Godzone news for 2013...

[toprob]

It is time for me to take a bit of a break from scenery design, or more accurately to extend the break I've been on for some time. In 2009 I was diagnosed with serious heart problems, which took me a year and a half to recover from. I had hoped that I could eventually get back to a reasonable number of releases each year, but this didn't really work out. A number of factors have added up to declining sales, including the earthquake, the results of which we are still enduring here in Christchurch.

Normally each scenery release funds the next, to some extent, but unfortunately Real NZ Nelson didn't get to this stage, as I had incurred a fair amount of debt in recovery, and Nelson sales have been quite poor, as it was released at the same time as -- and had to compete with -- the release of Orbx NZSI. I have been steadily working on a completely new Wellington City and airport, but my debt isn't going to go away without some serious changes, so I really need to go back to full-time employment for the time-being.

I will continue with Wellington, but in my own time. It will still be a payware release, and I will like to keep Godzone Virtual Flight running as usual, but that may not be possible. February is always a tricky month to deal with, flightsimmers need to pay for their Christmas extravagance the same as everyone else, and this means no extra funds for scenery until about May:) Plus, this is the time of year that I need to pay for my web hosting, and it isn't a clear decision whether I commit to this for another year. It may be that the old Windowlight site has to go for a while.

I am very confident that local flightsimmers are currently well-served, with Orbx committed to a number of great releases, such as NZAA. And really, it doesn't make sense for me to compete with them at this time. Simmers tend to buy Orbx scenery because it is Orbx, and they buy my scenery because it is New Zealand. Orbx's exclusive business model means that my work isn't as attractive to Orbx users, so this will naturally include a percentage of my 'regular' customers now. Although I can promote Real NZ Nelson as 'Orbx-compatible', this isn't the same as an Orbx scenery produced using Orbx library resources.

If the Windowlight site does go offline shortly, check back here for an update, it may or may not be temporary. If you have been putting off purchasing Real NZ Nelson, then now is the time to take the plunge -- if all my regular Real NZ customers who have supported me in the old 'photoreal' days bought Nelson this month then I'd have a bit more breathing space to consider the future:)

I really need to say thanks for those who have supported me since I went 'payware', and even back before then. In some ways I'm amazed that it has been possible to support myself almost exclusively by producing NZ scenery, for the last seven years. I've made some good friends, and had a really good time in general.

One think I'm giving some thought to is a different marketing model. Some of you will remember the old subscription-based Godzone scenery, which was popular while it lasted. Another idea is 'crowd-sourcing', which involves pre-selling a project to make sure that there actually is enough interest to justify it. However although this has been very successful in other areas, it has never been used for flightsim, so my current financial mess may not be the best time to try something radical.

To tidy things up, this week I hope to release a couple of little freeware airfields which I'd all but forgotten I was working on. These are Hokitika (NZHK) and Timaru (NZTU). Both are 'VLC' airfields, although as always they'll work without VLC, and even with Orbx.

[Bluebird]

Hi Rob

That is a shame. I have got all your scenery since back in the day of going to paper plus in Northlands mall. still got those discs. I will buy any scenery that you decide to do in the future.
I wish you all the best with getting a full time job and hope this is not the end of your work


Todd

[mfahey]

Hope all works out well for you toprob. Now who the heck hasn't purchased Nelson, it's a knockout! You are really missing out on a fantastic airfield. It's a shame most Orbix flyers seem to be unaware of it.

Cheers,
Mark
Sydney

(A very happy customer from all the way back in the GodZone subscription magazine days)

[Ian Warren]

DONATION TIME Ok peoples , all the work i have done for Rob over the many years was for 'Free' .. Now payback time .. works both ways

[Bluebird]

Yea all the work he has done for us i thank that's a great idea Ian


Todd

[toprob]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Feb 25 2013,8:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

DONATION TIME Ok peoples , all the work i have done for Rob over the many years was for 'Free' .. Now payback time .. works both ways

Thanks for the thought, Ian, but really this isn't an option. At different times I've actually borrowed from various flightsim nutters to cover some difficult times since my operation, but never been a position to repay them, so any donation may be similarly destined to end up in a big black hole which is my current debt. Really, the business needs to stand on its own merits, which it hasn't been managing lately, so what it needs is a real business solution.

Failing that, as I mentioned on the phone the other day, I'd settle for a long-lost relative leaving me a fortune...

[toprob]

I've managed to come to an arrangement to keep the website for another year, so that's something.

[Ex ANZ Eng]

Robin, I have been a avid follower since day one and have all your work, your work has been the inspiration to FS in NZ.
All your work has been of the highest quality and your support when there has been the odd problem, or finger trouble (as it usually was....lol), has been second to none.
I hope it all works out for you and wish you all the very best for the future.
Its a shame that the 'passion' can not always provide the necessities.
I hope it gives you some pleasure in knowing that there are a lot of us that will using the Robin Corn sceneries for many years to come.

Best Wishes
Phil

[tripecac]

What I would love to see are NZ-based missions, with your voice on them.

I loved the Southern Lakes adventures, and would definitely pay for a set of similar missions.

[SeanTK]

Robin, your sceneries, along with those of other developers, are the direct reason as to why I do at least 90% of my flight simming in New Zealand, despite never having been to your country. Your work brings so much life and character to the sometimes too sterile world of MS Flight Simulator that I honestly would feel quite lost without the contributions of you and others to this hobby.

Please let us know what else we may do to help in addition to buying your products. You have a strong fan base here that would absolutely hate to see you go. As you recognized, Orbx has entered the NZ market, and has brought with it those users who *only* buy Orbx products, no matter what. I don't know how difficult it would be to work in closer cooperation with them, but perhaps some sort of joint effort would bring wider awareness of your sceneries to the FS community, especially as Orbx starts working on NZ airports in the coming months/years.

[Splitpin]

QUOTE (toprob @ Feb 27 2013,4:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've managed to come to an arrangement to keep the website for another year, so that's something.

Happy to donate Rob ...... just put out the call

[MichaelBasler]

QUOTE (Splitpin @ Mar 25 2013,8:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Happy to donate Rob ...... just put out the call

You could add me, too. Kind Regards, Michael

[Bluebird]

QUOTE (MichaelBasler @ Mar 30 2013,10:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You could add me, too. Kind Regards, Michael

you can count me in too..


Todd

[AlisterC]

Hey Robin, thanks for the write up with your news.
Flight sim is an interesting thing. So much background payware work is going on for a 'game' that you probably can't even find on the shop shelves anymore? Are there even many new virtual pilots entering the community these days? I'm sure you agree it's probably an ever decreasing market?
And let's not forget the miracle that there are those of us who even still fly on our sims. I've been simming for just over 10 years now, and there are many names and faces I can remember that are no longer doing this. So I can imagine it's a tough business to make a sale these days as it is, and the global outlook I bet hasn't helped. I used to have a disposable income, buying a couple of addons a week, but now 8 years later I'm married with 3 kids and getting paid less than I did 8 years ago (go figure). I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I hope you'll hang in there as long as you can, or good luck finding other means to supplement your income. I've bought something from your site today, just one of the gaps in my collection I've been meaning to fill. I'll be sure to post up some screenshots in my overseas forums and post a link to the shop.
Cheers

[toprob]

Cheers, Alister, I did notice your purchase, I appreciate it! For me, the main point is that this had become a 'retro' hobby, I don't have any problem with retro, I do have a few retro hobbies (I still have a Commodore VIC20 which hasn't worked for years, but I could never throw it away), one of the things I liked about flightsim was that it was continually improving and developing. The advances from 2002 to FSX were breath-taking, and that was one of my main attractions to simming -- what will we get next, what will simming look like in another decade? At the moment, it is possible that in another decade it'll look a lot like it does now, which takes some of the fun out of it for me.

Here at NZFF we've always tried to encourage young kids into keeping up an interest, but it has been a long time since we've had any young members take any interest. Gone are the kiddie battles which needed intervention, and I don't remember the last time we had a sign-up which required parental approval. So we're heading towards a time when the hobby is just a bunch of grumpy old men reminiscing. Now I'm as grumpy, old and um... manly... as anyone, and I have nothing against the process, except that I signed up for something which would continually develop well past my expiry date.

I am happy to stay on as a GOM, but to go with that, I'd rather be pottering around making freeware, which I love the most.

Last week helped clarify this a lot for me -- the low point of the week was an operation on Monday, which I'd been waiting on for almost a year, but still was no fun, and the high point was my son and his wife coming home for a visit after more than two years away, and a family get-together on Thursday which included my kids, their spouses and my grandson. Flightsim really Didn't stand a chance this week. The only thing which got any interest from me was Charl's description of his gliding adventure, and that was because I've become more and more interesting in story-telling, and I'm intrigued by people who can paint a picture just with words. This week, with some recuperation time, I actually finished a short story I've been planning to write for a long time. I guess that story-telling is retro, but that's not the point. I need a hobby which has a real, living future, to balance the increasing number of my 'old fogey' interests. In a year's time, this might be flightsim, but at the moment I can't see it clearly enough to stake anything on it.

[Splitpin]

Well written Rob , as usual .... and by the way my friend you dont have an "expiry date " YOU got me onto this hobby , and as long as your around i will continue, and i intend to continue for sometime yet.....