Hangar

Uhm...by the way...I know the 5 of you here think this site is pure gold and all...so would it be too much trouble to have the front page of X-plane news on this site updated a little more often?...It's been 6 friggen months already since the owner has bothered...might be a good idea to build things up around here...ya think?

It's amazing how you can comment on this without even reading or comprehending my posts, doesn't surprise me of course...but you should really stick to what you know...whatever that is. - actually it's based on customer feedback for the last 15 years...might want to have a look around the net...you can't make this stuff up. - TBH out of the 2 or 3 really talented payware people who actually have their payware product currently on the x-plane market only 1 of them from what I've seen so far truly understand what's going on here and are actually using their brains when it comes to building their business and x-plane itself by actually bringing in some FSX'ers thru a new relationship he's forming with a successful FSX dev (ESDG)...that is LES (congrats to them, hope they do well)...too many other guys seem to be lost and stagnating for way too many years now. Some are even hurting the x-plane brand itself...I will refrain from naming anyone but again all you have to do is some serious reading/research to know who. - and this one just shows how you're commenting without even reading because you should already be aware that my answer is NO...it is NOT the size of the x-plane team or the x-plane software that is to blame for the 3rd party x-plane devs struggling for so many years now...to a large extent, it is the lack of understanding and experience among the 3rd party folks in providing a reason to FSX'ers to come on over to x-plane. MS never built the market you see today...it was/is the 3rd party devs and resellers...and if x-plane ever really takes off (no pun) it'll be due to the 3rd party devs and sellers once again...well, the smart ones anyway...not the idiots who have been killing it lately. Oh and by the way smart-arse...the MSFS market IS the X-plane market....they are one in the same...wake UP!

yep...that's what I do alright...I've spent the last 20 years or so online trolling as you say by reading every syllable of posts that strike a chord so that I can find a way somehow within those words to turn it and twist it the very best I can all in order to justify my own ignorance and continue feeling sorry for myself (which is why I put so much time into trolling!). You guys are comical. ...and no, Ben...I'm not talking out both sides of my face. I assure you I DO know what I'm talking about. I used to make my living by taking tiny little businesses just like some of you have here from making no money at all and turning them into viable companies that were not only able to pay the bills but also provided jobs to people. Perhaps you just aren't understanding the point. X-plane has been around for more than 2 decades...how long has x-pilot been around for now maybe 5 or 6 years or something?...and x-plane.org...certainly more than 10 or 12?...and how about some of the many other who I know for a fact make no real money and have been around?? The POINT IS...this sim and many of the struggling sellers and resellers are NOT new startups....yet, most if not all of you are all lagging far behind in what you could have accomplished by now...and from what I've seen it's really not the fault of the X-plane software. In fact the software itself is probably alot better than FSX technically speaking. If you can sit here day after day/year after year with deaf ears being so arrogant that you can't be bothered tuning into customer feedback (not just mine but from countless others all around the net posting their thoughts and feelings for years on end now) and maybe begin to realize that some changes need to be made for everyone's sake then you will simply continue to be left behind...especially if the FSX guys decide to step in...some of you will die off very quickly if that happens... yet there's no need for that. You don't care to listen...that's too bad...but someone had to say it...I'm budding my nose in where it's not wanted because of the site I'm posting it on...but i'm honestly only trying to help you guys...ALL of us. One last piece of friendly advice for those of you who don't get it yet...but seriously if you haven't figured this out on your own by now you have no future being self employed anyway, lol....your battle is not with FSX or P3D itself. It is with yourselves and you preconceived notions about what you THINK you are offering and the reality of what you REALLY ARE offering as compared to your only competition...which is the 3rd party devs and resellers in the FSX camp. You have in X-plane a very good base to build yourselves upon. Yet when it comes to business modeling, product and especially service things are pretty poor right now. Take it at face value. Guys...feel free to contact me if you care to as I don't mind shooting the breeze and speaking a bit more in depth on the phone as time permits...I've already said more here than I should have bothered to...just trying to seriously wake you up and help, so no personal offense intended I can assure you of that. Nite

I just recently upgraded from a 560Ti...to a GTX770 (2 gig), but only because I was able to work out a deal so it only ended up costing me $269 which coming from a 560Ti was irresistible. It's difficult to justify spending $400-$600 on a video card, especially if it's mostly for a game. But that's about what they cost now for 4 gig cards...and it's not as if you're going to improve your fps that much either...it mostly allows you to turn up your settings and it WILL get you better fps if you run your cpu at least 4ghtz+....not 500 bucks worth, however:-). Everyone will tell you to get the most vram you can afford...and they're right!...question is how much are you willing/able to spend for what I call small to moderate gains depending upon the game and your settings. It's a personal thing I suppose. My 560 was over 3 years old and the fan bearings were going bad....at $269 it was a no brainer for me. If I had to spend $400 or more I would never do it.

wow, just had a look and they've already reached their goal apparently...surprising just how generous complete strangers can be. I'm so sorry Pete's having a rough time at home these days...hang in there buddy...all bad things come to pass! PS - I don't mind being asked here or having it brought to my attention...you do whatever it takes for a legit cause...asking friends or the people of a community that you belong to is sometimes the best thing you can do.

28 years in sales & marketing...19 of those include project management on the internet. My clients are not poor to say the least, but they are all considered small businesses. I am not posting here to bash or single out any one particular e-tailer or developer. I am merely speaking of the X-plane marketplace in general terms and on the whole. I'm sure there must be some who are doing things right...but they need alot more. My post was not actually meant as professional advice, more like ramblings from an informed observer/advisor and somewhat disgruntled X-plane consumer... but you certainly don't need a degree in theoretical physics (nor 30 years experience in the gaming industry) to see all the mistakes that have been hurting the X-plane branding in general terms. There's plenty of information out there for the taking. Lets put it this way...it is NOT all LR's fault. They are only half the equation in this. Don't think there needs to be changes in your mindset or in the way some of you do business out here? Ask yourselves a question...how long have you been working at this and are you satisfied with your annual sales? If so then you don't need any advice...mine or otherwise.

- the more BUFFERS you source out to, the further away you get from your customers...and if you DO source out then it better be with someone of impeccable reputation and customer satisfaction. This does not yet exist for X-plane. Better off partnering with a few people and forming your own company with internal support...stop being greedy/lazy...there's too much of that already and you won't do well in the long term. - this goes back to partnering with others in your own company...if you can't be bothered to support your own product then good luck, heh. You really can't make good money in simulation games alone as 1 person. You need a small team, with each person specializing in what they do best...it's the only way to put out high caliber payware products on a regular basis and support them. - nothing wrong with delegating as long as you know how to pick the right person for the right job, and it actually improves service from your customer's point of view. Another point....3rd party devs can't sit around waiting for X-plane to send them a market. This is not how the MSFS community came to be what it is today. It's the MSFS 3rd party devs who actually helped grow the market themselves into what it is now...by working their arses off 7 days/week on product and support for years on end...and doing such a good job that they actually attracted gamers from other genres to come into the flightsim world. X-plane devs/authors have got to do a good enough job to start bringing people over to X-plane. Farming out support is a huge mistake in this regard. Your small team has to be willing/able to work for a couple years making little to no money until you cultivate a following...like any other new startup business. It's tough, but it's exactly how MFSF got so popular over many years for a small niche...its really a handful or so of very talented, smart and very hard working people responsible for creating what you see as the FSX market today (as small as it is). The Flight1 guys, PMDG, DreamFleet, Rob Young of RealAir, Carenado, Richard Harvey of FLY!...they were there at the start...and none of them made money at first. Took them years to pull an audience and build a reputation. And they ALL support/supported their own product/s.

Right now there simply aren't any top notch e-tailers selling X-plane products...so you're taking a chance no matter who you buy XP products from these days. More authors need to start selling their own products and offering their own forum support if they ever expect to build their brand and improve sales. Buying addons for Xplane from resellers is pointless right now as far as both product support and consumer protection is concerned. I see it as cowboys and indians out here, still. The X-plane brand is sorely in need of more good honest pro's in both development and retail. Don't get me wrong...I know alot of these guys see themselves as professionals...and they do help getting the product lines out there...but from what I've read, heard and personally observed myself thus far things are still a ways off from exuding buyer confidence. Here's a tip for authors.... want to jump start your credibility in the flightsim market but don't want to offer a product demo?...go with the Flight1 Wrapper system. Customers can download the product from your own website link and pay thru the Flight1 system during the install so you won't even need your own merchant account and cart system. Customers would also get a 30 day return/refund policy automatically as well with this system in place. You can even setup your own official company support forum at Avsim if you don't want to do it on your own website. You must establish credibility and reliability over time thru professional consistency before you can really build a brand with a following. X-plane devs need to either partner with the FSX pro's that already have the consumer confidence in place...or, you need to start emulating them. This is very, very important for X-plane and the future of it's branding and it's devs.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of annual fuel, maintenance, fees & insurance...for both the plane and keeping your private ticket current....deep pockets are typically in order.

Been beta testing Pilot2ATC alot lately....wouldn't mind helping out with this one as well.