I am a casual simmer who hasn't spent a dime on addons yet, here's how to get my money

Discussion Hub General Discussion
1

Hey addon developers,

I think there’s a lot of casual simmer/players like me who hasn’t spent a dollar yet on your addons and for me particularly, that’s not because I do not want to spend. In fact, I pre-ordered premium deluxe version and set aside a couple of hundred dollars for addon purchases. So far, none of that money has been spent. Let me explain why

Aircraft

I appreciate the highly complex products such as DC-6 or CRJ but due to my work schedule and kids, I probably don’t have time to learn or fully enjoy the depth of the system commanded by the high price tag. I would appreciate and potentially buy if your products

  • Have a similar quality to defaults/Asobo’s, especially on the visual side

  • If it has autopilot, please make sure functions such as ILS/LOC, RNAV, APPROACH, NAV, ALT, HDG ,VS and PFD/MFD work at least as well as default. I can live without LNAV, VNAV

  • Should look interesting and substantially different from the default ones. The more different, the more likely I would buy

  • Please be adventurous on concepts and designs (looking at Boeing or Airbus concepts). I am fine as long as the handling is plausible and not overly GTA-ish, and the modeling is similar to default
    imageimage
    image

  • Price range <= $19.99 (this is how much I think the default A320Neo or 747/787 are priced at, at most)

  • Examples (potential purchase): EA-7 Edgley Optica, gliders, MB339 and Asobo’s F/A-18

Sceneries

I am particularly interested in city landmark ones and airports with highly detailed interiors. Given my current system (Ryzen 3700X + 2060S), I need the performance update to fly smoothly in densely populated cities before buying any city landmarks, and wait for the live traffic fix so I can plane-watch inside a terminal. Other than these 2, I am also interested in

  • Futuristic Cities (like Cyberpunk City)
    imageimage

  • Ancient/historical Cities (like ancient Rome)
    image

  • Weird places with Easter eggs?
    image

  • Price range <= $14.99 (including discounts)

Other silly stuff I will spend money on

  • I would like to drive in MSFS
  • I would like to play CS:GO in MSFS or at least run around aimlessly with proper jump and run/walk animation (Minecraft animation is acceptable to me)
  • I would like to build a house in MSFS I can drive from to the airport
  • I would like to fly a rocket at FL2000 from KJFK to FACT in 2 hours with ILS
  • I would like to fly anything that could fly

What’s your thought if you haven’t spent a dollar yet?

9 Likes
2

Dear addon developers. I am a guy who has spent thousands of dollars on your products. The above listed things are the LAST things I want to see in this sim. I have already shown to be a viable customer with buying power. I can also promise that if you will build Cyberpunk City with an optional buildable house and a $20 concept Boeing plane for $20, you will probably not be taken seriously by me anymore and I will definitely not buy those products.

So… who wins? :wink:

73 Likes
3

Those sound like niche products that somebody would do as a passion project, not something profitable to a large audience. Count me in for Jurassic Park though, especially if it has life-size animated Brachiosaurs.

4 Likes
4

this is clearly a troll post

10 Likes
5

I mean, why not both? MSFS has created a market so large that why can’t both types of addons be profitable? I am pretty sure whoever develops $60+ addons will not bother but I don’t mind because I am not their targeted customers. But I want to spend money on stuff I am interested in buying so hence the post. Who knows? May Asobo could surprise me.

1 Like
6

Na sorry this isn’t some cyber sim to introduce these fictional addons. I’m sure there are games out there that will fulfill your desire but that’s not the place here. If they did introduce such concept then I promise MSFS will lose its value especially from us serious aviation enthusiasts/simmers. I remember when someone created Godzilla addon just for fun last year. While it was funny it turned me off, I was worried the sim is not as serious as advertised. I just don’t see top 3rd party developers taking that route, their stuff is too good which brings realism and value which the sim is supposed to be.

3 Likes
7

That would be really cool for some bush flying. :wink: Who knows, Jurrasic World 3 is coming this year.

9

Why not? So… here are a couple of reasons why.

  1. You have a 2021 world that you want to populate with Ancient Rome so you could fly modern aircraft over it. That’s about as coherent as my drunk 21 year old cousin, and I don’t even have a cousin. I won’t even buy Meigs Field in Chicago and I live in Chicago! But that airport hasn’t existed for a long time and doesn’t fit into the modern Chicago world… So the Trump Tower that is now part of the Chicago skyline will look dumb (well… dumber than it already does) because it hasn’t existed then.

  2. You don’t want to spend much money. $20 maximum? The kinds of things you are asking for will not be welcomed by the flight sim community. Therefore, in order to justify development you have to consider that you’d be selling it to yourself and 10 other crazy people. :wink:

  3. If any developer takes this route, they immediately lose credibility in the flight simmer world. Who wants that reputation risk?

5 Likes
10

I still do not see anything wrong with add-on like that. If there is market why not. Would I buy it? Probably not… maybe one or two at some point. The only downside I can see is that when companies see that a lot of money can be made, they will steer away from current type of sim add-ons or they will divide their development efforts. I am sure, most well established developers will stay away from that.

But the upside is that more companies will enter the market, possibly some of them specialized in developing this type of new emerging content and there is also a chance more players will be attracted first by this type of content and they get hooked on flight simming and start also buying “traditional” type of add-ons.

We are living in interesting times for flight simming. Unknown is coming and I think many old school simmers feel nervous or even threatened a bit.

2 Likes
11

If you’re going to spend money on anything I highly recommend Asobo’s Top Rudder Solo ultralight plane. It makes for fantastic views and you can get your ancient world fix by flying over Pompeii, Athen’s Acropolis and the great pyramids.

There is a free Jurassic Park mod out already that looks pretty neat if you’re into that kind of thing.

3 Likes
13

Serious question here, no judgement, I am genuinely curious about your perception here.

I fortunate enough to have disposable income, but personally I just can’t see myself paying for any addon for more than, maybe a 100 bucks? And definitely not multiples of that…

I mean goodness, did you say, thousands? And I’ve heard this before. People spending many many thousands. WOW.

Are you a professional or GA pilot that uses these addons for training? Or maybe you have a passion for flying, but are unable to fly due to circumstances?

Don’t get me wrong, I love flying. But if you asked me, do you want to get wheels up for a few hours in a C150 for 1500 bucks, or get some addons, I’d pick wheels up every time.

1 Like
15

I think your ideas are interesting!

Regarding planes, I passed on the DC-6 because I simply do not have the time or desire to learn its intricacies (and yes I know about the AFE). Really looking forward to the Aerosoft Twin Otter, which seems to have a good balance of advanced modelling without a steep learning curve.

What about a private airport as a home base where all the aircraft that you have installed are parked on the apron or in the hangars?

Concepts planes could be really interesting, although I am afraid they would mainly consist of an exotic exterior without any system depth, because that would be expensive to develop. Let’s see what the Maverick package will bring …

Personally I would totally love to hover my Bell 47 over ancient Rome, but again a good representation would probably cost a lot. Or maybe the 3D data already exists in public from some research projects and would only need to be adapted to MSFS?

16

It’s quite simple. I enjoy it and it’s a hobby. I also have some hours in real life now, and one doesn’t have to be instead of the other for me. I AM fortunate enough to be able to spend money on things I want (I have worked my way out of finally paying off my medical school loans a few years ago so even just that opened up a good chunk of extra spending money - money I never saw in my bank for YEARS!)

I bought my first desktop flight sim in August of 2020 when MSFS released. I have a bunch of airports and pretty much every aircraft released for MSFS so far (and there are what…54 now?) So that’s MSFS.

I also invested in a nice P3D setup since January. Orbx scenery alone will be close to about $1000 or so… Then the aircraft - A2A’s costs about $60 or so, so I have about 7 of those - they make THE BEST GA aircraft out there. FSLabs Airbus 320 series, if you get all variants, well that’s about $300? Aerosoft’s A330 Professional is what… $70-80? PMDG - 737 will cost you about $180 or so for all variants, 747 is $140 for base plus an expansion variant, 777 is another $220 for all variants. MilViz KingAir is $80, Piaggio P180 is $60… Then there is TFDI Boeing 717, CS Boeings 757, 767, 737 are between $60-90 a piece… so it adds up! If you are into aircraft as I am and learning the various systems and intricacies… it’s EASY to spend thousands. P3D needs weather, turbulence, camera package too. So P3D alone is probably in the range of $3000-4000 with all the goodies. This is just one of those hobbies that takes money to enjoy to its full potential. Though, if you are spending in little bits, it doesn’t FEEL like you are spending that much sometimes. In music, my other hobby… well… a drum kit can easily cost $10,000 and that’s a more sizeable chunk of money all at once!

Still, forget my income. Let’s say someone only makes $70K a year. If they spend $7,000 on various hobbies, that’s only 10% of what they made that year! What’s the price of happiness, right? If you budget your stuff accordingly and are smart with your money, there is NO reason you can’t spend just 10% of what you make on your hobbies! Scale accordingly. Whatever the money you make, save, invest, pay off all your debts, and sooner rather than later you end up not really worrying about what you spend on some plane for MSFS. So, even if you make $20K a year, what’s $2000? That $2000 can make a huge difference in your overall well-being, your mood, your productivity, your interpersonal relationships, and your self-esteem. Live within your means but don’t deny yourself things that can make your day better. That’s how I see it.

6 Likes
17

Like BostonJeremy77 I have spent thousands on FlightSimming. Unlike him I don’t have a large disposable income (I wish though!) and have spent this money over MANY years. I compare it to friends who are car/bike enthusiasts and know I have spent MUSH less on my hobby than them and am happy.

1 Like
18

We have to stop feeding the bears…err trolls.

While I do agree there is a market for “good value products”, it also doesn’t mean that ■■■■ non-functional buggy products is acceptable either.

So don’t expect me to buy your flying outhouse

2 Likes
19

It was going well untill 2nd item on the aircraft list

1 Like
20

I would rather buy addons that improve the sumulation realism, not orherwise.

21

I can see both sides of the argument. Ultimately the discussion is academic.

Some third party devs will only ever produce high quality addons, other will produce rubbish/ rip offs, and if the “Fortnite market” opens up with the Xbox release, some will produce the type of content the OP asks for, if there is enough interest.

Supply and Demand, init…

1 Like
22

Just curious do you have the Tollis A321 or 319 in X plane there are excellent in my view. .My wife is a Dr too but she wants me to seek help in regards to my interest in MSFS

23

She does not have any hobbies, does not buy clothes, jewelry or cosmetics? I am sure she is spending money on things that you do not.

1 Like