So much for generosity and goodwill to help out 3PDs

I hate complaining. Hate it.  Always try to look for the good. But I have to get this out there again. Black Box Simulation continues to beat around the bush in making some sort of progress on the Airbus A330.  This stupid "Prologue" thing is a real coverup for fake.   Its a beta product no matter how you look at it.   Now I wanted to fly an Airbus heavy, and their "Prologue" product currently sitting at version .60 out of possible 1.00 for a complete product. Its just that.  A 60% complete product. Looks nice. and yes its flys and the landing gear works, but the FDE is horrible, and VNAV or managed descent for proper airbus terms doesnt work properly, nor do alot of switches and FMC functionality. But hey the answer is that I have purchased a 100% prologue.  For those that want to run to the dictionary, it means preliminary, or seperate introduction section, that leads up to something bigger. AKA in programming terms, alpha and beta stages of developing. Clever actually to disguise all this.  Now Tom I believe mentioned all this , so im sure the told you so will come out, and frankly the back and forth stabbings from these two continue. Nevertheless, I gave the benefit of the doubt. 

 

Now Is this all my fault?? YES!!! It is a resounding yes. I get what I deserve.  But forgive me for trying to give someone a second chance because of precious companies blunders. Lots of companies go thru it, but recover and even thrive. So Black Box had a seemingly convincing motivation and determination.  Do I have lots of money?  No of course not. In fact its a disability income. No money tree here. But I saw it as an opportunity to generously give by way paying for the product before its completion and something different I could at least get a feel for the Airbus heavies.  This is what you call a beta, no matter what name you give it. I accepted that fact on the premise this will continue to be worked on and improved in a relatively timely manner with some sort of return in updates to see that yes what we paid for is indeed a product we are aiming to improve.  Heck if we have this "beta" product , its a contribution in finding bugs for them. Yes we are paid beta testers no matter how you look at it. Again refuted. 

 

18 months later after version .60 and there is still no update. Ive been patient all this time, and never complained, just inquired in the hopes we are close with nudges of anticipation.   But Ive had enough. If you want to do this "When its ready" thing thats totally fine, but dont expect people to pay upfront and be happy if you cant meet obligations of showing some sort of progress. Ive made my comments on FB and it was taken as insults.  Forgive me again but who has my 80$ and who has the half working product still after a whopping 18 months of nothing.  To be fair, Its my understanding they have gone thru hard times personally with family losses and this is sad. But if you are unable to continue secular obligations, then its best to refund everyones money and call it off. Sugarcoating it with a "Free A340" to go along with it, just doesnt cut it with me. Rather have a properly working accurate and in depth systems simulation, then a copy to another frame with minor adjustments to FDE and add 2 engines. My personal opinion of course. 

 

Yes I deserve it, but for all you who contemplate it, think again.  This is the second sting. The last one was Pro ATC and again that wasnt cheap. Let it be a lesson.

 

Good will gestures are not appreciated. Dont do it. Keep your money until it is a finished product. Over and out and sorry for the rant but I think it needs to get out there again. Tired of being taken advantage of. 

 

 

(1) Never pre-order a digital product with unlimited supply

(2) Wait for unbiased reviews from legit groups

(3) Wait for discussion to develop on forums on pros/cons

 

Never failed...

 

I made a couple impulse purchases earlier this week without doing the above research and boy I wish I bought them off Flight1 so I could get a refund :(  

Seems BBS is a ripoff and honestly I am not surprised. I guess customers still have no access to their PSS products after they used a dodgy excuse to shut down?

 

 

Keep your money until it is a finished product.

 

That was your mistake - you knew it was unfinished when to chose to buy it. Do you buy other unfinished products - I know i don't?

Got caught up by them when they were PSS, some publishers never really change their spots. Another no for me these days is Wilco.

Got caught up by them when they were PSS, some publishers never really change their spots. Another no for me these days is Wilco.

 

They also have published a threat on their webpage regarding chargebacks, that you will be prosecuted if you are not satisfied with the product and needs a refund. They are EU based and must follow EU consumer laws and could very easily end up in court for this practice.

I'm not a fan of the current trend of asking customers to pay for a product that is in development.

 

It likely means they don't have sufficient funds to complete the product and need people to buy their product sight unseen. In which case their business model is flawed and the customer is very possibly going to get burned.

 

Note that developers like PMDG, A2A and RealAir don't follow this business model.

 

Those familiar with BBS and their track record as PSS, being asked by Mr Waterfield to pay up front for a "Prologue" (now there's a euphemism if ever I saw one) knew it was only ever going to end in disappointment for those who handed over their money. When the A330 Prologue was released with the A320 still in Prologue (how's that coming along, BTW?) myself and several others warned against buying it precisely because of the developer's history. We were told we were being unfairly harsh and hostile, we were told the developers seemed like nice guys who were committed to the product, and we were chased out of the thread.

 

Funnily enough now they've got your money and many months later you have the temerity to ask them about all the promised regular updates and development which hasn't materialised, they're not so nice and pleasant any more.

 

I hate to tell you, but I told you so.

 

Anyone want to take odds on when and what the next BBS "Prologue" product will be?

They also have published a threat on their webpage regarding chargebacks, that you will be prosecuted if you are not satisfied with the product and needs a refund. They are EU based and must follow EU consumer laws and could very easily end up in court for this practice.

 

Those  words from the BlackBox site are totally meaningless nonsense - which says much about the individuals running Blackbox.

 

 

(1) Never pre-order a digital product with unlimited supply

(2) Wait for unbiased reviews from legit groups

(3) Wait for discussion to develop on forums on pros/cons

 

Superb advice on how to avoid buyers remorse most of the time, however; I have had instances though where my personal preference overruled otherwise positive reviews...

 

I remember a regional jet package that got an Avsim "Gold Star" review but I could never get past it's 2D and glowing AP panel staring at me each time I got in the VC.  Sometimes you just get stuck with something you wish you had passed on which sucks but following Hawkeye52's advice will reduce those experiences significantly.

Those  words from the BlackBox site are totally meaningless nonsense - which says much about the individuals running Blackbox.

+1

Their reply was nonsense to my concern. Its just not a professional way of dealing with customer service. Once again another reply, and all it was was justifying the definition of Prologue. Its a beta.  Maybe this is some sort of English misunderstanding, but the two are the same in regards to software. 

 

Yes I have admitted it a number of times that it was my mistake. The aircraft will be nice to fly if it ever does get done, and I still look forward to it, but the company service is garbage. 

 

This should not be a blanket statement not to buy 3rd party add ons until complete, but it is. I really dont believe it should be because I want this hobby to succeed just as much as anyone here, and the more add on devs that succeed the better chance flight simulation gets bigger and better. Its an encouragement to give them some money so they have funding in order to continue PROGRESS in the project I just invested in.  When investors don't see ANY results, they get very on edge. Legitimately so. NO??

 

Its a real shame that it is too much to ask for 3rd party devs to just communicate properly and deal honestly. We want to help because they are small and dont have a huge market. But they keep doing stupid things like this, and they are on their own. Develop yourself, beta test yourself, and hope you have some sort of market, because your reputation just got shot again BBS. Pathetic. Will people buy it? Yes cause there is no other Airbus heavies, but how will they learn this is not acceptable. 

 

If you can wait for an Aerosoft or Flight Sim Labs A330, you will be way better off. At the time 18 months ago, there was no talk of these aircraft with other 3PDs.

Yep, I , for a while, thought that this practice of charging for something was ok. I too got the ProATC scam rammed up my butt and it changed my mind. The guy that ran this scam I think has done it before. Sad really, as I did not mind doing my part to support the hobby with a few bucks. That clown, I think he is french, is just a joke. He tells more lies than a Preacher with 4 wives.

 

I would like to point out that the experience with OPUS has been very positive and my hat is off to them. Great folks and they work hard to deliver a quality product backed up by amazing service.

Any product that is only 60% complete is not a "Beta" by any stretch of the imagination. It is plain and simply an "Alpha" product.

What's a PD?

What's a PD?

I assume you're refering to the expression "3PD"? That stands for 3rd Party Developer.