CoD extreme niche
 

We all know it, or should know it, but this really brought it home to me the other day.

The Grand Theft Auto V trailer was published on YouTube 6 days ago. It has received 5,923,532 views. The CoD trailer was published on YouTube 9 months ago and has received 187,804.

Our hobby, playing CoD and other combat flight sims, is very very niche. The market for this type of game is tiny. Development budgets can only match the market, as perhaps should our expectations. Just my opinion, of course.

PPP

Addman... Harsh but fair!

There seems to be many on this forum that don't find it so 'obvious'.....or they just don't want to let facts get in the way of a good whinge.

A fair observation backed up by a credible reference IMO. Other threads in this forum are more deserving of ridicule.

Correctamundo!

Yes, every poster is correct. The real question is can anything be done to change the situation? Hardware requirements are a very big barrier.

Heavy duty hardware requirements were there for every serious flightsim, never been a barrier for the serious simmer.

If you don't want to spend all expendable money for your hobby, it's not your hobby.

why spoil the fun?

I'm not sure why, WW2 Aircraft are badass and dogfighting is even more so.

The cool factor is way beyond infantry combat and is more akin to a sport. Plus there is alot less blood and you dont have to watch simulated people dying all the time. Unless your a chute shooter, which isnt fair anyways.

So im extremely surprised that more people dont play WW2 Combat flight simulators!

That is easy to explain:

a) you dumb the sim down that everybody has fun -> it is getting boring pretty fast.

b) you do a real sim -> a steep learning curve frightens the majority

c) to have fun you have to invest in hardware, only to get laughed about by your spouse when you use it (TIR).

fyp

C "l" o d

Well, yes and no. If we are adding the second letter of each word in the title, as CloD suggests, then it should really be CLOFDO?!

:bag:

You can read my mind...

Well there was a time when flight sims were the leaders in pushing graphics and were big sellers. And all the big names in gaming were making flight sims. Think about it, IL2 was also on top in terms of graphics when it came out.

Then.... something happened....

maybe sim developers should just buy a graphics engine, eg. frostbite 2 thats used in battlefield 3. I mean, i dont know if its possible to do something like that, but if they could, might save them alot of trouble.

Battlefield 3 graphics are amazing...

Battlefield 3 graphics are not that stunning, it is mostly post processing effects that make it seem stunning. (High contrast in forest areas, smoke and explosion effects, lighting, HDR) Also the physics engine is scaled down for online play. It gets the job done but in a dirty way. But i love BF3 and it feels like im runnign through an interacive war movie when i play it.

Fantastic engine that puts everything togeather very well but nothing groundbreaking.

When you remove all that fancy stuff the graphics are pretty basic.

Crysis still has the best graphics, physics and textures on Ultra!

spoken like a true prodigy.

Amen

lol, yep my missus thinks Track IR is hillarious. My street cred has taken a hit for sure. The throttle setup didnt help much either....

Just tell her at least we don't have to provision for this.
http://www.amothersthoughts.com/wp-c...02/Vagisil.jpg

If that is needed, one spends too much time with the second most important thing, flying (real or simulated)!


(A well ploughed field is a healthy field :D)

Absolutely true, but that wasn't my point. In fact, it illustrates one of the reasons why our hobby is so niche. Most gamers spend much smaller amounts of money for their enjoyment. The fact our hobby requires such a large financial investment to enjoy it to its full potential, unsurprisingly contributes to its niche appeal.

I feel like Goldilocks when it comes to the current flight sims. DCS-A10C runs very well on my system but the complexity of its flight and weapons systems aren't my thing. ROF likewise runs great on my PC with no issues whatsoever........but I find myself hankerin' for more horsepower, speed, and bigger guns. Then Cliffs of Dover came along -- you get the picture! LOL

I agree with that.

Niche products can still be quality ones.

ROF, DCS A-10, Black Shark, they're all sims that have been developed for a niche market,but are of prime quality nonetheless.

Once fixed,COD will be the new cornerstone of simulation,but as per any other similar product,it needs a core engine capable of functioning flawlessly.

Only time will tell,but surely I'm happy to use niche products!

Rise of Flight is a niche of a niche. WWII is certainly more mainstream than WWI. Yet it has become totally outstanding in it's quality and support. I believe it's exactly because it's not some big blockbuster title with mass market appeal.