They will not dilute the value of their brand by releasing a cheaper version of their aircraft. It’s PMDG, I expect the price structure to be exactly the same as it was on P3D or FSX.
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If that’s the case then they are spending time and resources in videos for people that won’t buy the plane.
I don’t mean the videos aren’t useful for us button pushers but the intended target is clearly on a more casual level.
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DC-6 was never intended for a casual crowd. There isn’t any issue here.
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I’ve never bought a payware airliner, partly because price seems high. I’m really happy with some of the high quality freeware options (Zibo 737 on Xplane, FBW A32nx on MSFS). I’m also hopeful the A380 by FBW will be a great freeware option.
Relative to these freeware options do the paid airliner offer much higher value? I guess on the MSFS side I’d probably want to buy a nice Boeing model if there isn’t a good freeware option which looks like there won’t be (although I have hopes for the Salty and Heavy mods, but both seem miles behind FBW).
In terms of how much I would pay, when I was using XPlane I was looking out for sales to get a decent airliner in the $60-$80 range.
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I hear you. The waiting sucks!!! For the latest updates on PMDG’s 737,777, Aerosoft’s A318-A330, and the Quality Wings B787, check out my Discord page at https://discord.gg/b7hmb6JCgZ Join if you like.
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This is most likely going to be the only PMDG aircraft I will buy. I’m far more interested in vintage/classic aircraft and this one will be a real gem. I’m guessing it will be priced at the same point as the other versions (P3D/X-Plane 10)…
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Joined, many thanks
I’m hoping that PMDG will only step in when all the ‘teething troubles’ have been sorted out. I’ll pay around 100 euros for the equivalent of the FSX B738. I’m sure that is what they will charge.
Let’s try this as a question.
Look on top of your desk and then look under it. What do you see?
In my case There is a Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog on the desk and a set of MFG Crosswind pedals under the desk.
What’s inside your flightsim rig? Again in my case ASUS ROG Strix B450 Mobo, Ryzen 3700x, Radeon 5700XT, 32GB DDR ram, 1TB nvme C drive and a seperate 1TB SSD for MSFS and another for P3Dv5.
Now if you have anywhere close or more than that level of expenditure for flightsims it kind of make the whole “what would you spend” discussion moot.
I have All of the FSlabs Airbus products on my P3D install, same goes for the Majestic Q400. Why?, simple they are the best for that type of aircraft. The Q400 fits a type of air operations that the 737 and A319 can’t fill. I’m not a Boeing fanboi and at times I like the difference of operating a Airbus. I will admit testing GFO has killed my time in an Airbus. As far as the default and several of the freeware addon airliners well you get what you pay for. They are unflyable. FMCs that either don’t operate or have missing functions. Essential systems that aren’t simulated like radio stacks and proper weight and fuel load. Even in some cases the ability to upload a proper flight plan. Or do a proper Cold and Dark start up.
Being inside the Beta test for PMDG has also given me insight to what the Devs deal with. All I can say is the DC6 is into double digit builds at this time. We are getting very good at uninstalling and reinstalling this airframe. Yup each build is a complete install. The coders don’t work for free nor should they.
One aspect we see has been the spiderweb effect of development. For now the DC-6 is the first for MSFS and stands alone. I’m sure the NG3 is coming somewhere behind it with the rest of the PMDG Boeing fleet. In the last go around of P3D testing we saw changes to one product like the 737 ripple out and effect the 747 and the 777. In some cases delaying development of the 777 as new features added to the 747 and 737 had to be added. Then there is the other elephant in the PMDG room. Global Flight Operations. At some point all these aircraft will be built into and tested in GFO. Which also means tha MSFS will be added to GFO with P3D4 and P3D5.
So if you want the most realistic add on aircraft possible then PMDG, FSLabs A2A and Majestic are what you want. The price is the price.
I do know one other thing no one here has mentioned. There are those who have not bought MSFS and will not buy it till these high end add ons are available.
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Snowfalcon13 Thanks a lot for your insight into the testing.
I think that 80$ is already lot for an addon plane but many people are willing to pay this for this particular one and perhaps a little bit more. But I also understood that the original discussion was wether PMDG would stick to their pricing structure (roughly the same price as the old DC-6s, or perhaps a little bit more). And if so why they did not announce it right away. Could it mean that the actual price they are for is much higher and we end up being served that bad news at the last moment etc. It may be unnnecessary, but it makes me a little uneasy right now.
I also said that the <50$ that some people consider as their limit is most likely too low, especially if they are willing to pay that amount for lazier addons anyway. It seems a fantastic product. If it sells for ~80$ I will buy it without much thinking, if it costs much more I will have to think wether I want to spend so much for 1 plane that I later supplement with many others. Precisely I would have to make up mind wether the DC-6 is so important to me that it ends up eating the budget for other planes, and I tend to think it isn’t.
Keep in mind the NG3 was supposed to be the first product for MSFS and there was a $99 credit for those who bought the NGXu before 12/31/19. Something changed within ASOBO’s development of MSFS and we suddenly have the DC-6.
As far as what pricing will be I can’t remember RSR ever announcing pricing before a product was ready for release.
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Fair, but I must say that I also never make a decision to buy anything before I am told the price.
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Let’s start a thread with the title:
‘What are you prepared to pay for the FBW A32NX?’
I see they have already passed 1M downloads, even at a price of 1 dollar would be a moneymaker.
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As far as what pricing will be I can’t remember RSR ever announcing pricing before a product was ready for release.
The product is not ready for release so therefore you cannot buy it now can you???
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For the beta testers: Do the sounds change when you open or close the windows?
I saw it didn’t change in an old P3D review and was surprised it didn’t change in the very new PMDG tutorial videos. For a top-quality product this is something that matters.
If the sound is the same with opened or closed windows discount $5 from the price :).
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And is there a modelled passenger cabin and a door from the cockpit? Beta testers should know that, too.
If not another 5$ less
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I’m not willing to pay more than $50 for any plane. That doesn’t mean that an add-on isn’t worth more, but I guess I’m too casual of a pilot to spend any more on a plane. I do like being familiar with some systems, and at one point I was able to program the FMC on the 737 and make it fly places, change altitudes, do ILS landings and all that, but for me the most fun I’m getting out of MSFS is exploring the planet.
And in that regard, planes are just a really cool way to do that. They’re a means to an end, not really the goal itself. So don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the planes, the sounds (which are rarely done right, btw), but rarely do I deep dive into all the systems beyond the point of being able to fly the plane.
Also, I think there’s a balance to be found here. If you price a plane too high, fewer people will buy it. And since MSFS now has millions of users, I think the time has come to lower the prices of add ons a bit. I think that was the initial idea of MSFS anyway… keep it affordable, and do away with the crazy prices some devs are asking. It was understandable in times when they shifted maybe lower 3 digit numbers of their product, but it should to be a different story now, potentially.
On top of that, the DC-6 is for the most part a conversion of an older product, which means it didn’t take as much time and effort as something that was designed from scratch, I assume.
That’s why I think they should just offer it for about $50. They’ll sell more (more impulse sales) and still make a good profit, and I still get to fly their cool plane!
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What bothers me here is that they didn’t even model the interior. For a vintage airliner that is supposed to take you into a time capsule so to say this feels like the job was half done.
Also if this was their only flagship product I would probably invest 100+$ into it because it would mean it just started and they keep working on during the coming years. But to me it looks like the work is already mostly finished and the focus will immediately shift to jucier products.
That means you pay for the software product as is and not a team working on it. Which is usually the more valuable of the two by far. The concept has already been demonstrated with the X-Plane version of the DC-6, which wasnt even ported to the current version.
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The difference is, that PMDG does not need big updates as they dont sell “WIP” products or early acess.
They release the product when they are statisfied with it and that usually means it is finished.
Small patches here and there, for sure, but you get a finished product.
Look at all this 10-20 bucks planes that need dozens of updates to get the basics right, id rather skip these and go for the quality.
A cabin, atleast for me, is the least important thing, im flying from the cockpit. But of course, for you this seems to be higher priority, its just very individual.
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Yes if you mean 1.0 Release vs Perpetual Early Access I actually prefer the former too.
There are however also companies who concentrate on their product and make substantial updates for several years.
I am not yet a PMDG customers. I just want to sum up what my current impression is:
+very advanced system modelling
+quality
+professional coding
-no internal modelling
-price
-no futher development roadmap