What is it with Captain Sim?

[JohnWillimas]

Now I know that this falls outside the "British" bit of this site but I just wanted to recount my recent experiences with Captain Sim.

I will declare that I'm a bit peeved that their B737-200 (for the most part a really good model) has been out for a year now and they still haven't released a version to repair some fairly fundamental problems (PDCS crashes FS, PDCS doesn't interface with the engine EPR as it should, brakes apply on landing and don't release, APU problems, system annunciator does not function, VOR & ILS don't show heading correctly, etc.).

As I say these have been "on the list for the next service pack" for over a year. In the interval Captain Sim have released their B777 and have pre-released their L10-11 but no communication on what's happening with the B737.

Last week I got a marketing email from them saying - in effect "Guess what: exciting news!" This turned out to be some involvement that they had in a movie and I must admit to being somewhat vexed thinking - why don't they spend the time fixing what they've sold instead of playing around with something that's got nothing to do with their products and telling us how exciting it is.

I posted something to that effect on their forum. Not aggressive. Not rude. (I thought)

My post sat on the site forum for a day and was then deleted. No reply. No pm on the web site. No email. Just one day the post was there and the next it wasn't.

Now that to me seems bl***y rude.

So I posted again saying that I thought this was a very questionable practice. Again I was perfectly polite if critical (oh, and I did ask if they didn't ought to go the whole hog and delete the smiley from their smiley menu, which I guess could have been construed as sarcastic, maybe).

This morning I discover I am banned from their forum. Again no reply, PM or email. Just a "your banned" when I try to log in.

This is a bit of a rant I know but just a warning to anyone that if you've got a problem with Captain Sim then their forum isn't the place to raise it. You don't even get three strikes and you're out, there its only two.

[Chris Sykes]

Sorry to hear your banned, but isnt CS well known for their lack of Customer Support?

[TSR2]

I remember buying their 757 years ago and being bitterly disappointed by the dire performance on what was a high end system. My comments weren't deleted, but I got very disparaging comments, so i deleted it and its never been reinstalled. I'm very happy with the QW 757.

[JohnWillimas]

Sorry to hear your banned, but isn't CS well known for their lack of Customer Support?

So it seems, looking on the AVSIM boards at least. I was actually pretty happy with them all through the "customer testing" phase when they offered the product at a discount for early adopters prior to its formal release. It was only after the product got to a fully saleable state that that the problems started. I presume that's because they just switched the development team off of the 737 and onto the newer products - after all they won't make a penny out of fixing the 737. Other companies manage to be nice to their customers though so I don't no why they can't do that.

That's the last of my hard earned pennies they'll get though.

[Nigel H-J]

Hi John

I too have the CS 737-200 and have to say that I really enjoy it. Yes, there are problems that should have been sorted by now however, I have managed to get round at least one of them myself that you have listed.

With regards to the brakes not releasing I have disconected mine (deleted them) via the cfg file and just accept that I now have to manually brake.

Have not had any PDCS crashes and my VOR is OK apart from slight deviation with the ILS Centre Line Marker, as for the APU problem is yours not supplying power? If so there is a fix and that can be found on Avsim alongside a ground power fix also. Not able to access Avism so unfortunately cannot give you a link.

Sorry I can't be of much further help

BTW, I had asked a question asking where the Jepessen Map is as wanted to edit it so I could put my flight plans in its place i.e. VOR/DME frequencies and headings as well as ADF and ILS approaches.

If any-one is interested in locating the map that is on the control column I was given the following location which I will try tomorrow.

They are here:
\CS_B737-200\texture\
cs737_C_14_T.dds
cs737_C_15_T.dds

Lightmaps:
\CS_B737-200\texture
ight\
cs737_C_14_LM.dds
cs737_C_15_LM.dds

Trouble is which ones do you edit and would it be via notepad?



Regards
Nigel.

[JohnWillimas]

Nigel - thanks for these suggestions. Certainly the user community has been good at fixing the problems that it can get to. I'll look for the APU fix on AVSIM - there's also the looping sound problem of the APU start-up but there's a work around for that too. Thanks again.

[Garry Russell]

Sorry to hear this John...they are disgusting

I've read so much about CS shortcomings and folk getting posts deleted and being banned just as described above

The only thing I find odd is why folks still buy from them???

To still support their business is accepting they way they do things when so much is already known about their dire support.

[DaveB]

I guess we continue to buy from CS until this sort of thing happens to us.. a 'head in the sand' thing.. 'it'll never happen to me'. They've always been ruthless with unfavourable posts. Not sure if it's to keep things looking 'efficient' over there or what. When the Legendary 707 came out some years ago, there were a number of poor souls summarily dismissed in my short time reading the forums and they weren't rude or angry posters

ATB
DaveB

[PaulC]

Hi John

I read your post on the CS forum and fully agree with you. I have both the 732 and the 752 and find issues with them both. The 757 is manageable now, I can happily fly that. I gave up on the 737 as I enjoy planning as much as flying. Hence the performance computer and going through the checks and set-up is a big thing for me.

I suffered from the lack of power from the APU. The sound always was there, giving the impression that things were running but when I'd spent 10-15 mins setting up and then turned the start switch to hear bugger all, I kept getting a bit miffed to say the least. I wasn't aware of the fix, but from reading the pleas of thousands on the CS forum, it appears that CS threw a dice when you downloaded, some of us got rubbish and some got a working product! Like I said, my 737 is parked collecting dust.

My flying time is VERY limited these days and so risking loosing flying time through a sub-standard product, which is all it can be, it not an option.

[Nigel H-J]

Mods for the CS 737 below at Avsim, these appear to be newer ones to the one I have.

APU and gen power modification

http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=174330

4 fixes to the 737

http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=174971

Ooo-er John, when I said I deleted the brakes in the a/c cfg I hope you didn't think that literally!! What I mean't was that I deleted the auto-brake entry!!

BTW. Had a look at the files regarding the map on the 737 yoke - it is all in code!! so as far as I can see there is no way of being able to replace the map with a note pad!!

Regards
Nigel