WARNING - Ariane Products Published by G2 Games

[Guest roystondh]

Please be advised of the followingAriane Products - the 737 Series of aircraft are now being published / sold by a Company "G2 Games"They are distributed by a number of retailers / distributors including PLAY.comThe 737-600 Advanced which is what I purchased requires activationARIANE REFUSE POINT BLANK to actiate this produce advising me that I need to provide a purchase order number in order to activate.I am 100% willing by any reasonable method to do thisThe only purchase order number I have is obviously the one from PLAY.com as no key or other serial number is provided with the software in the box, however this is not acceptable to them.Here is my response from ARIANE "It is very difficult for us to respond to your request for support. We have no record of a purchase with you and therefore it is possible for you to be asking for support as a non purchaser. Please understand it from our POV. Regards your question, this is covered in the manual and on our web site. It concerns the running of the LIBINST file in the ariane folder. We are in future going to have to make a small charge to cover support for G2 customers due to there not being any budget to cover this."BE WARNEDIF YOU BUY ANY ARIANE PRODUCT VIA G2 GAMES 1/ You will not be able to activate it because you cannot provide them with an order number2/ You will not receive support from Ariane because Quote "there not being any budget to cover this"Before anybody thinks of rushing to the defense of ARIANE - please get an offical correspondence from them stating* What order number to use when buying products via G2 Games* How they intend to support this product - as they currently indicate that it will be chargeableI am naturally returning the product to the supplier PLAY.com requesting a full refund and advising them they are selling a product which cannot be used in it's intended fashionRoy Hinds

[Guest roystondh]

I eventually found an order ID that was issued by ARIANE and e-mailed them with this information, seeing as they didn't actually advise me where it could be found.They have yet to respond - but the comment in regards G2 Games support I suspect stands, i.e. be prepared to get your credit card outAlso the instructions indicate that you are likely to face issues on any system where FSX has been installed after FS9 because of the security techniques used to protect the software. I would suspect this applies for many active FS prospective users.Thankfully PLAY.com have issued me a RMA for credit - so I can quickly move on from this experience without the loss of anything but a bit of time.

[Guest United]

Who buys anything from this bad company anymore?Randy Jura, KPDX

[G7USL 117]

I believe that the answer is simple.Would you expect a new car supplier to give you another set of ignition keys for your car every time you lose them, and not charge?

[wrenchca 0]

Ah..he didn't loose the keys Dave. He bought the car at a local dealer and the manufacturer refuses to give him the keys. As far as support goes, I would have to say at some level, Ariane is receiving some form of financial compensation for G2 Game sales...or else G2 would be charged with piracy.If Ariane is being compensated for the sale of it's product, how can they feel justified to charge for support just because they did not have to process the transaction? Just my two cents worth...

[RobertVA 0]

No, but this is more like an auto supplier putting a device on a car that counts how many miles you start the engine and charging extra if you are going to be able to start it after the first few hundred times.

[G7USL 117]

Roy, had you bothered to read the manual, a seperate section gives you full instructions on how to activate this package, you would not be sounding off about this!I recieved my copy of the 'advanced' edition and sent in the email instructed within the flightsim section of your 'create a flight' section on Friday and my aircraft was promptly activated by return e-mail on Saturday.It is the 739ER for FSX and it's in another league. PMDG has nothing to compare to this simulation. This sim is for hardcore simmers only and is totally awesome.

[Guest pablitouk]

Hi All,I would like to post the official Ariane response that appeared on the Ariane Support Forum recently regarding this thread.Due to an ongoing dispute between Ariane and Avsim I believe Ariane employees are not allowed to post on this forum.That's not my problem...------------ Official Ariane Reply --------------------1 We will (and have been for many weeks) activate ALL of the products that G2 are selling the same way we activate ANY of our multiple affiliate sales outlets or channels customers orders as we have for many years.2 We have agreed with G2 that they provide front line support. They are publishing the product at retail and they are the people that provide support for their published line and that includes the few products we have given them to publish.3 We support all our products and our customers with a fair support policy. If those customers came on the forum and asked questions they would be as welcome here as anyone.The statement this person has made is untrue and unfounded. We have never said the things he claims about activation.-------------------------------------------------------In view of some rather strong statements I have seen posted about Ariane I feel I also have to add my personal experience with the company. It is from Q1 2008, when I purchased the 737-900ER FSX online so very recent.1. The online purchase went smoothly.2. The registration was done via email. It took 48 hrs to get the activation key.3. The support is handled first via the support site and both Ariane support and the community are responsive from what I have seen there.And for my views on the product:As I also own the 737NG and 747 products from PMDG I can say the products are different and should not be compared! The PMDG line is great fun but it definitely belongs in the 'FS add-ons' category.The Ariane bird however is more like a sim within a sim than a regular FS add-on. It is definitely not a 'load up, power up and fly' type product, which can be a source of frustration with some impatient users. Nowadays the Ariane 737-9ER FSX is the only airliner I fly in FSX because it is such a unique product in its scope. I use it as a panels familiarization tool and basic procedure trainer.To summarize: the Ariane 737-900ER FSX is hardcore but well worth it for those willing to put some effort into reading a manual and learning about real life 737 ops.By the way, I hold an FAA ATP with 1700hrs and worked as a CFI/CFII/MEI for 3 years, BUT make what you want of my opinion of course.To each their own I say!All the best and happy flying.

[Tom Allensworth 1,532]

"Due to an ongoing dispute between Ariane and Avsim I believe Ariane employees are not allowed to post on this forum. That's not my problem..."There is no "ongoing dispute" in so far as AVSIM is concerned. They have threatened us in the past via some lame law firm - we said bring it on, and they haven't been heard from since... So, no issues as far as AVSIM is concerned.We have not prohibited their people from posting here, and if they are not allowed to post here, it is by Ariane's choice. As long as they abide by our rules, they are welcome. We have in the past even offered to set up a support forum for them on AVSIM... Never heard from them on that either. :)

[Guest pablitouk]

Thanks for the clarification Tom.I shall post your comment on the Ariane Support forum.All the best.

[Guest pablitouk]

And while at it Tom: could you please post a scan of the threatening letter in question?I found that point rather amusing and am very curious to read it.In my experience as a business owner, this type of action is often prompted by a perceived potential/real loss of revenue generating activity by a third party OR an employee/employer dispute OR a disagreements on the terms of an existing contract (oral or written).So you've excited my curiosity there!Thanks.

[Tom Allensworth 1,532]

We have been asked many times to do that, and on advice of our lawyers will not, for rather obvious reasons.

[mgh 89]

If he bought a car from a local dealer then it's the dealers's responsibility to provide the keys, not the manufacturer.This is an important fact that often gets overlooked in these discussions. It is almost universal that it's the supplier's responsibility to provide what was orfered and any on-going support. The supplier took the money and the contract is with it not the original manufacturer.If you buy and pay for a product from G2 then it's G2's responsibility not Ariane's to make it useable.

[ZachLW 37]

Roy, had you bothered to read the manual, a seperate section gives you full instructions on how to activate this package, you would not be sounding off about this!I recieved my copy of the 'advanced' edition and sent in the email instructed within the flightsim section of your 'create a flight' section on Friday and my aircraft was promptly activated by return e-mail on Saturday.It is the 739ER for FSX and it's in another league. PMDG has nothing to compare to this simulation. This sim is for hardcore simmers only and is totally awesome.

Troll

[Guest j-mo]

Zach-The post you quoted is almost eleven months old!