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.
by pete » Tue May 17, 2011 3:12 pm 
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