In our community, a strange situation sometimes occurs: someone points out a problem in a recently released add-on, and the comments section erupts with: “If you don’t like it, don’t buy it,” “Try making it yourself,” or “The developer worked hard, and all you do is criticize.”
Let’s clarify why constructive criticism isn’t toxicity—it’s a necessity.
Developers Are Often Just One Person
Imagine you’re modeling an airport. Hundreds of buildings, thousands of textures, lighting, markings, static objects. You work on this for months, staring at the same models for 8 hours a day.
And here’s what happens: you stop seeing obvious mistakes.
This isn’t about professionalism—it’s a feature of human perception. You’re so immersed in the details that you lose sight of the big picture. You forgot to enable night textures on one terminal. Placed a building at the wrong angle. Missed several parking spots on the apron.
You don’t see it because you’ve looked at it a thousand times.
But a user sees it. At first glance.
And that’s normal! They have fresh eyes. They load up the simulator, fly to your airport, and immediately notice: “Wait, why is the terminal dark at night?”
Beta Testing Isn’t a Cure-All
“But isn’t that what beta testing is for?” you might ask.
It is. But even that isn’t perfect.
Beta testers are usually 5-10 people (if you’re lucky). They check the add-on on their systems, under their conditions, with their settings. They might not fly at certain times of day. They might not notice a problem with a specific parking stand. They might simply not know what this airport looks like in real life.
But after release, the add-on is purchased by hundreds or thousands of people. And among them, there will inevitably be someone who:
- Has actually flown to this airport
- Works there
- Lives nearby
- Is simply detail-oriented
These people see what the developer and beta testers didn’t. And that’s invaluable.
Criticism Makes the Product Better
Let’s look at real examples.
An airport is released. Users start writing:
- “Parking stand 23 has no markings for wide-body aircraft”
- “The old terminal building was demolished two years ago, but it’s still there”
- “ILS on runway 34 doesn’t work correctly”
- “Night lighting around the perimeter is too bright”
The developer releases a patch. Fixes the issues. The product becomes better.
Six months later, someone buys this add-on and gets an improved version that wouldn’t exist without the criticism from early buyers.
Everyone wins:
- The developer improved their product
- Early buyers received an update
- New buyers got a quality add-on
- The community got an accurate airport replica
The Difference Between Criticism and Hate
It’s important to understand the difference.
Constructive criticism:
- “Terminal B has no night lighting. Here’s a screenshot and coordinates”
- “Runway 27 markings don’t match the current state of the airport. Here are current photos”
- “The simulator crashes when approaching stand 45. Here’s the log”
Toxic hate:
- “This is garbage, give me my money back”
- “The developer is incompetent and can’t do anything right”
- “For this price, you could have tried harder”
See the difference? Criticism is constructive, contains facts, and helps fix the problem. Hate is just emotions.
Silence Isn’t Golden
The worst thing a buyer can do is stay silent.
You bought an add-on, discovered a problem, and thought: “Well, I won’t write anything, the developer might get offended.”
And what happens?
- The developer doesn’t learn about the problem
- The problem isn’t fixed
- The next 100 buyers get the same bug
- The developer releases their next add-on with similar errors because they didn’t receive feedback
Silence doesn’t help anyone.
Developers Want Feedback
I’ve talked to many add-on developers. You know what they say?
“Please write to us about problems.”
Seriously. They want to know what’s wrong. They want to improve their products. But they can’t fix what they don’t know about.
Most developers are enthusiasts who create add-ons between their main job and family time. They’re not villains consciously selling a low-quality product. They simply can’t physically see all the problems.
They need your help.
How to Criticize Properly
A few simple rules:
Official support forum is better than social media comments
Be specific
Not “everything is bad,” but “problem with Terminal C lighting”
Provide evidence
Screenshot, video, coordinates, error log
Offer context
“I was at this airport a month ago, here are photos”
“According to the latest NOTAM, this runway is closed”
Be polite
The developer is a real person who spent hundreds of hours on this add-on
Use the right channels
It Works Both Ways
Developers must also properly receive criticism:
- Don’t take it personally
- Separate constructive criticism from hate
- Thank people for finding problems
- Fix errors in updates
And most do exactly that. Reasonable developers value feedback and work on improvements.
The Bottom Line
Criticizing developers is normal. Reporting problems is useful. Giving feedback is necessary.
You’re not hurting the developer when you point out an error. You’re helping them make the product better.
You’re not damaging the add-on’s reputation. You’re helping future buyers get a higher-quality version.
You’re not behaving like a toxic hater. You’re behaving like a responsible community member.
Buy add-ons. Fly. Find problems. Report them.
This makes the flight simulation industry better for all of us.
Your Voice Matters at simMarket
When you purchase add-ons from simMarket, you have direct channels to help developers improve their products:
Public Reviews: Leave a publicly visible review that helps both developers and future customers understand the product’s strengths and areas for improvement.
Direct Support: Create a support ticket through our technical support system. Our team will forward it directly to the developer, who can not only fix what you reported but also communicate with you directly to better understand the issue.
Your feedback doesn’t just help you—it helps shape the future of flight simulation add-ons for everyone.
