Microprose B-17 Flying Fortress Released

[Paul K]

I've just been looking at the screenshots at Just Flight's page:

https://www.justflight.com/product/microprose-b17g-flying-fortress

I hadn't fully grasped the Alcad stencil issue - that is bizarre! I know it's early access, but who on earth thought that was a good idea in the first place ? And the navigator the size of a child's doll ! The whole interior, along with the crew members, looks like something from Medal of Honour or similar.

 

[Lawman]

How is "early access" subject to the standpoint of a developer ? A developer has access to the project from the very start up until the final release. I.e. 'early access' doesn't apply to the developer. Only to the customer who, in this case, has to pay for it too.

What I meant is that early access is usually employed for one of the following reasons (more may apply):

a) the developer is looking for an immediate influx of cash to fund further development and/or to bring food on the table right now;
c) to appease the community and to compensate for long delays in releasing the product or;
c) (in a more cynical way) to do a quick cash grab and then disappear.

I don't know who is behind the current MicroProse, but we are not dealing with that big software house from the 1980s. However, when a big publisher/developer like Just Flight supports and promotes this product, it usually means they have enough faith in this developer that (s)he delivers a saleable product. It's not a 100% guarantee, but a fair indication that this product will be developed further. Whether the end product is to your liking is ultimately up to you. Also take into account that the FS-market largely consists of buyers who don't require/expect a plane to be modeled to the nines. Those who do are a minority within the FS-market.

 

[lagaffe]

Hi,

On FSX, we could have hoped to build a correct aircraft according to the standards of their SDK in 3 months. With MSFS, this time has greatly lengthened and with MSFS 2024 it’s even worse since the fast reload option was modified and without hope of going back (that is to say having the same option as MSFS).
As a developer, to create such an aircraft with so many details and complexity, one cannot hope to do it in less than a year of work.
Staying for a year without any money coming in is unthinkable unless you have other, simpler parallel projects that allow you to live.
After the experience I was able to acquire by working with GAS, I noticed all the ancillary fees that differentiated freeware from payware and I understand this developer.