I tend to agree with people here, 4 stars is where it's at. Every arc will eventually find its way there, especially if it gets a lot of play.
Right now, I search the boards for arcs. If the people are willing to post, willing to include their arcs in their sigs, then I bet they tried to put a good arc together.
I also look for finished products, and not too difficult, so I tend to avoid AV arcs.
The Hero Simulator, Chapter 1, The Beta Tester
The Hero Simulator, Chapter 2, The Robot Mystery
More Info at....
https://boards.cityofheroes.com/show...0#Post13494207
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
No way am I gonna follow a crowd into a movie theater just to see Titanic.
[/ QUOTE ]
It sinks. A lot of people die.
Go see a movie with some suspense. 
And I do the same. I search for 4 stars only too.
Mr. O
[/ QUOTE ]
WHAT? Are you kidding? BEST make-out movie EVER!
I actually believe that there are still many people who don't realize that not voting is bad. Some get the interface, click on the stars and then realize they can't make up their minds and don't know how to un-vote. I actually got a tell from someone about my arc who told me that very thing.
If only more people actually read the tutorial text at the AE building instead of clicking through it for the reward... /e shrug
[ QUOTE ]
When I search for arcs to play, I only look at the 4 star ratings.
[/ QUOTE ]
I tend to agree. There might be a lot of great 5 star arcs out there, but if you're looking at a 5-star arc with a smaller number of plays or has been recently posted then you're probably looking the author's playtesters or their SG mates or something like that and the quality you find in playing it is going to vary. A 4-star that's got a fair number of plays or some longevity is more likely to be a quality effort.
I think mine is somewhere between 40-70 plays (at most), rated at 4 stars, but I know I've gotten plenty of compliments and 5 star ratings from those who have commented.
Fact is that if you want 5 stars, you can't ever have anyone rate it anything but 5 stars. Everyone, everywhere, has to think its perfect - or there has to be some corruption in how/why it was rated.
"...his madness keeps him sane.": My Profile on VirtueVerse
Can You WIN the Internet? MA Arc #85544
Inhuman Resources - At Work with IE #298132
Task Force Mutternacht #349522 <-- 1st AE Challenge
I agree, my arc hit page one for a few hours while I happened to be online. It was nice for a while seeing 25 tickets, 25 tickets, 15 tickets, 25 tickets, someone has voted on your arc, 15 tickets, 25 tickets, ... nothing... for a couple days...
It's just a matter of keeping up with advertising. There's always someone out there that hasn't played your arc. There's a forum full of reviewers looking for new arcs to play. There's a thread for arc recommendations. These are only a small portion of the game's population though. The front page is really where you get most of your plays. My arc for an example Ctrl + Alt + Reset. It sits in the top arcs on CoH Mission Review website, I've gotten several recommendations in the arc recommendations thread, many glowing feedback tells and... 112 plays. A lot compared to people who don't do much advertising, but nowhere near the 999+ that many arcs out there have. And how do they get 999+? Because many of them were on the front page of the MA. That's what gets plays by the average non-forum regular player.
How do you get your arc found in the first place? I mean, it starts automatically with 0 stars anyway, so how do you get it out there in the first place? Just publish it and hope to god that someone finds is among the hundreds of other arcs out there?
[ QUOTE ]
I tend to agree with people here, 4 stars is where it's at.
[/ QUOTE ]Four is the new five. Pass it on.
There is way too much garbage on MA to really find much good stuff. The DEV's choices don't impress and it seems a ton of weak missions have high stars probably because friends have been rating for friends (in a bias/positive kind of way).
Anyway, when MA went live they really should have wiped all ratings clean and started fresh. Mistake one. They also should have 3 MA buildings a side plus RWZ and Pocket D. Too many buildings so people flood to one area. Seems like Vills hit Cap and heroes FLOOD Atlas.
In my 1.5 years here, there have been very few good additions to the game. MA is one of them but it was poorly implemented. The rating system not being wiped clean is one of the many issues.
This thread is rated 4 stars, rofl.
[ QUOTE ]
Anyway, when MA went live they really should have wiped all ratings clean and started fresh. Mistake one.
[/ QUOTE ]
What the heck are you talking about? The Dev Choice arcs (and not even all of them) where the only ones that were moved from Test to Live when MA went live. All those other arcs had to be published from scratch on Live and all started a 0-stars like anyone else publishing today.
[ QUOTE ]
They also should have 3 MA buildings a side plus RWZ and Pocket D. Too many buildings so people flood to one area. Seems like Vills hit Cap and heroes FLOOD Atlas.
[/ QUOTE ]
So your solution for overcrowding is LESS buildings? What?
[ QUOTE ]
They also should have 3 MA buildings a side plus RWZ and Pocket D. Too many buildings so people flood to one area. Seems like Vills hit Cap and heroes FLOOD Atlas.
[/ QUOTE ]
Er, no. I like my nearly empty buildings in Kings Row, Talos, Port Oakes and St Martial.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
They also should have 3 MA buildings a side plus RWZ and Pocket D. Too many buildings so people flood to one area. Seems like Vills hit Cap and heroes FLOOD Atlas.
[/ QUOTE ]
Er, no. I like my nearly empty buildings in Kings Row, Talos, Port Oakes and St Martial.
[/ QUOTE ]
Er, yes. I also like my nearly empty buildings in places other than Atlas. But that doesn't mean that Atlas ISN'T flooded with heroes. It is. (We're just not bothered by it because we're smart enough to go elsewhere.) 
In general, I seek out 4-star rated missions, in sympathy with my fellow authors. Do the same, spread the word. Make 4 the new 5.
Virtue Server-
MA: (All SFMA, all technically long/very long, but all play quickly)
#200411 "Exploding Planet" (I apologize in advance for the final mission, but in all likelihood, the planet will explode.)
#144416 "Shadow of Grime Alley"
#161003 "You Don't Know Beanstalk, Jack"
[ QUOTE ]
In general, I seek out 4-star rated missions, in sympathy with my fellow authors. Do the same, spread the word. Make 4 the new 5.
[/ QUOTE ]
Totally off topic (sorry), but as a lifelong Fantastic Four fan, I gotta tell you that I think your name is GREAT! 
Now... back to our thread ...
[ QUOTE ]
How do you get your arc found in the first place? I mean, it starts automatically with 0 stars anyway, so how do you get it out there in the first place? Just publish it and hope to god that someone finds is among the hundreds of other arcs out there?
[/ QUOTE ]
When I published my second story it was zero stars but still got played and rated 5 stars within 24 hours. I was shocked. People are looking. Once it got onto the front page it started gaining lots of plays and votes.
Other than getting lucky like that, you can run it with your friends or advertise here on the forum to try and get that first vote. If those votes are kind and get you up on the first page then you should get the majority of your plays until it gets voted downward. That inevitability and the emotions that go with publishing arcs are what this thread is all about.
[ QUOTE ]
This thread is rated 4 stars, rofl.
[/ QUOTE ]
ROFL!! That is so funny.
When you have three slots to offer and there are 6 digits of arc numbers out there (who knows how many active missions though, but I'm betting it's north of 5 digits) there is practically no way to NOT get lost in the crowd. Even if all the zero rates get clobbered, as they will with I15, all that'll happen is a big block of 5-stars will rise to the top like a pumice stone in the bathtub. The block may be smaller than the current mor4ss, but it'll still be a giant solid block with your mission trapped somewhere inside. There isn't even any single "Leonard Maltin" type person around who's played through and reviewed a sizable fraction of all extant missions, let alone multiple such people to provide differing perspectives, and given that many times missions change to take the reviews into account...
In the "stories and lore" forum there's a listing of ways to promote your arcs. I think an individual server's "mission architect" channel may also see some use there, once I15 hits. I'm doing my best to put up reviews at this one site I kinda like but it's looking pretty lonely right now.
But even then. There's going to be a lot of people you never reach, and a lot of people using the same channels as you. Just take it slow, take everyone's feedback as seriously as you can, keep working, keep promoting, and always look for new ways to get the word out.
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)
http://www.YTMND.com should be looked at for the similar problems they have with what they call downvoting, and how it differs from the CoH system which leads to it functioning.
It's a five star based system and often great content gets downvoted by people who don't take the time to appreciate it, or in many cases people are just griefing (Some people are motivated to downvote in order to make their own stuff rise higher too).
So why don't the downvoters drag down good stuff into obscurity? Because total average score is not the primary filter by which people discover new content.
There are many filters for content that appear on the front page:
1. "up and coming". Once levels reach a certain threshold of votes or views, and a threshold of average votes, they rest on this area for a while and are immune to immediate downvoting, allowing good voters to outweigh a few downvoters if the content is worthwhile.
2. Top view today/top viewed this week. This could be top played in CoH, and would be a standard that is independant of downvoting.
3. A running roster of the newest created content, for people who are willing to try out new stuff looking for new gems.
4. "Worthwhile". This is a random listing that draws off a pool of all the content that has reached a certain threshold of views/votes/rating (basically everything that reaches the level of up and coming, and then stays at that level, as a chance of getting "re-run" randomly in this window). The great thing about this filter is that you're always guaranteed to get good content, but it's stuff you otherwise never would have come across because it had dropped off the daily trackings.
5. Preferred user listings. People who are singled out for having consistant and regular content get their own section of up and coming. This stuff tends to be of much better quality than the random up and coming everything else posts.
The site also offers a myriad of other ways to filter and sort the mainpage according to your preferences.
Notice they do allow you to sort stuff based on flat out average rating, and total all time views, but these lists rarely ever move. That's why they are not the best to base the CoH rating display on.
But it does make a good kind of "all star" list where newer players can go back to look at all the best of the best.
Hmmmm... PORTAL CORPS NEEDS YOU! I.D.# 84088 and ALL IN A DAYS WORK FOR A SUPER HERO I.D.# 213400. Hoping for 4 stars....Happy Gaming
whats bad about 4 stars? 4 stars out of 5 is a solid quality rating in the hotel/restauraunt industry last I checked.
besides. this isnt caused by griefers. the law of averages pretty much states that unless you get nothing but 5 star ratings from everyone, maintaining a 5 star rating is next to impossible.
Want comedy and lighthearted action? Between levels 1-14? Try Nuclear in 90 - The Fusionette Task Force!
Arc ID 58363!
I didn't say 4 stars was bad. I said it made me sad and disappointed to have my arc with 49 votes and 5 stars drop down to 4 on the 50th vote that was apparently a 1 or 2-star vote. It took my arc from page 1 to page 12.
I think 4 stars is a fine score, it was just an emotional response i.e. the blues.
Technically it could have been a 3 Star
221 / 49 = 4.51 = 5
224 / 50 = 4.48 = 4
//AtCbM// www.crystalblue.dk
Victory - Mare,Dagger of Pain,Keep,Hogun and Bloodpetal
The Keep-Arcs: 164260, 188373, 192610, 196090 and funny side-chapter 218575.
Mender-Arc: 266163
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
All 3 of mine are now languishing in 4 star land, and haven't been played in weeks.....
[/ QUOTE ]
Interesting. Did you mention their numbers in this post? Nope, do you have them in your sig, nope. But let's just ignore that and play it up to people not playing your mishes.
And this is everyones fault and we should care why?
You see people like LaserJesus and PW constanly advertising their arcs, and their hits show. No one said it was going to be an instant gravy train. They put alot of effort into promoting their arcs, you may want to take a mission clue from them.
I'm in the same position, I need to advertise mine more, but I sure as hell at least know the problem.
[/ QUOTE ]
The name of this thread is "4 stars blues..., I said all 3 of mine are 4 stars.
I did not "Blame anyone, Cry about having them all at 4, State a cause or effect of why they were 4's, or anything else for that matter.
I simply stated that they were, and that they had not been played in weeks.
You point the finger much?
I did advertise here in 3 different threads on a regular basis, but thats not really your point is it? You just have the "Love to point finger syndrome" and facts wouldn't matter to you.
You fail at trying to make your point, when you have no clue what your talking about other then, " I guess I need to argue on the internet so here I go pointing fingers and having no clue what I'm talking about
True... but I received no tickets. I realize now that you can get a good score without getting tickets but at the time it happened I didn't know that so "apparently" it was a 1 or 2 star vote.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How do you get your arc found in the first place? I mean, it starts automatically with 0 stars anyway, so how do you get it out there in the first place? Just publish it and hope to god that someone finds is among the hundreds of other arcs out there?
[/ QUOTE ]
When I published my second story it was zero stars but still got played and rated 5 stars within 24 hours. I was shocked. People are looking. Once it got onto the front page it started gaining lots of plays and votes.
Other than getting lucky like that, you can run it with your friends or advertise here on the forum to try and get that first vote. If those votes are kind and get you up on the first page then you should get the majority of your plays until it gets voted downward. That inevitability and the emotions that go with publishing arcs are what this thread is all about.
[/ QUOTE ]
Up until a few weeks ago, I'd only search through the "unrated" pile. I figured I'd be doing folks a favor by "discovering" good arcs that might otherwise go unnoticed, and putting them on the map. (Also, I was under the misconception that "unrated" meant more nudity.)
The problem was, I'd spend twenty minutes sifting through pages trying to find an arc description that was well written and sounded interesting. It was too much of a hassle, so I switched to 4-stars and now I get a lot more play time in.
Larry: Owen, what the hell did you do to my wife?
Owen: Well I don't want to say on the phone - all I can tell you is that I killed her last night.
[ QUOTE ]
Ah well, it was fun and exciting while it lasted. Besides, I originally made it for my friends and not for mass consumption anyway. I'll keep telling myself that.
[/ QUOTE ]
What you should be telling yourself is that if 3 stars is an average arc then 4 stars is an above average arc. That means that enough people really like your arc to keep it above average.
When I wrote my arc I did so with the understanding that a 5 star rating would be statistically unlikely if enough people played the arc. Just the different likes and dislikes of people would eventually drive it out of 5 star position.
In a subjective world nothing can be perfect. 5 stars would mean perfect for everyone. Just look at the editor ratings for various games out there, most companies are happy if they get an 8 or 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 because it's all averaged from a bunch of factors (like graphics, story, innovation, packaging, UI, etc., etc., etc.).
So be happy with a 4 because it really means you're doing well.