Oh come on Blackdog. I expect better than that of you on this forum. I stand by what I wrote in my last post. There was a lot of noisy debate pre-release and increasing signs that things were not all good, but it was completely possible (up until the Russian release at least) to believe that the released product would be rather more 'polished' than it turned out to be.
It's entirely possible that some of your comments below are addressed to other people more than myself, but seeing as your post follows directly on from points I raised i think I need to respond.
I've never pre-ordered a game before either (also Collectors Edition) and I'm still glad that I did. I've also never used the word 'cheated' (though others have). I never considered cancelling my order after the Russian release, because I wanted to support the devs, because I was looking forward to the game so much and because even at that late stage it was possible for many of us to believe that the game would still be ok. With hindsight there was a lot of wishful thinking involved. In my own case a stubborn disbelief that the devs would let it out in that state without being 'open' with us about the issues first.
I respectfully disagree. I remember that week very clearly. There was a lot of noise, conflicting opinions, mounting disbelief. Desperate attempts to get accurate translations of what was posted on the Sukhoi forums (Google Translate !!
). As I said - with hindsight it's possible to accept that myself and others were (willfully) deluding ourselves. At the time - NO!
I actually bought my monster PC about a month before the Russian release
Blind faith? Maybe. Foolish? Probably, though again hindsight makes it obvious - it wasn't at all the case at the time. My choice and my responsibility and I take that one on the chin.
Someone else I think.....
In your opinion. You're a credit to this community and I for one value your patience and commitment. But the people who seem to have got the most out of the game are those like yourself who strongly value the fine detail technical aspects above other facets - landscape, anti-aliasing and 'pretty pictures'....
I'm pleased that you and others can. In my own case I can't suspend my disappointment with the other aspects of the sim enough to want to put the effort into learning the technical details. I need to have a believable sense of reality from the visual aspects, AI and several other areas first.
Please allow me the right to decide what is most important to me in how I play and approach the game without somehow being dismissed as a lightweight.
Back on topic - For the record I voted yes in the poll for buying add-ons. I really want to see this sim become what it can be.
Feel free to move this post if needed.