Getting mad...

[hubbabubba]

I just went to have a look at Freeflight Design Shop. AF99 is being phased-out as if it was some sort of relic curiosity.

And it got me mad:

-at those moguls of the sim industry who think that if they make bread's slices bigger, we will all run to the store to get a bigger toaster;

- at those programmers who develop progs that inflates from one version to the next despite the fact that all the programmation tools are designed to do just the opposite;

- at those, now defunct, Radio Schack vendors - the company, not the vendors:icon29: - who could not explain to me why three of their top notch machines, equipped with XP that is supposed to be immune to the "blue screen syndrome", did in fact pleaded with me to "call home" to report a "major failure" to papa Bill staff, while I was evaluating their stututututering CFS3 that was at beginner settings so that it would look "fun" to innocents clients;

- to that particular Radio Shack vendor who tried to explain that pathetic disaster saying "This PC is not configured for gaming", a poster attached to that computer telling exactly the opposite;

- to those fony "evaluations" on web sites that are describing as "occasionals frame rates slow-downs" the fact that a Dauntless, diving for the kill, may decide to take a pause for one or two seconds.

You are invited all to vent your frustration by continuing this thread on the same theme.

Hubbabubba

[denisch]

I just went to have a look at Freeflight Design Shop. AF99 is being phased-out as if it was some sort of relic curiosity.

I'm disappointed at this also. Monthly, on different forums, I read of fellow simmers wanting to get into aircraft design for CFS1 but not having the proper tools to do so. I direct them to try and find a copy of AF99, but I know as time goes by its getting more and more difficult to find.

Recent postings on this site have led me to believe that CFS1 still has much life left in her. Perhaps we can petition Freeflight Design Shop, gather signatures or an open letter, and convince them to keep AF99 on line. Perhaps a unified front will change their minds.

[denisch]

- at those, now defunct, Radio Schack vendors - the company, not the vendors:icon29: - who could not explain to me why three of their top notch machines, equipped with XP that is supposed to be immune to the "blue screen syndrome", did in fact pleaded with me to "call home" to report a "major failure" to papa Bill staff, while I was evaluating their stututututering CFS3 that was at beginner settings so that it would look "fun" to innocents clients;

To be honest CFS3 had problems from the beginning and I don't know if all of them were ever resolved by MS. My hats off to all those simmers who, through sheer loyalty, stuck with CFS3 and made it work.

[hubbabubba]

Hello denisch!

Its not only for designers that I am getting mad but also for flight simmers. As I have stated in another post, there's two kind of simmers: those who buy computer to fit their games and those who buy games to play on their computer. I'm of the second kind myself.

There's no reason whatsoever for any program, games or others, to get bigger from one release to another. Quite to the contrary, compilers and language code are supposed to do just the opposite! I have never heard of a language program creator proclaiming that "my new language will inflate your programs and make them usable on only the most advanced computer on the market".

PC are "phased out" after about six months, six months! When we bought the machine that I'm using now, on-line "workbench" were telling me that it was on the 5% "top" category. Six months later, FS2000 was released, I bought the "pro" version just to realize that I could play with it but not make planes as my video-card was not powerful enough! A couple of months after that they threw on the market CFS2, which I bought. After installing the game I went for a shooting match with zeros in a Wildcat, if memory serves me right. The first pass along one of my Japanese "enemy" was an eyesore! Multicolor triangles we're flashing all over the screen! Now my video-card was not even good enough to play the game!

The family PC was not even one year old!

And we're not going to dump:toilet: a good machine just for that.

Hubbabubba

[Willy]

I went through something similar with my old comp. I bought it originally for school work, but discovered computer games, then flight sims. When I found CFS 1, I soon discovered that if I was going to get the most out of CFS, I'd have to upgrade. What started out as a Cyrix 266, 64mg RAM & onboard video ended up was a AMD K6/550, 128mg RAM with a VooDoo 3. CFS was rockin' on it. Then CFS 2 came out and I never could get it to quit stuttering on that comp. So I stuck with CFS 1 until I built this new machine.

On this one, I'd gotten an advance copy of the recommended specs for CFS 3 and based on previous experience with MS flightsims, I tripled those with a AMD Athlon 2000XP+, 512mg and a Geforce 4 440MX. After numerous tweaks and I could get CFS 3 to run fair on this one. But CFS 1 & 2 both scream on it. Unfortunately with a decided lack of HD space (40g) and a burgeoning FS2004 folder, I uninstalled CFS in both versions

I've since got a deal on a Asylum FX5200 vid card and with a recent reformat of the ol' HD, I've got room to put CFS back on. Just have to find all the good ol' add ons I had before. (I think most are here now)

[RNZAF Gooney]

~S~ Ello all!


HubbaBubba, I am with you on this, to a degree...There is a theory to the madness of programs (like the CFS series) getting larger and more complicated, thereby requiring higher performance machines. People invariable would look at CFS 2 as just an expansion of CFS 1, which it is to a degree, but with more complex features, like the graphics.

I do have CFS 3, though not installed at teh current time. Once in awhile I'll instal it and mess with it abit, then rip it back out as I get bored rather quickly with it. The same with IL2:FB. I am basically a devotee of CFS, as a gamer, scenery tech (in training), and aircraft constructor (ditto). Just something about seeing something you created yourself.

As to AF99 being pulled, definitely not good. I guess they can't justify the price versus what they think is a lack of interest. We should petition these people to keep it alive!

Just my two cents worth.....which, factoring for inflation, is meaningless :costumes:

[hubbabubba]

Well,Gooney!

Your two cents are worth about three our side of the border:) ! So, don't despair.

I am not saying that, for example, CFS2 makers should not have inserted Z-buffering into their video rendering code. I'm saying that they should have taken at least a moment to try to get their game playable by as much PC as possible.

Would you buy a car today knowing that before winter's end they will not even make spare tires for it?

That's my three cents:costumes: !

Hubbabubba

[hubbabubba]

Try to imagine this: a group of developers who want to sell, let us say, a new air freshener device for cars.

Their problem: how to release it so that it will only works in Hummer's build in the last six months?

Of course, this situation only make sense if the developers works for Hummer.

For whom do CFS2 and 3 do work for?

Hubbabubba

[smilo]

...As to AF99 being pulled, definitely not good. I guess they can't justify the price versus what they think is a lack of interest. We should petition these people to keep it alive!

Okay, So this might be a Pie in the Sky idea.
First, does anyone have the ear of Abacus to suggest that they offer AF99 as Freeware? What the hey, if they don't want to sell it, then give it away unsupported. It might even be a good marketing strategy for people to look at their product line. It would be better than snatching it off some Rusian Site.
BTW; With that in mind, what are the implications of copying it and giving it away? I'm not clear on the legalities and "morality" issues of doing something like that without permission. I mean, if Abacus doesn't want to sell it anymore, what's wrong with giving a copy to a "friend"?
smilo

[hubbabubba]

Well smilo,

The first portion of your remarks does make sense. Alphasim has done exactly that with some of their add-ons aircrafts designed for FS98 and CFS1 and 2 if my memory serves me right. We just need some volunteer to draft a petition to Abacus that every "CFS1 die hard" could endorsed. I'm sure that SOH would gladly put it for download in its "CFS1 Add-ons" list.

The second part of your suggestions, I simply don't agree with. That Russian site is in violation of copyright laws, and so would you if you redistributed your legally obtained copy of AF99 to a friend, even for free. The Russian site probably doesn't care less as they are in a "pirate's paradise" that would cost a lot of dough to Abacus to sue. But you're not that far from their lawyers.

It would also place you, and us on the rebound, in a very precarious position to ask for what you were suggesting in the first part of your post, don't you think?:173go1:

Hubbabubba

[smilo]

Hubbabubba,
Thanks for the input. As I recall from a past post, you are an attorney, true? I was hoping for a legal reply to the question, not making a suggestion. I would very much like to see this done properly.
As for stepping up and writing a petition, I'm afraid to say, I'll pass, but will be more than willing to add my name to the list of signees.

As a side bar, I just heard from Andrea today. Thanks again for the lead.
smilo

[hubbabubba]

Hello smilo!

I WAS a criminal lawyer working for the prosecution, the rough equivalent of one of your deputy District attorneys. Intellectual property laws were part of the program at university and bar school but I never practice in that area.

I have checked the Russian's site D/L, it is at least virus-free, but I don't know how someones going to get a key.

Concerning a petition, I think that somebody fluent in English should write it.

Hubbabubba

[Ivan]

How about this as a compromise: Make the download available and charge for the keys? The problem here as I see it is that AF99 was not originally sold as a downloadable package so someone at Abacus might actually have to go back and repack it in some manner. This is something they might be unwilling to do because of the perceived lack of interest in the product. An alternative might be simply to charge for the key and not worry about how the prospective designer got the media or download.

- Ivan.