I hate to see this, I really do. I understand an individual's (or group's) reasoning for moving on from the sim world...and if their heart's not in it anymore then that's ok.
However...I can't help but feel that with the loss of Bill Lyons, MAAM, FSaddon's amazing projects in the past (no offense) etc,...that we are losing the grassroots movement
that spoke volumes to all of us. We recognized in certain developers, whether scenery or aircraft, a specific and tangible level of TLC that wasn't necessarily for the monetary
gain, but for the love of the game (sim). That sense of community is clearly fading. Look at the abomination that is MS Flight...not that it is a terrible creation...but that the soul
of flight sim is absent from it. I can't speak for everyone, but such products that ignore or downplay the rich heritage of MS flight simulator in all its' guises throughout the years should not
be the accepted standard. Now, arbitrarily I understand that we are talking about a mass market product and that no such allegiance to any core group is required or even considered
in the final process of producing a software product...and certainly with RealAir, A2A, MilViz, etc, the bar has been raised...but seeing these iconic, core addon developers leave or move on...I won't say
it is the death knell of this genre, but it hits a nerve. Look at Emma Field X and the outcome of that...did the fans get the product they wanted? Was that ultimately the deciding factor? I dare say
it was not, despite the efforts of others to develop a freeware alternative.
I love FSX, Fs9, etc...I love what the older generations brought to the table, what they taught me not only about flight sim, but
about aviation history. In 2003 I was 19, I loved FS9 for so many reasons...it opened my imagination, broadened my horizons...hell, I STILL dream of flight...thanks to Emma Field and that core group, as
well as all the others involved...I miss multiplayer and teamspeak...hearing those deep, textured voices so reminiscent of my grandfathers, showing me the ropes. Don't know where to fly in the Pacific Northwest? Hell, here's my airport I built using "___". And suddenly a waypoint was born.
I understand that software developers will continue cranking out amazing scenery and aircraft, that the torch will not be dropped per se. However, every time I hear a staple of the flight sim community
move on...I feel my age (28)...and I see something lost that truly can't be replaced. Can anyone remember a recent software package that had the level of love, and that personal touch that Bill Lyons brought to the table? For those that don't know...you could get a download key for an aircraft that had the ignition keys personalized....think about that. Will we ever see that again? I doubt it.
I love flight sim...I love this community even though I spend 99% of my time lurking on forums instead of contributing...and what i fear the most is that some young 18 year old with his/her heart set on flight will come across a google search wasteland, without all the resources i had almost 10 years ago to pursue my dreams, if only in a sim.
By the way, thanks to these forums, Emma Field, all those FS9 contributors, in 2004 I flew a C152 for the first time...and my dreams were realized. I FLEW....something that before that moment was only a dream, only a GAME.
So in closing, I can only say, if we continue to lose those that set the standard, as MAAM's B25 and DC3 did, as well as all the others that are no more, we will continue to accept the fact that losing
the heartbeat of this community and flight sim is okay, and permissible. Now we don't and shouldn't dictate the lives of others when they choose to move on...but the rally cry should always be raised when we lose such a staple of the community...because that will truly toll the death bell of our beloved genre...and all the fingers pointed at Microsoft will be in error....because they gave us a platform upon which to dream, to pretend, to be something that in real life we may never be...and we chose to squander it.
I love all the unique voices on this forum, I love and cherish those that go above and beyond to provide content that we can all enjoy...let us move forward with that in mind and hold fast to the ones
around us that prove the recent trend in the last 6 years is NOT a quickly dying art. Let's continue that rich heritage, that deep tradition. Let's not accept compromise as the standard. Put love of the genre first, and all will fall into place.
From the bottom of my heart, let's not keep losing the foundation of what made this sim so amazing and REAL for so many people, myself included.
I was scared, young, inexperienced...but you guys taught me how to fly, in the sim and in real life. You breathed life into my dreams and made them reality.
Short of my father, no other person or community has contributed more to my life in terms of realizing what is yours to reach out and grab. I will continue to be the voice for the next generation, if one exists...but we all must try.
Jan is one of the most talented designers, he will miss the FS community a lot!!! But as he says in his post " when your heart is no longer at it...", time to stop... He had the decency to explain what he was thinking, great man Jan Visser!!! :salute:
