Forums > News > New iPhone MobyGoal; new MobyPoints rewards for descriptions!
Simon Carless (1834) on 8/20/2017 3:23 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Two small updates: firstly, we've updated the MobyGoal to be 4,500 iPhone games, because we made it to 4,000 so easily! (Sorry to those who helped us get there - it's just a bit further to this new goal :P)
Secondly, after some notes on the rewards for ad blurbs vs. descriptions, all handwritten descriptions are now worth 4 MobyPoints on the website (so 3 more points than previously). This is also retroactively applied, I believe. Hope this'll help encourage.. there may also be an additional modifier for complexity in the future.
Patrick Bregger (301035) on 8/20/2017 5:11 AM · Permalink · Report
Is the length modification Tracy mentioned in the previous discussion still coming? I wonder because the idea was to make the base value four points so its the same as for a a revision replacement.
Tracy Poff (2094) on 8/20/2017 6:53 AM · Permalink · Report
Is the length modification Tracy mentioned in the previous discussion still coming?
Yeah, that's still planned.
I wonder because the idea was to make the base value four points so its the same as for a a revision replacement.
Sorry, this is my mistake. I had on my todo list only 'make description point changes' and when Simon asked to me to push out that and the mobygoal update, I didn't double-check the discussion to make sure I had the numbers straight. It should indeed be the same as replacements.
Simon, if you wouldn't mind updating your news post to the correct value, I'll fix that oversight.
Simon Carless (1834) on 8/20/2017 12:59 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
No probs, edited :) Tracy, can you remind me/everyone again what additional modifier we were considering?
Tracy Poff (2094) on 8/20/2017 3:14 PM · Permalink · Report
The details aren't set in stone, but the gist of it is this:
By default a description should be worth 4 points.
For longer descriptions (at least half a page), some additional points will be awarded, corresponding to the additional length, up to a maximum of 4 bonus points.
The exact range that will get the extra points still needs some discussion, and perhaps we could even penalize very short descriptions by a point or two, if desired (since our standards specify more thorough descriptions should be written).
In any case, this will be an automated system based on word count (really, character count).
piltdown_man (236150) on 8/20/2017 3:34 PM · Permalink · Report
I've no problem with longer descriptions earning more points but I do have an issue with short descriptions incurring penalty points.
I kinda like documenting old shareware games that, in my opinion, would otherwise be forgotten. That being said there's really not much to say about some of them - how do you describe yet another Tic-Tac-Toe game with enough words/characters so as not to incur a penalty? Do we want every solitaire game to have the complete rules cut and pasted into the description just to increase the word/character count?
Rewarding the extra effort taken to do justice to the description of a big and complex game is a good thing, I'm fine with that but not every game merits that level of detail and the submitter should neither be penalised nor encouraged to pad out their description as a result.
Tracy Poff (2094) on 8/20/2017 5:50 PM · Permalink · Report
Rewarding the extra effort taken to do justice to the description of a big and complex game is a good thing, I'm fine with that but not every game merits that level of detail and the submitter should neither be penalised nor encouraged to pad out their description as a result.
That seems reasonable to me. Since there had been some concern expressed that the point values would be over-inflated, I just wanted to indicate that any arrangement of bonus points based on length is possible--even negative 'bonuses'.
My preferred solution would be to have no negative points, but just to WIP/reject descriptions that don't meet the minimum standard, since, as you say, relying on word count alone can't perfectly fit every situation.
vedder (70822) on 8/23/2017 7:14 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start piltdown_man wrote--]I've no problem with longer descriptions earning more points but I do have an issue with short descriptions incurring penalty points.
I kinda like documenting old shareware games that, in my opinion, would otherwise be forgotten. That being said there's really not much to say about some of them - how do you describe yet another Tic-Tac-Toe game with enough words/characters so as not to incur a penalty? Do we want every solitaire game to have the complete rules cut and pasted into the description just to increase the word/character count?
Rewarding the extra effort taken to do justice to the description of a big and complex game is a good thing, I'm fine with that but not every game merits that level of detail and the submitter should neither be penalised nor encouraged to pad out their description as a result. [/Q --end piltdown_man wrote--]
hear hear
Kam1Kaz3NL77 (569120) on 8/20/2017 7:15 PM · Permalink · Report
The retro-active points do show up in your personal stats and the top of the page, not yet in the overall point standings... Is that correct?
Tracy Poff (2094) on 8/20/2017 7:25 PM · Permalink · Report
They should be showing up everywhere at this point. I see you as having 43509 points, which places you 32nd on the all-time total points leaderboard. This also appears to be the correct value according to your number of contributions.
Note that you might have seen an outdated value before I updated the points again today. If you see anything that doesn't match up after this point, then let me know.
Victor Vance (18100) on 8/23/2017 11:02 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Simon Carless wrote--]Secondly, after some notes on the rewards for ad blurbs vs. descriptions, all handwritten descriptions are now worth 4 MobyPoints on the website[/Q --end Simon Carless wrote--]
That will be quite a surprise for members returning after a longer absence.
Kam1Kaz3NL77 (569120) on 8/25/2017 9:35 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Victor Vance wrote--] [Q2 --start Simon Carless wrote--]Secondly, after some notes on the rewards for ad blurbs vs. descriptions, all handwritten descriptions are now worth 4 MobyPoints on the website [/Q2 --end Simon Carless wrote--]
That will be quite a surprise for members returning after a longer absence. [/Q --end Victor Vance wrote--]
It was even a surprise for me, and i come back to the website daily. But, then again, i'm easily surprised :p
vileyn0id_8088 (21040) on 8/25/2017 10:17 AM · Permalink · Report
A big thank-you for making this change. Descriptions are often the most time-consuming part of documenting a game, so it's nice to see them recognized a little more proportionally.