LAGO FSE ONE YEAR LATER

[Guest cwojackson]

Eleven months ago I purchased LAGO's much publicized Flight Scenery Enhancer (FSE) for FS2004. FSE appeared to be the dream tool for designing your own scenery. It was advertised to allow you to creat sceneries directly within FS2004 AND to allow you to use your own scenery object library.Like most people here, over time I've developed quite a library of my own preferred scenery objects. A program that would allow me to place those objects from directly within FS2004 was amazing.Unfortunately, while FSE did work splendidly within FS2004, you were stick using only it's prepacked objects which are limited and in some cases worthless unless you're developing a military air field.LAGO announced that it was working to correct the object library problem and changed it's advertising to remove the claim that other scenery objects could be used. For the past 11 months LAGO has continued to claim that a fix is in progress.Like everyone, I've bought an addon that did not live up to expectation. LAGO's FSE however has yet to live up to advertised specifications. Without the ability to use my own preferred objects I continue to use FSSC for all my scenery work. I have asked LAGO for a refund (since this is a matter of advertised specs and not expectation) and they simply ignore me.I'm through with LAGO. I'd encourage AVSIM to stop advertising their products as well until LAGO either makes good on their product, or provides a refund/in-store credit for the customers it frauded with inaccurate advertising...on AVSIM.

[Holger 0]

Howdy,uh oh, a "rant" in the tranquil scenery design forum, and not even signed ;-)I never cared much for FSE simply because it requires all users to purchase the product (except if you limit yourself to less than six items per site); I don't like to make freeware scenery that is not really free and - as Mike Carr pointed out so well - I don't like the idea that others are able to directly "tinker" with my creative work.However, I realize that FSE was/is quite popular and that the concept itself is very useful, as the instant popularity of the new Runway12 utility shows. In any case, I can see your frustration. Time to move on, indeed.So the recent "fix" didn't address the inability to import third-party objects? Cheers, Holger

[arno 1]

Just like Holger I never like FSE. Simply because it is not a scenery design tools that makes a BGL file for your scenery. But it requires everybody to run to LAGO and buy it as well. Not really what I call a scenery design tool. Might be useful to people who want to place a few trees and people for own use, but not for serious scenery design.I can imagine that adding 3rd party objects makes it harder for LAGO. Distribution is more difficult, as you need to make sure every user has the library etc. It is much easier if you just let everybody use the same default library.If would say forget FSE and use Rwy12 (or my ObPlacer XML that is hopefully finished soon :)). Then you can also share your scenery with other people without having them to buy yet another program (we already have bought FS to view our scenery not?).

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Well, this definitely livens things up in here, doesn't it? Please, whoever you are, if you are going to post this type of comment, do consider placing your name at the end. It gives your remarks more credibility.Although I certainly do not disagree with what you have written. It seems clear that Lago's utility is an add-on scenery viewer, not a scenery design tool at all. With the limitations, it does not live up to expectations and has a very limited appeal.However, it is hard to see why AvSim should stop advertising Lago products. It is certainly not AvSim's role to police a vendor's promotional or refund policy. Caveat emptor, as a wise man once said.As Arno says, all is not lost for you, whatever your name is. Israel Roth and Seev Kahn's Rwy 12 Object Placer does exactly what you need - do not throw away your objects!Best regards.Luis

[Bill Womack 7]

I don't have FSE but I've tried the demo version in the past. While FSE can't place your custom library objects, it does do a great job of placing objects from its own libraries visually. To give credit where credit is due, Maurizio Gavioli (the chief developer of FSE) pulled off an amazing feat by creating a tool that can inject 3D objects directly into FS outside of the standard scenery library controls. I'd say it's a work of genius on that level. Is it a scenery design tool? Of course it is! As long as you think of scenery design as placing objects into the virtual world in a way that replicates an airport or town or whatever, it does indeed qualify. No, you can't add your own objects, and because of that it's usefulness is limited. However, it's not entirely fair to say it isn't a scenery design tool unless you're prepared to say that everyone who's ever used other's APIs and placed them using Airport or FSSD isn't a scenery designer. Of course, in my book it'd be a great addition to this tool to have a freeware "player" that just showed the sceneries created in FSE without the ability to manipulate anything. But I think the development ship has sailed on FSE, so maybe someone will try that in a future product.Just thinking out loud.thanks,

[bob.bernstein 0]

All, labels have little value beyond the world of marketing. Maurizio clearly created an awesome technology. Whoever decided to force additional sales by insisting that both designer and user must pay had a creative idea to generate sales, but it feels bad to many folks, a bit like an exclusive club. Were it not for that fact, I might have bought it myself.Beyond that, keep on designing! I'm sympathetic to anyone who lost their money and regrets it over fse. That would feel bad. Just don't stress too much...Bob Bernstein

[Guest cwojackson]

"Well, this definitely livens things up in here, doesn't it? Please, whoever you are, if you are going to post this type of comment, do consider placing your name at the end. It gives your remarks more credibility."

Considering the name you place at the end of your post is the same as the one at the beginning of your post I assume you're already pretty much identified.

[nudata 10]

If you set aside the alleged right of the need for freeware the product is an excellent tool for placing scenery objects. IF it could place any user library objects then it would indeed be significant. I have used it for years and imported many prescribed sceneries which are relatively small files drawing upon existing libraries.I do not understand the ire over paying for a product that does something that no other product does - place scenery items in realtime. Thousands of dollars are paid out every day for payware programs. There are several programs that place scenery objects either from existing libraries or new creations. Yes, the cost is nil. However, NONE of these does so in realtime, and I see no one saying that there is any freeware on the horizon that will do that. Everything I have seen, to-date, requires trips to FS2004 to see the results and to tewak the alignment of the inserted items. FSE does that within FS2004 and is therefore unique.Lago made a stupid error initially by forcing users to buy the full package just to enjoy yhe fruits of others. I hope that the demented marketing manager that thought that one up is long gone. The other mistake Lago made was creating an atmosphere within the company that caused key personnel to leave before the central function - imported objects - was complete. This compounded the problem with a severely inept management style that swung from untruths to long periods of silence. It was this exhibition of almost laughable customer service that made the owners of FSE very unhappy. Some unknown number of customers had purchased FSE-2004 (2002 version not upgradable) because of the promised importation of objects function. Further employee defections and total lack of sensible information raised the Lago forum to an apex of anger. That has subsided somewhat as customers have become to realize that the future is indeed problamatical for FSE 2004, and as it is for Lago. Having announced that they (Lago) will become strictly a publisher of software further strained their credibility in regards to completing the FSE 2004 software product themselves. As of today the promises continue. Some form of the product's promised functions may yet appear. I would welcome that. Unfortunately the Company will have permanently have lost sales and now has a reputation of very bad customer service which, for a publishing company, is bad. Managing sub-contractors and forcing them, by contract, to fix bugs is a nasty task. Lago may not be able to function in that setting for long.Signed,Dick BoleyDelmont, PA. 15626etc....

[Guest fame]

I certainly sympathize with the writer