"Here lies a fallen god His fall was not a small one, We did but build his pedestal a narrow and a tall one" -- Frank Herbert

I've been wondering about an interesting question: How is it that Oleg Maddox - once hailed as the saviour of the flight-simulator industry and the greatest developer, who was held up as a model to other developers - could so quickly become forgotten and treated only with criticism and scorn on these forums?

Why do people turn around so quickly?

-- Is it that people get jealous of success and relish the moment when fortune reverses her favours?

-- Is it that some people resent the fact that only Russian developers still work on flight sims (ie. the failure of CFS3)? Is this a possible source of the repeated 'vodka' jokes (actually an ethnic stereotype of Russians as lazy drunks)?

-- Is it that a number of people disliked the Il-2 series, but never had an opportunity to say so unhindered when he was popular? That they always had these sentiments?

-- Is it that people can't empathise with the challenges of development, and blame the developer for a release rushed by the publisher?

-- Is it that people's hope for the sim were built up to an impossible level (eg. by imagination or by features that were announced in 2007 and officially 'withdrawn' before release) - and they are turning their disappointment outwards into rage?


It seems like a lot of work to repeatedly show up on the forums, months after release, to focus on every little rumour and repeatedly celebrate the failure of others and the potential death of a great simulation series.

I'm wondering if any of you can provide some insight (of course, without speculating on any individuals - other than ourselves).

I think its more to do with the fact it looked like he jumped from a sinking ship, whether that is what happened as no one knows for sure as we do not know what happened behind closed doors.

I was looking forward to Clod, and really want them to try and iron out the problems but at the moment I can not see how much longer they can work on it without a massive improvement. My only hope now for a modern desent WW2 game would by 777 Studios.

My vote goes to over-hype and then under deliver.

I have the utmost respect for OM as a software developer. He gave the flight sim community so much through the IL2 series (including tons of free content). The IL2 series set such a high benchmark that even the same team is having a hard time matching. Sort of like the 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390. Every Mustang built since will forever be compared to the legend.

When an individual is lauded and loved more than he deserves, we shouldn't be surprised when the mob turns on him viciously.

TBH, I never got the impression that these extended discussions really dwelled on OM. (well sometimes in the past tense) but otherwise more with the current administration - who, it appears, have their hands full and aren't quite sure which course to take next - except to attempt to steer the attention away from clod to bom.. (and what is mmo?)

I think it's more with management than with artistic talent. Sometimes these two don't go well together. And it is a rare individual who can synergize the two.

It's a great question Av, and something I've been considering for a long time. I think it boils down to a whole combination of things like you wrote - so here's my ranked list

- The game is really inconsistent, as in the bad parts are really bad but the good parts are actually really good. This basically means it polarizes opinions. Example: I've never had an issue with performance, but can empathize with those that do, but at the end of the day it's not a problem I see. When I do get bad performance I rage.

- MG are really really slow at fixing things, so while any community has 'haters and fanboys' most of the normal people are getting bored and have lost interest now. As nature abhors a vacuum, that just leaves the obsessives or trolls to party as middle-ground people usually want no part of the conversations they see here.

- 1C is to healthy community communication as Josef Mengele's was to the art of paediatrics. They haven't got a clue, and generally do the exact wrong thing. It provides new angles at which to wack the dead horse every couple of weeks or so. Keeps the stew simmering.

- People hate change. Some people got IL2 working just right on Windows XP and always saw CloD as a threat, i.e. the shiny arrogant usurper. Lots of bloated promises from foreign sounding people that should get their's in the end etc.

- It uses Steam. Some people hate Steam, and we just have to wait for them to die; which given the demographic and their blood pressure won't be long.. lol

- Flight Sim fans often have fan-bases like sports teams from the UK 1980's. They basically come here just for the fights or to watch fights, and if any talk about flight sims happens then that's more by accident rather than design. We used to get IL2 fans on the RoF turf until it flares up and then collapsed under it's own exhaustion, we sometimes get IL2 fans torturing the Gaijin forums - but this CloD Extended Forum is special as it's a legitimate place to just come to rant / argue / troll even if you've not had time to see the game yet. It's the only unique place in SimHQ set up just to troll people (bar PWEC I guess), and it provides a lot of entertainment for those into that. Given that product forums like 1C, RoF and DCS on their own site moderate more strongly than here (i.e. keep making the same complaint again and again), then we get left with the outcasts who get some small satisfaction out of a mutual circle-jerk of baiting. Once the last positive voice, or anyone wanted to be reasonable about having a discussion, has left the building then they can claim victory and then move on like locusts to some other place where the circle will just get repeated. It takes two to troll, and due to the polarization the game brings means there's been rich pickings in this little corner of the net.

- The flight model over 18,000ft is not accurate for Oct80 fuel in 1940.

People started losing faith with Oleg when the release dates started to be missed and the lack of any real info, anyone remember the new years message 2007 "i hope to finish BOB in the new year"?

That and Oleg turning up at the opening day of COD and signing boxes only to never be seen again.

I don't know which forum you read, but I don't have the impression that Oleg Maddox is bashed here on a regular basis. Luthier/Ilya? The CloD devs in general? Yep, he/they receive some serious flak, but I have to say, rightly so.

I will always be greatly thankful for what Oleg did with IL2 and Forgotten Battles, and to a lesser degree with the following products.

As far as CloD is concerned, I'm just incredibly disappointed with the man. To this day we haven't heard a single line from the "father" of the series as to what exactly happened. Right up to the release he acted as the front man for the game, well knowing about the unfinished state of the game. Then he just disappeared. What exactly his position was within the development team at that time no one knows. We only know that at some time during the development he left, for whatever reasons.

A lot of people bought CloD because of Oleg's reputation and achievements in the past, and were trusting him to deliver a quality product. This trust has been broken, and quite a few people feel actually deceived, which is no surprise.

I have waited many months for a "letter to the community" from Oleg, explaining what happened. Nothing, though.

And that is what disappoints me so very much.

I'd be surprised if Oleg Maddox could comment on Maddox Games freely. Apart from the fact that he may own a chunk of it, have a contractual obligation not trash it etc, people hoping for a Mea culpa are a bit optimistic IMHO.

Unfinished product is unfinished. Oleg disappeared. What more is there to say? Ilya very very very occasionally will make a comment, or at least used to on the forums, but very rarely since the release of the game. More often than not it is Blacksix who will come in now with some "community updtate" that has more screens from BfM but not much on the actual state of the released game and of course that always on the horizon performance patch....

It's like the present team has no idea what the previous team did. So in order to fix the issues, they either have to "reverse engineer" a solution or re-write entire sections of code (graphics re-write anyone?).

It's been frutrating since release - and we have yet to see anything other than a "beta" patch.