Roy Chaffin's
NEWS.......................Archive
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22nd December 2002 " MANY THANKS " I would like to say a special and big THANK YOU to the thousands of people that have sent email Christmas Greetings to me personally and the whole RCS Panels Team, Your comments and sentiments are truly touching and very much appreciated. :-) Unfortunately it has not been possible to individually respond to each and every one, but be assured we appreciate them all. Your support is what keeps us doing what we do. We are working hard on your behalf and should have lots of exciting "goodies" for you in the coming year. On behalf of Alan Landsburgh, Steve Wayne, Brian Withers and myself, can I wish you all, A Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year
" Special Note " There are a few people that send me emails asking for help or information, who do not get a reply. The reasons for this is because some ISP's reject our messages. As a matter of policy, RCS Panels always responds to every email request for information or help and attempts to do so at least six separate times. If you do not get an answer, then this is the reason. Therefore we suggest you contact us again from a different email address.
10th December 2002 " Where did that month go ? " As you will have noticed this page has been very quiet for the past month or so. It has just been a matter of me being busy. Normally speaking I have my biggest Wildlife Art Exhibition at the end of November and as this is how I make my living, every bit of my energy has to be devoted to it at this time. Well this year it was even more hectic, because directly after my normal three day show here at the studio closed, I had to stage another show of my work in Northampton (UK) for, and sponsored by, Jaguar Cars. Well I am delighted to say they were both fantastically successful, and they far exceeded my widest dreams for sales and everything else. So what has been happening on the computer or FS front ? Well work on our next project is progressing very well. The team have been working very hard in my absence. Unlike before, the team are now so professional that they can function effectively with very little input from me, and do not have to be watched over. Man is that a change for the better. :-) " DVD Writer Update " Following on from what I said about a month ago, having installed and tested TWO Pioneer 104 DVD-R/RW Writers and found they were both faulty, with different faults, I decided enough was enough, and I would dump the Pioneer unit as a bad job. I know there are people that have them and they work fine, but I was not one of them. Therefore, I installed the latest Sony DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW Multi System Writer. This unit reads and writes both -R/RW and +R/RW media, as well at the normal CD-R/RW. There are a few issues with this Sony Writer that you need to be aware of, but it is a great piece of equipment. First and most important, it hates "CHEAP" blank media. It is picky to the extreme. However if you use proper branded media, (the expensive stuff) then it works like a charm. Personally I think that is a small price to pay for the versatility thus unit gives you. Secondly you do need the very latest version of the DVD Writing software to run it. Your old version of "Nero", or the software that is packed with it, will need updating, but that is easy over the net as free updates are available. This unit also handles CD-R/RW as well, and NO problems have been experienced in either reading or writing. I have to say this Sony unit really does come with my "stamp of approval". I have tested it extensively, and I give it a nine and a half out of ten. :-) That is about it for now. I will be picking up the FS work gradually as Christmas approaches, not to mention keeping an eye on what is new, good and bad out there in the PC market place. Have a good one. Roy
9th November 2002 " CFS3 NO CD Patch Update " I have noticed that sometimes when you load CFS3 with the NO CD Patch installed you are confronted with a screen that says something to the effect the CD is not in the CDROM, however you are given three choices "Try Again" which does nothing. Plus "Cancel" and "Continue", and if you click on either of these four times all works correctly without the CD. You might not see this minor problem, but if you do, you now know what to do. Have a good weekend.
7th November 2002 " CFS3 NO CD Patch " Many people find it very irritating that you need to have the original CD in the drive to run CFS3. Therefore I knew it would not be long before a NO CD patch would appear on the net. Well here it is :- Have a good week.
24th October 2002 " Update " As you will have noticed I have been quite quiet for the past month. This doesn't mean that nothing has been happening, quite the reverse. The team have been working hard and great progress has been made. With any luck we might even have some release dates for you before too much longer. Which would be good. I have been out of the country for a while with work, but am back now. Most of you will probably know this is one of the most hectic times of my year in the art world and I have to concentrate on producing paintings for my show that comes up at the end of November. This however does not mean that FS work stops, quite the reverse, things are continuing at a pace. One of the great joys is we now have a very professional team that is quite capable of working on it's own, without me having to cross every "t" and dot every "i". " Combat Sim 3 " During my coffee breaks I have been able to steal a little time to have a pretty good look at Combat Sim 3. I think all will agree this is going to be a massive step forward from Combat Sims 1 and 2. Personally I am a serious flyer, rather than a "shoot 'em down" and "blow them up" kind of guy, but even I find it quite fun on occasions. The graphics and effects are quite stunning. I have done nothing in the way of serious performance checks, but initial impressions seem to indicate it performs very much like FS2002, However I will give you more information in the future. For me the internals of the aircraft and flight dynamics leave a lot to be desired, but that is nothing new. I am yet to discover what the development possibilities are and whether we will going down that route, but there is certainly plenty of opportunity there. I think without question Microsoft are going to have another "Block Buster" for Christmas 2002, if people feel they can wait that long. " DVD Recorders " I have recently purchased a Pioneer 104 DVD-R/RW recorder primarily because I needed the DVD mastering and storage capability. The unit seems to work well with DVD's either R's or RW's, however it claims to be able to read and write CDR/RW as well. Hmmm !!!, well it certainly reads CDR's and CDRW's fine, but writing them is a completely different matter. It is extrodinarily "picky" about the type of blank CDR and CDRW's you feed it. I only mention this, just in case you are thinking of adding one to your system and dispensing with your CDR/RW writer, because you can't. You need both. " Site update " A couple of people have pointed out that this site needs a bit of updating, and I would be the first to agree, especially on the Utilities front. Hopefully I will get around to doing this before too much longer, but like everything it is a matter of priorities. So please be patient. OK that is about it for now. I need to get back to the paint brushes. Have a good one. :-)
24th September 2002 " Working Hard " There is not a lot of great interest to report at the moment, other than the team is working hard. We are mixing in a little time to advance our knowledge and skills in a few new areas which will come in very useful in the future. " Hardware Advances ? " There have been few real advances on the hardware front recently, the rush of faster and faster processors and video cards seems to have ceased for the moment, but I bet there will be new things just before the Christmas period to tempt the money out of our pockets. Memory seems to be going up, and hard drives are coming down. Around a pound sterling per gigabyte here in the UK for hard drives at the moment, depending on where you buy them. DVD Writers seem to be the "hot" hardware right now, although there still seems to be a war going on about which standard will prevail. DVD-R or DVD+R The DVD-R (by Pioneer) has been around the longest and is the cheapest, but most of the rest of the manufacturers seem to be backing the more expensive DVD+R system. I see VHS and Betamax all over again. (Sorry to our younger readers, that might have been before your time) :-) This is a subject I am watching personally very carefully as I am currently producing Art Instructional Video's and DVD's which teach painting techniques. Therefore not only mastering DVD's but the ability to store 4.7gbs of data on one side of a DVD R or RW is a tremendous advantage. For those that don't know, just one minute of Broadcast Quality video takes up an enormous amount of space on a hard drive. Anyway that is another story. There is little new of interest on the software front at the moment. I suspect we are into the Christmas syndrome again. Well that is about it for now. Have a good week. Safe landings. Roy
10th September 2002 " Back from Holiday " As you might have noticed I have been absent for a few weeks. I have just returned from my annual holiday in the South of France. Wonderful to get away and drive the best part of a thousand miles on the superb French roads, from the top to the bottom of the country. Then to spend ten days doing nothing more energetic than drinking glasses of wine and eating in the sunshine:-) Well maybe the odd other enjoyable activity :-) Fantastic !!!! On the way down I met up with my good friend Tony D'Ambrosio (of RealCRT gauge fame) and we had a great time together. Fascinating to see the real France through the eyes of a person that lives there. However worry not, the time was not wasted. Much thinking was done during the time, and many good decisions made, all of which should benefit you all during the coming months. As is my way, although I now take a laptop with me on holiday, I do not access my emails, so I will work my way through the backlog over the next week or so. All the registrations and technical support queries have already been cleared, so we are making progress. " 512 mbs RAM " I am very pleased to say, the laptop I mentioned a few weeks ago is continuing to surprise and delight me. It has now had a really good thrashing even with FS and performs wonderfully. I have to say through trying to run FS2002 on Windows XP Pro with less than 512 mbs of RAM is not a good idea, and performance does suffer as a result. However with 512 mbs of RAM the "i Buddlie 4" returns wonderful frame rates. The 15.1" TFT screen has a viewable area exactly the same as a 17" CRT monitor and is a joy to use. " Windows XP " Now having had a good time to use it in all possible ways, I have to say that in my opinion Windows XP is by far the best operating system we have ever had for the PC, and is worth the few problems that you might experience when you upgrade. It just handles everything much better including and most importantly FS. So my advice is if you haven't upgraded, give it some serious throught. That's about it for now. Have a great week, speak to you again soon.
20th August 2002 Extra " Message received " Don, your latest email acknowledging receipt of your code was received, but my answer to you bounced again. Have fun !!
20th August 2002 " The holiday season " As most of you are only too aware this time of year is very much the holiday season and very little of earth shattering importance happens, or so we hope. The team is working hard on our future projects but also taking a little time out for R and R. " Congratulations " It is my great pleasure to let you know that our graphics and textures expert Steve Wayne and his wife have just had a new addition to their family in the form of a new baby daughter "Brittany". Although Brittany was born prematurely, I am told that Mother and Baby are doing well. So I am sure you will join with me in sending our heart felt CONGRATULATIONS and best wishes to the whole family. " Under test " I recently had reason to test and buy a laptop computer. For those of you that know me well, you will know that up until now I have rarely had much positive to say about them. In fact have been very quiet on the subject. Having checked what was around, I have come across something that I personally think is an exceptional piece of kit. Namely an "i Buddie 4" made by the EliteGroup Computer Systems. Unlike most laptops, this one takes "Standard" CPU's, RAM and Harddrives, rather than the over priced "unit specific" ones you are normally forced into by the manufacturers. You can fit whichever P4 CPU, RAM or Harddrive you wish. You even get a choice of screen. Personally I fitted a 2gb P4 Desktop processor (faster than the mobile of the same clock speed) and it performs wonderfully with normal DDR RAM. The 15" TFT screen is superb, giving the same viewing area as most 17" CRT monitors. It is crystal clear and a joy to look at. The keyboard is also a joy to use. Pretty well everything you could want is built-in, sound with microphone, speakers and extension capability, 4 USB2 ports, Firewire port, SVideo Port, Eithernet network card, IR port, 56K modem. DVD/CDrom, and I might have missed something. There are two noticeable exceptions. one there is no Floppy drive, hardly a problem these days, as you can connect a USB one if you really want one. The other omission from the main box is the battery. Again to me that is a joy, because I seldom run from a battery, and when I do it is easy enough to plug the external one in, which is compact and has a long running time. Not having to lug it around in the machine is another great joy to me. I would rather have the weight in the things that are useful like a larger screen. OK let us come to the most important question. How does it perform with FS ? Well all I can say is fantastic :-) With Windows XP Pro and FS2002 Pro the frame rates are brilliant. I will not say it is not possible to build a desktop that will go faster, but you would have to use the best of everything to do it. This is one impressive piece of kit. Now to the second most important question, How much ?? Well much less than you might think. I think it s very comparable with a similar desktop machine, and I was pleasantly surprised. Obviously you need to check prices where you live. But the great joy to me, is it is upgradeable, with standard parts. So how do you find out more if you wish too ?? Simply log on to www.google.com and then type in " i Buddie 4 " and read the mass of pages that will come back to you. As much as I love to hear from you, please don't email me with your questions on the unit :-) " Even more thanks " I do not want to become boring on this subject, but can I just say both personally and on behalf of the team, how much we have appreciated the flood of supportive emails since the posting on this site on the 12th August. You have enhanced my faith in human nature, and convinced me there are some really genuinely nice people out there. Top marks to you all. OK enough of the "sentimental stuff", there is code to write and work to be done, so I better get back at it. I hope the summer is being good to you, and you are not one of the very unfortunate people that are suffering the horrendous floods in Central Europe. If by chance you are, then our sympathy goes out to you, and we hope you stay dry and safe. Try and have a good one. :-) Roy
12th August 2002 " A few facts " A great deal
of “hot air” has been expounded recently by Bill Rambow about his
decision to leave the very successful RCS Panels Team and set up another
group of his own. I am sure you will be pleased to know that I have no
intention of adding to the “hot air” or responding to the continual
“pops” that are being taken at me, but it is necessary to put a few
facts in the public arena. The RCS Panels Team was made up of five members, Alan Landsburgh (sound),
Steve Wayne (textures), Bill Rambow (graphics and manuals), Brian Withers
(aircraft model and flight dynamics) and myself (gauge programming and
general problem solving). Now with Bill departing, we are four. Steve has
happily taken on the graphics function, an area where he has exceptional
talents, so I am now convinced that we are stronger than ever. As the team has already spent over 18 months working on the B25 project,
(which was originally intended to be modelled on MAAM’s “Briefing
Time”), we had no intention of scrapping all that work because of a
decision made by one person. Therefore we offered the product (when
finished) to MAAM as had originally been intended, to raise money for the
museum. For reasons best known
to MAAM, they have refused that offer, and as a result we will now remodel
it on another B25 and release it as planned. One has to admit that MAAM’s decision was a strange one, (but theirs’
to make), when you consider it has been me personally who has been the
leading force in the raising of over $77,000 for the museum to get the R4D
back into the air, specifically due to my innovations and policy. Oh well,
c’est la vie !! Therefore RCS Panels will no longer be connected with MAAM, however in a
spirit of good will, which is always OUR way, we will continue to process
registrations and give what backup we can. Many of you were disappointed that the GMax R4D upgrade was cancelled, but
few of you knew, that further to my statement on the 28th June,
the proposed upgrade was riddled with problems, not of my making and most
importantly was not up to our usual standard. Therefore its release would
have generated a huge “mail bag” from dissatisfied users. To make the
necessary corrections and modifications to bring it up to standard would
have taken some considerable time and seriously delayed the B25’s
release. This was not the way to go. Those of you who know me, will know that I live my life by a pretty strict
moral code, and pride myself in the way I deal with others, and as a
result I am a “soft target”. I am very pleased that none of you have
been privy to even a fraction of the unprovoked actions, vitriol and
personal abuse that I have received from someone who called himself my
friend. In 54 years of life, I have never been so shocked, horrified,
disgusted or disappointed in a fellow human being. However I will say no
more on that subject. The future of RCS Panels is now very bright. Apart from the release of the
B25, which will be delayed slightly because of the need to change the
graphical content, we are extremely excited about that and the work on the
The skills we have in the team, raised the bar on previous projects and we are really looking forward to doing that again many times in the future. We are happy that you judge us by our work rather than our words. Have a great week. Roy 3rd August 2002 " What a Show ! " As you can see I am back from what was a fantastically successful Artists & Illustrators Show in London. Again we seemed to pick the hottest week of the year in the UK to be under a glass roof in the Business Design Centre where temperatures soared. Never-the-less we had in excess of 17,000 visitors over the four days. My many hours on stage were extremely well received which made all the blood sweat and tears that went into the preparation work, worthwhile. :-) I have now had a few days rest and am about to start catching up with all the stuff that got neglected over the past couple of months. Much has happened and been said elsewhere during my absence (most of which has been untrue), but I will bring you all up to date with the true facts over the next couple of weeks. So watch this space on a regular basis for updates. As many of you know I have also been busy running and judging the annual International Wildlife Art Competition called "PAWS". Well this years winners have now been decided and announced. If you wish to have a look then they can be viewed at :- http://www.roychaffin.com/paws2002/winners.html " FS work continues " Although I personally have had little time for FS recently, the other members RCS Panels Team have been working hard. We are all very excited about the future and will soon share the details of our plans with you. Very little of significance has changed, but obviously a few minor modifications have had to be made to accommodate recent developments. I think it is fair to say that all of these will be to the benefit of the FS community as a whole, but we will let you be the judge of that. " Thanks for you support " Can I just take this opportunity to thank the huge number of you that have sent your messages of support. As always they have been very much appreciated. OK back to catching up on events. Have a great weekend. Roy
12th July 2002 " Busiest time of the year " As many of you will know, July is the busiest month of my year, when I am preparing for the big Art Show in London at the end of the month. This does mean that FS work has to take a back seat during this time. Even I have to earn a living from time to time! I have received a number of emails from concerned people enquiring about the well being of RCS Panels and myself. I am pleased to tell you, both are very much alive and well, and any reports of our demise are grossly exaggerated to the point of being totally untrue. :-) We are fully aware of the mass of speculation about our current projects and future plans. I can assure you that our work is continuing on the B25 and other projects. In the fullness of time I will release a statement on behalf of RCS Panels that deals with all the relevant matters, but in the mean time, I advise caution in believing what you might read elsewhere. You have my assurance that the four current members of the RCS Panels Team are united and working hard on our current projects. Have a good one. :-) Roy
28th June 2002 RCS
Panels Press Release
28th June 2002 " Back to the UK " As you can see I have returned safe and well, after what has been a very hectic four weeks. The WWII Weekend at MAAM was a huge success and it was wonderful to see so many of you there. Both Bill and I enjoyed talking to you all and putting the faces to the names :-) One person even flew over from Holland specially to attend the show. That is what I call dedication. I want to say a special thanks to Bob Guzman and Charlie Rickard for their considerable help during the show, not to mention those special people called "wives". Fortunately most of you were blissfully unaware of the massive problems we had in getting to the show and having the stand up and running. I will certainly not bore you with the problems, but if we wrote it all down, no one would ever believe it.... Major computer failures and vehicle failures were only the tip of the iceburg. No matter the show was a huge success and we raised a nice amount of extra money for MAAM. Most importantly at the show, Russ Strine (the Boss) announced to us that he has now placed the order for the R4D engines and she should fly again this year. That is fantastic news. :-) On our suggestion MAAM are looking at the possibility of, and planning a special FS weekend at MAAM. This would include flights being available in the R4D (for a price) and maybe other aircraft as well, as a celebration of her being airworthy again. A flight in the MAAM aircraft is something extremely special and unusual as it is normally reserved for members of the museum and volunteers, so this would be an event not to be missed. Anyway it is early days yet and we have no further details available, but we will keep you informed as and when things are decided. The other important news about the R4D, is that after she flies again, it planned that she is to be sent away for a full refurbishment, to put her back into A1 condition. All of this has been made possible because of the donations and CD purchases that you have all made, so you can feel rightly proud. :-) " B25 Release " Many of you flew our B25 demo version at the show, and your responses were very encouraging. We have now "pencilled in" a "Release Date" of September this year. This should give us chance to iron out a few bugs and put the finishing touches to the exterior of the model. This date should firm up at it approaches. " Emails :-( " The downside of me being away for so long is the number of emails that were awaiting my return. Over a thousand in my inbox :-( This is enough to bring tears to a glass eye. However as is my way, you will all get a reply in due course, but I ask you to be patient as it is not going to happen over night. It is the intention of Bill and I to take a bit of time out from FS to recharge the batteries if we are allowed, so we hope to be thin on the ground for a while. OK that is about it for now. Have a good one :-)
31st May 2002 " Right to the Wire " Will the B25 Demo Version be ready for next weekend ?? Well we are cutting it so close that I have not had a chance to update this site for the past two weeks. The whole team have been working around the clock to get the B25 Demo Version ready for the MAAM World War II Weekend next weekend, and it is still very much touch and go as to whether we will make it. We have been working through the night for what seems ages now and are extremely tired, but we are making progress and it is looking "stunning", and this is only the Beta. The good news it we have the flight dynamics (thanks to Brian Withers) better than 99% spot on. The model again thanks to Brian is looking really nice. Steve Wayne who has only recently joined the team (about 4 weeks ago) has been working very hard on the model textures and only getting around three or four hours sleep a day. What a baptism of fire and water. !! Alan Landsbugh our sound man has also been sweating blood on the sound package, that will seriously shake the glass out of your windows :-) Which of course leaves Bill and myself, who not only hold the whole thing together, but are responsible for the inside of the package, and the thousands of jobs that are done by no one else. The panels and views are spectacular. Pretty well every gauge functions exactly the same as the real aircraft (within the restrictions of FS2002), and the quality of the graphics is outstanding. It is fair to say the this project would never have happened if it had not have been for the absolutely massive effort and determination of my colleague and friend Bill Rambow. Although we are very good friends there are many times that we could willingly throttle each other, but it is because of that strong friendship that we battle through and get the job done. Anyway if you are coming to the MAAM WWII Weekend 7th, 8th, 9th June 2002 at Reading PA, then you will be able to see and play with the package. What bigger incentive could you have to come to the show ?? To add to that Bill and I will be there in person to talk to people and answer questions, about the package and other issues. More details can be found at http://www.maam.org Bill and I will be the two "bearded" guys asleep behind the stand, wake us only with kind words and a cool beer :-) To think we do this as a hobby !! We must have a few "screws loose" in the head. I have worked hard all my life but I have never done the hours and been under the pressure we have had during this project. On that subject can I thank you for the many emails of support you have sent and comments of understanding for us delaying the launch of the B25. The rest of the B25 development team are taking some well deserved time off before completing the production version of the project. Although we are not making any promises, we expect the official launch date to be the end of August of beginning of September this year, assuming that Beta testing goes well. (Please do not apply to be a Beta tester, we already have a team and massive waiting list) Talking of emails. With immediate effect, for a period of one month, I will not be answering any emails on any of my email accounts, as I am very soon flying out to MAAM from the UK. Therefore I ask, please DO NOT send Registration requests or other requests to me, until you hear on this page that I have returned. OK that is about it for now. I look forward to seeing all of you that make the show, and if not, have a great month of June. Roy, on behalf of the whole (very tired) RCS Panels Team
15th May 2002 " Good News " At last I can report that I have found a video card that beats the GeForce 2 MX with FS. If you remember none of the GeForce 3 cards did that. Today I received and installed the Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti 4600. It is blisteringly quick. I am delighted to tell you, using FS it gives pretty well exactly TWICE the frame rates of the previously best ever card the GeForce 2 MX. This one is seriously good, and is staying in the machine :-) The only downside is the cost. It varies depending on where you buy it, but it is around the $450 mark, which is expensive, but in my opinion is worth it. The particular version I tested and am keeping is the Sparkle Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti 4600 with 128mbs RAM If you take my advice you will not even consider the other versions because even their specification says they are much slower. " Bad News " I am sorry to tell you although we have been working around the clock for weeks now, it looks like we are not going to have the B25 CD ready for the MAAM WWII Weekend at the beginning of June. We are close, but are pretty well out of time, and although we might be close to finished we will not have the time to Beta test and get the bugs fixed. We are not prepared to ruin 18 months work, by releasing it before it is properly tested and fixed if necessary. The team is sorry for this disappointment, and I think it is fair to say no one is more disappointed that us, but we want it to be right, and not nearly right. We see that far to often from other outfits. However WE WILL HAVE the beta version at the MAAM show and all those of you that come along will be able to test it at the show. Furthermore, as a consolation, we are hoping that we might have Jan Visser's NEW FS2002 R4D model avaialable at the show, which has full Virtual Cockpits, the likes of which you have never seen before. There are some screenshots on AVSIM and other various websites if you hunt around. However we are not making promises on this as the package is not yet finished and we do not want Jan to spoil the package because he has to rush. Although the new model is all Jan's work, none of it would have been possible without considerable effort from the rest of the team. For example a completely new set of gauges had to be made especially for this package, which in itself was many many hours. However this is nothing in comparison to the time spent on the VC's. OK if we are going to have anything to show you in just over two weeks time, I need to get my head back down to coding. A programmers work is never done !! As a final word. Bill and I have actually put together the various components of the B25 this week for the first time and flown it. :-) We will leave you to be the final judges, but I don't think you will be disappointed when you get to see it, and fly it. I think we can safely say it is up to the standard you have come to expect from the RCS Panels Team. Have a good one :-) You can read about this years MAAM WWII Weekend from this link :- http://www.maam.org/maamwwii.html
2nd May 2002 " EMAIL OUTAGE " Due to a major technical fault at our ISP, any emails sent to any email address at "roychaffin.com" from one minute past midnight 2nd May 2002 (Zulu UK time) have been lost, and need to be sent again after 6pm this evening. (which is a total outage time of 18 hours) This DOES NOT apply to any emails sent before this time or to other email addresses (such as roychaffin@hotmail.com). I am very sorry for this inconvenience, but spare a thought for me as it adds to the problem of around a thousand emails to answer since my return :-( Have a fun weekend :-)
1st May 2002 " General " If you have been waiting on a reply from me to an email sent since the last post on this site, then I apologise, I have been taking a couple of weeks off and lounging around in Cyprus in the sunshine :-)) Very enjoyable it was too :-)) However reality has now taken over and I am back with an absolute "mountain" of email to answer. It could be another week or more before I get to yours. However keep the faith, I do try to answer them all eventually. " Virus Alert " If you have not heard, there is another variation of the "W32" virus around, and if my inbox is anything to go by it is a pretty widespread and prolific one. I have had around forty attacks since I have been back. I am pretty certain the the latest "Norton Anti Virus" definitions cope with it successfully. But I personally would not trust these so called "fixes" for it you sometimes receive. Unfortunately these days, up to date and high quality AV software is essential, with very regular definition updates. " A word of WARNING " I have a "Hotmail" account, and according to the information from Hotmail, they say they have anti virus software built into the system. But and it is a BIG BUT, so far their built in software has NEVER stopped a W32 virus addressed to me. I get several each and every day. So please don't think if you have Hotmail you are safe, because my experience says you are not. Go and get proper AV software and keep it up to date. OK back to emails. Have a good week.
18th April 2002 " B-25 Project " Things have been quiet here on the site recently, primarily because ever single minute has been spent writing code for the B-25. We are running dreadfully behind on the project, and if we are to have any hope of having it available for the MAAM WWII Weekend in June, we have to use every available minute to work on it. We now know for certain that any "downloadable version" will NOT be available during June and at this point we cannot put a release date on that. We have switched our full attention to the CD version for the June release date, and even then it is going to be tight. Our current aims are to have the CD available at the MAAM WWII Weekend in June, and from then on the CD will be available from the MAAM Online store. Virtually every gauge in this package is quite unique, and it taking much longer to produce than expected. It is fair to say the whole team has probably already put in as much development time as we have on the whole of the R4D project and we haven't even got a Beta version done yet. For those that have been asking for Beta copies. I am sorry we only issue them to our existing team of testers, and even they have had nothing from us as yet. As for screenshots, well we are still keeping what we have to ourselves until we are ready for release, so it will be a fantastic and pleasant surprise. "R4D Update " I am pleased to tell you that work is still continuing on a full FS2002 update for the R4D, with a new visual model, which will include full Virtual Cockpits. The work so far is looking quite stunning, and I think you will all be pleased when you see it. We have no proposed release date as yet, but I would expect within the next two to three months. OK that is it for now. Have a great week or so :-) Roy
4th April 2002 " Back to work " After the distractions and waste of time that was caused by the idiot below, we are now fully back to work on the B-25. We still have a mountain of work to finish but time is running out on us, so some serious "Midnight Oil" is being burnt. We are still a fairly long way off even an Alpha version not to mention a Beta or Production version. Oh while on the subject of Beta versions, many people email me and ask to Beta Test, some genuine and other because the want an early version. Well I can tell you there is absolutely no point in asking, because we have a team of existing Beta Testers that are tried and tested. Plus we have a substantial waiting list. We are extremely demanding on our testers and they have masses of work to do and no time to do it in, as we always want the results yesterday. Unusually in this day and age, we try to put out "bug free" software and not do the testing on the customers. Quaint idea :-) " Many thanks " I want to publicly and formally thank all the major FS sites and their staff for the considerable support, cooperation and technical detective work over the last couple of weeks. Their efforts have been nothing short of extraordinary. Together with the help from our readers we have managed to rid the FS world of another problem. So well done folks and THANKS. " Music " The change of music on this site was certainly noticed and I received many emails in response, both supporting the change and otherwise. However do to popular demand the old tune is back :-) " N|ew FSUIPC " You will find a new copy of Pete Dowson's essential FSUIPC utility posted on this site. This is version 2.85 Click here to download. (all other links have been changed) OK that is about it for now, back to the grind :-(( Have a good one !!! :-)
“Official
Statement” As a result
of recent libellous allegations published on Flight Simulation Forums, RCS
Panels wishes it to be known that we neither use or have need to use, any
parts in our packages that we do not either produce “in house” or have
full and proper permission to use. RCS Panels
does not allow the use of any gauge with a name that starts “RCS-“ in
any package produced by anyone other than ourselves. There are NO
exceptions, so if an “RCS” gauge appears in any “third party”
package, it is there illegally. All webmaster have been made aware of this policy and are very co-operative. We ALWAYS
pursue breaches of copyright. This policy
is not new, it has been the case for many years, and was originally
brought about because of the total lack of respect shown by a small but
significant number of people. RCS Panels
does however produce gauges and other parts for third party developers,
but the gauge names never start with the initials “RCS”. We have a
policy to always help and encourage other developers when we can, if we
are approached in a right and proper manner.
29th March 2002 " Thanks to our readers " I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our readers that went to considerable effort to track down this "Falcon7" character. Your work and emails were most helpful, and as a result, along with the webmasters of all the major FS websites this problem is now being dealt with. As a result of other events not reported on this site, the matter is being put into the hands of law enforcement agencies. So a big THANKYOU, you can and have made a difference. " B-25 Progress " Work is going well on the B-25 so far. I at least think I can probably see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are a couple of major gauges still left to code, like an authentic Engine Starter Panel, but we are getting there :-)) As is normal with us, we are trying to push the barriers of what can be done. But that is the exciting bit. Have a great Easter :-) Roy
22nd March 2002 " New Music " As you will hear, if you haven't turned down the sound, I have changed the music on the site. One of your readers, David Lacey who is a musician, offered to send me some. Well as you can see I accepted his kind offer and here you are. David has a website at :- http://www.cruisemusic.fsnet.co.uk/Arranger/cruise1.html and can be contacted :- Enjoy :-)
21st March 2002 " Urgent Appeal for help " Does anyone know who "Tim Stevens" alias "Falcon7" is ?? Both myself and the webmasters of the major sites would very much appreciate knowing who this cowardly individual happens to be. Without going into detail, this person is publishing "pirated" packages in other peoples names. He hasn't even the "balls" to properly identify himself. You could say he is quite high up the FS "MOST WANTED" list. It is people like this "Cretin" that causes all the proper developers to leave the hobby and go elsewhere. So lets all get together and see if we can nail this one. Have a search on all your favourite FS sites and see if we can find him and or anything by him, and we can deal with him quickly and effectively. One package that is his handy work. (not worth downloading) is "luxury_panel.zip" or "luxpanel.zip". Should you find this anywhere please let me know. OK have a fun and productive week. Roy
17th March 2002 " Am I OK ?? " Today I received a kind email from a reader to ask "whether I was OK" because I have not updated the page for another two weeks ?? This is starting to sound like a weak excuse, but I had no idea that another two weeks had slipped past :-(( Ooops !! Well I have not been neglecting FS, quite the reverse, I have had my head down working on coding some of the more complex gauges for the B-25. Bill has again produced some stunning graphics and we are determined that we will make every gauge look and work exactly in the same way as in the real aircraft, well as much as that is possible within FS2002. As some of you might have noticed, MS have deemed to release the FS2002 SDK. Well unfortunately the bit we really want is missing, (like last time) so it is business as usual and reverse engineering. It is no problem it is just time wasting. " B25 Package " We are still hoping to release the package on CD at the MAAM WWII Weekend on June 7th 2002. However any downloadable version will be some weeks later probably after I return to the UK from the show. We are deliberately concentrating on the CD version as priority this time. The package will also be time locked similar to the R4D for FS2002, but I can tell you now the old codes and numbers will not work. A completely new locking system has been developed and tested. I am pleased to say that I have finally cracked the last major problem that a small number of people were having with installation of the FS2002 R4D with Windows XP. This is good news indeed, because it now releases me from the task of finding a solution. " Sign of the times ? " I have to admit that I find the attitude of some of the people that email me totally unbelievable and nothing short of rude. "Where is ....????" No "Please" No "Thankyou" or even name of the person writing. I know that emails are supposed to be BRIEF, but that is ridiculous. Just for the benefit of the "hard of understanding" or "totally thick or ignorant" myself and the other members of the RCS Panels Team are volunteers who give of our time freely and willingly and in vast quantities for the general benefit of the FS community members. All we ask is we are treated with a little respect. Not too much to ask ? " The real R4D " This week I talked with Russ Strine (the boss of MAAM) about a number of things, but I am sure the most important to you, was I asked on every ones behalf "When would the R4D be airworth again ?" As you know the money has been coming in very well since Christmas and the release of the FS2002 R4D (well over $30,000 since Christmas Eve), therefore I was curious as to whether we could expect the R4D to be flying again by the WWII Weekend in June this year. Well sadly the answer to that is no. Unfortunately it has been discovered that the R4D needs two engines rather than just one, which MAAM had originally thought. This means we still have a way to go, to have enough money. However thanks to you, we are getting there fast. We need about the same amount again as we have raised since Christmas. Russ is already on the lookout for the special P&W 1830-94 engines that are needed, but tells me that "lead time" on rebuilt engines is quite a number of months from the time the order is placed. Therefore it is strongly hoped that she will fly again this year, but no promises can been given. I think it is fair to say he is as keen as us for her to be back in the air. I am also told that some time down the line after she is flying again, a complete refurbishment is planned to return her to "A1+" condition. " MAAM WWII Weekend " Just in case you have been living under a rock for the past few months, I am pleased to tell you that the MAAM WWII Weekend is planned for 7th 8th and 9th June 2002. Both Bill Rambow and myself will be at the show for all three days, and are hopeful that other members of the team will also join us. It it a fantastic show and we have a great time. This is one of the great opportunities we have to meet and talk with many of you, and we really enjoy that face to face contact. So if you have never been before, why not give us a look, I don't think you will regret it. We have even been known to autograph the odd CD as a special memento of the event. " New PC " During the last couple of weeks I have put together a new PC for FS. Basically an AMD XP 1900+ with 768mbs DDR RAM and Windows XP. I have used a GeForce III graphics card, but still find the GeForce II MX is faster :-) (I did test it) I can tell you this machine really "flies" It has more than doubled, in fact trebled my frame rates (that were not to shabby before I started). For my money you can keep your Pentium 4's even with RAMBUS memory. I am really impressed. :-) It has even helps with programming. OK that is about it for now, except I have placed two files on the site for your convenience. Firstly Tony D'Ambrosio's latest "nd2k_13.zip" Click here to download Secondly Peter Dowsons latest FSUIPC Click here to download However I need to point out that I do not handle "Technical Support" queries on these two products, as good as they are. Have a good one. Roy
4th March 2002 " Where does the time go ?? " I am horrified to note that is is three weeks since I last posted a message on this page. Where does the time go ??. Well I guess I can answer that, in hours and hours of programming in dispersed with wasting time on dam pirates. We have had a spate of them recently, and that just takes so much time to deal with. I do however want to thank the people that email me, when they find an RCS gauge or other part in a package. Just for information we NEVER give permission for any gauge with a name that starts with the initials "RCS", to be used by any other developer. If we do grant permission for our parts to be used, which we often do, then we supply a special version that has a different name. Just for those that don't know, all RCS gauges have an Internal Security System that renders the gauge useless if anything is changed, including the gauges name (unless we do it). Anyway, work on the B-25 is going extremely well, if slowly. Some of the gauges are very complex and different that anything I have done before, and the "little grey cells" are being stretched to the limit. The lack of a proper SDK from our friends at MS is not helping, but I guess we are used to that. The email load still takes huge amounts of time away from development, however if people do write I do feel duty bound to respond. However I am pleased to report that a couple of major problems that about five people were having with the R4D version 4,75 have now been solved, which has certainly released me from the task of fault finding. All these problems turned out to be settings on their PC's. So far we have not found any bugs in the software, other than minor things we knew about on release. " R4D v4.75 Visual Model Upgrade " Jan Visser is preparing a Visual Model Upgrade for the R4D that will contain Virtual Cockpits amongst other things. This is requiring a whole new set of gauges to be made for them. Unlike other developers gauges, mine cannot be used twice in the same package, if you try they will not function. This is not an accident but a very deliberate intention. " Fantastic News " On the subject of the R4D, Bill and I are very pleased to announce that since Christmas Eve, MAAM has taken in excess of $32,000 dollars as a direct result of the R4D software version 4.75 which is absolutely fantastic. So many thanks to you all, on behalf of us and the staff at MAAM. OK that is about it for now. Have a fun week.
17th February 2002 " Hall of Shame " I am sorry to report we have a new name for the "Hall of Shame". John Gardner has chosen to ignore International Copyright Laws and use RCS Panels gauges without even asking for permission to use them, in a recently released Comet/Nimrod package. He has been contacted by email and given a fair chance to put things right, but absolutely no response has been forthcoming. He made a big thing in his "Readme" about copyright and how his should be respected, while he feels free to break everyone elses !!! So as he asks for comments by email, let me suggest we give him some, in large amounts. This is your opportunity to help me. Go for it. His email address is :- johnnyg@0800dial.com
"JOHN GARDNER" is added to the "HALL OF SHAME"
13th February 2002 " R4D CD Edition 7 Released " We are delighted to announce that Version 7 of the MAAM R4D CD is now released and in stock at the MAAM online store. This version contains the very latest self installing EXE file for the R4D for FS2002 including the Autopilot update, along with all the latest versions for all the other SIMS. To read the full Press Release Click Here Have a good week.
8th February 2002 " General " Bouncing emails is becoming more and more of a problem here. We are now unable to contact a number of people because every attempt to email them gets bounced from their ISP. If you get no response from us in a couple of days, try to contact us using a different email address and ISP. These "Anti Spam filters" are a real "Pain in the A---". The last week was totally occupied with writing code for the B-25 and preparing a new package for DC-3 Airways VA. The midnight oil has been burning extremely brightly. If you are a DCA member you can expect something fairly exciting in the next week or so :-)) Read your Newsletters !!! When time allows, it is my intention to put together an article about the pro's and con's of the various operating systems and FS, especially FS2002. Just to keep you up to date. I have continued to run tests on graphics cards and the GeForce II MX is still the fastest for FS. Amazing by ture !! The latest ones tested here were the GeForce III Ti cards, and even they were slower. OK back to the code writing. Have a good weekend.
30th January 2002 " What's New ? " As you can see I am back, and pleased to say that most of you respected my request for NO emails. Thankyou :-) However keep up the good work :-) " B-25 Release date " Many people are asking when the B-25 will be released. I can tell you that release date is expected to be around the 10th June 2002. That is assuming work continues at the present rate. " Airbus and B717 Upgrades ? " I am also getting many questions about whether I intend to upgrade the Airbus and B717 packages. To be honest I am only just testing them in FS2002 and assessing the work that would be necessary to upgrade them. This assessment is being done in spare moments, because the B-25 project has priority, not to mention making a living. Even I have to earn money to live :-) This is not a whinge, but just a pure statement of fact. I would have more than enough time to do everything if it wasn't for the 80 or so emails that have to be answered each and every day. Most of which are unnecessary !! The simple answer to the upgrade question ?? If I have time. But I hope so. " Buyer Beware " This is a SERIOUS WARNING about the latest "Piracy". Bill has put together a short article on the latest problems we have experienced. You really should take the time to read this. It could save you money. " General " One or two people seem to have got a little upset, that they buy the MAAM R4D CD and then are asked to answer a question to authenticate they actually have it. It might surprise people to know that quite a number of people actually email asking for a FREE unlock key code saying they have the CD when they don't, expecting us to just issue them with a unlock key code. Well to protect you good people that have paid your money, we insist on authenticating requests, to make sure the "Cheapskates" pay up like the rest of you. Therefore we are sorry for the slight inconvenience, but it is to protect your investment. We are delighted if we spoil the fun of the "Cheapskates", but do not appreciate being "bad mouthed" by a couple of idiots who we are trying to protect. We work long hours to ensure that no one waits very long to receive their code. 99% of you are most appreciative of how fast we respond and help. On the good side, the money received by MAAM since Christmas for the R4D is fantastic and we will be making an official announcement fairly soon about the exact amount. But I can say it is beyond my wildest dreams for a six week period. OK that is about it for now. Back to some serious programming. Have a good one. :-)
18th January 2002 " New R4D Autopilot Manual " I am pleased to announce that Bill has just finished compiling a new manual for the R4D Autopilots. This document covers the new R4D Autopilot Upgrade and also the previous versions of the package for FS2000, FS98, CFS2, and CFS. To download Click Here 2.3 mbs For the full "R4D Autopilot Upgrade for FS2002" that includes the new manual. To download Click here 2.8 mbs " FSUIPC v2.81 " I am also pleased to announce that with the new R4D Autopilot Upgrade for FS2002 you can now use any version after v2.78 of FSUIPC, including the latest one v2.81 (which I have tested). To download Click here 512 kbs " Now the good news :-) " With effect from tomorrow Saturday, I am deserting my post and am taking 10 days off to entertain a good friend who is visiting from the USA with his sons. Because I have not had a break since way before Christmas, we are going off to enjoy ourselves, do the tourist things, and even visit aircraft establishments :-) Therefore I will not be at this keyboard or answering emails. Anything technical will have to wait, other things will either have to do the same, or be directed to my friend and colleague Bill Rambow. I know I get boring on this subject, but well over 50% of all the emails we receive are on things that are well covered in our documentation, and a little reading would answer them without the need for an email, or the RED face when you get the reply. Food for thought !! OK that is about it for now. It has been a hectic time. Have a good ten days. Roy
14th January 2002 " RCS Panels Statement " Over the
years RCS Panels has grown and developed, and during that time I think we
have made significant contributions to the world of Flight Simulation. It
is our intention to keep this process going. During the last couple of
years Jan Visser has very much been part of the process and has helped us
to “raise the bar” on what could be expected from an FS visual model.
His contributions have been very important and very much valued by the
team. However times change, and Jan has now left the team to pursue some
projects that are dear to his heart, and I am sure you will join with me
and the rest of the team in wishing him well with these new ventures. Just to keep
the record straight, relations between RCS Panels and Jan are extremely
friendly and there are likely to be more cooperative ventures between us
in the future. Jan tells me he is already planning an upgrade to the R4D
visual model for FS2002, which will have our blessing, and I am sure you
will all welcome. Likewise the considerable amount of work he has already
done on the B-25 for MAAM is not being wasted. Jan has been
a valuable member of the team and we are sad to see him go, however we are
pleased that we will probably be working with him again in the future, and
wish him the best of luck. So what of
the future ?? Is RCS Panels going to die ??
Not a bit of it, we are as active as ever, probably more so. Our
"new man" is working hard on picking up where Jan left off, and
we are continually learning new skills and gaining experience. However I
must say a good SDK from MS on FS2002 would be extremely helpful. But I
guess we have got used to working without such luxuries J RCS Panels
started off and a strictly Freeware Only set-up, but more and more have
now gone towards raising money for worthy causes. This trend is likely to
continue, as the amount of time and commitment that is necessary these
days to produce “state of the art” add-ons for FS is horrendous and we
all feel that not only should the “end users” benefit from this work,
but also people like aircraft museums and those organisations who are
struggling to keep the old aircraft in the air. Consequently for the next
couple of years our major work will be directed towards MAAM and then the
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Obviously
if time allows we might upgrade old projects, but our major concern is to
move forward with new and exciting stuff rather than revamping the old. We are
looking forward to the future with great excitement and hope you are too? Roy On behalf of
the whole team. 12th January 2002 " FS2002 R4D Autopilot Upgrade " We are delighted to announce that we now have a new set of Sperry MKIII gauges that work perfectly with FS2002 and with our modern R4D Autopilot. You can now engage either AP and still have partial control with the yoke. Something that was not possible with the FS2002 R4D until now. However it is VITAL you read the "readme.txt" to see how things have to be set. To add to this, especially for the people that love using the Sperry, it now also controls the aircraft while it is not displayed on the screen. For example when you are looking out of a side window. The work necessary to identify the problems and make the necessary changes has not been easy, and I want to sincerely thank Arne Bartels (the designer of the original Sperry gauge) for his great assistance in helping me create this new version. The upgrade has been packaged into a self installing EXE file that will make all the necessary changes automatically. It is ESSENTIAL that you read the "readme.txt" before you run the EXE file. DO NOT TRY TO INSTALL THIS UPGRADE MANUALLY
To download the FS2002 R4D Autopilot Upgrade now complete with manual Click Here (file size 2.8 mbs) Have a good weekend. Roy
7th January 2002 " FS2002 R4D Auto Pilot Statement " To try and clear some of the confusion over the R4D Auto Pilot operation in FS2002 I have put together a brief statement on the subject. To read Click Here
5th January 2002 " Fantastic !!! " We are delighted to tell you that the response to the Version 4.75 of the R4D has been superb. With effect from yesterday morning 4th Jan, MAAM had received over $10,000 into the "Engine Fund" since Christmas Eve. That is over a thousand dollars a day. That is absolutely fantastic !!!! Keep it coming :-) Both MAAM and us (the developers) are thrilled with the response, and are pleased to tell you that the way things are going the real R4D should be back in the air this summer. :-)) " Keep your eyes open " There have been a small number of people that have tried to cheat MAAM out of the $5 that they deserve. This I think is about the same as "beating up on an old lady to steal her food money". Could I ask all of you, that if you see or hear of anyone doing such a miserable thing, or even trying to get a code for a friend, could you let us know "in confidence", so we can take the appropriate action. We will be very grateful :-) " ATI Radeon 8500 users " I have just had it reported to me that there are now drivers available that will make the ATI Radeon 8500 video cards display all the textures in FS2002. As I no longer have one of these cards, I am not able to check these drivers personally, but they have worked for one of our readers so they should for you. You are looking for the 4.31.9005 drivers, which is an 11 mb download. The URL and link to the site is :- http://www.rage3d.com/files/drivers/agreement9x.shtml " The team at rest ?? " The team is attempting to have a break since a manic time leading up to and during Christmas. I know everyone is eager, but we would again ask you to exercise a little restraint with the quantity of emails you send us. As good as it is to hear how much you like the new version, we need a "time out", to recharge our batteries. Have a good weekend. Roy
3rd January 2002 EXTRA " VIRUS ATTACK " We have just been informed, yesterday MAAM was attacked by a computer VIRUS. The situation has now been recovered and they are up and running again, however a few emails where lost in the process along with pretty well all the address book. If you submitted your registration number yesterday (Wednesday), and have still not received your unlock key code, then please email them with your registration number and if you send a copy of your receipt that will speed up the process. Alternatively without a copy of the receipt you will be put into "a heap" to be checked off against the list of donators which will be much slower. Likewise if you did not receive your online receipt, your transaction has probably not been actioned. Rather than wait in vain for your unlock key code or your CD, we suggest you make the transaction again. However do check you credit card status to avoid paying twice. As tempting as it might be, DO NOT CONTACT either Bill or Roy about your transactions or questions, we are unable to help you and will only relay your emails without answers. It will be quicker if you go direct. The MAAM email address is :- pmalash@mindspring.com The staff at MAAM are extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused by these problems, but as we all know, computer viruses are an everyday problem we all have to deal with. Thanks for your understanding. Roy
3rd January 2002 " NO CD patch for FS2000 in Windows XP " If you are still using FS2000 and have upgraded to XP Home or Pro, you might want a NO CD fix that works. Well here you are :-
1st January 2002 " Great News " We are delighted to tell you that the new FS2002 version of the R4D is now available on CD at MAAM, well ahead of schedule. Click on the link for the full information. " A well earned rest " After what has been an unbelievable few weeks, the RCS Panels team are going to take a well earned rest. MAAM is now handling all the new registrations, so please do not email us with your requests for unlock keys codes unless you are entitled to a FREE key. Likewise, please do not email us with questions until you have read the documentation at least three times. Most of the questions we receive are covered clearly in the documents we have already written and distributed. I have received hundreds of emails from people that are either blind or just to lazy to read. So please help us to help you, but not wasting our time. It is now the intention of Bill and myself to take some well earned time off, we have worked solidly through the Christmas period to ensure you enjoy yours and have the R4D experience with FS2002, now we are going to have some R and R. Safe landings. Roy HAPPY NEW YEAR
31st December 2001 " Thank you, the year ends on a high " I sometimes comment of the negative things that happen in the FS world, but felt I had to share this recent email with you all. For me, what is said here means a lot, and tells me that what we did, was not only the right thing, but was also seen to be the right thing. Thank you !! Dear Roy, :-))
30th December 2001 " Good News " I am delighted to publish a direct link to the MAAM R4D web payment page. You can now make your payment for the "time locked" R4D package and fill in your "Registration Number" with your "email address" and the unlock key code will be sent to you directly. This is going to save all of us a great deal of time :-) Thanks Fred. https://www47.rapidsite.net/aviala/maam/r4dupgd.html " Better News :-) " As a result of this improvement to the service, it is my intention now to take some time off and get some well deserved sleep and a bit of time away from this keyboard. Today Bill and I completed the CD version of the package and Bill is currently in full production. This version 6 of the CD should be available in the MAAM Store in around a week from now. I want to take this opportunity to thank Bill, and Pete for their dedication in helping me get all the unlock key codes dispatched very quickly. We have had a few "Glitches" but no one has waited more than 48 hours and most much less. A brilliant effort. !! I have now answered most of the "Technical Support" questions, but there are still a few of the more complex ones to do. This is not the time to send new ones. Have a great New Year. from a very knackered Roy ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz
28th December 2001 Take 2 " Thanks Rick " There is a gentleman called "Rick" that has just sent me the most wonderful message which I want to say a big THANK YOU for. Unfortunately I am unable to email Rick in return because all attempts have be "Bounced" from his server. I have however passed it on to Bill. So THANKS Rick :-) " Talking of emails bouncing " Here at RCS Panels we always reply to EVERY email. If for any reason you do not get a reply from us, you can be certain that is because they are being "bounced" by your sever. This is becoming a bigger and bigger problem for us here, as more and more each day get thrown back. We are told that most ISP's are putting "Anti Spam" software on and this is far from effective and cuts out a great deal of your incoming email from legitimate people. My advice to you is contact your ISP and insist this software is removed from your account. I speak from experience here, as this was the problem we had for weeks. We had to be very forceful but won through in the end. Partially working email is worse that none at all.
28th December 2001 " Understanding Please !! " This is a quick note to say we are currently "sinking" under the weight of registrations we are receiving for the R4D, and doing our very best to deal with all of them as quickly as possible. Both Bill and I are volunteers who do this in our spare time for absolutely nothing. We have given up pretty well all of our Christmas without a single complaint in aid of a good cause and are pleased to do so, but it is not expected that we should receive abusive or sarcastic emails from people that either cannot understand the installation or registration instructions or expect their registrations to be done instantly. Speaking personally, and I know I am not alone, having just worked some ungodly hours to get the project out to you before Christmas as promised, I am extremely tired, as I know is also the case with Bill. Therefore I ask just a little understanding from people if we are only prepared to work 16 hours a day for the rest of the holiday. Having said that, we are not prepared to be anything less than thorough with the registration process, (therefore "rip off merchants" need not apply) so please be prepared for some delays. On a positive note, the registrations and donations to MAAM have been very encouraging, and we are delighted that so many people have donated much more than the minimum registration fee that is required. Can I say on behalf of the whole team MANY, MANY THANKS you are brilliant :-)) Kindest regards Roy
27th December 2001 " Important Notice " Total confusion seems to have occurred recently. Please read the following notice in FULL, as it contains important information regarding the R4D for FS2002. " Technical Support Queries " Owing to the enormous amount of registrations for the R4D, we are running extremely behind with answering Technical Support Queries. All queries will be answered, but the speedy service you have been used to over the years might not be quite so speedy for a few days. We will do our best. :-)
26th December 2001 " Registration Update " Today we have restarted registrations for the R4D, and have a backlog of a couple of hundred here at RCS Panels, not counting those with Bill and MAAM. I will be working on the registrations through the night and will hope to have them up to date by the morning. So be patient, I am doing my best. So far today over a 100 have been cleared. Have a good one. Roy
24th December 2001 Extra " Autopilot Problem " I have just discovered a major problem with the R4D Autopilot and the packaged version of FSUIPC. The aircraft goes into a steep climb immediately the AP in engauged. The FS2002 version of the R4D was designed and tested with version 2.78 of Peter Dowson's brilliant FSUIPC addon. However I decided package the never version 2.79 which was not completely tested and is not compatible. Further more the even newer version 2.80 is also not compatible. Therefore until such time as this can be worked out with Peter after Christmas, I suggest you return to version 2.78 which is available here, with instructions of how to install it. Download AP Fix Click Here I am sorry for this inconvenience, but sometimes the best intentions go to "Rats" Have a good Christmas.
24th December 2001 " R4D for FS2002 Registrations " As of 2 am 24th December, I am pleased to tell you that we are completely up to date on FREE registrations for the R4D at RCS Panels. :-) I am aware there has been a few problems with a UK ISP that we sometimes route our email through. If you have not received a reply to your registration request, that has been sent before the above time, then please get in contact with me again at " roychaffin@hotmail.com " " Limited Service " As a result of the Christmas holiday and the fact we have managed to get up to date with registrations, we will be operating a limited "Registration Service" today, Christmas Eve, and Boxing Day, and NO service at all on Christmas Day. " Christmas Greetings " Can I thank everyone that has sent us Christmas Cards and Greetings, unfortunately because of dealing with the R4D registrations we have not been able to personally respond to every one. However we very much appreciate them, so please accept this joint Thankyou. :-) The RCS Panels Team, Alan, Brian, Bill and Roy, plus all the staff at MAAM would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year. We thank you all for your support during the past year and hope we can look forward to it continuing for the year to come. 2001 has been a difficult year for many different reasons but let us hope and pray that 2002 will be kinder. *** MERRY CHRISTMAS ***
22nd December 2001 " FS2002 Released " After months of work the moment has arrived. The R4D for FS2002 is released here before Christmas as promised. Before you hit the "download link" you need to know this is a significant download at 25 mbs, but if you think that is bad, our first compilation of the ".exe" file was 40 mbs, so it has been drastically reduced. We have removed the HTML Manual and left only the PDF and Plain Text versions along with the package. Talking of manuals, I know this bit is boring, but PLEASE read at least the "readme.txt" very carefully about the registration procedure. It is vital that you contact the correct place with the right information, otherwise you will not get your Unlock Key Code quickly. At this point I would like to thank my fellow team members Alan, Brian, and Bill for working some horrendous hours under extreme conditions to get this package finished on time. You have all done a fantastic job and I hope given people a wonderful Christmas present. To download "Readme" file Click Here To download package Click Here Enjoy :-) Roy
21st December 2001 " |
