After all the funds I have invested in this hobby purchasing FS9 planes and sceneries I am tonight flying EDDF-RJAA in a Project Airbus 380 in Lufthansa livery with a freeware panel and Trent sounds- and in combination with Active Sky, FS Navigator, and Feelthere MAP I am getting a very immersive result.There are so many freeware options out there and I am going to explore after this fantastic experience.Wondering what other pilots feel? Do you prefer payware or freeware?John

After all the funds I have invested in this hobby purchasing FS9 planes and sceneries I am tonight flying EDDF-RJAA in a Project Airbus 380 in Lufthansa livery with a freeware panel and Trent sounds- and in combination with Active Sky, FS Navigator, and Feelthere MAP I am getting a very immersive result.There are so many freeware options out there and I am going to explore after this fantastic experience.Wondering what other pilots feel? Do you prefer payware or freeware?John

Hi JohnI would say it's a matter of apples and oranges. There is some great freeware and it's always wonderful to get something that is first rate quality that is given as a gift to the community. But there is also great payware that I wouldn't be without and I have no problem whatsoever with someone earning their living (or supplementing their income) providing payware - as long as it is good value. I wouldn't want to be without either of them as FS9 would not be anything like as good as it is without all the contributions that have been made.My only problem is when someone sells payware products that are of substandard quality or are overpriced.Usually you can avoid them by checking the forums and reviews, but occasionally something will get good reviews, doesn't have a trial version and you end up paying money for something that is not worthwhile. In that case I "prefer freeware" as you can just delete it and no harm done. But when I've just spent good money on something I quickly consign to the virtual dumpster, that p----s me off. Misleading advertizing or uncritical reviews are one of the few unpleasant aspects of this hobby IMHO. There are some companies I would never buy from - I've been burned too many times.CheersIan

Wondering what other pilots feel? Do you prefer payware or freeware?

Good freeware ... you are happy :Peace:Crappy freeware .. you are angry :sad:Good payware ... you are happy :Peace:Crappy payware .. you are angry :( and more .. you wasted your money :( Take care !

Good freeware ... you are happy :Peace:Crappy freeware .. you are angry :sad:Good payware ... you are happy :Peace:Crappy payware .. you are angry :( and more .. you wasted your money :Phbbbt:Take care !

That about sums it up.

I think that is still where FS2004 shines - it has a huge and diversified freeware base. One can get into and continue in this hobby "on the cheap" and still have a good-looking set-up with all freeware. It can keep you going for years.

There are mountains of freeware stuff available. Some better than the payware equivalent too!vololiberista

And not wishing to start a Flight "war", but there is one heck of a lot you can tweak and configure in FS9 to your liking.David

Most freeware, is probably not "as good as" payware. But, payware only covers a portion of the FS world, and of course costs. Most freeware will markedly improve the default experience, for the "cost" of download time and install/management. It takes more work to maintain the sim with many addons (free or otherwise) installed, and only the user can decide if the cost of that maintenance is "worth it".Even a simple AFCAD that adds some parking and maybe cleans up the taxi system can be a big plus, if that's an airport you want to use. I might add that even that simple AFCAD takes time for some dev to create, time that might have been spent flying around instead.scott s..

That about sums it up.

I think I would say "Crappy freeware and you are disappointed." Not much point in being angry when someone has done the work to give you something for free. I just shrug my shoulders and hit the delete button - no harm done. Hopefully they will improve with practice and someday might produce something that's really good.But crappy payware that doesn't have a money back option or a free trial version - now that's something to make you angry!!!CheersIan

Most freeware, is probably not "as good as" payware. But, payware only covers a portion of the FS world, and of course costs. Most freeware will markedly improve the default experience, for the "cost" of download time and install/management. It takes more work to maintain the sim with many addons (free or otherwise) installed, and only the user can decide if the cost of that maintenance is "worth it".Even a simple AFCAD that adds some parking and maybe cleans up the taxi system can be a big plus, if that's an airport you want to use. I might add that even that simple AFCAD takes time for some dev to create, time that might have been spent flying around instead.scott s..

In terms of making a new cockpit panel as an example, It takes ages! Each gauge has to be fully tested and where necessary coding changed. Its position and look has to be spot on. How does it affect other systems? and so on. Just changing warning lights takes ages. Modifying an existing panel to match the full check-lists (what I'm doing now) takes forever!!!vololiberista

Payware/Freeware -I have seen (and regrettably bought) some absolutely horrific payware software and have been angry. By the same token, I have downloaded some brilliant Freeware software and been very pleased with it.As one person has said, there are some companies out there that produce and sell terrible software then refuse to accept constructive criticism or provide customer service. MOST payware stuff IS over priced; however, that is a matter of Price versus demand. As long as people continue paying these ridiculous prices, they will remain and (probably) go up. Refuse to pay the price being asked, and it comes back to supply and demand - when demand goes down, so too will the price.Some people say that the cost of most payware is acceptable due to the time etc in making it. I think that argument becomes redundant when you have some one making freeware software that is as good and in some cases better than the payware equivalent.The one thing that angers me about some payware are those companies that have gone out of business or, refuses to provide support to a product due to age but STILL want to charge money for them - Imagine sim is one such company that comes to mind that is out of business but their products are still being sold by third party suppliers.Be aware that the advertising done by these companies is done for the sole purpose of presenting their product in the best possible light and that the product MAY NOT look or respond as well on your system. That is a chance we all take when buying payware products.So, I have a number of Freeware products, all of which are very good and with no payware item that is available or compares to them; and, I have a number of Payware Products as well, primarily scenery and utilities such as Active Sky and so forth.My advice is to look at the Payware products you might think about buying and ask questions about those products of people who own them - DON'T take the manufacturers word for it OR some bias Review of it, and from my experience, MOST Reviews ARE bias, one way or the other. So far as Freeware products are concerned, ask about them or download them and see if they live up to expectations, if not - delete them and no harm done, the majority of the time.Some people will say freeware stuff is unreliable and with no customer support and may have derogatory effects on your system or on FS, and that is true in most cases. Some payware companies, such as Abacus for example, seem to fall into the same category and you pay for their rubbish.Also, no a days, there seems to be a tendency with payware companies to only give you a PART of the complete thing you are buying - a "base package" for example, then expect you to pay more for anything else you want for that particular plane for example. If you deal with any of these companies - take a very close look at what you are REALLY getting compared to the price you are going to have to pay, as well as the additional costs involved with getting the FULL item. You may find that the entire cost is anything BUT reasonable.Research into products that you want to buy is imperative and any one who buys just because it is a particular company or as a result of a review is crazy, in my opinion.Cheers,wombat

Hi wombat ... you stated above " - Imagine sim is one such company that comes to mind that is out of business but their products are still being sold by third party suppliers."Are you confusing Imaginesim with another company or do you know something that I don't?I've been sweating on their New Dehli airport for some time. :(