Indeed, you get newb slapped if you misbehave or get 'too ranty' simply because we like clean forums - the FPSC section is particularly strict because so many people make useless posts or posts that don't do any good and by putting you on moderation they can show you what posts they don't mind you making and which ones they don't without having a long argument/discussion over it (Imagine the time it would take to explain everything to every person that breaks a rule or makes a persistent misbehaviour of themselves.)
Rants about the company however aren't wanted in the forum, discussions about it are (well not duplicated discussions of course)
Reading your thread there, I'd like to say this:
FPSC utilizes DirectX 9, that's its purpose, though it doesn't use shaders, but it can be modified for that use.
FPSC X10 utilizes DirectX 10 for the next step in game creation (a pre-emptive move if you like) DirectX 10 is not compatible with Windows XP or earlier versions and the current DirectX 10 graphics cards are the high end ones that can only handle the amount of power it has.
As for the price, TGC have to make money from the product, if it's too cheap, they might not be able to pay their bills or staff or even themselves. When you consider the prices of game engines and 3D models, you'll find FPSC is very cheap. Torque being one of the next ones up, though it has a lot more features, starts at $150 for the 3D version (without shaders) with models packs that cost more and is much much harder to use.
It's a shame it isn't as affordable as some might wish, but consider that 3D game creation (especially 'next gen' game creation) isn't cheap and FPSCX10 is probably the most affordable complete engine out there, even if it is restricted to FPS games.
mjoðr er lekker
