Well, yesterday I posted on a thread in the other forum regarding new effects. The discussion was about rain effects on the canopy.
So I posted the following: "Did you guys see the rain effects in BMS? IMO they are near perfect."

God knows, I should've never posted that! Apparently talking about ANY other game/sim/computer program etc. is against "the rules".
You can't compare DCS to other things. Let alone, I wasn't comparing but providing an example. There was clearly nothing to compare since DCS doesn't have rain effects no?

So we're at this point:

Guy 1 wishes to have rain effect > Guy 2, 3, 4 etc. discuss about how to implement it > Heretical Dangerous Guy says "The effect here looks good (implicitly suggesting DCS could have a similar effect) > Posts get deleted.

The "correct" process should have been: Guy 1 wishes to have rain effect > Guy 2, 3, 4 etc. discuss about how to implement it > No one provides any external reference or examples or ideas because it breaks the rules > We all agree that DCS is the best sim and we don't need any rain effects.

Oh well...

Getting that bad over there, huh?

it is sad - it looks like a zero sum game to them.



perfect summing up

Are you by any chance using the same name over there? Should warn you that essentially saying anything the ED forum mods don't like on another forum is something they reserve the right to award you with a perma-ban for. The ED NKVD prospers!

I was commenting the other day that in all these years, I never banned anyone at Lockonfiles - and I had plenty of opportunity to do it.

Yes I do because I don't have anything to hide for. I am a generally mild person and I try to put forward my opinions in a respectful and polite way, the only goal is to add to the conversation (because that's what forums are for, no?) and provide some customer's ideas and feedback to the producers of said flight sim.

I do so in other forums and other flight sims, no on ever had a problem with it.

Did you know that companies spend a huge amount of money doing surveys and trying to understand their customer's opinions? Maybe ED should realise how lucky they are to have plenty of customer feedback that they could rely on, if they wanted to.


The fact they act upon customers feedback in what is sometimes an unreasonable way is entirely their problem, but if their mods are truly patrolling the internet looking for whoever is criticising ED, well, then this sounds a lot like a bunch of lunatic extremists with a persecution complex, rather than a flight sim developer. I dot think they are like that, there are a lot of good and passionate people on those forums and think about it, we all love airplanes and aviation, if we met IRL we would be having a beer and talk about A-10s and stuff. I think that probably some of their mods are out of control, and that's driving people away, that's all.

It's just an endless circlejerk over there, I don't even bother anymore.

ED is pretty much the only player in town and they know it. Therefore some of the treatment to the customers on the entertainment side comes off as it's our way or the highway. You don't like how we operate? That's too damned bad and get over it.



I can think of one or maybe two that interact in these forums that comes off that way IMPO.

Really, no big deal. ED know what we want, and they're working on implementing it. They have announced updated effects some time ago, and it's coming. Some people are just impatient and constantly want to remind ED on how to do their jobs.

Imaging working on a project and someone constantly coming over to your desk and poking you, showing you samples of how the final product should look like - all the while you're working on exactly that - you're just not ready yet. That stuff gets old quick... I wouldn't mind that guy not repeating the same old song-and-dance all the time, either; just wait 'til I am done and ready to show you...

So, all is well - even thought it's moving slower than most of us like; and people on the ED forum should realized that ED's calling the shots for *their* products.

Then don't put your desk on the sidewalk out in front of the office.

maybe they are in the wrong business ?

their forum reputation is ghastly - it is so bad that it affects our opinion of their products and the developer reputation, perhaps they are unaware of this.

their usual reaction - of attacking those that complain only makes things worse.

but don't blame me, I am only the messenger.

I was curious...so I looked at the thread in question over there.

This response got my attention:



I bolded the part that is just...wrong IMO. To me, the only real thing DCS has over BMS is the way it looks (terrain especially). If you're talking about gameplay...BMS wins out hands down. I fly BMS more than DCS because I like an engaging immersive experience on a living and active battlefield. They might not admit it...but BMS is competition for DCS, it seems more evident since they have to delete posts where BMS is mentioned.

I'm not sure if they are getting more heavy handed over there...but we sure have been getting a lot of new members here in the last couple months. Many of which weren't banned over there...they just want to be able to share an opinion without some of the hassles.

Which is one of the reasons I have an account here now. I feel I can express myself, respectfully, with a little more freedom without a twitchy moderator ready to bring a severe warning on me.

if DCS is better than BMS, there is no need for a moderator to say so, the customer can judge that.

Do not be angry, guys. That is business. Money is always on the first place.
Anyway, the whole sim is still just a sandbox.

I bolded the important part.



Nope, not even a little. The mods are just more present, but things are a lot more clear.

As for the BMS comparison stuff, that's not only 'not new', it's older than DCS:A-10C.

Anything that is perceived as 'sim vs sim' (not just DCS/BMS) is moderated out because such threads have traditionally achieved nothing short of circling the drain, and we have enough of those already when it comes to 'plane vs plane', 'missile vs missile', etc.

Yes...thanks for pointing it out...I thought saying it was my opinion twice might have been enough for most though. I would guess a good portion of the 27,000 members of the BMS forums might agree with me however.

I'm sure a lot of folks are grateful places like SimHQ still exist...to be able to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of sim A and sim B so members can make an informed purchase decision is a good thing.

It is - as I pointed out many times, here I can post my opinion without making that anything more than it is , a personal opinion.

and I am not the only one that moderates or runs another forum can do that, here at SimHQ.

So, is it the 27000 members of the BMS forum against the 140.000 members of EDs forum?

Seriously though, is it that hard to understand that a company's commercial forum doesn't take too well comparisons to other products? I seriously can't think of an official forum that does that.

Um, how about NO? They may be the only PAID developer in town, but they are not the only player. The fact that they are PAID makes it even look worse for them.

The italicized part is correct though, and I bet it alienates a good portion of their already-small customer base.




Really? I guess they're working on a DC engine as we speak, huh?



Sadly, "moving slow" isn't exactly what ED is doing. Also, while it is THEIR product, **WE** are the market. They may make the perfect product according to THEM, but if it's not what the market is looking for, it'll still be a flop. However, with the "moving slow" bit of ED, I will admit my grandkids may appreciate what ED will eventually put out.




That is just hilarious! Just talking about the missions and the comms menu alone, BMS wins in it's ability to pull you into the game world. [sarcasm]I guess the move to EDGE and DirectX-whatever is designed to increase the "gameplay"??[/sarcasm]




I'm sorry, but comparing Product A vs Product B is moderated out because it achieved nothing? I find that hard to believe! At the very least, it compares and contrasts Product A vs. the other offerings available and allows the end-user, the customer, to be aware of choices, of options. If Product A is that good, then the customer will try Product A, then Product B, then Product C, then will return to Product A because it is good. Saying "Product A is the only choice available" does not prove that Product A is good. Preventing comparison of Product A against other products does not prove that Product A is good. They are just afraid of well-reasoned comparisons and observations shining a light on the potholes of DCS.