Avsim reviews a case for a rethink?

[Guest Peter Sidoli]

Do you agree with the way reviews are scored, can you think of a better more accurate way?I was personally shocked a while back at the review and scores given to the Aeroworx B200 (In my opinion one of the most "realistic feel" aircraft in MSFS.I tend to agree there are outside pressures which influence the reviewer and it takes a bold reviewer to recieve a free addon be lavished with attention by the producer to then rubbish the product.an addon aircraft is a mass of code and programmimg compiled to give a simulation of a real aircraft.What makes a poor simulation? a good one and an outstanding one?Is an outstanding simulation an aircraft of outside visual perfection and one which hits the numbers or can a poor outside visual rendering of an aircraft which may not hit the numbers or may have some minor flaws still be an outstanding simulation.I argue for the latter as whether an aircraft simulation is good is more of a celestial thing.A chef can cook by the book adding each ingredient measured to the gram.Another chef can instinctively throw in ingredients yet his product is one of unique flavours and an eating delight while the product of the first chef somehow doesnt cut it. His product might lack " soul"For me a review should indicate how closely all that code creates an experience of flying the real aircraft and that should be the priority marking.What gives an aircraft that X plus for you? How would you change the marking system? would you change it at all?I may have up to 20 payware aircraft on my system yet I still come back to flying the same 3.May I add that this is a general topic and not a reference to PSS in an earlier thread who make superb products nor is it a criticism of the reviewers at Avsim whos dedication and efforts are much appreciated.Peter

[Guest Ashleigh Davidson]

Whilst in many respects I agree with you, please remember many of he review people have NO real world flying experience.More and more, things tend to be rated on how pretty they are and how many toilets you can view, which for some is all they can go off due to the above.What narks me about some is how out of scale they are in comparison to others, I wont mention names as it would not be fair, but it does sometimes remind me of the story of the emperors new clothes.I think also having read what you say, should products affiliated to site management be reviewed by total independants ?Not seens any pics for a while, I enjoyed them.Ash

[Guest secks]

>I was personally shocked a while back at the review and scores>given to the Aeroworx B200 (In my opinion one of the most>"realistic feel" aircraft in MSFS.You and me both. I recall that one of the reviewer's gripes was that the B200 "ballooned" on landing. It's well known for doing this in real life. The B200 deserved a 4.5 imho.It would be nice if avsim added a "member rating" to each review. Each of us would get the opportunity to rate the product on a 1 to 5 scale. Many game review sites do this.

[Guest]

>It would be nice if avsim added a "member rating" to each>review. Each of us would get the opportunity to rate the>product on a 1 to 5 scale. Many game review sites do this.which would only lead to massive flaming of addons from manufacturers some people have a gripe with...Such features always do, as is shown time and again.

[Guest Peter Sidoli]

>Whilst in many respects I agree with you, please remember many of he review people have NO real world flying experience.More and more, things tend to be rated on how pretty they are and how many toilets you can view, which for some is all they can go off due to the above.

[Guest danowat]

Trouble is with reviews is that everybody has a different opinion on what consitutes a good product.I think people just have to take the reviews at face value, pick through the reviews for solid facts, not the reviewers opinion, and just use them as a guide, and not a decider for purchasing the product.No matter what AVSIM or their reviews do, there will always be people who agree and disagree with reviews.Dan.

[JimmiG 244]

How about just removing the scorecard bit alltogether?It's easy to forget everything else written in the review and just look at the score at the end of the article. With no score at the end, people would be forced to read through the review themselves and get their own idea of what score the product should receieve based on what *they* consider to be important features and potential issues.

[Joe L 62]

I rarely even read the reviews anymore. Why? Two main reasons. First, I feel that the scores are IMHO very inconsistent. But I also feel the scores are pretty high, and rarely, if ever, is a product rated below 4 stars. If you scan the Commercial Products review pages, there are only 3 or 4 products below 3-stars, most of those are several years old (the most recent very low rating almost two years old). At least 70 - 75% of all of the reviews are 4-stars or above. That leaves about 40 reviews 3-1/2 stars and under, and only about a dozen are 3 or under. That tells me that either that the ratings system is inflated, or, "bad" product reviews are shunned. I don't believe this is a conspiracy, but I do feel it is there - whether its a "good news only" syndrome, marketing pressures, or just coincidence.Secondly, by the time a review comes out anyone can gather a better feel for the product just by "listening" in the forums. The info is much better, and, drawn from a wider base than a single review. There is a better chance to make an informed opinion off the forums.BTW, I have commented on reviews in the FEEDBACK area where I disagreed greatly, it is a option that is available.Joe Lorenc

[Guest pez_man]

Yeah, I think to remove the scorecard is the way to go, as I mentioned in the "other" thread. Just an occasional AVSIM award when something really really calls for it..rgrds fredrik

[Guest RonB49]

>How about just removing the scorecard bit alltogether?I never thought that I'd get into this thread but I must agree with JimmiG. I would prefer just a review without the reviewers subjective "score." R-

[Wolfko 0]

Yep! Review without scorecard and for really, really outstanding products a speacial award. That's the way to go, also IMO.Wolfgang

[Guest Ashleigh Davidson]

Peter, You have real world experience and are a long time simmer, please don't think I'm being rude but what about you doing a review ? I'm sure it would carry a lot of credibility ?RegardsAsh

[Guest Peter Sidoli]

I used to do the occasional revue as a guest reviewer for Avsim.Now the complexity especially of some of the avionics is so high you almost require each part having a review in its own right.I personally cannot see how you can do justice to an aircraft like Concorde unless you are a type rated pilot or an engineer or use a team of simmers to cover different aspects of the sim.All these sim addons are flavours of the real thing and in that way a high part of the scoring should evolve around how much of a feeling of reality the particular aircraft holds not whether its a couple of kts short here or there.The second part which should hold high marks is useability. Can you set up a small IFR trip with a departure climb cruise approach and ILS to land. All this should be handflown within IFR tolerances and all the Navigation features should be readely at hand.If this is almost impossible to do then the flight model is flawed or the cockpit systems etc and the way they are presented are flawed.Finally no aircraft is any good if it stutters and chugs around the screen so my third point would be framerates and smoothness.Tom Wood did a superb job on such a complex subject and as I said at the start this isnt directed at his review or the PSS Concord which I dont as yet have.Peter

[Guest Peter Sidoli]

WolfgangMaybe "Impressions" would be a better way ahead for single author "reviews" I also agree that in some ways an impression without scoring would be better.An impression would cover distinct areas and would come across more as a recommendation than a review.If the reviewer (impressionist) was so impressed then it could be handed over to others at Avsim to try and they would decide whether the aircraft should be presented for a Gold Silver Bronze award.Peter

[JimmiG 244]

Brronze, Silver and Gold awards, or maybe just silver and gold awawrds, would be good, as long as they are used with care...it shouldn't be something that every other product receives.