Hello,

i´ve been thinking lately of starting out a project for a payware addon for FSX, and i was hoping to get some feedback here before i began...

there's one main point to consider:
While i believe i have sufficient modeling, texturing and animating skills to produce a payware-quality addon, i am not wholly familiar with gauge and module programming in FSX, and although i could bring myself to learn it, i would prefer to keep this first build simple, and not risk falling short on some aspects, also, i want to release it relatively quickly (a few months development time)

i haven't settled on a particular aircraft to design as of yet, but i'm trying to stay away from commercial jetliners or anything with overcomplicated systems that would take too long to develop, gauge-wise, that is...

anyways, the main selling point of this package would be it's visuals, and the functional features would be FSX default at least, and that i am quite confident i can achieve...

i just wanted then to get some feedback from you guys here about this approach... and maybe some help deciding on a particular aircraft

i was thinking of maybe a single prop plane, or a WWII fighter or aerobatic aircraft, maybe even a sailplane

i also came upon the Beech Starship today and i was somewhat encouraged to take it on, but it's way ambitious for a first project, so i haven't decided yet

let me know what you guys think

Cheers

HarvesteR

thanks, i hadn't considered testing yet... anyways, if i can get it done in 6 months i'd consider it a major victory in itself

about the gauges, my plan was to use 3D gauges, which is a tried-and-true technique and i can surely find information about it, and which renders impressive results

about the time issue, i plan to work alone for now... that is until i find there's a pressing need for more man-power on the project, but taking the 737 Experience as reference, which i did with my brother in a little over a year, and considering how much i've learned about 3D design in college, i can imagine myself completing this in under a year... and being a 'between-jobs' college student, i think i'll have a good deal of extra time to work on my project

and who knows, if this works out well enough, i just might make this my full time job 

Cheers

well, yes, i'm Felipe, one of the Moach brothers... a while back we splitted usernames... my brother stuck with Moach and i became HarvesteR

there was a long drought of FS modeling for me after the release of the 737, (i did make some models, but none got finished since college was heaping up on me... still is  ) and that may account for my very modest post-count until now, and the fact that pretty much no one knows we've splitted accounts

Cheers

well, since the first part is often the easiest, the modeling, texturing and research... i'll start out alone for now, and if the necessity arises, i'll see to getting extra people on board

Cheers

Thanks Felix!!

what you said there is exactly what has been going through my mind... it's not about MY personal choice of aircraft... it has to be something the simming masses will embrace

that's why this is being a hard choice for me... i have yet to find that one aircraft that fits these requirements perfectly -

it must be a simple build, no big fancy jets or anything like that

it must be likeable enough for most people to want

it must not have been made before (obviously)

i have to admit that me and my brother struck gold when we decided to make a 737... it was simply the right aircraft at the right time... the default one was bad, and the only other good option was a 60 dollar behemoth that only real enthusiasts would buy, so our plane found it's place with remarkable ease... or course, then it was just lucky of us... now this is a matter that must be thought over very carefully, lest the project fall into the 'Spore' category... something made for everybody that actually no one wants 

but anyways, i wanna thank you guys for this encouragement right from the start... it really makes all the difference

Cheers

HarvesteR