5 Years

[column5 63]

The year between patch 1 and patch 2 was the worst. Everyone was still learning the game, and there were admittedly quite a few problems that needed to be addressed, but the number and quality of mods was really ramping up. Still, a certain vocal group of crumudgeons persisted in coming around SimHQ and talking smack. Of course, in true SimHQ fashion this was allowed to go on at the expense of the people who were there trying to enjoy the game. The most infuriating refrain was "this sime will die, LOMAC will be uber" that we heard a lot of, and it feels great to look back and see how things turned out exactly the opposite. Being absolutely and overwhelmingly vindicated sure feels good!

[+JSF_Aggie 1,291]

I first got the game about 3 months before patch2 showed up, so I missed most of the "fun" on the simhq forum.

 

No other sim has all the aircraft I watched and read about growing up.

 

Big thanks to Deuces who got me going with Photoshop.

[+Zurawski 33]

Then he realizes he hadn't lit it. So pulling out the match he drops it in his lap and burns his smoking jacket set his hair piece on fire....

 

Ah ha!

 

So you were the excitable young fellow I spied peeping through my parlor window!

 

You see my good people, what Dave failed to mention it that in my hast to extinguish the smoking jacket and my hair piece... I removed the highly flammable yet unbelievably comfortable smoking jacket, leaving my taught muscular body exposed for god and country to see...

 

... at which time I observed with my eagle like vision, honed whilst lion hunting on the plains of the Serengeti, a rather rude fellow peering lustfully at my glistening statuesque body...

[+Deuces 0]

Dec. '02? Rookies

 

My introduction to SF a bit earleir than that with the first Euro terrain then the beginnings of OTC back in Oct. '02

The names I remember are Ajax, Gecko6, WOLF 257, Sleuth, Denzil, David (AD), Lud von Pipper, RatBastard, MajorLee

 

Probably the only thing that has remained on my computer these many years is the SF series.

[+Major Lee 18]

Ah ha!

 

So you were the excitable young fellow I spied peeping through my parlor window!

 

You see my good people, what Dave failed to mention it that in my hast to extinguish the smoking jacket and my hair piece... I removed the highly flammable yet unbelievably comfortable smoking jacket, leaving my taught muscular body exposed for god and country to see...

 

... at which time I observed with my eagle like vision, honed whilst lion hunting on the plains of the Serengeti, a rather rude fellow peering lustfully at my glistening statuesque body...

 

I am not so sure that USAFMTL was the only person exposed to noxious fumes from toxic chemicals...

Edited November 16, 2007 by Major Lee

[Guest CW2. Wells]

Hey Column, mind if I steal your sig?

[column5 63]

Hey Column, mind if I steal your sig?

 

Consider it yours!

[The Old Ranger 0]

Dec 02 works for me too. I'm a Boomer and was looking in BB for a birthday present for myself. I got it home and loaded it up. This thing actually flew like a real airplane and not a wheelbarrow! (I was a Tanker Driver in the AF). I'm also a '104 buff and the rest is history. I've tried some other sims, but always come back to the Thirdwire family. It has good realism and doesn't hog the memory to a standstill.

 

Great add-ons and enhancements over the years and a generally good bunch of folks on the boards. Heck, there have to be a few whiners and crybabies so the rest of us can look like nice people. :-)

 

v/r

 

The Old Ranger

Edited November 16, 2007 by The Old Ranger

[Guest CW2. Wells]

Consider it yours!

 

 

Thanks

[+Fracture 0]

I followed the development from the first rumblings back in 2001, I think combatsim.com (left when they went pay to play)

then SimHq, Skunkworks and this place when it was still Biohaz hehe

 

got it as soon as it was available,

 

created and uploaded one of, if not the first

 

A-4 repaints Nov 2 2002

 

http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autom...amp;showfile=33

 

 

Been flying, testing and modding ever since.

[Guest CW2. Wells]

For me, I stumbled upon SFP1 at my local game stop. To be honest it was hard for me to get into the game at first. I was still caught up in WWII style air combat (I thought heat was gay) and was really into Aces High at the time. By the time Wings over Vietnam was about to release myself and one of my squad mates from Aces High were following the game with a lot of intrest, as the game play over at AH had gotten stale.

 

I was really looking forward to flying the A-6. As a kid I always loved that bird. I bought the game when it came out, but was deployed a few weeks later. I went out and got a laptop that could run the game, planning to take it with me over seas. Oddly enough, I forgot the game and deployed without it. So it would be another year before I could really check it out. Once I did though, I was glad I bought it. It was just what I was looking for. An hour of boredom followed by mins of terror over Hanoi. I was hooked. Been here ever since.

 

This game may not be the prudiest of the sims, it might not have all the bells and whistles, but the community more than makes up for those small things. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[+Dave 2,322]

The year between patch 1 and patch 2 was the worst. Everyone was still learning the game, and there were admittedly quite a few problems that needed to be addressed, but the number and quality of mods was really ramping up. Still, a certain vocal group of crumudgeons persisted in coming around SimHQ and talking smack. Of course, in true SimHQ fashion this was allowed to go on at the expense of the people who were there trying to enjoy the game. The most infuriating refrain was "this sime will die, LOMAC will be uber" that we heard a lot of, and it feels great to look back and see how things turned out exactly the opposite. Being absolutely and overwhelmingly vindicated sure feels good!

 

 

Yeah those years were the worse. Stiglr would show up and constantly harass us. Trolls of all forms would show up just to have their say and leave. But look at it now. The file downloads alone show that they were all full of it and I know they are eating crow. I bet you some are even here under different names enjoying it but not wanting to show who they were for the mess they talked.

 

[topcat II 6]

One thing for sure may this game go on and on well you know

[+Hinchinbrooke 36]

Stiglr would show up and constantly harass us.

 

Ah, Stiglr! Now, there's a laugh. Still waiting for that Meteor cockpit.................

[Aintry 0]

LOL!!

[Rambler 1-1 9]

Happy birthday, SF! I bought it for $20 from our local Superstore, back in the year it came out, I think. Up untill about a year and a half ago, I just blew s**t up with everything on "easy", and with no downloads or patches or anything, because my comp wouldn't handle it. Then I discovered guns, video cards and downloads, and now here I am!

 

It's so good, I deleted FS04 to make room for more downloads! :yes:

[Bulldog 0]

I bought the Valusoft edition of SFP1 in Sept. 05 after finding this site and seeing all the mods available here. I had been frustrated with trying to use F-4 add ons in CSF2 (missiles that don't lock on, etc...still fly the game for ww2 though) so the fact the Phantom was a big part of this game sold me...little did I know I'd soon become a MiG-21 man too....

[GASCAN39 7]

This is the longest I have ever played one game! Bought the original (Not the Walmart fiasco version) when it came out, then bought Wings Over Vietnam. Downloaded WoE, (And even First Eagles). The life span has been extended by all of you out there that put in such hard work on the add ons. (Too many to mention!) How awesome it is to be able to hop in any of the great aircraft TK and the rest of you made available, and feel like a pilot for a while! Let's hope many more great add ons are on the horizon....

 

 

Stay Safe

 

BG

[gerald14 0]

Well, I had this game since 2005 but I didn't knew it had a mods and etc. Then I found Combatace in 2006

Also it has MiGs hehe

[Viggen 643]

Had a chance to pick up WOV in 2005. I went with LOMAC instead on account of the Flankers. Then I found WOE around September/October of 2006. First site I found was C5's after reading about the NATO Fighters mod on Wikipedia. Then I found this place called Combatass...er...Ace (yeah thats it). At first I was pissed about how I needed an account to download planes here. Then I made one and here I am today, with nearly 17 gigs of mods on my PC.

 

I guess that I would like to thank the people who are responsible for NATO Fighters for getting me into an amazing communtity with some great people and modders. Another thing that drove me in was this picture of Marc's Su-27

 

Edited November 17, 2007 by JA 37 Viggen

[+Spectre_USA 7]

Was a beta tester for SF:P1, due to my article writing at CombatSim.com.

 

Have been a LONG time sim fiend, and have seen them come and go.

 

I remember the WalMart fiasco, man did the beta test team flip out! We figured it was gonna kill the whole deal.

 

Thank God it did not, and I still fire up an iteration or two on a weekly basis for over 5 years now. This is definitely a unique series, with some of the best mods and

modders on the planet!

 

Happy 5th B-Day TK and (tiny) crew!

 

[DirtyBirdFA 1]

Bought SFP1 on Nov 2002 when I was in Alabama for Thanksgiving break. Didn't play much of it though, as all that freedom of freshmint year in college kept life interesting.

[crl848 9]

I've been a simmer for a few years - Chuck Yeager's Air Combat, Tornado, DID sims, Jane's, MSFS etc. I've always been looking for a replacement for Chuck's, flying F-4 vs. Mig 21. USNF, the offical sequel didn't really do it for me. Finally I saw SFP1 previewed in a magazine and got it at the end of 2002. Of course it was not quite there yet as we all know, so I put it back on the shelf. Then I bought WOV when it came out, and got into the mods. Re-installed SF. Flyable Mig 21s with cockpits - finally a worthy replacement for CYAC!

 

"There I was in my [F-4] at [20,000ft] when I saw [5 Mig 21s] and [5 Mig 21s]. The guys in those planes were [excellent]".

[sparkomatic 7]

ArmourDave...man what happened to him? Thought he moved off to Thailand to teach English...imagine that, the English teaching people to speak "English"...bloody Imperialist

 

Stiglr, that transvestite-wannabe! Glad to be rid of him...now if we could just eliminate one more...

 

I still remember the first multiplayer sessions, and some Belgian waxing me out of the skies

 

CFS is WAY easier/friendlier to mod, multiplay, and has perhaps a larger fan base (over the years/series), but then it just is not the same

 

But the first time I took a Nigerian-flagged Jaguar "downtown" and didnt have to hit an evilcommbuilding and the sky was azure all because of mods to a game built to let it all happen, that was very enjoyable

 

admittedly I liked LOMAC and 1946 better as sims, but as a game none compares to SPF1 (close second FAR CRY)

 

[SandyC 2]

Started flight sims with IL-2 in 2002 but stumbled upon SF shortly thereafter. I am addicted to this game. I prayed for the Vietnam add-on that Armourdave and others were doing way back then, then along came... WOV! I think TK is on fast track to canonization by the Pope - Saint TK, the patron saint of open architecture sims. I think the guy is really admirable for the way he took the horrendous flak blasted at him in the early days, kept the faith and gave us, with all the modders and the other guys on the forums offering advice, etc., a truly great sim experience. I like IL-2 but rarely play it these days because it somehow seems clinical compared to the TW series. Viva, TK! Viva, ThirdWire! And happy anniversary!