CaptainSim 757 Freighter released, maybe?

[Jim Young 2,356]

30 minutes ago, LH340fan said:

I may be dumb; but why are vrefs so low? I'd expect something like that around 135ias with wind, but on my fms it tells me something like 120... 

Make sure you go into the FMC Menu and setup the aircraft with what you want.  Sounds like the flight is set up for a short flight rather than a long flight or random flight load.  You have to configure for the fuel, passengers, and cargo.  Then the flight will be properly set up.

[honanhal 1,420]

9 minutes ago, w6kd said:

Comparisons with PMDG, FSLabs, or Majestic aren't all that relevant, because they're not in that space, and don't look like they ever will be.

But that’s just the point: this stratospheric pricing (cost for the base model plus RR and freighter runs higher than anything PMDG or FSL have released) unavoidably puts them in that space — so if the quality doesn’t measure up, we have a problem.

I would say that QualityWings and Captainsim are roughly in the same technical and quality tier: in some aspects (especially visual modeling) excellent, some corners cut on the simulation side, a fair number of bugs that may or not be fixed months later, and overall it’s all just not as “tight” as an outfit like PMDG in particular. QW’s pricing bakes this in: their sale of the entire 146 lineup for $20 shows that those guys understand that to make money you need not just high prices, but also sales volume.

CS obviously missed the mark on this one, and if they’re smart they’ll backtrack. Unfortunately, it looks like they’re doubling down.

James

[Bob Scott 7,721]

39 minutes ago, honanhal said:

But that’s just the point: this stratospheric pricing (cost for the base model plus RR and freighter runs higher than anything PMDG or FSL have released) unavoidably puts them in that space — so if the quality doesn’t measure up, we have a problem.

I would say that QualityWings and Captainsim are roughly in the same technical and quality tier: in some aspects (especially visual modeling) excellent, some corners cut on the simulation side, a fair number of bugs that may or not be fixed months later, and overall it’s all just not as “tight” as an outfit like PMDG in particular. QW’s pricing bakes this in: their sale of the entire 146 lineup for $20 shows that those guys understand that to make money you need not just high prices, but also sales volume.

CS obviously missed the mark on this one, and if they’re smart they’ll backtrack. Unfortunately, it looks like they’re doubling down.

James

I think the CS pricing model is probably working for them...the biggest difference between their pricing model and the top-tier is that CS offers regular, though infrequent, discounting of their products.  During those discount periods, the price is quite reasonable ($50 for the CS 757 + RR expansion vs $115 for the PMDG 737-800/900 + 600/700 expansion).   So those who value having it right now can do that (at a premium price), and the rest can get it much cheaper by waiting for the sales.  PMDG and FSL, on the other hand, do not discount their products.  We see the same sort of thing with scenery add-ons...LatinVFR, for example, had a 30% off sale on their stuff, but excluded their recent KBWI and SCEL releases...so those that want those sceneries right away have to pay full freight, and those that can wait will most likely find them sold at a discount later.  The seller thus capitalizes on the demand from both motivated buyers that want the product enough to pay full price, and the higher volume of those that have a more casual interest who might be enticed to buy at a discount off the day-old bread rack later.  This is basic marketing, and it's really not unusual at all.

I think QW's $70 pricing on the 787 is more relevant to this discussion than the 64-bit recompilation of their old FS9/FSX BAE 146 add-on...clearly they are pricing the new P3Dv4-native 787 add-on in the higher range we're seeing for complex add-ons on the 64-bit P3D platform.  The CS 757, if purchased during one of their sales, is in the same price range as the QW787.  I haven't seen the QW787 sold at a discount yet.

Regards

[vc10man 732]

17 minutes ago, w6kd said:

I think the CS pricing model is probably working for them...the biggest difference between their pricing model and the top-tier is that CS offers regular, though infrequent, discounting of their products.  During those discount periods, the price is quite reasonable ($50 for the CS 757 + RR expansion vs $115 for the PMDG 737-800/900 + 600/700 expansion).   So those who value having it right now can do that (at a premium price), and the rest can get it much cheaper by waiting for the sales.  PMDG and FSL, on the other hand, do not discount their products.  We see the same sort of thing with scenery add-ons...LatinVFR, for example, had a 30% off sale on their stuff, but excluded their recent KBWI and SCEL releases...so those that want those sceneries right away have to pay full freight, and those that can wait will most likely find them sold at a discount later.  The seller thus capitalizes on the demand from both motivated buyers that want the product enough to pay full price, and the higher volume of those that have a more casual interest who might be enticed to buy at a discount off the day-old bread rack later.  This is basic marketing, and it's really not unusual at all.

I think QW's $70 pricing on the 787 is more relevant to this discussion than the 64-bit recompilation of their old FS9/FSX BAE 146 add-on...clearly they are pricing the new P3Dv4-native 787 add-on in the higher range we're seeing for complex add-ons on the 64-bit P3D platform.  The CS 757, if purchased during one of their sales, is in the same price range as the QW787.  I haven't seen the QW787 sold at a discount yet.

Regards

Spot-on, very rational case you put forward, Bob, instead of the anti-CS theme prevalent in this thread. Earlier this afternoon, while returning from a shopping trip, I mulled a bit, and thought to myself, us simmers are a strange beast, We have no issues splashing $50 on a bottle of wine, or a meal out or at the grocery stores, yet for a product that will last years as it has no shelf-life like consumables do, we raise a hue and cry. It's like customers I get who want a 'free lunch' if you get the colloquial drift.

$4.5 apiece for each variant of the CS757-200v3 freighter is not really asking the earth, all things considered. Okay, personally I won't buy it any more than I'd have bitten the cherry with Aerosoft offering their DC-8 because I already have enough to fly around with the QOTSII 747-400s and now the 747-8i.

 

[Christopher Low 5,353]

It's worth noting that the trim calculations are also way off in the CS 757, as the calculated value gives me an extremely "nose heavy" CG at take off. Don't misunderstand me though. The CS 757 is not a bad plane. It's just that I have been spoiled by the PMDG aircraft, and I want that level of system and options depth in all of my planes now....although the "borked RAAS announcement" issue in the PMDG 747 freighters since the January update was released is more than a little annoying....

Edited January 23, 2019 by Christopher Low

[SKEWR 364]

@SAX702

4 hours ago, SAX702 said:

Could you post a picture of this from your copy of the B757F?  

If you noticed, I said I do not condone or support that BS. If you choose to buy the over priced add on that's on you.I can post a pic from the 757 base pack I got for half the cost of the freighter add on though. Also, after you see it, then what? A picture (or in this case a video) makes no difference as you'll say "It was just a joke" or something similar...

 

4 hours ago, IAhawkeyeDDS said:

Picture please.

Why settle for a picture when you can see a video? (See below)

 

@Benjamin J

I finally took the plunge and got their 757. I think the Easter eggs in the main cargo deck were OK (as pilots often hide pictures behind panels IRL), but I really don't want to see that "garbage" when I'm simming. When I worked as a ramp employee, I remember seeing trash talk about different locations written in the cargo areas (IAH sucks, Please send women and beer to ANC, etc...), but not "personal views".

Clip From NightFlightX via Twitch here.

In case you'd like to see the whole video click here.

Edited January 23, 2019 by SKEWR

[Bob Scott 7,721]

I have reported this egregious offensive graffiti to the Snowflake Social Justice League for immediate action. 

Good grief...the choice of some random representative graffiti in a cargo jet's cabin is really what people want to focus on when an add-on is released?

 

[IAhawkeyeDDS 158]

[honanhal 1,420]

1 hour ago, w6kd said:

I think the CS pricing model is probably working for them...the biggest difference between their pricing model and the top-tier is that CS offers regular, though infrequent, discounting of their products. 

Fair points on the discounting, although I would wager a good deal that “everyday low prices” work out better for profits in the long-run than this kind of schizophrenic pricing — not least of all because you alienate the early adopters who you’re trying to fleece when they see you’ve sold the same thing to others at a 70% discount a few weeks later in some cases...

I bought the 787 at full price, and while it’s certainly not the best value I’ve had in an addon, you do get all the variants at once, plus liveries (and custom cabin announcements) are included by QW. So I’m not sure it’s so much apples to apples in terms of value, even taking into account CS sales. (I did buy the $25 757 base pack on sale, but the RR expansion even discounted seemed like not the best value proposition.)

James

[SKEWR 364]

30 minutes ago, w6kd said:

I have reported this egregious offensive graffiti to the Snowflake Social Justice League for immediate action. 

Good grief...the choice of some random representative graffiti in a cargo jet's cabin is really what people want to focus on when an add-on is released?

 

Blah blah blah.

We all have different opinions. Your typical "SJW" or whatever comment is your opinion and I have mine. Move on.

 

[iFlySimX 751]

I saw this quote and he absolutely nailed it! 

Quote

 

I mean, this pricing means you're paying $150+ for all variants of the 757-200.

PMDG will sell you every variant of the 747-400 for $135. And that includes 3 engine types, and an F, and a BCF, and a Combi, and a -400D...

not to mention that the CS isn't anywhere near the fidelity, polish, or quality of anything from PMDG.

it's ludicrous that CS think they can charge that much for an addon. absolutely ludicrous.

 

 

[signmanbob 592]

2 hours ago, vc10man said:

Spot-on, very rational case you put forward, Bob, instead of the anti-CS theme prevalent in this thread. Earlier this afternoon, while returning from a shopping trip, I mulled a bit, and thought to myself, us simmers are a strange beast, We have no issues splashing $50 on a bottle of wine, or a meal out or at the grocery stores, yet for a product that will last years as it has no shelf-life like consumables do, we raise a hue and cry. It's like customers I get who want a 'free lunch' if you get the colloquial drift.

$4.5 apiece for each variant of the CS757-200v3 freighter is not really asking the earth, all things considered. Okay, personally I won't buy it any more than I'd have bitten the cherry with Aerosoft offering their DC-8 because I already have enough to fly around with the QOTSII 747-400s and now the 747-8i.

 

I absolutely agree.  Captain Sim has been raising his bar on quality with this 757 and I will be the first to support his future releases as long as he is keeping this trend.

Tried to buy this last night but Paypal dropped the ball.  I'll try again today and be happy to get it.

This 757 is a very enjoyable aircraft.  I'll get years of enjoyment for $50 just bucks.  I have no problem with that.

[Bob Scott 7,721]

Aside from the indignation over choice of graffiti in some obscure corner of the cargo compartment and the never-ending pricing debate, how about answers to a couple other questions:

What liveries are available now 24 hours in?  FedEx?  UPS?  DHL?  Others?

Does this add-on play nice with FSDreamteam's GSX2?  I know Captain Sim has their own custom cargo loader animation built into this, but if you want to use the loaders from GSX or the dock loaders built into FSDT's Louisville scenery, does it work?  Or does CS' implementation of their own loaders make third party ground handling a problem?

Regards

[signmanbob 592]

2 minutes ago, w6kd said:

Aside from the indignation over choice of graffiti, and the never-ending pricing debate, how about answers to a couple other questions:

What liveries are available now 24 hours in?  FedEx?  UPS?  DHL?  Others?

Does this add-on play nice with FSDreamteam's GSX2?  I know Captain Sim has their own custom cargo loader animation built into this, but if you want to use the loaders from GSX or the dock loaders built into FSDT's Louisville scenery, does it work?  Or does CS' implementation of their own loaders make third party ground handling a problem?

Regards

I would think the cargo loaders from GSX would not interfere with Captain Sim's since his is activated through his own control panel.

I haven't check liveries yet, but I'm sure they will get painted quickly.  We have some talented artist in this community.

I've bought several custom liveries from Sergey, who sells his wares under "Paintsim" at Simmarket, and he pops them out for me pretty quickly.  Does a wonderful job too.

[vc10man 732]

1 minute ago, signmanbob said:

I absolutely agree.  Captain Sim has been raising his bar on quality and I will be the first to support his releases.

Tried to buy this last night but Paypal dropped the ball.  I'll try again today and be happy to get it.

This 757 is a very enjoyable aircraft.  I'll get years of enjoyment for $50 just bucks.  I have no problem with that.

Nice one, Robert.

What gets me is the 'Moaning Brigade' sprouting up here comparing what PMDG charge for the full plethora of aircraft this and that v/s what CS choose ,,,,,,,,,,, to charge. It's like, I go past a Rolex dealer, and my eyes water at what some Rolexs cost, but surely isn't up to me as a buyer, to choose whether I want to cough up 10-20 years worth of savings on one tiny timepiece, or go elsewhere where I can get another timepiece for a fraction of that Rolex cost that will still do the same job-------tell me what time it is!

Likewise, we too have the choice, either just stick solely to PMDG stable, or, be adventurous and try some other developers. And this from someone with a full stable of PMDG stuff dating back to their FS9 days.  But at the end of the day it's me that chooses where to go and buy this or that.

Here in the UK, we used to have shoppers moaning that they could buy this and that on the Internet much cheaper than the traditional High Streets. Guess what? The High Streets are gradually dying a slow death, while at the same I have lost count of how often I have heard the plaintive cry, 'wish they had a branch in town so I could just go and change it at lunchtime, instead of having to take a day off to wait for the courier to deliver the replacement'.

And the same will happen if we through our myopic rants v/s CS, etc, etc one day---I hope not---lose small developers, and their products are no more.

There, I have said my piece. I will shut shop!😂