I must have spent at least a dozen hours flying it since purchasing it in a chain software store Apr 27.Haven't had ANY lockups or fatal exception errors while running, which for a Windows application is outstanding.
Fly!II is sort of like buying fruit that you have to wait a few days to ripen so you can eat it. It looks like it will be a fine simulator, but it is still in an unfinished state. I think the distributors/publishers, Take2 and their subsidiary Gathering of Developers, are concerned about being overrun by the Microsoft juggernaught, and wanted to get Fly!II established in the market before Microsoft bought up all the retailer’s shelf space for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002.
The retail package contains a single CD in a single disk clear plastic jewel box and a forty page (including covers) 8 ½ X 5 ½ manual. Covers, Table of Contents, warranty, license agreement, a blank page for notes and developer/publisher/beta tester credits consume 14 of those pages.
Terminal Reality has indicated that the promised downloadable and printable manual will be available in a few weeks. Fortunately most of the material in the manual for the earlier version is still applicable. Members of the development team have even responding to customer inquiries in Web based forums on a daily basis despite their efforts to do the simulator and their customers justice by making enhancements for electronic distribution.
The developers at Terminal Reality have already made a 3 MB patch available over the web based on the results of beta testing that was underway when the publishers demanded the master media images for factory production. Terminal Reality has also made available over the web a version of the simulator’s helicopter with pontoons and a version with a different paint scheme. Since Friday Terminal Reality has also made available higher detailed terrain for San Francisco and New York City and 29 downloads containing images for Fly!II’s pop up aviation map function. Needless to say, my modem has been quite busy this week.
The 3D objects in some of the detail areas have a few problems with quantity and accuracy of shape and placement. I don’t know if that is a result of having to send the product to reproduction so early. Even before adding the downloads detail the terrain displays bitmaps appropriate to that location’s land use. Terrain outside the detailed areas is far superior to the same locations in the earlier version, and is comparable to generic mesh terrain in MSFS 2000. Unlike MSFS 2000 terrain bitmaps don’t pop in and out of view in a visible circle under the aircraft when flying at high altitudes.
Some people have expressed frustrations over this product’s problems. I will not deny some frustration over the manual and scenery problems. I am not enthused rewarding the distributor/publisher’s actions with my purchase, but am concerned that not buying the product would be interpreted as lack of interest in general aviation simulators and leave Microsoft without the incentive of competition in this market.
A lot of things are happening on a frequent basis with this program. I expect many of its shortcomings will be rectified within the next couple of months.
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