Is marketplace addons worth it?

So heres my question. Say for example asobo/microsoft releases an aircraft. Then some small team outside of asobo/microsoft, drops liveries for it or a modern cockpit, whatever it may be. Is it worth buying? Or waiting for asobo/microsoft to drop that kind of content for existing aircraft? Another example, if there is(which im sure there is) a walking first person mod to walk around aircraft or whatever with footstep sounds, sprinting, climbing ramps into aircraft, is it worth buying that? Or does microsoft/asobo not release their own version of that so that they dont put down the small team/person that created that mod? Or will microsoft asobo add those mods as part of the official game where its not considered a mod anymore? Like how does that work? Do they just not worry about adding their own version of cool features anymore since theres small content creators doing the work for them?

Yes, they are, it brings money to Asobo and keeps the sim going. Unfortunately just about every 2nd purchase for me fails after Steam has deducted the money from my account, so I reallly cannot recommend the marketplace to anybody.

1 Like

On PC itā€™s absolutely NOT worth to pay anything for liveries etc, there is tons of freeware available.

no. They canā€™t sell airline liveries for copyright and licensing reasons.

Anything else is always up to yourself if you consider a mod be worth but do some research before, there is a huge amount of trash on the marketplace. They sell EVERYTHING that brings money.

From personal experience I canā€™t recommend the Marketplace for at least a number of moral reasons.

4 Likes

See im on xbox, so im not sure if what i have on market place is the same someone would on pc. I bought an aircraft by sim captain, noticed it wasnt authentic or realistic. I learned my lesson that i shouldnt buy aircraft that are $20 for a reason. Or anything by sim captain for that matter. What im trying to say is i have no options to high quality addons if its not made my Asobo or microsoft

1 Like

It all depends on the product.

You should stay away from Captain Sim, Bredok3D, and MScenery.

With WASM support coming with SU12, you should get some better aircraft (like the Aerosoft CRJ or PMDG 737) coming to the Marketplace.

If you are unsure of a product, create a forum topic that says ā€œIs [product] worth it?ā€ and the community will have some answers.

5 Likes

So far, I have done very well.
I have purchased ā€œNothingā€ from the marketplace.
Sim seems to work well other than all the bugs remaining in the core product.
Hopefully, this year will bring lots of really well done updates to the core product.
Hereā€™s Hoping !

What you see in the Xbox is a subset of whatā€™s available on PC. Like 80% of whatā€™s available for PC is available to Xbox currently. So thereā€™s still some pretty good selection, but there are a lot of the higher end planes missing.

And as you noticed, you have a lot of low end shovelware like Capt Sim that flood the market with low effort, incomplete planes specifically targeting the Xbox marketā€™s desperation for airliners and making a killing in the process.

Thatā€™s about to change. One of the limitations with porting planes over to Xbox is the lack of full WASM capability which many of the more advanced 3rd party aircraft are built on. SU12 will finally bring WASM to Xbox, meaning that 3rd party high end planes using WASM will potentially be available to Xbox. You can expect most high end planes will eventually come to Xbox within the next couple of months.

Will all planes be ported to Xbox? Who knows. Only the devs of these planes will know for sure once WASM is available. But I suspect if theyā€™ve already jumped through the flaming hoops to make it on the marketplace for PC, theyā€™re going to want to tap into that lucrative Xbox segment as well.

1 Like

Whether I buy in the marketplace or directly from a developer depends on what it is, and what I want to do with it.

The marketplace is good as a one-stop shop for making purchases, enabling and disabling aircraft in my hangar and for automatic updates.

However, I like to make tweaks to aircraft, change tail numbers, enable/disable HUD instruments, etc. The aircraft purchased from the marketplace often have hidden configuration files that prevent tweaks and changes.

If marketplace aircraft always had configuration files that are visible, then I would always buy from the marketplace. But I have had several experiences of paying for a marketplace airplane, discovering some of the configuration files are hidden, then paying for the aircraft again to acquire it directly the developer to get visible files.

So now I only buy marketplace aircraft if they are not available directly from the developer.

1 Like

Thatā€™s the only time I buy from the marketplace now - if itā€™s an exclusive and I REALLY want it.

5 Likes

Couldnt agree more

Well said thank you man! Well i guess now i want to know about the other thing i mentioned in my post about if Asobo or microsoft will ever release their own version of whatever mod a 3rd party devolper made. For quick example, the walking around mod, we can purchase it right? Okay, but will Asobo ever release their own version of that for the sim? And if they did, would the 3rd party content creator be upset? Does anything stop Asobo/microsoft from replicating their own version of a mod that already exists? As i said, id rather buy from the creators of the sim themselves. Nothing against 3rd party creators just like to keep it all high quality yet original.

I purchased KBUR from the Marketplace when it came out. When Orbx released V2, I waited several weeks for the update, and finally got it. Why the long wait I have no idea.

Fool me once, shame on youā€¦

Well they brought out a free PC6 just a month or two after the Milviz Payware one hit the marketplace.

1 Like

At first, I loved the idea of the marketplace. One stop shop, I donā€™t have to figure out what I bought, who I bought it from, where my receipt, etc. might be and so on, and an ongoing revenue stream that pays for future development. Butā€¦

A: They do little to no QC on what is and is not allowed into the marketplace. Examples include, but are not limited to MSFScenerybuilders (absolute junk), Captainsim (ditto), and others, some who have been mentioned here. To me, it is not eBay, and if something is being sold by MS it should mean some sort of seal of approval, that this is a quality addon, and itā€™s not just some weak exterior that an amateur whipped up in half an hour, and then threw in an unmodified cockpit from another MSFS plane into, as just one example. IYKYK.

But it does not mean that at all. Additionally, not allowing any sort of comments on the ā€˜ratingsā€™ renders them meaningless.

In short, donā€™t think just because it can be found there that itā€™s even something you would want if it was FREE!

B: They take far too long to get updates through whatever process they DO have, meaning you many be waiting weeks or more for the next update for your favorite 3rd Party Airplane.

So, my new, older and wiser rule of thumb is that if it is available outside the marketplace, I buy it there. If I canā€™t find the documentation, receipt, website, etc., wellā€¦ Shame on me. That hasnā€™t happened yet, but Iā€™m sure it eventually will.

I wish they would do something on the QC sideā€¦ Like it must get a thumbs up from a group of devs, volunteer end users, or similar, and if, and only if they get said approval, then they go into the store. And I wish they would not take so long proliferating updates out to us end-users. I wish all this because if that were true, I WOULD buy only from the marketplace because it is more convenient, and it provides ongoing revenue for Microsobo, which despite my protestations above is actually a good thing. For one, they get rewarded for making us this product in the first place, that is undergoing constant development and improvement at no further charge to us. For another, as I intimated, that ongoing revenue does give them the financial wherewithal to provide those updates and fixes at no charge.

In the past, they would just come out with a new version of the sim every X number of years, at least until FSX (or maybe the MS Flight debacle?) when they decided the whole market was too niche to be profitable. But without us users buying a new version every few years (which is absolutely common AND necessary in the software business), the marketplace is the only way this keeps going indefinitely, which we as end-users want.

So, caveat emptor, and to the Microsobo teamā€¦ Please stop letting junk into your store (you can blame the 3rd parties all you want, but it reflects poorly on you regardless of excuses), give us the ability to attach a paragraph or two to our rating to explain the good, the bad, and the ugly (mostly to warn people away from the ugly), and get updates out lickity split so itā€™s a quality place to shop, provides value to us, and provides ongoing funding to you guys.

6 Likes

Someone tag Asobo lol they need to read this comment

Itā€™s not so bad if you limit your searches to 4 stars or more. Those are the good addons generally. The shovelware is what causes your second issue though. Too much ā– ā– ā– ā–  for Asobo to sift through and approve, thus the updates to quality payware is delayed by months.

1 Like

To me, ratings without comments mean nothing. Less than nothing even. That may be my problem, but it is my honest opinion.

As for there being so much shovelware (I like that term) that it causes delays in updates for the good stuff, I think at least one of the points I was making is that shovelware should not be permitted in their store.

Like it or not, reasonable or not, there is a general perception that by being in the store, there is a certain seal of approval from MS/Asobo. They say itā€™s not true, but more people donā€™t even participate in these forums, much less read where they have said that. Shovelware should never be allowed in the marketplace, period.

There are plenty of other options for shovelware vendors to (try to) sell their wares, dot to being the most obvious since they now sell stuff. Shovelware vendors probably wouldnā€™t like it if 95% of their ratings are 1 star, with commentary explaining why. They would perhaps sell a few copies, but after the ratings come in from the early adopters, nobody smart would buy them ever again.

Itā€™s not really my personal problem, as I outlined what I do to avert such issues, but I worry about people who arenā€™t quite as savvy as me, especially those of a younger persuasion that may be permitted only a handful of $30 addons per year.

And dumb people. Or poor people, if there are any of those with this hobby that is only inexpensive when compared to real world flying lol!

Remember, however, that I am not the brightest bulb in the bunch, so you should never listen to me about anything.

1 Like

Thereā€™s plenty of truth to that. What may be a reason for you to give a low rating may not be an issue for others.

I somewhat mentioned this in another thread, but it applies here too. The lack of any ability to request a refund on marketplace purchases acts as a defacto seal of approval, regardless of any statement they make. There should be a way to implement a refund window similar to what Google Play has with paid apps. You get a few days (maybe longer for functional purchases like a plane that needs more in-depth evaluation) in which to request a refund. If you donā€™t like it, you request a refund and the add-on is force removed from your content manager. If you purchase it again in the future, you donā€™t get a refund window.

This alone would solve many problems. It would mean more satisfied customers, and more willingness to make purchases in the store. It would remove the profit motive from shovelware, so they will either be weeded out or forced to improve their products. Less shovelware means less junk for Microsoft to run through QC, leading to faster approvals.

Itā€™s for this reason Iā€™m loathe to purchase anything from it. Iā€™d love a couple of planes, but Iā€™m not spending almost as much as what I paid for the entire sim just for one plane that Iā€™m not even sure Iā€™ll ultimately like.

3 Likes

Iā€™ve only bought a few aircraft and a couple of scenery addons through the marketplace, but Iā€™ve been very happy with all of them so far. I would probably buy more of the hand-made airports and maybe some landmark packs too, but the prices can be a deterrent for me sometimes.

I agreeā€¦ Ratings are getting less reliable every month. With all the internet ā€œInfluencersā€ , paid raters sites and the new trend of buying AI software to flood the internet with fake comments and ratings 24/7, I have no faith in most ratings and customer reports.

1 Like