Ariane GMAX 737-400 - Another View

[John_Cillis 2,406]

BIK:Who are you referring to? My reply to Steve? Think I pretty much said what you're saying, albeit with a bit more tact...

[Guest Toni Rauch]

Yes, I agree!Let's all completely forget all the things that very nice 'PT' man has done to the flightsim community for the last few years. Let's all forget how innocent people have lost

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Toni--Read my reply regarding Microsoft. What's your take on that--should we consider dumping FS2002? I simply suggest we who've made the decision to avoid Ariane and/or p.t. products should tread lightly on those who want to purchase it. I'm not saying this as an attack against Microsoft--you could replace the word Microsoft with almost any major company... Sooner or later, you'll uncover someone in a business you or I purchase from who made a decision that either cost people their jobs, money, and sometimes their lives. Dig deep into the issue of DRM--talk about someone patenting the concept of something, an entire industry is trying to restrict how we record information, even if it is our own intellectual property.IMHO, this issue has been fought over for a long time, and should be put to rest. No one in this forum should have to receive flak or insults for anything they buy--period....-John

[Guest B52Drivr]

John,How right you are! It's high time that this forum put the PT matter to rest. Right or wrong, I and many others are tired of hearing it. Let Ariane stand or fall on their own merits. The courts are full of companies which go bankrupt every day, and it is, (unfortunately) a part of doing business these days.Like Momma said, if you can't say something nice about someone, then just keep your yap shut. Personally, I've looked at the 737 and think it's a nice aircraft . . .and when they come out with the livery I want, I will buy it . . .I bought their other 'three-seven' and was pleased . . .when I wrote them and told them that such a nice aircraft should have working thrust reversers . . .Bobbo informed me that he would have that out in a few weeks. He did, he emailed the file to me and I am happy.And as an added note, I have seen in other forums that Toni has been accused of being a director or something to that equiv, in one of the PT companies at one time . . .,I guess we could rag him about that, however, it comes under the heading of 'who cares', I have other things to worry about. Spilt milk is spilt milk no matter how you look at it. Just my humble .02 cents worth.PT or no PT you can put me down as one satisfied customer who likes their products.Best to all, and no ill will to anyone,Clayton T. DopkeMajor, USAF (retired)"Drac"B52Drivr@aol.com

[Guest Toni Rauch]

JohnI have read your post regarding Microsoft and to a degree can sympathise with your feelings. In my opinion however, there is a whole world of difference between the 'antics' of those involved.I do not believe this is the place to rehash what PT did to this community - it's in the past and in any event, most people know the story and feel the same about Tishma as I do.What concerns me greatly though, is that he's still 'playing the same games' with the buying public. Already, within hours of the release of the 'new' 737 (which isn't all that new at all - mostly it's simply an update of the original 737 files), there are numerous complaints from people regarding the product features which don't work, textures not showing, the need to manipulate files manually, lack of appropriate documentation..... the list is growing steadily.These are not complaints for complaints sake - these are real people who have spent real money and feel disappointed enough to share their bad experiences (yet again) with the community. Sure there are some who are extoilling the virtues of PT and the 'new' plane, and are of course entitled to their opinions and should voice them.'My take' on this matter is one of inherent mistrust of Tishma as publisher. I have never 'had a go' at anyone buying his products. Each one of us must make his (or her) own decision in support of Tishma or otherwise. But if you are going to give this guy your money, at least let that decision be an informed one and know exactly who it is you're dealing with. (If a formerly loveable dog suddenly bites you, you're a fool if you're not very cautious in approaching that dog next time around...)Toni.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I'm pretty much in your shoes Toni--I never found any of the p.t. products worth purchasing. A product would have to be on par with DreamFleet's or Flight1's for me to consider a purchase. Based on what I see, I can't imagine spending whatever the U.S. equivalent of 10 pounds is on a product which doesn't even have its own panel.And I've no problem with people knowing the issues involved. Am I correct in assuming that repaints aren't allowed--that people have to purchase the liveries? I hope that I'm wrong, but I somewhat recall hearing that somewhere. Although Aeroflot is a worthy livery, such a product isn't much good if the freeware community can't have a go at repaints."....there are numerous complaints from people regarding the product features which don't work, textures not showing, the need to manipulate files manually, lack of appropriate documentation..... the list is growing steadily....."Once again, this seemed an issue with FS2k2 when it first came out. How long did it take before the SDK's started popping up documenting the aircraft.cfg and other FS files? Sorry--just had to throw that in there.... Your point is well noted and people should look before they leap.....but if they leap and are happy, that's the most important thing of all.

[Guest]

What a sad world you live in then. By the way don't shout - it's rude. "ILOVE FREE ENTERPRISE. I MEAN SHOULD WE STOP BUYING SHARES OF IBM AND EXXON SINCE ENRON AND WORLD COM DECEIVED THE PUBLIC ??? I HOPE YOU ALL UNDERSTAND THERE IS NO IMMUNITY FROM DECEPTIVE PRACTICES AND CORRUPTION IN OUR OPEN MARKET SOCIETY.WHERE THERE IS COMMERCE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE ISSUES WITH PEOPLE GETTING BURNED. I DONT BLAME ANYONE FOR BUYING FROM A COMPANY IF HE OR SHE BELIEVES THE PRODUCT IS A GOOD VALUE. WE ALL GET BURNED AND WE ALWAYS COME BACK FOR MORE !!! "

[Guest]

So far, all I've done is assign the DF panel and Sound to the Ariane aircraft. I also replaced the autopilot section of the aircraft.cfg file with the one from the DF plane. Previously, it was not responding to heading commands.So far I think they are about 95% compatible. The FMC correctly readsthe weight of the new aircraft and makes the correct calcualtions accordingly. I've done a couple of autolands and they went fine.There are still some small issues that someone with more ability in this area than I will need to solve. The plane seems to bound off the runway much too fast and needs to be held back strongly in order to keep from stalling. Secondly, the flap indicator does not work, however the physical lever does show correct flap settings.I hope the technically minded will look into this in the near future. It would be great if someone released a merge program as was done for PIC/POSKY which I have used and works flawlesly.Vonat1

[Guest]

Actually, John, repaints are allowed and are also supported by Ariane. They have a special section devoted to freeware repaints. As far as the liverys on sale, I'm very sure they plan on releasing more than just Aeroflot.Scott

[BobK 0]

The way I understand this, Ariane hooked up with P/T to market their product, much like the PIC Team did with Wilco, etc. Now, it seems that they are NOT connected to P/T at all. From what I hear, none of P/T's "enterprises" are operating any more. So, if the product is good, and the support is good, why don't we just give them the benefit of the doubt? It would seem that the level of customer support that they do or don't provide, should be an indication of whether or not P/T is or is not involved. As we all know, P/T had NO customer support of any kind.It would be a shame to turn our backs on what could be a great product, just because the group made an error in judgment in the past.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Thanks for clearing that up Scott.... After everything said on the subject, my final thought is it is gratifying to see any vendor acknowledge the importance of simulating the pax view. The screenshots posted here show almost as much detail in the wing as a static bitmap.... I haven't seen any 737 done in GMAX with that level of detail, or with wings visible for that matter.I just learned today how pax views are done in gmax--involves creating a second "internal" model, cloning parts from the external model--basically an extension of the VC creation process. Although I don't have 2k2 pro, I did DL gmax and I'm learning the program. If I ever come up with something that I'm proud of, then I'll buy 2k2 pro so I can convert my work to a mdl file. Mikko recently challenged me to learn, and I'm going to give it my best shot!-John

[Steve Cannell 4]

This is hilarious !!There really isn't much to say is there ?? :-lolIf the tons of negative information about this company isn't enough to stop your spending urges then why should we senior flightsimmers bother I guess. Why try and warn those that might not be aware that your buying a simple gmax aircraft that in most cases would be offered for free and from a company that changes it's name on a regular basis to disguise it's true identity. If it weren't for a few truly dedicated we wouldn't know who Ariene is.Go ahead, buy away, you get what you deserve. :-)SteveCYYZ

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I preface this by assuming you've targeted my response....:Once again--we come full circle Steve.... You talk about allowing people to make informed decisions, then you insult them for the decisions they make ("spending urges", "you get what you deserve"). I haven't discussed purchasing the product nor will I purchase it, and the only hilarity I see is in your responses... If people come in here and say they like the product, the more power to them....period. Us "senior flightsimmers" can say our peace, but only those who've bought the product can truly comment.... I hope those who don't like the product can come in and say why, but frankly I feel like you're setting an embarrassing tone for us "senior flightsimmers".-John