Hi all,
Just wanted to report that MScenery’s F-18 published on SimMarket today uses Dino Cattaneo’s MB-339 as a template. The author even forgot to remove MB-339 loading screen descriptions of MB-339 on this aircraft. False advertisement of animated exterior and cockpit also abound. Gears don’t retract, flaps don’t retract, NOTHING in the cockpit is remotely functional.
Please don’t support outright theft of intellectual property and other people’s hard work.
Were you able to report this to Simmarket? I have to think they would take this down?
I reported it earlier. Awaiting response.
This was already taken down once today cause Dino’s MB-339 descriptions were there. He may have removed them, but the fact remains that he used MB-339 as a “template”…
Simmarket has absolutely no scruples. They have no qualms with shilling snake oil products and garbage like this as long as they get their cut. It’s a same they are the biggest source for add-ons because their ethics are lacking. I would be surprised if they do anything at all until Dino himself notifies them or he gets a lawyer friend to write up a C & D.
Didn’t I see a bunch of sceneries by these folks on the in-sim Marketplace? Seems like if they are willing to steal from others, they should not be an official MS Partner.
Maybe we need to flag down a CM or someone should send an email to the Microsoft email that Jorge mentioned in one of the Dev Q&As?
According to a couple of people from here, these people sell unoptimized Google Maps rips on SimMarket too. I don’t deal with scenery, so I don’t know them.
Yes, evidently MScenery sells at this point around 30 Google photogrammetry rips. It is crazy that they are allowed to do that by Simmarket. Like previously said, Simmarket does not care as long as they get their cut. And for this reason, I will never buy anything from Simmarket.
Unfortunately there are a lot of smaller devs for whom Simmarket is the only place to sell their add-ons, so buying at Simmarket becomes a necessary evil if you want to support those guys and gals.
I usually find the content directly on the Developers’ websites so I make sure even Simmarket does not get any cut from small developers’ work.
MS marketplace isn’t that better either. Bredok3d’s products are sold in marketplace and I wouldn’t be surprised if this ridiculous F-18 gets approved as well.
Just received a response from the “developer”:
Hello, all animations from the outside should work, we will check the plane and release an update in the morning. As for the flight model, it has been redesigned, we have already said that I am with the Indians, that I took his data as a sample, we have different planes.
Strangely only his Eurofighter is sold on the MS Marketplace and not his 737, which is considerably better (though not good) than the Eurofighter. The 737 is servicable and even at times enjoyable. That Eurofighter is an unreserved tire fire, though this F/A-18 seems somehow considerably worse.
Looked bad anyway.
It can take weeks aparently to get stuff onto the marketplace so it’s possible the 737 has been submitted and is waiting to go up.
Given that delay you’d expect that Asobo would vet the stuff they allow on the marketplace, but the Eurofighter would suggest they do not and rather they’re just really, really slow.
They repeatedly said they aren’t interested in curating the content on Marketplace. So anything goes, basically.
Not wanting to curate is one thing…but there should at least be some minimal standards. The Eurofighter sucks, but at least it works. Would they be ok with the literally broken, stolen, non-functional F/A 18 from these losers being in their marketplace? Well, we might get to find out! Simmarket as a niche, foreign site might not care about US copyright law, but Microsoft itself it a different matter. Not sure their lawyers would be cool with Asobo facilitating IP theft under the Microsoft name.
MScenery is not Bredok3D. Bredok is behind Eurofighter and 737. MScenery is behind F-18. There are no indications as of now that MScenery will be on Marketplace.
I know, I was speaking hypothetically if Mscenery were to submit their rubbish to the marketplace, if Asobo would take a hands off approach or if they’d draw a line in the sand.