howie87

I think we can all agree that ED need money throwing at them. I'm going to run over there with a big bag full of the stuff. And carrots on sticks... hundreds of them. It will be glorious...

A quicker way of getting into an argument than posting on ED forums.

NEW PLAN! I'm gonna start selling T-shirts that say "crowd funding stole my girlfriend" and give the profits to ED. :megalol:

Yeah, I guess you're right. I can see the attraction of crowd funding from the consumers point of view but I doubt ED would want to go down that route. Don't see why they'd say no to a free lunch though.

All I want to do is put my money towards a product that I want to see developed. Why is that so hard to comprehend? We can argue about it all day but it's extremely simple to me. Donating is not the same as crowd funding. I do not expect a return on my investment.

OK, time for an analogy to demonstrate my point. If a pharmaceutical company was developing a drug to cure cancer, would you go out and buy a load of their paracetamol to show your support?

Good for you. I hope it makes you happy.

I can understand your concern. If you're half as generous with your money as you are with your opinions, you must be a very poor man.

Great idea but I doubt ED would go for this. At the end of the day they want to run the company the way they know how and we're just the consumers. That's why I suggested a donation. Minimal effort on their part, no contractual obligations and it gives us more 'enthusiastic' types a way of supporting the products we want to see without putting pressure on the company.

While I agree with this approach in theory, I think a specific donation for the Hornet would allow people to feel like they were putting their money in the direction they want it to go, rather than simply swaying sales figures. This has come to light recently with the release of information stating that FC3 has been one of ED's most popular products. This has left some fans of the high fidelity modules (many of whom purchased FC3 just to support for ED) feeling as if they have become an unprofitable minority.

Yeah, I anticipated this one. It's a fair point and one that I'm sure others will have thought of too. I guess the best way to think of it would be a good will gesture. No obligations, targets, goals or freebies. There's always going to be people who expect an instant return on their investment or preferential treatment of some kind. It's a sad but unavoidable fact of life.

Due to the recent controversy over 'mid fidelity modules' and news that work on a high fidelity F/A-18C will be an extremely long and expensive process, I propose setting up a donation fund to offset development costs and give people the opportunity to stop complaining and "put their money where their mouth is". This would not be a kick starter or a pre order. It would be a simple cash offering as a means to ensure continued funding towards a niche product that many of us are extremely enthusiastic about. I know many people can't or won't support this, but I just wanted to gauge public reaction and hear some thoughts (assuming that ED would even accept such a donation). Over to you...

It's not science, it's art! :smilewink:

I'm of the opinion that any news is better than no news. We live in an age of instant updates and it's great to see ED and Wags in particular, going some way towards trying to provide this for the community. I enjoy seeing healthy debate on the forums and having our concerns addressed and questions answered in a timely manner. Updates like this are a valuable tool for both the community and developers and for this reason I hope they continue.

Seriously... Is this not just a bug? Seems a bit ridiculous to me.

Where's this?

It's another vote for the Saitek combat pedals from me as well. Very nice setup with the warthog. Not cheap mind, but worth the cash.

In all fairness, I've easily spent over £1500 on hardware and peripherals just to run DCS. I've probably given ED less than £100 and I'd happily give them another hundred plus, if they eventually churn out an F/A-18C. That's why I'm gonna keep supporting.

Never had a cougar but I love my Warthog.

I don't mind paying for medium fidelity stuff as long as it's 'on the way' towards developing high fidelity modules. The F-15 and SU27 advanced flight models are a step in the right direction but I hope that work on modelling the cockpit systems and avionics continues. If ED turn around after completing the flight models and say they're working on more medium fidelity aircraft instead of finishing the Eagle and Flanker off, I'm really not going to be happy.

The way I see it: 1. Standalone only = Angry FC3 customers and lower sales. 2. Standalone and free upgrade for FC3 owners = Happy FC3 customers and lowest sales. 3. ???? 4. Standalone and paid upgrade for FC3 owners = PROFIT!!!

I agree with you on parts 1 and 3 but from what Wags has said so far it sounds like the avionics, external model, sounds and cockpit will be the same as in FC3. While I would be happy to pay an upgrade fee for the improved flight model, I would not be happy to pay the full price for an identical product with a different flight model. Imagine if Black Shark 2 had been announced a week after the final release of Black shark, as a 'standalone product' that people could not upgrade to... The only reason I would like to see it made free for FC3 owners is so ED could do away with the SFM eventually and not have to continue supporting it for those who do not want to pay for the upgrade. I would be happy to pay however.

The more I think about it, the more I'm excited by the advanced flight model. I really hope there is a free upgrade option for FC3 owners though, as I'd like see the SFM done away with altogether one day. Considering I bought A-10C for $15, Black shark 2 for $20 and P-51 for $10... I think FC3 is a little expensive for what it is at the moment. $20 for F-15C, $20 for SU27 and $50 for FC3 including both seems like fair pricing to me. Although I'm sure many would disagree.

Definitely appreciated here. I hope some of the negativity doesn't stop us from being kept in the loop.

Strangely I find the opposite. Flying FC3 I never seem to have enough buttons on my hotas. In Falcon BMS and the DCS titles, one button has several functions depending on which mode you're in, which cuts down on the total number of buttons needed, making things more ergonomic.