How to Upgrade to RealFlight Evolution from a RealFlight 9 DVD Edition

Ryan Douglas

Ryan Douglas

Administrator
Staff member
If you are a RealFlight 9.5 DVD edition user who would like to upgrade to RealFlight Evolution at the discounted price, you can!

All you need to do is first exchange your RealFlight serial number for a Steam key at this site: https://keyexchange.realflight.com/

Redeem your key on Steam for your copy of RealFlight 9.5S, then you can select the lower-price “Upgrade from RealFlight 9.5” option on the Evolution store page on Steam. (You don't need to actually install RF9.5S for this to work.)

Though this is subject to change, at this point we intend to keep the key exchange site running for quite a while.
 
I'd like to upgrade mine at the free price.
That's only right.
And I'm pretty sure everyone else who bought the boxed set from a local hobby store or preferred online trusted vendor and updated it to 9.5S
Feels strongly the same.
Please pass this on to the decision makers that came up with this.
And if you are one of the decision makers please give it some thought.
Thanks.
 
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N8LBV said:
I'd like to upgrade mine at the free price.
That's only right.
And I'm pretty sure everyone else who bought the boxed set from a local hobby store or prefeered online trusted vendor and updated it to 9.5S
Feels strongly the same.
Please pass this on to the decision makers that came up with this.
And if you are one of the decision makers please give it some thought.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
I feel the same. I'm leaving terrible reviews everywhere I can because of this price gouging.
 
I totally agree with the others. Coming from the IT software development business I fully appreciate the the time & effort that goes into developing new releases. These releases should only be half the cost of the recommended RRP for existing users. With each release there may be on one or few things I'd like to have in each release & the way you are marketing your release upgrades makes it a very expensive thing to do. Being an experienced flyer now I would rather spend the $100 plus on other accessories
 
Ryan Douglas said:
If you are a RealFlight 9.5 DVD edition user who would like to upgrade to RealFlight Evolution at the discounted price, you can!

All you need to do is first exchange your RealFlight serial number for a Steam key at this site: https://keyexchange.realflight.com/

Redeem your key on Steam for your copy of RealFlight 9.5S, then you can select the lower-price “Upgrade from RealFlight 9.5” option on the Evolution store page on Steam. (You don't need to actually install RF9.5S for this to work.)

Though this is subject to change, at this point we intend to keep the key exchange site running for quite a while.
Click to expand...
Why should it cost anything? I did not purchase the entire system only to find out I have to pay for future up grades.
 
chuckywhiskers said:
I feel the same. I'm leaving terrible reviews everywhere I can because of this price gouging.
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I would have thought Horizon would have brought this up when I reported the issue, but they did not they were more interested in what operating system I had and continued to address me as having Windows 10. It did work for the first few hours and now I just see a non-responsive screen. It will work on my windows 10 laptop but not on my windows 11. If they have made changes, they owe us all a free set of replacement disks with the changes built into them. I purchased the entire set from them, and that set should work on all of my PCs. If they have made changes then seel that upgrade but do not punish those who in good faith purchased a flight simulator.
 
Steve Balazs said:
I would have thought Horizon would have brought this up when I reported the issue, but they did not they were more interested in what operating system I had and continued to address me as having Windows 10. It did work for the first few hours and now I just see a non-responsive screen. It will work on my windows 10 laptop but not on my windows 11. If they have made changes, they owe us all a free set of replacement disks with the changes built into them. I purchased the entire set from them, and that set should work on all of my PCs. If they have made changes then seel that upgrade but do not punish those who in good faith purchased a flight simulator.
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It looks like (in your other thread) that you are using the Intel 12th Generation Processor and your system is using the Built-In Graphics which presently doesn't support one of the DX9 functions RealFlight Evolution uses. They said they talked to Intel about it and ask anyone with the problem to report it to Intel too. So you might see if you can report the problem to Intel. If that's the problem it's a problem they can't fix. (And so far it looks like that's your problem) See your other thread I asked for a screenshot of the Sys Info - Components - Display page, that will show what graphics your desktop is using.
 
Steve Balazs said:
Why should it cost anything? I did not purchase the entire system only to find out I have to pay for future up grades.
Click to expand...
Why should updated versions be free? You get free updates for the life of the simulator which stops when the new version is released. So if you purchase RF9 you get updates from the very first day to the last supported day. Same thing with the Evolution software. You never get the next whole number version of Realflight for free, unless you purchased during a specific time period shortly before the next release.
 
It would be understandable if you were complaining about bug fixes and stability updates but they are giving you more than you paid for when they let you download updates for free for a time. You knew what you were buying (and you did) and later they designed new planes/flying sites and then just gave them to you! Then once they sit down in a finances meeting and determine they had put enough time and resources to justify/require charging again, they charge again. They even let you upgrade half a version and I believe in some cases a full version...for FREE. They actually go to great lengths to ensure nobody feels like they got the shaft. Why does everybody think the world owes them something?? Its not one bit just millenials either. Its all the way from kids to old people these days. Hate to get all weird on here but its awful frustrating. Before you go thinking I'm a crotchety old man I'm not. Crotchety young man at 30 ;)
 
Did you originally own the DVD edition of RF9 and then exchange that for a 9.5S Steam key? That's what this thread is about.

This thread discusses the free and discounted upgrade options. Assuming the above, the "Upgrade from RealFlight 9.5" option is the one that applies to you, and £79.09 is correct in your currency.
 
If I buy a new computer, can I also install RF Evolution on it? Can I still fly RF E on the original computer to see which is better? What is the difference between Remotely Install and Install now if Steam is Installed?
 
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I'm trying to remember exactly how the key exchange process works... I think you should have received your key via email, is that correct? I expect that email to have included either some instructions about how to redeem it or a link to a page containing such instructions. Was there nothing like that? They would look like this.

RealFlight 9.5S is no longer available for purchase on the Steam store, but it still exists there for anybody who owns it. Unless you're feeling very generous, though, you don't want to buy it on the Steam store; you already have a key that will grant it to you for free. You just need to redeem that key.

Once you have done that, 9.5S will exist in your library as an uninstalled piece of software associated with your account, and at that point you will be able to purchase the discounted "Upgrade from RealFlight 9.5" option for Evolution. You do not need to actually install 9.5S (although you can if you feel like it for any reason).
 
Ryan Douglas said:
I'm trying to remember exactly how the key exchange process works... I think you should have received your key via email, is that correct? I expect that email to have included either some instructions about how to redeem it or a link to a page containing such instructions. Was there nothing like that? They would look like this.

RealFlight 9.5S is no longer available for purchase on the Steam store, but it still exists there for anybody who owns it. Unless you're feeling very generous, though, you don't want to buy it on the Steam store; you already have a key that will grant it to you for free. You just need to redeem that key.

Once you have done that, 9.5S will exist in your library as an uninstalled piece of software associated with your account, and at that point you will be able to purchase the discounted "Upgrade from RealFlight 9.5" option for Evolution. You do not need to actually install 9.5S (although you can if you feel like it for any reason).
Click to expand...

The link for the key exchange page works just fine. The key is sent immediately on another web page, and it also gets sent in an email. If I had remembered to look at the "redeem your code" link on the key exchange page, redeeming the code would have been easier. It will work much easier if you first create a Steam account. I also installed Steam, which also seems to make the Evolution purchase easier (not sure that's necessary), but it explains (in so many words) a lot about Steam. Once you understand Steams thinking, everything is much easier. At least my waiting 2 years to start using RealFlight 9.5 saved me a lot of disappointment. As a beta tester and webmaster, my expectations are much higher than the usual new Steam member.

When I finished the Evolution purchase and looked at my account, I found that RF 9.5s and Evolution were both in my Library and I can still run RF 9.5 on this computer. Next step will be to install Evolution.

I have more than one desktop, such as the several Windows 10 and 11 systems I built to test Windows Insider builds and "production" builds (Windows 11 is still a beta situation). I have no email on this computer for increased security. Steam automatically adds "Steam Guard Account
Security if you log in with a different computer. So far, it's been EVERY TIME I LOG IN! At my age more trips up and down the stairs to get Steam Guard codes aggravates my arthritis. Once I can "trial and error find" answers to this issue, I may re-activate Steam Guard. I know there are a number of other solutions to this issue. Security has many issues, such as BitLocker not preventing Spammers from sending malware links in emails. So much for encrypted drives. Encryption works because every little bit helps to make hacking to much work for little reward.

Looks like it will take more time to ensure that I have good answers and understanding of Steam before I start publishing my experiences on the club website. I will also be updating display adapters now that prices are moderating for higher performance adapters to see if RF image quality improves.

I still haven't found an answer to: What is the difference between "Remotely Install" and "Install now if Steam is Installed" Steam web page links? Nothing? Somewhere I saw an article on installing on a home computer from a remote commuter, if I recall correctly, but that makes no sense to this new Steam user. Is this to avoid installing Steam on other computers running RF at the beach house or just upstairs? If so, I'll search for this article.

Edit: Response from Steam Support: Remote Install allows you to install games on a computer without physically being there using a separate device (such as a smart phone or another computer) - "installing now" just lets you install the game locally.
 
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Here's the help page on Steam Guard.
help.steampowered.com

Steam Support - I am having trouble with Steam Guard

Log in to your Steam account to get help with your Steam games, contact Steam Support, request refunds, and more. Help is also available if you can't log in, need to reset your password, or recover a hijacked account.
help.steampowered.com help.steampowered.com

The FAQ says that if you're being asked for a code repeatedly for the same device, then it has something to do with either high security settings in your browser (removing/preventing cookies) or a registry cleaner removing things it may write there.

As for more features of the Web page, all I can say is that I hardly ever look at the Web page since I installed the Steam software on the PC. The You can do everything you need to from inside the PC software, including activating Steam codes and managing installation. The game won't run without Steam installed on the PC, so there's no way to avoid installing Steam on another computer. I imagine that "Remote Install" would tell the Steam PC software to initiate an install if it's not already configured to automatically install new things added to your library.
 
will my rf-x controler from rf 8 work with 9.5 or evolution , and can anybody help me with the upgrades on rf8 ,im version 8.00.056 . all previous links seem to be broken online
 
@ImManson, yes, the InterLink-X from RF-X is supported in RealFlight 9.5 and Evolution.

I'm not sure what upgrades you're asking about. 8.00.056, which you have, is the highest available version of RF8. There is no upgrade path from RF8 to Evolution.
 
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