A letter to Aerosoft re: Gladbeck (1 Viewer)

iomex

UKDT
Dec 10, 2015
1,548
39
2,528
Dear Sirs,


I am writing to you in order to express in the strongest possible terms my disappointment in your decision to be the publisher behind the OMSI addon 'Gladbeck'. 


I speak on behalf of the undersigned - and the likeminded of the OMSI community as a whole, when I say that the addon falls considerably short of the expectations we have of a reputable publisher such as yourself. Despite reservations of mixed reviews on the Steam store page (Reviews are not always helpful or accurate) - I chose to purchase the map based on the screenshots and claims made on the page. 


The screenshots have turned out to be the few passable areas of the map cherry-picked in such a manner to lead the shopper into believing the map has a consistent level of quality represented in the screenshots. What we have instead is a map bereft of detail, lacking in quality control - an addon which represents a map in early development as opposed to a commercial release. There are huge swathes of sleep-inducing repetitive scenery reminiscent of early arcade racers from the Sega Mega Drive era, not to mention the countless design mistakes any map builder with even a small amount of experience would avoid.


I regret to make this complaint based on my satisfactory purchases of Hamburg, Vienna, Chicago and X10 addons which you also publish. I strongly recommend that you cease co operation with the addon developer responsible for Gladbeck as a matter of urgency. Continued publication of such content will seriously tarnish the reputation of your company, and of the payware DLC model for OMSI as a whole.


I'm an experienced map builder for OMSI, and I am joined in my sentiments by the undersigned which include talented map builders from various sections of the community - my feelings are based on sound knowledge of map building and are not unfounded. I find it distasteful at best, and otherwise unacceptable that content as bereft of detail, quality or finesse such as Gladbeck is being sold for a higher price than the base game itself. Take a look at my WIP map 'Buses of the Westcountry', or UKDT's 'Cotterell' map, or Whistlehead's 'Farthington' map. Look at Chuckinho's 'Manly' map, and the various other high-quality maps that are being published for free as a hobby on various community sites.


As a commercial entity, how can you justify this? I cannot underline enough my disappointment in this purchase, but would like to emphasize that other purchases I have made from you, I have been very happy with. Again, please review your relationship with this developer and put high-quality addons back on the market.


Yours Sincerely,


Jaiden Jimenez (iomex)


And the following community members:
Chuckinho
Jake Hodgson
Whistlehead
MagicToad1234
fellowslothb
 
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Mar 15, 2016
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I did used to like the free version and was going to buy the 2016 version but i saw many complaints about so i thought not. £30 for gladbeck. You having a laugh, thats more than the actual game. Lucky we have good maps like the south london project payware which will have good content aswell as good quality once released. But gladbeck... What a let-down...
 

iomex

UKDT
Dec 10, 2015
1,548
39
2,528
Yeah if it was free I wouldn't have any comment to make about it whatsoever. However, the sheer audacity for them to ask £30 for a map which falls considerably short of the quality of most maps is almost insulting.
 

Toucan

Hmmm
Mar 28, 2016
196
55
Yeah if it was free I wouldn't have any comment to make about it whatsoever. However, the sheer audacity for them to ask £30 for a map which falls considerably short of the quality of most maps is almost insulting.

Funnily enough there was a free version of glad beck which actually worked  :P . They just want money. The only pay ware maps I have are Berlin X10 and Hamburg and in my opinion they are the best.
 

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iomex

UKDT
Dec 10, 2015
1,548
39
2,528
There's no point paying £35 for the map just to get the bus - you could get the Three Generations DLC for less (think it was £15?), which gives you the rigid, artic, bi artic versions as well as older buses.
 

Rhys

Add-on London Team
Mar 20, 2016
1,516
9
8,052
There's no point paying £35 for the map just to get the bus - you could get the Three Generations DLC for less (think it was £15?), which gives you the rigid, artic, bi artic versions as well as older buses.

Late to join in on the convo, but believe the authors logic was "35 routes for £1 each" which I find very extreme to be honest. I personally believe that you have to get your money's worth when it comes to things like this, which I'm sure you all have discovered wasn't the case, and of course when a project payware its far more scrutinized by members of the public. I understand not everyone will like whatever project anyone does in OMSI or in General, but personally I think his logic should've been "how much would I pay for this" and "how much more effort can I put into this". As certainly DLCs shouldn't cost more than the game in my opinion.
 

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