Been wondering for how long addon developers have to update/support their products after release. Every update breaks something which is inevitable if we want things to be improved. There are many more WUs and SUs in the pipeline so it seems to be a neverending story for addon developers. Freeware developers will simply give up after some time, many already did. So how safe is purchasing an expensive addon?
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I hope we see on the âStarsâ in marketplace how good an add-on-developer support its product.
One example: the DC-6, one of these not cheap add-ons. There is a bug with the lightning. Easy to fix, but no update since months, instead a âoffer of the planeâ. And this is not the case in which the add-on becomes incompatible because of a change in SDK, its just a bug in the add-on itself.
And no,⊠not each update breaks something, but it can happen. Thats just a moddable game.
If Freeware developers give up - câest la vie !. But your question is about Payware and thats the intressting one.
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Step one, expect at least a two week window for some developers (one guy that has a life) to update.
There is no step two.
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Not to be rude, but how long have you been using computers/consoles? Obsolete/non-updated/abandoned software has been a thing since the 1980âs if not earlier. New systems come out, new OSâs, new versions of everything. Either the developer updates it or not. Just part of the risk any time you pay money for software.
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Valid point but not quite apples to apples. If a Windows update caused Photoshop to crash, guaranteed it would be fixed. And long after Windows 98 was replaced, it was still getting support. Software does become unsupported after many years but in MSFS, we are all worried our paid packages will be become digital junk after only a few months.
If I were Microsoft, I would be concerned the regular platform updates might dissuade third party developers from continuing enhancement products that keep the core product alive.
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Developers for MSFS add-ones, by and large, are not companies the size of Adobe. They are one person, or a small group of individuals, maybe a couple dozen for the largest. So donât think in terms of Photoshop. Think instead of some obscure little company that sells that $10 low-cost filter or texture pack. Think of the little outfits that make tiny, hyper-specific utility plug-ins for Excel or the guy selling obscure satellite tracking software for amateur SSB radio stuff back in the 80âs and 90âs.
Yeah, itâs paid software. But itâs also quite possible - sometimes likely - that once the underlying versions of Windows, Photoshop or Excel is updated, it wonât work and may not be updated. Thatâs just the reality here.
So a plane from JustFlight or Milviz would probably be updated, a night lighting pack for Des Moines, Iowa from some tiny outfit no one has ever heard of may well not be.
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sim addons have been around for a while, so have many reputable & not so reputable companies to produce them
the difference now is you have to be even more carefull, many new devs have jumped up to sell goods off the huge increase in popularity that came along with this game
" So how safe is purchasing an expensive addon? "
some are great, some are just out for a quick buck
the good ones will support a product for some time, as long as its still in use and popular for sure
some others wont support them at all
so i guess, the answer to your question depends on how much research you do, on both the product and the maker, wait for reviews/updates etc if your not sure
[edit: if you mean legally i have no real idea, but i guess it would vary by location (point of sale, or where you live), it may be âreasonable expectationâ if it were challenged in court if its not specified under some kind of warranty or âas isâ statement)]
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I agree, if the dev is a small company, they very well, may not have the resources to âFixâ their âFor Saleâ product. That is the risk of doing business.
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Then there should be a FLAG in the MS Marketplace noting that this product is no longer compatible with the MSFS and flagged as NOT RECCOMENDED for sale with the current or future versions of the flight simulator game.
I have thought about developing some aircraft for the sim but seeing how everyone just finds something to complain about I havenât joined in just yet but in the mean time I was trying to figure out how to develop and market a spitfire style joystick controller
i would go a step farther, if the product is not being updated and is not âcompatibleâ as in causing a crash or hangup of the game they should pull it from the shelves
the question then becomes how long should they give a 3rd party dev to fix a game breaking bug in the games own store
immediately upon report its breaking/stopping people from playing the product They sell it should be pulled or hidden, then after a given time removed more permanently if its not addressed
but thats all good and well, ms simply doesnt want to have to put more resources and money into other peoples work, i can understand that
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As a developer, I do not share the assertion that sim updates breaking third party products is âinevitable if we want things to be improved.â
Third party devs should not feel like they are developing against a moving target, and should not be blind sided with âthe latest update breaks my project and makes my support queue blow upâ.
Anyone that has ever developed against an API/SDK knows how it is supposed to work. Internal architecture changes should not force other services to be changed. There should not be adhesion between the core sim architecture and what is exposed as the SDK. That there is breakage smells of really bad architectural design.
Perhaps the cart was put in front of the horse a bit, and the core sim services just werenât ready to be exposed. But you know how things go. There is always a release schedule tha5t has to be met.
So no, I donât think MS needs to govern their third party partners to put the onus on them.
Full disclosure: No, I am not a third party MSFS product dev⊠and I wouldnât want to be one right now either.
The third party dev community has been more than patient and accommodating to both the studio and this community of players. But the issue of title updates breaks third party products â that is NOT a third party dev issue.
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Solution: DO NOT have a MSFS in product Market Place at all.
Let the Devs Develop and market their products any way they see fit.
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Their customers can come to their website or any accommodating internet marketing point of purchase and procure the product of their desires.
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Now, MS and the MSFS Product has no internal business connection and any gripes concerning any ADDON Product can be addressed with the manufacturer of the ADDON.
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That kind of fits right in with every new MSFS Version install. REMOVE your Community Folder, Install the new update and go flying. Enjoy
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Have a problem after installing a new ADDON ? Contact the manufacturer.
you know âŠ
youre describing the Previous flight sim model - the standard for many years, i get that, but its been pretty much stagnant for a long time also, thats why This sim is so popular imo
but hey many of your points are valid, the game isnt perfect - but thats Exactly why i support continued development
msfs can Not guarentee Backward Compatibility for Any and All of the Possible mods while also trying to improve or even fix some of the problems
its just Not Possible with the variety of files and systems we can affect with the Huge modding possibility they gave us (its not like we just use some integrated paint kit here)
i fear these kind of wishes may lead to a more restrictive addon system, right now we can edit or even replace almost the entire game, even most core global files that may well get updated
i do make mods, nothing fancy just liveries and config mods mostly, and sure i got hit with an update that borked some of my mods (only 1, wu5 iirc)
i Still believe it Has to be up to the Dev that Writes the Software that is responsible for maintaining compatibility Not the Game (so Me basically)
we simply Can Not tie ms/Asoboâs hands like that if we want the tech to move forward
just my 2 cents worth i guess, cheers
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This is why I am very reluctant to purchase any add-ons. Iâve bought two planes, and thatâs it. Add-ons seem to be a major reason the sim doesnât work as it should, and you never know when theyâll be abandoned, so right now my Marketplace budget is $0.
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afaik this entire depate seems to be a lot of tadoo about nothing
i have not seen or heard of Any addon that was totally borking the game and not patched
im sure there may be a couple but i would have to think those devs will be toast pretty quickly if they let that happen
the Only 2 times ive heard that an update affected addons (only 1 affected mine) where both simple fixes by the developer
but if your not comfortable buying 3rd party content then dont, i tend to be overly cautious myself
This is amplified by the fact that updates are âforcedâ. A home cockpit builder might get everything working with all hardware using specific driver versions that âworkâ and then locks it down so no changes. Then a forced MSFS update breaks everything.
We have to keep asking Asobo to make updates âoptionalâ with a rollback ability. Those that donât care, wont see any difference, but those of us that DO care, will have a greater degree of control.
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first this is Completely Off Topic (not about âaddonsâ at all)
thats not ever gonna happen
this is a Multiplayer game with a server / client system and it uses the connection for more than just the players
game version must match, its that simple
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When somebody complains about CTDs, the standard first bit of advice they are given is to move/rename/delete the Community folder. That doesnât inspire a lot of confidence in the simâs ability to robustly handle misbehaving add-ons.
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As a software customer you have no rights. No right to refund, no right to get updates, hell, you donât even purchase the software but only the license to use it, not even the right to use it.
As long as this doesnât change nothing else will change either in how they can treat their customers.
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Indeed. Almost 2 years in since sim launch and it appears that the SDK is still a bit of a moving target.
It does feel like the ârelease before itâs ready/never really finishedâ development model is less appropriate when designing a platform that is the hub of a 3rd party ecosystem.