Recently it's been suggested that I have a one man "I hate LP" Campaign. Normally things said to me on Internet threads just roll off my back like hot-oil off a stripper but because the person who suggested it is someone I respect I thought I'd take an opportunity to clear up my position;
First of all, I never claimed to "hate" LP. They have picked up the gauntlet of a legacy that's very tough to follow. The task of writing a flight simulator, let alone continuing the legacy of a great simulation like Falcon 4 is a titanic task. The people involved are top notch and have an extremely difficult task to perform. The SuperPak and FreeFalcon teams and those who came before them provided us with many options and features not seen in the original Falcon. We have grown accustomed to those amazing features and many of us have had uncounted hours of enjoyment through the fruit of their labour.
When Allied Force was released I purchased two copies immediately. It was then I discovered that they had stripped down our familiar simulation, removed third party development and limited the functions of the simulation in the name of stability. That said, their have been 9 patches in its 17 months of existence. While one might argue that hey, they've been patching it to fix problems all the while, it reminds me of some painters that worked on my house. The job was supposed to take 2 weeks. When they were still working after 7 the boss told me "hey, we quoted you for 2 weeks and we've been here for 7 at no extra charge". My reply was "so if you're here for a whole freaking year I should feel really happy then?!". But, as usual, I digress....
When I mentioned the lack of cockpit support I was told that we, the Pit Builders weren't a high enough priority to warrant such an effort of coding. Then suddenly LP answered our prayers and gave us back what most of us were used to - keyboard callbacks. When folks mentioned stratospeheric capabilities of the F-16, houses on aircraft and other glitches in this "stable" software package I simply rolled my eyes and thought - yeah, whatever. I didn't say it, I let others speak for themselves. If I mention in posts that I don't fly AF because it lacks features I and my squad require, I don't think that can be construed as "hating" the company that produces it but rather it illustrates the fact that I'm excercising my right of free choice by using an alternative. If I mention that I can't get the networking working as easily as in previous versions, I'm not dissing LP but stating a fact. Many folks have offered solutions, none of which are as simple as I have with other versions of Falcon which are out there. Now, I can't even get a response from members of AF's support group when I post a direct question to them. A squad mate I discussed this with said to me "hey, well you know the F4 developers are a tempermental bunch". My reply was "well, I own two licenses to their software. When you pay for a product you shouldn't have to kiss the company's ass to get tech support. My money is the same color as everyone else who owns a license".
I try to be positive where I can and I try to be real where I can. I also like to try to give back to the community in return for what the community has given me. I hope that others have benefited from my work and advice. If I like a product I'm the first one out there in line waving their flag on the highest pole. If something irks me, I speak my mind. In doing so I don't necessarily hate the company that works on a project. On the contrary I'd hope they take criticism constructively and use some of it to produce a better simulation. Remember, AF is not a freebie like the good folks of the SP and FF groups provided us. It is a commercial product out there in the marketplace which is available for money. Once you place yourself in this position it is the company's responsibility to become dispassionate about the product, listen to the consumer and evolve with the market.
I'm sure LP is now hard at work on Falcon 5 (or some future version of the simulation). I only hope that input from myself, as well as many others will work its way into the simulation and ultimately provide us with a software package which can be as many things to as many people as it can be. This is not an easy task and I have the utmost respect for those who have chosen to tackle it. When the next flavor of LP's Falcon rolls out the door I'll be first in line to purchase a copy (or 2 - one for my server). Their task is not an easy one. Still, it's important to remember they are a software vendor, not a group of guys providing freeware and as such must realize that not everyone is easy to please. You can't pick and choose who you respond to and who you don't based on your feelings about them.
So in short (too late) I have no campaign or vendeta against LP. They totally rock and have tackled a major challenge. With guys like me out there it's even more daunting. Just keep your chin up, your Jolt Cola handy and code code code......
And that's all I have to say about that.
Guests: 11
Hidden: 0
Users: 1
Users Online:
