My Fisrt AH Post- (MAC)

[Dadman]

Gents,

Open letter to AH owners and developers.

I am REALLY TIRED of the highanded, arrogant, idiotic situation at iEN.

But I'm helpless. AH does not seem interested in developing a Mac version.  

Too bad, you've got 1,000s of frustrated WarBirds Mac customers just waiting to try your sim.

Dadman 305th BG(H) "Can Do"

[JENG]

I realy feel with you dadman... I searched the board... this is what the developers (in this case Pyro) had to say about an AH Mac version.

Quote: 'There are currently no plans for a Mac version. I won't close the door on the possibility, WB went a good while before they had one. But at this stage, we just cannot justify the costs of doing that. What happens if and when we get out of the woods is something we'll have to analyze at that time.'

and

Quote: 'Not producing a Mac version is not just a simple choice dictated by personal whim. It's not because we feel there's no Mac market. But there is a big difference between what is feasible and what is feasible for us at this time.
HTC's philosphy is to do this one thing without any distractions. To accomplish that, we need to keep our start-up costs down and our overhead low. This is a no-frills operation. The pitfall a lot of developers fall into is that they have to seek out a lot of money from a publisher or venture capitalist to finance their project so they can "do what they want." The problem is that once they do that, they're no longer doing what they want, but what is dictated to them by their financiers. Suddenly they find that their project has become the goose that laid the golden eggs with someone else merciless hacking away at it because its not laying eggs fast enough to satisfy them. No thanks. If we have to sell ourselves off to succeed, we will have failed.

We aren't shutting ourselves out of a market. AH is written to be platform independent. Changing from D3D to OpenGL is not a huge conversion. But the simple truth is that it's not something we can do right now. At the point that it is an option to us, we'll look at the market and go from there. I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, but I can't.'

The whole thread is at this url
 http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/Forum1/HTML/000009.html

Hope to seeya up in the sky one day.

 


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BEE(JENG)
=CO=II/JG2~Richthofen~
CLICK ->>> JG2 INFO
 
'Nemo Me Impune Lacessit'

[This message has been edited by JENG (edited 06-05-2000).]

[Downtown]

Hopefully they are getting over that hump, and can start to search for a mac programmer.

Big rumor on AGW is that iEN will have a flat rate soon, but will they have 3D cockpits?

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"Downtown" Lincoln Brown.
    lkbrown1@tir.com    
 http://www.tir.com/~lkbrown1
Wrecking Crews "Drag and Die Guy"
Hals und beinbruch!

[lasse]

Dadman, no offence, but have you considered changing computer ?

Is there a special reason why you use a mac(Work or something) ?
If not I would have changed in my next upgrade, no doubt    

Perhaps you could find a cheap secondhand celeron PC or something like that, then you can use that one to play AH, it will be worth the investement, believe me    


OBS:: It is not my intention to start that old PC vs MAC debate, I just express my point of view !

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The Wild Vikings
Commanding Officer
lasse-


[This message has been edited by lasse (edited 06-06-2000).]

[Sharky]

Dadman,

When in the 4th I flew cover for you and the boys in the 305th, so I know what a great bunch you and the rest of the 305th are.  With that I'll give you my honest oppinion on the matter.

First I wouldn't hold your breath on Aces High for the Mac.  As HTC has said, it's not that they can't do it or don't want to do it, it's strictly a matter of resourses available (both money and personnel).  This is not likely to change in the near future.  Remember AH is a fairly new sim and has a long way to go in development before resourses can be allocated to development of a Mac version.

However all hope is not lost.  Although I would never presume to tell someone how to spend their money, a viable solution to your problem is the purchase of an inexpensive PC for the purpose of playing AH.  You will find that the grapics engine and the eye HT and the boys keep to frame rate considerations, allows very good performance of AH on a fairly low budget PC.

For example WB 3d in 1024x768 pretty much gags my Cel 300@450 Viper 550 computer, and the performance in 640x480 isn't much better and looks awful.  However that same computer performs flawlessly in AH.  Frame rates average in the middle 40s in 1024x768 with the HiRes artwork and is even playable in higher resolutions (everything is just to small on my monitor)

The contrast is much better in AH than WB (I can actually see the con below the icon agaist the ground in AH) and all this performance on a very middle of the road PC.

I don't know why you use a Mac, whether it's because of your work or just personnel preferance.  I know that a lot of Mac users are very dedicated to the platform and IMHO that's great (to each his own).  But with the current prices for a PC that will perform very well with Aces High, you can pretty much have you cake and eat it too.

So if at all within your budget constraints, get an inexpensive PC (things like monitors and input devices are interchangable I believe) and come play with us in AH, you won't regret it.  Besides I need a reason to get some Pony drivers to get together for a bomber escort mission deep into enemy territory.  (Bet I could even get daddy to come along   )

Sharky
P.S.  The above views are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of HiTech Creations

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Playboy Leader
307th FS/31st FG
You can run but ya just die tired

[This message has been edited by Sharky (edited 06-06-2000).]

[Nash]

Er...also not wanting to start the 'ol Mac vs PC debate at all either... I just wanted to let you know about my experience with it. My squad started out about 5 years ago, all on Macs... flying Hornet, AW and WBs. With the new sims coming out for the PC only, and the lack of support for the existing Mac sims, we decided to make the switch to PC.

Pretty much our whole squad (around 20 of us) made this switch about a year ago. It was one of the best decisions we could have made. Being a graphic designer, I still use my Mac and love it... but for flight sims, this PC really has been great. The cost of PC's really are so low now that it really wasn't too much of a hit.

When I calculate the amount of time I spend on this hobby, the cost of the computer itself really becomes negligable. I fully know what your going through Dadman. The waiting... the frustration... and the dissapointment. If you can afford to get your hands on a PC, even just for the flight sims (depends of course on your priorities), I would just go ahead and make that leap. Within' days you'll be up flyin' the best sims on the market, the waiting game ends, and ya don't look back. It's been fantastic.

[Dadman]

Gents,

Thank you all for your timely and intelligent replys.

YES- I have a reason to use a Mac. I own a graphic & website design and film & television production company- BobCat Studios in Phoenix, Arizona. http://www.bobcatstudios.com

All our graphics design and non-linear editing platforms are Mac. I find the Mac OS system is much more intuitive and less "bulky" that Windows. The new 500MHZ G4s with 124 bit read speed are smokin' machines.

WITH THAT SAID I have seriously been considering a PC. Not just for sim flying, but for monitoring our websites to see how they function on a PC.

My  issue with the PC springs more from fear of the unknown than anything. I have a nice Thrustmaster Mac set-up on my G3 that runs WarBirds and I'm familiar with it. If I got a PC I would want to convert to a USB system so I can swap controllers back and forth between a Mac and a PC. I won a CH Products Flight Yoke at the WarBirds PS Con last year and I have a CH Products Flight Stick. I have yet to buy a USB throttle and pedals.

Who knows though? Once I fly on a PC I may never go back to the Mac.

I'm asking a favor. What would I need in a PC box to run AH (and WarBirds and B17II when it is released)? I'm not talkin' minimum, but something that will perform well and that I will be able to upgrade and/or fly with for at least a year in it's present state.

Also suggestions on where to buy (or have built) the PC.

Also is there a way to connect a Mac and a PC to the same monitor? I don't wanna buy a new 21" monitor just to add a PC.

Then there's the controllers issue. I need to decide whether to stick with Thrustmaster and go USB or switch to CH Products USB stuff.

IN CLOSING: I've been "lurking" on the AH boards and I've noticed a singular difference in the "tone" of the posts. They're much more civil and seem to reflect a more satisfied customer base than AGW/WarBirds. That intrigues me more than anything.

I don't know if any of you monitor AGW, but WarBirds/Apple just published an article on Apple's website about WarBirds for Mac. They showed PC 3D IMAGES!!! The Mac WarBirds community is INCENSED. Jay Littman called it an "honest mistake," but now the damage is done.

What could have been a publicity coup for iEN by showing the first full, 3D images of WarBirds III became a PR disaster! I do PR for a living and I've never seen a publicity opportunity so badly bungled.

I may just have to finally "cave in" and buy a PC to see AH for myself.

HEY SHARKEY- I guess you're flyin' both platforms 'cause accordin' to Daddy= you're helpin' out with his Pony class. I guess I'll cya tonight...I'm takin' it.

Lt. Col. Dadman 305th BG(H) "Can Do"

[WarChild]

The best way to get the PC to match your specifications, is to build your own.  Shouldn't be to hard to find a knowedgable fella to help ya out.

Building your own has the following advantages.

1. used to be cheaper, thos today i think u can save maybe 300-500 dollars.  not the huge savings of yester year

2. You know EXACTLY whats in it, its upgrad capabilities and its performance statistics.

3.  You can customize your PC much more completly tthan any out of the box PC

4. excellent learing experience.

Theres more +'s but thats all i gonna do for now. the major - is for anyone new to it, building your own looks to be a daunting task. get a friend or techie to help ya out, and turn the screws and format the drive yourself. In the end you'll be very confident about your new PC and may actually come to respect it as much as your MAC  



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WarChild
I/JG2~Richthofen~
"Better Check Your Six!"

[funked]

Dadman, if you are serious about building a PC, go to the AGW Hardware forum.  The guys there will pretty much spec out a good system for you, probably even give you links to places to buy the stuff from.  

[Nash]

And I fully agree with WarChild... building your own is the *only* way to go. Now that doesn't mean that you litterally assemble the components yourself. You will basically be making a list... "I want this type of CPU, that type of motherboard, this type of CD drive" etc.

 Whether you actually assemble these pieces is up to you. I just took my list down to one of those computer places that ya always wonder how they stay in business (small storefront type operation, little inventory)... Building these computers seems basically to be what they do. The mark-up was nil, and they labour cost me around 70 bucks, max.

The hardest part of all this is doing the research. Take Funked's advice and get some help on the AGW forum. Good luck!

[ygsmilo]

Could you describe your system Nash?

Thank you,

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Milo

JG 2

[Dadman]

Gents,

OK all this encouragement has pushed me off the fence...ON THE PC side.

Can I ask a favor and get recommendations from you all on the following?

Motherboard
Graphics/Video Card
Sound Card
USB Card (unless the motherboard has it)
Box, fans, etc.- The "hardware"

I don't need a modem, but I will need Ethernet capability (to connect to a Cox cable modem).

I don't need a monitor, but I do need to research a way to connect BOTH a PC and a Mac to an AppleVision 21" monitor.

ANYTHING ELSE I HAVE OVERLOOKED.

You've talked the talk...now walk the walk hehehe.

BTW- I WILL check the AGW hardware forum.

Dadman

[Ripsnort]

Put me down as a very satisfied customer in regards to Ultra TNT2 32mg. video card.

[Nash]

Heya Milo - When I get home I'll give you a list of what I have. I don't know how usefull it'll be as there are new products out and the prices for what I have are all now a bit lower. I'll also talk to one of the PC gurus in my squad and see if I can get a good current list for you.

[Dadman]

NAsh,

I will also monitor this thread. I am interested in your info.

Dadman