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I noted that you have a released Moscow-Pullman airport for X-plane.  Would love to see that work shared with the FSX/P3D community.  Any plans for this?

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  • 4 weeks later...
On ‎4‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 1:25 AM, Mathijs Kok said:

No other versions are currently planned.

Sorry to hear that, I was really hoping it would be released later for P3D.

 

I went to school at University of Idaho in Moscow, also very familiar with Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman - known to us as

"Waa-Zoo", or just "The Zoo"! The drinking age in Washington was 21, but only 19 in Idaho when I was there, so we got a lot of students

visiting from "The Zoo"!

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The forum went tech today which is something that happens from time to time and isn't a big deal.

However I still think it would be a good idea to just put a short message on Aerosoft's facebook. and maybe somewhere on AS website regarding it.

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16 hours ago, Griffin78 said:

The forum went tech today which is something that happens from time to time and isn't a big deal.

However I still think it would be a good idea to just put a short message on Aerosoft's facebook. and maybe somewhere on AS website regarding it.

To be fair, there was a messsage at the top of the forum page for the past couple days warning people in advance.

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22 hours ago, Griffin78 said:

The forum went tech today which is something that happens from time to time and isn't a big deal.

However I still think it would be a good idea to just put a short message on Aerosoft's facebook. and maybe somewhere on AS website regarding it.

 

We did announce it for 48 hours here. But you are 100% correct, that would have been far better. And indeed, I made it a new rule!

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On 21.4.2016 at 04:37, Ripcord sagte:

 

I noted that you have a released Moscow-Pullman airport for X-plane.  Would love to see that work shared with the FSX/P3D community.  Any plans for this?

 

If we find a better way to get an airport from X-Plane into FSX world it may happen. We are working on this item in general.

 

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On 7/1/2016 at 3:07 PM, Mathijs Kok said:

thumbliner, best to do requests here: http://forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?/topic/111371-request-a-airportaircrafttool-thread/

 

Sorry about that. Got confused.

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I'm based in FAO for the moment and had Holiday Airports before. Now I switched to P3D v3 I don't have FAO anymore. Any new release planned?

 

Just a question. Not critics at all. Understand it is hard to keep up with LM's new releases. Love your products. Will stay loyal ;)

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Hi RomeoMike,

 

at present nobody is working on a new version of Faro.

So it may take a few months to have it compatible to P3D.

 

Sorry, but none of our devs is free at present.

 

Kind regards

Winfried

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2 hours ago, wdiekmann said:

Hi RomeoMike,

 

at present nobody is working on a new version of Faro.

So it may take a few months to have it compatible to P3D.

 

Sorry, but none of our devs is free at present.

 

Kind regards

Winfried

 

Thank you Winfried for your reply. A few months is better than I expected.

Just a guess: the same is true for Lisbon?

 

And just out of curiosity, how many devs are working for aerosoft and how many emplyees do you have?

 

Thank you,

 

Ralf

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Hello,
sorry for writing in German.
Mathijs told me, we can do so. If he answers, it will be in English and for the use of everybody.
(And if not, it won't bother any other ;-)

Mein erster Wunsch an das Management wäre, nicht gleich alle Ideen "abzubügeln".
Ich weiß, es ist nur die Höflichkeit, möglichst schnell eine Antwort zu geben, den Kunden nicht im Unklaren zu lassen sowie einen Erklärungsversuch dafür zu geben, dass so etwas nicht im Programm ist.
Und ja, ich mag lieber eine offene, ehrliche Antwort, auch wenn sie ablehnend ist, als eine falsche Bauchpinselei.

Aber für die Idee im Sinne von Brainstorming ist es sicher besser, wenn nicht gleich eine Antwort kommt, sondern der Gedanke im Hinterkopf schlummern darf und vielleicht kommen dann zu gegebener Zeit weitere Gedanken dazu und es ergibt sich dann doch vielleicht eine Chance.

Beispiel Dolomiten von Frank Dainese
(Nein, ich möchte das Thema nicht wieder aufwärmen und akzeptiere die Antwort, aber eben nur als Beispiel)
Ich denke mal, die Zeit hat nicht ausgereicht, sich intensiver mit dieser Szenerie auseinander zu setzen.
Und es war auch mein Fehler, das Thema nicht genügend zu untermauern. Im Internet gibt es ja einige Videos darüber - das hätte ich verlinken können/müssen. Weiter hätte ich darauf hinweisen können, dass Franks amerikanische Szenerie Monument Valley bei Orbx veröffentlicht wurde. Bei ihm dürfte es also keine Risiken bzgl. Qualität, Kompatibilität und Performance geben.
Da ja Aerosoft schon lange keine Landschafts-Szenerien mehr veröffentlicht hat (so weit ich weiß), wäre mit den Dolomiten und dem Mount Everest mit Umgebung (incl. Lukla) die Chance gegeben, hier mal wieder eine Box anzubieten.
Um das Risiko der Box zu minimieren, hätte man ja _beispielsweise_ (!) folgenden Versuch starten können:
die ersten zehn oder zwanzig Besteller hätten die Szenerie auf USB-Stick erhalten und je nach Bestell-Eingang könnte man dann entscheiden, ob und in welcher Auflage man eine DVD-Box anbietet. Nach meinen Informationen soll das schon ab einer Auflage von ca. 500 Stück ausreichend preisgünstig sein. Im anderen Fall hätte sich _vielleicht_ eine kleine Partnerfirma wie z.B. Sabasoft darüber gefreut, eine Art Download-Service zu übernehmen.
Das sind nur "Schnapsideen"; aber es zeigt, dass da vieles denkbar ist, wenn man den Gedanken nur freien Raum und etwas Zeit lässt . . .

Im Sinne diese Beitrags erwarte ich jetzt keine Antwort; ich werde demnächst weitere Wünsche posten und hoffe dann auf ein offenes Ohr und Platz im Hinterkopf statt schneller Antwort.
Danke für das Lesen bis hierhin
und ein schönes Wochenende (gehabt zu haben)
Jochen

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I am sure my CEO will reply, but I can tell you that your idea, while innovative is very impractical and would be very expensive. A DVD is many many times cheaper and in the current market sufficient to cover the users who prefer prefer boxed over download. After all, if you prefer that chances are almost 100% you got a DVD drive right?  99% (if not more) of boxed delivery includes a dvd, personally I have never even seen a box with a USB key.

 

For boxed the production costs determine fully what the profit will be and every cent counts.

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Hallo Jochen,

 

Grundsätzlich versuchen wir alle Ideedn, die eine reale Chance auf Realisierung haben, aufzunehmen.

Eine Szenerie der Dolomiten ist auf jeden fall interessant, weil sie ja sc hön zur Austria Pro passt, deren 2. Teil in den nächsten Wochen kommen wird.

Ich bin mir aber nicht sicher, ob es Dir mehr darum geht, dass wir da eine Box machen oder dass wir generell so ein Produkt anbieten?

Grundsätzlich würden wir bei einer solchen Szenerie auch eine Box in Erwägung ziehen.

Ich bin mir aber nicht sicher, ob es schon Kontakte zu Frank Dainese gab und ob es da vielleicht Schwierigkeiten gab. (Der Produktmanager ist leider gerade inn Urlaub)

 

Ich binn hier auf jeden Fall offen, für Ideen.

 

Viele Grüße

Winfried

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On 2016-07-09 at 5:39 PM, Mathijs Kok said:

I am sure my CEO will reply, but I can tell you that your idea, while innovative is very impractical and would be very expensive. A DVD is many many times cheaper and in the current market sufficient to cover the users

who prefer prefer boxed over download. After all, if you prefer that chances are almost 100% you got a DVD drive right?  99% (if not more) of boxed delivery includes a dvd, personally I have never even seen a box with a USB key.

 

For boxed the production costs determine fully what the profit will be and every cent counts.

 

For desktop computers yes, but many newer laptops does not have a DVD drive and I can see a case for physical copies for those who have a limited internet connection in some way.

As for boxed usb-keys. Microsoft ships WIndows 10 on a boxed USB-key for those who want a physical copy. I have no idea about games though since I buy my games through steam nowadays.

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People who do not want a download AND who want a physical copy AND who have no DVD drive = a very small group.

 

It was for sure an issue with for example X-Plane that was until rather recently only available on DVD, thus making it very hard for many Apple users to install it. When it was released as download many people told us they were happy. But I can't remember anyone asking for a USB key version. Like I say download and STEAM rule these days. You always have the last version and it's easy as sliced bread these days.

 

 

 

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Hello Winfried,
thank you very much for sharing the interest in the dolomites. This is one of the most fascinating regions of the alps.
I fully agree to your opinion, that the scenery would perfectly fit to "Austria Professional HD West" - of course to "Approaching Innsbruck" as well.

I'm excited how the things will develop in this case.
Best wishes
Jochen

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Hello Aerosoft,

 

I am what I consider a "good" customer as I have spent a reasonable sum of money across an 8-year period with Aerosoft and I am, on the whole, a satisfied customer.  I have no idea if my $4,044.87 across 117 orders is high, low, or in the middle, but it suggests a high year of $753.81 and a low year of $205.01.  Put another way, I feel that I have yielded a decent amount of discretionary spending in support of my own hobby desires, and thus also in support of Aerosoft. I only quote my Aerosoft expenditures above, the figure across other markets and vendors is obviously higher.  Generally, while these expenditures entitles me to use of the products purchased, and nothing else, generally, many in business do want good customer relations, hence this very thread.  I offer some perspective on two areas of your business below.

 

It is in more recent years that I am spending less money with Aerosoft as I find Aerosoft to acting in a confusing manner as the simulation environment evolves.  I am mainly speaking about how P3D is being handled and how you act as a reseller of 3rd party titles.  As P3D continues to evolve, and provides what feels like the best environment moving forward (FSX lineage with good innovation and a very clear path for developers), Aerosoft's overall response in recent years is challenging for me as a customer.  Frequently, Aerosoft employees will maintain "we are just the publisher", or "we are just a retailer."  Be that as it may, it does not feel like the same customer experience that made Aerosoft dominant in the height of the FSX era.  Incidentally, this FSX era is when I was offering a much greater patronage.  Now, I realize that the P3D platform may be difficult as the 1.4 to 2.5 to 3.3.5 transition was a moving target.  However, I wonder why you do not commit resources to co-evolve with P3D?  Did it require the 5-7 years of "stagnation" from 2007-2014, before FSX Steam and P3D 2.0+ arose, in order to be as prolific with FSX boxed titles? If the development cycle is that difficult, it would be nice to know. 

 

My inquiry today addresses just a small portion of your business: P3D (the worst section of the shop as it does little to distinguish for the customer when/where support is for 1.4, 2.5 or 3.x in any consistent manner) and your reselling of 3rd party content. As a side note, the US version of your shop is also the worst: it is frequently not up-to-date and is the lesser eCommerce experience as compared to what seems the the european version of the shop.

 

A trigger for my inquiry (and occasion for writing in this thread) is a specific instance of the "deal with it, we're just the messenger" approach I more recently encounter (indirectly as I don't write on the issue as much) in terms of customer service that is evident in this thread: 

While the specific matter is closed (along with the thread), it raises questions.  I feel that I am shopping at a different Aerosoft recently than just a few years ago.  I feel as though the product base is somewhat "scattered" and my own sense of "caveat emptor" is higher than ever.

 

Thus, my observation is that Aerosoft, as a company, has a more diffuse focus than would have been the case a few years ago for some of the following reasons:

 

P3D Support

  • Aerosoft seems to be largely ignoring the trend towards P3D among the MS Flight Simulator crowd.  I have to believe that this "thread" of simmers must be, traditionally, your largest.  Perhaps they are still on FSX, but it feels like FS2004/FSX tandem support was far more common than FSX/P3D support.  This is so even as, for the large part, the SDKs from Microsoft/Lockeed Martin, respectively, make for a reasonable possibility of support.  
  • This seemed ignorance of P3D is in the face of the following marketing materials straight from the front page of Lockheed Martin's website for Prepar3d: "Prepar3D furthers the development of Microsoft® ESP™ while maintaining compatibility with Microsoft Flight Simulator X, allowing many thousands of add-ons to be used within Prepar3D."
  • If you would like for me, the customer, to support upgrading and testing efforts to ensure product stability in P3D - as you may recompile older products - then I would understand and support that.  However, for large segments of your FSX products, there is little indication that these products will see the light of day.  Perhaps, our ecosystem isn't ready for quick change? The time spanse from FS2004 to FSX was 3 years; it took from Fall 2013 to Fall 2015 between versions 2 and 3 of P3D.  Is P3D a target that moves to quickly?  Or, is P3D just a non-concern as its market is too small to support?

3rd Party Reselling

  • Your forward support of 3rd-party titles you sell through your store can be poor: my examples are not only the thread I've referenced above with regards to the Polish Airports title from Drzewiecki Design, but also with Carenado products .  Specifically, as another illustration, why is there no discount or even availability for the C90 GTX KING AIR HD SERIES product as a result of having previously purchased the C90B?

Focus

  • Your diversity in simming endeavors gives the impression that you are willing to go shallow in some of your fundamental business sectors - I am again alluding to lukewarm and lackluster P3D support as compared to FS2004, FSX, and even X-Plane.  

 

My incentive to buy any title from you that you have not developed in house is now absolutely zero at this point, which is fine as I am sure you operate in markets where your conveyance of these 3rd party products is convenient in that market.  Honestly, some of your competitors, who at one time I felt were inferior to you, offer a much greater level of service AND seem to be attracting many of the developers willing to serve what is marketed as a truly cross-platform segment: the FSX/P3D "realm."  Notwithstanding the volatility of P3D itself (the June 2016 stunt Lockheed Martin pulled where they crippled old scenery for about a week or so), the P3D segment of simmer, who incidentally may also represent those who more readily spend money on sim addons (consider the price of the product itself), seems to be mostly passed by at Aerosoft.  To be fair, most new titles are cross-platform, but it feels like many old titles are forgotten.  Do we need to subsidize these with a fee for the cross/upgrade?  Please just say so. I would understand and pay.  Let's use the example of Mega Airport Dusseldorf.  Why a P3D 2.5 installer and not one for 3.x?  Since I understand an employee must create a new installer, do you need me to help pay for that?  If so, just ask.

 

On the whole, I plan to continue to support you as many of your home-grown products, the Airbus 320 series comes to mind, offer INCREDIBLE value. Further, I don't think you are an inherently "bad actor" by any measure.  Thus, I do not want to paint you with a broad brush that says "Aerosoft sucks" as that isn't true and isn't how I feel.  Rather, I ask why some aspects feel somewhat neglected or out of step with what I consider to be, on the whole, a very healthy company and force in the flight simulation community.

 

I will conclude with questions:

  • Why is an upgrade of your FSX product line (particularly German airports) to P3D not an apparent priority for you?
  • Why do you seem to act in what appears to be customer unfriendly ways when you resell 3rd party products?
  • Where is your leadership in informing customers about platform support? Specifically, if you have some inherent problem/reservation in supporting P3D, what is that problem? Is there something about that platform that you have reservations about?

Thank you for listening.

 

JB

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Hi JB,

Thank you for your long email.

 

Let me explain the situation in flight simulation as it is.

While ten years ago we had to provide addons and compatibility for one or two versions of the Microsoft Flight Simulator the market today is divided into 4 versions of FS and X-Plane.

In general the total number of sales have increased a little bit while the costs for development, support, quality control are 2-3 times higher than before.

And in the same time the number of products have doubled so we needed to focus our support onto the main products.

We still have support on allproducts in our store but for 3rd party we don't have all needed information about products so we need to ask the developers or the companies.

And of course we only can sell updates or new products if the supplier is sending the relevant information to us.

 

Regarding your questions:

- We are pushing our developers hard to make their products compatible and many of them have already done it or will come soon. Sometimes the problems cause by P3D are really not solved.

But we don't know if P3D will still exist in one year because it is not a main business of Lockheed. So some developers prefer to create new products instead bringing old ones onto P3D.

- Because we are only a retailer without special rights. We can ask 3rd parties but we have no other option than asking.

- At present we can only see one platform which is in a steady development and that is X-Plane. So it is quite difficult to focus on one platform or to enforce developer to do so.

 

In general Aerosoft is still mainly a flightsim company and the only company worldwide which supports all FS shows and magazines.

 

Kind regards

Winfried

 

 

 

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