As mentioned here:

Before you get too excited, this is expected to be released in Autumn/Fall 2023.
Paying $85 for all parts of TFDi's MD-11 experience this far out from release is, let's call it, an 'interesting' decision...
 

If you read further it does give you early access to the beta, “early supporters will be able to access beta builds when ready and provide direct feedback to our developers working on the project”. 
So I guess if your a fan of the MD-11 and don’t mind helping with the beta then it’s a good deal to get early access. It’s suppose to cover both P3D and 2020 if I read it correctly on the discord channel. I’ll be setting my alarm for tomorrow.

Edited December 1, 20223 yr by Wise87

In TFDI's defense they have been pretty open with their development on prior products (717..) both the good and the bad. They stuck it out and delivered in the end even when it was VERY rocky at it's release. Im going to pony up for the presale. I want the md-11 anyways. Not like I'm saving money by waiting for final release.

 

I don’t have an issue with this.  It’s very clear you are paying for beta access, and if that’s not your thing, then just wait until late next year when it’s “finished” and it’ll only cost you $5 more.

I like the TFDI guys. I hope this goes well for them!

From reading the Discord channel the Beta won’t be ready until mid 2023 so if you purchase tomorrow you still have to wait a few months before getting the beta. 

Edited December 1, 20223 yr by Wise87

During the beta which sim is the primary focus? In other words is this a P3D plane then ported to MSFS or visa versa?

Paid betas are very rare in aircraft developments. Usually the beta is in such an incomplete shape that you don‘t want any pics or videos from that to become public (as that would hurt your sales a lot in the end), so most betas are closed with NDAs.
Do they have financial problems and need to cash in right now (or else cancel the development)? Or is this an innovative way to speed up the development process by enlarging the beta?

So asking us to pay 80$ for something that is not even released and we have no idea about, just to participate in Beta? No thank you, learned with the hard way from Blackbox and their never released and buggy as hell Airbus.

I had my share of beta with Airsimmer A320 extended team... Never again

I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw the title of this thread. Pah! 😒

I'm look forward to the TFDi MD-11 when it's released, but not until.

2 hours ago, omarsmak30 said:

So asking us to pay 80$ for something that is not even released and we have no idea about, just to participate in Beta? No thank you, learned with the hard way from Blackbox and their never released and buggy as hell Airbus.

80$ seems steep for a beta price, but this aint no Blackbox simulation beta , early access or whatever horsehockey name they gave it. TFDI is well out of that league.  They have been upfront with everything, and they have a clear goal in mind thats showing nice progress. Never got this with Blackbox even after 5 years in there so called lousy preview access.    May consider this since its my favorite aircraft.  

Per Collin on the TFDI discord earlier:

Quote

I'm going to write this up as our official answer to this. Obviously, the goal behind any type of presale or sales-based event is to generate income. We're doing this, in honesty, to help ease the cost of development. Now, what I mean by that is NOT: "we're out of money and are desperate to bring in cash". What this is aimed toward doing is allowing us to continue developing at a good rate (possibly even faster than we have been so far) without aggressive prioritization or reassignments.

Business incomes do vary; this industry is difficult to predict that way, as well. Developing a product of this nature can be very expensive (think 6 figures) and the cost is primarily front-loaded. This is a way for us to shift some of the tail-end income to something that actually funds the project that's making the money.

With all of that said, we're not a cash-grab company. We're working on getting smartCARS 3 out, as well as the PACX update, which also cost money. The two options we have are increase revenue or decrease cost. Decreasing cost means slower development and a smaller team (which translates to a reduced experience across the board). The other option is to increase revenue - this is us taking that option.

Now, once we decided that was the route we wanted to go, we wanted to make sure that we offered something that checked a few boxes. The most important being that we're offering something of value. The limited edition numbering, the special variant, the discount, and the early access were ways we could give something meaningful back. The other box was that it was truly optional. By offering an additional version, we're not taking away anything from someone who doesn't feel comfortable purchasing 6-9 months in advance (which is a reasonable position to take).

So, with all of that said, I hope that clarifies our position a bit more - transparency is always one of the most important things to us and I am prepared to answer any questions

 

This requires a lot of trust if you don't know what you are getting. How was their 717 in terms of system depth? Comparable to the Leonardo Maddog or just Aerosoft level?

Spliting ressources betwen two sims surely add some workload, time of development and need for cash. Time will tell if it was a smart decision.

It's a 100% sure buy for me unless it is a complete failure but I will wait for it to be ready.