Stormin

Too much drama here. Time to move on, methinks.

Too bad you decided to leave. Regardless, bye.

Aww, come on Matt. Just guess on a release date, nobody will hold you to it. :D

Finally, someone with perception.

You don't have the facts.

Jim is correct. When I worked with GA to make this video we used the soundtracks from "Spy Game" and "The Rock" as placeholder music until we could finish the video and obtain original music. It was never intended to be released to the public with proprietary music.

The Lock On/Flanker vs Falcon arguments are stupid.

Concur. There was no international distribution with the initial release of V1.1 FC. Has anyone confirmed that this Lock On: Gold is available internationally?

Han from Eagle Dynamics has posted here: http://forum.lockon.ru/showthread.php?t=9826 Seems that a deal between Evolved and TFC/ED happened just last week. That explains a lot. It appears that Evolved did indeed make the incorrect assumption that their original deal with Ubi included the V1.1 content.

I don't actually have a copy of LO:Gold so I can't say how the Starforce configuration works. It's obvious that this product was thrown together without any coherent installation plan or scheme. I'm curious how Evolved Games intends to provide tech support.

See my posting, #37 in the following thread for my speculation about what is going on: http://forum.lockon.ru/showthread.php?t=9810&page=2

Colt40Five, I appreciate your concerns, but you are getting too worked up over this one. Chill. Wait for the official word. Carl

SIGH....Let's not jump to conclusions. Let's look at what we do know. Someone from Ubi cut a deal with Evolved to provide the rights to publish a Lock On: Gold. That person made the mistake of assuming that the V1.1 content was included when it was not. Evolved proceeded with that assumption and even "borrowed" screenshots and text descriptions from Eagle's website that were provided to retailer sites like EB Games. When people like me and Matt Wagner saw this product being advertised we contacted our friends at TFC/Eagle. I even contacted some people I know with Ubi Soft in the U.S. office. Nobody I spoke with at either TFC/ED or Ubi knew about the Gold product at that time. TFC/ED informed me that they had not granted any rights to Evolved or Ubi Soft for the V1.1 content. Remember, the V1.1 upgrade was created independent of Ubi Soft. I was told that TFC/ED was going to attempt to contact Evolved and Ubi Soft to find out what was happening. It was then discovered that someone within Ubi Soft, in their UK office, I believe, was indeed working a deal with Evolved. It was a standard deal to move older product to another publisher/distributor that specialized in putting out older titles to the market. It happens all the time in the publishing business. I don't know the details about the specific deal that Ubi was making but I would not be surprised if it was Evolved that approached Ubi looking for older product in the first place. That's all the factual stuff I knew when I posted what I have these past few months regarding this matter. *****WARNING: SPECULATION BELOW************* My speculation is, and note that I do not have any of the factual details beyond what I wrote above, that, upon learning of the deal between Ubi and Evolved, TFC/ED must have reached an agreement with Evolved to provide Evolved with the rights to the V1.1 content. I suspect, again this is my best guess, that Evolved was committed to provide product to their retail customers by a certain time and needed to get the boxes shipped out. That means that they most likely rushed the mastering and put out a disk with the only master that Ubi Soft has in their archive, the V1.01 full install. Ubi Soft never made a V1.02 full version master. There is also no integrated version of Lock On that contains the entire game and the V1.1 content. The second disk that comes in the box most likely contains the basic upgrade version of V1.1 Flaming Cliffs that Eagle has been selling online or it is the version that Naturalpoint is selling on disk. Evolved must have just mastered a disk with either of those versions which explains why most people are having problems with the Starforce protection and have to contact Starforce to get a new code. Does anyone know if a Starforce activation code is provided in the documentation in the Gold box? What do the installation instructions actually say? Is there any documentation at all in the Lock On: Gold box? So, the good news is that a full version albeit disjointed and poorly mastered, of Lock On with the V1.1 upgrade is now available in the traditional retail market and can be found on the shelves of retailers. The bad news is that the mastering process was totally unprofessional because an older version of the simulation was thrown in the box with another disk containing the V1.1 upgrade apparently without proper documentation or activation codes. There is no integrated installation routine and, obviously, little or no QA done to ensure the thing actually installs properly. I'll bet there was no testing at all. The burden of making the standard V1.01 install upgraded to V1.1 is placed on the user. This is bad form, poor execution, and failed planning on Evolved's part. It's also obvious that Ubi, who made the original deal with Evolved, took no interest in ensuring the master was proper or functioned properly. The other bad news is that this whole affair created a confusing situation for the community who want to support TFC/ED's efforts but are in the dark as to the validity of this product. Also, the obvious lack of coordination between Ubi Soft, TFC/ED, NaturalPoint, and Evolved Games makes all the parties look like totally unprofessional. Despite the obvious schedule commitments and pressure on Evolved to ship, an integrated master with one installation routine should have been created. It is my belief, again, this is my opinion, that everyone involved had good intentions and that no one was trying to take advantage. I am confident that when this Gold product was first advertised TFC/ED was not in the loop at all with what Ubi and Evolved were doing. Hell, it's also obvious that Ubi Soft did not coordinate within their organization! As it stands now, if an agreement has indeed been worked out, then in the long run TFC/ED benefits with the continued sales of Lock On in the traditional retail channels. Note that ED has lowered the cost of the V1.1 upgrade prior to the Gold version being made available. I am told that Naturalpoint was going to lower their price for the V1.1 upgrade as well, but their website still has it listed at $29.99. I believe that TFC/ED will clear things up with either a press release or an online posting. I sure hope so. It is in TFC/ED's best interest to be more responsive and forthcoming with information. Let's hope they see it that way. As I have stated multiple times here and to my friends at TFC/ED, they need to improve their communications with the community. In summary, having the complete simulation to include V1.1 in one package for less than thirty bucks is good news. It's just that the process used to get that product out to market was flawed. You're all entitled to your opinions and your right to make the choice to buy or not to buy products. But at the end of the day, Ubi, TFC/ED, or Evolved Games are not obligated to provide all their business plans or details of their respective dealings to the public. I'm just glad to see Lock On being sold again

I don't see Ubi Soft selling the Gold product. For those that have copy, is there any legal text on the box or in the documentation?

I have no official confirmation from TFC/ED but I'm betting that this was authorized. But... let's remember that I don't speak for them and I await the official word.

Evolved is the former Xicat.

"Brighter" is a relative term. :D

It now appears that my sources were mistaken or some kind of a deal was worked out after this product was first made public on the net. Until I have a logical explanation from someone in the know I just can't say for certain what the story is regarding this Gold product.

I'm confused on this one. I was told when this Lock On Gold first appeared on the EB site that it was not something authorized by TFC/ED. It now appears that either does have their blessing or it has the V1.1 content included without their approval. Only someone from TFC/ED can clear this matter up. Regardless, getting the full simulation with V1.1 content is rather convienent and worth what they are charging. I just hope that if TFC/ED is a part of this effort that they are getting a fair portion of the proceeds. It sure would be nice if the communications regarding this situation were better. I fail to see how having no information from TFC/ED is a sound strategy. This also causes some concern that standalone V1.1 is being sold by NaturalPoint for $29.95 or on the Eagle website for $25.00 while customers can get the entire Lock On product WITH V1.1 for only $29.99 with Lock On: Gold. Granted that the initial release of the upgrade was months ago, so the price structure overall is going to change.

An audio tribute to Mr. Doohan: http://forums.ubi.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/38610606/m/9881020043 Here is a nice tribute complete with videos: http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/12920.html

I flew the A-10 in V1.1 today. It is my aircraft of choice.

Too late, unfortunately. :icon_frow

Confirmation that you truly are an asshat and a moron.

I just want to thank the asshat responsible for having my well-intentioned thread supporting our friends in the UK locked out. Morons who have to make everything political are truly asshats and don't belong in our community. If you want to argue politics then go to the Usenet with all the other fools. How about the Mods deleting the political crap from the earlier thead and unlocking it? Why stop a good thing just because of one asshat? http://forum.lockon.ru/showthread.php?t=9432

Our thoughts and best wishes are with our friends in the UK on this terrible day.