Open letter to MS...

[Flyinfool]

I've tried to avoid being one to jump on the MS bashing bandwagon, but I'm afraid after seeing several screen shots on this and other forums of scenery mistakes, recoding of FD's and the like, I finally need to say something. I ran into one of my own quirks this morning. I installed the fabulous PMDG 737-7H4 and was on a trip from KSEA-KLAS. The trip itself was decent, and given my 2 year old machine the system performance was acceptable. I was using the FS/Jeppesen weather which was 24 hours old, but that minor gripe aside, the PMDG performed magnificently. Upon arrival, obtaining the ATIS I received this:

KLAS weather 1400Z, winds calm, few clouds -400 scattered 12,000 temp blah blah...

-400?? Sure enough after roll out, there we were taxiing through fog on a hot clear summer day in Vegas.

Now, having said all that, I finally think it beholding to MS to patch this thing. Too many mistakes, in a rush to get it on the shelves, whatever the reason it's too late to correct sloppy workmanship for the first release. So...PATCH IT! NOW!

And for those of you Microbots who are company apologists, save your breath because I don't buy the "it's only a $54 sim" excuse. Doesn't matter. Customer service and quality control principles should be the same whether you're paying $64,000 or $64. Captain Sim and PMDG have been EXCELLENT in the customer service department, fixing, patching and tweaking in order for their products to work in this new sim. They have bent over backwards to serve their customers. And they are small businesses. I feel totally satisfied as a paying customer as they address issues immediately and work to solve them.

Fix it. We're paying cutomers. Not too much to ask. -400 ft? As real as it gets? No wonder the U.S. Navy took a pass on this version for training purposes.

[jhender501]

Did you dump your internet cache before loading new weather?




Jim

[wathomas777]

"And for those of you Microbots who are company apologists, save your breath because I don't buy the "it's only a $54 sim" excuse. Doesn't matter. Customer service and quality control principles should be the same whether you're paying $64,000 or $64. Captain Sim and PMDG have been EXCELLENT in the customer service department, fixing, patching and tweaking in order for their products to work in this new sim. They have bent over backwards to serve their customers. And they are small businesses. I feel totally satisfied as a paying customer as they address issues immediately and work to solve them.

Fix it. We're paying cutomers. Not too much to ask. -400 ft? As real as it gets? No wonder the U.S. Navy took a pass on this version for training purposes."


I'm not a company apologist but I say the overall quality is quite good for $55.00.

If you are unsatisfied, Microsoft has avenues for you to get a refund. If you compare the quality of this product to the quality of the same product 15 years ago, you will find no comparison. I highly doubt you would even go back to FS98. Which is only 5 years old. Yet FS98 cost you the same if not more (taking into account inflation) as FS2004 cost.

I'm sorry, but I find your "demands" more than a bit unreasonable, considering that Microsoft has delivered a functional ATC, Worldwide coverage of over 24000 airpors, functional dynamic weather and AI traffic, and modeled over 20 planes. And has not significantly upped the cost. In fact FS2004 cost LESS than FS2002 Pro and is more fully featured.

So sorry, but if you are unhappy, get your money back. If you want to be constructive, go ahead, but don't include us in your rant and rave about "quality" and "customer support". I think you will find a lot of people who find FS2004 very much worth the 54.00 investment they have made. Patch or No Patch.

[skink]

The quick band-aid to the problem of clouds at negative altitudes is to turn dynamic weather OFF. Seems the dynamic weather works solely by temp & dew point but doesn't cross-check to see if that results in clouds below ground. Turning dyn weather off at least won't give you these clouds, but you do lose out on changing weather.

[msimms]

<editted out after reading comment by chasw> dangit I took the bait!!

[chasw]

Or in other words. Operator error - Again.

When are some of the whingers going to take a cold hard look at their own capabilities before jumping to the conclusion that there is something for MS to fix? Even in this simple scenario there are several alternative prospects to the `blame Microsoft` scenario and an even simpler solution which is also noted here in this forum. All it takes is an ability to use the search engine, and the sim tools properly.

The problem is that by creating all this fog, the real genuine issues are receiving scant attention.

It's so easy to take a pop at Microsoft when they can't answer back, but when this forum allows repulsive posts such as this to stand it brings the whole forum and its concept into disrepute. And are we allowed to attack this flame baiter for his continued trolling comments? No we have to tolerate this cr@p, say the moderators. I would hit the alert button, but we all know that nothing will get done, nothing will be solved and nothing will be done to deal with this guys single handed attempt to destroy the credibility of the forum. Have a look at his posting history and see for yourselves.

He's just another troll. Ignore him or exclude him. But don't reply to him, it just encourages stupidity.

Chas

[panzerschiffe]

The trolls are out in full force for FS9. DUDE! YOU LOSE!!

[wbf]

msimms I have to disagree, and Flyinfool, I totally support you in everything you said.

This program IS buggy and without a doubt defiantly needs patching. I would have written the same letter with all my own problems but there are just too many list and I just don't have the time to banter back and forth with all the pro-micro$oft zombies out there just to have it end up being the same anyway.

And to all ... we seriously as consumers need to stop taking this disgusting attitude that when it comes to computers or software that some level of incorrect operation is the norm and is acceptable.

Even today I am still endlessly baffled at the level at which so many are constantly accepting these defects and deficiencies of the products we buy for computers, not only that but at the level at which so may will actually DEFEEND these products is just unbelievable.

In any other field of retail product production if anything and I mean anything is sold that is even remotely defective we as consumers cry bloody murder, stomp our feet and go to any and all untold lengths until we feel we've been rectified. But as soon as a Micro$oft name is put on it and it doesn't work right people just close their mouths and crawl into the corner like whipped little puppies.

So you stick to you guns Flyinfool, you got my support. I only wish there were more like you out there!

[msimms]

>msimms I have to disagree, and Flyinfool, I totally support
>you in everything you said.
>
>This program IS buggy and without a doubt defiantly needs
>patching. I would have written the same letter with all my
>own problems but there are just too many list and I just
>don't have the time to banter back and forth with all the
>pro-micro$oft zombies out there just to have it end up being
>the same anyway.
>
>And to all ... we seriously as consumers need to stop taking
>this disgusting attitude that when it comes to computers or
>software that some level of incorrect operation is the norm
>and is acceptable.
>
>Even today I am still endlessly baffled at the level at
>which so many are constantly accepting these defects and
>deficiencies of the products we buy for computers, not only
>that but at the level at which so may will actually DEFEEND
>these products is just unbelievable.
>
>In any other field of retail product production if anything
>and I mean anything is sold that is even remotely defective
>we as consumers cry bloody murder, stomp our feet and go to
>any and all untold lengths until we feel we've been
>rectified. But as soon as a Micro$oft name is put on it and
>it doesn't work right people just close their mouths and
>crawl into the corner like whipped little puppies.
>
>So you stick to you guns Flyinfool, you got my support. I
>only wish there were more like you out there!

Sorry mate, but if you want a 100% bug free release then you will be disapointed.

For example, the developemt cycle of a new version of flightsim is (roughly) 18 months. When they have a Beta test version of the code ready, to throughly check it would take at least a year! Seriously, by then, technology would of moved on and the product wouldnt be so cutting edge anymore, so during the beta-test they update some features to take advantage of the new hardware currently on the market, this intorduces new problems into the beta code, so it goes back for more fixing/developing, they put it back out (again) to beta to test it properly. This in turn takes a few months to test it to the stringent standards you expect, in the interim, more hardware comes out... and so on and so on.. To get a perfect product is nigh on impossible.

[wathomas777]

Well said.

Anyone who has been in software development (I was a software test engineer before moving to Technical Support in my company) understands this.

Hey, lets see how well a car would be made if every six months a new motor, brakes, windshield and fuel system were developed. And remember when you do develop that car, the consumers want to make sure that the car runs flawlessly on the new fuel system that was just released 4 weeks ago.....