Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 18 Feb 2009, 20:26
ATB
DaveB :tab:
Classic British Flight Sim
The home of Classic British Freeware for Microsoft Flight Simulator
https://www.cbfsim.co.uk/cbfs_bb/
Rising from the ashes........
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Re: Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 18 Feb 2009, 20:45
How cool is that! Cheers Ben
ATB
DaveB :tab:
ATB
DaveB :tab:
Re: Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 18 Feb 2009, 20:51
Oh Oh...maybe they will release some new true Brit A\C.... 
And they owe me a refund.......
Tony
And they owe me a refund.......
Tony
Re: Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 18 Feb 2009, 22:07
Yeah a FS9/FSX revision of their bulldog really wouldn't go amiss would it? And, ignoring Vulcan FDE's, I for one is glad that a true British payware company is back.Techy111 wrote:Oh Oh...maybe they will release some new true Brit A\C....
Rgds
Ben
Re: Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 19 Feb 2009, 10:16
Hmmmm.
Pardon me for being the miserable old git (well I have just trod on my laptop and broken it)...
In the last few years of PSS they were an awful outfit. I have purchased just about every one of their addons over the years, and these are the things that stick in my mind:
2003 - They released the A330/A340 which had *TERRIBLE* flight models. It actually took a member of the community with help from a real world A330 pilot to completely re-write the .air filed and aircraft.cfg to make the things fly realistically.
2005 - I pre-ordered the 777 to show some support, and what we got was essentially an unfinished beta with a completely unacceptable (for payware) 3D model, and a flight model that even I could tell flew nothing like a 777. The bloody thing had a roll rate that would put an F-16 to shame! *MANY* problems with the FMS and autopilot behaviour. They had to get Rob Young in to make a new flight model and it took them months to fix the FMS/autopilot issues.
2006 - They told us they learned their lesson with the 777 and the new 757 would be properly tested and completed before release. To show support I once again pre-ordered. *ONCE AGAIN* we got an unfinished beta. The framerates were terrible unless you did a hex-edit in the model file to disable the VC (they released it without a no-VC option). Using the FMC CDU caused many CTDs. There was no option for a "cold and dark" startup option (unacceptable for a supposedly "professional" level airliner sim), and the whole package was released without a fuel planner or load editor. The fuel planner and load editor was a feature listed in the product details on their site, and remained there for many weeks. We were first told it was ready, but due to internet problems in Malta it couldn't be uploaded, then we were told they were implementing anti-piracy measures in the programmes. *MANY MONTHS* later we finally got the load editor and fuel planner that should have been there on the day of release. The 757 3D model was also crap, just look how oversized the engines are!
They left product support to one or two blokes on the Avsim forum, and then quietly disappeared sometime last year. They left lots of people in the lurch when they turned off their servers (PSS used "online installation" where you have to downoad the files as you install them, there was no single executable installer file). There was some whimper from the son of Graham Waterfield that piracy had wrecked PSS. I say rubbish. PSS pressed the self destruct button when they started releasing sub standard, unfinished products to their loyal customers and only bothered to fix them after many months when they could no longer ignore the clamour from their angry customers.
Back in the day PSS were one of the greats, but they fell a long way.
IF they get their act together and start releasing properly tested and finished products that are of proper payware quality...
IF they make their download servers available again for previous customers to download their rightfully owned products...
IF they apologise for the shameful way they treated us in the last couple of years...
..then I will be glad to see them back. However, can a leopard change its spots? If all we are getting is another reincarnation of the old PSS with the same old tricks, then I for one don't want to see them back in business.
Pardon me for being the miserable old git (well I have just trod on my laptop and broken it)...
In the last few years of PSS they were an awful outfit. I have purchased just about every one of their addons over the years, and these are the things that stick in my mind:
2003 - They released the A330/A340 which had *TERRIBLE* flight models. It actually took a member of the community with help from a real world A330 pilot to completely re-write the .air filed and aircraft.cfg to make the things fly realistically.
2005 - I pre-ordered the 777 to show some support, and what we got was essentially an unfinished beta with a completely unacceptable (for payware) 3D model, and a flight model that even I could tell flew nothing like a 777. The bloody thing had a roll rate that would put an F-16 to shame! *MANY* problems with the FMS and autopilot behaviour. They had to get Rob Young in to make a new flight model and it took them months to fix the FMS/autopilot issues.
2006 - They told us they learned their lesson with the 777 and the new 757 would be properly tested and completed before release. To show support I once again pre-ordered. *ONCE AGAIN* we got an unfinished beta. The framerates were terrible unless you did a hex-edit in the model file to disable the VC (they released it without a no-VC option). Using the FMC CDU caused many CTDs. There was no option for a "cold and dark" startup option (unacceptable for a supposedly "professional" level airliner sim), and the whole package was released without a fuel planner or load editor. The fuel planner and load editor was a feature listed in the product details on their site, and remained there for many weeks. We were first told it was ready, but due to internet problems in Malta it couldn't be uploaded, then we were told they were implementing anti-piracy measures in the programmes. *MANY MONTHS* later we finally got the load editor and fuel planner that should have been there on the day of release. The 757 3D model was also crap, just look how oversized the engines are!
They left product support to one or two blokes on the Avsim forum, and then quietly disappeared sometime last year. They left lots of people in the lurch when they turned off their servers (PSS used "online installation" where you have to downoad the files as you install them, there was no single executable installer file). There was some whimper from the son of Graham Waterfield that piracy had wrecked PSS. I say rubbish. PSS pressed the self destruct button when they started releasing sub standard, unfinished products to their loyal customers and only bothered to fix them after many months when they could no longer ignore the clamour from their angry customers.
Back in the day PSS were one of the greats, but they fell a long way.
IF they get their act together and start releasing properly tested and finished products that are of proper payware quality...
IF they make their download servers available again for previous customers to download their rightfully owned products...
IF they apologise for the shameful way they treated us in the last couple of years...
..then I will be glad to see them back. However, can a leopard change its spots? If all we are getting is another reincarnation of the old PSS with the same old tricks, then I for one don't want to see them back in business.
Re: Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 19 Feb 2009, 11:06
I have to admit that I would never go there again...Best thing they could do commercially is to invent a new name :roll:
Re: Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 19 Feb 2009, 11:24
Well in that case.. I'm glad I bugged out when I did! Only ever bought the early Concorde, Vulcan and (cough) baby Scarebus - 319/320/321 
That said.. I remember bringing a 321 back from Malta and it went see-through as dusk fell indicating a lack of night maps :roll:
ATB
DaveB :tab:
Only ever bought the early Concorde, Vulcan and (cough) baby Scarebus - 319/320/321 That said.. I remember bringing a 321 back from Malta and it went see-through as dusk fell indicating a lack of night maps :roll: ATB
DaveB :tab:
Re: Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 19 Feb 2009, 12:15
Only ever had the Vulcan and thought it was excellent.
Re: Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 19 Feb 2009, 12:44
What I do find remarkable is they always blamed torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay for their downfall (and quite rightly so); and now the four founder members of the torrent site are in court, PSS reappear again. A little convieniant, eh?? 
Rgds
Ben
Rgds
Ben
Re: Rising from the ashes........
Posted: 19 Feb 2009, 12:50
Hmmmmmm...it's not really an announcement that sets my shorts on fire.
In their heyday (FS2002) PSS produced some of the most advanced simulations available, and I still like their BabyBus (heavily modified, it must be said), but they were really left behind in later years and produced some "less-than-excellent" aircraft. Their official support was not the most helpful, and the FDE of some of their later aircraft could best be described as "interesting". Piracy didn't finish off PSS, their downfall was largely self-induced.
It will be interesting to see where they plan to go, high end (PMDG, Level D) or the more economical end of the market (most CLS models and the various Japanese companies).
Their biggest problem will be overcoming the customer disaffection caused in their previous incarnation, as a previously frequent customer (A320/A330/A340/DHC8/Vulcan) they will need to demonstrate a higher level of customer care than before, IF they want me to spend my money with them.
TTFN
In their heyday (FS2002) PSS produced some of the most advanced simulations available, and I still like their BabyBus (heavily modified, it must be said), but they were really left behind in later years and produced some "less-than-excellent" aircraft. Their official support was not the most helpful, and the FDE of some of their later aircraft could best be described as "interesting". Piracy didn't finish off PSS, their downfall was largely self-induced.
It will be interesting to see where they plan to go, high end (PMDG, Level D) or the more economical end of the market (most CLS models and the various Japanese companies).
Their biggest problem will be overcoming the customer disaffection caused in their previous incarnation, as a previously frequent customer (A320/A330/A340/DHC8/Vulcan) they will need to demonstrate a higher level of customer care than before, IF they want me to spend my money with them.
TTFN