JJ Skippy
Well-known member
As has been heavily discussed on the forums, NG’s wishlist system has been criticized for not exactly delivering on collector’s expectations. While some of them have been deemed unrealistic, there’s no denying that it needs some work. Below I have several suggestions that will fix a majority of the issues that it currently has. This is what NG needs to do to make the wishlist system better:
1 - Establish clear-cut criteria on how models get approved
This is the most obvious one, but to start there needs to be some criteria established for what models get approved and which ones don’t. My criteria suggestions would be:
2 - Provide a timeline for production
So far there hasn’t been any consistency with lead times for models that get approved to being released. Sometimes they’ve been made right away, other times we’ve waited at least several months. I don’t expect an overnight production to happen with approved models (unless they’re already made, but more on that later), but there shouldn’t be huge discrepancies with certain models getting the green light and not being made for an extended period of time.
3 - Start scheduling regular rounds of approval
NG doesn’t follow a regular schedule of approving models, as it looks to be on a whenever-whatever basis. Doing monthly or bimonthly rounds of approval would better optimize collector’s schedules for casting votes and be able to make one final push for a particular wish to get approved. Having a lot of approved models doesn’t help either, as currently they have more than 200 in the backlog with about 30 being produced, so doing only 5 to 10 every month would help keep the backlog down. At the same time though removing the existing approved wishes would be unfair.
4 - Clarification on models approved based on their production plan
As mentioned, some models get approved with just a handful of votes. A valid case has been made that they were already planning to do that model anyway, so slapping a sticker that says “Approved by Voting” on the wishlist page is very misleading. Therefore, making a different sticker that says something different and applying that to those wishes would help clear confusion. It could say “Planned by NG” or “Already in Production”.
5 - Either disallow fantasy models or make it its own separate category
There’s some divide between collectors on fantasy models, and while it hasn’t been a major issue with the wishlist, a couple have slipped through the cracks. I would make a case to disallow fantasy models, but for those that have a keen interest in them, making a separate category for those would help clear the main list of any fantasy models.
6 - Only allow aircraft types that NG has readily available
Some wishes like the American Fokker 100 and DC-10 have been made, plus there’s a couple A380s on there too (though they are developing a mould for it now), and while having it open to all aircraft types might help NG gauge interest on what moulds to develop next, keeping it to just the moulds they currently have would make it easier to navigate the wishlist and clear wishes that are unrealistic for the foreseeable future.
7 - Create a filter that prevents duplicate wishes from being made
There are a couple of wishes that are duplicated, and sometimes I’ve noticed the votes are very imbalanced on them. One might have 20+ but the other could have 5. If NG creates a filter that would scan the current wishlist when a collector submits a wish and detects duplicates, it would further clear the list. An option to vote on the existing wish would also be helpful so collectors can show their support. This feature would need some time to properly implement since so many variations of liveries exist, like stickers or different tailcones, where true duplicates could be avoided.
8 - After approval, voting needs to be disabled
Once a model reaches a stage where it’s approved by NG, any further votes cast on it should be disabled. Otherwise you run into scenarios where you use up a point on something that, based on the approval, will be made eventually. It’s another one of those deals where it isn’t a huge issue, but those little housekeeping items that get fixed would make the experience so much better.
Overall, the NG wishlist system is a great feature, but it has a lot of flaws and poor execution on NG’s behalf. The above suggestions I think will help make it even more useful for collectors, since right now I haven’t recommended others spend points on wishes due to NG being unreliable with fulfilling certain subjects.
1 - Establish clear-cut criteria on how models get approved
This is the most obvious one, but to start there needs to be some criteria established for what models get approved and which ones don’t. My criteria suggestions would be:
- A certain number of votes. I’ve seen models get approved with just a handful of votes, yet those with 20 or 30+ votes are seemingly ignored. There are other reasons for models getting approved but I will get to those later.
- A model has relevance. It can be a new livery or an aircraft that recently entered service or retired.
- It has enough overall demand from collectors. While votes are the most obvious way to judge interest from collectors, being able to see what collectors are willing to buy based on online discussions or what collectors are saying on their posts would help optimize their choices. Their social media is outsourced but communication can’t be that difficult between them and NG.
2 - Provide a timeline for production
So far there hasn’t been any consistency with lead times for models that get approved to being released. Sometimes they’ve been made right away, other times we’ve waited at least several months. I don’t expect an overnight production to happen with approved models (unless they’re already made, but more on that later), but there shouldn’t be huge discrepancies with certain models getting the green light and not being made for an extended period of time.
3 - Start scheduling regular rounds of approval
NG doesn’t follow a regular schedule of approving models, as it looks to be on a whenever-whatever basis. Doing monthly or bimonthly rounds of approval would better optimize collector’s schedules for casting votes and be able to make one final push for a particular wish to get approved. Having a lot of approved models doesn’t help either, as currently they have more than 200 in the backlog with about 30 being produced, so doing only 5 to 10 every month would help keep the backlog down. At the same time though removing the existing approved wishes would be unfair.
4 - Clarification on models approved based on their production plan
As mentioned, some models get approved with just a handful of votes. A valid case has been made that they were already planning to do that model anyway, so slapping a sticker that says “Approved by Voting” on the wishlist page is very misleading. Therefore, making a different sticker that says something different and applying that to those wishes would help clear confusion. It could say “Planned by NG” or “Already in Production”.
5 - Either disallow fantasy models or make it its own separate category
There’s some divide between collectors on fantasy models, and while it hasn’t been a major issue with the wishlist, a couple have slipped through the cracks. I would make a case to disallow fantasy models, but for those that have a keen interest in them, making a separate category for those would help clear the main list of any fantasy models.
6 - Only allow aircraft types that NG has readily available
Some wishes like the American Fokker 100 and DC-10 have been made, plus there’s a couple A380s on there too (though they are developing a mould for it now), and while having it open to all aircraft types might help NG gauge interest on what moulds to develop next, keeping it to just the moulds they currently have would make it easier to navigate the wishlist and clear wishes that are unrealistic for the foreseeable future.
7 - Create a filter that prevents duplicate wishes from being made
There are a couple of wishes that are duplicated, and sometimes I’ve noticed the votes are very imbalanced on them. One might have 20+ but the other could have 5. If NG creates a filter that would scan the current wishlist when a collector submits a wish and detects duplicates, it would further clear the list. An option to vote on the existing wish would also be helpful so collectors can show their support. This feature would need some time to properly implement since so many variations of liveries exist, like stickers or different tailcones, where true duplicates could be avoided.
8 - After approval, voting needs to be disabled
Once a model reaches a stage where it’s approved by NG, any further votes cast on it should be disabled. Otherwise you run into scenarios where you use up a point on something that, based on the approval, will be made eventually. It’s another one of those deals where it isn’t a huge issue, but those little housekeeping items that get fixed would make the experience so much better.
Overall, the NG wishlist system is a great feature, but it has a lot of flaws and poor execution on NG’s behalf. The above suggestions I think will help make it even more useful for collectors, since right now I haven’t recommended others spend points on wishes due to NG being unreliable with fulfilling certain subjects.
Have you ever considered that the ambiguity around approval criteria and lead times is a feature NG prefers, and not an issue? Like this wishlist system is just a suggestion box thing for them. It isn’t meant to be a “This got X votes you MUST now make it”. Like ultimately they have final say, their own plans, their own capacities, and incorporating as many or as few suggestions as they please is ultimately up to them.
