I might not have bought it anyway, as it is just not my era, but its still fairly sad to see. It will almost certainly sell like crazy, because many people simply don't care as long as they get theirs. Time will tell if the money is worth the shift in policy, as you promise that this module will (somehow) bring huge sweeping improvements to the sim. It's not the balance or lack of contemporaries for me, but rather, as many others have stated, the effect it will have moving forward. I knew when the Fakeshark 3 came out that we would end up like this eventually. The thought that 3rd parties will now be able to point at the F-35 in order to justify cutting greater corners (and ED has no right to criticize or block them for it now), is saddening. Why go through the painstaking work that 3rd parties are going through when you can just watch youtube and guess now?
My issue with it is that it will be the equivalent of a war thunder, MSFS, or modder level module compared to its full fidelity family. Saying it will be the most accurate on the market is insane, because how do you even gauge that when NO ONE knows? Saying your 15%~ accurate module is the most accurate on the market isn't technically lying, but its being disingenuous. Users saying that other modules aren't close either, or that we haven't flown them and wouldn't know either so who cares, is just dumb. It would be similar to if our F-4E had maverick slaving on its pod, aim-120s, and other fictional abilities. I have never flown an F-4E in real life, so by that logic I cannot complain right? Except that we have the declassified resources to prove that it didn't. You can't say the same for the F-35. It will be no better than an MSFS module and now truly opens the gate for "good enough" guesswork modules. You are quite literally admitting that you will be modeling an F-35 brochure.
I wish the best for ED. I do. I have been flying since DCS: A-10C (actually Lock-On). I grew up with ED in a sense. I have supported and bought almost every module and terrain for sale, even if I don't enjoy the era (WW2). I am also very interested in the F-15C, and will almost certainly buy that. But how can we be assured that the F-15C will be done to the best it can be done? Will you simply watch a youtube video or watch an air show if you don't feel like reading extensive documentation? Will we see "mass produced" modules that are "good enough" moving forward? I can simply not buy the F-35, and I most likely won't, but changing the mission and path that I have supported is more harming in my opinion than a module I sit out on. I would love to see how you justify holding your third parties to the same standard of detail that you have up until this point.
