kingm56

Yep...its a long standing joke from PMDG; it's just a place holder until the aircraft is ready. However, they typically only do this when they're close to release. The $37M is reflective of the real-world aircraft cost.

IFLY had direct competition with their 747 and 737 in P3D; IMO, IFLY is a VERY underrated developer.

It sure doesn't, Bob; you would suspect hydraulic failure, but the 737 has a manual gear extension. Also, how do you get a total hydraulic failure from a bird strike? Maybe something impacted the pilots visibility in the cockpit; lots of questions to answers. Regardless, its very sad!

Promoting the false narrative that MSFS is merely "eye-candy" does a great disservice to newcomers in the flight simulation community. The truth is that MSFS is a significantly more advanced simulator than P3D. It features an integrated weather engine, a superior physics system, and an extensive selection of aircraft equipped with advanced avionics. If you have the budget, consider waiting for the release of MSFS 2024, which promises an unprecedented variety of aircraft, many offering robust FMC/MCDU simulations. At the very least, don't fall for the misconception that P3D is the superior simulator—it simply isn’t. If you do decide to purchase P3D, be preaperred to spend hundred of extra dollars to achieve a reasonable simulation. You'll need a weather engine, additional ground textures for VFR Flights, camera controls, etc...

Are you using an addon that generates turbulence, like Active Sky?

But the time is now...you can preorder the game today.

Do we really need an official answer to derive at the obvious conclusion? BL: You're able to use the 2020 aircraft/airports via the license you bought for MSFS 2020. If you chose a different license in MSFS 2024, than the previous aircraft will be unavailable. Obviously, this doesn't include marketplace/3rd party software, which are covered via different licensing agree and delivery model. Do we honestly believe Microsoft will to setup an entirely new architecture to disincentivize you to spend less money? Moreover, if you go to the preorder page, Microsoft is explicit what each version contains. The notion that default airports/aircraft from the previous deluxe version would carry over to the standard versions were started by posters taking explicit facts WAY out-of-context. All you're doing is perpetuating the misinformation.... What you might be able to do is port your MSFS 2020 aircraft to MSFS 2024, which is something we did in FS2004 to FSX, and FSX to P3D.

You do; however, it’s uses the FREE version.

Older companies/freeware software who sales over the last few years no longer justify the cost of operations. Hopefully, I’m wrong but it’s hard to believe these developers will continue to pay subscription services for an obsolete product.

With all due respect, you didn’t roll your eyes at posters who concluded it was amazing from a single (or limited) flight. Why didn’t you apply the same standard to those with views inline with your own?

Q8 Pilot is also doing a live steam; I find his reviews to be informed and fair.

I really enjoyed Air Hauler 2 at one point; however, I stopped using it because of two reasons: 1. Check rides are gimmicky and only consume time 2. The connection to MSFS is abrasive and outdated.

You made assumptions that are inaccurate. I am a developer and my market data supports PMDGs, aerosofts, etc comments. Everything I stated is factually accurate. Why are you so overly emotional on this subject? The emotion is not necessary as the large companies (eg PMDG, Aerosoft, etc) are unlikely to develop an eight 340 based on previous stated comments. However, a smaller company could develop the 340 to catch 100% of that market as there’s no competition. Additionally, a freeware developer could choose to mimic the A340. Thus, any discussion within this thread is not going to alter the trajectory of said developers. In short, our discussion will not determine whether or not they develop an A340. Therefore, there’s no need to stifle the discussion.

The viewpoint is predicated on explicit comments made by SEVERAL developers; for example, PMDG stated they lost money developing and selling the renowned MD-11. They unequivocally stated simmers are less apt to purchase aircraft they cannot see at thier home airports, which is why they explicitly chose not to port the MD11 to P3D. Also, you have no idea how well the aircraft you listed are selling...that's pure speculation on your end. If the DC-6 was a commercial success, why doesn't PMDG develop other aircraft from the same era? Instead, they seem fixated on developing commercially successful modern aircraft. The same is true for Aerosoft and Fenix. For the former two, they've been in this business for multiple decades and have copious amounts of market data. Obviously, they're going to chose to develop aircraft to achieve the highest profit margins. So, while the DC-6 may have sold well, there's no way it approached the PMDG 737 profit margins. I suspect the same is true for the BAe146 relative to the Fenix A320. Ditto FSL A320 vs Concord. Clearly there is no profit associated with flying simulated aircraft; what's odd is that you came to that conclusion...how bizarre. Profit, in this context, is clearly related to the topic and refers to the developers ability to model, market and sell thier aircraft to simmers; in that regard, the A320 and A350 are likely to be more profitable than the A340, based on explicit comments from PMDG, Aerosoft, etc. To my point, it's not about 'selling well', it's about profit margins. History has shown simulating a modern, commercially successful aircraft is going to outsell an aircraft that's considered a commercial failure, which is why the industry giants focus on the former.

I will take the opposite approach; please don't waste resources developing a plane that ceased production more than a decade ago, is being phased out by many operators, and failed to gain commercial success when in full production. Instead, I believe a A350 and/or A220 would be FAR more profitable than an A340 model. Also, Aerosoft never modeled the A340; they distributed an A340 modeled by other developers. For FSX/P3D, I believe BlackBird (formally PSS) 'developed' an 'advanced' A340 for FSX/P3D, along with some other 'lite' versions (e.g. JustFlight). I suspect this aircraft won't make it to MSFS.