Good developers

[paulb]

The recent episode with the Grumman Duck and the poor behaviour of Icarus got me thinking. :icon_eek:

Over the past year I have purchased a lot of addons for FSX. Some have been great and some just OK. However, certain developers have stood out for me - both in terms of the high quality of their products and the professional way that they have handled themselves both in this forum and elsewhere and in dealing with any queries that I have thrown their way.

So, I thought that I would take the time out to applaud their great work and their great attitude :applause:

In no particular order, my 'awards' go to -

FTX/OrbX - for their fantastic scenery
Classics Hangar - Love the FW190
A2A - Super Spitfire (and looking forward to the MkV)
Warbirdsim - Best P51 ever!
Flight Replicas - great Boomerang
RealAir - consistently first class
Tim 'Piglet' Conrad - freeware at its best!
Aerosoft - for their Beaver and F-16

The list above is not meant to be comprehensive, but these are the ones that have brought me the greatest amount of pleasure over the past year.

My thanks to all of the above for making my time on FSX more enjoyable :salute:

Cheers

Paul

[Mathias]

Oh! Cheers Paul, thanks for putting us on your list!
You're more than welcome!

[Kiwikat]

I think it's safe to add these:

PMDG
Level-D Simulations
Lotus Simulations
Flight1
Hifisim
Real Environment Simulations (REX)

[Marvin Carter]

Bill at Lionheart Creations is a great guy to!!!!

[Naki]

Dont forget Ant's Airplanes

[Francois]

Hmmm... good quality products, good behavior and good quality support can be three different things ;-)

Depending on what you are developers ranking to, your above list could look very different :icon_lol:

[AndyG43]

I'd like to add both Aeroplane Heaven and Razbam to the list, both for the quality of their product and, more importantly, for the level of help and support they have offered me over the years, going well beyond the call of duty on more than one occasion. :salute:

[krazycolin]

Hey! What about us?

[mal998]

You can add Vertigo Studios to that list thanks to their excellent models and first class customer service. Oh yeah, don't forget CR-1 for some of the most affordable models on the market.

[calypsos]

I would like to give a big cheer to Alex at Sibwings, for his excellent response to me over the past 2 years or so.

Both the SAAB Safir and BirdDog have a fairly complex security system that works of a hardware fingerprint, (so it says) which require activation. My two new installs (due to new HD or OS upgrade) has required me to contact Sibwings and I always get a very quick response, sometimes in minutes!

They also get a big 'tick' for making the FSX Safir free to FS9 users and for making some of the very best flying aircraft in MSFS. If all payware developer's worked this way, I would be more than happy to pay out (slightly:icon_lol:) higher prices than the norm.

[paulb]

Just so no-one is 'offended' by my list, let me emphasise that I have shown developers that have pleased ME and whom I want to applaud and thank :applause:. So my list simply shows MY favourites out of the many that I have dealt with.

I am sure that there are other great developers out there, its just that I don't have personal experience of them yet!

Cheers

Paul

[Bomber_12th]

Thank you Paul for the mention in your original post, and you are always welcome.

[dvj]

The Icarus situation was just a simple misunderstanding. No one got hurt. We can all get back to our simming. :sleep:

[wellis]

As Paul notes, the list is not exhaustive...but I too concur with his sentiment and list. These folks have provided me with the highest levels of simming pleasure over the recent years and I have found that they are consistently first-rate: scenery, aircraft - you name it (I might throw in the BN-2 Islander from Flight 1 as well)...

[ryanbatc]

This is a funny thread!

So who's going to make the "bad developers" thread? :running:

[kilo delta]

An honourable mention to Iris Simulations...especially considering that they practically gave away their addons in their Christmas sale. :)

[paulb]

This is a funny thread!

So who's going to make the "bad developers" thread? :running:

Not me. What is the point of that?

Today, it's far too easy to criticise. Just hide behind the 'invisible' internet protection and you can (for a time at least) feel all powerful and moan about most things................ :blind:. Pretty sad really IMO.

I started this thread simply to applaud those developers that gave me a VERY POSITIVE experience. No more and no less.

As I said in my first post - I applaud the great experience that the mentioned developers have offered to me.

Cheers

Paul

[Bjoern]

My award goes to every freeware developer out there. Be it repaints, panel mods, sceneries, complete aircraft, etc...

And the developers who share their techniques, tips and tricks in the development forums.

You guys know who you are, so here's to you: :ernae:

[hae5904]

Well Paul, though your Lightning packages were for FS9, currently someone updated it for FSX, so you could put yourself on the list!! :salute:

Cheers!

[mal998]

As Paul notes, the list is not exhaustive...but I too concur with his sentiment and list. These folks have provided me with the highest levels of simming pleasure over the recent years and I have found that they are consistently first-rate: scenery, aircraft - you name it (I might throw in the BN-2 Islander from Flight 1 as well)...

BN-2 Islander...that would be the good folks over at Virtavia who were responsible for developing and building it.

Got to give a thumbs up as well to the folks over at JustFlight/Aeroplane Heaven for their contributions .

[GB]

My first post in this excellent forum.

My first award goes to the thread starter for his idea to start it.

My payware developers awards go to the following good and supporting payware developers (numerical order is arbitrary and doesn't reflect order of preference) :

1. RAZBAM for their top ranking Corsairs and superb personal (i.e no tickets etc.) 24/7 customer support
2. LOTUS SIMULATIONS for their near real L-39 and prompt support whenever asked for.
3. VERTICAL REALITY SIMULATIONS for their unbelievable Super Bug and 24/7, all weather, personal support.
4. PRECISSION AERO BUS for their shiny and might Fokker 50 and for their willingness to look for any possible friendly solution for fullfilling customer requirements.
5. IRIS SIMULATIONS for their unique F-16D and A-10A as well as their excellent support (when they're undisturbed by attackers).
6. AEROSOFT for their really good F-16, AIRBUS-X, CATALINA and TWIN OTTER aircraft and their prompt support.
7. JUST FLIGHT for their DC-3 and CONNIE and for assembling real bargains of packages as well as their excellent support.

I'm assembling my freeware developers list, which I think deserves a new thread that I'm planning to add soon after finishing.

Thank you guys I really enjoy your efforts in keeping this hobby alive and well

[Willy]

He hasn't been mentioned yet and mainly works in FS9, but he does let people have his source files for reworking into FSX aircraft and still assists further with that development. Plus his work is freeware! Besides, he's just an all around good person to boot.

IMHO, Milton Shupe is one of the best out there! :ernae:

[Shylock]

Should just list every single payware company out there because somebody will be offended if their not listed and it seems as of late we all have to walk on Egg shells and be Politically correct.

For me its A2A. They set the standard in every category by which others should follow. John Stinstrom and Jim Dhaenens are top notch free developers and are the ones who really showed me the way to creating some of my projects and are true gentlemen.

[heywooood]

yeah I think by now there is a consensus in this forum on who we like, kinda like, and could like better as add-on developers.

offending people either by omission or by discrediting their work intentionally serves no useful purpose...

I have gone to specific developers sites to praise quality work, service etc...and to others to offer suggestions, and reference materials to help improve their products.

Maybe that is the best way to go - PC or not PC - I think we all know what we like and it is usually not identical from one to another, so ranking developers will only serve to please a very few of them and irritate all the rest.

I respect them all for taking on the heartache of trying to bring more choices to all of us and for being great at customer service - I have never had a bad experience in that regard (including Icarus Gold) and I have a lot of addons in my FSX main folder. be sure

I know people are disappointed in Icarus Gold over the Duck Debacle as it has come to be known as in my house - but I think it just points out how hard it must be for payware developers to sweat working on a product for months, only to see another one released before, during or just after theirs....especially for free....(especially if it is Really Good)

Just makes me respect them more..the guys that take it in stride here, even praising the competitors work or offering to co operate by modeling a different mark of the same plane. This is what makes me a customer as much as the quality of the work they do.

[peter12213]

IRIS
Lotus
Aerosoft
Flylogic
A2A
Skysim
These are the best Devs!

[Felixthreeone]

I tend to show my appreciation to my favorite developers by spending my hard-earned moolah on the products they produce....:salute::salute:

[peter12213]

As do we all mate! :salute: Must be into the thousands for me now lol!

[jp]

A2A, Classics Hangar, Warbirdsim, Vertigo Studios, VRS, and Captain Sim are all on my list. I know others may think different, but all of these developers have been great so far. Developers in general, shout out to you, thanks for all the time and effort you guys invest in our hobby!

[fsafranek]

My hat is off to Mark Harper of ALS-SIM.com for his wonderful Mirage III/5 package (originally sold under the Skysim label). I fly it all the time. His Flanker package is also a favorite of mine. Amazing the system depth in that one.

And a tip of the hat to David at Iris Simulations for that killer sale this past December and the resulting hanger of outstanding aircraft I now have.

And also to Bill at Lionheart Creations for a steady flow of unique and really well engineered general aviation subjects.

And I have to selfishly give a nod to Alphasim, now Virtavia, for years of great releases.
:ernae:

[AndyG43]

If I can be permitted to add to my earlier post .....

Picking up on Frank's comments (and I can do this unselfishly), Phil at Alphasim/Virtavia has been unceasingly helpful over the years; and the same goes for David Brice and his team, who have provided me with excellent support all the way back from the DSB days.

Mr UKMIL deserves a special mention for ploughing that lonely furrow that is ... um, classic UK military (and a huge thanks for all the help he has provided me today regaining access to his site).

Bill deserves a shout out, but not just for his Lionheart work (although Operation Valkyrie forms an essential part of my GW3 installation) but for his recent work which has opened up new possibilities in FS9 .....

.... which brings me to Steven Beeny (Nazca Steve) who has fed my Canberra addiction over the years, and was even kind enough to post some of my own feeble repaints on his site. The team he has working around him at Flying Stations are producing lovely work in both sims; I await their Buccaneer S1 with barely restrained drooling.

And Rob Richardson (and the lovely people at Britsim) who finally persuaded me to put another toe in the scary waters of FSX, with his Brit classics culminating in the recent Meteors; if Rob gives us a FR9 or even a Mk I.III, I may have to offer to have his babies (sorry!!!).

[paulb]

Just to go back to my first post..........................

I really think that I must applaud Mr Conrad (Piglet) a bit more. :salute:

This evening I have moved his PC7 and J21 over to join the superb A-29 on my new FSX pc. Really great work .........and freeware!

I was so impressed, that I even found and downloaded his paintkits. Maybe something will follow.

Cheers

Paul

[adambar]

I just want to say i think everyone,freeware and payware alike,deserve a pat on the back for making our hobby what it is today,and will be in the future,thank you guys and gals for everything.:salute::salute:

Adam

[deathfromafar]

I just want to say i think everyone,freeware and payware alike,deserve a pat on the back for making our hobby what it is today,and will be in the future,thank you guys and gals for everything.:salute::salute:

Adam

I was going to say the same as Adam! Adding my own personal thank you to all devs both payware & freeware who have given me a lot of personal joy in my love & interest of Aviation. Every penny & dollar I've invested was worth much more than monetary terms or words can possibly say!

:salute::salute::salute:

[Phantom88]

I'd like to mention and add Dino Cattaneo to the list of Great developers who add so much unselfishly to our hobby.

http://indiafoxtecho.blogspot.com/

Thank You very much!!:salute:

[Marvin Carter]

Then theres Paul Clawson ,quiet and all ways making some thing different.

[WarHorse47]

From the FS9 camp, I'd like to add Steve Beeny and Flying Stations.. in addition to those already mentioned.

:ernae:

--WH

[Helldiver]

From his Reading Airport for FS9, to Plum Island for FSX and a lot more let's hear it for Bill Womack.

[jdhaenens]

...and Sylvain Parouty and Skippy Bing for all of their stuff. Lukasz, Empek... boy I don't want to slight anyone.... there are a ton of 'em.

Jim

[wbuchart]

He has given us hours and hours and hours of freeware fun. Has anyone heard from him lately?

I know he dropped out because of eye issues a few years back, but he came back for a little whle last year but has since droped off the radar again.

[SADT]

Hey All, :wavey:

I'd like to add the Uiver Team, who make the DC-2! I believe they qualify as a good developer because most of their profits go to keeping the real Uiver DC-2 flying, and they just released a 3-D gauge update for their DC-2, for free, keeping in mind these guys are all volunteers, I find that incredible. Also, not many developers re-visit their older products to update them, even the big firms don't normally do this. :salute:
http://home.hccnet.nl/r.cappers/dc2/
Just my 2c.

Craig :-)
(the link is also in my Sig)

[Dag]

RAZBAM and the A-7, no doubt. They did something I always wanted in an aircraft, they did all versions and all cockpits, a loadout configurator, a superb flight model and icorporated things that I loved Cloud9 for, realistic failures. On top of that, I can now blow things up in free flight, I like that better then putting out fires.
Ron, well, he responds instantly, no problems there, should I have a problem. So does Larry, a superb team of modellers and programmers.

[JayKae]

I just would like to thank paulb for his mention of Orbx/FTX in his first post, it is always appreciated when our stuff is valued by a happy customer.

[nazca_steve]

From the FS9 camp, I'd like to add Steve Beeny and Flying Stations.. in addition to those already mentioned.

:ernae:

--WH

Cheers WH, and Andy (from earlier on) for your support, hopefully we can turn out some more releases this year, I know we've been a bit quiet of late. Hats off to all other teams mentioned!