FSUIPC clone

[Guest FS2004]

What we don't need is a payware FSUIPC; what we DO need is someone with good programming skills to do their own "FSUIPC", and share it with the world.

Think about it - if you are in your right mind, you figure out that your name will very fast spread worldwide, as every FS-user will use your program, and of your name and adverts alone you should be able to live a long and prosper life, without having to take it to extremities like turning a succesfull future into a payware project and go down with the rest of people who have travelled that path already. Just take a look at the guys behind FS Flightmax; I think they have learned their lesson ;-)

Any good programmers out there; get out of the bushes and let's see what you can do, to keep simming as free as possible. It's not all about money.

Harge

[Chris Brett]

Do people not read information put before them? The ONLY people that will have to pay for FSUIPC are commercial software developers who require FSUIPC interprocess communciation facilities to have their products communicate with FS. Freeware authors do not pay anything to have their products use FSUIPC - they just apply to Pete for a free code that they can distribute with their product and that will allow it to run on anyone's machine.

So I ask simply: what exactly is everyone's problem with FSUIPC being a commercial product to commercial developers, and a freeware product to freeware developers? What has changed at all?

I suggest a good few minutes reading this thread will be well-spent, for all the doubters out there. Read pages 2-5 in particular. http://forums.simflight.com/viewtopic.php?t=7222&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

And as for the suggestion by some anti-commercial freeloaders that a crop of FSUIPC-like freeware "alternatives" will suddenly spring up now that FSUIPC is commercial software to developers, I pose only this: FSUIPC (and FS6IPC before that) has been around for quite some years without anyone else coming close to producing a similarly flexible and efficient interface to FS offered directly to the public. It strikes me people are not quite understanding the effort that has gone into developing FSUIPC (and indeed FS6IPC before that under Adam Szofran) and how Pete has dedicated a lot of time and effort to maintaining and extending its abilities mainly for the benefit of those who rely on it to produce other software products, particularly commercial products. It is they who will be paying in the future to use FSUIPC, not the freeware developer or the end user. The argument put forward by some is that FSUIPC is now fully "commercial software" and should be boycotted in favour of development of alternatives. There are no alternatives and nor do there need to be - FSUIPC is still free for freeware authors, and this has been stated many times by Pete in these fora. Why people choose not to read or understand such information is beyond me. It's not rocket science, people!

You only pay for FSUIPC if (a) you are a commercial developer, or (b) you require the extra end-user functions such as the fancy things it can do with joysticks and keyboard mappings and such like. In all other cases FSUIPC will remain free.

To Pete: might I suggest a sticky thread on this forum entitled "FSUIPC v3 FAQ - Freeware & Commercial Usage" or similar and stick the basic information in there for everyone to see, and then lock the thread? Might save some of the gibberish we are reading too frequently on here from certain people

Chris

[Pete Dowson]

To Pete: might I suggest a sticky thread on this forum entitled "FSUIPC v3 FAQ - Freeware & Commercial Usage" or similar and stick the basic information in there for everyone to see, and then lock the thread?

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your explanations on my behalf. Yes, I will be doing a fuller explanation of everything, up top and in front, but I want that to include pricing, availability, and registration procedures as well. Actually a lot of the attacking messages are sort-of interesting in that they allow me to see where folks might be misunderstanding me in any case, and perhaps will help me make things even clearer when I do.

Meanwhile, really, this week and maybe next too I'll have my head buried deep into FS2004 -- I've not got the Release version yet but am expecting it tomorrow (?). Only then will I know how much more work I have to do for the initial release of FSUIPC Version 3, which I do really want to release at the same time as FS2004 if I can.

Thanks again & best regards,

Pete

[Guest Doug S]

Hi Pete,

With all the trouble you are having supporting development of FSUIPC, I was wondering if you ever considered open sourcing it. That way, you could share the workload with others programmers that need this kind of functionality.

Great work, BTW,

Doug