I am thinking about buying Falcon 4.0 should I?

[bongaroo]

A shame too I know many guys that spent $30000 + on custom pits.

 

Seriously?

[indy007]

Seriously?

People take the game very seriously. The upside is, you can get the same functionality, minus the realistic looks for much much cheaper. Especially nowadays with Phidgetts and all the other really cool hobbyist electronics and servo/motor controllers.

You'd see the exact same thing in Aces High 2 if HTC would ever give us a damn data output file or real multi-monitor support. 

[bongaroo]

Wow.  Wish I had someone with that kind of money in somewhere in my family tree.  Maybe they'd help pay for college instead of dropping the same amount for a fake video game cockpit.

[indy007]

Or you could just work your way through college and buy the toys later instead of praying for a rich uncle. That route usually ends up quite a bit better in the long run.

[bongaroo]

Aren't you witty.  [/sarcasm]

I'm already paying off most of my loans.  Worked hard for a few scholarships and grants too!

But I'm sure all of us could find a better use for 30,000+ grand worth of toys.  I know I'd never drop that kind of money on what amounts to a big toy to play video games in.

[indy007]

Meh, I've dropped more over time playing paintball, and have a hell of a lot less to show for it other than some old scars.

[bongaroo]

You put more than 30,000 into paintball?  Did you build your own sup-air field?

Even if you were silly and dropped 1,500 on a top of the line electronic marker, 250 on air supply, 250 on kneepads, jersey, pack with pods, and  where did the other 28,000 go?

I certainly went on the cheap buying up used gear that was in good shape and playing on my local field's tournament team to get free air/paint/field usage.  I guess I should ask, did the 30,000 make you any better of player?   

[Chalenge]

I know someone that bought 100 acres for paintball so it could be done easily. I have several areas of interest that exceed that investment like books and guns and wood-working and radio control so why not a pit?

[indy007]

You put more than 30,000 into paintball?  Did you build your own sup-air field?

Even if you were silly and dropped 1,500 on a top of the line electronic marker, 250 on air supply, 250 on kneepads, jersey, pack with pods, and  where did the other 28,000 go?

I certainly went on the cheap buying up used gear that was in good shape and playing on my local field's tournament team to get free air/paint/field usage.  I guess I should ask, did the 30,000 make you any better of player?   

I played upwards of 75 scenario games all over the country, hundreds of weekends of rec-play, and some tournaments. Air plane tickets, gas money, hotels, rental cars, event entry, and multiple cases per weekend over a span of 6 years. I probably spent more than 30k now that I think about, even with comp'd entry and cheaper paint for helping produce many of the events.

Did it make me a better player? Yeah, I'd say so. I've played with and against the very best scenario players all over the country. I commanded a side at the largest game in Texas history (500 vs 500, 24 hours) before I turned 21. I've won a bunch of sportsmanship, MVP, and MVT awards. I'm pretty damn good at it, but for the last 3 years I've been on hiatus. It's time to evolve the game, and I'm spending 10k more on the weapon system to do it with, something that can't even be comprehended on a recreational or tournament field.

I really get into my hobbies. If I had loans & debt in general, it wouldn't be possible, but I'm not silly enough to get in trouble with those.

edit: Kind of in the same boat as Challenge. None of my hobbies are cheap. Flight sims, robotics, brazilian jiu jitsu, paintball, etc. So when I see a pretty sweet SimPit, I don't wonder what else I could do with the money. I wonder how the hell I can build my own

[Bodhi]

I ordered the Track IR system today.  Will see how it goes.

[bongaroo]

I was just coming back to comment that I remembered the pm you sent with your paintball toys and whatnot. 

Lots of cool stuff but we've already been through what I think of scenario play.

[Shuffler]

You put more than 30,000 into paintball?  Did you build your own sup-air field?

Even if you were silly and dropped 1,500 on a top of the line electronic marker, 250 on air supply, 250 on kneepads, jersey, pack with pods, and  where did the other 28,000 go?

I certainly went on the cheap buying up used gear that was in good shape and playing on my local field's tournament team to get free air/paint/field usage.  I guess I should ask, did the 30,000 make you any better of player?   

BEER!

[indy007]

I ordered the Track IR system today.  Will see how it goes.

Did you go with the new LED clip on for headsets, or the silly looking hat reflectors? Used the hat reflectors. Interested in how well the LED set works before I order it.

[Chalenge]

In case anyone decides F4AF is worth building their own pit:

http://www.viperpit.org/smf/index.php

Concerning TrackIR I got the reflectors and the laser clip and I use the reflectors mostly. I get better performance for some reason with the reflectors.

[Jappa52]

I ordered the Track IR system today.  Will see how it goes.

You won’t regret it Bodhi.  Takes about a week to get your gunnery back but after that it’s all gravy. Really changed the game for me, made it more realistic and exciting.