why do so many planes have low ratings?

[zemzero]

It seems the majority of planes have low ratings but there's no reasoning for it.

Also, are some of the mods worth buying or are there better for free? Like the higher res airport textures or the realistic tree height, better night lights for cities, etc.

[Narf]

If you want to see why some of the shovelware garbage aircraft have low (<4 stars) ratings you'll probably find a pick of reviews on youtube. In most cases they are very feature-incomplete, with nonsensical flight models, bad graphics and only halfworking cockpits whose parts have been copied over from other aircraft and at best poorly adapted.

There are of course mods worth buying, I have plenty myself (mostly airports and aircraft), but what's worth depends on personal taste and what one likes to do. I'd just generally stay far away from anything rated below 4.0 stars, be careful and watch reviews of products with good but very few ratings, and don't touch shovelware products like the city night lighting that you mention.

There are a lot of excellent freeware mods as well. FSLTL for artificial traffic, Neofly for a career system, GAIST+WeLoveVFR+Powerlines and Solarfarms as the holy trinity for low altitude VFR flying, Pushback Tool, and many airports, just to name some examples.

[ZombieHunter]

Why? Well I just bought a PA32-T and took it up to 33000 feet. Do you think that is correct? The service ceiling for that aircraft is 20000 feet. On takeoff the thing accelerates to near the yellow arc before leaving the runway. I know it is turbo, but come on. Not to mention I've flown in the non turbo version IRL and it did not fly anything like what I see in the sim.

Trust the ratings.

[lawnmower501]

I know it sounds OCD....

But when you spend a couple hours in a 'virtual' aircraft,
Attentively sitting at a computer monitor IRL,
You might want the experience to be as close to 'real' as possible.

[zemzero]

Originally posted by ZombieHunter:

Why? Well I just bought a PA32-T and took it up to 33000 feet. Do you think that is correct? The service ceiling for that aircraft is 20000 feet. On takeoff the thing accelerates to near the yellow arc before leaving the runway. I know it is turbo, but come on. Not to mention I've flown in the non turbo version IRL and it did not fly anything like what I see in the sim.

Trust the ratings.

Stuff like this is why I wish there were written reviews. A little explanation is better than nothing, I think.

Originally posted by lawnmower501:

I know it sounds OCD....

But when you spend a couple hours in a 'virtual' aircraft,
Attentively sitting at a computer monitor IRL,
You might want the experience to be as close to 'real' as possible.

Sure, I get that. But when someone writes a negative review on amazon only because their shipping box was damaged, or shipping was delayed by one day, it makes me suspicious of peoples reviews in general. Did someone leave a one star review on a plane because the livery is wrong or because the flight model is wrong and they have real world knowledge of that specific plane?

By the ratings alone it looks like 80% of the planes aren't worth buying.

[Pig Killer]

80% of the planes are not worth buying, that just about sums it up. It's true.

[Ash]

Yeah a vast majority of them are trash. I recommend products by Fenix, iFly or PMDG if you want a quality airliner. For military aircraft don't even bother with MSFS, go to DCS.

FlyByWire makes good quality freeware airbuses they're alright.

[Gryper]

Originally posted by Un:

Yeah a vast majority of them are trash. I recommend products by Fenix, iFly or PMDG if you want a quality airliner. For military aircraft don't even bother with MSFS, go to DCS.

FlyByWire makes good quality freeware airbuses they're alright.

This.

The Horizon mods for LVFR Airbuses are not too bad. They're working on it. I'm waiting for the Inbuilds A350 any day now...

[shadowgravy]

Some people expect $50-$100 quality from a $10-$30 aircraft. The default Asobo/Microsoft aircraft are designed for appeal to gamers and casual simmers. Many if not most third-party payware follow Asobo's examples very closely. Developers who push the envelope and create new features or even record custom sound sets, etc., are the exception.

I'd take the ratings with a pinch of skepticism because they are somewhat arbitrary and unregulated. As examples, I own a few conceptually 'similar' aircraft that are very different in practice because of the depth of systems modeling:

- A2A Simulations PA 24-250 Piper Comanche: Offers persistent fluid levels and condition, engine damage down to the individual cylinders, engine analyzer, optional tip tanks, tow bar, tablet interface, third-party GPS support, pre-flight walk-around with random events, 3D baggage loadouts, visible passengers, indicators for comfort level ... At $50 this is arguably the premiere light GA aircraft simulation for MSFS. (Rated 4.8/5 in Marketplace.)

- Just Flight PA-28R-201 Piper Arrow III: Has several features that are similar to the A2A Comanche including tablet interface, third-party GPS support, visible passenger, opening oil cover and baggage door, wheel chocks and tie downs, and persistent oil consumption. The engine controls feel authentic. Overall, it's a decent package that was superseded by the Comanche's advanced custom features. I bought it during a sale, but looking at Just Flight's website it normally costs nearly as much as the Comanche. Regardless, it is currently my favorite aircraft to fly. (Rated 4.5/5 in Marketplace.)

- Microsoft/Carenado V35B Bonanza: This is an Asobo-contracted DLC that costs about $15 as I recall. Having an opening passenger door, pilot window, and interactive sun visors, this aircraft is a bit more interesting than the default GA light aircraft. The visual model is absolutely beautiful both inside and out. However, I don't believe this aircraft has a tablet, third-party GPS support, visible passenger, tow bar, opening baggage door, wheel chocks, tie downs, or really any notable extra features. (Rated 4.6/5 in Marketplace.)

The Carenado PA-28R Arrow III only has a 3.4/5 rating but it only costs about $20. I took reviews[www.avsim.com] into consideration when I chose the Just Flight version. This Reddit thread pans the Carenado Arrow III but I wouldn't be surprised if it is actually very similar to the V35B Bonanza in form and function.

And then you have to parse aircraft ratings against incomparable products like the livery pack for the A2A Comanche, which has a 4.9/5 on Marketplace. It becomes nonsensical.

[ZombieHunter]

Some people expect $50-$100 quality from a $10-$30 aircraft. The default Asobo/Microsoft aircraft are designed for appeal to gamers and casual simmers. Many if not most third-party payware follow Asobo's examples very closely. Developers who push the envelope and create new features or even record custom sound sets, etc., are the exception.

With all due respect, sir, I expect aircraft to WORK and FUNCTION and not roll out at 140 knots on the runway in a turbo piston single. Is that too much to ask? I don't care if it is 10 dollars or 30 or 60, I expect the damn thing to work and fly like an airplane. And no that is not too much to ask at any price point.

So the 'some people' you refer to is anyone that pays money for a product and expects it to work or, ya know, somewhat simulate a real airplane. Not a go-kart or a rocket ship. Money be damned, the stuff should function.

And, sorry to burst your bubble, but everything in FS 2020 is quite casual b/c the sim itself has many issues with flight modelling and systems modelling even on the most expensive aircraft. So before you go all elitist and tell everyone to spend 50 to 100 to get better planes, understand the plane can never be better than the sim it is running on. It is not true that more expensive means better plane. It just means it is more expensive. I have some PMDG and higher end planes and to be honest they are not much better than their lower price counterparts. The price you pay has nothing to do with the quality. It is all about the company or studio that created the plane. There are some planes made by first time creators with very little budget that are far superior to planes from much larger and more experienced studios.

So no you do not have to spend $50 to $100 USD to get a good quality plane. That is a complete falsehood that simply allows certain studios to way overcharge for their stuff.

[shadowgravy]

I have a couple of free aircraft mods that I enjoy as much or more than I do my payware aircraft, so no I don't think value is directly related to cost. And I never said anyone has to spend $50 or more to get a quality plane. Finally, no bubbles were burst here. I know MSFS 2020 is casual--even with expensive apps and improvement mods.

[ZombieHunter]

Originally posted by shadowgravy:

I have a couple of free aircraft mods that I enjoy as much or more than I do my payware aircraft, so no I don't think value is directly related to cost. And I never said anyone has to spend $50 or more to get a quality plane. Finally, no bubbles were burst here. I know MSFS 2020 is casual--even with expensive apps and improvement mods.

My apologies. I was under the impression you were equating cost with quality and that is a misnomer in the sim world for sure. In fact I've found almost no correlation between cost and quality in 3rd party aircraft. I have some very low priced ones that are fantastic and some rather higher priced that are not so great.

Also it matter what kind of planes you like to fly. Some love airliners but I barely fly them. I finally completed the achievement of flying all types a certain number of miles b/c I finally flew the PMDG 737 on a short hop (about 500 nm) after having flown thousands of miles in general aviation aircraft. I tend toward general aviation and experimental aircraft in the sim and less so on airliners. I do like business jets and smaller jets as well but those do fall into general aviation as well. I do not fly fighters or airliners much in FS 2020. I find the airliners to be quite a boring experience overall. But I'm also the kind of knucklehead that will fly a GA single 400 nm with no autopilot, or who will navigate cross country using VOR and NDB only with no GPS. Not everyone enjoys that kind of self inflicted pain. Even better is IFR using VOR and NDB only b/c it is quite a challenge. Almost impossible now b/c of all the weirdly shaped airspaces around larger airports.