PMDG MD-11 is Here!

[Guest hmstiger]

Basic marketing folks. You have a product that appeals to a small subset of the sim market -those that want ultra-realistic reproductions of major airliners. This sub-set is willing to pay a significant premium for fidelity. If some of the more casual buyers also purchase it, that's a bonus, but its not critical to the publisher's success. The make or break on the product isn't going to be someone who wants a good visual model of the plane to appear at the end of the runway, pre-flight complete, their FSX flight planning flightplan pre-loaded on the FMC cleared for take off.There are plenty of products out there that fit that bill - the CLS "Lite" series is a good example. Or the Abacus Airbus Fleet.This is a product for folks who love learning proceedures, flows etc. because its as close as any of them will come to a lifelong dream of actually driving one of these beasts in real life. They also want to fly on-line and that means the ability to fly real-life approach and departure proceedures. And they are willing to pay for that opportunity. And that's a fairly small subset of the market. Thus the need to have agressive pricing because you won't make up on volume. Pricing is also an important element of PMDG's brand. It gives buyers a sense of assurance that they won't be getting a plane that is long on looks but short on system - like the Perfect Flight MD-11 model which looks like it was designed for FS98.Further, PMDG knows that there is a viable market for this kind of product at the current price point because of their successful 747 products. Thus, their confidence they will break-even or better at the price point they chose. The real rip-off is from publishers that use the costs of high quality add-ons to justify unreasonable costs of their own. The Perfect Flight MD-11 is a good example. At $37.00 it is about 40% of the cost of the PMDG bird. The panel looks like a port from FS98, the gauges look like the default ones, and if the systems fidelity is 40% of the PMDG bird, to quote a current TV comercial, I'll marry a goat.That's the price inflation we should be upset about...Colin WarePortland

[Paul_Yorks 97]

>Glad I didn't buy it.>Ahhh... that would be because you linked to one of the 3 or so comments out of about 100 that expressed a negative view of the MD-11?Did you even read that whole thread? Since it was generally positive? Or the dozens and dozens of positive threads in the PMDG forum?Sorry, but you haven't bought it, so your opinion on it is as good as it's supported by the evidence. Which is not at all.I can understand the grumpiness of those who hoped it would be cheaper. Or criticisms from disappointed buyers (all 3 of them). But I can't follow the desire of those who haven't bought it, to put it down. (Edit: I've just spotted your comments in the PMDG forum thread (now locked) re: price - I've mentioned elsewhere that you can preorder from play.com for

[Slick Willy 2]

I can not believe nobody has mentioned the start up sounds. Crank up the volume and bass, pull the start lever and listen to those Pratts spool up. This thing is amazing!!Willy

[Mace 1,909]

>I can not believe nobody has mentioned the start up sounds.>Crank up the volume and bass, pull the start lever and listen>to those Pratts spool up. This thing is amazing!!>>Willy3 Pratts...turning and burningI don't have a sub. I must be missing something!RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

[Guest JIMJAM]

I have the Pyramat gaming chair,the executive looking one not the one that sits on the floor.It has tweeters on both sides of your head and a sub woofer you are sitting on.When I can get away with it,especially the warbirds with radial engines, I can crank it up and cannot even read the screen:-boom I like it because it separates the voices and highs and puts them by your head while the basses,gear retractions,touch downs ect,vibrate through your body.By far the best overall sounds ive heard are the a2a 377.I replaced the md-11 rolling sound with one that I came across that you can actually hear the nose wheel hitting the centerline lights.Its a deep thump thump and the chair really brings alive take offs and landings.

[Guest United]

Higher up in this thread, I expressed a bit of displeasure at not having a nice new FSX spawned 757 instead of the MD-11, but in the end, I am a ** for quality merchandise add-ons, especially when produced by one of three or four companies that really has years of top notch customer service. That was never in doubt in this case. So, I bought it. Guess what. Whoever said this is a masterpiece is right. Some may disagree and several I note on the PMDG forum are having some visual model and font problems, but it's otherwise true, this bird is a very handsome production, and in my case, I have no font problems whatsoever. Oh....and eat your hearts out, I have a Matrox Triple screen and the VC looks huge as does the external model with the setup.I winced a bit at the tutorial and am a sucker for the ease of use (IMHO at any rate) of a Boeing or even Airbus product, but what the heck, right? The VC is first rate and afterall, I did learn how to drive Flight1's MD-80 and it's definitely does not belong to the Boeing or Airbus types in terms of familiarity. Let's just say that I harkened back to the days here in Portland, Oregon when you could go out Marine Drive, park your car just slightly north and a little west of the touchdown stripes of 28R at KPDX, get out and watch a Delta livery MD-11 land at just about 10AM every day of the week, sending up blue plumes of smoke from the braking tires. The sounds from that bird were wonderful. I finally got to ride on one from KCVG to KPDX in 1996 or so, a few years before Delta finally pulled the MD-11 fleet offline. I clearly recall in KCVG that we were delayed in pulling back from the gate, the onboard computer (FMC) was dysfunctional. I went up and talked to the captain and he explained the problem and then let me sit in the co-pilots seat very briefly, what a thrill, what a memory! This was all very pre-9/11 of course. I'll never forget that delay. In those days, the route was from Frankfurt to KCVG and onto KPDX and then back again to KCVG and Frankfurt, Germany. Randy Jura, KPDX

[Guest SkullxBones]

My opinion of PMDG is that they do a very good job but not mind blowing when it comes to graphic detail in the VC. If you are going to buy the MD-11 and expect stunning graphics like photo realistic VC detail then you might be disappointed.I am not disappointed, the level of graphic detail is better than most of the stuff I have seen. But I buy their products because they can immerse me in a sophisticated simulation like no other. The level of detail in the various systems is what makes their products great. Being able to learn and confidently fly something so complex gives me a felling that makes the price inconsequential.

[spesimen 135]

thanks guys. based on your feedback, i picked up the plane and i'm pleased to say that even though my system is pretty old the md-11 runs very well, comparable to the lds and waaay faster than the 747.just finished the tutorial flight, and it went really well..other than a few user mistakes, i got a little feisty with spinning the altitude knob and somehow i dialed in a higher cruise altitude than intended into my vertical profile and couldn't really figure how to set it back, i was already at the TOD before i got any deeper into the manual. overall it's an excellent tutorial and helped easily bridge the gap from my experiences with the boeing stuff. looking forward to many more flights!cheers,-andy crosby

[G7USL 117]

Memories are great. Pleased you have them Randy and live in the best scenic area in flightsim. ;)

[Guest c210_cvs]

Nice airie but cannot wait for the fs9 version, just not used to 10fps rates anymore :(

[FTD1949 0]

Thanks Ulf, I was apparently havin a brain #### when looking and didn't scroll. Craig

[Guest MrBitsy]

I have the PMDG 747 and MD-11 for FSX - I do not understand the views at all in the thread you linked to. The MD-11 looks great, flies great and is technically better than any other addon I have purchased.It is also the first addon I have used that has no errors in several flights I have made.

[Guest MrBitsy]

>I winced a bit at the tutorial and am a sucker for the ease of>use (IMHO at any rate) of a Boeing or even Airbus product, but>what the heck, right?The MD-11 is different, but it is more automated and easier than either Boeing or Airbus IMHO :-)