Almost all mods has a 10 rating

[Jared2500]

Whenever I'm browsing mods, I've noticed that most mods have an average between 9 and 10. This makes it very difficult to determine which mods are actually GREAT rather than GOOD. There are many buggy mods that have 10 ratings, and I think that's ridiculous. I think people need to start rating files more strictly, in order to determine if a mod is download worthy. Also, so the author can know how much more work needs to be put into the file to recieve a higher rating. There's no point in having a rating system if all the files are going to be the same. I think we all need to make an effort to rate these files more accurately in order to separate the best from the average. Who's with me?

[ALkamar]

I only vote on good mods, I don't vote on bad ones, prolly because if it is THAT bad I don't download it... so I don't actually know for sure :P

[nosisab]

This is an interesting question. If I could vote my own mod I would give it a 8. It does what is said, it is well coded (at least I think if no one comment it is because they don't use or it really doesn't have bigger flaws) and use a third part work model I gave a 10 with hearth. Yet it is a simple mod, that don't really modify the game for bad or for good. So giving it a 8 is saying it is one of the mods is worth having but reserving higher rates to those amazing complex and inspired works. Besides I don't vote mods I don't like or I find flawed but not damaging to the game. Rather I post in the comments alerting that flaw where I detect it, hoping this will be fixed.

The ones that are just childish I permit myself a small laughing and go to the next, don't load it so I can't even rate it.

But if I see one that is conceptually flawed, data damaging or something like this I'm sure I'll vote it bad. Just need, yet, to see one of this kind.

[SpacemanSpIiff]

A good way to tell which mods are actually the best is to glance at the top 100. But i know exactly what you mean. There are alot of good mods out there that only got a few reveiws, and its a shame. Arcane archery happens to be one, thats an amazing mod.

 

And the same can almost be said about the pictures, people throw 10's at them way too easily, especially since 8 out of 10 pictures on tesnexus involve a female character in a pose and some scenery. Its really repetetive, bland, and boring now. Especially since A) every female character looks the same. B) Theres hundreds of pictures, and only a few pose mods, i see the same poses all the time.

 

What bugs me the most is i've seen GREAT pictures not get the ratings or veiws they deserve is because they are sandwhiched between 2 pictures of some scantily clad female doing god knows what! browse the latest images and youll see what i mean.

 

It seems to get an easy 10 on this site is to dress your volumptuos female in something that shows alot of skin, if she even decides to wear clothes, pose her somewhere grassy, get a nice sunset in the backround, and BAM. The choir of applause cheers on.

 

I myself dont hand out 10's so easily to pictures, and that seems to have gotten some people angry. :rolleyes:

[Sypron]

I think people start to forget what a rating means. In a perfect world, people would vote on EVERY mod they download, not just the ones they like. That way, bad and mediocre mods will get a suitable rating. Also, like you said, people need to think more about what the mod should receive.

It depends on what criteria a mod should be rated. Its in the eyes of the beholder. Some vote for looks, quality, technical proficiency. I myself try to vote for all aspects of a mod, yet I find myself only voting for the mods I like.

I think in future I will vote for more mods as I use them. Thanks for opening my eyes.

 

Pictures, on the other hand, I don't really care as much for. Unless you get kicks from pouring over hundreds of them, the votes don't really matter. And, its not fair to go to every 'burlesque' picture and rate it poorly, so that can't be helped.

[Vagrant0]

Long story short, votes will always be screwed up because everyone making them uses different criteria, and in most cases, people want their mods to be voted higher. There is no easy way to have a seperation between good and great mods without making good mods have a lower score than great mods, semi-good mods with a lower score than good mods, average mods with a lower score than semi-good mods, and so on. By that, 80-90% of mods uploaded would be in the 4-7 range. If you got a 4-7 on a mod you spent a month on, just because it wasn't as "great" as some other mod, or was designed to fix some bug, or add a new area, or new equipment, wouldn't you be a little peaved? Wouldn't you be even more peaved when you saw someone getting a higher rating for their 5 minute retex of a skimpy armor, where the screenshots took longer to put together than the mod?

 

The only real solution for this sort of thing is to just use mods that people recommend, and ignore ratings entirely. Most the time, you're looking for a mod which adds some specific thing, like new areas, in which case, asking for a recommendation can go a long way.

[finniksa]

You're right - but to be fair, I only vote on mods I think are a 9 or 10. If it's worth a 5, I just won't rate it. And also, tons of people rate mods a 1 just because they couldn't get their mod working, and often that's not even the mod's problem. So they get a boost from rating bloats, but also a couple kicks.

 

I go by #downloaded and comments, but also on recommendation lists and the mod's readme. Rating is one of the last things I consider.

[Jared2500]

Werd, most people rate based on pictures. Not to mention all the naked chicks you can dl, who all look the same. The ratings system is basically useless, and the bad thing about top 100 is it still doesn't show you how to find NEW good mods. I think the best solution would be would be a staff rating system, kind of like the one Cnet has; where the staff will rate certain files that shine over the rest. Just a suggestion.

[LHammonds]

If you are looking at mods purely based on ratings, you are missing out on a LOT of information.

 

Every piece of information you see should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

When I look at a mod page to figure out if I want to download and try it out, I look at these things:

 

- Which game is it? Morrowind or Oblivion

- Which category? Weapons and Armor? Cool....Cheats? meh....

- Is it by an author I like?

- How many kudos does the author have?

- What version is it? BETA, 1.0, 5.68?

- How long has the mod been available?

- How many downloads have there been in relation to the amount of time available?

- What is the overall rating?

- How many votes have been made? (2 votes or 222 votes?)

- What is in the description?

- How large is the attached file?

- How many files are there?

- Are there translations available? (could be a sign of a well-liked mod)

- What do the images look like?

- What kind and how many comments are there?

- What info can I glean from the action log? (regular / infrequent updates)

- What tags have been configured that give extra insight as to what is contained in the mod?

- Is this mod on a recommendation lists?

- Has the mod been voted for in "Mods of the Month" or not?

- Does the mod show up in the top 100 list?

 

I usually do not need to check each of these items but knowing about them allows me to quickly check what I want to know about a mod in order to either download it, review it, help the author out or move on.

 

EDIT: One more thing...how can you tell if a mod is "worthy" to me? You might put an emphasis on gameplay. I might put an emphasis on modeling or texture technique. The next joe might be interested only in storyline or lore or whether it is related to anime or not. ;)

 

LHammonds

[nosisab]

How can I justify low rating a mod that don't screw or mess my game other than saying: I don't like it?

And really this is not a good justification. Modders aren't professional people (at least in this matter) so is just fair one show appraise for something they give for free. But is unfair one judging the work for particular criteria, maybe someone else like it. I prefer relying in the comments that in the rating. And above all this in my own judgment, even and mainly when I'll keep it for myself.