Akula

Fantastic pics Artie! Looks like you had one-hull-ova-trip. These places must be some of the most breath-taking and beautiful locations in the world! Thanks for sharing! Says Akula, who is half-norwegian and therefore feels slightly homesick right now... )

DOH! I'm late as usual. Well - better late than never - happy birthday! Hope you had a good 'un! :have_a_beer: :have_a_beer: :have_a_beer: :have_a_beer: :have_a_beer:

Congrats lads!

I'm late as usual, but - a very warm welcome Maior! The DDz are a truly friendly bunch!

Wow! PLEASE say hi to him from me! Good to hear things are moving towards the better - hope to see you in the skies soon Quaz!

Welcome Hog - and a bit late - an equally warm welcome to you Mosh! I'm as you see not the most updated fellow in this bunch and definitely not the most present one, but it always feels good to say hello to a new pup in the kennel. Hope to be with you in the virtual skies soon gentlemen! /Akula (Olof)

Hmmm...mixed feelings for me too. Personally, I've always looked at MS Flight Sim as a semi-casual form of "edutainment"; the kind of "game" that can provide you with some basic aviation skills in the comfort of your own living room. An essential part of that has been the possibility to fly around in any part of the world; perhaps most around the areas close to home. A game like this will perhaps give me the opportunity at some point, but to what cost? And with which airplanes? However, being a 3D artist, I can understand the dilemma. Given the screenshots, my guess is that the dev team has tried the utmost to give an as true-to-life experience of Hawaii as humanly possible. But - to do that for the entire world would be utterly expensive. Too expensive, in fact, and possibly with all kinds of hardware problems (lod-ing, texture memory, preloading of adjacent areas, synching in MP with low end/high end computers etc). Nonetheless, even if we say we are willing to accept less graphics for more flying, that is a "modified truth". Most of us do expect (and even though we may not at times admit it - want) a nice-looking game. So going for the lower end of graphical detail simply isn't an option, especially not after games with such outstanding graphics as IL2:CoD and Rise of Flight. I won't complain when things are for free. But for this game to really make me want to invest, it simply has to be in the top end in areas like flight realism, physics and (future) choice of geolocation. Let's hope they will release geo expansions to a fair price. If the planes are proportionally expensive is less of a problem, I find. A single really good Cessna 172 will keep my interest far longer than a dozen half-sloppy whatever-planes. Just my opinion, and I don't expect all to agree. Just airing (pun intended ) some thoughts!

I love the idea! And...there has, simply HAS to be an "OK, twenty seconds, guys-competition" !

Welcome aboard! Hope to be sharing the skies for many-a-good evenings to come ) And - about the DD's being a wierd bunch - there's absolutely nothing strange about wearing wool and a sheep mask while flying. We're still working on overcoming the muffled mike sound though. /Akula

N I C E ! The kind of thing that brings a nostalgic tear to one's eye...,very neat! /Akula

Salutes BG. Thank you for everything. Of all the people I've come across in my days, you are among the truly finest. Your kind heart and high spirits will always be remembered. "The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it." Gandalf, to Pippin, The Return of the King Akula

Naaah...we're not a little strange, just plain weird. Swedes and old remains have a history together. How can one else explain our national dish of "Surstömming" - very very dead, fermented, gone-to-meet-its-maker -- -- this-fish-is-an-ex-fish -- --has ceased to be --- packed in a tin can,m left to half-rot in there for a year and then opened with a smell that makes even the worst French cheese a whiff of roses in comparison? /Akula

Oh my... had to look deeper into this one...Jedi - what may be your comments on this?

Salutes BG, Words cannot describe all the emotions that go through my heart and soul as I write this. The only thing I can say is "thank you". I have been a come-and-goer in the DangerDogz, and it was only recently I was up flying again for a very long time. What has kept me away has been the long, gruellingly stressful two years at 3D Game Art school. But many times when things were at the toughest, while battling impossible time constraints and painstaking tasks, I could always take a moment's rest in the comfort of knowing that - there is always the Dogz. Just knowing that this fantastic group - your creation - is around, was something that kept me going through those tough times. The safe knowing that having a good time amongst friends is just around the corner, in good times or in bad. So - I end this post as I began; Thank you Jim. For creating the Dogz, all your work, for good times, for your high spirits, your friendliness, your hearty laugh, your good character. You truly are among this world's finest. Yours, always, Akula

S~ all, Not my place to speak up since I've been gone for so long, but... ... I have to admit it was quite a convenience to run one single update - the "mega.3.10.1 patch" - and then be up and flying without any hazzle. Best, Akula