I don’t have much time for PMDGs pricing these days TBH. I bought the PMDG 737 NG when it came out for FSX at around 70 USD back then. Since they started producing for Prepar3d their prices have gone insane. Okay I get that Prepar3d is marketd for real pilots and study level etc. but MSFS is not limited to real pilots and at the end of the day is also for entertainment.
Pricing of addons need to reflect this. It is also grossly unfair on people from parts of the world earning less than the Western world (not me btw) who would no way be able to afford such addons.
I know some people want to treat flight sim as the holy grail of hobbies that they would spend their life savings on but I think it becomes a slippery slope when such high pricing is applied to slightly more complex GA aircraft and ‘that’ is seen as ‘normal’ when it is almost the same price as the base sim.
Personally I think Aerosoft got their pricing of the CRJ corrrct as it is a close to study level jet and built from the ground up with decals etc and more complex than a GA aircraft that has not been built from the ground up for MSFS. But I am a man of principle so some may refuse to see it the same and spend what they will.
You are right in that PMDG produces a niche product - it is NOT for everyone. Thus, the people who don’t want the complexity won’t be inclined to spend the money for it, and that’s perfectly OK. At the end of the day, it’s all about the market viability - if their pricing strategy works in terms of sales colume and ability to recoup development effort sufficiently, why change it? Those who are willing and able to spend that kind of money are the ones who sustain their business model and pricing. If it becomes unsustainable, they will have to make adjustments.
Your argument about accessibility is not really grounded in reality. For example, I drive a new luxury car. Why? Cause I like it and I CAN. It’s never about prestige or status or showing off of any sort. I like it and I CAN. The others who drive the same car also CAN. There are plenty who for variety of reasons CANNOT. Does that mean my car manufacturer needs to adjust their pricing so that a person in less fortunate economic environment (say… sub-Saharan Africa) is able to drive one? I don’t think that’s going to happen. It isn’t viable. If I lose my primary source of income tomorrow, I will no longer be able to buy such a car. Now, for a hypothetical curveball - tomorrow the world undergoes a major economic collapse. Stay with me. Most people who were able to enjoy luxury products will not be able to sustain their investment. Sales of luxury cars tank. NOW you have a market condition which would force the automaker to adjust their position. Hey! This happened! Remember Hummer? Their foray out of military and into luxury civilian market? Then gas prices increased dramatically and no one was buying gas-guzzling Hummers. Guess what? They went the way of the dinosaurs - those same people who wanted to buy a Hummer now will buy a hybrid SUV. The market dictates viability… So, the same will happen here. Just let it be. If no one buys the new aircraft at those prices, the market will dictate viability here again as it always has.
To be fair, looking at some prices of airport addons in the Marketplace, I don’t think the JF Arrow is that far away from a realistic price.
And it’s up to everyone to decide - I for one spend too short time at airports to buy scenery, as opposed to a well designed aircraft. But it’s just me and there are options for most of the users (including flying with default aircraft from the Game Pass subscription, which is fun too).
I get what your saying. Under the current economic reality we live in, market forces will always rule for better or worse. If enough people are willing and able to pay X amount, then X amount will be charged. I suppose however, I would like to think (without imperical evidence) that at a lower price point JF would make as much money with a larger volume of sales and most likely make more money overall considering the huge size of the MSFS audience. In theory, the developer unncessarily shuts out a huge number of potential and probable customers which is both bad for JF and bad for the customer.
I get your analogy with a luxury car but there are a signifcant number of people like myself who would also say that even if I could safely afford a luxury car, I would never buy one on principle as they are completely unnecessary at the price they cost versus the perceived benefit they give, which in theory is none apart from a delusion based on the conditioned perception of luxury from a consumeristic point of view which when a step back is taken, often appears ludicrous in any case (I live near Milan, and just have to take one look at the price of clothes in the designer shops in the fashion district there to realise just how deluded the human mind can be in what people are willing to pay for an ugly pair of pants to feel ‘good’ ).
Whilst a 45 USD addon is not the same comparison as an ugly pair of overpriced designer pants, I still think there will be a significant number of people who can easily afford 45 USD but who will say no on principle as it’s just too much for an addon. So if JF prices too high as perceived by Joe Average, then they lose both the people who could only afford to pay up to 30 USD, they lose people like me who can easily pay 45 USD but would say no on principle, and instead they only capture the hardcore minority who will pay hundreds for the likes of PMDG priced addons. Overall, personally I believe JF will lose more money than they would otherwise have gained at a lower price point of say 30 USD.
So be it. If there’s not enough people buying the addon, they’ll reduce the price.
There are also bundles and sales which make the addons more affordable.
I don’t think it’s worth discussing it here. Everyone has their own perception of how much money they can and want to spend for certain addons.
If the addon isn’t worth the money for you, just don’t buy it. You won’t convince JF to reduce the price, especially not by writing in this forum.
As to your assumption about potential customers: I would assume JF with their experience know pretty well how much they should charge for addons to get the most out of it. They don’t just have a gut feeling like you - they have statistics from years of development.
Glad it’s not just me experiencing this, the manual states;
The function selector knob should be in the OFF position before starting the aircraft’s engine. Select the required reply code by rotating the four code knobs (one per code digit). The code will be displayed in the four code windows.
After starting the engine, turn the function selector to standby (SBY). The transponder will take approximately 45-50 seconds to become operational. Once airborne, turn the function selector to ON, enabling normal Mode A operation.
Turn the function selector to the altitude (ALT) position for altitude reporting (Mode C) to ATC.
But it still only seems to work if I respond to ATC via the menu rather than tuning it manually.
Also now I think about it the MB-339 has the same issue.
I honestly also wasn’t sure if I shall pay it. For me it’s a commitment to use it more and dive deeper than I’d do if I had bought two cheaper addons. And compared to the prices of video games and the time you spend on it, that was fine for me.
Also with the big discount on the Turbo Arrow III/IV one could argue that you get 3 slightly different models, around 20 liveries, manuals, different sounds and performances etc. For the price of around 50€. This way the bundle compares quite well with other addons.
But it’s up to everyone to decide.
I wouldn’t bet there will be a discount as you expect it, aside of the bundle (which will be ~55€). The prices are pretty constant.
Yes,
I am too finding that ATC does not respond to transponder setting like other aircraft. Light comes on in test mode, but no other flashing , with mode in on or alt, and ATC does not respond to my setting the code, and eventually gives upon me.
Also, are checklists including in the UI menu?
Mine is blank.
Just Flight is not the perfect business model, nor are they the leader in sales in this field… billion dollar corporations make mistakes daily with their price points. Try to use logic and not just “means”, which carries no weight in this debate. If a person can afford a $100+ simulator then they can afford a $40 plane… it’s not about the price, it’s about different mindsets that people have, conservative leaning for example. Many people can buy the expensive luxury car that you salivate over, but choose not to because they have principles, and don’t fall prey to marketing and hype.
I believe Vy in the Arrow III is 90 knots. Vy does decrease with altitude but holding 90 KIAS will still get you to the desired height, but it may take longer. Be sure you lean the mixture as you climb. Getting too slow in the climb will increase drag and you’ll fall behind the “power curve” making climbing next to impossible. Try it holding 90 knots all the way up and leaning the mixture every 1-2K feet.
So true. I think it’s easy to get carried away and want every aircraft you see released but you need to keep a level head and really think whether you want it/need it - and also wait to see other users’ experiences/views of it. For me, this particular craft is worth the money as it’s relatively similar to what I’ll be learning in for my PPL (a Piper Warrior) but otherwise I probably would have held back.
There’s a lot of cash grabs it seems but in fairness JF have been very responsive and helpful on these forums. I think that makes this craft better “value” than those who aren’t really interested in patching their products and point the finger at Asobo/the SDK.
I do wonder if there will be more vocal opposition to pricing in MSFS compared with XP/P3D given the wider audience MSFS has.
I meant the inbuilt GUI checklists for some aircraft.
Same in game pull down menu as weather, payload etc.
I appreciate that checklists are in the manual, i just wonder if mine was malfunctioning ingame, as when select they are blank.
I still don’t really get why the Piper is so hard pulling to the left. Just tried several other prop aircraft (Asobo/stock) and they do not do this, except during take off which is normal. Is this a bug? I constantly need to steer the Piper to the right (or trim rudder) to get a somewhat straight flight.
No, there are no ingame checklists (except for the small cheat sheet above the fuel/oil gauges on the panel).
I opened a ticket since I’d have expected them to be at least present in a textual (non-interactive) form in the built-in checklist window of MSFS. They closed the ticket without any response, now I asked why. Let’s see.
Fingers crossed by the time it’s been through the marketplace approval process (assuming there is one) basic game features such as checklists and tooltips will be implemented properly.
On my PC
C:\Users\me\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\packages\justflight-aircraft-pa28-arrow-iii
It is interesting that no other aircraft files appear in that location.
Just did a night landing and somehow I agree, but what bugged me the most (as with many Asobo aircraft) is that the landing light barely illuminates more than the underside of the aircraft.
It needs to have FAR more reach than it currently has since at night seeing the runway illuminated just before touchdown is an important visual hint about your altitude.
Not sure if I shall report or simply fix the lights myself though. I have no idea if the Arrow has such a weak landing light in reality.
If no one buys the new aircraft at those prices, the market will dictate viability here again as it always has. 