Folks like @NixonRedgrave, @CasualClick, @TheSevenflyer and other like-minded individuals are those who make these forums worthwhile. They are worthy role-models and I admire them greatly.
I listen to everything they say, (even if I don’t necessarily agree), because their comments are carefully considered, based on fact, (insofar as that is possible), and they criticize the problem, not the person.
If I disagree, they are more than willing to explain their reasoning - and are willing to consider other viewpoints. Their patience and willingness to guide and help is legendary.
The SevenFlyer, (a moderator), and CasualClick, (I believe he’s also a moderator), have provided invaluable personal assistance and guidance regarding forum etiquette and how to express myself here correctly.
In the case of NixonRedgrave, I completely understand his angst. It’s like a rug-burn, you can only rub against something for so long before it hurts, and he is entirely within his rights to express a certain modicum of frustration. More importantly, he expresses it as his own angst, not as a rant against everything and everybody, making the forums unpleasant. Even in frustration he is professional and offers a considered and constructive opinion.
My hat’s off to all of them, and I sincerely wish that they continue as the competent, professional influence and example that they are.
I do my best to stay positive as well…but I recently went off about the lack of fire fighting for helicopters. Hopefully it’s a planned addon release or something…
CasualClick is a moderator. My hats off to all of them. I have had private messages with a few, including the ones you mentioned, and they have always been helpful and understanding.
Regarding NIxonRedgrave, I hope he is doing well. He is the best and most helpful of all users on this forum. I understood his angst and like I said I should have messaged him. It was not my intent to hurt him. I do miss him but I’m afraid due to his expectations with the sim he would still be frustrated.
If he doesn’t come back when SU2 beta is released I will message him and see what he’s up to.
Weeeell. . . . I don’t know if he’s THE best, (), but he is indeed a shining beacon of knowledge and reason, worthy of the respect and admiration of everyone here. He’s one of a select few here that I’d love to sit with over a pint, (or tea), and just discuss aircraft, sims, and all the stuff that goes into making something like MSFS worthwhile.
And the lack of competent training in either of the sims is also unfortunate, but hey, you can’t have everything! IMHO, you can have it one of two ways:
Rejoice in what we have, an amazing feat of programming that I wouldn’t have expected to see outside of a Top Secret research or intelligence facility.
Complain, moan, fuss and cry over this or that thing - completely destroying the enjoyment for anyone else unlucky enough to have found your rant.
I’m not talking about raising an issue and engaging in an intelligent and constructive discussion on what causes it and how to mitigate the problem.
What I’m talking about is the endless whining about things everyone is already aware of. At some point we need to stop kicking those rocks because it doesn’t help. (And the only thing you get out of kicking rocks is a sore foot!)
IMHO, we need to start helping find solutions for the places where there are bumps in the road instead of complaining about the bumps.
I’ve loaded up FSX just for Ron Macado’s training sessions. Others have found solace in products like Say Intentions or Navigraph, (and other flight/piloting aids). And there are legions of other 3rd-party devs out there who perform the Tasks of Hercules daily, providing those little, (and not so little - PMDG comes to mind), touches that make the sim great.
Are there problems? Absolutely! I challenge you to point out anything worthwhile that is entirely devoid of problems. (I can name that tune in ZERO notes! )
Is it a phenomenal piece of work? Absolutely! I’ve worked on projects that were gnarly enough to curdle milk, and yet nothing I’ve ever worked on comes within light-years of the complexity of these two sims.
I’m for having fun with what we have and providing constructive feedback where I can - within the specific places where constructive feedback is welcome - helping to improve what is already a phenomenal piece of software.
I WANTED to join the dev forum but when I attempted joining, somehow my device password was changed! I filed a bug report with each of the devs, the MSFS people and Microsoft. To date I have received not even an acknowledgment of the problem, much less a fix.
Yeah, we’ll probably need to just grab a couple of barrels and wait until the next version (MSFS2028?) - maybe even MSFS2032?
Nope, it is not broken! I started with the flight sim they provided with the Radio shack computer build, dots and shadows. No, I like our new Flight Sim 2024 because I spend my time making all my add-on work. I think the X-box simmers should have be made to wait until the game could be made complete for them. Thank you for taking us forward with a super product, which still is the best avilable.
Thank you so much Nixon, for both your comments, perspective, and also for Falcon. I lost countless hours/days playing Falcon, and Falcon 3.0 was an absolute masterpiece. When you look at MSFS today, you should realise that “YOU” personally, contributed to the lineage of flight simulation. You should be proud of that, and wow, you did an amazing job at the time.
Today we see farther, because we stand on the shoulders of giants. You are one of those giants. Thank you sir.
Broken? No. I can fly for hours with no problems regularly. Are there a few bugs? Yes. Are some planes virtually unflyable? Well, yes. But as long as the planes you love aren’t those few really bad ones, it’s a great experience.
It’s not broken, but its got some bugs. SU2 has been better, especially if you avoid career mode, and in free flight if you have a few payware planes. Some of the default planes are in not great shape.
Like you I am old as old can be. Well not really, but I too started with the first “flight sim”. I don’t miss those days to be sure. MSFS 2024 still has many issues. As a real world pilot, I am seeing a very disparaging issue regarding career mode, medium cargo missions. Especially in Alaska. Flying the Pilatus PC-12 NGX, they have me taking off from strips to short for a Cessna. Or one mission in particular has me flying into Anchorage, landing at Lake Hood (PALH), in real life is a 75 foot wide x 2,200 foot long gravel runway. Just a bit North is Merrill (PAMR) or just adjacent, Ted Stevens (PANC). No way in any real world scenario would these airports that MSFS has us operating at be a departure or a landing site. My guess is that these are randomly generated by some strange algorithm and no human is checking the reality of the flight logistics. It really detracts from the fun of career mode, which is about the only mode I fly in. Only occasionally do I do free flight. Yeah, the aircraft and some of the situations are buggy. Yeah, they need to be fixed because they don’t work as they should. All it takes is time and money. They take our money and waste our time. But, with all that said, it is still a very good attempt and has good potential, if they actually fix anything.
), but he is indeed a shining beacon of knowledge and reason, worthy of the respect and admiration of everyone here. He’s one of a select few here that I’d love to sit with over a pint, (or tea), and just discuss aircraft, sims, and all the stuff that goes into making something like MSFS worthwhile.
