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bob34

Ariane Designs - Safe now or not?

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Hi all,(Apologies to Avsim if this is in the wrong place, wasn't sure where to put it!)Anyway, I have been looking at the new Ariane Designs website and am tempted by the new version of their 737's, but am aware of the problems of the past with them. Does any one know if they are ok to buy from now, or is it still a gamble? I've done some searching around various forums, but the most current message seems to be from last year.cheers,A

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Guest jboweruk

I've heard the same people still own them, so I wouldn't if I was you, there's better 737's out there, and a safer bet.

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I'm gonna be completely honest. Their old website was much better looking and made their products appear very good. Now when you click on the gallery for each plane, you can kinda see how poor the quality really is. I really don't care who owns the company, even though the guy who started the group was a scammer who tried to license the AA logo for his own benefit and steal from developers. He may not be part of Ariane anymore, as some people have claimed. As for the aircraft? Well, as an owner of the 737-700, that was billed as the "SWA Roll-out version", I'll give you my impressions.First of all, the online product registration does not work. Maybe they fixed it, but when I bought it a couple years back, I had to e-mail them and wait all weekend to key a key. I followed the directions to the letter, but no dice.Once I finally got the plane going in the sim, the first thing I noticed was the very loud sound. Go into your FS9 sound folder and play the sound 737LP.wav. That is exactly all I heard. At the time I compared the two sounds, and I don't even think they tweaked the default sound to be different. Maybe less bass is all.Then I looked to see what switches worked and found a lot of them weren't even modeled to move. On the overhead, several items were just a fixed bmp. The pressurization, which almost all add-ons have a working simulation of to some degree, was nothing. No dials that turned, no gauge that moves while climbing, not even the ability to dial in the CRZ ALT or Landing ALT. Lame. I'd say maybe 50% of the buttons, dials and switches even did anything, the rest were like the default MS planes with a flat bmp for visuals. This plane was billed as simulated so much more than anything on the market, but wasn't even half of what PMDG had modeled.Then the PFD/ND. The PFD used a pound character, yes a #, for the altitude tape when numbers weren't present. It wasn't a font issue either. Several areas on the ND and PFD that would've needed graphic bmps to make a box, symbol, or whatever the real thing uses, the Ariane just stuck keyboard characters there instead. The whole panel was slightly nicer looking than the default MS 737. Even the panel had dials and knobs that weren't functional, just visual "pic" bmps.Then the FMC. You could only import a PLN file, not create a FP like you would in a real Boeing. The functions very pretty limited and the overall ability to simulate an FMC was very poor. Slightly better looking than the default GPS 500, but no more functional.I finally decided to take her for a flight and found that the AP behaved just as bad as the default AFDS, with it's bouncing around to maintain speed and hold altitude. The FDEs were extremely sensitive and close to how the Cessan 172 feels. The ILS was bad at capture and I had to take over to even land the thing.Trust me when I say, my install wasn't corrupt and my ability to fly wasn't like a n00b. I've owned the PSS A320, 737PIC, Dreamfleet 737, all PMDG planes, Level-D 767, and lots of other turboprops and GAs. The Ariane was one of the absolute worst products I ever bought. If and when someone claims they think the Ariane is good stuff, I think they're A. Delusional or B. Ariane Staff or Beta.


- Chris

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I've been sat on the fence for a while but thanks to your informative review I will leave it and buy something else, like Crysis :)Graham

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The operation still seems a bit shady.I jumped on the 737-900ER for FSX - which is a nice plane and all - but it's WAY (way way way) over priced. ~$140 USD for the "advanced" version and ~$80 for the Standard version.Difference is a sound set (no bid deal), extra pages in the FMC (that should be there anyway), and a little eye candy.He sells it off as a "professional training package", but it's really just a FSX airplane over hyped.He also refers to a support forum that doesn't exist and the aircraft comes with no repaints or paint kit. You get the factory metal green.The web site refers to "we" (as in Ariane design), but it looks like a solo show to me. Too many words and not enough content on the web site.Many of the links on the web site just cycle you through the same few pages.The plane itself is ok - but buggy in many areas around the FMC logic. Again, no support forum that I could find, so there's nowhere to really ask questions.I'd stay away and wait for the PMDG setup. Too expensive for too little and a an even smaller chance for support. Oh.... and no 2D panel.The plane is nice, but not $140 nice. It's $29 nice.


Bob Donovan - KBOS

  • Hardware: i7 11700k on ROG Strix Z590 ► Asus ROG GeForce 3070 ►FDS 737 FMC ► VRInsight 737 Overhead ► GoFlight TQ6 ADV ► Thrustmaster Warthog
  • Software: P3D ► MSFS ► XP11 ► DCS World

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Guest Knikolaes

>>He also refers to a support forum that doesn't exist It does exist. I know -- I volunteered and built it for them myself and it's hosted by me on a voluntary basis. I don't work for Ariane -- I just run forums, and I'd volunteer hosting of a forum for any developer interested (my way of supporting and giving a little extra back to the Flight Sim community). However the Ariane forum is for paid Ariane legal customers only, and you won't receive support from the Ariane guys unless you prove (usually via your name in the signature) that you are an Ariane customer. I'm working on a way to make the forum more like the Level-D forums where you have to go through a process to prove ownership via the Ariane customer database before even being allowed access to the forum.I do admit my web providor does maintenance once in a while, so if you were looking for the forum and it was down or something, try it again -- it should be there. As a product owner you have right to access it, Bob :-)On the ownership and "solo" thing, I can say multiple people do run the show. I see a lot of references here on AVSIM to some fellow named "Tishma" or something like that. I wrote the guys at Ariane and they assured me they have no clue who this peter guy is or why his name keeps getting pinned as ownership to Ariane. Ariane's owned and ran by a couple of fellows named Bob and Ed.Not promoting for or against any product here. I'm just a voluntary web master and figured I'd answer on those two points. I'll leave everyone else to debate on product quality (not taking sides in that area as I own products from all developers mentioned so far in this thread and love them all :-) )

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Guest Knikolaes

>Go for Call of Duty 4.>>I'm not a gamer, but I must admit Call of Duty 4 did impress>me. It's like being in a movie.>>Bryan>Yes COD4 rocks. A bit short though -- I flew through it in 2 days. I usually love games that at least take me a month or so to complete. Then again I ran it on a moderate setting. I'm getting ready to try it on suicidal and see if I can make it through. They way they did thweir graphics though and the dynamics of the environment (such as the ship sinking in the beginning) and the cutscenes certainly was a work of art.Of course -- being a flight enthusiast I bet one wouldn't be able to guess I keep re-loading the C-130 Gunship mission and playing it over and over :-) makes going back to the pilot's seat of the C-130 in FS almost . . . . quiet. :-)Graham -- I'm picking up Crysis next month. It's an awesome one as well :-)I know, I know -- not related to the topic, but my thread-related reply is below.

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"....wrote the guys at Ariane and they assured me they have no clue who this peter guy is...."Hmmmm. Even if they have no affiliation with him they scan these forums and I am certain they know exactly who he is, or was. Right before Christmas I received an email from Ariane titled "Re: A Very Happy FS Xmas". Although I hadn't made a purchase from them in a number of years (and only ever purchased their 733), I thought it nice they were sending me a season's greetings. But all their email was turned out to be an advert for the 737-900. Titled in such a way as to lure a sucker like myself into opening their email. Nothing's changed with Ariane, as far as I am concerned. Turn on a midnight infomercial and listen to all the spin and buzzwords people use to surround their products. Read Ariane's site, and in my opinion it's all the same to me. And I find it too convenient that periodically people ask "What about Ariane?" in these forums. As if they are some "newcomer" on the block with no history.In the end I feel I see an organization that thinks if it prices a product in the stratosphere, that must equal quality. I see the same thing on midnight T.V., when we're told a $5.00 comb has a $50.00 value but if we buy tonight, we'll get two for $25.00 apiece. I haven't bought a product since the Ariane 733, but I don't feel they've changed one iota. Whether P. Tishma is still involved, I haven't a clue. But they are spinmeisters at their best, IMHO, and as Barnum said......Regards,John

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Well, like I mentioned, and to answer the original question - it's a nice plane and it handles rather well.There's a typical punch list that needs to get knocked out - but it's stable on FSX and Vista which is a bonus.If we want to talk value - no - it's not a $140 airplane - even if money is no object for some.Can't blame them, I'm the dope who shelled out the cash - but the good folks here do deserve to hear the truth on the value.I don't get the whole "we're special" twist on the product either.They would do much better to open a website with an open forum, a market priced product with a paint kit and repaints and join the community. PMDG, LDS, FT etc are just a bunch of good guys. They never use "the best" or bash other products. They just serve us with nice products at a good price with great support. That's not a hard sales formula. And it seems they're rewarded for their development efforts by a strong revenue stream after release.I was curious to see what a top priced aircraft brought that a PMDG or LDS didn't. And the answer was nothing. In fact - less.Again, if it was $29 - I'd be praising the product left and right.Now that I have it (and my credit card bill is paid), I'm flying it and it's fun. But my favorite airline livery isn't Boeing factory metal green. And after $140 out of my checking account, I'd feel like a bigger dope for shelling out more for repaints.Best regards and happy new year...


Bob Donovan - KBOS

  • Hardware: i7 11700k on ROG Strix Z590 ► Asus ROG GeForce 3070 ►FDS 737 FMC ► VRInsight 737 Overhead ► GoFlight TQ6 ADV ► Thrustmaster Warthog
  • Software: P3D ► MSFS ► XP11 ► DCS World

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Guest sierra bravo oscar

A few weeks ago I ordered the boxed version of the boeing 737-900er for FSX (107 euros!!). Up till now I only got an order number by e-mail. The box is not delivered yet. My e-mails to Ariane asking when to expect delivery remain unanswered ! I begin getting serious doubts about the reliability of Ariane.bravo oscar

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Guest

wrong on both counts, and that's been the case for years.The criminals who ran Ariane have been gone for years, their products are some of the best in the industry now.They're expensive, maybe overly expensive, and their piracy protection scheme is quite cumbersome, but the product is excellent and support is quite decent.

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Guest Captain Jack Sparrow

>A few weeks ago I ordered the boxed version of the boeing>737-900er for FSX (107 euros!!). Up till now I only got an>order number by e-mail. The box is not delivered yet. My>e-mails to Ariane asking when to expect delivery remain>unanswered ! I begin getting serious doubts about the>reliability of Ariane.>>bravo oscar>If you ordered the boxed version, you ordered it from Simmarket. I'd write to them, since Ariane directly only sells the download version.

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Guest

Peter Tishma used to own the company. He was a criminal who several years ago was convicted, after which the company changed hands.Some people however are unwilling to accept that, and have ever since ran a smear campaign against the Ariane based on the urban legend that the guy is still somehow secretly in control of the company and that everyone working there is a criminal whose only purpose is to defraud customers by taking their money for inferior or no products delivered.

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