Taking it all with a grain of salt =)

katah1969 · June 2013

Aye aye aye!!! Now I know what Zovya was talking about in another message about getting bad reviews for stuff out of her control!!

Just got a 3 star review because the dialogue that flashes across the screen when you complete a quest step should be removed.

Actually I wish I could get that to not show up!!!

Oh well... Still like making the quests!

crok2 · June 2013

heh, I have gotten 1 stars for bad loot (STILL) and 1 star because my bears were actually drow reskinned. (THERE ARE NO BEAR encounters lol) As he explained.. He got the drow achievement which is how he knew they were drow. There are plenty like that :P

katah1969 · June 2013

OMG! That is just not right. I would never in a million years give anyone a 1 star review. People put too much time and energy into their creations to have someone tear it down. Sorry Crok... wish I had the power to remove those reviews.

crok2 · June 2013

katah1969 wrote: »

OMG! That is just not right. I would never in a million years give anyone a 1 star review. People put too much time and energy into their creations to have someone tear it down. Sorry Crok... wish I had the power to remove those reviews.

As you said, I just take it with a grain of salt... when I can. Usually they make me laugh now.

visigoth18 · June 2013

lol, yeah it's definitely something you have to stay lighthearted about :] but you can keep the Quest Objectives short and don't add Objective complete dialogue :]

visigoth18 · June 2013

katah1969 wrote: »

OMG! That is just not right. I would never in a million years give anyone a 1 star review. People put too much time and energy into their creations to have someone tear it down. Sorry Crok... wish I had the power to remove those reviews.

Never? even if someone didn't put time and effort in? then whats the point of a rating system -_-

katah1969 · June 2013

visigoth18 wrote: »

Never? even if someone didn't put time and effort in? then whats the point of a rating system -_-

Well I guess I shouldn't say I would never do it, but to date, I've not experienced a quest that was all that bad. Every quest is going to have something in it that I would have done differently or not at all so I just try to keep it all in perspective. Yeah I suppose if I entered a quest with 1 chicken to kill and then I completed it... would not get many stars lol

oggbrox · June 2013

Take it easy. The world is full with idiots. How old are you? I'm done with this fact since I'm 15 years old.

celantra · June 2013

Before cryptic pulled the farming quests I 1 starred them. If I encounter any others I would still one star them. If I find them in the review pile. I one star and report and leave no comment, otherwise I always comment.

thunderknuckles1 · June 2013

visigoth18 wrote: »

lol, yeah it's definitely something you have to stay lighthearted about :] but you can keep the Quest Objectives short and don't add Objective complete dialogue :]

Agree completely, though it's hard to do at times. lol Or how about the reviews that ARE positive yet still give you a poor rating, like, "Great story, great plot and great set design, but I died twice." 1 star. LOL I mean...so you died you big baby. Personally speaking, if someone is going to be that way I'd just rather not even have their 1 star.

vuelhering · June 2013

katah1969 wrote: »

Aye aye aye!!! Now I know what Zovya was talking about in another message about getting bad reviews for stuff out of her control!!

Any creative field has this issue. Consider it a learning experience... if it annoys you more than a tiny bit, you haven't yet learned. The biggest mistake anyone can ever make is trying to please everyone. Try that, and you are certain to fail, resulting in a very sub-par adventure.

Know your audience, and try to please that audience.

drakesigar · June 2013

celantra wrote: »

Before cryptic pulled the farming quests I 1 starred them. If I encounter any others I would still one star them. If I find them in the review pile. I one star and report and leave no comment, otherwise I always comment.

Agreed. I've only found one thus far and didn't hesitate to 1 star it. These quests border on exploits, are completely against the spirit of the Foundry, and have no creative spark.

raphaeldisanto · June 2013

Reviews and ratings only have as much power over you as you allow them to. Choose whose opinions are going to matter to you. Yours? Your friends? People you trust? Some random stranger on the internet?

Don't take it personally. Not everyone's going to like everything, and reviews and ratings are about as subjective as they come.

visigoth18 · June 2013

lol...my fist filter when looking at reviews is the reviewers account name. when I get a negative review of say one or two stars and the name is something like "1337357gAmERkid69" I don't even bother thinking about it XD

zbkolde · June 2013

I have tried to stress to everyone that my quest has extra things hidden off the path, separate from the objectives. I've noticed that with every 1- and 3-star rating it gets, the average play time drops, indicating those people rushed through the objectives without even bothering to turn their camera toward a hill. My quest is not amazing, but there is stuff there, but people aren't finding it, not even my friends. When i run it, i don't read the dialog (anymore, pretty sure i got all the typos out), but i will wander around and check all my little extras, so i know how long it takes to just walk straight to everything already knowing exactly where it is. So, i know that people are not exploring, they are not seeing the extras, and then they are rating it low because they don't see anything there. It's frustrating.

I also stress, as much as possible, the fact that it has very little combat. Yet people still leave negative reviews for that too. I've done everything i can think of to talk people out of playing it, but they still play it and rate it low.

But, having said that, i love my quest, because it represents myself, my characters, and some of my friends. A few people have stumbled upon it and really loved it, and that makes it all worth while to me. I get frustrated over the tools, the bugs, the mystery of the catalog listings, but then some stranger finds my quest and really likes it, and everything is grand. I'm still waiting though, for someone to send me a message saying "oh i saw such-and-such, i know where that came from!" Maybe someday.

And maybe i don't do foundries "correctly." I run around and look at everything, the details, the atmosphere. I like to take notice of all the work the author put into it, and having done it myself i can tell what work was done. I try to see everything they wanted me to see. But i guess the authors are in the minority, not everyone understands the work behind it.

My second quest is very different, but still based on the same characters. I knew that more people would be better pleased with the second quest, and maybe that would lead them to (or back to) the first quest with a different perspective. Alas, the "duplicate map" issues halted progress on it. The map has about 1400 details, and 20-25 NPCs (farm animals). Upon duplicating, every single detail and NPC was shifted... a little high, little low, little left, little right, little forward, little back. In order to continue work on it, i'd have to readjust every detail, for every duplicate of that map, which would have been three duplicates. Would it be worth it, to spend days and days adjusting all those details, three times, when no one would even realize it was done? I'm still struggling with that question. But, most likely, knowing myself, it's gonna happen anyway.

(Well, if the foundry ever comes back up.)

neomys99 · June 2013

zbkolde wrote: »

Upon duplicating, every single detail and NPC was shifted... a little high, little low, little left, little right, little forward, little back. In order to continue work on it, i'd have to readjust every detail, for every duplicate of that map, which would have been three duplicates. Would it be worth it, to spend days and days adjusting all those details, three times, when no one would even realize it was done? I'm still struggling with that question. But, most likely, knowing myself, it's gonna happen anyway. (Well, if the foundry ever comes back up.)

When you duplicate a map, make sure you have "snap to grid" (in the top-right) turned off.

zbkolde · June 2013

neomys99 wrote: »

When you duplicate a map, make sure you have "snap to grid" (in the top-right) turned off.

Really!? Is that all i need to do??? Gah, if the foundry was working!

If that's true, you just became my bestest hero and will be honored in my quest somehow. I searched and searched for info about that and couldn't find anything. I will for sure try it.

yospeck · June 2013

katah1969 wrote: »

Well I guess I shouldn't say I would never do it, but to date, I've not experienced a quest that was all that bad.

No, you've just probably not experienced an amazing quest yet. There's PLENTY of quests out there that only deserve a 1 star, but until you play a quest that makes others pale in comparison, then you can only vote on experience.

I've played two quests that I now consider worthy of a 5 star (though have previously 5-starred other quests, if I could go back and change the rating I would because I NOW know they weren't worth 5 star). Some quests are pretty bad for a dozen different reasons.

ovaltine74 · June 2013

Some people don't like Pizza. I mean when you think of food that should get five stars, pizza has to be up there, but I think it would still get a one star from some. "It gave me gas." "The loot box should have contained buffalo wings" "The quest took longer than thirty minutes, I want my money back." "No cheese in the crust?...lame!"

thehuntress · June 2013

zbkolde wrote: »

I have tried to stress to everyone that my quest has extra things hidden off the path...

I'll actually explore the map and see what the author did, how, and why - and also just in case there's something added.

For me, as my first Foundry isn't even out yet, I'm aiming for the more RP-gamers and not just those who will run through something for the Foundry quest. To me the Foundry is a primary tool for those who used to be or still are table top gamers to share quests with each other.

I wish there were better ways of using messages as DM input.

thehuntress · June 2013

ovaltine74 wrote: »

Some people don't like Pizza. I mean when you think of food that should get five stars, pizza has to be up there, but I think it would still get a one star from some. "It gave me gas." "The loot box should have contained buffalo wings" "The quest took longer than thirty minutes, I want my money back." "No cheese in the crust?...lame!"

LOL... I was hoping for the cheeseburger... or or or the boots of escaping!

zbkolde · June 2013

thelastria wrote: »

...

... To me the Foundry is a primary tool for those who used to be or still are table top gamers to share quests with each other.

...

That reminds me, one of those random strangers left me the greatest review comment awhile back. It said something about my quest having an "old school" feel, and... beh i can't remember it all now. The name started with an X i believe, they left 5-stars and a big tip. But, apparently they ran it again within the next few hours after i saw their comment, because it disappeared. I dislike that comments no longer stay in the review box when people do your foundry again, i've lost a few good ones to that.

thehuntress · June 2013

zbkolde wrote: »

That reminds me, one of those random strangers left me the greatest review comment awhile back. It said something about my quest having an "old school" feel, and... beh i can't remember it all now. The name started with an X i believe, they left 5-stars and a big tip. But, apparently they ran it again within the next few hours after i saw their comment, because it disappeared. I dislike that comments no longer stay in the review box when people do your foundry again, i've lost a few good ones to that.

That's too bad that they disappear. Can you copy and paste them in notepad or something? I think the reviews will have stuff that would warranted to save like advice and such.

sskmom · June 2013

I got my 1st 1 star rating and I don't even know what it means. Its GN11111 - thinking the 1's are supposed to be ! but still - what is GN? Good night? I know we aren't supposed to take things personally and that you can't please everyone - but its still a sad day to see that 1 star

dzogen · June 2013

sskmom wrote: »

I got my 1st 1 star rating and I don't even know what it means. Its GN11111 - thinking the 1's are supposed to be ! but still - what is GN? Good night? I know we aren't supposed to take things personally and that you can't please everyone - but its still a sad day to see that 1 star

I once got one like that I didn't understand because he said it was good and he gave me 1 star so I actually emailed him to understand why & his reply was, sorry your quest was great, i was high, sorry man

point being - it's a game and you don't know where people are at. they could be high, tired, or just not care, etc. it really has nothing to do with you a lot of time...

vuelhering · June 2013

hah! I got a 1-star for having the first part of a quest, stated as the first part of the quest, with the comment "where's the rest of the quest?"

I lolled... I cannot take such things seriously. As an artist, you have to learn how to handle critiques. I know my audience, and it doesn't include stupid people. Too bad they can still vote.

lolsorhand · June 2013

thunderknuckles1 wrote: »

Agree completely, though it's hard to do at times. lol Or how about the reviews that ARE positive yet still give you a poor rating, like, "Great story, great plot and great set design, but I died twice." 1 star. LOL I mean...so you died you big baby. Personally speaking, if someone is going to be that way I'd just rather not even have their 1 star.

I enjoy quests where the author really paid attention to detail, but while i weigh the story in, the encounters are equally important. (But I try to rate quests/maps by what I've experienced so far. And how I know the foundry works. I got crititique for the bushes/grass moving too fast.)

To me, a five is something special that perhaps stands out, but also something the author obviously has put alot of time into. But sometimes, the humour breaks me out from the story or quest. But in the end it's one's personal opinion. I've never given a quest a one star. Luckily i've not played a single one even close to deserving it.

Edit:
Hence I never give one liners, and explain my ratings on the forum if I do make a thread about review time or something.

almostcool · June 2013

I had three people leave 3-5 star reviews on my quest asking if their alignment was actually evil now or if it was just a side adventure.

One guy messaged me telling me how terrible I am for making him unwittingly turn his character evil and that I should warn people about the after effects of the quest.

Pretty sure the mail was just a troll but either way I got a good chuckle out of all of it.

thunderknuckles1 · June 2013

zbkolde wrote: »

I have tried to stress to everyone that my quest has extra things hidden off the path, separate from the objectives. I've noticed that with every 1- and 3-star rating it gets, the average play time drops, indicating those people rushed through the objectives without even bothering to turn their camera toward a hill. My quest is not amazing, but there is stuff there, but people aren't finding it, not even my friends. When i run it, i don't read the dialog (anymore, pretty sure i got all the typos out), but i will wander around and check all my little extras, so i know how long it takes to just walk straight to everything already knowing exactly where it is. So, i know that people are not exploring, they are not seeing the extras, and then they are rating it low because they don't see anything there. It's frustrating.

I also stress, as much as possible, the fact that it has very little combat. Yet people still leave negative reviews for that too. I've done everything i can think of to talk people out of playing it, but they still play it and rate it low.

But, having said that, i love my quest, because it represents myself, my characters, and some of my friends. A few people have stumbled upon it and really loved it, and that makes it all worth while to me. I get frustrated over the tools, the bugs, the mystery of the catalog listings, but then some stranger finds my quest and really likes it, and everything is grand. I'm still waiting though, for someone to send me a message saying "oh i saw such-and-such, i know where that came from!" Maybe someday.

And maybe i don't do foundries "correctly." I run around and look at everything, the details, the atmosphere. I like to take notice of all the work the author put into it, and having done it myself i can tell what work was done. I try to see everything they wanted me to see. But i guess the authors are in the minority, not everyone understands the work behind it.

My second quest is very different, but still based on the same characters. I knew that more people would be better pleased with the second quest, and maybe that would lead them to (or back to) the first quest with a different perspective. Alas, the "duplicate map" issues halted progress on it. The map has about 1400 details, and 20-25 NPCs (farm animals). Upon duplicating, every single detail and NPC was shifted... a little high, little low, little left, little right, little forward, little back. In order to continue work on it, i'd have to readjust every detail, for every duplicate of that map, which would have been three duplicates. Would it be worth it, to spend days and days adjusting all those details, three times, when no one would even realize it was done? I'm still struggling with that question. But, most likely, knowing myself, it's gonna happen anyway. (Well, if the foundry ever comes back up.)

My friend, it never ceases to amaze me (though it shouldn't anymore) that an overwhelming number of people simply DO NOT read the DM's notes you place right there in front of their faces. I'd wager to say that every Foundry author has received at least a 1 star from someone complaining about something difficult in the quest that was right in front of their eyes in the DM's notes but they just didn't bother to read, such as "NOT intended as a solo adventure!".

"Tu hard. Tu lawng. Dyed uh lot. Lamez0rz." You get my drift. Welcome to the idiocracy!

lolsorhand · June 2013

thunderknuckles1 wrote: »

My friend, it never ceases to amaze me (though it shouldn't anymore) that an overwhelming number of people simply DO NOT read the DM's notes you place right there in front of their faces. I'd wager to say that every Foundry author has received at least a 1 star from someone complaining about something difficult in the quest that was right in front of their eyes in the DM's notes but they just didn't bother to read, such as "NOT intended as a solo adventure!".

"Tu hard. Tu lawng. Dyed uh lot. Lamez0rz." You get my drift. Welcome to the idiocracy!

lol this. I state my first quest is recommended for two players. (I know for a fact it is very much soloable.. But it's challenging.) And yet people deem it too hard when they go about it solo. - Oh well, give me back my foundry cryptic... Then I can just fix this anyway by adding a simple slider.

zbkolde · June 2013

Here's my reactions to the ratings i get:

5-star: Big grin, that's why we do this.
4-star: Hmm, what could i make a little better?
3-star: Oh no, i disappointed this person somehow.

2-star: Hurts the most.
1-star: Pfft, whatever. Your issue, not mine.

My first quest only has one 2-star, which it just recently got, and it hurts the most. A diehard troll will not give you an extra star, so a 2-star feels like someone just really really hated it. Of course they didn't leave a comment telling me why they hated it. Oh well, we can't please everyone in the entire game, and i'm not trying to.

To add: May as well say this is how i rate others' foundries:

5-star: You did a lot of work here, and it was a great experience, i smiled the whole time! (most of my ratings)
4-star: You did a lot of work, but it needs to be tested and polished. Be back later to upgrade to 5-star.
3-star: Needs more work, or something in it offended me slightly.
2-star: Never given.
1-star: Never given.

If i really don't like a quest, or can't survive it, i don't rate it. Instead i'll send feedback through in-game mail. This has only happened a few times, as i'm one of those weird people that actually reads the descriptions, so i don't even play the ones that i know i won't enjoy in the first place.

Reworded: I don't "absolutely hate" anyone's work, just sometimes i really don't like it for some reason or another. Was bugging me that i said that.

Taking it all with a grain of salt =)

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