So I called Dale. I found him warm and passionate about what he does. Being a software engineer myself, we really got along well and compared notes on the technologies and methods we use in our respective trades. I really am blown away by his skill and vision at coding.
What these forums get wrong is that he really still has a passion for writing code and this game. He really wants it to do as well as it can. He has had to balance that against the realities of the market for a niche game. He also had distractions, that I respectfully won't share here, over the last few years but is now in a place to start having more time.
I don't see him adding more new planes in the near future but do see him making cool positive changes to the PC game and ways of inclusion that are possible given the new technologies that have emerged.
He made a really really good point on the phone:
how many game companies have been around as long as HighTech\Aces High? That speaks volumes when you really think about it.
Stay tuned guys. Thanks for reading.
-X15