I agree with you Streakeagle, I wouldn't call it a pure simulator either, but does that mean we cannot comment on it at all?
I think it should be a "healthy" compromise between gameplay and realism. Realism at least for the flight models and damage models. Don't get me wrong, I do like AH, far better than any other "combat flight simulator", I call it that because I think that is how it started out in the beta version. I have wandered around allot of flight sims and I stuck to AH because of the certain amount of realism in the FM, I consider it a challenge to fly planes and fight in them as realistic as possible and even more to compete with other online simmers.
Further more allot of people act like every post is a "whine" and I don't agree with that. I think that HTC DOES appreciate the feedback (positive or negative) on the game because it helps them to improve the game/sim and develop it and asure it will be valued by a large community not only now but also in the future. That means that concessions will be made between realism and gameplay to accomodate the largest part of that community. I'm sure that everybody knows perfectly well that this game/sim is owned by Hitech and we can take it or leave it. But everybody that sells a product tries to reach a customer community as large as possible, trying to do so inherently needs feedback from that community to determnine the wishes of that community.
To all who say "stop whining and have fun, take it or leave it", why don't you stop reading the forum and complain about the "whining"? The same reasoning for saying stop whining surely applies to you as well.
I personlly enjoy reading people oppinions on the game/sim and there feedbacks and suggestions. As far as I'm concerned it is not a questions whether this is a pure sim or a pure game, it is about finding the best ballance between the 2. "Best" being determined by the community and not only by HTC.
I can asure you that if a "more realistic" combat flight sim comes out more than half of the so called loyal AH community will switch to that new product. Therefore it is in the interest of both HTC as in the people that like AH that AH keeps evolving to the wishes of the people that fly on-line sims in the first place.
Is it necessary to prove every flaw in AH with hard scientific evidense? That requires all on-line simmers to be experts in the field of historical facts on WWII planes and tactics, aerodynamics, control, damage models, etc, etc. That assumption alone is BS in my oppinion. It is what this community and the use of this forum by that community makes of it. I do like to see somebody to start a discussion in general terms and the few knowledgeable around to follow up filling the gaps and give the scientific prove to that flaw.
Furthermore I think that HTC is very capable in translating genereal flaw discriptions into scientific terms and be able to change the code to accomodate the repair of that flaw if they decide to do so.
I say, "whine" as much as you want. It DOES help to develop the game/sim.
[ 09-19-2001: Message edited by: Apar1 ]