Freeware development - what do you reckon?

[hyperpep111]

Pegger, your reasoning is sound.

No one is holding guns to our heads to force us to buy the product.

Some people just want the World for $19.99.

Pegger's reasoning makes sense. Strategic Rat is just beating all that was said to death for having some bad experience with Microsoft in the past, I'm sure.

[BrandonF]

Pegger, your reasoning is sound.

No one is holding guns to our heads to force us to buy the product.

Some people just want the World for $19.99.

Pegger's reasoning makes sense. Strategic Rat is just beating all that was said to death for having some bad experience with Microsoft in the past, I'm sure.

[pete]

So much negativity...to quote as previously said.

Why would 3rd party addons not exist? Even for your run of the mill PC games out there today that are not in the least bit designed to be open source, there exists large volumes of addons (also known as hacks or mods) that are created by those users who are so inclined and interested in doing so. And those interested in adding the mods to their games drive the ambition of the developers to make the mods and to find ways to distribute them.

And to assume that the lack of a scheduled 3rd party addon system for Flight is what is going to kill the franchize....really? I think the existence of the addon community is driven by the users, not the producers. Most of us are here simply as leeches, and fewer serve as the peers (to put it in terms of file sharing, which is essentially what is going on here, but not in the illegal way).

If you all decide to turn your back on new versions of simulators (or games, however you feel you need to refer to the program), then the franchise will not fail like some predict that it will. It will decline in popularity just like FS 2004 and FSX did, and get cheaper in the stores. And some of you will in turn buy it at a cheaper price, because you would have justified that to your self somehow or another that it was ok for cheap, but not for full price. Then Microsoft will react to your boycott by counting the money from the last release, regardless of if it sold for full release price, or decreased on-the-way-out price (which still = profit by the way), and then evaluate what the selling price for FS12 will be. And the cycle will go on and on.

Keep one thing in mind in software development....the programs are not made with longevity in mind. Programs are written to sell for profit, to a market that decides that it needs a newer copy of the program. Some are happy using older versions (who still runs office 2003?), while others like free ware (who runs Open Office?), and others like the newest version and could care less about the old expired and unsupported versions (who runs office 2010?).

So quit your griping about Flight, and what it will and won't be. Those that design it know for a fact that they will sell copies, and that there will be detractors to the new program. There always are detractors.

And for those that threaten to jump to other programs (xplane, etc...) the developers of those other programs depend on your negativity to get your dollars. Always about the dollars after all. And what if they sell to another development company, or suddenly decide to jump ship and change their philosophy on game design? What if the driving market force isn't all of us and our desire for free stuff, but it's 14 year old kids with short attention spans and their own credit cards? Have you ever thought that way about how a software company decides what the next game should be like?

If you like FS2004....keep on keeping on. If you like FSX....see you in the virtual sky. I like that version myself. If you like flightgear, so be it. In the meantime, how about we all quit belly aching about what an unrealeased program can or can't do.

I think I strayed off topic slightly, and ranted abit, but what the heck...we're all here to listen to each others ideas after all.

Of course Flight will sell. ('Selling' does not mean it's even remotely OK -- look around... plus it will have a VERY short life if it isn't OK! .. with today's reviews, etc ) But the point of this thread is 'where is it all going?'

Remember FS started out as open source (& also remember it was bought - not created by M$) - and freeware made it what it is today. Period. If everyone had to go to a 'central marketplace' to get addons it would have been forgotten about as quickly as 'The dancing baby.'

The world is quickly moving beyond Windows. A different arena is with us now. But meanwhile those of us who still use Windows for the time being, as it may be fading into the sunset, should expect probably the last FS from that publisher to at least recognize the great phenomenon it produced...  and what made it that phenomenon.
Freeware. Period.

[BrandonF]

Pete, I very much agree with what you said. But I don't think that the world is moving beyond windows. It is still a very popular and widely used operating system. Yes, Mac and Linux are widely used, but I don't think the Windows OS is dying out, especially with 7.

And seriously, what is the point of spelling MS with a "$?" Do we spell Simviation "$imviation?" No.

[pete]

M$ is spelled that way because M$ is about monoplising if it can (which it can't) & for instance said 'we either kill or buy the competition' -- That was in the past when they actually could - Balmer once said 'we will smoke google' -- They tried but couldn't.

Simviation is NOT about making money. Do you at least get that?

[hyperpep111]

Pete, I very much agree with what you said. But I don't think that the world is moving beyond windows. It is still a very popular and widely used operating system. Yes, Mac and Linux are widely used, but I don't think the Windows OS is dying out, especially with 7.

I seriously do not think the world will move past Windows. It still has it's advantages. But It will be hard to make anything as revolutionary as XP. 10 years down the line and people still choose it over the "better" ones os. And I support Google so much. But they are learning that they cannot make everything for free. But I am Seriously considering buying a htc phone.
As I posted somewhere else: I wish that someone would create an Os which combines all the good of all the os's, leave out the bad and squeeze them into big pack.
But that is a cry not likely to be answered

[Club508]

Well, this is taking an interesting turn.  went from a topic to an argument.

[hyperpep111]

[quote]Well, this is taking an interesting turn.

[Club508]

[quote][quote]Well, this is taking an interesting turn.

[hyperpep111]

[quote][quote][quote]Well, this is taking an interesting turn.

[Travis]

Hyper, you probably won't be able to port previous versions of aircraft into Flight without extensive modifications, which might be impossible since no once knows how to successfully decompile an MDL.  The types of files might not be at all compatible, which is partially why many 3rd party developers and buyers are bemoaning the platform rebuild.  This is the easiest and best argument for or against freeware development.  Since we will start out with absolutely NO addons available, MS should allow us (the developers) to create our own addons and distribute them as we see fit.  Otherwise, we will be faced with repetitive and conformal versions of every aircraft in the world.

[hyperpep111]

[quote]Hyper, you probably won't be able to port previous versions of aircraft into Flight without extensive modifications, which might be impossible since no once knows how to successfully decompile an MDL.

[Boikat]

[quote][quote]Anyone know where I can buy a legit copy of Maya on the cheap?

[hyperpep111]

[quote][quote][quote]Anyone know where I can buy a legit copy of Maya on the cheap?

[Club508]

[quote][quote][quote][quote]Anyone know where I can buy a legit copy of Maya on the cheap?