What map ratings really mean

[Karsten75]

OK, so I'm trying to figure out for myself what map partings would mean on a 10-point scale.

I like the 5-star Netflix system, even though I think the 1-star rating has to be something other than a star! :)

Netflix ratings are as follows. What I'd like to do is to expand that to KnuckleCracker ratings. If anyone has any suggestions as to additional, in-between meanings, I'd love to hear them.

Netflix	Meaning	Knuckle Cracker
-	I think it stinks
	I hated it
	I didn't like it
	I liked it
	I really liked it
	I loved it!

[Clean0nion]

OK, so I'm trying to figure out for myself what map partings would mean on a 10-point scale.

I like the 5-star Netflix system, even though I think the 1-star rating has to be something other than a star! :)

Netflix ratings are as follows. What I'd like to do is to expand that to KnuckleCracker ratings. If anyone has any suggestions as to additional, in-between meanings, I'd love to hear them.

The issue is that some people downvote maps simply because they are too hard - I think ratings should be based on quality. So a really hard but really well-made map would receive a rating of about 5 - and a really easy, badly made map would receive about the same rating. And we can't have all users conform to one or the other, because not everybody browses the forums.

[Karsten75]

It's not an "issue". People rate maps. That rating reflects their opinion of the map. If it is too hard and they don't like it, they vote it down. Same as with movies. People like (or don't like) movies for various reasons. THey still express that in their rating or opinion of the movie.

If this was Netflix, then we could show people how other like-minded people rate a map. Since it's not, we'll just have the one metric that says how people liked or didn't like the map.

More people read the forum than participate.  It is mostly for my own clarity that I'd like to hear how people would rate the in-between ratings that does not correspond to the criteria I outlined.

[teknotiss]

i'd like a few ratings;
difficulty
fun
(and possibly) speed/slogginess.
i think someone suggested a similar (more advanced) system from another game as a guide, but i forget who, or what game  ::)

[Karsten75]

I'm not really sure why you think this thread was an invitation to request a different ratings system.

[Flabort]

While I think it's a good idea to rate purely on fun level, and not on difficulty, I think the rating system is a combination of fun and difficulty right now. Where the total rating is Fun+difficulty.

Rating	Netflix Meaning	Knuckle Cracker Meaning	KC Difficulty
	I hated it	I hated it	I don't think anyone could ever beat this
	I didn't like it	I didn't like it	I don't think I could ever beat this
	I liked it	I felt it was OK	It was hard
	I really liked it	I liked it	It was medium difficulty OR it was too easy
	I loved it!	I really liked it	It was easy enough that I beat it

Extra rating: 1 star total: It was colorful language made and ridiculously easy.

I don't rate this way myself, but I bet a lot of the community does. Me, only 2 stars are dedicated to difficulty, and 8 to fun rating.

[knucracker]

A couple mildly interesting links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_of_one_to_ten
http://www.marketingpower.com/ResourceLibrary/Publications/JournalofMarketingResearch(JMR)/1966/3/4/5006260.pdf

In my view, 5 is neutral (can take it or leave it).  10 is awesome, 1 is horrid.  Imagine a bell curve centered at 5.

As for how I rate, I'm biased towards the right.  I tend to look at the effort put in the map, the uniqueness, the concepts, the beauty...  I'll rank a map a 9 or a 10 even if I don't personally 'like' the map sometimes.  I do this because I see the rankings as two things not just one.  They of course provide a point a reference to other players.  But they also provide incentive or dissuasion to the map author.  If I see a promising map author with some art, design, crpl, or any combination of these skills I tend to encourage them since I want them to make more maps.  Because of this I'm not sure I've rated a map less than 5 on the maps I've rated...  I am no doubt balanced by some people who seem to be left biased, though.  I often see 1 and 2 rankings on maps.

[cooltv27]

if a map gets a rating from me, it means how much I liked the map even if I didnt beat it
10 awesome map, would love more
7 awesome map
5 DMD map that was not edited enough
4 DMD map
1 go away
difficulty has no effect, unless it seems like it was designed to not be beaten by me

[pawel345]

I think that current system is quite cool, I too would like another scale so that together they would form a nicer view for the map. Probably something along the lines of a Fun to play and Tough to play scale. Right now we have the Fun to play scale, but it could be nice if there was a let's say 5 point scale of map difficulty to be able to check if there is a point in downloading it even :P something to tag the map as either easy or hard.

[teknotiss]

I'm not really sure why you think this thread was an invitation to request a different ratings system.

and i'm not sure why you thought people wouldn't suggest additional ideas to further the rating system  :D

i rate maps in a way similar to V, even if i dislike the map i give it a decent score based on composition and effort put in, i still think a "fun" rating would let people make better choices, about both maps to play and how to make better ones

[oodie]

The ratings don't mean TOO much in my opinion. There is a reason we can chat about maps on the forums :) plus, it does depend alot on how many people vote. I liked the vote up/down in CW2 better. Anyone else?

[Godsbrother]

I think that current system is quite cool, I too would like another scale so that together they would form a nicer view for the map. Probably something along the lines of a Fun to play and Tough to play scale. Right now we have the Fun to play scale, but it could be nice if there was a let's say 5 point scale of map difficulty to be able to check if there is a point in downloading it even :P something to tag the map as either easy or hard.

This would be nice to have, though not particularly necessary.

@Karsten75 Thank you for bringing this up though, I've been thinking about a similar post for a few days.  Having a friendly consensus on what the ratings mean brings more value to the ratings system


And on a slightly off topic note...  I've always wished netflix was more than a 5 star rating because I'd like to see something between Didn't like and Liked.  Something like, 'I'd be happy to watch this with my girlfriend, but it just wasn't my thing', 'I could take it or leave it', or 'Meh' lol