In this podcast I deliver the long promised review of FSX. It is a good game to be sure, however, I gave it a ratting of 7.5/10 due to its lack of play progression and poor engine performance. In the process of reviewing FSX I also talk a bit about its third party dependent content system and the way games of its type have been so successful from a business stand point.

I also talk about the events of Fancon 2007. Below you will find the text of the report I made for Sky Blue Radio. Thanks guys for helping me attend such a great event!

Pics are on the way got to get them off my camera phone.

-Nicolas

Friday November 9th, 2007

I landed in SEA for Fancon @ 4:46 PST yesterday on rwy 16l. The route used was SILOW1.SILOW FLG GCN BERYL ELY REO IMB.CHINS5 with a take off from rwy 7l @ PHX. Overall it was a good flight.

The show starts bright and early on Saturday so I'll be ingesting some of Seattle’s best coffee. If there is any info you folks want me to retrieve please let me know. I'll be posting updates on this thread as often as I can.

If anyone happens to be going to the show look for a long haired leaping gnome. I'd love to say hi:P

That's all for now.

Update #1

The show is now underway, and what better way to start than free food and alcohol! I got to talk shop with the AVSIM staff writer, as well as one of Boeings flight simulation developers not to mention a certain international third party dev team working on a very extensive A320 series sim product.

Will report more tomorrow. For now nicnacjak is at the gate and shutting down.

Update #2
Saturday November 10th, 2007

The main day of Fancon has now come to a close. But, oh what a day it was! I spent most of my day at the conference sessions learning as much as I could from the shows presenters.

P.I. Engineering was the first up with recommendations on how to make ground based scenery look more realistic. Although most of their work is more applicable to train sim, the FS modeler can also gain a lot from their insight.

Next up was Raynald Bedard of Embry-Riddle University. His talk was based around the FSX mission system and the way that he and a team of his students have been able to add an advanced scoring system to the missions. Although the original intent of this system was to assist in training students as the university, the technology developed for this is being brought into the flight simulation community. During the show visitors were able to play missions that qualified them to be part of the FanCon Fly-Off. The winner of the event received a $25,000 scholarship to Embry-Riddle.

The next talk saw PMDG premiering an early version of their MD11 aircraft. It goes without saying that this was a very exciting presentation. The crowds went wild and the complexity of the simulation was plainly evident. After the premier, the software was demoed at PMDGs booth. Although I didn't get a chance to play with it, it’s on the top of my to do list for day 3!

Following these talks I went to spend sometime on the show floor. The impending release of the PC12 for FSX courtesy of Flight1 has got me excited. There is also AirSimmer, who is currently working a very realistic model of the A320. Although getting the fly-by-wire- system right is clearly a big hurdle, the demo I saw this weekend was very promising. I also stopped to have a chat with Captain Mike Ray, one of two former 747-400 pilots that I talked to today! Captain Ray has a new manual out covering the A320, a handy asset to have aboard.

Next it was back to the talks to hear from Aces themselves. It would appear as if they are putting a very heavy emphasize on feeding the community of payware add on developers. Their eventual goal is to make both flight and train sims more direct portals to the third party community that they support. Although this doesn't mean a whole lot in the short term, the implications are very positive for the long term. MS hopes to make further strides towards their goals with Train Sim 2 and more improvements with the inevitable release of the next FS incarnation.

I wrapped up my day by joining the World Flight endeavor with the 763 and a very advanced flight deck environment. Sure, I made that approach into Russia a little early but fun was had.

Got to shut down for the moment. Tomorrow there is a tour of the Boeing Plant and more talks and booths to visit. Don't forget to say hi if you are up here!

Update #3
Sunday November 11th, 2007

Well the conference is over and two wonderful 737-800 pilots have ensured that Nicnacjak is back on the ground in Phoenix.

Day three went rather quick. It stared out with a field trip to the Boeing Plant up in Everett, Washington. The sad news is that one is not allowed to take pictures as you tour the hangers where the 777 and 787 are made. Evan sadder news is that the hangers for my two favorite Boeing planes (the 737 and the 747) are not open to the public. On the bright side, though, it is very cool to see the assembly line for the triple 7 and getting a look at the original 787 and the beginnings of the second 787 was just cool.

Interestingly enough, Boeing has very few facilities for building aircraft at Boeing Field International, although, the museum of flight is located there. The 747, 767 and 787 are all made up in Everette at Pain Field. In the meantime the 737 is pumped out at Boeing's facilities in Renton.

There was a cool setup at the beginning of the tours that included a museum with the vertical stabilizer for the 747, the 727 flight deck, and a sample 787 cabin. I did get pictures of those! And, it the news department it looks like Boeing is trying to put an end to its 767 program. They are currently waiting on a bid from the us military for a possible version of the plane, but, should this fall through the flow of new 767s maybe drying up soon to be replaced by the 787. If production ceased, the 767 would join the 717, 757, 727 and 707 in the hall of retired Boeing airliners.

After returning to the Fancon conference, I found that things were beginning to wrap up. I attended the last talk on scenery development and plane modeling. Scenery to the (G)Max: Exploring New FSX Modeling Options by Bill Womack.

Not being a molder myself some of the techniques he mentioned went over my head. However, I was able to grasp the concept that G Max is a very handy tool for plane building in FSX, especially if you don't have the 6k needed to buy 3DS Max or Maya.

As the show floor was closing down, I walked by the SimTube booth where Cody Bergland of Jaggyroad films was showing one of his famous flight videos. A quick walk out to the main corridor lead be by the World Flight 767-300 which had just taken off on its last leg inbound for Boeing Field International. Flying around the world is no small task to be sure!

Once I was forced off the show floor by some nut who claimed the show was closing, I took my suite case and headed for the trusty 560 bus to SEA-TAC. I had thought of going by BFI, but, by the time the show ended all I had energy to do was sleep in the terminal as planes took off and landed on runway 16l. Finally, it was time to board the trusty 737-800 that would take me home. The air was a little choppy but not too bad. Upon arriving into Phoenix on runway 25l, I experienced the smoothest landing I have had in ages. The perfect ending to such a great trip!

My thanks to Sky Blue Radio for allowing me to take this trip. I would also like to thank Neil McNeight who helped to arrange the trip to the Boeing plant.

I hope to be returning again next year for now please stand by for photos and tune in at the normal times as I return to the airwaves this week.

PS the route for the return flight was SUMMA6.SUMMA ANGOO IMB NEERO SLOWN BERYL
CORKR.MAIER2

Since January of 2004 I have been working to earn my BA in Multimedia.

This podcast describes me in a professional sense and outlines my ability to contribute to projects. For more information on the projects and to view work samples please see my resume or send me an email .

Thanks,
Nicolas

Dear fellow game developers and journalists,

My name is Nicolas Jackson and I am a game designer that has been studying the craft in my personal and undergraduate educational time for the past five years. For the majority of this time, I have devoted myself to completing my undergraduate education on-site in Phoenix, Arizona at the University of Advancing Technology.

Since I am in my last semester (to be completed Dec. 19^th 2007) and am not required to be on site, I have decided to relocate to a game industry hub (Seattle or San Francisco) as soon as possible. This relocation is to take place no later than January 1st, 2008, though I am likely to relocate earlier provided an employment commitment.

Should any of you have employment opportunities or know of colleagues with opportunities that might allow me to move sooner, please let me know.

I have benefited greatly from the educational opportunities afforded to me by long standing relationship with colleagues such as yourselves. And, I can only imagine how much more I would be able to benefit from relationships like these while living in one of the industries central hubs. 

I am happy to travel to any central industry area as required. This week, for example, I will be traveling to the Bay Area.   

I specialize in game system design and balance, along with audio engineering and non-liner content creation. I am most interested in simulation development, however, I would enjoy contributing to most any game project that revolves around a complex system.                           

Thanks for your time and consideration. I look forward to many meetings in the cozy coffee shops that seem to pop up around industry hubs. Please find a copy of my resume and sample system design work attached to this message.

Sincerely,

Nicolas Jackson

During this show I mention a lot of the potential battles that I face in my personal life including: apathetic law enforcement agencies, landlords and educational institutions. I talk about ways to evaluate the quality of service you are getting from such organizations and some ways to determine if a laps in quality is worth fighting for. I also talk about the consumers and proprietors duties relative to customer service and quality. In the process I mention a few games and ideas relative to the game and entertainment industry.

As always, if you have questions or comments you can email me via the address nicnancjak@gmail.com. You can also instant message me with the id tag nicnacjak via most of the clients out there. I now have a Skype account with the same id. And don’t forget about my main website www.nicolasjackson.com.

In other news, I have started the process of applying for jobs within the game and multimedia industries. I am more then willing to relocate, so long as a firm employment contract has been signed. If you are a Game or Multimedia Industry employer and have an opportunity you think might work well for me please use the above contact information. If you are an industry employee and you know of an employer that might have something for me please use the same info to give me a heads up.

In still other news, technical difficulties have prevented me from posting this last weeks episode of The Let’s Talk Trains Show.* Apologies for the inconvenience, should the difficulties get resolved the files will be posted as per usual.  

Thanks,
Nicolas

*Episodes of The Let’s Talk Trains Show are only rebroadcast via this podcast temporarily as a “beta test�? of the shows success rate when distributed via downloadable MP3 and RSS podcast formats. These episodes are posted based upon an agreement with the copyright holder, SanDiegoRail, who is solely responsible for the shows content. The NicolasJakson.com Podcast and NicolasJackson.com Website is not responsible for the view or opinions expressed on The Let’s Talk Train Show.

With the exception of direct notations, The NicolasJackon.com Podcast, Radio Show and website and all content therein was developed and produced by Nicolas Jackson. Copyright 2000-2007. All Rights Reserved.

Hey all,

Just so things make sense I made myself a MySpace Music Page tonight so that's why some of you who haven't blocked friend requests from bands are thinking that I was requesting to be your friend twice. The two songs that I have up there are simple vocal demo with some EFX. Check them out and let me know what you think but please be nice I am nervous about making my music available to the public.

I have a new podcast as well as an edition of Let's Talk Trains that I hosted and board opted on available at my podcast page http://nicnacjak.libsyn.com. You can also get there via my website www.nicolasjackson.com.

The Myspace band page is located at www.myspace.com/nicolasjackson. Feel free to add and freely distribute the demos. This is one recoding artist who is putting their money (or lack thereof) where their mouth is by allowing free distribution of their music. This is a trend that will continue. I don't expect to make money from my music.

The website will get a bit of an update once I get my laptop and EHDD free of their current virus infections. I don't like the cruel realities of the modern Internet. If you have questions or comments email me nicnacjak@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Nicolas

Well folks, I took the Highway to Hell and now I am in Arizona, my new home. Things are going really well considering. But, if you think that means I have nothing to podcast about you would be proven wrong by the attached fourteen minutes and thirty four seconds worth of audio content.

In this episode I talk about transitioning to the desert and Arizona, balancing the many demands of life (or trying to anyway), standing up for student rights in a privet school, corporate America and its desire to be way to obsessed with the bottom line as opposed to product quality, and my desire to establish my self in a career and find myself a good home.

I was able to edit this thing for five hours and listen to it all the way though five times over so it must be good. Hope you enjoy enjoy it.

If you have comments, questions or suggestions please email me nicnacjak@gmail.com. I am also available at the nicnacjak address via MSN, Yahoo and AIM.

There will be a unique edition of the Let's Talk Trains Show this week streamed live from 10am-12pm PDT this Saturday (1700-1900z). Check out www.letstalktrains.us for more info. And, look for the archived show to be available via the letstalktrains.us website and this podcast feed by late Saturday/early Sunday

Peace and Love,
Nicolas

Hey folks this should be my last prerecoded podcast before I leave for AZ. This podcast is a lot like my early work. I spend most of my time talking about the personal hell I face in leaving the close proximity of San Francisco and moving back to Phoenix, which tends to be a lot more hostel to my soul.

Of course, I make a major point of seeing the positives in this change. My life is in Phoenix for better or worse (though assuming better). So the best course of action is to embrace it as my new home and try to make the best of the experience.

I also talk a bit about the challenges of podcasting, the album of songs that I am slowly putting together and my creative and personal dreams. For those of you with a sharp ear you will notice that I am trying something new in this show. I do apologize for the bad edits. I did the best I could.

Songs  Featured: Here I Go Again by Whitesnake
                         Dani California by The Red Hot Chile Peppers
                         Superman by Lazlo Bane (A Close match to the long Scrubs into edit)
                         Imagine By John Lennon

"You may say I am a dreamer
but I am not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world can live as one"

-John Lennon Imagine 1971

As always you may send me feedback via the email address nicnacjak@gmail.com

See everyone on Saturday for The Let's Talk Train Show 5pm-7pm GMT

Thanks,
Nicolas

This show ended up being much more personal then expected. Given that the highest rated shows on the podcast have been personal shows like this, though, I suppose that's a good thing.

Part 1

00:00-15:16

During the first half of the show I talk about how to get in touch with me during live shows. The toll phone number is (646)-716-7136 and my im id is nicnacjak@hotmail.com. I have not locked down a formal schedule for The NicolasJackson.com Radio Show as of yet, however, I will attempt to make listeners aware of when I schedule live shows.

After the formal introduction stuff I move on to the main topic of the day. I start out by explaining that LTT is on hiatus this week in honer of “Deceleration of Independence Day�?. What I failed to mention was that LTT will be live next Saturday from 10am-12pm PDT (6pm-8pm GMT) for the 5^th anniversary show. I also note that I called from a listeners place of residence in Phoenix, Arizona last week. The fun of meeting a caller/listener last week was not lost on me. However the energy required to get to Phoenix left me a little worn out and thus deserving of the hiatus (if I do say so myself).

I then move on to explain why I was in Phoenix and the challenges involved in realizing that my “life�? is 870 mi or 1400.12 k– about 13 hours 39 mins away. I relate this to the fact that I am currently in transition and refer back to the last time I was in transition (see my podcast episode Growing Up with Transitions. ) Despite everything being what it is, I make sure to acknowledge that life isn't all bad while in transition. And, even when my reaction to a transition has been less than desired, it has still resulted in positive things like my association with The Let's Talk Train Show, my interest in Internet broadcasting and my interest in game development and journalism.

Break: Just seek forward I currently do not have the ability to edit this audio
15:17-15:34

Part 2
15:35-30:11

I start off the second half of the show referring back to my love of broadcasting (even terrestrial thanks to Jim Howell and KZFR), game development and game journalism. I also share my philosophy on experience: it maybe painful but its the only way to learn. I then move on to explaining how Whitesnake's Here I Go Again represents where I am in life right now. I also refer to the journey that I've gone through over the past few months that can be represented by Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams and as I've come out on the positive side of the transition Whitesnake's Here I Go Again.

I go on to acknowledge that this show has been more personal in nature than my more recent podcasts. However, this type of show seems to be much more consistent with what my core audience enjoys so I will continue to produce episodes of this nature so long as I get positive feedback about them. I also bring up the concept of privatization and keeping my public life separate on some level from my privet one.

I end the show by talking about the field of Internet broadcasting and my desire to bring other netcasters onto the show to ban together and talk about the nature of the medium. I also make a point of reminding people that small shows like NicolasJackson.com Radio, The NicolasJackson.com Podcast and The Let's Talk Train Show (to a lesser extent) are not run for profit. They are run because putting the shows together is enjoyable and as entertainers we take pleasure in entertaining others. If we choose to add polish to our broadcasts by playing copyrighted music we should be charged a fee. However this fee should be in line with our production motivations. For more info on this topic please see http://www.savethestreams.org/.

As always thanks for listening. Comments, Questions, Suggestions, and Constructive Criticisms are welcome.

E-mail: nicnacjak@gmail.com

MSN: nicnacjak@hotmail.com

url: http://www.nicolasjackson.com

NicolasJackson.com Podcast: http://nicnacjak.libsyn.com/

NicolasJackson.com Radio Show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?show_id=37213

Thanks,

Nicolas

Hey all,

The six segments from this weeks LTT show are up on this site. Keep in mind that this is something that is still in the experimental phase. When the newer version of the LTT website gets firmly established, I will simply provide links to the website where a podcast for LTT should be hosted. If you are a LTT listener and you like having the show delivered as a podcast please subscribe to this feed so we can use the subscription numbers to help justify  the additional cost of putting together a dedicated podcast feed for LTT.

Like last week, just scroll down to download this weeks show segments and if you have comments please send them to: ltt@letstalktrains.us or suggestions@letstalktrains.us

Now for more personal news. I am traveling to Phoenix this week in an effort to hunt for apartments (studios or 1 bedroooms) and talk to a few of my professors about  the dynamics involved  in finishing  the program. If you are in the Phoenix area and know me on a personal level please give me a call.

In still other news, I have been playing FSX in preparation for the review. Don't expect it for a few weeks. The production pipeline for prerecorded podcasts may end up changing due to the complexity of that goal.

Thats if for now,
Nicolas

I must be in the mood for setting records because I have yet another podcast for you. During this show I start of by taking care of some house cleaning. I then move on to a much touted topic Sim Game Design. I talk about the systemic and the mimetic sims and what can be done to improve these sims based on basic game design theory (game world, player motivation and context) and how these lessons can be applied to game design as a whole.

For my next prerecorded podcast I pan on doing a detailed review of FSX!

In the meantime, you may send me comments or questions by emailing me nicnacjak@gmail.com.

And don't forget that this weeks episode of Let's Talk Trains is available on this feed. Just scroll down an entry or three.

Until next time,
Nicolas

P.S. Does anyone know of free MP3 encoding software? Sound Forge is whining about letting me encode in mp3 for free. Silly Sony.

In my continuing effort to gain more experience in broadcasting, I have started a live streaming radio show called NicolasJackson.com Radio at  BlogTalkRadio.com. The show page, which is still being put together is located at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nicolasjackson.

This show is to be an extension of my podcast and website with two important differences. A: The show is live and unedited. So what is said during recording is what ends up in the final file. B: This show will be designed around the idea that people will interact during the live show. This may come to include prescheduled guests and any one who wants to call the toll number (646) 716-7136 during the live show.

I still plan on releasing regular podcasts as often as I can. As of right now, NicolasJackson.com Radio is still in its infancy and is in need of a regular broadcast time and show format. I would also like to see if I can get a co-host and a fairly established rotation of guests to join me.

No matter what the future may hold for NicolasJckson.com, my podcast or NicolasJackson.com Radio you can always expect to find updates and information right here at www.nicolasjackson.com

As always, you are welcome to email me with comments and suggestions. nicnacjak@gmail.com

P.S. If you are looking for this weeks LTT Show please scroll down a few entries.

Ok folks as promised here is the lastest Podcast. It took four hours to put together so you really can't fault me for takeing an 8 month break. In it I explain what I've been up to and try to get the LTT audience to give me an idea of what they think of the podcasting medioum.

If you have comments for me you can send them to nicnacjak@gmail.com

This weeks editon of the Let's Talk Train Show is posted in two seperate entires below. So if you are looking for that just scroll on down.

Thanks,
Nicolas