On rating rides based on a screen shots

I've noticed lately that some of you have been complaining about people rating your uploaded rides to CoasterBuzz Games based entirely on screen shots. So what? If you have a good screen shot, there's little reason to download it other than to test the blocking. Do you not begin to judge real rides by photos before you ever step on them?

Deal with the fact that some people rate differently than you do. My personal feeling is that a 5 is average, but most people are perfectly happy giving 9's and 10's to mediocrity.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED!

Have people really been rating coasters on a scale other than this?

If 10 is the best and zero is the worst then what's the middle number (or average)?

Where's the friggin' mystery?

What's even worse is this mentality is prevalent on many sites. I used to frequent a certain site that let users rate and review rides. I'd get hell for giving a coaster an "8". People would flame me with "Why'd you rate that coaster so low if you liked it?" WTF!? I was under the impression that an "8" was well above average and approching perfection. After I studied the system for a while it turned out 99% of the reviewers there rated either a "10" for rides they like or a "0" for rides they hate. Kind of seems pretty useless to me. Is everything in people's lives these days nothing but extremes? Must suck to have no emotions in that middle "grey" area. Looks like it's turning into a similar situation over in the games section...

As usual I'm totally backwards. I rated most of the downloads in games.coasterbuzz in the 3/4 to 7/8 range - with few exceptions. I thought I was doing good for designs I liked by handing out an "8". Go figure.

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www.coasterimage.com

Heres my system.

I completely hate the coaster, its excitement ratimg is a 1 its intencity is a 20, i give it a -1.

The coaster completely sucks-2

doesnt copletely suck, but a 5 year old could have built better-3

Below average-4

Average-5

Decent-6

Good-7

Very good-8

Excellent-9

Perfect 10

Thats my system

*** This post was edited by B&M ROCKS on 12/23/2002. ***

*** This post was edited by B&M ROCKS on 12/24/2002. ***

So people will always remember that a 5 is average/good, I now have a new signature! lol. I hate explaining all the time that a 5 is average so ppl wont get all hostile on me!

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My Games Section Rating Scale:
1/4-Sucks!
5/7-Average/good
8/9-Great!
10-Perfect

*** This post was edited by Coaster_Enthusiast on 12/23/2002. ***

10 - perfect
9 - near perfection
8 - better than most
7 - very good
6 - above average
5 - average
4 - below average
3 - very bad
2 - worse than most
1 - almost no redeeming quality
0 - worthless

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www.coasterimage.com

After some recent things I've seen as far as rating coasters, I too am curious as to why people are so reluctant to be honest with their ratings and comments. I'm not going to sit here and give all the people 6 or above just because they spent way too much time working on a design. If it sucks, I'm going to tell them!

What's wrong with someone having an opinion? I found it really lame that I saw scores on a ride I uploaded plummet after stating my opinions on this, and noone seemed to comment and say why. I think some people need to get over the fact that this isn't a contest to see who can get all their rides on the top ten list, rather it's a fun way for us to share what rides we have, and constructive comments and criticisms that will help each of us make better rides.

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Jeff Tobe
tobejeff@pilot.msu.edu

Thank God someone finally made this post! Numerous threads and complaints have been made about people rating the coasters by their screen shots. I know there was a huge thread one time where someone complained about people doing that and many many people agreed. I thought I was the only one who really didn't feel like downloading, opening the game, and then rating the coaster, and then doing it all over again! So now, I'm happy that more people feel this way about rating screenshots instead of going through the download - open game routine. Now I don't need to feel guilty about rating files by their screenshots.

I agree 100% about the rating system. People are just being to easy on their ratings.

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Corey
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MF-19

I have no problem with rating on a screenshot. However, I'd like people to at least do a test run on a coaster - sometimes the screenshot just doesn't do justice. I usually do an initial rating and download the ride. After I've downloaded all that look interesting, I unzip the downloads and check them out. If anything strikes me as particularly bad or good about the ride I'll come back and update my rating.

Seems fair enough to me.

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www.coasterimage.com

And since we can't really ride any of these coasters, the way it looks is about the most important thing(other than will it work) about an RCT coaster. the only other thing i can think of is if its a re-creation, then it must look like the real coaster, and have pretty much the same stats. but honestly, i'd definitly rate on a pic rather then having 2 run it first.

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hmmmm. can't think of one, sorry :)

It's my lucky day - I get to disagree again!

TeknoScorpion, I see it the other way around. How it runs is very important. I guess it goes back to form vs function - are you making a pretty park or a usable park (or in Gonchar terms, a crap park or one that actually runs)

I'd love to do an experiment and upload a coaster that doesn't even make it over the first hill but looks great just to see what kind of ratings it gets. I'd bet 95% of people rating and downloading coasters never even open and run them. Kind of missing the point of an exchange the way I see it.

I understand I'm in the minority on the subject, but it's that exact reason I find the exchange a tad less appealing with each passing day. Sure, there's a ton of pretty coasters there, but not many good ones.

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www.coasterimage.com

I think most people view a 1-10 scale similar to a letter grade system. Most people are still in school or not far out they still perceive 7/10 as 70% which is a C or average.

This is my best guess why it takes an 8/10('B') or 9/10('A') or 10/10('A+') to satisfy anybody. Any rating less than that looks like a horrible test score and is perceived as a negative rating.

Whether you rate using that system or the true 1-10 system is your choice and I don't expect everyone to conform. As I've preached before, it's best to leave comments with your vote.

I will leave comments without downloading, but I'm gonna rate something without downloading it first and taking a look. I want to make sure I've looked through it and feel sure about the rating. That's why I usually just post comments and don't rate. Besides, I find comments more helpful than ratings, because as it's been mentioned, everyone has different rating scales. One person's 8 equals someone else's 6.

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The Whizzer is saved!!:)