Earth Simulations Closed Down?

[mgh 89]

 

 

So you're an expert on EU VAT? FSAddon closed its European doors for the very same reason: http://fssupport.com/fsaddon/?p=2467

 

Aerosoft , Flight 1, FSDreamTeam etc, etc are still selling to EU customers.

[Glynn 405]

 

 

Aerosoft , Flight 1, FSDreamTeam etc, etc are still selling to EU customers.

 

Much larger operations, but then you knew that already Gerry.

Maybe the small teams such as Earth Simulations cannot be bothered with all the hassle, probably takes a lot of fun out of developing when the red tape becomes to much.

[mgh 89]

I suggest the fundamental  reason is  Earth Simulations is simply not making enough money.
 

Within a month of setting up ES Microsoft pulled out of Flight Simulation development. Since then there has been a steady and continued decline in the add-on market which seems unlikely to improve any in the foreseeable future. Rather than things getting easier we can only see things getting harder.

 

Microsoft's pulling out of flight simulation happened a while ago and the decline in the market declined since then.

 

With the relentless struggle it has been up to making this decision, just to keep ES running and a roof over our heads, we have each worked consistently very long hours for what has been far less than even a minimum wage. As a result our health has suffered and the fun we once had making scenery has become increasingly hard to come by.

 

Similarly, working longing hours for less than a minimum wage and suffering health propblems also can't have just happened recently.

 

It's sad when any firm goes out of business but that  happens when the money runs out.

[keithb77 308]

 

 

The files are the same for each platform Keith, the only difference is the location ESI sends them to during install and where the scenery.cfg or similar files are located, So in answer...an ESI-Pack created with the FSX version of ESI can still be used by the P3D enabled version of ESI to install into P3D at a later date yes.

Thanks Darren...after a few difficulties ESI installer is seeing my ESI_PACKS.

However...

I'm trying to install Shawbury Fields, which works to a degree, but I have VFR Scenery not GenX, so there is a manual step to perform for autogen, which was described on the forums, which are no longer accessible.

The product manual refers to the step but doesn't describe it.

The install has created 4 folders containing AGN files - Volume2/Area1/2.4m Photo/Texture/****.AGN etc

I believe I just copy those to the VFR scenery Texture folders, but

a, which goes where?

b, is 2.4m correct? - VFR is 1m scenery

Apologies for getting detailed, perhaps we could have an unofficial support forum for ESI here at Avsim, where we can help each other?

 

EDIT- The uservoice pages have instructions for Treescapes manual install, which look to be similar to what I remember, so I'll give that a go and just copy everything everywhere....

https://earthsims.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/102592-how-do-i-install-treescapes-into-justflight-vfr-re

Thanks

Keith

[kevinfirth 1,396]

Is the P3D version of ESI still available, and if so where from? Might it be a good idea to host a dl in various places so it will still be available to people in years to come? K

[keithb77 308]

According to Darren you just need the ESI_Installer, which can be downloaded from the Uservoice helpdesk site - see above.

Maybe Darren could post it to avsim library, but best get your own copy.

Use that to save away your sceneries as ESI_Packs, which can then later be installed into any of the supported platforms.

The ESI_Packs cannot be hosted as they are payware, even though they can't be used without a valid serial code.

Cheers

Keith

[FlavioSSA 44]

Thank you to everyone who's commented in this tread with such kindness and understanding. Both Vikki and myself appreciate it very much.

 

Kindest regards

Darren & Vikki

 

Mr Darren, i sent an email to support  @  earthsimulations  .  com

Do you still use it?

 

Thanks!

[simmerhead 885]

Aerosoft , Flight 1, FSDreamTeam etc, etc are still selling to EU customers.

 

At this moment we are still figuring out how the new VAT regulation in Europe should be handled. It's a major pain in the butt for sure. I have seen some test pages of other (not our shop) that have 25 different prices on the product pages.

 

- Mathijs Kok (Aerosoft)

[garymc7 0]

I am very sad to hear this. It is quite a loss to the flight sim community.

 

From me a very big thank you to Darren and Vikki for producing scenery that has life and soul. I have all their islands, Shawbury Fields and NW Scotland, and it has to be the most beautiful and realistic scenery in FSX. Whenever I want to fly low and slow, and follow real roads, I will continue to turn to their scenery. I'm sure there are some little animations and features I still haven't discovered. I wish you guys the very best for the future! 

[Christopher Low 5,354]

 

At this moment we are still figuring out how the new VAT regulation in Europe should be handled. It's a major pain in the butt for sure. I have seen some test pages of other (not our shop) that have 25 different prices on the product pages.

 

Absolutely ludicrous. Congratulations to the EU for yet another well thought out rule :rolleyes:

[mgh 89]

 

 

At this moment we are still figuring out how the new VAT regulation in Europe should be handled. It's a major pain in the butt for sure. I have seen some test pages of other (not our shop) that have 25 different prices on the product pages.

- Mathijs Kok (Aerosoft)

 

But, as i said, Aerosoft are still selling to EU customers and paying the correct tax .

[Glynn 405]

Aerosoft are still selling to EU customers and paying the correct tax .

 

 

 

Gerry, there is a huge difference in scale between companies such as Aerosoft and Flight1  and the Independent developer working on their own where in many cases making addons is only a part time thing, maybe the new rules are just to much trouble to make developing worthwhile..

 

Aerosoft and Flight1 are established publishers.

 

This is Aerosoft's headquarters where 35 employees work

 

http://en.shop.aerosoft.com/eshop.php?action=news_detail&news_id=38&shopfilter_category=Flight%20Simulation&s_design=DEFAULT&s_language=english&PHPSESSID_aerosoft_esales=6al29mt0jpopjkha0qkj5o0i44

[Bernie5 11]

Very, very sad to hear this news. I have "Shawbury Fields" & it is the one piece of scenery that I normally choose to fly around for "low & slow" flights.

 

It would be good if one of the larger companies took this under their wing - I guess I can just hope?

 

On a more technical note, I will not be back at my PC until the end of March - will download links for back up still be available by then?

 

To the couple behind ES - many thanks for what you have provided to the FS community, I'm sure that it wasn't an easy decision to give up, but Real World priorities always have to come first, & I'm sure that we all understand that.

[mgh 89]

 

 

Gerry, there is a huge difference in scale between companies such as Aerosoft and Flight1 and the Independent developer working on their own where in many cases making addons is only a part time thing, maybe the new rules are just to much trouble to make developing worthwhile..

 

I too have worked as an independent one-man business on a part-time basis, but I expected to have to pay my taxes.  It's a cost of doing business like any other.

 

Can't such developers afford Euro 0.20 a transaction?

[Christopher Low 5,354]

Nobody is suggesting anything about not wanting to pay taxes, Gerry. We are saying that introducing rules that make doing business a lot more complicated than it was is ridiculous. We should be finding ways to ease the burden on small businesses, not add to it.