New SIM coming

[Zeeflyboy]

They said by this summer, a couple of months.

[SaneAdam]

It looks fantastic. 89 quid is a great price. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy… Very impressive stuff. The only negative i could take from it all is that i have to wait a few months before i get to try it...

[mahbouni]

I just watched the Rotors video, which pretty much confirms what I was hoping for in my previous posts. A simulator that models every component of the model right down to the aerodynamics of the blades. A 1 to 1 mapping from the virtual world to the real world. Having a simulated model that flies identical to your real one is fantastic. To be able to try new components in the simulator before you buy them for real is revolutionary. Theoretically it would be possible to design your own components or complete heli and test it in the simulator before making a prototype in the real world. The possibilities are endless. If this works well then it is a complete game changer. As a software developer, I wish I had the opportunity to work on something this cool.

[Supa Koopa]

Please let me qualify my following statement by saying I will more than likely buy this sim.

Now, playing devils advocate I am a little worried by some of the claims for this sim. The price point is great, the free upgrades are brilliant the finance model, whoa bells are ringing. They say that the models are just too complicated for joe bloggs to produce so no model editor, fine I don't use them anyway, but realflight is popular because of the free models on the swap pages and the regularity of their release. If it is so complex and difficult to produce a model how long are we going to be waiting for new ones. Anyone care to remember the numerous posts about Phoenix and 'when are we going to get new models'. Although RC's are still popular they are now way popular enough to make a massive amount of money from a flight sim and then to produce free updates for life! How much are they actually getting from each sale, minus running costs, minus manufacturing, staffing and costs to heli manufacturers for using their products, models, code? I can't see Mikado supplying free vbar code to them to use in their sim, this goes for all of the FBL manufacturers. I struggle to see Angelos after having spent 3 years of his life programming the vortex to turn around to them and say yeah here is the code of course you can use it. I don't care how good they security is, it will be hacked and that software would then be freely available. To me this then means we are using their fbl code, so are we not back to the same as all the other sims relying on their interpretation of how a fbl unit works? We all know models are now mostly the same (I know, I know, I said mostly) and the biggest difference is in the FBL unit you stick on it. I love my vbars and if I had 2 identical 700's one with a vbar and one with a 3gx and after flying (well taking off in the 3gx's case) I'd tell you straight off which was the 3gx. Now give me 2 different 700's (makes) and stick a vbar on both with everything else identical I'd bet they'd both fly blooming well. I hope you see where I'm going with this.

I sat through the whole interview and thought that's great but....! I know the beta's have it and they say it flys well so I cannot comment on that part and will not as it's not fair, hence why I said I will buy it to see for myself. I just have doubts. We spent 2 years programming a driving game (I used to work for a very popular software developer), everything was factored in, the amount of grip and rolling resistance of tyres, the torque and its affect from different engines, weight distribution, aerodynamic forces, steering angles, shock dampening, you get the idea absolutely everything down to the nth degree. You guessed it it was crap, accurate but crap.

I wish them well and I hope they are successful as it can only help forward the hobby. Like I said I'm happy to give them my money to help them progress and like everyone else hope it's at least as half as good as they say.

My 2p, flame suit at the ready.

[milly0812]

And breathe lol

[Supa Koopa]

Breathe, I nearly passed out..!

[milly0812]

My point of view with most things new is to wait for others to give their views before I decide on a purchase. I have not seen rotors at all and no disrespect to anyone but there are only a few of the beta testers who's opinions will really hold water so let's just wait and see

[Supa Koopa]

Agreed.

[Lynx.1677]

Surely they need to let someone test it who's beyond the angry hover stage? :P

How does it crash Ben, I assume that's why they've given you a copy. Tee hee.

Seriously though, looks really interesting. If the movements of the parts drive the simulation then it could be really interesting indeed. However, I will NOT be sat there pulling my hair out because I'm getting uneven +/- pitch. That used to do my nut in.

[milly0812]

New SIM coming

Rob Turnbull is onboard Dan.......Oh and Kev Davies

[Ade_Law]

for those worried about free updates, check out companies house in the UK for runtime games to see how much money they have made.

the sim market is massive and will never saturate, how many here were flying 5 years ago? how many people do you know that have been flying for less than 5 years?

[p4ddy]

Does it have flybarred models??

[ChrisB]

Yes there was a Titan SE in the original trailer.

[mahbouni]

You make some very good points.

If it is so complex and difficult to produce a model how long are we going to be waiting for new ones. Anyone care to remember the numerous posts about Phoenix and 'when are we going to get new models'.

I think it maybe a case of they haven't got a model designer that is user friendly enough to be exposed to the public. Another thing is they said that there are no fudges with the physics to make it look real. Well yes but you have to draw a line and make assumptions somewhere. You can't model all the atoms in the universe. You would never have enough compute power or memory. A friend of mine has a PHD in Fluid Dynamics and does research on aerofoils. He said that even with super computers they don't have enough compute power to model all the air over an aerofoil in real time. They have to make assumptions and use look up tables etc. So there are definitely assumptions being made in AccuRC and maybe they wouldn't want to expose all of those as they are part of the intellectual property. However, how many users would actually design their own model from scratch. It would be great but most users (excluding me) probably wouldn't use it. I think the majority of users would be happy with a mix n match environment of ready made components. Perhaps they will expose basic things like servo speed, motor KV and LiPo discharge curves.

and costs to heli manufacturers for using their products, models, code? I can't see Mikado supplying free vbar code to them to use in their sim, this goes for all of the FBL manufacturers. I struggle to see Angelos after having spent 3 years of his life programming the vortex to turn around to them and say yeah here is the code of course you can use it. I don't care how good they security is, it will be hacked and that software would then be freely available. To me this then means we are using their fbl code, so are we not back to the same as all the other sims relying on their interpretation of how a fbl unit works? We all know models are now mostly the same (I know, I know, I said mostly) and the biggest difference is in the FBL unit you stick on it. I love my vbars and if I had 2 identical 700's one with a vbar and one with a 3gx and after flying (well taking off in the 3gx's case) I'd tell you straight off which was the 3gx. Now give me 2 different 700's (makes) and stick a vbar on both with everything else identical I'd bet they'd both fly blooming well. I hope you see where I'm going with this.

What I heard is they're going to release their own FBL system, which will have the same characteristics as the one in the sim. To use other FBL systems perhaps they could be connected to the dongle so that the simulator could actually use your Var or Vortex to do the stabilization. It would still need collaboration between manufacturers but perhaps a safer way of doing it without giving away their algorithms.

[Zeeflyboy]

Just for the record, I would happily pay a small fee for additional model packs.

I think free software updates is great, and that's something they have to do anyway to keep improving the product. If it helps prioritise getting some additional models on board, I would gladly pay a small fee for additional models. You could even do it like iTunes and allow a person to download individual extra models for £1.99 for example, or a whole pack of 5 for £7.99.

I am not someone who like sot just give away my money, but I also don't mind paying for quality. If a small fee would ensure more models get produced and at a high level of quality, I'd be happy to spend a couple of quid getting the models I want.