[d.burnette]

Well I must say it has been an interesting last couple of days - first making the decision to get back into WWII combat flight simming, and being a previous lover of the IL2 series, finally pulling the trigger and purchasing the sim , after holding off since it was released due to what all I have read on the forums. And spending some time trying to catch up on things on the forums here once again, and reading up on some of the great faq's.

It is installed and I am ready to start with it - I guess would be nice to have this new patch that is forthcoming right out the chute, but it is what it is. It will be interesting to check out the performance in the state it is right now, versus what it will be after the patch, on my current system.

My next step will be to start planning how to map out my controls to my Cougar HOTAS- looks like will be quite a task ahead of me there in that alone. Who knows, the patch may well be out by the time I finally get around to clicking the play button!

I have been reading these update threads, and the crystal ball thread, and must say I guess I really have no opinion on either side of the aisle. Developers who give out approximate time frames and for unforeseen circumstances are not able to meet them, always lose out due to the criticism, oftentimes harsh, from the customer base. Even though they may be taking every precaution they can, to assure the patch they send out is as bug free as it possibly can be.
Then there is the loyal customer base, struggling because of some really big issues, that are given an app time frame or teaser, then things stay quiet for a while, well that can be really frustrating for them as well.

But while I would be considered I guess a newbie at this point, I am enjoying sitting on the sidelines reading the dialogue going back and forth between the sides, cheap entertainment I guess. I will soon be giving the sim a try, and if all else fails whilst I am having this itch I seem to have of late for WWII combat, I do still have my updated IL2 1946 ready to go at a moment's notice.

Oh, and I did pull the trigger today, on a new 2gb EVGA GTX 560 TI vid card, should have it early next week. Hopefully I will be well prepared for the patch.