Who is going to spend $65.00 on Meridan Bundle?

[Guest Timbo]

As was said, I can't justify paying the price of the game for one plane, no matter how good it is.[TABLE BORDER=0][tr][td]

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Last updated Dec. 31

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[LAdamson 240]

>Not me :) >>With that money I can buy 11 original Music CDs And I can buy 1/21.5 of the prop governor I need to get my plane operational. At approx. $1400, I might as well purchase the Meridian for realistic fun & worthwhile practice in the meantime!L.Adamson

[Guest RobA]

Geof, Thanks for those links. I've held off on buying a couple of other addons so I'd have the money for the Meridian. For all I've seen and heard this package has a home waiting for it. :-)Best, Rob

[Guest]

I probably won't buy the $65 package because I'm not that good about reading the manuals as it is. ;-) Still, though, you guys crack me up. I love this "I'm not going to pay it" mentality that springs up right before a big release. It's so transparent because most of us here will pay it, and assuming it is a good addon, we will be happy to do so. My wife and I just paid about $100 tonight for dinner (Applebees) and a movie (About Schmidt) including babysitter and popcorn/soda. It was over in about 3 hours and all I have are a few fond memories of a good movie, indigestion, and a happier wife. High quality aircraft for FS2K2 are not "addons" anymore - they are new sims and worth just as much as buying the sim again (or maybe more). I have shelves of PC games I bought, enjoyed for a few days, then forgot about. Yet, I still use PIC767, the PSS Dash 8, SF260, and the Piper Archer several hours a week. They don't owe me a thing! You guys have to realize, if we want high quality aircraft for FS2K2 the bar has been raised so high that no novice is going to whip one together in a weekend and give it to us for free anymore. How many of you have even looked at what it takes to make a GMax model? It looks pretty much impossible to me! I'm just happy that anyone is willing to make addons for FS2K2 at any price because if you've looked at the walls in EB lately the PC section is just a corner of the store now (in the back) and sims make up a very small fraction of that square footage.David

[LAdamson 240]

High quality aircraft for FS2K2 are not >"addons" anymore - they are new sims and worth just as much >as buying the sim again (or maybe more). That's perfection in getting to the point of it all .................bravo!!!L.Adamson

[Guest SoarPics]

$100.00 for a happier wife... sounds like a solid investment. ;)

[michal 44]

I preordered the whole $65 bundle. I think it is very INEXPENSIVE. If you realize it comes with Garmin 530 that other vendors charge $50 for this piece alone - the Meridian price sounds dirt cheap. But I understand if someone already bought 50 other FS add-ons then to buy this #51 may be a hard sell. But I buy very FEW add-ons carefully planning my purchases months in advance. I have no time to fly that much so if I buy something it has to be something VERY SPECIAL. The Meridian does look like something special - my Office of Budget and Management did approve this purchase but declined to fund many other ;-) Imagine this: the realism of planes in FS reach such high level that very few designers are able to reach the minimum standard. Freeware designers almost disappear - no one is able to invest 1 year of his/her free time. Sounds like a nightmare to you ? This is my kind of simulation FS world. *:-*Michael J.

[Guest DaveKDEN]

> My wife and I just paid about $100 tonight for dinner (Applebees) and a movie (About Schmidt) including babysitter and popcorn/soda. It was over in about 3 hours and all I have are a few fond memories of a good movie, indigestion, and a happier wife...As I've mentioned, that's really not a valid comparison. That's what it costs for dinner and a movie. Just like it costs $35.00 for a pair of Levis. It's like comparing apples to rocks - there isn't any.>I love this "I'm not going to pay it" mentality that springs up right before a big release. It's so transparent because most of us here will pay it...Trust me - I won't, and I'm sure many others will be turned off because of the high cost. I have no heartburn with payware, just the fact that it's getting too expensive for the average user to afford. What kind of choice does it leave folks? You might be able to justify one or two payware add-ons by the time FS2004 comes around as the cost is becoming prohibitively expensive. In order for me to get my money's worth, it better be the only thing I fly (for that price). I'd feel real guilty about a month down the road as the novilty of it wears off (as it always does). I've been extremely happy with the select high quality freeware d/l's and the high quality sub $20.00 payware add-ons I've bought. I still enjoy loading them up every now and then and don't feel at all bad about spending $12.00-$20.00 on each. For my money, I'll likely end up sticking with Bill Lyons' "Custom Classics." Great designs at an extremely affordable price!DavePS; For the record, I enjoyed Abacus' Private Pilot and Coroprate Pilot for FS2000. Though the going price at the time was $35.00, you got numerous aircraft per package that made the price well worth it Even though they're very dated for FS2002 standards, they still function and are enjoyable to run (every now and then). With advances in FS, these new "revolutionary" designs with all the bells and whistles will be dated before you know it. Will we need to spend $50.00 for a single high quality add-on for FS2004? What about $100.00 for an add-on for FS2006? When does it get too expensive for you? For me it's the ~$20.00 point.PPS; I have nothing against any of the payware developers out there. In fact, most of them are true artisans and Gentlemen (with exceptions). I wish them the best, but I think it's important for us as CONSUMERS to express what we feel is a fair price in the FS add-on marketplace. None should question the fact that we all have the right to choose what we buy and what we pass on because it's plain ole' too expensive.

[Guest Milio_B]

"And I can buy 1/21.5 of the prop governor I need to get my plane operational. At approx. $1400, I might as well purchase the Meridian for realistic fun & worthwhile practice in the meantime!"Yes, yes you can.And I wasn't comparing, I was saying I know a better way to spend MY money.

[1mikel151 71]

I just got the Cessna 421 and love it, own most of the FSD aircraft as well. I will probably get it, looks very impressive so far. I don't even look at it as more expensive than the (GAME???) sim. I have allot of games that I play every now and then, but nothing comes close to keeping my attention as FS. I love how people post links to guys with home cockpits that cost way more than the sim cost, yet you don't hear to much negativity towards that! LOL ( I know I am envious) Just goes to show everyone has their limits and ideas on what works for them.Should be an interesting addon!I agree, $100 for a happy wife, that IS a bargain! LOLRegards, Michael

[LAdamson 240]

> When does it get too >expensive for you? For me it's the ~$20.00 point. >Dave.....................Does this mean, you still havn't purchased the RealAir Marchetti SF260 retailing at $25.00????? :)It IS the air.file to compare others with, for flight out of the everyday confines of "straight & level"!!!!! Wouldn't want to miss out for a "mere" five bucks!! :)L.Adamson

[Geofa 108]

I don't quite understand this:"As I've mentioned, that's really not a valid comparison. That's what it costs for dinner and a movie. Just like it costs $35.00 for a pair of Levis. It's like comparing apples to rocks - there isn't any."A true statement in a limited sense-but as my $35.00 Levis are now worn out after a years usage and headed for the garbage-and I still am using Msfs2002 many hours a week-which was the better bargain?"what it costs for a dinner and a movie" vs. an addon - if you didn't enjoy the movie or the dinner-which was a better bargain-and which lasts longer?I think we face these types of choices every day of our lives-but it really comes down to amortizing the number of hours of use/enjoyment you get vs. the cost. A meal and a movie that I may not enjoy and may be over in a couple hours vs. an addon for flight sim that may bring me many hours of pleasure. For sure the better and more lasting bargain is the fs add in.I don't see apples and oranges-just another choice of where you put your money before you die and what you get out of it. :-)I think it is a very valid comparison. http://members.telocity.com/~geof43/Geofdog2.jpg

[michal 44]

It is also about finite life-span. I want to maximize the quality of a relatively short lifetime. It means buying better, higher quality merchandise but fewer times. It means having say one BMW instead of two Chevys, drinking better wine but drinking less, etc. If someone can get the same enjoyment from cheaper products - more power to them. I can't. I admit I like only highest quality stuff. Some of it I can't afford but some I can. The Merdian sounds like the kind of luxury I CAN afford. Like Brits often say "I am too poor to buy cheap stuff". There is something to it.Michael J.

[Guest BrianC]

Unfortunately, that same $100 on FS aircraft doesn't make for happier wives. :)

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[Guest DaveKDEN]

Hey Larry,>Does this mean, you still havn't purchased the RealAir Marchetti SF260 retailing at $25.00?????No I haven't. I'd love to own many more add-ons than I do now (including the SF260), but for me it's just too expensive. I really feel (in order to be consistent) I have to draw the line somewhere. Besides, with the latest round of pay cuts, I have to save every penny I can. ;-)Dave