June Newsletter

[ardypilot]

Hi again guys,
Hope everyone has had a good month. Things at NZFF have been a little quiet over the last 31 days, after all the excitement of our anniversary during April still dieing down. However we still have plenty of NZ simming news to fill you in on"¦

The admin, particularly Alex, have been busy improving the forums, tweaking little things here and there to maximize your time spent online.

Firstly, we have added a few more rules to the monthly screenshot competition, so please make sure you have a good read through them before posting an entry. May's comp thread was a whopping 8 pages long, with users posting a load of off-topic comments which made reviewing the screenshots a bit of a longer, more annoying process. We basically are asking that you keep your comments relevant, and if you decide to change your entry, replace it in the same post as your original image.

We have also decided to limit signature image sizes to 800pixels wide by 200pixels deep, in an attempt to unclutter threads and decrease loading and mouse scrolling time. If you find that you're signature has suddenly disappeared, it will be because it is over the new size limit, and you will have to upload a new smaller one. However, there is always the alternative of turning signatures off completely by going into the "My Controls' menu > Options > Board Settings

Alex has also managed to solve the main banner resolution issue, by removing the ugly blue bars and centering it at the top of the page, on screens running at over 1024x768 size. He is also investigating into setting up multiple colored "skins' which can be alternated via user preference. Check the "Forum Community Discussion' forum for updates.

In non-NZFF news, the long awaited Sim Pilot Magazine has finally gone live at http://www.simpilotnet.com. As Robin has mentioned on his Windowlight page, it is an international free flightsim online magazine, but with a local flavor. Christian Stock, who created the brilliant Red Baron Entertainment NZ Mesh and Topo package is the man behind it all, and his magazine features many articles of interest to us kiwis, including a South Island GA Tour and a visit to a Flight Experience simulator.

Also on Robins page, www.windowlight.co.nz, are some preview screenshots of the upcoming REAL NZ Marlborough addon, for both FS2004 and FSX. Check out the amazing scenery that will soon be available for Woodbourne, Omaka and Picton, and then visit the "Godzone 'Real New Zealand' Scenery Support' for further info. Shipping is expected to begin before the end of the month, and we are hoping to see the Screenshot sub-forum flooded with images of the sunny Marlborough Sounds very soon!

James Eden's "Awesome Foursome' FSX DC-3 models have also just been released, as freeware at Avsim. Search the file name "as4sumjejm.zip' for a 50mb zip that includes revamped Viewmaster, Cargo, and the LC-47 ski models, plus some glorious NAC, NAC Freight, SPANZ, and Fieldair liveries.

Finally, congratulations to Timmo who won the screenshot completion this month in a landslide voting victory. His shot, showcasing his brilliant Bay of Plenty photoreal, plus Deane's awesome new Fletcher will be sitting on top of the forums for everyone to see for the rest of the month. Be sure to participate in the June competiton, where a prize from Alphasim is up for grabs.

Cheers,
From Trolly and the NZFF admin team