A question to those who rate mods in ModHub

[olahaldor]

My mods are not the best rated, nor are they the worst rated.
I do question though, what makes you rate what you rate?

I'm sure you have an opinion about the mod, but I am, as all other modders, in the dark. We see the number of ratings. We see the rating go down over time. Why?

I would like to get in touch with you, good or bad opinions. What can I do to improve my mods?

These are my mods on ModHub

[Illinois Farmer]

If you download you can rate it. Therefore, some mods get rated really high just because of the name of the modder. Sometimes a mod gets slam for just having one little thing wrong with it. If I download a mod and it works then I give it a 5.

[SimpleFarmer]

I only rate mods I really like and give them a 5 star. If I think a mod is so terrible and needs removed from modhub I'd give it a 1 star but I think I've only done that once in like 4 years. Normally if I don't like it I just leave it for other players.
I think the rating is kinda broken tho because the highest rated mod is the government subsidy mod... which isn't a very high quality mod, just a money cheat. So the rating doesn't really mean much.

[ASOLANDRI]

I rate them 5 stars if mods work correctly, and if I like it. If there's minor bugs, It'll probably be around 3-4 stars. If the mod doesn't work or I don't really like it, mostly 1.

Sometimes I always forget to rate it.

[Eische]

The current rating system is useless. It can only show a general trend.
If you see a rating below 3, that typically means something is wrong with the mod. Most likely (partially) not working or creating problems with other mods.
If those issues are resolved with an update, rating goes up and and beyond 4 stars usually rather quickly.

Yes, there might be haters, there might be lovers of specific modders or specific types of mods. The problem is that you don't have to leave a comment while you rate a mod.

Looking at your mods, the lowest rating is 4.3 stars. I would not count it as average, more like way above average.

Let's use the forestry bridge pack as example:
Those bridges are great because they are bridges. The offer a new feature to the game and allow for more interesting landscape. Nevertheless there are a few things coming to my mind that might explain the rating of "only" 4.4 stars:
- not enough different lengths available
- the green grass on top might look odd to some people
- placement might not work as expected
- the start/end ramps might be too steep/high so you can not drive over them with high speed

I did not see an entry in the modhub bug report section. That is already a good sign as it shows there is no critical issue that would motivate players to write such a report.

My advice:
You could create a feedback thread for your mods to gather opinions.
For productions, you could add a second version with more storage/capacity. That seems to be one of the major points with the base game productions. And you could add the productions details (rates/storage/...) to the description. This way everyone can read it before buying/placing it.
Add color choice for example to the rocks. Not every rock is just grey.

PS: I'm really looking forward to your map.

[deerefarm]

Oh boy that's a loaded question. For me it really depends on the mod and what it does and what it is... If it's a great mod like Siid's John Deere Pack, or that adds lots of new features especially for those of us in the America's I gave them 5 stars. However the 8R mod and the 7R mods that were merely a "conversion" of the Giant's models for FS19, I didn't rate nearly so highly.
I haven't downloaded any of your mods my friend, I'm sorry. But I will use your "big bags" as an example and they do absolutely nothing for me, unless as someone has already pointed out, they offer either more capacity or better prices than the ones we have in game otherwise it's just one more thing cluttering up my mod folder that I'll end up deleting. (If they do add more, you should mention that in the description)
If I'm going through my mods a deleting "stuff" that's usually when I rate it. Where as if I find something WOW like the Versatile Pack, I'll rate it immediately after I make sure it works even though I'll probably never use it even if it's not green, it has a spot in my mod folder.
Now having said that, don't let the ratings get you down. Even someone like 82 Studio's started somewhere and look where he is now. Keep at it and keep it fresh.

P.S. For the record I also don't understand why the government subsidy sign get's rated so highly....

[DEERE318]

As it is, the rating system is pointless, since you don't know why a particular rating is selected. There's no way to know what to improve, or if it even needs improvement.
There should be a required description to go with each rating.
A high rating might be from a buddy, a fan, based on desired functionality, high quality, or who knows what reason.
A low rating might be from a competitor, an enemy, lacking desired functionality, low quality, or who knows what reason.

[DEERE318]

...

P.S. For the record I also don't understand why the government subsidy sign get's rated so highly....

I suspect there's a lot of people who aren't interested in the grind, and just want money to buy all the equipment so they can play with it.
When I was a kid, if there had been a game like this, I would have used the money cheat for sure.
For the record, E.T. on Atari didn't have a money cheat that I'm aware of.

[deerefarm]

...

P.S. For the record I also don't understand why the government subsidy sign get's rated so highly....

I suspect there's a lot of people who aren't interested in the grind, and just want money to buy all the equipment so they can play with it.
When I was a kid, if there had been a game like this, I would have used the money cheat for sure.
For the record, E.T. on Atari didn't have a money cheat that I'm aware of.

No it certainly did not, nor did Ghostbusters on the old C64. And you're right the about rush to make money. I did start a new map on Erlengrat and Haut Beyleron to find the collectables, but once I had the achievement I deleted the save game. On my own maps there are no game cartridges in the garage and no collectable toy in the toy store. But I do farm silage like it's going out of style.
Mind you "One Lonely Farmer" seems to make a decent amount of money just bailing hay and selling it to the mushroom factory.

[olahaldor]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about ratings. I just don't know what the numbers mean.

(...) since you don't know why a particular rating is selected. There's no way to know what to improve, or if it even needs improvement.
There should be a required description to go with each rating.

You are on point, mister! I agree, I would like a little heads up why someone rate low. Could be "this mod is not intuitive to use". That would be very helpful feedback. I can't make my mods better if I don't know why people dislike them. I can't improve as a 'user experience designer' if I can call it that, if I don't know why your experience is bad.


I'll reply and explain a little on this one.

Let's use the forestry bridge pack as example:
Those bridges are great because they are bridges. The offer a new feature to the game and allow for more interesting landscape. Nevertheless there are a few things coming to my mind that might explain the rating of "only" 4.4 stars:
- not enough different lengths available
- the green grass on top might look odd to some people
- placement might not work as expected
- the start/end ramps might be too steep/high so you can not drive over them with high speed

(...)
Add color choice for example to the rocks. Not every rock is just grey.

(...)

PS: I'm really looking forward to your map.

I talked to professionals who build and use these kind of bridges in real life. 3m to 7m is common. The 20m bridge just would not happen in real life. But I added it because it can make it more usable in Farming Sim.
The grass you mention is in fact branches. They put it on there to add traction and to not damage the logs underneath so they can be picked up after use and sold with the rest of the harvest.
Re placement, it can be a bit finicky. I admit that. I have tried many ways and there's no way I can control it more than I do.
I made the bridges adapt to the underlying terrain so it can be used in many ways, not just a static 100% flat position.
The start and end ramps are like I saw in real life photos of such bridges. You may adapt by sculpting the terrain a little.
You do NOT drive on these bridges at high speed. If that's your goal, use some other bridges.

The rocks are from the default maps. All I've done is make them available for you. I see your point about more colors but that's not the point of this pack at the moment. More colors would also clutter the construction menu even more (which I'm not a fan of)

And thank you! Appreciate the interest in the map!
The birth of the bridge pack was actually based on a few ravines or ditches found on the map which I found I'd like to traverse while playtesting in a forestry area. I reached out to a few avid players who also happen to drive forwarders in real life to get some input and reference photos.

[Eische]

I'll reply and explain a little on this one.

Let's use the forestry bridge pack as example:
Those bridges are great because they are bridges. The offer a new feature to the game and allow for more interesting landscape. Nevertheless there are a few things coming to my mind that might explain the rating of "only" 4.4 stars:
- not enough different lengths available
- the green grass on top might look odd to some people
- placement might not work as expected
- the start/end ramps might be too steep/high so you can not drive over them with high speed

(...)
Add color choice for example to the rocks. Not every rock is just grey.

(...)

PS: I'm really looking forward to your map.

I talked to professionals who build and use these kind of bridges in real life. 3m to 7m is common. The 20m bridge just would not happen in real life. But I added it because it can make it more usable in Farming Sim.
The grass you mention is in fact branches. They put it on there to add traction and to not damage the logs underneath so they can be picked up after use and sold with the rest of the harvest.
Re placement, it can be a bit finicky. I admit that. I have tried many ways and there's no way I can control it more than I do.
I made the bridges adapt to the underlying terrain so it can be used in many ways, not just a static 100% flat position.
The start and end ramps are like I saw in real life photos of such bridges. You may adapt by sculpting the terrain a little.
You do NOT drive on these bridges at high speed. If that's your goal, use some other bridges.

The rocks are from the default maps. All I've done is make them available for you. I see your point about more colors but that's not the point of this pack at the moment. More colors would also clutter the construction menu even more (which I'm not a fan of)

And thank you! Appreciate the interest in the map!
The birth of the bridge pack was actually based on a few ravines or ditches found on the map which I found I'd like to traverse while playtesting in a forestry area. I reached out to a few avid players who also happen to drive forwarders in real life to get some input and reference photos.

Hi olahaldor. Thank you for quick reply.
I might have worded it badly, sorry for that!

I did not want to criticize your mods. I was just thinking about possible reasons why other players might give a bad rating. I know that you are dedicated to have your mods realistic as possible. And I really appreciate this. But most players are not focused on realism and therefore expect more arcade like behavior. In case of the bridge for example the driving speed thing.

Not sure if console players are even able to sculpt the terrain that close to placed objects.

So long story short:
Your mods are awesome, but your dedication to reality might not work for all players. Not every expectation is met which is causing some bad ratings.

[olahaldor]

Fair points. Thanks for clarifying

[Crashmac]

I haven't used your mods specifically but if I rate a mod it gets a 5 if it looks good and everything works as it should, a 4 if it has minor issues but is still useable. Its very rare that I rate below a 4, If I try it and don't like the mod or it doesn't function the way I was hoping but doesn't have issues I will usually just uninstall it and not rate it, I wouldn't want to affect a modder because of my style of gameplay.

[FarmCatJenkins]

There really should be a drop down menu when you rate a mod to let the modder know why you rated it that way. This response could feed right back to the modder's mod list in the login page. Would definitely help with some of the lower rated mods to get them updated if the modder cares to.

[mackintosh]

I don't rate mods I don't use, so I can't comment on your specific mods. Generally, I will award a five to a mod that I would daily. Four, if it has some minor issues, but it's still perfectly serviceable. Three for a mod that is good, and useful, but doesn't really add anything to the game that isn't already offered by default in-game items. Twos and ones are reserved for mods with glaring issues and those that cause errors. Unfortunately, since we cannot comment on mods, handing out a two or a one is the only way of drawing the modder's attention to a problem. It is not a satisfactory solution, and I hope one day GIANTS will allow commenting.