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  • Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.

    Post 16 Update

    Post 17 Warning

Area 51 C-5M and C-17 update news

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strykerpsg

strykerpsg

SOH-CM-2023
All,

Just got this off the Area 51 website today, not very good news. I am trying to break through to the developers, but I fear they have taken their forum offline because of harsh criticisms from buyers of their C-5M. Not trying to instigate any sort of flame war toward them because they have some potentially good and unique designs, just letting potential buyers of the C-5 know it may not get fixed so you get what you pay for at this point.

Here is the link to their website: http://www.area51sim.com/index.html


Cut and pasted off their site:
C-5M Patch and C-17 Cancelled.

June 18, 2010Status:project Cancelled

We stopped all the work about C-5M Patch and C-17. There will be no patch for C-5M...

Matt
 
partly agree, but there is also the question of compliance with the consumer, or better would be nice to know what I'm buying ... if there are any bugs that I would be resolved ... If the manufacturer does not do this I will draw my conclusions and lose a customer ...
 
A shame, but I hope it sends a message to some of the abusive idiots you get out there (though it probably won't).

To be honest, if I was a payware developer, I'd take any rude and abusive complaints and 'politely' tell them to eff off. Couldn't stand with dealing with that type of customer. Make it clear that you're willing to work with constructive criticism - with people who actually want to help you improve your product. Anyone else can take their complaints and stick it up a certain passage...
 
I personally would consider only the constructive criticism, the offensive directly to the trash ...

I repeat the key is be clear
 
michael davies said:
A more expansive dialogue here http://www.area51sim.com/cancelled.html
Click to expand...

Excellent stuff. A plain talking developer who shoots from the hip. He is 100% correct when he states that FSX is just a game. I know some people, for whatever reason, seem to get bent out of shape by this simple statement, but it IS just a game.

I don't actually own any of the Area51 stuff. But judging from the screenshots I've seen and comments I've read it would appear to be on par with AlphaSim stuff from 2-3 years back. I can quite understand the developers feelings if his products are being criticised because they are not up to the standard of highly developed products from say PMDG or A2A.

This is obviously not what Area51 are about. I like my A2A and RealAir planes and Nemeth Bros helicopters as much as the next guy. This doesn't stop me deriving some enjoyment from flying what are, in comparison, fairly simplistic models. If there was'nt a market for this kind of stuff then AlphaSim would not have done so well in the days when they seemed to release a new product every other month.
 
Yep the "Idiot Brigade" strikes again. 90% of them are so full of themselves that they actually think they know what they're talking about and the other 10% who might actually know something are so rude and condescending that their possible contributions are lost completely.

I don't have any of their aircraft, but for what they appear to be, I think the prices seem appropriate and as they mention, they are more along the lines of AlphaSim quality from 3 or 4 years ago and they don't profess to be anything else. That doesn't deter the idiots though, they want to show off their newfound knowledge by panning a new release. It's more a case of "Hey look at me. . .see how smart I am", than anything constructive and usually, in the end, they simply make themselves look like fools.
 
I don't know much about this fiasco but imho the response was written by a teenager...

"get a girlfriend and a social life...."

Wow what a great thing to say to customers!!!

They assume everyone who badmouthed their product has no social life???

Ok dokie....
 
I can not even imagine being at the receiving end in a developers world. Of all the topics I've read, pictures viewed throughout the course of development, I can only envision the amount of time it takes to create a model that's finished and ready to fly in the sim. For it is, and I agree, just a game.

There are so many that have the skills to make models happen. And from what I've seen through my course of time in this little fantasy, the models of interest have been made several times over. With each attempt to perfection a little farther out for reality, and pushing the limits in the extremes. ...Among those developers there is a niche for direction of focus and development. And they tend to stay in that realm of interest based on customer input.


Talented individuals who take on the ventures of modeling for all of us, are in their own little world. And within that little world the developers keep things hush hush. Their techniques in design speak for themselves. And those individuals did not learn what they know in a short time. They learned, and are still learning bit by bit, and by trial and error.

There are developers in this little fantasy world of ours that are fantastic modelers, coders, programmers and painters to mention just a few. And they do what they do for their, and our own enjoyment and relaxation.
 
ryanbatc said:
I don't know much about this fiasco but imho the response was written by a teenager... "get a girlfriend and a social life...."

Wow what a great thing to say to customers!!! They assume everyone who badmouthed their product has no social life???
Ok dokie....
Click to expand...
Their post was a bit hard to follow at times, but considering their locations and that their english isn't quite as refined as we might be used to, they still got the message across.

None of us really knows what sort of bombardment they've been under about their products, but apparently it has reached a point where they've decided enough is enough. I don't blame them and the use of the "get a girlfriend and a social life" line is probably their way of saying "GET A LIFE". In the grand scheme of things, this is just a game, a simulation and letting it get to the point that all you think about is how close together the rivets are compared to the actual aircraft is idiotic. . .so get over it and find something more important to be involved in.
 
ryanbatc said:
I don't know much about this fiasco but imho the response was written by a teenager...

"get a girlfriend and a social life...."

Wow what a great thing to say to customers!!!

They assume everyone who badmouthed their product has no social life???

Ok dokie....
Click to expand...


Pretty much my sentiments.

On a side note, if a developer can't take criticism, whether it be harsh or not, perhaps they should find a new line of work. People are people, and expecting everybody to be civil is nonsensical. Not everyone is going to react the same way to a product's issues/shortcommings.

Telling current/potential customers to get a girlfriend and a social life might be one of the dumbest things I have read from a commercial entity in a while.

Maybe while the customers are out getting a girlfriend and a social life, the developer could attend a few college courses pertaining to professionalism in business since there doesn't seem to be a patch coming for that either.
 
ryanbatc said:
I don't know much about this fiasco but imho the response was written by a teenager...

"get a girlfriend and a social life...."

Wow what a great thing to say to customers!!!

They assume everyone who badmouthed their product has no social life???

Ok dokie....
Click to expand...

I think it's clear that the developer welcomes constructive criticism but is referring to the offensive hate e-mails and irrelevant ranting gibberish they've been receiving with regards to some of their products.
 
Having dealt with the public in a few of my jobs I can see where they (the developers) are coming from some people can make you want to pull your hair out. On the other hand to deny the many people the patch because of the actions of a few isn't the right approach either.
 
Chris H said:
I think it's clear that the developer welcomes constructive criticism but is referring to the offensive hate e-mails and irrelevant ranting gibberish they've been receiving with regards to some of their products.
Click to expand...


Perhaps, but the comments are painted with a rather broad brush.
 
While it may come over as a little childish (although if Falcon's correct about their English, then that's understandable), it was probably written in the heat of the moment, venting their feelings as they typed it. Can't blame them, really. Anyone who sends a tirade of abuse to developers, for trivial matters such as the functionality and accuracy of their models, deserves exactly the same in return. As I said before, there's a difference between deserved/constructive criticism and downright rudeness. Those who send messages that fall into the latter category are idiots. Plain and simple.
 
I have no idea how good/bad their products are, but I enjoyed reading their statement. Verrry nice
icon10.gif
icon10.gif
 
For many this isn't a game, it's a simulator.

Some of you might think 'rivet counting' is pathetic but many people spend what little money they have on these products and are understandably disappointed when the product is fundamentally flawed.

Area 51 charge significant amounts of money for their products. If people feel/know they are inaccurate and unacceptable then they have every right to complain.

Please stop this absolutely pathetic defense of flight sim developers.

If you bought a fridge that didn't keep things cold you'd take it back/complain.
If you bought a car that overheated every 10 minutes you'd take it back/complain.
If you bought a meal at a restaurant and your chicken was raw inside you'd take it back/complain.
If you bought a phone that refused to make phone calls you'd take it back/complain.
If you buy a flight simulator product and complain you MUST have an agenda and need to get a life.

Some of you maintain that you need to get a life when you have hundreds and thousands of posts on a website dedicated to flight simulation?

Their email is aimed at people who send abusive messages, of course I am not one of them. Essentially however, they are saying 'we know it's not good enough, but piss off. We don't care.'

Tell you what Area 51, I'll happily get a life - and NEVER buy one of your products. I'm not a rivet counter in the slightest, but I'm not supporting anyone who takes that attitude towards customers.
 
Tweek said:
While it may come over as a little childish (although if Falcon's correct about their English, then that's understandable), it was probably written in the heat of the moment, venting their feelings as they typed it. Can't blame them, really. Anyone who sends a tirade of abuse to developers, for trivial matters such as the functionality and accuracy of their models, deserves exactly the same in return. As I said before, there's a difference between deserved/constructive criticism and downright rudeness. Those who send messages that fall into the latter category are idiots. Plain and simple.
Click to expand...


Part of being an adult, and a business professional, is not rersponding to adversity in that manner. If you feel customers deserve the response they give, do yourself a favor and never work in a capacity that requires you to interact with others. "Venting feelings" should never happen to a customer despite whether it is deserved or not. If they have an issue with a specific customer/customers, they should speak with them directly, not post a message on their website "venting" to all the world. It's bad business. The customer is always right despite the customer not always being right. Period.

Maybe if this hobby had more "rivet-counters" than add-ons would be released with less bugs.
 
Ah, internet drama...alias "much ado about nothing". :d

But then again, there was money involved...and I think $30 for an add-on which is more fun than serious is a tad much. The PC Aviator price of $13 is a way better one for my taste...
 
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