Don’t forget that Leonardo’s great reputation is also based on the fact that they never stop to improve their products. After the release of the FSX version they improved the VC with several updates. They added PBR when it became available. And gave us the EFB for free. Whereas FSLabs and PMDG wanted big money for their EFBs. So I’m sure they will not stop to work on the VC after the release.
Honestly, the only thing that worries me is the sound set. I think they never really improved it in the last 10 years. And it is still a poor representation of how a MD-80 sounds. Especially in exterior view it sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Just compare this…
…with the excellent TSS sound set for the FSX/P3D version of the Maddog:
It’s a difference like night and day. The sound in the VC is rather bland as well. I haven’t heard any wind noise in the preview videos. Hopefully they will find a way to improve the sounds somewhere down the line. The Maddog definitely deserves a good sound set.