Quality vs Hype: An Inverse Proportion

[TASCHMANN 200]

Has anyone noticed what appears, to me at least, to be the inverse proportion, in so many cases, between the length and intensity of a hype campaign  and the quality of the sim or addon upon release?   It seems to indicate an over-allocation of  money and of time to advertising rather than to Quality Control.

  (As just one example, the release of the Aerosoft Twin Otter and the long list of fixes a week later suggests a question:  If they could fix all of that in a week, why couldn't they fix it all before release.)

Edited January 24, 2022 by TASCHMANN

[liamp51 541]

3 minutes ago, TASCHMANN said:

Has anyone noticed what appears, to me at least, to be the inverse proportion, in so many cases, between the length and intensity of a hype campaign  and the quality of the sim or addon upon release?   It seems to indicate an  allocation of  money and of time to advertising rather than to Quality Control.

  (As just one example, the release of the Aerosoft Twin Otter and the long list of fixes a week later suggests a question:  If they could fix all of that in a week, why couldn't they fix it all before release.)

This applies to basically everything in life. 

[AvAngel 306]

In some cases... yes.

In some cases... no.

Twin Otter... big hype, delays both theirs and asobos, possibly rushed at the last minute for factors unknown? yeah.

SWS Kodiak? big hype, pretty noice?

I think it entirly depends, I think often people get expectations beyond what is offered, and in some cases, developers under deliver, its a 50/50 to me.

Take Carenado... nobody expects it to be perfect... nobody is disapointed meaning the pretty 'decent' handling planes don't get a ton of hate for faults that others might.

[MOD71 175]

I think a lot of the hype actually comes from us. It seems all a developer has to do is put out a picture or two, or make a vague statement about an upcoming project, then sit back and watch us as the future consumers take it and run. In a lot of the cases, we are the marketing department! 😄

[TASCHMANN 200]

3 minutes ago, AvAngel said:

In some cases... yes.

In some cases... no.

I would agree with you on this. 

It does seem that most of the advertising I am referring to consists of long lists of features many of which are missing at the time of release.  In some cases they arrive later, much later, or not at all.

Many are now suggesting, wisely I think, that "release day" purchases are quickly becoming a thing of the past.  The wiser course of action is to wait for a thoughtful and objective review (such as your own perhaps) rather than risking money and, much more importantly at my age, time on a product that is not what it is held out to be.

[MOD71 175]

4 minutes ago, TASCHMANN said:

I would agree with you on this. 

It does seem that most of the advertising I am referring to consists of long lists of features many of which are missing at the time of release.  In some cases they arrive later, much later, or not at all.

Many are now suggesting, wisely I think, that "release day" purchases are quickly becoming a thing of the past.  The wiser course of action is to wait for a thoughtful and objective review (such as your own perhaps) rather than risking money and, much more importantly at my age, time on a product that is not what it is held out to be.

Ahh, then yes, totally agree!

[TASCHMANN 200]

3 minutes ago, mdreyer said:

I think a lot of the hype actually comes from us. It seems all a developer has to do is put out a picture or two, or make a vague statement about an upcoming project, then sit back and watch us as the future consumers take it and run. In a lot of the cases, we are the marketing department!

An excellent point.  Perhaps we can recognize this and practice a bit more forbearance.  The map is not the territory and the announcement is not the product.

[Bobsk8 12,754]

I think some people, as soon as they hear that an aircraft is going to be released, whip themselves into a frenzy of " I got to have that on day one",  Instead of waiting, until the aircraft is flown by a few people that give it bad reviews, and not buying it. The developers count on those people. 

[AvAngel 306]

*cough* a certain radial float aircraft that puts out fires *cough*

[enright 496]

5 minutes ago, TASCHMANN said:

An excellent point.  Perhaps we can recognize this and practice a bit more forbearance.  The map is not the territory and the announcement is not the product.

Always good to temper expectations. However, I personally enjoy looking forward to some of these projects to an unreasonable degree. I really enjoy reading the detailed updates from devs like Fenix, for example - it just gives me something to look forward to and get excited about. Even if that product winds up being vaporware, the updates are SO amazing that they have entertainment value in and of themselves.

I'm sure it's also a good motivator and supply of positive energy for the devs in question to know that their project is highly anticipated. Sure, half the time it might result in disappointment, but the anticipation is still part of the fun.

I say feel free to board the hype-train as long as you are prepared for the occasional derailment, and resist making day-one purchases based purely on speculation - wait for the reviews!

[Bobsk8 12,754]

This should have people getting a second mortgage on their home.  

https://msfsaddons.com/2021/10/16/our-continuously-updated-list-of-aircraft-under-development-for-msfs/?fbclid=IwAR2TASsgp_zTiB-qmvVjujCaC-on5cF7D0AJXMHNupDz2V9c75zpUr2p6Es

 

[sanh 823]

1 hour ago, TASCHMANN said:

(As just one example, the release of the Aerosoft Twin Otter and the long list of fixes a week later suggests a question:  If they could fix all of that in a week, why couldn't they fix it all before release.)

Because they would never release. Nothing is ever perfect. Bugs are found last minute. Bugs are introduced when fixing last minute bugs. List goes on and on. Some bugs the devs may think is small but there is uproar pre-release so it must be fixed ASAP. Some things are found when advanced copies are given out to marketing, YouTuber's who may use the product differently to internal testers. 

Sometimes you just have to agree to release and fix forward rather than keep moving the release date until perfection is reached.

Most of the things you describe tend to come from peoples unrealistic expectations. Addons are so complicated today and yet people want it at the same price as a large pizza or two.  Products are rarely as good as they seem.

Edited January 24, 2022 by sanh

[Wildblue 245]

54 minutes ago, liamp51 said:

This applies to basically everything in life. 

This applies to basically everything in life...NOWADAYS.
Before money became the new god, manufacturers, and people in general, focused more on quality.

[leprechaunlive 1,859]

50 minutes ago, mdreyer said:

I think a lot of the hype actually comes from us. It seems all a developer has to do is put out a picture or two, or make a vague statement about an upcoming project, then sit back and watch us as the future consumers take it and run. In a lot of the cases, we are the marketing department! 😄

and we shamelessly use that to our advantages 😂😂

[TASCHMANN 200]

25 minutes ago, sanh said:

Sometimes you just have to agree to release and fix forward rather than keep moving the release date until perfection is reached.

Or perhaps not set a date or list a feature until you have it. 

I buy an awful lot of things (software included) that don't need to be completed after I buy them.