Juardis Posted June 29, 2000 Share Posted June 29, 2000 With the plethora of user generated scenarios appearing, we need a ranking system and one place to find it. I don't want to play 5 crappy scenarios to get to the one great scenario. Madmatt, you willing to undertake such a mission at CM-HQ? I'm thinking of a table like the scenario Table of Contents in the game, only with one extra column - average rank. I'm thinking those who've played it rank it between 1-5, 5 being the highest. Take the average of all the rankings. Maybe, if someone goes all out, there could be brief comments from some of the reviews giving a high level reason (i.e., no spoilers) as to why it deserved the ranking it got. What you guys think? Or does something like this exist already? ------------------ Jeff Abbott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soliloquy Posted June 29, 2000 Share Posted June 29, 2000 Good idea. The editor is so easy to use that we will soon have an embarassment of riches. I value my time enough to want to have some inkling of whether a given scenario is worth playing. The Gamers Net has a voting system in their TOAW scenario download area which works essentially exactly as you describe (simple 1-5 system). Although basic, it seems that a simple system would encourage the voting participation without which any system would fail. MadMatt (or other webmasters) should be able to implement something similar without too much of a hassle, I would think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stodge Posted June 29, 2000 Share Posted June 29, 2000 See this thread: http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/006647.html Here's my post: I'm working on a repository. Next Im going to try to implement a user rating system for scenarios, including user reviews. Let me know what you'd like to see, or how you'd like it to work. This is what I have so far: http://www.stodge.net/cm/cgi-bin/scenarios.pl for uploading/viewing scenarios. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorak Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 Umm, I haven't done too much with CGI before but I'll see if I can add a form to my scenario/operation page. I could only manage this for the ones I have on site. But it would allow you to Rank the scenario on a scale of 1 to 10. And make some comments about it. There would most likely be a day turn around from your submission till your comments are posted though. I'll try to get something coded up tonight or tomarrow. Lorak ------------------ http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/combatmissionclub Lorak's FTX for CM <--Proud member of the Combat Mission Webring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manx Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 I have set up a site that ONLY deals with uploading/dowloading scenarios, nothing else, no tactics or POTD (there are other great sites that deal with that quite adequately), just so that people can hopefully find a quick and easy way to find extra ops/scenarios for CM...The whole idea of setting up a "central repository" for scenarios is a good idea and it would make life easier for everybody. But it is'nt going to happen!...have you any idea of the number of scenarios that are going to be written and what is the point of "reviewing" files that are only 15-30k to download!?...Let people judge for themselves! Waste of time IMHO! Staffordshire, England (A CM-Free Zone) ------------------ COMBAT MISSIONS- The Source For CM Ops & Scenarios WWW.COMBATMISSIONS.CO.UK [This message has been edited by Manx (edited 06-29-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havermeyer Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 I think Juardis is looking for perhaps a "best-of", a site where scenarios are vetted and recommended-- either by a panel of "experts" or by majority vote among the players. The latter would make sense with a simple 3-5 question survey. A ranking system given number of recommendations, and answers to the survey-- could sort out the chaff. There will be tons of chaff. I want to take advantage of the community as quickly as possible-- and find the scenario developers that build quality, deep immersion scenarios-- And have quick and easy access to them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manx Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 How would the scenarios be "rated"???...The only things that i can see, and in no particular order of importance, are - 1). - Play balance 2). - The build of the actual map 3). - Accuracy (If based on an historical engagement) 4). - Is it "fun" to play I have seen many review sites for other games where one site will give something a good review/rating and the next will give it a real slagging off. So in the end you still end up not knowing whether its worth downloading or not. ------------------ Staffordshire - England (A CM-Free Zone) COMBAT MISSIONS- The Source For CM Ops & Scenarios WWW.COMBATMISSIONS.CO.UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juardis Posted June 30, 2000 Author Share Posted June 30, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Manx: How would the scenarios be "rated"???...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I was thinking that if you play a scenario to rank it by: Which side is it best to play first? Is it a 1-2 hour battle, 2-3, 3-4, longer? Do the victory objectives make sense/are they acheivable (subjective of course)? Immersion factor? e.g., no 14 inch guns in Germany Overall impression? e.g., I like Wiltz the best so far and would give that a 4.0 out of 5.0 (gotta leave room for a 5 star one if out there). Those are my thoughts. If enough people rank the scenario then you could average all the scores and come up with a composite score for that scenario which could then be compared to the composite score of other scenarios. Like I said in another thread, we could start with the canned scenarios on the CD and rate them. See what happens and ajdust accordingly. ------------------ Jeff Abbott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havermeyer Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 I disagree that a rating system would not provide some discernment of good/bad/ugly. Scenario creators love their build like a child, but some babies be ugly. These ugly babies I wanna keep at arm's length. As time goes on, good developers will be sought out (WBW for one). However, having a pseudo moderated scenario/operation repository would be helpful for people who have to husband their CM playing time. Plus having your scenario at the top of the heap might be good motivation. As far as criteria, I would include: 1) quality of immersion: sounds and scenes 2) balance of forces 3) reasonableness of objectives 4) replayability Whatever. The number of scenarios and operations are growing at an alarming rate-- which is great! Numerous web sites with scenarios is great-- but I want the mother ship culling the best of the best of the best, sir! ------------------ "That's some catch, that Catch-22." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madmatt Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 Such a system with full ranking and uplaod/download capability already exists on the Gamers Net under the Games Depot section. We DO have a Combat Mission depot setup but I am currently working with the Adminstrator to get it better implemented and functional. Currently people can upload but I can't verify the scenarios for download, DOH! It wont be too long and I will have it all setup and ready to go. For a sneak peak head over to: http://unix.thegamers.net/depot/depot.cgi?c=8&g=31&a=scenario&toplist=1&sortField=version.downloaded&maxrows=10 Trust me, it will look MUCHO different after I give it that 'Madmatt' touch! Madmatt ------------------ If it's in Combat Mission, it's on Combat Mission HQ! CMHQ-Annex, The Alternative side of Combat Mission Combat Mission HQ CMHQ-Annex Proud members of the Combat Mission WebRing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Bill Wilder Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 While I have no opposition to scenarios being rated, I wonder about the accuracy of such things. This is not math. It is not an exact science. Ratings are judgment calls. So the ratings depend on the quality of the judges as much as the quality of the scenario. Case in point. Judge A likes BIG scenarios. He plays a small quick play scenario. He does not like it because it is quick play. He gives it a bad review because he does not "like" it. Judge B is a history grognard. He plays a historical scenario. The name of the town is misspelled or there are three Tigers when his sources say there were two. "No good," he cries, and gives a Caesar-like "thumbs down." So if you can find a qualified unbiased group of judges, well and good, but judgment on scenarios is more than a number. It requires a description. So aspects of a scenario should be judged: Accuracy Size Balance Map Text Playability (is it fun?) And so forth. Just some thought for those who are preparing such a system. I DO think that a system of rating scenarios is needed. I'm just unsettled on what that system should be and include. For downloading purposes as you look for the best, the text file can be a good clue. Words misspelled can indicate carelessness, if in the text file then probably in the scenario. Innacuracies historically in the text file could be a sign of innacuracies in the scenario. An incomplete text file could be the forerunner of an incomplete scenario. In my mind, you CAN tell something about the book by the cover. Not always. A guy may be a poor speller but an excellent designer. He may not communicate well in writing, but he may have the "gift" of recreating excellent battles. Ultimately any download is a risk, a roll of the dice. It may look good, but play horribly. It is the chance you take when you start to play a new scenario. One likes green beans. Another likes English peas. I like the scenario. You won't. Good luck with the project, web site folks. It will not be an easy task. ------------------ Wild Bill Lead Tester/Designer Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord billw@matrixgames.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havermeyer Posted June 30, 2000 Share Posted June 30, 2000 Who are you? What can't you do, Madmatt? My biggest concern is with full fog-of-war, as there is a real danger of getting an hour or so into a ridiculous scenario-- and realizing the limited CM playing time could have been better spent elsewhere. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juardis Posted June 30, 2000 Author Share Posted June 30, 2000 WB, I agree that to each his own. I also agree that any ranking can be improved if you include the rankings for each component that makes up the composite ranking. That's more work though and I was just trying to make it easy for some poor schmuck to code. I'd love to pick the highest rated scenario that's 1) historical 2) short and 3) fun. But that's today. Tomorrow it might be 1) fictional 2)long 3) intelligent. Lacking that, one rank with some descriptions as to why it has that rank is the next best thing (IMHO). ------------------ Jeff Abbott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts