>Imagine getting a copy of GPL with only the regular manual. <shudder>
> >Imagine getting a copy of GPL with only the regular manual. <shudder>
> It would be like buying a Microsoft product....
* Switch confused.net with concentric.net to reply...Confused-yet? *
Cheers!
John
He may receive it in the same way (although "average" is just that -
not the same as anyone but an average of the population), but it
doesn't mean he will be able to write well about it, convey his/her
impressions well or equate it reasonably with other products or genre.
How often have we read and book and thought how closely it touched us
or mirrored our own feelings or emotions - however closely it was, we
couldn't have written that book.
Professionalism isn't in the way the message is received it's in the
way it is conveyed to others. *** sites owe that level of
professionalism to those whose products they review.
What a horrible thought. What I want is well thought out professional
reviewing. If the product is "NFS3" it should be reviewed by a fan of
that genre, who can equate it to the Test Drive series, Viper Racing
etc. If the product is a flight sim it should be written by someone
who knows flight sims - not a total propeller head but someone who can
not only convey how it is to fans of that genre but describe how it
reaches out to newcomers and how accesible it is.
That requires quite talented reviewers and also people who are
prepared to spend some time with the product, something which
reviewing site should be required to do anyway. Avault's review was
sloppy, badly targetted and inconsistent.
Cheers!
John
Jay, I'm arguing the point because I expect better from Avault. I'm
unlikely to argue the point on your review above because quite frankly
it is infinitely more wordy and eloquent than I ever expected from
you.
The day I lose a battle of wits with you will be the day the final
nail goes in and I'm pushing up the daisies. Even then it would be a
contest between equals...
Love and kisses,
John
Agreed. They have a responsibility to those whose whose labour of love
they are judge and jury on, to the owner of the site whose future
level of custom they are influencing, and finally to themselves
(although maybe it's utopian to think that people should still care
about the quality of work they turn in).
Cheers!
John
The thing is that I would miss as many things from a flight sim review
as the Avault review missed about GPL. The first sim to properly model
a differential, to model centrifugal forces of moving parts within
engine and hubs, to model tyre marks, wheelspin and smoke as a
function of changing grip and airflow. There are myriad things which
would be totally lost on me in a flight sim, and that is why I could
never review one - even if I could write beautifully about it I simply
don't know enough about them to describe what is new and compare with
other products.
If I were running the review site I'd make damn sure the guy writing
the review did though....
Cheers!
John
I realise that John, but you'll see the light eventually ;-)
The direction I was heading in was that the specific details aren't what
"sells" sims to people. Exactly what's being modelled under the bonnet
isn't the issue, anyone who's ever been in a car driven closer to the
limits than the police would approve of can appreciate there's something
seriously impressive going on in GPL. Saying it's hard to drive isn't the
same at all.
Agreed, but then they're lost on most of the people who buy them too :-)
I'll stick with my original statement, that...
Experience *certainly* helps, but it's not enough on its own, and a
thorough approach can make up for a fair amount lot of ignorance and/or
apathy.
Andrew McP... who should be working out how to get under 1:33 at
Zandvoort, not wasting time here :-)
I've been unable to get any satisfaction from a driving sim since the GPL
demo came out in, what was it, April? Certainly a lot more than a month! I
think that was the whole point of the demo, to identify the target
audience in advance and let them get up to speed with the driving model.
Andrew McP
* Switch confused.net with concentric.net to reply...Confused-yet? *
> Cheers!
> John
> >John Wallace said he wouldn't put himself forward to review flight sims
> >because they don't interest him at all. But that doesn't necessarily mean
> >he wouldn't do a good job of reviewing them if he *had* to do so. It's as
> >much to do with attitude and approach as personal experience.
> It's more that because I find flight sims tedious I am unlikely to
> pick up on the aspects of a particular flight sim that will enthrall
> the enthusiasts (zzz...). For example if the flaps are usually only
> (zzzz....) adjustable in increments of 5, perhaps it is a major bonus
> that they (zzzzz....) move in increments of 1. Maybe there are AWACS
> options which are (zzzzzz...) better than any before, or a better
> range of (zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......I knew I'd never be able to manage
> it!).
> The thing is that I would miss as many things from a flight sim review
> as the Avault review missed about GPL. The first sim to properly model
> a differential, to model centrifugal forces of moving parts within
> engine and hubs, to model tyre marks, wheelspin and smoke as a
> function of changing grip and airflow. There are myriad things which
> would be totally lost on me in a flight sim, and that is why I could
> never review one - even if I could write beautifully about it I simply
> don't know enough about them to describe what is new and compare with
> other products.
> If I were running the review site I'd make damn sure the guy writing
> the review did though....
> Cheers!
> John
I know, but they're appreciated by the afficianados and would be
totally missed by me <looks left> Oh, a wing, neat :-)
I'll go along with that.
You could try using the GP car <hoping that's really not with the GP
car....> :-)
Cheers!
John
*** :-)
Managed to *nearly* get under 1:30, but that was only because I was lapped
by the leader and made a nuisance of myself trying to hang onto his coat
tails. Scared the shyte out of me racing with the leaders for a few laps!
Andrew McP
Worse even than losing sales to a company unnecessarily, reducing
revenue and endangering the jobs of others? When you go to an
interview you never say "I'll do an okay job" - you tell them you're a
total star and capable of doing a great job. I think the company have
a right to expect that, and IMO it wasn't demonstrated in that review.
OTOH I agree with your comments about sacking - it's way too extreme
and anyway, the review may have been written with the guidelines laid
down by Avault and the guy did his job perfectly.
In that case someone else needs sacked ;-)
Cheers!
John