JediMaster

Any "numbers" that are current or even recent I can understand being classified, and they often are like freqs, ranges, speeds, etc, but I'll just say anything that was classified before I was born I have a hard time believing needs to stay that way! Then you've got something like the B-2 where it's not just the stealth numbers that are classified. As they say, it was called the "Advanced Tech Bomber", not "Stealth Bomber" by the USAF.

I've got Final Countdown and Top Gun on DVD because they've got those awesome flying scenes. Stealth didn't do that. I didn't care about the characters, the story was just too implausible (what's with AI in movies being human-smart anyway?), which is saying something compared to FC's time travel, and the liberties taken with flight mechanics (supersonic dive at Mach 3 taking them like an hour?) just killed it. In fact, I'd say the most recent film to have really good combat flight scenes was Flyboys. Nothing screamed DUH at you and they really pulled off those stunts well.

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/11/star-trek-first.html I'm not sure I'm happy with every choice they've made here, but I guess it will do!

That's because the UK F-4 wasn't a 70s jet, it was a 50's jet with a different engine.

Sometimes the stuff that is still classified decades later boggles the mind. Like the SR-71's true capabilities (when it's been TOTALLY retired for over 10 years), or some of the JFK assassination files (when the official story indicates there shouldn't be ANYTHING classified), etc. The problem is only a few limited people are capable of declassifying things and they tend to err on the side of caution and don't. Another good one is the F-16's exact flight model numbers. The plane is decades old and has been everywhere including in countries that aren't friendly anymore. There's no way the thing's specs aren't in the hands of every unfriendly nation's intel services by now, but it stays classified because maybe SOMEONE doesn't know it yet. I once read the only difference between a classified briefing and what you see on the news is that the classified one has the names of the sources and thereby gives you a measure of the credibility. Something on CNN will likely not be believed by everyone, so you have that doubt which will make adversaries not take it as gospel.

Now THAT is a lot of 1's and 0's.

Oh, oops. The Eclipse is different. You can ONLY get it playing the Consortium campaign, where you hijack it away from the Empire. That's it, not available in any GC campaign.

What, no VTOL??

I thought Greece had ordered Typhoons years back but then cancelled the order for budget reasons. F-16s and Mirage 2000s are still the most modern thing they have. They're also unique in that their greatest rival is another NATO member instead of any outside nation.

Really. If they get chased off, they'll just try again.

I'm very disappointed in this decision. It strikes me as a very Russian one. Almost no other dev or publisher believes in using SF anymore because of the tons of bad press, but bad press apparently had zero impact on their decision. I find that remarkable. It's like they wanted to use SF because it's Russian and only if their 100 person testing team had serious issues with it were they going to go elsewhere. This reminds me of a certain other decision made just about 6 years ago to do something that people mostly thought was a bad idea, but was backed by what later turned out to be faulty information. Not that it mattered, because the "deciders" had already made up their minds and any positive backing was grabbed, however flimsy, and negative was brushed aside. So, congrats to ED for acting very presidential in their decision-making process.

I played the first for BF42 quite a bit. In some ways it was better than BFV, in others I preferred BFV (like the helos in EoD I could never handle). I never got BF2, though.

The game is limited by what consoles dictated. You can't be complex with a gamepad. The 2-D is unfortunate, but face it the movies/TV were largely 2D as well. After all, movie and TV ARE 2D.

You have to play one of the Galactic Conquests as the Empire and I think it finally becomes available at Tech 5 or whatever the final level is called. Then it costs a ton and takes forever to build.

I just read the preview of iRacing's "big racing sim" on SimHQ. Sorry, not for me, and my guess is not for most people. Everything is money, money for very little return. Ok, so maybe it's the most accurate representation of such-and-such track ever, and maybe it's the most accurate handling representation of such-and-such car ever. No AI at all? No control over what track is being raced online? Pay for monthly online access (with no AI, there's nothing to do if you don't!) Pay for every extra track (like $30?) Pay for every extra car (like $20?) Graphics not quite as good as any of the modern racing sims, let alone better? They claim it's designed for professional racers to use as practice for real races. Um, ok, fine, just how many professional racers are there out there? Eliminate drag racers and motorcycle racers. How many of them want to practice racing on a PC instead of their own car? Did they notice that drivers like Dale Jr were using NR 2003 for extra practice help and get delusions of grandeur, thinking there was a big market for this? They did this with a flight sim once, called Back to Baghdad. Best F-16 sim ever, if all you care about is the plane's systems and handling. Gameplay was poor, graphics for terrain was poor, cost $100 (over 10 years ago). Totally tanked. Games like Aces High and Warbirds and such did well enough with the subscription model, but they didn't nickel and dime you for every plane or terrain map you flew. Alternatively, for $40 you can get rfactor, with AI, free MP, and literally hundreds of cars and tracks to race. Not to the same level of fidelity, but pretty good nonetheless. I could think of half a dozen different ways for them to price this, all of which would have lower revenue per customer but would guarantee more customers. You almost get the impression they think people will line up for this no matter the cost because it's so accurate. Maybe they didn't notice the current economic situation...

According to Andy Mahood in PCG, he's raced against Dale Earnhardt Jr in a race or two. The REAL one. I can see the appeal of that, and if you're a diehard MP racer it may well be worth it to you. As someone who puts in maybe 15 hrs/month tops into racing all my sims combined, it's not for me.

You have to enjoy the films for what they are. Of course the Moore films are nothing like the books, even in his day they had a sort of "reboot" after Moonraker. That film went literally to new heights in the post-Star Wars era that was followed by the very retro-plot For Your Eyes Only where the whole thing was about a code machine and a woman's revenge. The Dalton movies had their faults, but as mentioned the portrayal of Bond wasn't one of them. The Bond "women" in his 2 flicks were among the worst they had, and the villains weren't that great. Robert Davi is a good actor, but he's not suited to those types of films. Joe Don Baker...has he ever been good?

Oh right, forgot about that. An entire NATION where Spanish is almost never spoken...how will one cope??

Apparently he had one last book waiting to be published, not sure what will happen with it now. Sounds like it was mostly finished but maybe needed a little polishing.

LOL, I so rarely catch anything taking off and I never have my camera. I did grab a handful of the 2 WB-57s here several years ago for the shuttle return-to-flight though.

The Shinden's intake is similar in concept, but it's smaller. The difference is you could stand up in that other inlet if you were thin enough. It's all about the geometry, baby!

I've seen that one here, too. I've also seen the other one, with the satcom antenna on the top. The E-4B I think?

I lived in Perrine and Cutler Ridge, but spent most of my life in Kendall. The other thing the UK has is that super high latitude. Nothing like watching the sun rise at 10AM and set at 2PM!

Right, the tanks were jettisoned before the wings were swept back.

Going from the hottest, driest state to moist, cold country? I literally shudder at the thought! Oh, and NV is mega cheap to live in by comparison, too.