Hey guys, I just wanted to give the heads up before you may run to the RoF store and buy any aircraft for today's update.

Apparently, there is a group of folks who were given the Sopwith Pup for various reasons. I'm at work right now and bought both the new rides before reading that thread, so if I paid unnecessarily, so be it. I just thought you may want to check in your hangar to see if it was available before you decided to buy it.

Here's the announcement with the statement at the bottom: http://riseofflight.com/Blogs/default.aspx


p.s. Oh, and don't forget to grab the new skins packs too. http://riseofflight.com/en/community/usefulmaterials

I'm not a fan of pay to play, but I understand that is the business model of some games and even genres. One of my kids plays WoW. He buys that 3 month card every 3 months and right after he gets it, he'll play quite a bit for a week or two. Then, his WoW time will diminish until his time expires...then it's down to Gamestop to do it all over again. $30 every 3 months for unlimited play isn't a bad deal really. It could be worse.

I have another son who plays Xbox 360 with all the halo titles. Same thing there. He gets the 3 month cards and might go a week without even turning it on. Then something will change and he'll play the hell out of it with a few of his friends for a couple weeks. In reality, Xbox has the best deal with their options. They have an option to play unlimited for a year for a mere $60. That's really not a bad deal...but I still don't like the philosophy.

The transformation to more of a pay to play format is really inevitible IMO. When you consider the costs of running a server with sturdy hardware and a wide pipe, there's something that has to break unless you have people that do it for the hobby of it as we've had in IL2 for example. But even then, the costs can be overwhelming without support. At least if it's done to a high level.

I NEVER played Warbirds in any of its iterations because it was only pay to play. I didn't realize it at the time and purchased an early copy anyway because I was in the habit of buying every flight sim released at the time. When I learned it was pay to play, I felt cheated and duped.

Making our beloved genre primarily pay to play would have a number of diverse effects. It would undoubtedly limit much of the younger crowd for the simple reason they don't have nearly the financial resources of the older players typically. That has obvious upsides and downsides. The greatest downside is making entry into the complicated world of flight sims more exclusive, which it certainly doesn't need. The flight sim player base has been diminishing slowly for the last 10 years already, and segregating it further would not be in it's best interest as far as bringing in new blood goes...IMO.

I know there have been times when I didn't have $20 to go see a matinee movie with my wife so we stayed home and she would read a book by the pool while I flew IL2...or something like that. If this were pay to play, there would undoubtedly be times when I would be absent because I forgot to pay my admission fee and may not have an extra $20 until next payday.

I guess I need to try to do some digging. I would really like to know what the "target" release date really is. Obviously, there are plenty of conditional circumstances, but there has to be a target date at this point.

I don't know for sure TB, but that metal CH throttle plate is a lot different that the Hawg.

The Hawg has those big meaty switches - looks like TM has figured out how to fully harden the New Cougar.

Doesn't patch 4.10 come out with independent throttle joystick interface? 

That's going to be cool when it gets out.  Sure wish they would make a left handed model for you.

S!

Gunny

After looking at some reviews, I think you're right regarding the hawg. It looks like after so much criticism, they've finally realized people know what they're talking about. "cool" just isn't enough any more. It has to be solid, precise and durable as well. Hopefully, this one is all that and more.

...and yes, I wish they'd make a southpaw version too. I'd get one for sure. I'd even be o.k. paying a slight upcharge for limited production runs.

Rankin-Bass RoTK - Where There's a Whip, There's a Way

OH! Don't forget the new CH military grade A-10C controllers as well. If history hold any merit, it'll be better than the Warthog too. 

http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/showthread.php?6773-CH-Products-announces-new-military-grade-controllers

If I were only right handed....

Sounds like you may have to trade the cat for a pig. A warthog is in your future. 

Agreed with all.

I still fly RoF sporadically. Nothing really against it, though I have my own issues with some individuals and some basic things in the sim. It's still pretty good and fun for what it is. Right now, the ONLY rof server I fly is SYNDICATE for all the above mentioned reasons. I too have installed ventrilo just for this one server. Not too sure I like using it as I just don't get why there was a migration to it for this crowd, but oh well, as already stated, it's free.

Thanks guys. Funny thing is, I've been telling everyone I'm 48 (at least for the last week or so) when in reality I'm only 47! 

I guess once you hit a certain number, they're all about the same.

I'm no Intel fan boy (I recently built an AMD quad system for my Dad to fly IL2 finally and he's already hooked. More on that later), but the performance comparisons aren't even close. I wish AMD's CPU's were more competitive in the performance side. Their pricing has always been competitive, but Intel cleans their clock in the enthusiast market right now.

I can't post them as concisely nor as neatly as Gunny, but the most recent ones showing the WIP QMB is sweet.

I am REALLY looking forward to this sim. I'm old and wise enough to temper my enthusiasm, but I have high hopes indeed.

Wish I could have. . .life has been supremely busy recently. . .but in a pretty good way!

I'm really happy to hear things may be looking up for you Eco. It's been a long time since I chatted with you, but last time you seemed a bit...er...over it.

There's no way I could go to Reno, especially right now, but it's on my bucket list as I've followed them since I truly was old enough to remotely understand what they were doing (since about 1970).

I wasn't around here in '03 (at least not in TX), but I like it.

Maybe a scantily dressed, large bosomed woman to adorn our collective cowls too...

Well, as I said before (many months ago) I had higher hopes for the G940. I doubted it would unseat any of the reigning kings, but was really hoping it would be a step above the standard journeyman junk sold across the counter in retail stores.

Even after a year, these things still aren't any better. Maybe they aren't worse either, but I would have thought after a few months of public use and feedback, they would have made some modifications/changes to their product to at least refine it a little.

Oh well. I'm not changing sticks anytime soon either way. It would be nice to be able to recommend something to newcomers that didn't have the sticker shock a full CH HOTAS+TrackIR (~$425.00!) setup brings. At this point, my recommendation is still for a Fighterstick+ Rudder pedals for starters and adding a TrackIR and then a Pro Throttle afterwards, in that order.