posted 04-03- 09:38 AM            

We have a rash of incomaptiblities because of the contest. Planes were rushed to meet the deadline. Keep in mind that no one is doing this for the small purse being offered(not that I am slamming the prizes), they are doing it for the joy of creation. After being part of a four member team, I can attest that it is mind boggling the amount of work that goes into a project. Anyone who has worked on any project can tell you that. Bjorn and JT were up all night till zero hour making sure our P47 was in shipping quality. JT even pulled an all-nighter, can you believe that?

People are spending an awful lot of time building and creating things. Sometimes it borders on the edge of insanity. Did I have to create 4 different paint schemes for the P47? No, but I did because I like to create and I am a very competitive person. I only could have did one and said to heck with it. But, instead, I busted my ass and did all four. Now I'm completely burnt out on it. Thank goodness others are doing schemes for it.

But, please, before you guys really start flaming and get mad at each other, take a step back for a moment and calm down. Then think that all this stuff we create is free and the we do it because we either like to create or love the game. It's very sad to see agruing over creations that were made to enhance the game.

posted 04-03- 10:33 AM               

I agree with you 100%

Some where along the line the true intention of the "PlanePack" got lost I fear ...

It's innitial intention was (and for some still is).. meant to be the "STANDARD FOR ONLINE PLAY".

But obviously with the steady increase very cool aircraft production we also see a perallel useage of these "NON-PLANEPACK" aircraft that have several revisions out already.

I'm not slamming these new planes ... but people are abusing the online standard by using them there.

"ONLINE STANDARD" used the following criteria:

AIRCRAFT

1.) Model and skin was complete and compatable with FS.
2.) FM had been modified to be a close representation of it's contemperary.
3.) Had been tested for compliance for the above by either the OPP group or outside beta.

OBJECTS

1.) Model and skin was complete and compatable with FS.
2.) Had been tested for compliance for the above by either the OPP group or outside beta.

However NOW ... it appears the planepack is viewed as the melting-pot for "ALL THINGS CREATED" ...

Everyone NEEDS to understand their roll in keeping the PLANEPACK and online usage as clean and pure as possible.

This means ...

1.) Use the PlanePack (what ever version is most current) without exception when online.

2.) Do not uses non-planepack aircraft, unless you specificely post the plane and version in your hosted mission.

The community NEEDS to understand ... that the planepack is means to avoid problems by giving the community the "latest and greatest" in a few large (and growing) par files ... "DOWNLOADING LARGE FILES IS ALMOST MANDATORY" if one wishes to avoid online mis-matches ...period.

There ... I've said my peace.

posted 04-03- 11:11 AM            

I just wanted to say, how much I admire the work you and all the developers have done for FS. Everytime I download a new plane, I think wow that's unbeliveable, how good it looks. And that's the reason everybody want's to use it online too.

Please stop making these marvellous planes !!,
otherwise we always will have that problem. Sorry couldn't resist
Anyway don't listen to the bitching posts. I think 99.999% of the players really love all the planes we get.

Regards
Bakunin

posted 04-03- 12:38 PM               

Soon there will be no more "not enough planes" frustration in SDOE, but the great next step would be to make all planes feel as good as the Jug. Some really don't. Many people could help in FM testing. All is needed is a watch and lots of patience.

posted 04-03- 01:31 PM               

Don't be discouraged. Your work and the work of your fellow modellers is beyond praise. I am amazed sometimes at the demands made on you from the messageboard. Gimme, gimme, gimme. I for one find this whole Fighter Squadron thing an amazing experience and the new planes and terrains and skins and missions are a fanastic example of community.

The other thing is, while there has been a lot of messages recently about the untidiness of it all, I like the mess, the glitches, the having to explore to keep up to date. It's part of the experience. This isn't about customer service by some commercial company but about self development. And even the customer service here, if you have a problem, is far better than any you can get from the profit-makers. I have asked many idiot questions and busy people have replied in an instant.

Trust me, you are appreciated. More than you may realise.

posted 04-03- 02:12 PM               

This will let people know if your flying something not in the Planepack. if i fly with the hurricane or P47 i put "5.3a "P47" needed" or "5.3a "hurricane" needed"

It's as simple as that. people looking for games that don;t have the planes don;t need to join. yet people join anyway then get in and go oh, i don't have that and leave.

It's easy to fix just people are making a big deal out of nothing..

posted 04-03- 05:11 PM               

Even if you add it to the mission name people will try and join. and then the makers won't want to leave that person out and everyone will have to wait for them to DL and install, then it will turn out he DLed the wrong version. So more DLing. Thats why we need a page like I mentioned in my post that is updateable by the plane makers so they can upload there most current planes. and the page keeps track of it all.

posted 04-03- 07:51 PM               

Now from the rather touchy thread I started I've gathered enough information to know that the bugs left in 5.3a will remain, becuase it really is too hard for the guys to fix them with an easy to do patch, now I'm happy with that, because after all this time, we know there wont be a patch, and the subject is dead. But I do think that if you are going to release a plane pack, and automatically make it online standard, then it should be right, because everyone flying online will have to have it.

I would suggest, releasing it, and upon release being online standard is bad practice, given the problems everyone had from that start. I think it would be a better plan of action to release what is believed to be the finished pack, but allow probably 2 weeks before making it Online Standard, because I believe that due to there never being a bug list contained within PP5.3, that the makers believed that everything was working fine, but as we now know, it wasn't.

I'd request a 2 week period of user testing after the release of a Plane Pack before making it online standard... but I think I kinda pissed a few ppl off with the way I slapped 5.3 and they'd only ignore me now

~Nat~
oh Dan.. you know my thoughts already on the P47, and I'm sure I've said very similar things about other ppls a/c releases and even mposis's Akagi. What I didn't want was to seem ungrateful, or oblivious to what a hell of alot of hassel it is for the builders, I'm not. My flame was more directed at what I've mentioned above, making something bug filled Online Standard. OK, this happens.. but please just let us know when the bug reports come in what can/can't will/wont be fixed. Thats what I was annoyed about. if anything isn't online standard I'd never complain about it in such a way, and I've always encouraged constructive fault finding in new releases, I got pissed purely because 5.3a is online standard, and we've never heard about fixing it before ppl start mentioning 5.4 until now.

I appologise to you Dan, if my posts have offended you personaly in anyway.

~Nat~