If I remember correctly, the DRM from either Lock On or RoF was so disagreeable to many people a new DRM section of the forum was created.

Personally I think 75% of the sim is good, but there is 25% of the sim or 25% of certain features that are killing the sim.

The AI, AI Commands, Particle System ie. (smoke and clouds), Stability, Stutters, in particle are killing the sim for a large portion of the community. If these issues are fixed then most of the community will start flying again. Then the devs can start concentrating on lesser issues with the FM, DM, FMB, QMB, COOPs etc. while the community starts building BOB campaigns and missions like the sim was designed for, but unable to accomplish because of the unfinished game engine.

I take issues with those that assume the sim is dead when the devs are still working on it. They never voice any credit for the seventy five percent of the sim thats working, this completed work is the necessary step that supports the eventual work required to fix and finish the other twenty five percent. If the devs stop working before its done, then the naysayers will be absolutely right, but not until then.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not really happy with anything that I buy that's 75% complete unless I'm forewarned beforehand that it's incomplete. If someone came to my house and I paid them to do a job....I'm going to have a problem praising them for the 75% of the work they completed, no matter how great it loos, if they take over a year to finish the rest of the job. Now, if they would have told me beforehand that there were problems that could arise and they wouldn't be able to finish the work in that time frame, then I would have to live with those problems because I was warned beforehand. If I bought anything that was only 75% complete and wasn't told before I bought it....I'm not going to be able to praise the 75% that is complete.

I'm currently subscribed to 2 Alpha/Beta racing sim builds and I knew long before I put my money down that there would be problems with both of them and I full expected it, I am part of the testing process. With CloD, there was no forewarning that there were problems with the code or whatever the problems are with the game until after it was put on sale for everyone to buy. I don't remember seeing any warnings or disclaimers at all for CloD...who knows, maybe I missed them.

After so long, it starts to look like that they knew there were problems, serious and minor, and they hoped that the sales would be great enough to allow them to refine a flawed product through the patching process and continue the series, with everyone forgiving the initial problems that were overcome. It wouldn't be the first game that's ever happened to. Problem is, those initial problems haven't been overcome for the majority of people.

The months leading up to the release of CloD were filled with nothing but picturesque screenshots from the game, detailed explanations of new features that would woo us and then the quashing of any rumored problems by the development team. When people questioned a video posted early on that showed definite stuttering down low in a 109, we were all told that it was the because the video was shot on a cellphone and that's what made it look like it was stuttering....even though, the cellphone video only "stuttered" when the 109 was actually down low.

There were evident problems with the initial release. Since it's initial release, we've seen an in-progress graphics engine re-write, the removal of features that were touted when it was released and a general disorganization overall from the development team. I for one hope that the development team proves everyone, including me, that thinks they're in over their heads at this point wrong and this whole fiasco is turned around, simply because the genre really needs for it to succeed.

However, the only thing I have to base my opinion on that it will happen is their past performance...and so far, that performance hasn't caused me to think a turnaround is imminent.

I was afraid we were going into percentages.

God help us

Well, you know that 82% of all percentage statistics are made up, right?

Seems a bit high. 80%?

Didn't the four months 'Russia Only' release not help anyone see what was coming? I paid my $14 for that version and could see the light at the end of the tunnel wasn't daylight. If they had 'big launched' worldwide and it was unfinished then I could get the sentiment more, but they didn't - it rolled out slowly. Some of the old forum posts show all that too. Good times

Frog, you really think any flight sim fan would of waited and then not brought it?
We had waited 8+ years, people wanted it so bad, even if it was to see how bad it was and to support the development.

Ok, ok....I'll go as low as 74%

Now, back to our regularly scheduled #%&*$#. Was there any announcements before the "Russia Only" release that there were problems with the title? I don't remember seeing any, but I could have missed them. Does this mean that the Russian gamers were actually Beta testers and weren't told so? Could it have been because they knew there were problems and hoped they could fix them before the worldwide release?

You would think that a title with as much anticipation towards it as this one had would have been released across the broadest of markets to maximize the potential for profits. That's just common sense for a product that is actually ready for release.

Well I too bought the game as soon as I couild, despite hearing it was unfinished and non complete.

I'm agreeing with Steve that it would have been far better to say 'hey, it's an opt in beta guys!' but was more just filling in commentary that actually it was hard to buy (and play in English) for the first four months. That's actually a fair bit of red-lights and warning for a customer, not that it makes it all ok. If you pre-ordered, and saw this forum before the EU/US release then it wasn't so much a shock but more a case of not believing other people.