Hellfish6

I'm afraid you're setting yourself up to be incredibly disappointed. I, for one, would hate to have a clickable 3d cockpit. It doesn't do anything for me (and would require me to figure out WTF all those buttons are for) and all those man hours, in my opinion, could be used to enhance so much other stuff. Isn't there a FSX or X-Plane F-14 somewhere that has all this fluff you're looking for?

I think, in large part, people have given up trying to please hardcore simmers because it's impossible to please them. I used to develop simulations for the DoD and they were far easier to please than the people I see at SimHQ or have been involved with in the wider simulation community. That being said, the DoD was more interested in learning how to fight/operate with their sims instead of pretending to fight/operate in their sims.

I'm not suggesting stagnancy is any good. In my opinion, development is usually for the better (though not always true - plenty of sequels/follow-ons have done the opposite... Gunship!, anyone?) but I'm doing expectation management here. I enjoy the SF2 games I have now. Sure, they can be improved upon, but if all I get out of the box is a new terrain, new ships and new aircraft with little to no added functionality, I'll still be happy. It's not like SF2, as it is now, is broken for me. I fly almost every day and I enjoy it almost every time as it is. I've been enjoying the entire series for almost ten years now, and I'll keep enjoying it. This is a game. If you're going to make an F-14 game, you're probably making it to appeal to as many people that like F-14s as possible, and not necessarily to people that want an accurate F-14 sim. A subtle, but very vocal, difference between the two. I fall into the former, you're clearly in the latter. I don't want a sim. I also don't want an arcade game. The beauty of the SF series is that it is comfortably in-between and I fear what a lot of you people are asking - and demanding - puts the needle a lot closer to sim than I'd be comfortable with. I don't have the patience to learn how to slew Mavericks or operate a bajillion different radar modes or button combinations. I get home from work, fly a mission or two, and make dinner or go out or walk the dog. When I was a college student and could get away without putting pants on all day, I loved Falcon 4 because it was so detailed and I had the time to invest in learning it (which was half the fun). Ten years later, I can't do that anymore. I just wanna kill stuff. Most of the time, I don't even land after the mission.

I'll be there with you. I don't expect - nay, I don't want - half the features some people here demand, and I'll be happy getting what I get.

I think TK has said to not expect that specifically.

Amen. I think TK has made it very clear that people shouldn't expect too much yet I see people here already with lofty expectations and demands that will rapidly translate into disappointment and internet rage. And as for not buying the game? I've got all the SF-series games. I don't know how much I paid for them all, but I've gotten more than my money's worth out of them - though in large part because of modders as well. $30 is about what it costs me to go to a bar to watch football, get something to eat and a couple of beers. That's about $10 an hour. I'm probably at around three cents (American cents, dammit!) an hour now for all the time I've put into SF2. $30, and certainly $0.03 an hour doesn't entitle me to be righteously indignant about anything if my F-14 doesn't have the latest and greatest graphic doo-hickey (quasi-specular bloom on the engine intake or whatever).

I worry that people are creating expectations that aren't realistic.

How exciting.

Very nice. Is that an SF2 screenshot?

Very impressive.

Cool. And thanks for the tutorial.

Would anyone be keen on making a decal I could use that depicts the Kurdistan Air Force? The Kurds obviously don't have their own air force, and thus no roundel, but maybe someone would be interested on inventing one? Their flag looks like this: Thanks!

There is a mock-up of one of these in a military museum in Wisconsin.

Heh, I know. I was pointing out I couldn't even get the most basic image program to work, nevermind one that could produce anything SF2-quality.

SITREP FROM: HQ, Marine Nationale TO: SHAPE CVN Charles de Gaulle unavailable, however 10 Super Etendard Modernise of 11F are available for deployment.

I get SARH and ARH fired at me all the time from MiG-23s and -29s. J-10s too.

I'm interested. I can help with intel or just fly. Don't have a preference for which country to fly for.

Seriously beautiful. Would love to see some of these schemes in-game. Alas, I can't even get MS Paint to work... http://studiogekko.blogspot.com/p/mig-21-what-if-profiles_05.html

Yes, 90%. Maybe as low as 80%, but the vast majority are not Sunnis, nevermind Ba'athists. A good chunk of the Sunnis left in Iraq are Kurds, not Arabs. That demographic info is SWAG - Iraq hasn't had a real census since the '50s, and far more Sunnis have left the country since 2003 than any other demographic. Or don't believe me. Whatever. Not like Wiki's ever been wrong.

Heh. Is your colleague a Sunni? The three stars represent Saddam, in the view of many. The Shi'a and Kurds, who make up about 90% of the population together, detest that flag. Thanks for the option to have both, though.

The Iraqis just bought 18 F-16C Block 52s. Would be cool to see them. Also, you're using the old Ba'athist Iraqi flag. The new Iraqi flag looks like this: