G3?

[wbpo]

I saw some hints about G3 on the net a few weeks ago. How about some tidbits here. I am close to buying that European version with the "Real 3D View" stuff. Looks interesting.

Will there be an upgrade for G2 owners?

Barrett

[Highflyer]

There has been an upgrade discount in the past. It is usually announced shortly after the new release is announced, if I remember right. CAIN'T WAIT!

[r1derbike]

G3 was promised the end of October. Now, middle of November. I don't have G2 and preordered G3 assuming it would be here end of October. I also ordered and received add-ons vol. 1 through 5, now sitting here gathering dust. I have no G2 platform to use the add-on software, and frankly, am quite disappointed that all the money I've spent in software is useless right now.

Any projected release of G3?

Also, where are all the screen shots of this new sim? Even the new AFP Deluxe version has screen shots all over the web.

I don't get this secrecy, and cloak-n-dagger business ethics.

No apologies, this is how I feel about it.

Charles

[ramora]

I purchased G3 and addons 1 thru 5, recieved the addons but have been waiting for G3 for over a month now and the release date was pushed back till mid November, well here it is mid November and still nothing on there web site other than information coming soon, well if there isn't even any information about it how far away is the actual release going to be? maybe with the helo support in the spring. I'm fastly becoming disgrunteled and may start looking else where for a simulator, any suggestions?

[Highflyer]

Why don't you email or call customer service. They might have some answers about time and real release dates. Most of us here are users and don't have any more info than you. We are waiting just like you.

[ramora]

Actually I did eMail them and have recieved no reply as of yet. :(

[hobiewan]

I'm not affiliated with RF in the least way, but in my humble opinion, they aren't going to release the Alpha version of G3 until it's as good as it can be.
If they released it right now and it was a crap version, they'd lose.
Better to take a little more time and get it right.
Lightenup folks.
This sim is a very specific market. Programming costs v. retail returns=minimum profit margin.
I've read lots of stuff here and on the other radio-controlled sim sites. Comments come from all types.
I like RF. I'm waiting to see how RFG3 comes out.
I for one
am out of here.(4now) :)
hobie

[Joe Teibel]

Here's some screen shots for you folks. Just a hint at what we have to offer. BTW the windmills are turning and clouds are awesome!

[r1derbike]

Bravo! Someone finally stepped-up to the plate! I like what I see! Will there be any options to use other user-defined landscapes? How about user stitched photographic scenes?

Will be eagerly awaiting the two-disk set...

Thanks for the update.

Charles

[r1derbike]

Anyone notice the Monokote canopy in the Joe's closeup? ;-}

Charles

[ramora]

I called knife edge's support line yesterday and they said next week, so I guess we will have to wait and see. :confused:

[Cougar]

ORDER STATUS
ORDER NOW BEING PICKED AND PACKED IN WAREHOUSE
(G3 back-order 11/18/04

MINE IS SHIPPING FRIDAY! *yippy* :D
11/19/04
Jeff

[Ryan Douglas]

Want screenshots? Go to the Knife Edge Software home page (http://www.knifeedge.com) and follow the links to our G3 announcement page. I hope you have a broadband internet connection handy... ;)

[Ryan Douglas]

Will there be any options to use other user-defined landscapes? How about user stitched photographic scenes?

Charles

r1derbike, I'm not sure what you mean by user-defined landscapes. You will definitely be able to edit and create your own airports. This is similar to what you could do in G2, except that the airport editor has been completely re-written to be more intuitive, easy to use, and also much more powerful. If you're asking whether you can create your own 3D terrain, then the answer is no. We're using satellite imagery and digital elevation data to create all of that scenery you see in the screenshots; the process is complex, and requires a lot of work on our end to make it happen. There's simply no way we can do all of that based only on data input by users. The payoff, though, is that you get much more realistic surroundings than if we were trying to create the illusion of depth. Those mountains in the background look really far away because they are! The terrain looks so vast because it really is.

As for user-stitched photographic scenes, RealFlight Classic used panoramic photographs for scenery, and G2 supported it as an option for slower computers. In G3 we're moving far beyond the restrictions imposed by that approach. Photographs make great screenshots, no question.

[ramora]

Well Tower Hobby has extracted the funds from my bank account now so hopefully it means I'll get mine soon, However there G3 page says available Late November.

[ramora]

Just got off the phone with Tower and they are in stock now, and the preorders should be going out Tuesday of next week, maybe sooner. :)

[iwin2]

Well what can I say, but this sure looks disappointing. This looks more like it should be G2.1 not a new version. I have been a fan and supporter\owner (G2 vols 1 - vol4) of RF since RFD and have helped sell many copies.

RealPhysics3D - I though we already had real physics I guess they were not real after all if they were accureate why would they need to have a version for 3D flight. So why should we have to BUY better physics?

Helis- NONE??????????? whats up with that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ReadySelect™ Preview Boxes - yawn


TruFlo Wind Dynamics™- another improvement we should not have to pay for

TrueLife Terrain™— What can I say

Full Coverage” Collision Detection - Dave brown sim did this 7 yrs ago

Virtual Flight Instructor™- not one new VFI in3 years and now this is something we should pay for

Tower syas a rebate will offered through Realflight web site - nothing on web site

[charoldson]

Hey.. I know you.

You're the guy that sat behind me at the restaurant and ordered the sandwich special that comes with a cup of soup. Except you wanted to upgrade to a bowl and get the french fries free of charge. :rolleyes:

[ramora]

Hey iwin, I guess you really win since you obviously think G3 is not a big step up, I guess you don't need to shell out 200 clams for it, you keep flying G2 or RFD or maybe one of the others you have and the rest of us will enjoy G3.

[hamflyer]

I placed an order with Tower last friday night and should be getting it some time this week. Looking forward to receiving it. Haven't head anything about the rebate yet but wanted the G3 anyway. Loved G2 and will love G3 just as much or probably more.

[r1derbike]

Ryan:

You've answered my questions...thanks!

I'm now going to the TH website and see what the status is on my order. Anyone who gets this installed, please post, after playing for several hours!

BTW, my system is an Athlon 64 3200+ w/1GB Ram, nVidia FX5200 w/128mb ram (but thinking seriously of upgrading to the 6600GT AGP bridged PCI-X card) with 128MB memory.

I am presently running FMS @42fps, 1280X1024 res., and it is slightly "jerky" at that resolution zoomed at takeoff, but fine as soon as it leaves terra-firma.

Will run G3 for a day or so, trying all parameters for video res, and then make a decision on the $200.00 card.

Now, if only G3 would arrive!

Charles

[futurvet]

Why is it that everytime someone has a complaint about a G-product, there are a bunch of doinks that have to get after the person for complaining? iwin2 has some very legit questions regarding the sim.

I own RF, RF Deluxe, G2, G@ USB (upgraded to each, gladly) as they were the only real game in town (I don't count DB, just wasn't there). Now, I also own two
other sims (they will remain nameless out of respect for the owner of this board), and they both have their good points and bad.....that said, in total I have three sims and spent near $1000, because I love flying and chose to do so. No complaints there.

What does get me is, there is no info available for those LOYAL customers that have repeatedly forked out the dough to buy the sim, upgrades to new sims, Add Ons (all five in my case). Hell, they haven't even got the Realflight website updated and they are shipping the product. What is it with the sucky communications?

Now, RF gave us a Wright flyer to mark the 100th anniv. of flight. Do we wait another 100 years to get another. Hell, they used to give free planes away when it was just Real Flight, I know, I downloaded them. I'm not saying they have to give everything away, that's no way to run a business, but we shouldn't have to pay for a new sim everytime they update the program and repackage it as a new sim (yeah, I now we will get the helis for free this spring as an upgrade).

What about it RF representatives? Money that tight in your neck of the woods? I've always been treated very fairly with any problems that I've encountered with the program, why not improve the communications so we are not in the dark for such extended periods of time. What about the upgrade for those of us who own G2? When? How much? I'm sure Im not the only one waiting for that answer.

todd

[Highflyer]

Just us voicing our opinions, just like him or anyone else. Just lots more of us like what we got and what we are expecting from g3. Maybe we just like to rag on people.

[pache11]

Grrr. A $25 merchandise credit. I have owned G2 for a number of years and have all 5 add-ons. I didn't expect a free upgrade, but I didn't expect to pay full price either. AFP and Reflex upgraded their software for free. What keeps customers coming back? Even Microsoft offers a decent upgrade path, not a slap. Upgrade to a USB interlink controller, buy the add-on packages, and then pay full price for a software upgrade. Not a very user friendly process in my way of doing business. Especially for those that bought G2 since 9/1/2004. They should get a even better break. If the policy remains as such people will take their votes ($$$) elsewhere.

[Scott S.]

Oh, man. I've been lurkin' for about two years and I finally gotta chime in. I bought RFG2 in April of 2004 after hemming and hawing for at least a year. Being a Mac user, I hadda buy a whole 'nother computer for RF, so I took my time deciding. When I finally took the plunge I got a new Dell PC for about $400 offa eBay; a nVidea GeForce Ti 4200 also from eBay, used, for about $40; an open-box 17" LCD monitor for what then seemed like a bargain; and RF from TH after the price-drop to $200 with the $20-off coupon. So we're lookin' at about $1K for a complete setup after some very careful shopping and patient waiting. But it's been worth every penny because now I can fly toy planes just like I wanted to back when you needed a licence (!) to do so. I got the licence in 1984 but never followed through. No field near where I lived and too many barriers to entry into the hobby. Like having to learn to build a model which costs a ton of money and then needs to be rebuilt (or replaced!) after one hard bump. So I blew it off. Until 2004. Now I have learned to fly indoors, when it's dark, when it's windy, when it's rainy and don't have to pay for busted props. I bought a plane about a month ago and flew it unaided and without incident. So RF has done its job. But I've been blathering on for quite a bit and haven't yet even *introduced* the point. Oops.

RF is great. Wish I'd had it as a kid in '84. No big - I got it now and am making up for lost time. I suspect RF's two major competitors are good too, but with an upgrade path I'd never find out - I'd just be a happy, loyal, good-word-of-mouth spewing user who coughs up the required few bucks every time my product-of-choice ships a new dot-zero release.

But now it's gonna cost me full retail - minus my $20 coupon if I time it right (about every other day at TH) and minus the price of one add-on - to upgrade to the new version. This is more than I'd pay for one of the German simulators. After eBaying my old sim (whichever one I didn't like as much after comparing) I wouldn't be out much cash at all. Best case (for the folks at RF - and by this I mean GP not KE, I'm sure this decision didn't come from the developers) I stick with RFG2 and eventually bump up to RFG3, all the while peeved at GP for making me pay full price to express my customer loyalty, telling everyone within earshot about the measly rebate and actively shoping the competition. Worst case is I sell RFG2, posting and blabbing my revised loyalties at hobby shops and on the web - and (here's the kicker) never straying from the new product because the new guys keep me happy by offering me an upgrade path that doesn't *force* me to break from my natural laziness and loyalty by charging me so much that it makes sense to look into starting with another vendor from scratch. Even at a trickle, this one-way migration spells death, which sucks because I *like* RF and want it to stay alive.

Face it: this is a three horse race and won't be forever. There just ain't enough of us flyers and wanna-be flyers in this tiny niche market to support three companies each spending, what, a million? (this is a guess - 20 guys at 50K for one year - probably fewer guys each pullin' more Ks, but again this is a rough guess) each time they develop their latest and greatest. Then they gotta spend even more when they market it - all in all, this process isn't cheap. And the stakes are high: look what happened to Sega. They had Sonic. They had market- and mindshare. It would be a cryin' shame to squander installed base, customer loyalty, the resultant word of mouth just to squeeze a few bucks out of the faithful who are basically your pro-bono street team and your best asset. Worse since your opponents won't stay stupid for long. In time, certain parties will hire companies that speak English as a first language and know how to make non-buttugly magazine ads, will partner with model plane companies (I hear there's a big one in Germany...) as well as one of the big online retailers (maybe they can find one waiting in the LOBBY), will learn how to schmooze magazine editors, etc.

Okay. I think I'm done. If you've read all this, thanks & sorry. It's a cryin' shame that I got this worked up. Lesson: don't *ever* go all the way out of your way to alienate your loyal customers to the point that they start looking elsewhere. I mean, it ain't the eighty bucks (pulled-out-of-air figure which as a rebate would have prevented this rant). I *got* eighty bucks, and that sum is a drop in the bucket compared to the grand I blew just to get this whole RF thing up and running - it's the feeling of betrayal. A person will moan and complain longer and louder when they feel they're getting the shaft than if they feel a price is set a few bucks too high. This is not a cheapskate hobby, and I am aware of that. But please, GP: don't end up a Sega, or a Kraft, or heaven forbid a Betamax. Now is the time to pamper the faithful so they'll evangelize far and wide & help you freeze out the competition while you still enjoy the advantage of being the USA-based company that doesn't mix up the decimals and the commas in a sea of yellow and pink in the magazine ads, and now is the time to promote like crazy, *listen* to the peanut gallery (like to feature and plane requests), and do all that is necessary to still be in the race when it gets down to just two horses.

<catches breath... falls down>

[ramora]

Ok, Maybe someone has figured this one out.

I'm running on a laptop with a nVidia GeForce 4 Go video adapter, every thing appears to run good however the planes, and all non moving structures (building, fences, canopys, etc.) have no color the tree, landscape and wind socks are all OK.

I checked the troubleshooting information and tested and checked everything with no indications of problems including the direct X drivers, video and everything else that I could think of and I found nothing. I loaded it on a friends simular laptop to test it and everything was the same.

If anyone has any ideas that may help I would appreciate it.

[Highflyer]

If you post this as a new question you might get more answers.