My
thoughts on the new fee for the Virtual Sailor version 6 upgrade:
First of all, as
a friend once advised me, it's very easy to be misunderstood, and at the
same time, misunderstand others, on the internet. So let me try to be clear
about how I feel about Virtual Sailor, and the designer of this wonderful
simulator.
VS is a head and shoulders above the other Sail Sim's on the market. Some
may have a feature or attribute which is better in some way... but for
the complete, immersive, true sense of sailing... nothing comes close to
Virtual Sailor.
This is all the more amazing considering that Ilan designed this thing
from the ground up, twice! Most other software developers are teams...
but Ilan is a one-man show. It's very admirable to both be the best at
something, and have done it alone.
On top of the quality of the simulator is the price... it's only $25 at
the present time. Compare that to Microsoft Flight simulator, which is
about $40 for the lesser version, and $70 for the pro-version. And with
the MSFSims, new versions come out about every two years... so you are
averaging $35 a year, just to keep up! So Virtual Sailor is, and continues
to be, quite a bargain.
Up until version 6, all upgrades were free to registered owners... another
wonderful deal. It meant that as the designer improved the program, users
would not be charged to download that improvement. This was a great incentive
to new purchasers... many of them considered it in buying the program.
I know I did... I knew that if I got into the Stentec Sail Simulator community,
I would have to pay for new versions. The same for all the rest... Sail2000,
Virtual Skipper, etc. But with VS, I had a simulator for life... I was
a member of the community, and no dues except to behave myself as best
I could. And then that all changed.
As most people reading this will be aware, Ilan chose to alter his policy
on charging for upgrades, and instituted a fee of $12.50 for registered
users of VS:5, who purchased the product before some date in May (I may
have the date wrong, not sure if European or Western dates were used).
If you registered the product after that date, you got the upgrade for
free. Full version VS:6 is still only $25.
I see several real problems with doing this. First of all, the free upgrade
policy was an incentive for purchase of Virtual Sailor. To now change the
policy is unethical, in my opinion. In all fairness to Ilan, it has been
explained to me that the new version is a complete re-write of the code
of the sim, taking more than a year of hard work, and includes many new
features. It is described by many as a completely new product. Also, it
has been explained to me by the designer that "new versions were never
free", and he only ignored charging for new versions up to this point for
various other reasons... never giving up the right to do so (by "new version",
I am, and I think he is, referring to the numbered changes... from 2.0
to 3.0 to 4.0 to 5.0, for instance).
The problem is, this was never explained. It was a secret between him and
the man he sees in the mirror. All the customers were ever told was "upgrades
are free". No one could have known that Ilan was NOT referring to upgrades
to a "new version", especially since he never charged for those, either.
Many, if not most, of VS customers had bought after going from 2.0 to 3.0.
So the distinction, not being explained, was lost on 100% of the potential
and past purchasers. Everyone would have no way of knowing that at some
point, the designer would start to charge for new versions, or that a "new
version" was not always an "upgrade", or "update"... no way at all.
And there were many opportunities for this to be explained. As Virtual
Sailor forum moderator, I answered many queries on the free upgrade issue...
I dutifully told potential customers many times, "Upgrades are free". Never
was I corrected with what turned out to be the truth, which it turns out
was, and is, "Upgrades to new versions may at some time be charged for
at the seller's discretion". So I was allowed to put my reputation at risk,
and spread innaccurate information. And more copies of VS got sold because
of this inaccuracy.
In addition to the problem of charging the loyal and honest customers for
what they thought would always be free, there is the problem of the timing,
i.e., the aforementioned "cut-off date" for receiving the upgrade free.
For if we in the community had known this was going to happen, we could
have warned people to wait a couple of months before buying VS. I can think
of several occasions in the months previous to the cut-off, where I passively
(answering on forums) or actively (spread the good news to other forums,
and through e-mails and personal conversations) explained that there was
nothing to worry about purchasing VS:5, as you would get all upgrades for
free. A safe assertion, as I previously explained. But as it turns out,
there are many users who will be paying $37.50 for a simulator which should
have only cost them $25, had they waited a month or so.
And so it's explained to me, again and again, that VS is worth it, or much
more. No argument from me. It's also explained that Ilan works hard, and
is very talented, and deserves to be paid for his effort. No argument again...
he deserves far more than whatever he gets for his effort. And it's also
been explained that various changes to the code, availability, and suitability
of necessary gaming software to program this beast has complicated the
design process, and made the new version very difficult to write properly.
And this is unfortunate, and should be compensated for somehow. And also,
that the internet is changing rapidly, and things aren't free anymore,
and so on. Again, unfortunate, and the designer needs to be compensated...
or possibly not be able to achieve his goal of maintaining the lead as
the best marine simulator available.
But (you knew I had a butt, didn't you?) I have every objection to the
way the necessary funds are being sought, for the reasons outlined above.
I think the repercussions were felt by this decision, as an "after the
last minute" change was made to give the upgrade free to "contributors".
This announcement has many problems in itself:
-
Will all makers of add-ons submitted,
whether accepted or not, be included?
-
Will anyone making add-ons,
not submitted, but shared over the internet or posted elsewhere, qualify?
-
How about the hardworking "fan
site" owners, who never modeled a whit, who put many hours into promoting
VS through their talents?
-
The writers of VS magazines,
reviews, etc.?
-
The ones who's contribution
may have been constant tech advice on the forums, as in how to run VS,
or sail a boat, or why VS is so great... included?
How else could all this have been done? I feel that if the upgrade policy
had to be changed (and it was changed, despite the sophisticated protests
to the contrary) to cover costs, then it should have been implimented,
and announced... but then only applied to anyone
purchasing after the announcement. In other words, everyone
who bought Virtual Sailor before the announcement would get the sim under
the terms they expected, and everyone who purchased the sim after the announcement
would know that the purchase may not be their last... that they may have
to pay for upgrades in the future.
I don't expect something for nothing, for myself or anyone. I only expect
to get what I pay for, under the terms I entered into at the time of purchase.
A major irony to me is that one of the chief assets of VS was this very
pricing policy. Whether one agrees it was fairly or unfairly implemented,
it changes the very market which VS exists in. Once "protected" under it's
unique pricing policy, it now resides straight up against the "big boys"...
all the other games and simulators which price each and every little improvement,
and re-package and reinvent themselves. No longer a community, we will
be a separate collection of purchasers of a product... some with version
5, some with version 6, some with 6.5, and so on. Rather than all download
a new version "en-masse", each new version will sift out those who are
not willing to take the step, and pay the price, being "happy enough" with
what they have. We will not advance together... rather, distinct levels
of sim ownership will create sharp dividing lines in the community... "this
add-on is made for this version, this advice is for another, and if we
play on-line, it's for owners of this or that version only".
This is a factual concern... add-ons from version 3.5 do not work at all
in version 2.0, and from 5.0 do not work properly in version 4.0. Already
there are reports that certain boats and scenery behave differently in
version 6.0, and may need "tweeking" for that version. I am not so sure
that multiplay works the same between the two.
So the big boys can do it this way... Microsoft has many levels of ownership...
and many separate forums and add-on sites for all their different versions.
They have such a following they can afford to be split this way. Can we?
Can Ilan?
I have always given my all to this fun and rewarding hobby, and supported
Ilan in his efforts. That has not changed. I intend to continue to contribute
models, scenery, advice, and friendship to the community. It's just that
I disagree whole-heartedly with this policy change, and do not feel it
is in the best interest of Ilan, us, or Virtual Sailor, and I hope that
it will be re-considered.
Heliodoro R. SantaColoma
