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From: sarge@percival.UUCP (Rod Sargent)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Flight Simulator II
Message-ID: <372@percival.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 2-Jan-87 00:48:42 EST
Article-I.D.: percival.372
Posted: Fri Jan  2 00:48:42 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Jan-87 02:43:05 EST
References: <2280@well.UUCP>
Reply-To: sarge@percival.UUCP (Rod Sargent)
Organization: Percy's UNIX, Portland, OR.
Lines: 71

In article <2280@well.UUCP> tenney@well.UUCP (Glenn S. Tenney) writes:
>1. It takes over the machine (which is understandable), but the mouse
>   interface is foreign to an Amiga owner.  It seems the Amiga version
>   is a port from the Atari ST version and they ported the GEM interface.
>   You point to a menu item, click left to pull it down, then click again
>   either on another menu item, the desired menu  item or anywhere else to
>   forget it all.

   I also found this GEM type mouse interface cumbersome at first.  However 
about 50 or 60 hours of flight, one becomes quite proficient at the controls
and the interface becomes second nature.

>2. It comes up in the SFO area.  Since I got my intrument ticket here,
>   I tried to shoot an ILS at SFO, OAK and SJC.  No luck!  After a phone
>   call to them today, boy am I PO'ed!  "Oh, none of the instrument approaches
>   in the Bay Area works.  We're planning an update sometime soon.  Try
>   calling us back at the end of January to see if it's ready.  Oh, and it
>   should fix the green clouds too."  When I asked about the update policy:
>   "We don't have any policy yet, but in the past you'd send in your original
>   disk and we'd send the update back out.  It might be the same now, but
>   I don't know."  Then we talked about letting such an obvious bug get out:
>   "So many people wanted it, that they were willing to take it with bugs."
>   I think that releasing a program with such an obvious bug (since it
>   starts up by default in the Bay Area) is an awful thing to do.
   
   I was also a little miffed at the ILS shortcoming.  While I am more LA
flight oriented, I was very disappointed in the lack of functioning ILS
approaches at SFO, OAK and SJC.  While not ILS ticketed, I do enjoy the
practice such approaches give.
  The port from the ST does not bother me as much as the lack of ability
to multi-task. This is a major shortcoming in the use of the equipment.
  As for the green clouds and other bugs, this is not something that is
being widely dispersed as existing and with most software dealers having
a NO REFUND policy these days, it is truely appalling.
  All and all the FSII for the Amiga is a significant improvement over 
the 8 bit versions, with more scenery and relatively better graphics. Even
with the bugs, I have gained numerous hours of enjoyment in flights I
might otherwise have been unable to afford.  I EXPECT a free upgrade when
the BUGS are removed as they should never have let a product with known
faults onto the store shelves....at any price.
  
  One Item I think you failed to mention in the positive is the use
of Multi-User flying.  There is great excitement in connecting modems
with fellow Amiga (and ST) users for hours of joint flights.  I fly
somewhat regularly with a 520 ST owner and have found cross country
junkets more enjoyable with a fellow plane off your wing...even if
it is an Atari.... ;-)

              Rod Sargent                    

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    .... To live and move among men, live while alive, and sieze
          the pleasures of the present day.  For life is a great
          bundle of many things....
                     sarge@percival





....Men see a little, presume a great deal, and so jump to the conclusion.
                                  John Locke


Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.
               Alfred, Lord Tennyson,
                 Locksley Hall

     ..!{ucbvax,ihnp4,seismo}!tektronix!reed!percival!sarge!

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