I thought I would check out their new 737s. I like extras I can play with, and their 737s sounded promising. I spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out what they were selling. Have I had a TIA tonight, or is it an unusually difficult to comprehend site in desperate need of a native English speaker and a keyboard with puncuation on it?The best I could figure out is that they sell some products for FS9, and some for FSX, and all have various options you can purchase separately such as liveries and TCAS, which you don't get, even in the Special Advanced Package, which apparenly all of them are, with certain time-limited features that are available for a limited time only. (That's what it said -- I wouldn't make this up.) Apparently you can get a boxed set which may have the liveries the download does not (although McPhat is working on like 300 liveries you can buy later) and also stuff that is not included in the PDF manuals you get with the download (worrisome to a potential download customer). Or you can spend 750 British Euros, or whatever it is that's being printed up in Brussels that you folks are using as currency these days, that would work out to probably $14,000, and get your very own custom seat covers.I did gather that crews can operate their products on "world-friendly, low-carbon footprint laptops," which is good, since I have been worrying about the carbon footprint of my 757 causing the bad weather we've had in southern Illinois this year.Okay, no offense to Ariane, and I know you and India Knight are really trying to improve your PR and offer unique and wholesome products with improved activation schemes, but with all due respect, the website looks like it was made by a genius who has been off his meds. All I wanted to know is which cool 737 had a HUD, and I never did figure that one out. I did see that they had some sort of navdata program that was delayed, but it didn't matter somehow, or so I was informed. I have a headache. I have never seen a higher adjective-to-noun ratio in my life.Al, I suggest you do a two-part review. The first will explain the website. Then you can talk about the airplanes. Which look like they might appeal to me, if I could figure out exactly what I was buying and how much real money it was going to cost me to get a fully functional airplane with one or two liveries. And what do they mean about not having to use FSUIPC? Does that mean my usual stuff won't work with it? Talk about anti-marketing. EDIT: After a re-read, I think the site is a Babelfish translation. Seriously. Also, if you buy the download version, you get four different airplanes, including "classic" models. That would lead me to believe you get... what? A 900, an 800, a 400 and 500? They would do a lot better to skip the hyberbole and tangle of options and unidentified time-limited features and missing parts of the downloadable manual and just spend a page listing what you get in bullet fashion. Anybody who is going out of their way to confuse potential buyers is likely to scare more off than they convince.

Well I can tell you that you are certainly not alone, I have been unable to comprehend that website since it's birth. As you noticed all of the aircraft they sell are "super enhanced" but some seem to be more "super enhanced" than others.Potential victims customers are more likely to run a mile when confronted with that mess of a site.

Well I can tell you that you are certainly not alone, I have been unable to comprehend that website since it's birth. As you noticed all of the aircraft they sell are "super enhanced" but some seem to be more "super enhanced" than others.Potential victims customers are more likely to run a mile when confronted with that mess of a site.

It reminds me of a hoax someone pulled by submitting computer-generated gibberish filled with deconstructionist buzzwords. It actually got published in a scholarly journal, much to the embarrassment of the Derridistas.

The first will explain the website. Then you can talk about the airplanes. Which look like they might appeal to me, if I could figure out exactly what I was buying and how much real money it was going to cost me to get a fully functional airplane with one or two liveries.

I can relate to your pain on this one. The first time I bought a 737 from Ariane, I ended up only getting a repaint for Southwest Airlines for a price that I thought would have covered an entire package to include sound, fully functional panel, and manual. And for a lot more US Dollars I ended up getting a 737-300 to later go with my repaint. I keep going back to the site and hope to one day gather enough something or another to decide to buy one of their products for FSX. I wouldn't have any problems buying the base pack for $103 dollars and going back for 1 repaint, if I didn't want to fly everything else out there for FSX. But if I was a 737 only kind of fan I would jump on this. The one intriguing description the appears on the 737-900 ER X2 Base pack is: Synchresis II Audio feature governing over 1500 sound events or sounds are now created across over 1000 event sets.Or SYNCHRESIS II FLIGHT DECK TECHNOLOGY - over 1000 multiple and working, sound-equipped, 3d-modeled VC systems and layouts, switches, events, knobs, buttons and push systems with flip covers, sliding animations, HIDE for yokes and seats (for large montior users) and more features than ever before - now the most advanced 737 aircraft ever built for a simulation... Can anyone help me understand these 1000-1500 sounds? These appear to be separate from any sounds related to the engines. Keith

"The biggest and most professionally-respected sites have reviewed our quality product from every point of view. Among them, the biggest and the most respected simulation network in the world took it upon themselves to write a glowing, and considerably complimentary review (a translation can be read below)."Wait a second, I thought the AVSIM review hadn't come out yet? I would rather read a translation of everything above that review.I know I am really bad for this, but it is pretty funny to read that site over and over. Instead of become clearer, it just gets funnier every time. I remember buying a brand new Ford pickup truck several years ago and learning that the rear bumper was an option I had to pay extra for lolHey, Ariane! I'd probably buy one of your airplanes if I could make any sense at all of your website!

some of the writing does indeed involve circumlocution (that's using ten words when one will do, in case you didn't know). But if you think the current site is bad, then you should have seen the old one. It would have been less complicated to order a real 737 than how it was on their old site.So, here's a translation: Ariane make all the Boeing 737 NG models for FSX and FS9. The most popular one is the same as the most popular one in real life (the 737-800). The least popular one is also the least popular one in real life (i.e the discontinued 737-600). The fact that they do not use FSUIPC means that they have custom coding rather than relying on FSUIPC, which doesn't mean you cannot use FSUIPC at the same time, it just means their aeroplanes are not reliant on it. Multi Crew experience is the same in that respect, and it is actually advantageous in some respects, though not if you use external hardware which makes use of FSUIPC to read data from FS.The FS9 ones are 29.99 each (that's UK Sterling, which is probably about 45 Dollars-ish). For that you get one plane (i.e a 700, or an 800, or an 800, or a 900, or 900ER, depending on your choice), but depending on which one you choose, you might get a few options such as winglet and non winglet versions, however as far as I can make out, the FS9 ones generally only come in the BCA (Boeing Commercial Airplanes) paint scheme (i.e the blue paint job the Boeing 787 was rolled out in). The one exception to that is the BBJ (Boeing Business Jet) which comes in a green paint scheme (I think). The BBJ has a customised interior and is very plush. As far as I know, none of the FS9 versions have a HGS (that would be a HUD in non Boeing parlance). The FS9 versions have a working pushback truck which you can drive and a few other fancy bits and pieces, but not as many as the FSX version, although the windows can ice up on the FS9 version and they don't do that on the FSX one.Overall, I would say it was worth the money.The FSX ones are 69.99 each (which is around about a million Dollars, or possibly about 100 Bucks). For that you get one plane (i.e. pick a 600, 700, 800, 900, 900ER or BBJ). You get two paint jobs with those. One is the BCA scheme, the other is an 'unpainted appearance' texture, which looks quite cool, but unfortunately is not that much use since real Boeing 737s only ever make one flight in that paint job, when they make the short hop from where they are assembled, to the Boeing facility not far away where they get painted, so you really only get one usable paint job. The FSX version does come with the HUD (not collimated, but otherwise fairly accurate) and has more of the cabin modeled, plus numerous fancy utilities such as stairs you can call up, working deployable airstairs, ground power units that work, a cabin announcements system and a working galley control panel. The virtual cockpit is more 'clickable' in the FSX version and the mouse wheel is able to be used to scroll dials on the MCP (very well implemented actually, and the VC gets incredibly good FPS). The frame rates are much improved on the FSX one too, with the gauges being smoother and they are configurable for refresh rate. You can customise the cockpit a bit too, so you can have the Honeywell or the Collins Mode Control Panel, and you can have the old steam standby gauges or the newer integrated standby gauge.Overall I would say it is kind of hard to justify the price for this one. I am happy I bought it, but that is because I like the frame rates (which are truly excellent) and am happy to do my own repaints. If you don't like doing repaints, you'll be into the realms of paying for new paint jobs, which is why I think it's hard to justify the price. The fact that the FMC lacks a few things is something I can live with, but for this money it would be easier to swallow the price if it had everything working exactly as per the real aeroplane. You can use it and work around the limitations easily enough, but it doesn't make the price easy to take in having to do that. I personally like it, others may not, and I wouldn't necessarily disagree with them if they didn't.The cockpits of either the FS9 and FSX 737s from Ariane do not fully reflect the 737 NG in terms of avionics. They are adequate but would be akin to an airline not choosing many of the options which airlines can, such as the VSD and FANS systems. They are also limited to a smaller database of procedures on the FMC, although that is changing soon with Navigraph support being added shortly. They are also due to have a Navigation Database Manager (NDM) released (not free), which will allow you to create your own data for the FMC and dump it into the aircraft like what happens on the real 737 NG. That could be quite cool actually. All versions are due to have a patch shortly which will supposedly address the fact that they do not fully support VNAV path on the FMC, and it is also likely to fix the missing 'fix' page from the FMC.To buy one of them: click on the one you are interested in on the left hand side of their page, pick which FS version you want, and navigate to the purchase page, or you could use FSPilotshop, or Simmarket (which is what I did cause their payment system wouldn't work for me).Translation ends...Al

Can I drive the little truck around in the FSX version? So it would be $145 more or less to get either the 800 or 900ER (the only FSX models offered, as far as I can tell) with the airline upgrade pack that gives you improved sounds and various special effects not present in the base package, plus a few liveries. For the 800 you get Air Berlin, Air One, British Airways, Brittania Airways, Continental Airline, Kenya Airways, KLM, and Qantas. With the 900ER you get Alaska, Continental, Excel, Futura, Lion Air and Sky. To get any of the liveries, you have to go with the additional $32.25 airline upgrade pack.Other McPhat livery packs are available at $32.25 for a half dozen liveries featuring different versions of the same airline, e.g. KLM, or a collection, e.g. Delta and some others, but to get Delta and American, for instance, you would have to buy two separate packs.So, for the sake of argument, if I bought the 800 (which does have a HUD, apparently) and the airline pack (which I don't think I would be happy without) plus just one extra livery pack, I'm looking at over $175.That is some serious cash. And even though their activation process is supposedly streamlined, reading their FAQ and seeing patches to their update application does not inspire confidence. And we're waiting on a patch to make the FMC completely functional, and if you want to program your own procedures, you wait some more for a separate program that will be offered at an undisclosed price sometime in the future.Honestly, it all sounds neat, but at half the price. I don't know of another Next Gen 737 for FSX, though, and even PMDG, whenever they come out with theirs, won't have the all the fun extras, probably. Maybe if I come into to some unexpected money I won't miss.

Heartbreaking as I'm sure it is, nope, you can't drive the pushback truck in the FSX version.I think you are misunderstanding their product listings by the way (not hard to do since it isn't very clear). You don't need the upgrade pack if you buy the X2 versions of any of the Ariane 737s (the X2 versions already have all that - the upgrade pack is if for you bought the old FSX version prior to the X2 release). So unless you wanted more liveries (which are 19.99), it would just cost you 69.99 for the one which already has all those sounds and fancy stuff.That is the one I reviewed, and it was that 69.99 price (actually it was about three quid more, since I bought it from Simmarket, but you know what I mean).Like yourself Tim, in the same fashion as you seem to have had 'unofficial CS 757 rep on Avsim' status thrust upon you, I seem to have become the unofficial Ariane 737 person in many respects. In actual fact I was merely curious about them and decided to indulge my curiosity by stumping up the cash, sort of in the hope that I might clarify things a bit for people by doing a review, and of course because I wanted a nice 737 for FSX and was hoping it might turn out to be such a thing.You will doubtless appreciate that it is kind of difficult to come across as unbiased in that position if you find you enjoy driving them, and I daresay some might think Ariane have done some sort of 'Vulcan mind meld ' on me to make me say they are nice, but the simple fact is that I like them and can live with the shortcomings, because there are considerably more plus points than minuses. Despite all the horror stories one hears about Ariane activation, I think that's mostly ancient history too, but they've kind of only got themselves to blame for that mud sticking, since they are such an insular company, which might sound familiar to you where CS is concerned.So I use my Ariane 737s a lot, which means I'm glad I bought them. That can fly in the face of what a lot of people think, but it is my honest opinion in spite of that price tag. In terms of enjoyment and usage, I have had what I paid for.I still agree with you that their website is a bewildering combination of sales patter and gibberish though. :( Al

Thanks for explaining that about the "Airline Upgrade," because you're right, I was completely befuddled by their website.I'm willing to have a go at Ariane, because you're right, the forum echo-chamber is not necessarily the best guide to buying. And I am keenly aware of the position of somehow becoming point man for a company many dislike. I value your opinion because I know you have studied the product thoroughly. Knowing you are going to get gang-Fisked over a positive review tends to make you careful with the facts :-)I'll probably make Ariane my next airplane purchase, but it will be a bit down the line. I just bought the Level D 767 (again; had it way back when). Being familiar with the Captain Sim 757 made it a quick study.I wasn't criticizing the airplane, as you probably realize. I do think their site is funny, though. It was probably funnier last night when I was up with back pain just as the pain meds were starting to kick in. I may avoid posting in the future under similar circumstances.

You can criticise it all you like Tim, it won't bother me, since my money for the product is long gone to their bank account! It's certainly not beyond reproach, and it didn't escape criticism from me in the review I submitted to AVSIM. I just think that a lot of people seem willing to totally condemn things if they have an error or lack this or that feature, rather than highlight positives. I admit that's a 'glass half full' way of looking at things, but unless a product really stinks (which the Ariane 737 most certainly does not), then I'll always try and do that. Re the LDS 767: How come you didn't just get in touch with Level D or Flight 1 and get a serial code again or something? I bought the Level D 767 via Flight 1's system and I presume like with every other Flight 1 product, you can get your stuff again relatively easily by providing some info to them.Al

Because I bought it a long time ago and don't even remember where from and would have no way of documenting my claim of previous ownership except a few old screen shots in my collection. I don't have any other vices, so I don't begrudge a few extra bucks to the hobby. It is always fun to see what different developers do with products, and LDS 767 has very impressive community support.

I paid my money and downloaded my airplane to atone for making fun of Ariane. I hope India Knight will accept this gesture. Since I'm still not sure what I bought, it adds some extra excitement, sort of like Christmas!

I daresay the Ariane staff will be around shortly to brainwash you into liking it, show you the secret handshake, give you your magic decoder ring to enable you to understand the text on their website and...Actually, that last one is definitely a lie.Al

I'm sure I don't know what you mean. No changes here.

LMAO - Satan has you in his grasp now...Congrats on your excellent 'official' 757 review by the way. Given the recent threads, your timing is akin to arriving at Hickam Field as the Japanese Zeroes heave into sight LOLAl