Seems to me more and more rather well known FS-addon-companies are keeping more and more silent... Dreamfleet, the people from FEX, Horizon, etc. Some of the forums of these companies haven't been visited with the devs in ages. Is the crisis taking its toll or something like that? Quite a few of those forums are only filled with posts from users, while the devs are nowhere around... And if they are around (on other forums than the ones I mentioned), they only solve problems (when you are lucky) but release nothing, taking way too much time with developing things, it seems. Is it just a coincidence that I frequently visit forums from companies that are going out of business or is there something going on in the FS-world?

Another good example is Australian Simulations. I purchased their Piper Warrior and have been awaiting an SP2 patch they said they were working on. Their devs haven't posted anything since July of last year if I remember right... it's too bad too because they have some terrific products...I wish Dreamfleet would bring some of their products up to FSX native, such as their 152 and C310...The only positive thing is that some of the smaller groups are still hanging on like Lionheart and FSD... lets hope they say something if they need a little help!

Seems to me more and more rather well known FS-addon-companies are keeping more and more silent... Dreamfleet, the people from FEX, Horizon, etc. Some of the forums of these companies haven't been visited with the devs in ages. Is the crisis taking its toll or something like that? Quite a few of those forums are only filled with posts from users, while the devs are nowhere around... And if they are around (on other forums than the ones I mentioned), they only solve problems (when you are lucky) but release nothing, taking way too much time with developing things, it seems. Is it just a coincidence that I frequently visit forums from companies that are going out of business or is there something going on in the FS-world?

I guess businesses come and go. I assume this is a low margin (if any!) and very competitive market. I can only be thankful that people such as Dreamfleet have developed so many memorable addons over the years adding to my (our) enjoyment. The "old guard" moves on to different things, and "new blood" comes in, and the cycle begins all over again. In the meantime I'll enjoy this hobby for as long as I can. For those who have moved on to their different things, I wish them all the best in their endeavours, whatever that may be.

I believe that we see here the real damages of piracy. :(

I agree David. I fear we are heading toward the day when all addons will require some type of internet connectivity so the license can be checked and verified-or-disabled when the product is used.Actually, this may become the norm for all software in the future.Thaellar

I agree David. I fear we are heading toward the day when all addons will require some type of internet connectivity so the license can be checked and verified-or-disabled when the product is used.Actually, this may become the norm for all software in the future.Thaellar

That's probably the way we're going, as much as I don't personally like having to do it. It's irritating when I can go onto a P2P site, and download my own software faster from them than I can off my own server.The thing is though pretty well everything eventually gets cracked.All you can really hope to do with activation schemes is help keep honest people honest.

That's probably the way we're going, as much as I don't personally like having to do it. It's irritating when I can go onto a P2P site, and download my own software faster from them than I can off my own server.The thing is though pretty well everything eventually gets cracked.All you can really hope to do with activation schemes is help keep honest people honest.

One issue is that with few exceptions, the FSX add-on business is not exactly what puts a roof over the head, brings food to the table or sends the kids to college. Also, the time investment to profit is usually negative, in that if you factor out the hours involved in developping a product that can sell, meeting the expectations of the customer with regards to bandwidth and support, and paying for the gear to do all that, the profit quickly turns to bleeding. I think that add-ons for flight simulator is a labor of love more than it is about money. It's already hard to be in the software business in general, it's much harder in this niche market, and still harder to deliver one good product after next given the unique skillset and time it requires.Still, I believe that most folks are honnest and will pay a reasonable price for an add-on that brings value to them and furthers the hobby. Yes, there are who will consistently hack stuff because it's cool and they feel smart about it. The other argument is that if the software was affordable to start with, fewer people would feel inclined to hack. It's a catch-22.Some ideas for the payware industry: try before you buy has much more mileage, use activations, and above all else, make a product that people are willing to buy, and try not to nickel-and-dime with basepacks and propacks and soundpacks or pay for liveries. Be professional in your support forums and remember the customer is always right, even when they are wrong. Don't do to your customer what yourself would not have another company do to you, and no matter what you think, there will always be a product or vendor better than you around the corner, so humility is not a bad thing.Some ideas for the e-commerce providers out there: Make it affordable to the devs understanding most are garage shop operations and don't have a marketing or e-commerce budget. Lastly, offer purchase options in the native currency of the buyer, credit card companies and banks make a killing on currency exchange fees. Many of you have it right.Some ideas for the simmers: buy or donate for software you like, you have no idea how much work and sacrifices go into making the terrific products out there. Praise software you like, voice your opinion if you think the software is horrible. Tell your friends. Share your ideas and recommendations with the devs. They may not answer, they will listen (well, most will). Lastly, don't pirate software - it does you a disservice in the long run because you remove whatever motivation and justification for the hard work, and you make the rest of us have a harder time dealing with complex activation and protection schemes. That causes the costs to go higher.I think we all share the fact we love this hobby, and a few bad apples on either side don't make a whole, except drive the pendulum to extremes. Keep it in the middle.Etienne

I believe that we see here the real damages of piracy. :(

Piracy, doubt that a whole lot. What proof is there of piracy? I have never heard or read about FS developers sueing anyone.Creating aircraft is more work/difficult for FSX and FS9. Plus FSX is losing popularity, and the economy sucks.

Creating aircraft is more work/difficult for FSX and FS9. Plus FSX is losing popularity, and the economy sucks.

The economy does suck but I wouldn't say FSX is losing popularity. Just look at all the addons released for FSX within the past 6 months:Carenado Arrow, C172 floats/skisRealAir DukeF1 Mustang (big SP as well)A2A F4U, P47Aerosoft PBY CatalinaDodosim Bell 206plus a lot of others

I believe that we see here the real damages of piracy. :(

With all due respect to everyones opinion I'm not sure if you can blame ALL of it on piracy. FSD cried "Piracy" and wonder of all wonders now they are back in business. I think what the developers really need to do (some of them do) is let customers "try before buying". In this way the good developers who actually follow the SDK in development will be seperated from those who develop aircraft using the slam bam method and deliver products that in many cases aren't even up to freeware standards. I'm kinda picky about who I will spend my hard earned dollars with and believe me I've been burnt more than once when purchasing what is billed to be awesome software and it turns out to be pure crap. There is at least one site out there that will gladly refund your money if you are not satisfied with the product and I believe if more vendors operated in that spirit as well as using the "try before you buy' approach perhaps sales will go up. Let the vendors of crap fall by the wayside and spend your money on those who actually deliver. End of rant. Craig

IMHO a good portion of piracy is caused by substandard software as noted above.

I don't think piracy really has much place in a developer's lingo. It's not that it's not an issue (let's be real here) but good luck proving something like that, for one, and second of all it seems like it can be a catch-all for poor marketing, communication, development, or something else. You think PMDG and Level-D don't get pirated? I'll bet they're some of the MOST pirated add-ons- despite having what appear to be good security measures- because they are the BEST out there. How many pirated copies do you suppose that below default standards add-on scenery at Simmarket has floating around? Not many I bet...The PMDG and Level-D products are WORTH the price. Same thing with Mr. York and his FS2Crew (thanks for the great support that one time too Bryan!), but there are other companies who cannot demonstrate themselves to be worth the money to me/IMHO. I'm dying to fly a decent wide-body Airbus, I just think it is so neat. If I could test drive Wilco's I might buy it if it meets my standards. Unfortunately they don't do that, so I don't think I'll ever fly it and I'll have to settle for watching NWA land at Schiphol on YouTube instead. What's my recourse if I feel it's no good or not as adverstised?I think Captain Sim has the right idea, and was an savvy and much-needed move for their reputation as well. The thing we miss with e-commerce is the opportunity to get a tangible impression of something. If I buy something from them and am not satisfied, the typical lack of recourse may prevent me from ever doing business with them again. If I can try it before I buy it I have the opportunity to NOT purchase, which may mean they lose that particular sale, but not my future business. Maybe that product just doesn't suit my needs.

For a very well-written examination of PC Game Piracy, check out http://www.tweakguides.com/Piracy_1.htmlJeff

IMHO a good portion of piracy is caused by substandard software as noted above.

Piracy is caused by lack of morals and ethics. Stealing is stealing, there is no justification.Despite what McCrash thinks, it is very evident in this community.

Just saying piracy is stealing is not going to solve the problem. In this thread the concern that the OP has with regard to the reasons why some flight sim businesses seem to be disappearing, and other posters immediate response that it must be piracy, is partly the problem. If we pesist in simply blaming the pirates for all our woes, then we simply wont get to the real problem or be able to provide any sort of sensible solution. We are all aviation enthusiasts and we all know that every air crash investigation has to get to the real cause of the crash, not what seems to be the probable cause no matter how obvious it appears. Quantumleap's link to an opinion document on piracy is interesting although lacking any references. I did not read it all but it did cover a lot of ground on the issue and touched on the complexities of intellectual property and the file sharing capabilites of the world wide web. Here's the rub. The WWW has allowed music, video and software artists to reach billions of people through e-commerce but the cost of an album is relatively the same as if I bought it from a bricks and morter store before the WWW. (yes I was around before the internet!!). When vinyls and CD's ruled, the market was limited to physical store outlets but sharing was correspondingly low as well. The Internet has allowed the artists to tap a huge market but of course sharing (piracy) has become a major factor as well. How major is a debatable point of course. I read a local PC magazine recently and an article on this very matter came up with what I thought was quite a sensibile solution to this whole problem. Charge everyone (business and residential customers alike) an extra 1 or 2 dollars/yen/dinar/pounds/euro per month on their ISP bill and pass the billions collected to the associations who currently collect and distribute royalities to artists. In return for ensuring artists get a fair return for their intellectual property, stop criminalising and demonising file sharing. Some of the families that have been taken to court to prove a point by the big record labels is a case in point. Now before anyone accuses me of being pro-piracy let's make no mistake, file sharing is not going to go away and companies are spending huge amounts trying to secure their IP. Meanwhile, consumers are getting a raw deal with products they have to go through hoops to get licensed. There are many stories on this forum of people who have purchased thousands of dollars of software only to lose much of it during hard drive upgrade and subsequent re-licensing horror stories. This is about money. Give the artists the royalities they deserve and learn to accept file sharing technology just as we all eventually accepted radios in cars, rock music, long hair, same sex marriages, occupational safety and health and even global warming. I don't condone IP theft in whatever form it appears, but e-commerce has to break the shackles of bricks and mortar commerce and work with file sharing, not against it. It'll cost all us consumers a few dollars more but the angst will be less and it might just help support the businesses in our hobby to stay aloft!