As it looks right now there's alot of us paying $90 with a smile
To me, those 90 bucks weigh in low compared to the hours I spent in C# environment trying to learn both C# and the quirks of IL2dover (and often failing so) in all kinds of attempts creating missions.
What I'm saying is the entry cost in pure "dollares" is not as costly to me compared to the hours of spare time I lose when the product show to be failing at most entries (such as bugs reappearing every second patch).

I'm OK with paying at the current price level, I've just pre ordered BOS.

Would I pay more? Probably if a sim was available that ticked a lot of boxes for me. If my perfect sim came along then I'd be willing to pay more.

I did my preorder also for $90. I also bought ROF IC at full price a few years ago and I have never loaded it up, I did this only to support the developers. As I am a WWII fan I will support BOS, as I have COD, and of course IL-2 from the first thru 1946.

Then going way back there was SWOTL, ACES series, plus a few others including EAW and PAW. Along the way there where many computer up grades along with graphic cards etc., which has led me to become computer simi literate.

It's been a great ride and I expect that it will continue, and don't forget the new WWII DCS that is coming along, and I will also buy that title.

Oh, I'll probably pre-order the game as well, as soon as my overtime pay comes in.

I have not problem paying a hundred bucks for a game, I generally buy 1-3 games a year at this point (not counting review stuff) so the cost really isn't that big a deal.

I do find it funny when some people complain about paying 60 bucks a game have no qualms about dropping 400 bucks on a HOTAS system to run it.

But, before I drop a large amount on a preorder I have to feel comfortable that the company will produce a decent product. In the case of 777 there is a decent track record. In addition 1c, despite the issues with CloD has generally produced decent flight simulations. Even CloD wasn't that bad, it just didn't live up to the hype, something that it probably would never be able to do.

The good thing about the new Sturmovik game for me personally is that there is the 2 tier pricing system.

It means I can buy it for me at full price and for my son with a clear conscience for $50 or whatever it is and then force him to fly as my wingman when it goes retail.

win-win situation

It also means those of use who can't afford the higher price at all (and in fact may not be able to afford the lower price either ) still have an entry point. Earlier access, two more planes, and "perks" that are not necessary for enjoyment of the game are left out, but those 2 planes will be available for extra later, just like ROF's setup.

I admit I'm not a fan of the unlockable idea, but it's only 2 planes and while I love the 190 I accept it.





The Jedi Master

I've also just pre-ordered at $90. It's not the sort of thing I'd usually do, but I admire Jason and the 777 guys, I want Il-2 to return to its illustrious heights and, quite frankly, this is a genre that's given me a HUGE amount of pleasure over the past 30 years, so I want it to survive and thrive.

I just took the plunge as well. This sim looks like the future to me. The pre-alpha videos as well as the track record of 777 studios sold me.

I find WW2 sims most appealing specifically because they can be near DCS-level "hardcore" but still very approachable because the planes just aren't that complicated for the most part. I don't have switch to A-A mode, set the MFD to FCR, TWS, TMS-up twice, uncage, wait for the DLZ to reach MTR, realize I'm mixing up the steps for an AIM-9 and an AIM-120, and then explode for apparently no reason after lots of beeping and buzzing noises that meant nothing to me while I'm looking for page 189 in the manual. I just get on his tail, put the crossy-thing in front of the planey-thing and pull the trigger.

WWI, on the other hand, is a little too far the other way. So, I've been wanting a WW2 sim based on the ROF engine with the ROF business model for some time, and it seems that's kind of where they're headed (I'm not super clear here, getting sort of mixed messages). I don't have a lot of money, but the $150 or so I've put into ROF over the last couple years really seems like almost nothing at all. After the initial investment (I think I bought the Iron Cross Edition or something, which I probably didn't even really need to do at that point), it's been $10 here and $10 there, which is great. Every so often a new plane I'm interested in gets released, and for the price of a movie ticket, I get something that will keep me occupied for at least a weekend. They also can keep updating the engine, so even if I don't have any money, interesting things still happen because other people are buying stuff.

Basically, it seems to me that 777 has been about as successful with ROF as you could hope for in the flight sim business, and I'd love for this to continue and grow with both ROF and IL-2 content, covering the first World Wars. If the Korean War should pop up at some time in the future, I sure wouldn't mind driving a Sabre or Mig around either.

Aero I feel the same way, WWII is the sweet spot for air to air combat and pure ACM. Even though I still immensely enjoy DCS and RoF to no end .

I'm a fan of options. Depending on bills I may have 10 or 100 bucks to spend on a sim. Not everyone is loaded 24/7. A product that is only extremely expensive means my family and friends won't bother buying either if they're not hardcore into sims.

RoF has a decent model with balance; I'd like having more planes for free but I don't feel bad buying them one at a time on the cheap over time. I'm certainly not a rich person by any stretch of the imagination but I've probably spent well over 100 bucks in RoF over the years since it originally released.

Well said, Aero, but especially this...


omgomgomgomgomgomg

Not to derail the thread but why is Korea and Vietnam passed over so often in flight sims? They're both situations with relatively matched forces in heavy combat with aircraft that are more or less declassified.

This is coming from someone who played CFS and X-Wing, didn't play sims for ages, then came in with IL-2, DCS, etc.

I quite like the RoF sales model, seems to be working out ok for the dev team from what i can see, I rarely play RoF as the lack of viable online action in Australia kills it, ocassionaly crank up the Beta campaign for a bit of fun. even with the limited play i get out of it i still have bought nearly all the aircraft released, and the chanel map, works for me!
i would happily pay $100 for BoS's initial release, and then pay the same sort of coin as charged for RoF additions there after.
Hope it all works out for the team, looking forward to it, looks like the only wayour favourite genre can survive. Any way I won't work for free, so why should game developers

Probably familiarity for one. Outside of our community, what films or TV shows have recently been made about Korea or Vietnam that featured the air war that would raise awareness of them?

WWII is everywhere, people see those planes all the time. Modern stuff is on the news, the web, and at airshows.

Second, difficulty. I think to fly and fight effectively in those early jets was far more difficult than many appreciate. Stalls and spins were far more difficult to recover from, the jets had insufficient power to just turn and burn all day, the weapons other than the guns were wildly inaccurate or unreliable, and the guns were hard to use because of the high speeds and low agility of many of the planes.

In short, if I was making a startup flight sim product, I would start either with 80s-or-later jets, or WWII. Then I'd expand to the other one if I had excess capacity. THEN I would consider making Nam or Korea as a 3rd series once I was established and my company name could bring people in without relying on their knowledge of "the other" 20th century air conflicts.




The Jedi Master

Bah where's the fun in that. I'd love to have "modern" air combat with less than 99% hit effective missiles

I agree with you. Would love to see a Vietnam or Korea flight sim. I think Jedi Master is correct though in why we probably don't see it. I do how-ever believe DCS is positioning themselves to possibly do this type of simulation era or at least a third party via the DCS modules. Already one of the third parties is making or will make a Sabre aircraft and I thought I read a Mig-19 but I could be mistaken on that. Never-the-less, I'd say the odds are good we will see these theaters.

The F-86 and MiG-15 platforms symbolize the birth of jet dogfights - that reason alone makes the genre mouth-wateringly attractive, at least for me.

The lack of BVR weapons makes each and every fight personal, which is what makes WWI and WWII dogfighting so attractive as well. Don't get me wrong, BVR combat is exciting and satisfying in its own way, but there's nothing like the feeling of circling around another aircraft, trying to put your pipper on him before he can put his on you. Add jet speeds to the mix and it all happens that much faster.

<drool>

+1

yep, a new Mig Alley would be awesome

I just want the entire game for $50-60 like we used to get years ago. $20 expansion packs every few months are good as well, as long as the content is SIGNIFICANT. Not a plane or two, with a few missions included.... I definitely do NOT want to be paying $5-15 again for 1 aircraft like in ROF.

I'm not willing to pay more than $100 USD for the full game. (before later expansions)

I refuse to pay an exorbitant price simply because it's a niche genre. Train Simulator DLC anyone?