Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Just to be clear...

I kept forgetting to post this image from a few weeks back. Did I mention that the plane has backup systems? ;)



The L-39's development would have driven me truly insane long ago without such little moments of insomnia induced stupidity... and there have happily been quite a few along the way, the best of which will be included at the very end of the plane's manual. ;)

And speaking of the L-39's manual, Pebble has very kindly taken on the job of designing it (a huge load off my shoulders), and it's already the most beautiful and stylish thing I've ever seen for a flight sim plane. I am *uber* impressed. There will be a few good laughs in there as well for those who take the time to read it.

And those who don't? Well, they'll be spending more time crashing the Albatros than flying it I think, hehe.

-Lotus

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lotus said,
"And those who don't? Well, they'll be spending more time crashing the Albatros than flying it I think, hehe."

you know, apart of me likes just jumping in an extra an flying around @ 100% throttle, but theres no alternative to an easily flown aircraft. im glad this add on will be difficult/close to real life operational as fsx can get in most areas. when the plane is finally released ( and before you sleep 3 days straight) you should hold a "release party" maybe for the first couple hours lock a multiplayer at 15players or so and we should all just cruise for a bit and enjoy it man. ya know?
thanks

pebble said...

Seriously, 500AGL, once you learn the proper checklists and respect the L-39's real-life quirks, the plane just sort of merges with you and becomes a joy to fly, like an extension of your imagination.

There are fewer than a half-dozen switches you *need* to set before settling into a flight. And two or three things to keep in mind at all times. That's it.

Then you just relax and enjoy the ride.

I can predict with confidence that you will love this plane.

Oh, and thanks to Lotus for the kind words about the operations manual! I just love working with technical documentation -- trying to make it fun to read, easily absorbed, and visually exciting.

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Hey 500AGL. Yeah, the plane isn't exactly noob friendly, I guess that's what I was trying to say. If you abuse its handling or don't pay attention to certain features then your flight can end up a bit short hehe. For the *most* part you can pretty much just jump in and go though.

A lot of the L-39's quirks aren't things that you're guaranteed to notice on the first flight, some will sneak up on you hehe.

As for a release party, there is one planned of sorts. Going to do a trip from my home here in Vancouver to Vodochody in the Czech Rep, to the airfield where the Aero factory is located, in multiplayer. Taking the jet home basically, hehe. Anyone with the Albatros will be welcome to join for any part. Gonna be a long and fun trip I think.

Anonymous said...

Sounds good, its gonna be alot of fun to fly it, having seen some of its progress along the way. it will also be interesting to see these 'easter eggs' and to finally see the what you have done with this cockpit. btw pebble, good luck on making pages & pages of text visually exciting, although you could always place the avatar on every page! I'll make sure I fly up to Vancouver from Van Nuys to further symbolize the trip to Vodochody. -thanks guys. see ya

Anonymous said...

please hurry and finish the l 39. im soooo tired of waiting.... remember advertising rule no.1, never push back release dates! now hurry up man. im have to watch the "back to mine" trailer everyday just so i wont lose it.btw give me a solid release date so i can mark it on my calendar. thx - Misty.

Anonymous said...

misty,

I would *much* prefer it that Lotus push back his release date a few months and have it be the best damn addon for FSX ever, than try to rush completion to meet tentative release dates. Maybe to pass the time waiting for the L-39 to be released you could dive into some developer work yourself and try to make a gauge for FSX. Building an aircraft is a lot harder than most people tend to believe.

"advertising rule no.1, never push back release dates!"

I've never been much for rules anyways.

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Hey Misty. I'm glad you're psyched for the plane, I find it very encouraging, but Topdollar's right. I want this plane to be *the best* addon that I can possibly make for FSX, and most of my goals are conflicting ones ie: high performance vs great looks and lots of functionality. It's a really tough thing to get all that at once.

In retrospect the biggest mistake I've made on this project was giving any kind of release date at all, something I'll never do again.

My best guess is that it will be finished sometime around March, putting the entire project at around one year of work start to finish, but in every single part of developing an aircraft there are lots of unforseen problems, and so I can't guarantee a date.

To put it in perspective, it took RealAir two full years to create their Spitfire. RealAir is two people. My L-39 is at least twice as complex as the Spit in every way, and I'm just one person, hehe.

If I could clone myself to get it done faster, believe me I would. :)

Cheers,

-mike

Anonymous said...

Giving a release date is not a bad thing just make it within 30 days or so either way. from your first projection (November) to your most recent projection (March) is four months apart.

I want this add on to be the "best ever" but if you *knew* it took real air 2 years to build the spitfire with two people, what made you think you could build a 200% more complex aircraft in 8 months? What you should have done was let us know in advance that you were gonna try for a date but its most likely gonna take you till *april*.

Dont start to feel sorry for yourself bc when its [finally] all said and done, your getting paid. You mentioned that the cost will be about 40$, since your not great at projections, it will most likely be about 50$. I dont know much about the profit made by add on companies such as real air, and iris sim, but if you sell the product to about 3,000 users you will make about 150,000$ i could be off on the amount of people by payware aircraft, but it has to be alot of profit coming your way to make you sit in front of a computer all day everyday, including some days spending a supposed 12 hours on this aircraft. so lets not throw a pit party.

If the aircraft is as good as you say it is, then great, your setting yourself up for some major cashola down the line. Despite of what it seems, i really what the project to be a success, your working damn hard on it, but wtf guy, hurry it up, post more than 3 pics a month, give us an another update, do something if your gonna puch back the date by 4 months! good luck! -MiStY LoVe

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Misty, getting agitated about it isn't going to help me work faster or harder, both of which are impossible.

And really, this is a flight sim plane we're talking about. At the end of the day it's just a toy, about as non-essential to life as an object can get hehe. So what if it takes a little while longer to make a better toy? I will not rush any part of it for the sake of meeting some self-imposed deadline, something I've already admitted was a mistake. I've said many times though that it'll be done when I'm happy with it, not before.

Have you ever tried to develop a plane for FS? It's so incredibly, insanely difficult that I am honestly surprised some days that anyone bothers at all.

And forget about the monetary side. Money alone is simply not enough of a motivation to do something like this. There are far *far* easier ways to make money. Everyone who has tried to make a pure 'business' out of making FS addons has failed miserably at it.

The thing that makes FS addons possible? The really good ones? It's not greed, it's love. Love of flight simulator, love of the aircraft or scenery in question, and the love of its possibilities. Ask any developer, they'll say the same thing.

I'd love to spend time making lots more screenshots and such but I honestly don't have much time for it. Every minute I spend on that is a minute lost on development and delays things even further. I will try to do some more though.

Look at it this way. The delay of three months or so is resulting in the airplane being literally twice as good as I had originally planned, especially in the systems department. I didn't intend to build something this complex and accurate actually, but the more I learned the more I found it was possible to recreate. The end result of that is more value for money, not less.

Anyway, please relax mate. Again, it's just a flight sim plane, not worth getting upset about. Have a little patience, and hopefully you will like the finished product.

-mike

Anonymous said...

WOOOOOO MARCH!

And count me in on the "release party" if I can ever find ur server...

I can't believe it's been a year already! One of the quickest years I've ever had seeing as though I've been living at this airport for the past 12 months.

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Thanks Xxilim. You're more than welcome to join. The reason you can't ever find the server though is because it's almost never up haha. Too busy working to do any flying that doesn't consist of testing.

It'll be *around* March, I think. As I said I can't promise a date, but that's my best rough guess. I will have a much firmer idea by the end of Feb. The cockpit should be mostly done by then, I hope hehe.

And yup, getting close to a year. Started on this at the end of last March.

-mike

esmith76 said...

Rushing a halfassed product out the door to meet a deadline is definitely not Lotus' style. I believe that would be EA's department.

There's more to life than profit, projections and deadlines. It's too bad some people can only see the financial side of things.

Lotus, I think you should change your 'official' release date to "When it's done." Mark that on your calendar!

Anonymous said...

I like planes :)

Anonymous said...

BANDITO, I dont need you half-assed attempts to be cool. Stop campaigning for Lotus, trying to kiss his ass to be his friend. please! ive seen enough.

Lotus, This "toy" is gonna pay "you" lots of money. and if you dont really "care" about that large amount of of moola you can stash it in 'my' paypal account if you want. I do realize that it will be a complex add on, but to sell something, you must *give notice that the product exists, and people will then want to know when it will be complete. Now this "forces" you to give some kind of expected date. SO you cant do what you said and NOT give one.

At the end of the day i am going to purchase the add-on (when it FIANLLY comes out), and i do want it to be the best that you can make it. So i decided i am going to do two things;

1. Im gonna get off of your back about how its so annoying how you notified *us* (your target demo) 9 months ago, and its still not here. I realize you underestimated the complexity and ill forgive you for that, because you admitted your mistake.

2. I AM going to read the included fsx sdk, and if i dont feel it is as hard as you make it seem, then ill try to program an item or two for fsx. Hopefully it will prove your point & i will have more respect for the fsx add-on producer. -ML

pebble said...

Wow, Misty, you have the singular distinction of making the most annoying posts I have ever read on Lotus' blog. You're rude, insolent, ignorant *and* spoiled to boot.

You have no earthly idea what you're talking about. Lotus has been busting his *ass* on this plane for months, and has performed miracles I don't think you are capable of appreciating.

The plane will be done when it's done.

Stop your frakking whining.

Anonymous said...

I may be rude, but i'm to the point and im also correct.

I never said he wasnt working hard, I said im tired of waiting, AND *his* own projection was off by 4 months.

So pay attention, and get off Lotus' nuts long enough for him to focus on getting this L39 finished.

btw.. dont you have a husband to attend to?

Cody said...

Hey Lotus. Nice shot of you and pebble flying in the Biele Albatrossy paint. (I think I spelled that right, White Albatross.) Anyway, Count me for a few legs of the release flight. Thanks for making this plane. Before I saw the first post, I had never heard of an Albatross!

Cody said...

*That* was uncalled for. I'll keep the rest to my self.

Anonymous said...

Misty, wise the hell up...

Pebble's making the manual so I think he's doing you a favour by sharing the work load with Lotus
so it'll get done quicker.

Why do you really give a damn when the plane gets made...it's really not going to make a difference to you're life if it gets made tomorrow or next year.

And ofcourse, courtesy...manners...where did they go?....you can make a point without being the worlds biggest prick about it.

Link

esmith76 said...

Sweet, a personal attack- with my name in all caps! Oh Misty, I haven't even gotten started yet. Glad to see I've gotten under your skin, though.

It's very cute how you continue to defend your arrogant and baseless opinions after making a complete ass of yourself via your comments.

"I want the plane NOW! (Waaaaah!)"

"I want this addon to be the BEST!"

"I've never actually done any of this kind of work before, BUT THIS IS HOW IT'S GONNA BE! Let me dictate every facet of your dev cycle!"

"Lotus, you're bad at projections..."

"Don't feel sorry for yourself blah blah..."

"Maybe I should get a clue and try and find out what's involved here- MAYBE then I'll respect the developer."

Shall I continue, or are you starting to see how ridiculous your rants are? Have you worked in the games industry? Do you know the slightest thing about programming, modeling or texture mapping? Your realm of expertise seems to be the verbal offense of hardworking people in very slipshod English.

If you don't need my half-assed attempts to "be cool" and "kiss ass", then this community sure as hell doesn't need your unsolicited and unsubstantiated critical demands. Yet "you've" seen enough? Funny.

Why don't you fly along and attempt a night landing at Courchevel. In a hurricane.

/end campaign

Anonymous said...

Misty,

I have had *enough* of your rude, childish, and ignorant comments. I always try to remain calm whenever a situation like this arises, as I can always get angry. If I start there, I have no where else to go but fume some more, as you are doing now. Frankly it makes you look like a complete fool. You went *way* over the line insulting pebble and bandito, so for that I'm sorry guys. We're all "big boys" though, and calling us names does no harm to us, but merely shows your maturity level. It's just a toy, under priced yes, but just a toy, so give it a rest..please. So your half right in your first statement, but you sure as well aren't correct. It's just a toy, so give it a rest..please.

I guess this all comes down to John Gabriel's Greater Internet Theory again. Shame

Anonymous said...

OMG, what ass kissing...! Lotus has more groupies than i thought.

In this situation, this is what the brown-nosers want Lotus to say to them; " Thanks for the ass kissing guys, now im gonna put you in my next fsx movie, whats your game spy?" please! bitching and moaning.. leave that to us ladies.

As for Lotus, I KNOW hes working hard, I KNOW hes busting his ass, but dont worry about him, hes gonna be rolling in dough when its all said and done. Dont let him fool you, hes a modest guy.

As for pebble [his cheerleader i guess] focus on that manual, it better be "wheels up" in March, i dont know if i cant take another 'mis-projection'.

look guys, honestly, im just excited for the L39 to be released, but stop the ass kissing. I'm gonna tell you, like Mr. bush told me; "f*ck you guys, im outta here!"

Vlad said...

Excuse you?! Lotus is a modest guy, and you've obviously got some learning to do.

I don't know what world you live in, but -quote-" Thanks for the ass kissing guys, now im gonna put you in my next fsx movie, whats your game spy?"-unquote- is not a modest thing to say.

Hypocrite much?

Now the next time you say something, put in all the facts and not just some biased opinions.

Anonymous said...

VLAD, are you an idiot?

1. i said Lotus *IS* modest.
2. i said thats what brown nosers *WANT* him to say.

please pay attention to details.

Cody said...

Please, do go. What you said is extremely rude. It really is truly sad to see anybody behave this way. Go ahead and say I'm stealing a couple of peoples lines here, but that link Doug posted about the Greater Internet Theory is far greater accurate than I would have ever imagined. And last but not least, type out your words and capitalize your I's. It's unprofessional to quite an extent.

Enough said.

Anonymous said...

Whoa! Misty is a fire cracker! She is wrong in alot of ways, but, she does make a good point about the projected date given. Ive been following the progress of the Albatros too and its taking soooo long. just my interpretation of the situation.

Anonymous said...

Nice new paints Lotus. If you think about it, you have a leg up on the competition, bc you can make your own promos.

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

So much anger over something so unimportant.

Guys, *if* I was working on a cure for cancer or some terrible plague that was wiping out humanity then I could understand such angst and fervor, but seriously, it... is... a... *flight sim plane*. Can we keep some perspective here please?

One would think I was the first person in history to miss a 'deadline', all the more ironic since I made that deadline up myself.

I post updates on the blog because I think some people might like to see how its going now and then. Maybe I'll just stop. For those who have never made a plane for FS before, let me tell you once and for all now, it's a LOT of work.

8 months is blisteringly fast to develop a plane. A year is actually very quick as well. 18 months to 2 years... that's about the norm for a really complex one.

The Aerosoft F-16 took its creators, oh about a year longer than they initially expected, and not once did I see such ranting about it on any forum. Why? Because that's life. Shit happens. Sometimes things take longer than expected.

This is why RealAir *never* posts release dates, and why Iris has also stopped doing so. This is why Alphasim stopped giving previews and ultimately closed down their forum (Devs from there have informed me that the 'internet attack' was just a convenient excuse).

Unfortunately I learned my lesson too late. This is my first FSX plane, I do not have the benefit of experience yet, and so I have to run into every associated roadblock face first, and Misty, if this is how it's going to be, then it might be my last.

Do have a read through the SDK, please, and when you're done with that, stop and think about this: The SDK tells you approximately 25% of what you need to know to build a plane, at best. Don't think for a second that it's all you need.

On the monetary side, think about this as well. Right, I might make loads of money from the plane, or... it might completely flop and I'll make next to nothing. This is a *huge* gamble in that regard. Military jets are not historically big sellers, civilian aircraft and airliners are. That's why Alphasim has removed themselves from the military plane business, but maybe you hadn't heard about that yet.

And the real rub? This is my first plane, I don't have anything else on the market to put food on my table, and it takes *all* of my time to develop. How much money do you think I'm making *during* development? Lets see... ummm... nothing!

And to answer your earlier question about how I ever thought I could get an aircraft that was twice as complex done in half the time? That's called dedication mate, enough of it to rip my sleep cycle to shreds every day for a year.

Misty, I have been kind and reasonable, and I have tolerated your repeated and uncalled for insults, and now I'm done with this because nothing good is going to come of it.

The plane will be done when it's done, and I have work to do. Good day.

Relax.

-mike

Anonymous said...

LOTUS SAID
"This is a *huge* gamble in that regard. Military jets are not historically big sellers, civilian aircraft and airliners are."

Thats true, you should have been the first to notice since 'vectors' is your only video up in the 300,000 view range.

Lotus said
"That's why Alphasim has removed themselves from the military plane business."

Well they must be in it for the business aspect a littler too much, also according to YOU successful add on developers make addons purely from the love they have of fs. So ironicly, they drop the Military Aircraft division?


Lotu said,
"The SDK tells you approximately 25% of what you need to know to build a plane, at best. Don't think for a second that it's all you need"

Im in the process of reading it & like i said, i WILL try my hand just to see for myself. Untill then i stand corrected, and will take your advice.

Lotus said,
"How much money do you think I'm making *during* development? Lets see... ummm... nothing!"

Didnt you take *TWO* vacations during the 2008 summer, *AFTER* you started making this add-on? So you must not be in the red too deeply.



Lotus said,
"I post updates on the blog because I think some people might like to see how its going now and then. Maybe I'll just stop. For those who have never made a plane for FS before,....."

If you plan to be successful with this add-on, especially since its a military jet, you'd better go above and beyond when it comes to advertisment as well as you putting in 12 hour days. Putting updates on ur site is a great idea, your videos are also great attention grabbers, but keep your goal in mind. Your buyers dont care if the guy over at Real Air got any sleep last night, they simply want a great "toy". Therefor even though you are tired as shit, you still have to keep going because your in the final stretch and you dont wanna lose buyers bc you dont *feel* like posting any screenshots.


Lotus said,
"This is why RealAir *never* posts release dates, and why Iris has also stopped doing so. This is why Alphasim stopped giving previews and ultimately closed down their forum. "

When the L39 is released, it doesnt matter what Real Air/Alpha Sim did 2 years ago, You should be also thinking of ways to present your product better than they did. you should take advice from them but dont follow the trend to the poor house. All im saying is when it comes to *advertising* follow the crowd.



Listen Lotus, earlier i was pulling your chain a little bc i really enjoy the site and cool vids. I know that its alot of work and you are busting your ass for the sake of the project, yourself, and your 'fans'. But i do mean what i said. I'm waiting on the release, i want it to be a success, im happy your making the aircraft. My last comment. Good Luck.

Anonymous said...

--*dont* follow the crowd--

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Since you've changed your tone from aggressive to more reasonable, thank you, I will continue the discussion.

Without getting into my monetary concerns and what I do with my time, which are, no offense intended, absolutely none of your business, the two vacations were gifts.

Vectors was successful not because it featured some civilian aircraft and an airliner, but because it was a comedy with a story, one that luckily turned out pretty well, thanks to a great deal of help from some of the "ass kissers" in this thread. Most of them by the way are my friends, some of which I've known for over 10 years. They aren't here strictly because of the L-39.

On advertisement, yes there will be plenty when the cockpit is finished. Until it's fully textured though, nobody really wants to see it, and nor do I want to show it. The bottom line is that the kind of pilots for whom this airplane is made are like me, they care mostly about the cockpit, how well it looks and functions. Until I have it done, advertising isn't possible or worthwhile. When the product is presentable then it will definitely be presented, and until then I'm keeping advertising to a minimum.

And yes, Alphasim is trying to make a successful business out of flight sim aircraft, nothing wrong with getting paid for what you love to do, but piracy and falling sales for military jets have hurt them very badly and they're now having to make big changes just to stay afloat.

Alphasim is a conglomerate of individual developers just like me though, and from what I understand this change in direction has caused a fair split almong them, precisely due to the problem of passion.

Some people simply cannot make civilian aircraft or airliners because they don't love them, a category I would generally put myself in, at least for airliners, and some won't make military planes for that same reason. As I said before, money or not, love is a *huge* part of the equation.

Plus they got nothing but abuse on their forums over previews and missed dates, and they finally got fed up. I really can't blame them.

As far as following the crowd, I couldn't possibly be less interested in it. There isn't anything in this plane that follows any crowd. In fact I've built it purely the way *I* think FSX planes should be: high performance, fully shared cockpit compatible, very multiplayer friendly, highly realistic in every area, and a ton of fun to fly. Few other developers care about that particular combination of things, especially the multiplayer aspects.

In the future if you wish to 'pull my chain', then pull it with a bit more basic kindness and respect alright? I give people the respect they deserve and I expect the same in return.

Suggestions are always welcome. Abuse and commands are not.

-mike

Anonymous said...

"Abuse(s) and commands are not [welcome]."
-Lotus
Hey Lotus, STOP WORLD HUNGER GOD DAMNIT!

really though, I don't give a $h!t about the release date, just as long as you don't go halfway with it and just stop because you hit a roadblock.

tony76 said...

Just take your time Lotus, we are all waiting for a great aircraft, I think most of us deserve it, it is about time to have some descent payware addons for FSX, and I am sure the L-39 will be great, I have been waiting for the release for a long time, and I dont care if I wait even more, we should be thankfull and fortunate to have smart and modest people like you working to our FS comunity, thanks again and keep up the good work. We will surely meet online when the L-39 takes off to the virtual skyes hehehe.

Anonymous said...

Lotus. This is the easiest solution. Just take about 15 20 screenshots once a week. Then post 3 every other day man. It's like putting a kid in front of a tv all day when u have something important to do besides watch the kid.

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Oh man, developing a plane is hard enough, I can't even think about building a kid! :)

Tony, that was very nice of you to say, thanks.

Mugar, no worries there, nothing will stop me from finishing this plane short of a nuclear bomb.

Thanks guys. I will try to post some more shots, but the reality as I said above is that I don't want to show the cockpit until it's done. I actually debated a long time over even showing that one panel pic.

I have a lot of negative past experience in games work with showing work before its finished, it's never gone well.

That means that all I can show you for the next little while is the external, but there's already plenty of shots of that up. The outside is getting a good going over after the cockpit's done though, so what you see there isn't final either. Lots of little fixes and improvements to come, plus a few more paints.

There is a loose process to making a plane though, and I'm at the part now where I can show the least unfortunately. Most of the work over the past few months has been all functionality code, and the XML in the plane, all 7000+ lines of it, is pretty damned dull to look at hehe.

-mike

tutmeister said...

Sorry to see your time being taken up by a troll, but from my point of view I could care less about a deadline. It is done when it is done and then I'll buy it, plain and simple.

You did our USEC video to such high standards that I know anything coming from your department will be "as good as it gets". If saying that makes me another ass kisser, so be it, but compliments sure help the world go round sometimes as a much needed booster.

I also reckon a lot of USEC guys will buy this addon for it's training ability and the realism you are projecting. I will link them to it when you're done.

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Thanks Tut. I do appreciate the support! :) You're right, a little encouragement goes a long way some days, especially when you've been teetering on the edge of burnout for months.

Thanks man.

-mike

William ("Kiwikat") said...

Hello Mike,

I've been watching your progress over the last few months and I must say I am impressed. I was wondering if you were looking for some experienced beta testers for the project. I'd love to help you out on this plane. I don't see any contact information for you so I'm posting on here.

Please drop me an email (found in my profile) if you are interested.

Keep up the good work :)

tony76 said...

I'd Love too, It will be a pleasure to help on this project if its possible to have that oportunity. :)

Anonymous said...

Be sweet if you could drop me a line when the server is up.
I'd have to pull an all nighter to find it seeing as i'm on the other side of this ball of crap.

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Haha, other side of the ball of crap. I like that. Some parts are less crap than others though luckily. Xxilim, I do fly sometimes, very rarely, in the wee hours when I need a break. If you see Rafale21 VFR in the free flight lobby, hop in, password is: lotus.

Thanks for the testing offers guys, much appreciated. I'm not ready for that just yet, but I will certainly let you know when it comes time.

The only real testing going on right now is being done by a real L-39 pilot, who's helping me get the final handling and performance down. Getting very close to putting the flight dynamics to bed, which is great.

Kiwikat, you had a hand in the Alpha Rutan project as I recall?

That plane is a great benchmark for anyone trying to make a high performance plane. It's easily one of the most efficiently made FSX planes ever. I'm using a lot of the same tricks employed in that one to keep the performance up. Whoever modeled and mapped that thing knew their stuff cold, no question.

Cheers,

-mike

William ("Kiwikat") said...

Hi Mike,

Yeah I was the lead beta tester for the Long-EZ and was eventually made the lead tester for AlphaSim. However, the BN-2 Islander is my last project with them due to some of the management's decisions.

I believe I may be able to help out in the L-39 design process as well as beta testing. I see you only have one pilot testing atm. Please drop me an email sometime if you are interested.

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Cheers Kiwikat. Yeah I figured Alphasim's departure from military planes would result in some changes, quite a few I guess. It's a big change in direction for those involved.

Thanks, I'll be in touch by email. I'll hopefully be ready for serious bug testing to begin in around six or seven weeks.

-mike

Anonymous said...

lotus said" i should be ready for bug testing in 6 or 7 weeks"
7weeks= March. just a friendly reminder. have fun!
-MisTy

Anonymous said...

Hahah you are a keen one arn't you misty.

Anonymous said...

WOOOAHHhhhhh just went for a fly before and had partial engine failure on take off!!! Scary stuff when you're a student lol :P

Anonymous said...

So, what are you currently working on?

Anonymous said...

external model. done.
repaints. done.
flight model. done.
backup systems. done.
texturing & mapping. done.
manual by pebble. delegated.
virtual cockpit. pending?
beta testing. pending?
sales & marketing. pending?

update? thanks.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Lotus is going to need another trip to Iceland after all this heh.

Anonymous said...

The man who made time made a lot of it. Or maybe it was a woman... Hmmm

Lotus / Ramasurinen said...

Misty, I know you're eager to see the plane, and that's fine, but since you've spent the bulk of your time on my blog insulting my friends and telling me what to do, and since no apology has been forthcoming from you, then please forgive me for not being exactly interested in answering your questions at the moment.

I'll post an update when I feel like it.

-mike

William ("Kiwikat") said...

I can't help but think I can assist you and the development Mike. Please drop me an email sometime :)

Best way to deal with trolls is to ignore them ;)

Anonymous said...

lotus I would let him. I think he knows his stuff ;)