I do not remember having seen such an explosion of quality freeware and payware, so much and so fast after a release of any sim.

That puts into perspective the  genuine (some are less than genuine...) complaints that the SDK is incomplete and badly documented. This is true but that does seem to bother too much our valiant amateur or professional developers in the scenery and light aircraft departments.

A vote of thanks to all of them and Asobo to have constructed a platform which allows that  ! 
 

I agree!

True. However it is worth remembering that nobody is going to hold your feet to the fire over a freebie, so there are not the same long term stabity demands on freeware as there are with products you actually pay for. That's really the reason why an approved production methodology via a concrete SDK is a necessity.

30 minutes ago, Chock said:

 an approved production methodology via a concrete SDK is a necessity.

Agreed.

Still, the unprecedented proliferation of addons might be the sign of a new modding literacy in the simming world. It reminds me of wild mushrooms appearing on my lawn after some heavy rain. People who apparently were not simmers before, add stuff which are not so bad at all. Two-odd months after release !

Critics speaks  from their high chair of a closed environment, amateur modders show exactly the contrary, a sandbox open to anybody willing to have a try. 

Edited November 4, 20205 yr by Dominique_K

The SDK for the scenery is pretty much there and easy to develop, which explains the huge influx of sceneries for MSFS. For the aircrafts, the issue actually is from WASM APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), as you may know WASM is like sandbox environment, hence you wouldn't have that freedom, hence Asobo is slowly exposing more and more APIs which allows for complex addons to have more functions, with that of course the documentation needs to be added on these APIs that you can access. 

It's worth mentioning that Aerosoft said they haven't seen that much interest in their add-ons since 2002.

1 hour ago, ChaoticBeauty said:

It's worth mentioning that Aerosoft said they haven't seen that much interest in their add-ons since 2002.

Really?  I thought the A318/319/320/321 series was a massive seller.  So that has surprised me.

4 minutes ago, bobcat999 said:

Really?  I thought the A318/319/320/321 series was a massive seller.  So that has surprised me.

Yes, here's the post from Mathijs Kok: https://forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?/topic/156050-your-p3d-intentions/&tab=comments#comment-997277

In another post he also said that Prepar3D add-on sales are pretty much dead now, so they will be going where the customers are.

2 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

A vote of thanks to all of them and Asobo to have constructed a platform which allows that  ! 

Cannot emphasize enough, how grateful I am for you guys..... 

2 hours ago, Chock said:

True. However it is worth remembering that nobody is going to hold your feet to the fire over a freebie, so there are not the same long term stabity demands on freeware as there are with products you actually pay for. That's really the reason why an approved production methodology via a concrete SDK is a necessity.

When I suggested something like that (although not as succinctly as that) I was shot down as a heretic!

5 minutes ago, Ron Attwood said:

When I suggested something like that (although not as succinctly as that) I was shot down as a heretic!

You mean they burnt you @stake ?

2 hours ago, Chock said:

nobody is going to hold your feet to the fire over a freebie,

Unless it's a BN-2 Islander repaint... @Steve Dra  

I can't blame him for enjoying the new sim and getting to grips with the repaint methods for that though! 🍻

1 hour ago, HighBypass said:

Unless it's a BN-2 Islander repaint... @Steve Dra  

I can't blame him for enjoying the new sim and getting to grips with the repaint methods for that though! 🍻

The new sim is so alluring that it is a real concern for me regarding my painting time.  Need to re-focus a bit on that part of my free time again (where it used to be 95 to 5 percent painting to flying, its now completely flip-flopped and is really closer to 1-99 at the moment...that 1% trying to absorb a completely new way to paint vs the last 18 years of muscle memory).

3 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

Still, the unprecedented proliferation of addons might be the sign of a new modding literacy in the simming world. It reminds me of wild mushrooms appearing on my lawn after some heavy rain. People who apparently were not simmers before, add stuff which are not so bad at all. Two-odd months after release !

It reminds me of the Wild West...were anything goes, and folks who previously always wondered about modding looked at it briefly in other sims, and ran away in fear.  The new platform however, with blender® and other free tools at their disposal and more tutorials to shake a paintbrush or sculpting knife at...are saying..."Hmmmm....I might be able to do this" 🙂

In in just the short time MSFS has been on the market....we see this:

Show me the same site for previous sims...that was THIS organized and populated less than 6 months after release (rhetorical question....it never existed) 😉 

Are all of these mods great? Nope.  Are all worthy of staying on your computer? Nope...but some are:

Monument Valley:

Bryce Canyon:

And waaaay too many more to show. 🙂

I'm a happy simmer...with my Screenshot Simulator. 🤣

 

3 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

Critics speaks  from their high chair of a closed environment, amateur modders show exactly the contrary, a sandbox open to anybody willing to have a try.

While I generally agree with this statement...a balance of the stakes for each camp need to be considered.

As I mention with the "modders" akin to being in the Wild West....they can create with almost reckless abandon and not be too concerned with the outcome that a small disclaimer won't fix "Use at your own risk, I assume no responsibility...etc".

Commercial Develops MUST follow very strict and formal guidelines to ensure they won't release something that will harm your system (even if you're a pirate! 😉 ).  IF they fail to do so, they are liable (or potentially so) for their actions.

In the "sandbox" analogy, while they both play in the same sandbox...Commercial Devs have much different (and stricter) rules. 😉 

3 minutes ago, Steve Dra said:

n the "sandbox" analogy, while they both play in the same sandbox...Commercial Devs have much different (and stricter) rules. 😉 

One of those rules is regarding the use of Google photogrammetry.  Freeware developers can and do use it at will.  In fact most of the best looking freeware out there is due solely to the use of Google assets.  While it's unlikely that Google will send a cease and desist letter to the small freeware developer.  However if a commercial developer tried to use those assets, the cease and desist letter would show up before the ink dried on the proverbial box.