Steady as she goes but don`t stay stagnant. And don`t put the cart before the horse.

There is a certain balance when it comes to economic growth and success in any business. Most notably in the software business.

As much as I am a fan of ORBX products (I have a lengthy collection), I have ceased purchases for now. I`m not sure if this is the present consensus for many but here are some reasons why:

1. ORBX Central took me by surprise but also turned me off due to the present issues compelling me to uninstall everything except for Global Base. My present P3Dv5 experience has never been smoother. Things would have been different if everything was installed on a 2TB Drive but no one initially begins the hobby this way. I know JV suggested this some time ago but not everyone has the luxury to drop thousands down at once on expensive SSD`s, nor do they want to populate the "box" with noisy and obsolete HDD (please spare me the HD polemic I`ve heard it enough already).

Furthermore, JV admitted (unquote) he is into the "Cub" driver VFR flying which , again, is not everyone`s only preference. This would explain the emphasis on the TE series storage requirements, which won`t be solved until ORBX Central is solved. Even then, the storage requirements are out of this world despite SSD prices falling. Sorry, but I`m not interested in mechanical HD and neither is JV.

2. Their present focus on XP leaves me wondering where it is all going for P3D despite their development road-map. Maybe the P3D landscape is "burned over" now understandably and they are looking for greener pastures. I get the former focus economically, but I wonder if the anticipated MS2020 will be the final nail in the coffin in terms of purchasing further products from ORBX. The desperate "lottery" sales pitch seems to indicate something. I just talked to a hardcore XP fan and he told me all purchases are suspended for him due to the potential MS2020 coming out even though ORBX has shifted their focus to XP.

3. Last but not least. I mean why the lottery? I was put off by this as well. Especially when the next window in the online application required me to purchase a product I did not really need. A few annual sales were always good enough for me. Something strange is going on here and it makes me wonder why?

Just a closing note: I have been purchasing Airport Add-ons that do not require ORBX from other vendors like, Flightbeam, FlyTampa and LatinVFR to name a few. I also pay full price for much of them as well. Therefore, I am not cheap or ungrateful as I may sound.

Again, I enjoy the ORBX product and in no way mean to slam them, but the present situation does concern me a little.

Cheers.

 

Edited September 1, 20196 yr by Ezra
Sentence structure and grammar.

Developers can choose whatever direction of travel they want with their products. If they get it wrong, they go out of business. That tends to focus the minds and actions of management.

If their choice of direction doesn't work for you, shrug and move on. Plenty of FSX and FS9 simmers have been put into that situation over the last two years and more.

Some thoughts to your other points:

• You could get yourself a hybrid HDD, best price/performance combination
• Don't get TE or CityScene products, stay with landclass and airports without large photo scenery to keep disk space usage down
• Stick to products that work for you as an airliner driver
• You can move your products around on your drives. You're making a conscious choice not to, hardly the fault of any developer
• Making XP products is a simple way to get more revenue in the door. Most of them are ports of original P3D products by (we are told) a separate team, which has no / little impact on the P3D product- or time- lines
• P3D products account for some 75% of Orbx's revenue (so we are told). They know to keep the P3D stuff coming our way.
• Speaking of which; Orlando CityScene, CAE3, LEAS, LIEO, Australia v2, LYBE, Global Buildings HD, and the soon-to-be-released Honolulu CityScene are all P3D-only releases this year.
  EGLC dropped recently and EGNX, OLC Africa, OLC Asia, NZNV, KSUN, KDAL, KBUR, TE GB Central and TE GB North are all anticipated for a P3D release by the end of the year*
  I think that represents a very decent year for P3D users and fans of Orbx products.

As I described on another thread, the lottery was probably an attempt to boost revenue over a traditionally quiet period of the year (vacation season) without losing out on profits from giving a sales promotion.

I think all developers are hurting from the MSFS announcement. Flight simmers are choosing to reduce or completely stop their purchases for current sims. This situation should be a concern for all of us. As noted elsewhere, PMDG undertook their first ever sales on their products, that should describe the position that developers are in.
 

Well one thing is - this is a hobby for many of us.  Hobby takes money lol.

I am a huge Orbx fan (this year, I was grateful enough to acquire huge amounts of Orbx Library for P3D) - don't get discouraged by Orbx Central.  Sure the initial roll out has some hiccups but you will be glad when all your addons are outside the sim and P3D updates come and it will be easy to get everything up and running.  There is an big Orbx Central update coming any moment now.  

I am so happy that Orbx has decided to go with P3Dv4 addon style (right now A2A, FSDT, and defunt Real Air Simulations, AIG Freeware) all install outside the sim.  I whack my p3d system a lot, and I despise companies still installing in the sim root directory.  I will save so much time and enjoy simming if majority of the developers stop making half baked products - we install outside by core files are still in the sim root directory and every where else on the system (Why don't engineers learn UI elements properly - it just takes common sense).  Super annoying at really intricate files everywhere.  I am beyond surprised that Flightbeam does not go install outside the sim, there is a script but effects/textures are still in the root sim - freakin annoying.  LatinVFR guys are going to look into - so I am happy with their response (lets wait and see).  Slightly disappointed in Flightbeam approach to this.

I digressed - back to your question.  Do not worry about MSFS2020 - lets see what will happen.

I can bet Microsoft has already contacted the best flightsim devs already right now - no one is admitting due to NDAs.  I run two business, I know how behind the scenes deals are done b/c there are contracts and NDAs.  One of my core business had a 3 month NDA deal (I could not even let my extended family know about the deal going on - especially when attorney's are involved).

Orbx Central will get this hiccups resolved shortly; just hang in there.

 

 

 

Edited September 1, 20196 yr by Skywolf

I've stopped purchasing their products, which is very unusual for me, since I have quite a collection. They can deny it all they want, but the focus on XP is clear. Which would be fine except for the way TE England has played out and now they are far down the TE bunny trail with XP. And we were told that porting to P3D wouldn't start before September at the earliest (here we are already). Which is very bizarre since FSX and P3D have been what they have built the company on for a long, long time. Talk about disenfranchising your core customers. I've also seen some very nasty responses to people asking about this. I'm well and truly turned off. I haven't even upgraded FTX Central and don't plan to at the moment. I'll use what I have but am very much anticipating the new MS sim.

Edited September 2, 20196 yr by Coneman

I own a lot of ORBX products, but I'm in an indefinite holding pattern over further purchases.  Like many I don't like how the roll out of ORBX Central has played out... additionally, FTX 3 is working just fine for me.  I had been looking forward to the release of Boulder City Muni and St. George but it's clear now they are hitting the $$$ by porting airports and developing for XP.  So be it... I'll continue to sim with the products I have and consider putting my simming $ with other vendors.  With or without ORBX, I'll still be flight simming.

Greg

I've definitely slowed down purchasing from them for most of the reasons given above as well.

Was just about to go from FSx SE to P3D but had to go O/S for 6 months and what happens? MS annoucemnet! .  So now the handbrake is on Untill MS gives us a clearer picture. Stopped buying ORBX 2 years ago because I just dont use the ones I have often enough unless I can fly tubes into them

Edited September 2, 20196 yr by zmak

I must be missing something here. Why would you NOT buy a product you like from ORBX, just because they are also developing for XP ?

 

Orbx was always a no-brainer for me. You could trust their products as being quality without issues. That seems to have diminished over the last year or two. Little quality assurance issues that added up. Now, I don't buy without having read a lot of reviews and comments.  

16 hours ago, F737NG said:

I think all developers are hurting from the MSFS announcement. Flight simmers are choosing to reduce or completely stop their purchases for current sims. This situation should be a concern for all of us. As noted elsewhere, PMDG undertook their first ever sales on their products, that should describe the position that developers are in.

That's so sorry, and I feel really compassionate for the developers and their sitiuation, and for simmers with the same mindest like mine as well !!!

It's rediculous, like on the stock-market.  As soon someone of the big-players get insecured, inverstors stop buying their shares ...

But hey, we are flight-simmers.  We carry on one of the greatest and compelling hobby mankind ever invented - so lets enjoy our present living moment and recap what we really have:

• Flight-simming has never been so exciting and good like today.
• Sceneries someone can purchase and their variety has never been so fantastic before - thanks to ORBX, Flightbeam and all the other vendors, creators.
• You can choose between different, wonderful simulators in the civilian but in the military arena as well like never before.
• Todays hardware is lightyears beyond compared to the beginning two decades ago.
• Its our hobby!  And if someone decides to dig deeper in his hobby, it will take always investment & money.  Whether there is comming a new MSFS in 2020 or not (--> probably with subscription and operable decently only with streaming --> how rediculous 😵 .  I would never allow a company to cut my freedom as a simmer by making me completely dependent on their shop, their subscription model, their streaming platform and on my internet provider).

Allthoug there are still so many unknown variables regarding this "video on demand sim", some people start to worship him like the new holy grail of flight simming 😣 .  I mean, what's going on here ?  Are they completely nuts and blind folded ?

But hyped simmers always get seduced by the same mechanisms: by visuals and nothing but visuals. 

But only gorgeous visuals don't make a good sim nowhere near ---> A very truthfull lesson I've learned during mastering the combat simulator " Falcon BMS " (poor graphics compared to todays standards but the best AI and best, smartest ATC/gameplay a sim of today can offer, with gorgeous performance - even better than DCS.  And the best of the best: this sim is for free, even his addons are developed by dedicated simmers in their spare time.)

For those of you who are interested:  Benchmark Sims - Home

Conclusion: for me there is absolutely no reason why i should stop buying addons for me beloved hobby.  Without ORBX my civilian sim world would never look as good as I'm able to enjoy it today.

 

All the best,

Konrad

Edited September 2, 20196 yr by KBUR
sorry; English is not my mother tongue : (

I like ORBX in my case I don't do GA and for some time nothing has been released to interest me, I have all the OLC and regions pre TE and all the large airports. 

1 hour ago, willy647 said:

I must be missing something here. Why would you NOT buy a product you like from ORBX, just because they are also developing for XP ?

Agreed. I own all ORBX Prepar3d products but started to buy their XP products as well when they entered the market. While I find their TE product range excellent as a pure VFR flyer, I am not prepared to stuff 3 sims (including AeroflyFS2) in parallel. Thus, I made a clear cut with the XP products now. Either they finally will port them to Prepar3d (and in a way they run acceptable) or not - if not, than be it and I'll have some spare money for other makers.

Kind regards, Michael

35 minutes ago, KBUR said:

Flight-simming has never been so exciting and good like today.

100% Agree.

Me too I consider we are in a new golden age of flightsim.

There is something quality for every taste (civil, military, helicopters, contemporary or historic periods etc.)

I won't buy anything from ORBX until Central 4 is completely reliable.
JV is particularly silent on this point.
I am still waiting for the Open LC Africa and Asia which are still not available. 
And TE products don't interest me, they take up too much space on our disks.

36 minutes ago, Avance said:

I am still waiting for the Open LC Africa and Asia which are still not available. 
 

There was a Orbx announcement earlier during the summer and Orbx aims at releasing Open LC Africa and Asia before the end of the year.