Mod Rating System

[Xarwarz]

Ive been thinknig of a type of rating system that modders should get to rate their work and help create better mods.

 

This is what i got so far.......Any ideas are appreciated.... ill add it to the list if its valuable

 

MODS should have this system

 

Creativity- how much creativeness was put into the mod

Usefulness- how useful is the mod

Replay value- does it have replay value

Idea- was it original

Compatibility- Is it compatible with other mods

Quality- Is it well made

[Mav]

I agree we should rate all the moderators on this scale, and the one that scores lowest should be offed...

 

oh wait did I misread? Doesn't matter I stand by what I said.

[Qui-Gon Glenn]

I agree we should rate all the moderators on this scale, and the one that scores lowest should be offed...

 

oh wait did I misread? Doesn't matter I stand by what I said.

Hear Here!

 

As for the topic - this would take some serious effort to make it a standard, which seems to be what you are going for. Lots of leg-work.... and who is really going to take the time to fill out a poll for each mod they download?

 

I understand your impetus, and I think it sounds nice.... just reeeeeal hard to implement.

 

EDIT: Which mod(erator) has the best replay value? Enquiring minds are dying to know

[Totenkopf]

Yeah, which mod(erator)s should go on the chopping block?

[Xarwarz]

Well of course they wouldn't implement this idea but i could in another form just Looking for Ideas not trying to change the forums... People vote for mod of the year why not this...

[RedHawke]

I just don't see the usefulness of a mod rating system...

 

Take a mod maker like myself, when it comes to what I have made mod-wise I really don't care what some of you think of them or what you think is 'balanced' etc., that might sound bad to some of you who have a 'fetish' about these kinds of things, but I made them for myself first and foremost and put it up for download so those of you who also might like them can use them as well.

 

Like my mods, or not, when you release a mod it isn't a call for a popularity contest like some want it to be. Modders who do mods solely for 'glory' are not doing it for the right reasons and usually have issues when they don't get the recognition they desire, and we have had more then our fair share of them around here.

 

Then take mods released by first-timers who might have mistakes in them, slapping a 'rating' on it (especially if negative) only helps to potentially drive them off from attempting another. I would rather let them continue to build their skill sets up and make better mods as they go along.

 

All IMHO anyway.

[Totenkopf]

Well, there is an unofficial sort of mod rating sytem.......it's called the feedback section. Frankly, depending on the sorts of comments people make there, it has the potential to be as debilitating to a modders ego as the other. However, any modder w/a thick skin or who is open to constructive criticism probably won't be scared off. Only other problem I can think of is that a rating system for mods is going to be in many ways very subjective and thus arguably useless (like much art criticism).

[jonathan7]

Not at all workable, and furthermore pointless. Good feedback is would be far more useful; indeed seriously what does a bunch of numbers mean? Apart from massaging a few of the vains ego's? I hate the ratings system over at KotOR Files, as it is rendered meaningless by a whole load of frankly, crap mods constantly being given 10's for reasons I'm sure even those who gave it 10 couldn't explain, but generally articulate as "OMG THIS .uti edit giving me every feat in the game PAWNSSS!!!!!1111!!!"

 

Let's take one of my mods; Force Fashion II, I know the skins are good, I know it's a good mod, that's not meant to be egotistical; but as such numbers telling me how good it is aren't helpful. However constructive criticism and bug reporting (all of which is written) is helpful towards improving the mod; but all of that can be given in the present format.

 

Furthermore, do you have any idea how much work this could end up being for Stoffe? LF is run by volunteers, are you going to be the one to do all the work on this Xarwarz? Do you have any idea how much work Stoffe does? As far as I'm aware she's the only one who maintains the technical side of LF atm.

[Xarwarz]

Not at all workable, and furthermore pointless. Good feedback is would be far more useful; indeed seriously what does a bunch of numbers mean? Apart from massaging a few of the vains ego's? I hate the ratings system over at KotOR Files, as it is rendered meaningless by a whole load of frankly, crap mods constantly being given 10's for reasons I'm sure even those who gave it 10 couldn't explain, but generally articulate as "OMG THIS .uti edit giving me every feat in the game PAWNSSS!!!!!1111!!!"

 

Let's take one of my mods; Force Fashion II, I know the skins are good, I know it's a good mod, that's not meant to be egotistical; but as such numbers telling me how good it is aren't helpful. However constructive criticism and bug reporting (all of which is written) is helpful towards improving the mod; but all of that can be given in the present format.

 

Furthermore, do you have any idea how much work this could end up being for Stoffe? LF is run by volunteers, are you going to be the one to do all the work on this Xarwarz? Do you have any idea how much work Stoffe does? As far as I'm aware she's the only one who maintains the technical side of LF atm.

 

I wouldn't expect this to be implemented here just throwing the idea out there, but if giving the time i would do it. Crap comments is the reason for this post ive read allot of them in different threads.

 

 

Well see my point to all of this is that people do give a lot of air headed comments. Most don't try the mod may just judge off of a pic. A comment like "I dont like your mod the grass is to high" Ok every module doesn't have grass in it what about the rest. Or you have repeating texture ok what old school game doesn't have repeating textures. It just seems alot of comments aren't thought out well. A fair assessment would be to try before you cry........

[Astor]

Well see my point to all of this is that people do give a lot of air headed comments. Most don't try the mod may just judge off of a pic.

 

That would happen even with a rating system. My one mod on KOTORfiles has a rating of 9.3, from 36 votes - I don't know that any of the people who voted on have actually played it.

 

And even if such a system were implemented, 'replay value' would be pointless for the majority of mods, seeing as most are new items, textures etc.

[mimartin]

I agree we should rate all the moderators on this scale, and the one that scores lowest should be offed...

I thought this too when I read the title. For a couple moments I was a little concern about my wellbeing on the forum.

 

I started my enemies list while waiting for the page to load.

1. Mav

2. J7

3. ...

[Darth Avlectus]

I would not give a damn. Only thing I'd care is that it is complete and that other-not-so-shallow people might look into it and actually play it. No thanks needed, but certainly would be appreciated as would be *constructive* criticism.

 

Lots of people do it as a sort of resume thing for schools or jobs.

 

While this has good intentions written all over it, it may backfire. Filefront and its system sort of drove me away from modding.

 

Still, I have some small things I work on at my liesure and if I release fine...if not, then it's just for me the way I like it...like turning Nar Shaddah into a pulp fic... I mean Exchange negotiation scene.

[Miltiades]

J7 gets a 10 for usefulness.

[jonathan7]

I wouldn't expect this to be implemented here just throwing the idea out there, but if giving the time i would do it. Crap comments is the reason for this post ive read allot of them in different threads.

 

While I agree that mods tend to get quite a few unhelpful posts, a mod rating system wouldn't help; one of the best mods I ever uploaded onto KotOR Files had some fool give it a "1"; yet there will be bad uti edits, which give a silly amount of feats which constantly get 10's.

 

Well see my point to all of this is that people do give a lot of air headed comments. Most don't try the mod may just judge off of a pic. A comment like "I dont like your mod the grass is to high" Ok every module doesn't have grass in it what about the rest. Or you have repeating texture ok what old school game doesn't have repeating textures. It just seems alot of comments aren't thought out well. A fair assessment would be to try before you cry........

 

But, comments require a lot more thought than ratings, which as KotOR Files testifies just ends up averaging 8 or above, and thus renders the rating system meaningless anyway. Besides, what does a rating tell you in any given area, I actually think you acquire more useful information from a "I dont like your mod the grass is to high" comment, than you do someone say giving a 6/10 - that number doesn't tell you either why it was a 6, or what you can do to improve it.

 

J7 gets a 10 for usefulness.

 

But a 3 for spelling, punctuation and grammar?

[Jae Onasi]

Not all mods are meant to meet all the criteria specified in the OP--some are just reskins or other small mods, meant for the pleasure of the creator who happens to share it with some others here. The goal in Holowan is to provide an area that is safe for people to learn and develop their modding skills, and I think a rating system would not help that as much as the comments would. It's easy to click a button to give a number. It's harder to articulate why you like or dislike something, but it's ultimately a lot more useful for the modder in particular and others who are learning in general.

[stoffe]

In general, the problem I see with mod ratings/rankings is twofold:

 

1. Mods of widely differing scope and kind would get judged by the same system. A single armor reskin done in a couple of hours would be judged by the same merits as a total conversion mod that took years to finish. It ends up being like comparing apples and oranges.
    
    
   
2. The more votes/ratings a mod get, the lower its average score will inevitably become. Thus new mods that has only gotten a handful of good ratings will rank higher than older mods that has gotten hundreds of ratings, since each individual rating will have less impact on the average score.
   

 

Those are the main reasons why I personally consider ratings to not be a very useful instrument in deciding what mods to try as a player. (But there are others, such as the tendency of some people to rate in binary. Like: 10/10, Don't like: 0/10.)

 

As for the specific system suggested in this thread, the wide diversity of the different types of mods would make it hard to apply meaningfully. It works on whole games and such since they tend to have elements that can be compared (graphics, sound quality etc). How would you for example judge the replay value in any meaningful way when comparing an armor reskin, a combat AI modification, a new quest, new items, new force powers and feats etc?

 

For such ratings to hold any meaning you'd have to classify similar mods into categories and then keep the ratings separate within each category, I think.

 

Except for stoffe, of course.

[Miltiades]

But a 3 for spelling, punctuation and grammar?

No one's perfect. Except for stoffe, of course.