My point is that the number you're seeing in RealFlight is not the same as what is being exported from Max, and comparing the two straight across is misleading.
The count you see in RealFlight includes dynamically added frames and their associated glow frames, which are not part of the actual model and do not count toward the poly limit.
The count in RealFlight also includes glow and blur frames. The former are only rendered at night. The latter are only rendered when certain parts are spinning in the sim (of course, some other frames that were being rendered are faded out at that point). These frames do count toward the poly limit.
We have stated previously that our artists sometimes exceed the poly limit for the purpose of adding glow and blur frames to a model, but they do not exceed the poly limit for the main visuals (and they try to limit how often they do this at all). We have also said that we recognize that option is unavailable to you guys and that we'd like you to have the same kind of wiggle room.
Some specifics might help. Let's look at the Synergy N5 from EP8.
RealFlight reports 26343 visual triangles.
After we exclude dynamic frames (heli rotor blades in this case) and their glow, which are not actually part of the model, that leaves 23579 triangles for the model itself out of Max.
From that starting point, let's exclude the main models' glow frames. That leaves 23205.
Now let's exclude the blur frames. That gives us a count of 19477 visual triangles for the model itself.
If we end up not raising the poly limit across the board, I still want to explore adding some similar flexibility for you guys in this area.
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That 10k figure you mentioned was a self-imposed target, not a hard limit. It does not include the types of frames mentioned above. And it is from several years ago.