for OS 9. OS X is Apple's future, and that's where resources are going. At some point, I suspect that Apple will release a version of OS 9 that only runs in Classic compatibility mode, which probably wouldn't be a good gaming environment.Meanwhile, I can check around and see who in particular we can write to - having a specific contact is always better.-Franklin ------------------------------Franklin TesslerG4/500Fly! for Mac Forum Co-moderator

[Fall_guy 1]

Thanks Franklin for your info......I have to agree entirely, that if we decide to contact Apple we should attempt to get any development changes implemented for Mac OSX. With this in mind, may I suggest that before we consider how to go about attracting Apples attention, we can draft up some kind of list indicating the MAIN faults and problems and how they can be resolved.Just for your info Franklin, the reason I started this in the first place, was because I cannot get hold of a copy of FLYII(Mac) here in the U.K. Having had it on back order for over eight months with several distributors, they have finally withdrawn distribution of FLYII(Mac) in Europe and Australia. They say that there currently in talks with Take 2 on how to implement changes, in order to make FLYII more playable on a wider range of Macs, although Rich has said, to the best of his knowledge, that he knows nothing about this and know one has approached TRI regarding redevelopment.Any suggestions how to proceed Franklin??Cheers JohnDC-10 Project

[Fall_guy 1]

Hi Max.....Hows the Snow Fall in Switzerland?.....I think you're right that we have to register our complaints at the place which will make the most impact. Ive posted a reply to Franklin, if you'd care to read it and forward any suggestions.Thanks for your support MaxJohnDC-10 Project

[Guest]

Hello Johnfortunately there is still some snow in the mountains,- fortunately, because in a few days I'll have a ski and snowboard camp with my classin the Alps and I prefer skiing there than picking flowers ...smilie(':)')As English is not a language I speak and write fluently (German or French would be much better.. ) I'm afraid that my contribution will be limited to send letters others have prepared.I just realize that I'm unable to run Fly!II on my G4/400 with OSX...By the way: If you can't get a copy of FlyII because it has been withdrawn, I lend you my CDs to have a look, if you want.Max

[Fall_guy 1]

Hi Max,Thanks very much for the offer of viewing your CD's..but I'd be worried about you loosing them in the post!!..or them getting damaged!!......I really appreciate the offer though...its very kind of you. Sorry about the English Max, but its a long time since I spoke French..and my German is'nt up to much.Auf-Wiedersehen:-wave JohnDC-10 Project

[Guest]

Hi John,I've been reading your posts and I think it's a marvellous idea to write to Apple (I agree you would need a specific inside contact to obtain the best result and to get an answer at all) to get their attention on the position of Fly!Secondly, I had ordered a copy of Fly!II for the Mac at Simware (http://www.simw.com/) and it arrived here about two weeks ago. So, perhaps you can check with them if there are still copies available.Best,Jeroen(EHAM)----------Fly! II 2.0.216 Mac versionOS 10.1.3,. 832 MB RAMG4/400

[Guest]

Guys,I have sent Rich Harvey a message regarding the absence of support from TRI, and he put the ball back in Apple's court. Apparently there is a way to get things to work adequately on the Mac side (although it wasn't specified as to whether it would be using OS 9 or OS X).Bascially, the way I understand it is that there could be some major improvements if Apple would provide an OpenGL extension that would access the frame buffer.I understand that Apple is touting themselves as a "gaming platform", so let's see them back it up!I understand that flight sims are a small market, but they are still a viable market.Maybe I will try to put something together for a petition;after all, at this juncture what do we have to lose?Maybe I could get some help from someone who knows more about this stuff than I do.Best regards,Jim

[Fall_guy 1]

Hi Jim and everyone concerned,Are we ALL agreed that this Open GL extension should be the target of our concern.................Rich if your keeping track could you please clarify that this would help matters!OR is there something else we should make Apple aware of in our quest for a usable Flight Sim.Regards JohnDC-10 Project

[Fall_guy 1]

Hi Jeroen,Thanks for the info......I'll try and contact SimW and see if their still distributing copies.Thanks again for the interestJohnDC-10 Project