Add Ons 1-5 and RealFlight G4

In response to Jeff's suggestion, and with full apologies to Matthew, the evangelist:

Madman 20:1-16 (New San Diego Version)

The Parable of the Buyers of the Simulator

1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a software developer who went out early in the morning to find customers to buy his R/F G4. 2He agreed to charge them a denarius for the package and sent them into their LHS or online to get it.

3"About the third month he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and buy my simulator, and I will charge you whatever is right.' 5So they went.

"He went out again about the sixth month and the ninth month and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh month he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

7" 'Because no one has figured out how to make the G3.5 add-ons compatible,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and buy my simulator.'

8"When evening came, the owner of the KnifeEdge said to his foreman, 'Call the customers and collect their payments, beginning with the last ones sold (now with the compatible add-ons) and going on to the first.'

9"The customers who purchased about the eleventh month came and each paid a denarius. 10So when those came who purchased first, they expected to receive more for their money or be charged less. But each one of them also were charged a denarius. 11When they paid it, they began to grumble against the software developer. 12'These men who bought last waited only one month,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to buy for a denarius? 14Take your receipt and go. I want to give the man who bought last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own product? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Seems about right, Jeff. Good choice of biblical references.
 
Last edited:
I have to laugh when people whine about paying for updates or new products. Don't buy a GPS unit. If you want updated street maps you pay for them. I pay $75.00 for a new map of the US. And they are paving new streets all the time.

I bought all the Realflights and add-ons, sold them and now have G4. I will buy the next version too. I've owned a couple of the other RC flight sims, wasn't impressed with them, sold them too.
 
Laugh with, or laugh at ...

jeffpn said:
Okay, rjmanzuk, you got me laughing. That's a good one! :D
Click to expand...
Laughing is good for the soul, and good for the body as well as the mind. Even frontman "has to laugh", although I don't think laughing at someone is quite as cathartic as laughing with them.

Good winds,
Bob,
aka
 
Zelatio said:
The loss here described by rjm is that I paid for all 5 addons, and now others are getting them free. I don't understand how people are questioning our thoughts on this. I paid for it, now it's free... That's like paying for a computer and then several months later having them given out for free.

It's pretty much like Apple. Murder the early adopters and deliver the final goods later to the not-so-dedicated supporters later.

But as stated earlier. I'm not bitter about any of this. As you guys know I am opinionated, and I feel the need to share my opinion. Sorry if it doesn't match yours.

Happy flying to you all, I don't hold grudges with anyone around here, I like you all and love this forum.
Click to expand...

I've got to disagree with regards to "murder the early adopters." I bought these add-ons and got my money's worth of use long ago. Heck, most of the software (especially games) I bought 5-10 years ago is now either not available or on the $5 rack at WalMart! It's not like they are giving them away after only 6 months or a year ... the add-ons have been on the market for a very long time for a software product.

I for one am glad to see that KE keeps improving the product and responds to customer requests such as making the legacy add-ons compatible with their new simulator.

No ... I am not affiliated with KE. Just a satisfied suctomer.

Carl
 
Hi All,

I think It's a good thing KE gives their customers the Add-on's for free. As was said by others, the products are quite old.
I own 5 top simulators, and with at least one of them, Add-on's older than a year are automaticly included with that simulator for new customers. So, people complaining in this forum might actually be better of with Realflight than with other simulators...?
(On the other sim, I already "lost" > € 75,- which might turn up to be getting to > € 150,- since their add-on's came in rapid succession...... But, I gain with G4 since KE does the same, be it much older stuff.)

I for one am a proud owner of (now) G4, it is the number 1 of my 5 simulators...

-Marco.
 
Hi All,

I took a look at the different add-on's. It seems that the not yet released free versions of add-on's 3 to 5 are much nicer than 1 and 2. As a heli pilot myself I agree with others that we are still looking foreward to the next 3 add-on's...! :)

-Marco.
 
pplace said:
I'll let opjose explain it in detail but here's my short version:

Tower sells G4 for $200 usually you get a $20 "certificate" with no shipping included

so now the figure is $180....take the $75 "rebate" and buy yourself a couple Exp Packs (I'm waiting for 5 to release myself)

so the figure is still technically at $180 (but you are getting $75 worth of stuff you didn't have to pay "out of pocket" for) some will say the figure is now $105 (but I'll take your side on this one)

Then remember you can still sell your G3 (and now your add ons also) and get $100 or more (I've heard of others selling G3 for nearly $100....throw in all the add ons and you could get $150 or so? Leaving you with $30 left out of your pocket?....not a bad deal? I personally kept my G3 and the add ons...and brought them down to my business.

So all in all it's honestly a pretty fair deal if you work it right.
Click to expand...

Also another scenario some people might be interested in doing:

Take your version of G3 - G3.5 and any additional add ons you may have and DONATE them to a local flying club (for training purposes) or more feasibly DONATE it to your local High School! Then you can take the "market value" for these items and use them as a deduction on your taxes. Everyone comes out a winner. You can hopefully get the younger generation into flying for no cost!

I know when I was in school there were certain classes / courses that would deal with such stuff. (Kinda like industrial arts) but the teacher was very open to many new things.....Microsoft flight sim was one of the courses you could actually take.

Just throwing this option out for some....possibly you haven't filed your taxes yet (better hurry on that anyways) Help others....while helping yourself...how good could it get?! :)
 
jeffpn said:
Hushed voice: It's not a resolution, it's a bonus
Click to expand...

Non hushed voice: It's NOT a bonus! It's what they said they would do when they annouced the release of G4;

10/18/2007;
"... We are still looking into some way of making these packs available to RealFlight G4 customers."

11/26/2007;
"FYI, we are still working through some issues regarding Add Ons 1-5 and RealFlight G4. Please be patient. We'll make an announcement when we are ready."

01/18/2008;
"We haven't forgotten about them. That's all I can say at this point."

02/06/2008;
"We're close to making an announcement. Stay tuned.

03/04/2008;
"Almost there..."

Sounds to me like they'd planned to make the Add-Ons available to G4 customers. How can that be concluded as a "bonus"?
 
Law said:
Non hushed voice: It's NOT a bonus!

It's what they said they would do when they annouced the release of G4;
Click to expand...

So that would make it a "feature'...

Since it was added after the release, maybe a "bonus feature"?
 
Law said:
Sounds to me like they'd planned to make the Add-Ons available to G4 customers. How can that be concluded as a "bonus"?
Click to expand...

I imagine they were initially planning on making the add ons compatible (using the actual cd) As this is what the customers asked for......"I paid for my add ons and now I can't use them??" Was the average statement.

In the process KE decided it wasn't do-able without re-doing them completely......in order to still get the add ons in G4 they decided to give them away for free download.

So yes it could be considered a bonus......as nobody expected that. Everyone assumed that you would have to use your already purchased add ons. If you didn't have a certain add on....you wouldn't get the use of it in G4.

So bonus it is
 
fixit

opjose said:
So that would make it a "feature'...
Since it was added after the release, maybe a "bonus feature"?
Click to expand...
Somewhere in my (very) jaded past, I remember some advice a really good boss gave me about product marketing: "If you can't fix it, feature it!"

[as a side note, with a lot of help from this forum, and KE's pledge to give me add-ons 3-5 in addition to 1+2, I bit the bullet yesterday and ordered my G4]. That will raise some grins, guffaws, and perhaps even snarls ... but, it's time to join you all in your complete satisfaction ( :confused: ) with what G4 offers over G3.5. I sure hope you're right in your recommendations. :rolleyes:
 
pplace said:
I imagine they were initially planning on making the add ons compatible (using the actual cd) As this is what the customers asked for......"I paid for my add ons and now I can't use them??" Was the average statement.

In the process KE decided it wasn't do-able without re-doing them completely......in order to still get the add ons in G4 they decided to give them away for free download.

So yes it could be considered a bonus......as nobody expected that. Everyone assumed that you would have to use your already purchased add ons. If you didn't have a certain add on....you wouldn't get the use of it in G4.

So bonus it is
Click to expand...

I can go along with that - it's a bonus because it's now free - not because they "added" them - since it appears that they always had planned to make them available to G4 customers.
 
law said:
it appears that they always had planned to make them available to G4 customers.
Click to expand...
They were designed for G2, and the later ones with G3 in mind. They were never designed for G4. That's why I consider them to be a bonus.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top