Simviation Forums

Hey guys,

just wondering, what's ur opinion on which is better - payware or freeware.

Personally i perfer freeware, becasue

1. It's free

2. Made out of pure dedication to FS, and thus is generally higher quality than payware


On the other hand, payware is made, because the creators know a few people will buy it, sometimes, but not usually, payware is both for money, and dedication for FS, like aerosoft, those guys are great!

Just wondering what your opinion is



Mike

2. Made out of pure dedication to FS, and thus is generally higher quality than payware
Mike

If that would be so,what's the point to make payware product?Nobody buys it if it's quality lower than of freeware's.
I think you are wrong.Payware aircraft  are usually
higher quality and have much higher technical accuracy
than freeware,so it's payware.That's logical.

I prefer payware, though there are some excellent freeware planes out there like Olsen's F-16 for example.

There are those that dedicate a lot of time into releasing something as close to perfect as you can get and I am willing to pay for it.

Occasionally you find some payware that isn't even at the level of bad freeware, so there is some risk involved, yet the good far outweights the bad.

My biggst complaint about payware, is not the payware itself, but those that download it for free from other sites like PvP, in essence stealing it from the the people that worked so hard to make it. They deserve much more than cheap thieves taking their product.

Well, it's "percieved value", for example - if Mega Scenery Newyork costs 40$, people will think it's surely worth it, but as we all know, Mega Scenery Newyork is a piece of sh**. On the other hand there are companies like aerosoft, their canary islands package costs 40$, but is definately worth it. It's all in the percieved value, so some not so bright people think if something is freeware it is a half-assed thing with a bunch of missing components, but it actually is like this only like this maybe 10-15% of the time. So it comes down to the fact that some freeware is better than some payware, and some payware is better than some freeware - just my opinion

I prefer payware, though there are some excellent freeware planes out there like Olsen's F-16 for example.

There are those that dedicate a lot of time into releasing something as close to perfect as you can get and I am willing to pay for it.

Occasionally you find some payware that isn't even at the level of bad freeware, so there is some risk involved, yet the good far outweights the bad.

My biggst complaint about payware, is not the payware itself, but those that download it for free from other sites like PvP, in essence stealing it from the the people that worked so hard to make it. They deserve much more than cheap thieves taking their product.

Pvp??

Hey guys,

just wondering, what's ur opinion on which is better - payware or freeware.

Personally i perfer freeware, becasue

1. It's free

2. Made out of pure dedication to FS, and thus is generally higher quality than payware


On the other hand, payware is made, because the creators know a few people will buy it, sometimes, but not usually, payware is both for money, and dedication for FS, like aerosoft, those guys are great!

Just wondering what your opinion is



Mike

Sorry, but I can't agree with your assessment of payware. I have bought some payware dogs but most of what I've bought, when stacked against MOST freeware, is superior in every way. There ARE exceptions; some of the freeware items I've acquired are just as good as, if not better, than payware for the same type item. This is certainly not the case for the most part, but there are some really dedicated freeware artists out there.

Posted by: Mike Thurman Posted on: Today at 8:54am
Well, it's "perceived value", for example - if Mega Scenery New York costs 40$, people will think it's surely worth it, but as we all know, Mega Scenery New York is a piece of sh**.  

Why do you think that Mike? If you have the system to handle it, Manhattan is well worth it. I still have it in the box and will be loading it into my system as soon as it's tweaked!  ;D

Mega Scenery New York is a piece of sh**.  

I think different!
http://www.avsim.com/pages/0304/aerosoft/

http://www.simflight.com/news5/modules. ... e&sid=4637

In my opinion, I think the Payware stuff is defiantly better.  ;D There is allot of freeware that is truly great, but, I tend to weigh in on the payware!

Dave

[quote]
Why do you think that Mike? If you have the system to handle it, Manhattan is well worth it. I still have it in the box and will be loading it into my system as soon as it's tweaked!

I had posed this same question a long time ago.

I personally prefer freeware and here are my reasons.

1. There is a lot of high quality freeware out there now that exceeds payware. (ex. iFDG, Kittyhawk Designs, POSKY, MelJet)

2. It has a certain special something about it. An artist sharing their work with the world. Something that is produced by aviation enthusiests for aviation enthusiests making it a true hobby.

3. I don't have a credit card and therefore cannot buy it. Some of it is also quite expensive.

4. A lot of payware eventually becomes freeware. There is also obselecence involved. We pay enough to upgrade FS every couple of years, why pay to upgrade the aircraft as well.

I can't argue with the fact that there is some really great payware out there but it's just not for me.

I completely agree Iroquois - It comes down to the fact that there is GREAT freeware ( like those titles you suggested ) and GREAT payware ( Like Aerosoft )


Mike

1. There is a lot of high quality freeware out there now that exceeds payware. (ex. iFDG, Kittyhawk Designs, POSKY, MelJet)

Partially agreed. The exterior models may be awesome,but those aircraft are often missing a VC, which is standard for payware aircraft. And I'm a VC enthusiastic...

2. It has a certain special something about it. An artist sharing their work with the world. Something that is produced by aviation enthusiests for aviation enthusiests making it a true hobby.

Very well put!

3. I don't have a credit card and therefore cannot buy it. Some of it is also quite expensive.

Dito!

4. A lot of payware eventually becomes freeware. There is also obselecence involved. We pay enough to upgrade FS every couple of years, why pay to upgrade the aircraft as well.

Yep. Bill Lyons made the truly awesome move to update most of his work to FS9 standards and release it as freeware. That's why he's my "FS hero".

I can't argue with the fact that there is some really great payware out there but it's just not for me.

Depends. I would not be willing to pay $15 for an aircraft which has little more than a good freeware package (PMDG Express B1900), but I'd pay $25 for a world-covering terrain mesh plus a world-covering landclass file.

Yeah, i agree exploder, i will never pay for payware, lol, i just get it for a...umm..."lower" price

My take on this is that my wife feels that I have already spent enough hard earned cash on the hobby and she would probably do nasty things to me if I folded.

I am very tempted by the PMDG aircraft however

I hope this doesn't turn into the nasty debate that I saw it turn into once before.

Here's my take.  I am diehard freeware.  I've never paid for anything other than FS, and in all likelihood, won't.

Why?  Well, it seems to me that MS has done the hard part.  To charge for your work (which in comparison would be significantly easier) seems like capitalizing on someone else's endeavors.

I've found that most freeware developers do so because they've got a passion.  They understand that this passion will make them wealthier than any amount of money that they could charge for their products.  I've got to respect and support that.

Hello,

    For my opinion, I think payware and freeware is the same level. I mean, there are certainly exceedingly well-made freeware out there that can overcome SOME payware products and vice versa, payware products overranging the freeware. So it mainly depends on the quality, dedication and price . Just a thought.Thanks.

James