The Malaysian Kiwi

Hi all,

A couple of years ago I bought a copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator X : Gold Edition. This was in 2011. I'd installed it on my computer and had spent many fun hours flying on this excellent game. After a period of disuse, I decided to dust it off and reinstall (as some addons I'd tried to install might've been making it act up, and anyway I needed a fresh start).

Either way, really stupidly of me, I didn't check the full CD package was there before uninstalling the original. As a result, it was only during activation when I'd realised the product key sticker was gone. This is, I must stress, an absolutely original copy of FSX - complete with Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity, 3 CDs and all brochures (FSX: Quick Reference, FSX: Insider Information, FSX: Acceleration Expansion Pack brochure and Installation Instructions - a little white fold out thing in many different languages). If you, or anyone at Microsoft, would like to verify this, I can send pictures, CD numbers and/or Certificate of Authenticity numbers. But the most important one - the Product Key sticker - must've fell off at some stage through carelessness and neglect - gone unsticky and unseated itself. Bugger.

Some different things I've desperately tried to get my precious copy of Flight Simulator X back:

Hours upon hours of desperate Googling (sorry I didn't use Bing, by the way) to try and find some semi-possible solution

System Restore - but one problem always pops up: a program is missing and cannot be restored (I wonder which one?)

Downloading a dubiously sourced FSX License Masker (which fell over because it's a .rar file and the computer had trouble downloading WinZIP et al)

Trying different 'exclusive' source keys almost certainly used by many hundreds before me (I'm sorry, I admit it: I feel really dirty now)

Attempting to use Belarc Advisor (http://www.belarc.co...e_download.html) to find a source key I had typed in days gone by 

Peering deep into the inner workings of FSX to find a file which apparently stored your product key - dlxkey.txt - which was infuriatingly, blank

Now, you might ask, why didn't you do something less drastic than uninstalling this 'excellent' game you said you so loved? Why did you, through neglect, let the product key float away and disappear? All these things are clear in hindsight, and I realise I was a real dumb**** to have done all this and mucked my game up in such a way. It was just a series of unfortunate events that lead to one giant cluster**** of horribleness.

And if you're wondering why I didn't call Microsoft, the most recent (and so relevant) answers I had read said that support for FSX was pulled about a year ago in favour of Flight (boo). Is it really? I'm not sure. So new product keys apparently aren't provided anymore. Also, there may be a fee involved for a new product key, and I want to make sure of what it is and how much it is. As I currently cannot legally work and make enough income to support myself (I am 14), not knowing how much something costs before committing can be a problem for me. 

So, if any of you here on AE can provide some help - ANY help - I would be unfailingly grateful.

The Malaysian kiwi

Never mind.

I know the proposal of an airline sharemarket has been brought up, and rejected, many times (mainly due to the legendary system-gaming that brought it down the first time). But I think sharemarkets still would add a fun dose of realism to Airline Empires. So I've come up with a well-regulated alternative - equity markets.

Here's how I envision it would work - there would be a big noticeboard-like thing (like the used aircraft market now) which would be the Airline World Equity Exchange (AWEX). Airlines in need of equity would post on the noticeboard, asking for a certain amount of cash in return for a share in all future profits (and bearing all future losses) in the company. The minimum price of shares would be set at 10% less than the value of the stake (calculated based on the airline's valuation), to prevent gaming the system. The offer would stand for about one game month, during which any airline can bid any price for the stake. The final decision lies in the hands of the offer airline (they can refuse to accept the highest bid).

So here's how AWEX works. Bravo Airlines (valued at $100 million) wants extra cash to fund, say, a fleet renewal but can't wait for profits to accrue. So they post on the AWEX, offering a 42% stake in the company for $37.8 million ($42 million - 10%, the minimum amount that can be offered). Charlie Airlines bids $38 million immediately, Delta Airlines bids $40 million after a week, Echo Airlines bids $42 million after three weeks and finally Foxtrot Airlines bids $45 million three and a half weeks after the listing. Bravo Airlines accepts the $42 million offer by the time the time runs out. From now on, Echo Airlines will get 42% of Bravo Airlines' profits every year, but will bear 42% of it's losses (if applicable).

The ownership structure will be shown on the Airline Details screen - 58% Bravo Airlines, 42% Echo Airlines. If they want, Echo Airlines can later on-sell their stake (or part of their stake) in Bravo Airlines.

Some regulation:

- (Not sure about this one, but if it's possible...)Before purchase, an airline will be able to see the financial details (profit/loss) in the last five years for the airline it is purchasing a stake in.

- If a stake over 50% is sold to another airline, the airline that purchases the controlling stake can have the power to order aircraft, lease aircraft, cancel aircraft on order, tweak service levels and add/cancel flights.

- If a 100% stake is sold to another airline, they will become one airline in all but name - they will draw from the same pot of cash, but can operate independently on different routes and have different fleets. They may 'merge' under one name if both airlines agree to.

- Any stake being sold worth over $25 billion (an arbitrary number that I thought would work well in my head - maybe it could be tweaked for percentage, number of routes/destinations/flights/aircraft) would have to be assessed by the Airline Empires Competition Commission (AECoCo), a 'board' of, say, four members who would work out if it would create an airline that is too dominant.

So this is just an idea off the top of my head - any comments, improvements etc. would be very much appreciated! I think it would add a nice dose of realism to the game without it being too vulnerable to abuse. Also, it could finally give a way in for those wanting Link/other subsidiary airlines.

This will temporarily be the home of the Mercurius Alliance in R1. To apply, please post a form in this format:

Airline name:

Airline HQ/Main Hub:

Focus Cities:

Fleet (Config):

(Ideally less than five types of aircraft unless each aircraft type has a dedicated role)

Average Fleet Utilisation:

Number of Destinations:

IFS Details:

IFE Details:

(Non-scam 3 star IFS is the least expected on short routes - 4 star and above is recommended on routes over 2500 miles)You shouldn't lie about either of these things - random checks are made on random routes of random airlines at random times to find out the true state of IFE/IFS)

Future Plans:

Any other miscellaneous stuff about yourself, your airline etc.

Good luck!

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Aspiring for Perfection In Flight.

You're probably going to say no, but......pleeeeeeease????? Newmans would love to operate Antarctic flights (for sightseeing and freight/research moving operations, seeing as the military doesn't exist in AE :-) ). Tourists wouldn't be allowed out of the aircraft though (for environmental/ health & safety reasons)

Airport name - Williams Field

IATA - none (though ICE may work if it's really needed, seeing as no other airport has it)

ICAO - NZWD

Passenger numbers - Approximately 12,500 (equivalent of about 5,000 tourists a year and 5,500 passengers as well as the equivalent revenue of about 1,400 tonnes of cargo which would normally travel via the military) http://www.erebus.co...iencePage2.aspx

http://www.christchu...-the-antarctic/

http://www.anta.cant...s to Antarctica

Coordinates -

Latitude: 77°52'02"S (-77.867357) Longitude:

167°03'24"E (167.056572)

http://www.gcmap.com/airport/NZWD

Runway length - 10,000 ft. (3048m)

Country - New Zealand (Williams Field is in the Ross Dependency, formally a New Zealand dependency governed by the Governor-General of New Zealand) http://en.wikipedia....Ross_Dependency

State/Region: Antarctica