I have too put my opinion in this. I do agree about the quality with add-on for flight simulator. But I also think it is wrong of a moderator in this forum to use it as an argument as long as the quality of shipsim is as bad as it is today .
One has nothing to do with another. However bad you may think SS08 is, you would agree that you would not want addons in it that are WORSE, right? (I don't share your opinion about SS though) That was the point. The state of MOST of the addons available for FS.
And as for comparing SS with FS, I think it would be best if we wait until VSTEP has been in the business as long as MS with their FS, and then compare the quality.
The ships in this second shipsim version are much better than the early planes in the second FS version. And the quality is also much better than the vessels in the closest 'competitor'. And at a very good price. And you surely cannot compare this to high end maritime training programs that cost thousands of euros.
Dynamics wise I can't tell if they are very close to the real thing, as I have never had the controls of most of the ships in the game. You have a nautical background and think it's not near the real thing, but other people with a nautical background seem to think it's pretty close and really good value for money. So I cannot comment on that.
But that's a bit irrelevant anyway. We were talking about user made addons. Most people that make them for FS have never flown the plane they made either. And most ARE rubbish. Sure there are really good ones. And free ones. Made by people that know what they're doing, in cooperation with real pilots and instructors. These are great addons. And worth paying for too! But most are simply not and are nothing more then a nice model with zero realism in dynamics. And most poorly made ones crash the game, give all kinds of problems, etc.
That's all I am saying, we don't want addons that do not meet the standards, do we? however you may feel about this standard. Maybe you think the quality is bad. I disagree, but you are of course entitled to you own opinion. So surely - as I said - you too, would not want anything that's worse in it?
And the best ones DO find their way in the game. But the creators work together with VSTEP. There will be 'user made addons' but just not in the typical way that other sims might have. And I for one think this is much better and will keep the rubbish away.
Regards,
Fred