Ariane BBJ (Boeing Business Jet) - Problems/Issues - Small and Large

[Staffan 12]

Hi,Even though I am one satisfied customer (including activation, support, etc etc...)of almost all of Arianes products, I am not going to start any flamable topics here. Mainly due to lac of time. :-)However, it would be very interesting to know how many "flamers" who actually have any of the products from Ariane. :-hahAnd if you would like to see some real reviews and flight reports, you can go to these links (if you can understand german): :-hahhttp://www.simflight.de/modules.php?name=N...rticle&sid=5908http://www.simflight.de/users/reviews/lowwlemg/lowwlemg.htmhttp://www.simflight.de/users/reviews/lowwlpma/lowwlpma.htmhttp://www.scandicair.com/images/sa_banner.gif

[W2DR 1,860]

Yes, I bought one of their "offerings" once. Big mistake. So, does that give me the right to say what I think? I really don't appreciate the "flamer" tag though. But you have just as much right to your views as I do to mine. Doug

[aerdt 0]

Everyone considering to buy an Ariane product should check out the menu option "Administration" on their homepage. If that's not enough to put you off from buying, read the various forums and wonder why there are almost no professional reviews of any of their prodcuts.Pat

[Guest rpjkw1155]

I really appreciate Ricardo taking the time to write his post. I won't purchase the Arianne BBJ or PMDG 747 or other detail/time/labor intensive aircraft/flight system because my enjoyment leans more to the classic jets and archaic auto pilots. But,it's interesting to see what I've been missing. I started with Sublogic's FS II, so I'm very happy that such aircraft are available and are so darned good. We've come a long way and I'm pleased those Simmers who want a complicated, almost real-life aircraft have several to choose from.I can't help but wonder if the designer's mindset is that since they created a very complicated model, then it follows the manual MUST be just as complicated, if not more so. These ARE labor intensive aircraft and I think a designer, ANY designer, should go out of the way to make the purchase/download/installation process and easy as possible and publish a manual equally as easy to read and understand. Software pirating not withstanding, what's so hard about doing that? Support is another area that appears to be woefully lacking, but could easily be remedied. I'll often e-mail a company a simple "Can you please tell me if..." type question concerning an upcoming release and most, using a real live person, reply in a timely manner. Those that don't, well, no matter how badly I may want to buy the aircraft, it just ain't gonna happen. If I'm ignored BEFORE I purchase, I doubt they'll be much help afterward. I honestly don't remember if I ever e-mailed the "usual suspects" or not. I think that area could be improved fairly easily, but maybe we're back to the midset that since the aircraft is sophisticated and complicated, then EVERYTHING must be.I think every beef I've read concerning Arriane and others that have a less than a sterling reputation are legitimate and should have been handled as such, with the attitude, "This guy paid us with hard earned cash, what can we do to make him happy?" Then do it. If they did that, the forums would be a lonely place and the company would be scrambling to hire good, COMPETENT employees to handle all the business.Cheers,Bob

[Guest jennifer]

I'd like to thank Ricardo for going to the trouble of coming up with this review. I had toyed with the idea, fleetingly, of buying, but that fleeting feeling won't return. Anyway, the PMDG 737NG series is a true joy to fly. . . a sublime put together FS addon. Who needs an alternative?!! Nevertheless, as someone said above, Ariane added some interesting ideas and they clearly have talent in the modelling field. What a shame it's not a serious contender to the PMDG. A genuine competitor would be good for the consumer.

[Guest]

well, no need to start a flamewar. The anti-Ariane mob has been quite successful in doing that all on their own.And I too wonder how many people who constantly flame them have any experience with them or their products at all (and that includes those who CLAIM to have the product, I've seen enough of those debunked as not having products they claim to have in the past to place much belief in such claims anymore, especially if they're just "Me no happy 2 massa" copycatting flames made by others.Could their products be better? Yes, but show me one product that can't be improved somewhere.Could their support be more open? Yes, but it's not as bad as portrayed by far (though I think that if you're approaching them the same way people are posting about them here they'll not be very eager to help, and I can fully understand them. If I get an email "your product sux bigtime and you're not going to help me anyway but this is my doubt" I'm not going to be very quick to respond to that in a helpful manner either...).Yes, their activation system is clunky. But I fully understand companies trying to protect their investment from the pirates (who are also present here and I'd guess that more than a few of the complaints here are from people who pirated the product as "punishment for the high price" or whatever other bogus reason).In all, I like the aircraft despite its shortcomings which are far less severe than they're often portrayed.If I don't use it more often that's mainly because it's rather hard on my hardware and as such it's a tad slow for me, but I expected that. I purchased it precisely to get to know what the flaming was all about and I'm still wondering, except that just about everyone trying to make a bit of money out of this hobby gets flamed to #### and back by a group of usual suspects who pop up to flame every single product out there.

[Guest Len]

Thanks for the time and effort in the review. Another product from Ariane I'll avoid. I wonder if you'll do a further review of those nice (apparently) interior cabin shots. Are the graphics crisp or as muddled as the cockpit panel?Hundred dollars is a joke. That's what I paid plus the few extra liveries (around $135) for the 900. Same problems with FMC etc. Problems with support as the support person was facetious. Gives new meaning to the notion of customer service. The only thing going for the plane was the very nice night lighting, the window frost when window heat not on and the pushback trucks. Not, however, worth $130 +.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

"Yes, their activation system is clunky. But I fully understand companies trying to protect their investment from the pirates (who are also present here and I'd guess that more than a few of the complaints here are from people who pirated the product as "punishment for the high price" or whatever other bogus reason)."It's getting rather old Jeroen, every time you drop the "pirate bomb" when someone is critical of an activation process. Please cease and desist--the pirate bomb theme is as old as the Ariane bashing theme. It's alright to call it as you see it--I have seen a lot of "Lemmings" in this post jumping on the Ariane bashing bandwagon for the sport of it. But Ricardo's post also describes an activation process beyond what I think is reasonable for entertainment software. I wonder how much of the process is designed to prevent piracy, and how much is designed to make the product look like it's a "sophisticated" software title. In my experience, which includes having purchased Ariane products, "image" factors a great deal into how they present, price and lock down their products.Since Ariane is still absent its own forum and seems to prefer others, such as ours, using their bandwidth for these challenges and complaints, I still view theirs as a second class product vs. the other players in the market. These other players manage to price their product at half Ariane's price and somehow have the time and resources to host and manage their own forums--and manage the real complaints and even the odd trolls that show up in such places.I don't have to own the product to draw conclusions about its value given some of the factors I think critical to a product's value. I just have to see the volume of posts and concerns that end up in our forums, on our dime, vs. Ariane's oft' promised, but never realized forums. It's hard for me to stay "moderator neutral" when I see someone describing an activation process like Ariane's and someone tries to void that by saying the whiners are just pirates anyway. -John

[Hollywood 1]

I have just got the 737-600 VCe. Activation problem? no. Why not? Because as described in all V2 manuals, you shall no longer use the online activation. I got the mail back in less than 24hrs. ;)Apart from that, these Ariane bashing threads are really boring. I got a german ariane forum running. No bashing and reasonable discussions on the product can be made. If some people could be a bit more tolerant, then we could really help those people that are not skilled enough to handle the product. Yes, it might not be intuitive enough. But same as the 6000 employees i support. Windows ist not intiuitive enough for a lot of them. But why should it be? But no one in my company starts M$ bashing thread just because of that. The hotline answers the questions and tries to help.If you need help with the product handling, either ask the supplier or join us in the german based forum for reasonable product experience exchange http://forum.fs-zone.de/board.php?boardid=...991215204298583CheersMartin

[Pete S 7]

I am really intrigued by the idea of the Push-back Truck, but refuse to pay even the 1/2 price tag ($50) just to find out!Too bad Ariane does not have a forum to answer such questions.Can someone elaborate on their Push-back system?1-How does it work? What, exactly, does it do? Is it actually drivable?2-Is it usable with other aircraft (besides Ariane)?3-Will it work on any FS9 airport, or just specific airports?Pete S.

[Guest Jeffreymg]

I have the 737-700 series version 2 and as I do have some problems with it,I have found that support is fair.I get a reply in a day or two but I love the plane.The pushback tug is fun to operate and you really get a different view from the tug.I only wish that they would have a forum or if Avsim would but problems from years ago and offer forum space to Ariane,I think that then some problems could get fixed quicker.The new version 2 EFIS option is nice and I have no problems putting in the fmc my own waypoints from FSBuild flightplans.I have had no problems in that area,I only hope that the simmers which are flaming the 737 own it not just mouthing off.I for one will not do that even with the problems I have as I expect that they will get fixed. JeffG

[rjsagel 0]

Hello,The tug is called when you issue a pushback command. When you look outside, you will see it attached to the aircraft. There is a command to put you into the drivers seat of the tug. Once there, you can drive forward and back as well as steer the tug and operate the brakes. It is a real hoot using it in a crowded airport. I have as much fun starting up the aircraft and getting it out of its parking place as I do flying the route! They may be trying sometimes, but the Ariane addons are interesting!BTW - It is only usable with the Ariane aircraft.Ron SagelNEAR KCHS

[Guest dre777]

What I don't understand is why no other freeware or payware developer has created an imersive, universal pushback utility. I would do it but don't have the know-how.-Andre

[Pete S 7]

Thanks Jeff and Ron.Andre, I recall Lago had a push-back tug as part of an addon for FS2002. That was in the days when Lago could be considered a good FS addon publisher. Unfortunately Lago went down hill, when new management took over and some of their more capable employees left!But I guess Lago's loss was Aerosoft's gain.Pete S.

[crvm 0]

>I have just got the 737-600 VCe. Activation problem? no. Why>not? Because as described in all V2 manuals, you shall no>longer use the online activation. I got the mail back in less>than 24hrs. ;)>>Apart from that, these Ariane bashing threads are really>boring. I got a german ariane forum running. No bashing and>reasonable discussions on the product can be made. If some>people could be a bit more tolerant, then we could really help>those people that are not skilled enough to handle the>product. Yes, it might not be intuitive enough. But same as>the 6000 employees i support. Windows ist not intiuitive>enough for a lot of them. But why should it be? But no one in>my company starts M$ bashing thread just because of that. The>hotline answers the questions and tries to help.>>If you need help with the product handling, either ask the>supplier or join us in the german based forum for reasonable>product experience exchange>http://forum.fs-zone.de/board.php?boardid=...991215204298583>>Cheers>Martin I wonder how someone could actually post something like this when Araine and their supporters have "attacked" another un named developer and continue to do so although have subsided here at Avsim but not other sites. If anyone even thinks that Araine themselves does not attack other products please request their "Comparisons" document, this will set the record straight about who is attacking who................Randy J. Smith................A PROUD MEMBER OF THE PMDG BETA TEAM[h4]Evolution is a process that results in heritable changes in a population spread over many generations[/h4]