Did you know?- Orbx Support forums now read-only

[787flyer 633]

Hi,

 

Just thought I would mention it here that since late this week apparently, the Support forums over at Orbx have all been made read-only and you now have to log a Support ticket.(https://orbx.to/support)

At least the forums and all the helpful advice previously posted is still available, but its a shame you can no longer post a reply with your observations or add helpful hints in the Support forums.

I also discovered that Volanta Support via Discord has also been closed as a support channel (OK, this I am not so sad about as I struggled with Discord to get support questions answered- not just that specific channel either)

 

From a certain perspective I understand the move to centralize this through a ticketing system. I can not imagine how many issues Orbx deal with on a daily/weekly basis, but in my view not being able to search for new issues being reported by the community is a real set back.

For example, there is a search function on their new Product Support site but if you type in "YMML" or "Brisbane" , I would have expected a fair number of hits, but I received "No Results".

I guess from a P3D perspective, many of the issues have already been reported on the fourm, so may be the impact is not so great for the P3D community versus those that need active support for MSFS and X-Plane??

 

Unfortunately there are only a handful (~15) of topics now available on the main Support site for P3D/FSX.

https://support.orbxdirect.com/hc/en-us/sections/360000674835-FSX-Prepar3D

 

For me this appears to be a bit of a retrograde step by Orbx as the community help that the forums did make possible is now gone. 

I will miss Nick C's and Doug S' efforts and support on the Orbx Support forums. Hopefully they are still around, behind-the-scenes??

 

EDIT:

Note to Moderators- if you feel this is not the right place for this thread even though it directly affects P3D users, please feel free to move this to another sub forum.

Edited February 12, 2022 by 787flyer

[out 769]

I just can't believe it! 😲

[johnbow72 2,722]

Being a long time Orbx forum member , the change has not gone over well .

[LRBS 947]

4 hours ago, 787flyer said:

 

Same for this forum read-only. Like all of us here, we need to log on before we put/answer a topic, upload/download a file or we help each other with an issue.

I think that there are many forums like that, PMDG, FSLABS, P3D, etc, just a few to mention.

The bottom line is that we have a choice, log on or just ignore.

 

Edited February 12, 2022 by LRBS

[micstatic 4,319]

The problem with this system is that huge issues with products can lie below the surface without other potential users even knowing about it.  

[threexgreen 3,139]

9 minutes ago, micstatic said:

The problem with this system is that huge issues with products can lie below the surface without other potential users even knowing about it.  

Thought the same if I got you right. If a solution is only sent to the person who submitted the ticket no one else will see that. I bet they get tons of tickets asking the same thing. In a forum you could post a sticky or something.

Edited February 12, 2022 by threegreen

[LRBS 947]

31 minutes ago, micstatic said:

The problem with this system is that huge issues with products can lie below the surface without other potential users even knowing about it.  

As there are issues related to MSFS, P3D, FSLABS, PMDG, and many users or potential users are not aware of it. I understand and respect the notion but there is also another way of looking at it. In the end, it's up to the developer to do whatever they want with their forums. It is just up to the customer (or potential customer) to do their homework and make a decision if they want to deal with it or not.

At least these guys don't require your real full name and other nonsense to register there.

 

[flycln 435]

I guess they got tired of people asking about the missing KSUN fix they promised like a year ago but that never happened no matter how often you ask, despite it being listed and sold as compatible with P3D5.

[micstatic 4,319]

16 minutes ago, flycln said:

I guess they got tired of people asking about the missing KSUN fix they promised like a year ago but that never happened no matter how often you ask, despite it being listed and sold as compatible with P3D5.

Hah.  I was one of them.  In fact I literally just turned in a ticket about it.  They got back to me in a few days.  Then they found an old link from a year ago with same issue (no Solution).  Ironically, I was part of that thread.  I must have just forgot I was waiting for a solution and didn't notice for a year until I went to fly there. 

[Fatback 84]

I use the forums as a knowledge base. Most times I don’t need to submit a ticket because I can find it myself. I’m a loyal ORBX customer and have been for years but I don’t like this one bit. 
 

Edit: Many times I’ll just browse the forums and pick up useful tips. 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Fatback

[jaytee73 132]

12 hours ago, 787flyer said:

 

I will miss Nick C's and Doug S' efforts and support on the Orbx Support forums. Hopefully they are still around, behind-the-scenes??

 

 

I had a problem that sat around for 3 days and then asked the question here  on AVSIm and got a reply almost instantly  and solved the problem

I related this to the Orbyx forum and this was Nick's message - which from a bloke - who has helped us for years - I thought was a great answer and gets my thanks

""The Avsim forums were probably the best place, as at 261,000 + members from all backgrounds, versus 101,000 + most of whom are at least interested in Orbx and most probably Orbx customers, the likelihood of someone having the hardware and also having solved the same problem was evidently higher.""

[blaunarwal 432]

I used to be active there, but now almost everything is about MSFS. What shall I do there? As long as Central works and I can install addons, everything is fine for me.

Dan

[JNS 106]

11 hours ago, threegreen said:

Thought the same if I got you right. If a solution is only sent to the person who submitted the ticket no one else will see that. I bet they get tons of tickets asking the same thing. In a forum you could post a sticky or something.

I hope this backfires on them and they get inundated with support tickets because people can't find information in the forum. Many times I've discovered tips/fixes/procedures posted by Nick C. in the forum.

Edited February 13, 2022 by JNS

[fluffyflops 1,858]

the customer service at orbx has been going downhill for years once they released a stream of rubbish products, and people have just stood by and taken it and never moaned, same as aerosoft. you reap what you sow.

go raise a ticket with them about  EGPH,LGKO,LEBB,LOWW,EDDT,ESSA  and see how you get on.   They will flob you off, same as aerosoft will.  

Edited February 13, 2022 by fluffyflops

[787flyer 633]

1 hour ago, JNS said:

. Many times I've discovered tips/fixes/procedures posted by Nick C. in the forum.

I agree Jeff.

I have found it an invaluable resource because someone else had the presence of mind to post a reply  or hint or a tip and I never needed to raise a ticket in the first place. Actually if truth be told, my common practice before purchasing a product or initiate an upgrade, is to look at the forum posts and see what issues I may be expected to run into and then better prepare myself. Many times that has helped me avoid issues others have run into.

Lets hope the Orbx Support Center will be developed into something useful. Only time will tell.