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Cool Levels getting fixed / updated - now 'fixed'

Archive: 209 posts

Spaff recently posted this on the LBW...

Hey all,

I just wanted to pop along to say that we are aware of the issue with Cool Levels at the moment, and are working to fix it!
Hold on to your hats, it might take a little while longer, but we think we've worked out the best way of addressing it now.

cheers!

J.
http://forums.littlebigworkshop.com/t5/General-Discussion/Cool-Levels-we-re-working-on-it/m-p/267793/highlight/true#M144755

So, yeah.
Rejoice?
2010-07-05 13:26:00

Author:
mnimmo1986
Posts: 552

Huzzah! That will make quite a few folks happy!

Not that I usually look, but sometimes curiosity gets the best of me and have to take a peek how bad the train wreck has become. Thanks for the news!		2010-07-05 13:53:00

Author:
jwwphotos
Posts: 11383

Allowing only one level per author on the Cool Levels would already go a long way towards fixing it. Let's hope Mm have found a good solution this time around... 2010-07-05 14:28:00

Author:
Gilgamesh
Posts: 2536

Not to be a buzzkill, but didn't they say that already a while back?
Actually Rhy already mentioned it 3 weeks ago...
https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=28531-Media-Molecule-s-stance-on-the-Cool-Pages.&highlight=Cool+Pages
So...yeah.
...
*Runs		2010-07-05 14:35:00

Author:
Silverleon
Posts: 6707

Good to know 2010-07-05 14:41:00

Author:
CYBERSNAKE
Posts: 280

Not to be a buzzkill, but didn't they say that already a while back?
Actually Rhy already mentioned it 3 weeks ago...
https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=28531-Media-Molecule-s-stance-on-the-Cool-Pages.&highlight=Cool+Pages
So...yeah.
...
*Runs

Not really... this was an updated message that says they have a plan of attack now. 		2010-07-05 14:52:00

Author:
jwwphotos
Posts: 11383

cool levels doesnt really bother me, but i'm all for anything that will shut up all the whiners.

no offense, whiners.		2010-07-05 14:56:00

Author:
monstahr
Posts: 1361

Had a look earlier at the aforementioned trainwreck, there were only three authors.2010-07-05 14:56:00

Author:
croissantbuncake
Posts: 572

Not really... this was an updated message that says they have a plan of attack now.

Ah i see, nvm then.


cool levels doesnt really bother me, but i'm all for anything that will shut up all the whiners.

no offense, whiners.

I second that!. 		2010-07-05 15:04:00

Author:
Silverleon
Posts: 6707

cool levels doesnt really bother me, but i'm all for anything that will shut up all the whiners.

no offense, whiners.

None taken.

Now there's no need for this.

*Puts down shotgun*		2010-07-05 15:06:00

Author:
talbot-trembler
Posts: 1114

im sad... now i don't have an excuse for when my level doesn't make it! 2010-07-05 15:08:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

Ahh I can't wait for the return good old days where there was variety in the names responsible for the **** levels that filled the pages...2010-07-05 17:01:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

Same here. I just can't imagine myself taking ratings, hearts and stuff seriously again!

Anyways, this makes me very, very happy. To me, cool level pages were more of an issue that all other glitches put together. I just cant imagine how horrible would be the impression that somebody new to LBP would get from playing cool pages.

It really is time for rejoicing. Does anybody here feel like celebrating this with some champagne?
I hope not. This deserves tons of vodka and a royal hang-over.

EDIT: Lol, rtm. I kind of have faith in Mm properly fixing, though it wouldnt surprise me if they didnt completely manage to. Still, its nice to see that they do care.		2010-07-05 17:01:00

Author:
Keldur
Posts: 628

There's bound to be some idiot who finds some way to get around the new cool levels system, and flood us with a sea of shark survivals once again.

see what I did there? ... wasn't even that funny		2010-07-05 17:14:00

Author:
Holguin86
Posts: 875

...but we think we've worked out the best way of addressing it now.

It's a shame he doesn't specify what this "best way of addressing it" actually is, so I guess we can only cross our fingers and hope it doesn't cause more problems than it solves.		2010-07-05 18:24:00

Author:
Aya042
Posts: 2870

I just cant imagine how horrible would be the impression that somebody new to LBP would get from playing cool pages.

Yes, well said! This is not the LBP community we want people to know.		2010-07-05 18:31:00

Author:
fijski8
Posts: 159

It's a shame he doesn't specify what this "best way of addressing it" actually is, so I guess we can only cross our fingers and hope it doesn't cause more problems than it solves.

I heard they were going to rate all Stephanie_Ravens' levels 1 star. 		2010-07-05 19:00:00

Author:
Doopz
Posts: 5592

To me, it's too late. The damage to Cool Levels' reputation has been done.2010-07-05 19:19:00

Author:
SLS10
Posts: 1129

This is great news!


I heard they were going to rate all Stephanie_Ravens' levels 1 star.

And this is even better news. 		2010-07-05 19:32:00

Author:
AgentBanana
Posts: 511

To me, it's too late. The damage to Cool Levels' reputation has been done.
I agree. The damage the present cool pages have caused is incalculable.
The situation was denounced months ago, and nothing happened. Now cool pages are devastated, and many creators have left the game.
Let's hope it's not too late.


It's a shame he doesn't specify what this "best way of addressing it" actually is, so I guess we can only cross our fingers and hope it doesn't cause more problems than it solves.
Whatever they do, it can't be worse of what it is now 		2010-07-05 19:33:00

Author:
poms
Posts: 383

Same here. I just can't imagine myself taking ratings, hearts and stuff seriously again!

Anyways, this makes me very, very happy. To me, cool level pages were more of an issue that all other glitches put together. I just cant imagine how horrible would be the impression that somebody new to LBP would get from playing cool pages.

It really is time for rejoicing. Does anybody here feel like celebrating this with some champagne?
I hope not. This deserves tons of vodka and a royal hang-over.

EDIT: Lol, rtm. I kind of have faith in Mm properly fixing, though it wouldnt surprise me if they didnt completely manage to. Still, its nice to see that they do care.

Actualy little kids and new people love the cool pages, trust me, i've gone into the cool pages levels in an experiment to see what kind of people there are and that's 95% of what they answered.
Asked if they were new, most who responded no usually were of ages 7 - 12, and those older (13+) that i found there indeed were just newbies.
And i can understand why, non of them have any idea what they're doing, they don't even care who created it as long as they have something fun to play.		2010-07-05 19:41:00

Author:
Silverleon
Posts: 6707

Actualy little kids and new people love the cool pages, trust me, i've gone into the cool pages levels in an experiment to see what kind of people there are and that's 95% of what they answered.
Asked if they were new, most who responded no usually were of ages 7 - 12, and those older (13+) that i found there indeed were just newbies.
And i can understand why, non of them have any idea what they're doing, they don't even care who created it as long as they have something fun to play.
I agree with you. The problem is they "love" cool pages because they have no idea of the existence of a "better world out there".
Imagine cool pages were actually all the levels that are spotlighted in this forum. Do you think little kids wouldn't love it?		2010-07-05 19:49:00

Author:
poms
Posts: 383

Actualy little kids and new people love the cool pages, trust me, i've gone into the cool pages levels in an experiment to see what kind of people there are and that's 95% of what they answered.
Asked if they were new, most who responded no usually were of ages 7 - 12, and those older (13+) that i found there indeed were just newbies.
And i can understand why, non of them have any idea what they're doing, they don't even care who created it as long as they have something fun to play.

I don't think that they care about that, they care more because they can't get their levels on top of the cool pages.

Which seems a little selfish to me. Who cares about play count? But hey, if mm can make a 'cool pages' everyone likes, then it's a win-win situation. My baby brother can go play levels he likes, and I can play levels I like. And my granny can play those hardcore harder than hard levels.

However, this is just my opinion.		2010-07-05 19:51:00

Author:
AgentBanana
Posts: 511

I'll believe it when I see it.2010-07-05 19:56:00

Author:
BasketSnake
Posts: 2391

I don't think that they care about that, they care more because they can't get their levels on top of the cool pages.

Which seems a little selfish to me. Who cares about play count? But hey, if mm can make a 'cool pages' everyone likes, then it's a win-win situation. My baby brother can go play levels he likes, and I can play levels I like. And my granny can play those hardcore harder than hard levels.

However, this is just my opinion.

Remember that 99% of these people don't/ haven't created or have little to no chance to get into the cool pages, so i doubt is that dude...
And the solution would still only guarantee top creators a spot in the cool pages, not everyone.		2010-07-05 20:05:00

Author:
Silverleon
Posts: 6707

I agree with poms.

I think it is kind of like football (cool levels), in the way of that since you assume it's the biggest thing (the levels there), it's the best (though most of the time, if not all it's not), and you rarely notice anything else that is "of the better world". I was not racking down on football there, just had to use something to compare with. (I am not too interested in it).

I have had friends over, and most of the time we would play bomb survivals and etc. They just don't have eyes for the wonderful stuff around. Incredibly enough they all love football.
2010-07-05 20:07:00

Author:
moonwire
Posts: 1627

OK, I just want to inject a little bit of rationality and pragmatism into this conversation, starting with one single fact:



NO ONE HAS PROMISED US THAT "COOL LEVELS WILL BE FIXED"



That is not an accurate interpretation of the source, which reads:


I just wanted to pop along to say that we are aware of the issue with Cool Levels at the moment, and are working to fix it!
Hold on to your hats, it might take a little while longer, but we think we've worked out the best way of addressing it now.

What we have been promised is a fix to address the "issue with the cool levels at the moment". i.e. the current situation where a handful of people have been dominating the pages. We have not been promised that MM have suddenly, in the last two weeks, realised there is a perfectly rational way to algorithmically determine level quality and ensure that every level on the cool pages is top notch stuff. So reality check - it's not gonna happen.

At best, the cool pages will return to being a mildly exploitable system based largely off of visibility and popularity. And remembering that the majority of the players of this game do not have very discerning tastes, a popularity contest will not yield a system that the majority of the members of this forum will consider "fixed". My previous post was made to be cynical and in jest, but seriously, I think that's all we can realistically expect the cool pages to go back to with a quick fix to what is effectively a calculation of level "coolness", based upon the habits of players who have bought into the fast-food culture that dominates this game.

So, to sum up: don't expect to much. And don't project your own desires on what the cool pages should be onto spaff's comment that the current issue will be fixed.


Side Note: The only way I see us getting around the cool pages issues (all of them) is if some of the community features from LBP2 are released to us to try out in LBP1, as we will then be able to actually personalise our feeds etc.		2010-07-05 20:26:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

even before the cool pages was destroyed by a bunch of idiots, i was more drawn to the newest levels pages, whilst it nice to play a level with 900 plays and 500 hearts, i found myself diving into the none from none levels to see what people may be missing. - i really like the gamble, sometimes it great mostly its garbage, but this is the way i've always done it, personally i can't wait for LBP.me thats gonna be way better.2010-07-05 21:08:00

Author:
Spyre-wolf
Posts: 63

I think their method to 'fix an issue with cool levels page' is to just release a sequel.2010-07-05 22:11:00

Author:
Asbestos101
Posts: 1114

What we have been promised is a fix to address the "issue with the cool levels at the moment". i.e. the current situation where a handful of people have been dominating the pages. We have not been promised that MM have suddenly, in the last two weeks, realised there is a perfectly rational way to algorithmically determine level quality and ensure that every level on the cool pages is top notch stuff. So reality check - it's not gonna happen.

I agree. I've been watching this thread, and haven't really been motivated to join in the discussion, because chances are no matter what they do to the current cool levels system it won't matter much to me. Hopefully it will balance out the system to prevent the cyber-bullies from pushing other creators into oblivion while they grab up as much attention for themselves as possible by republishing and copying. But it probably won't be a change that will allow players to find better levels. Hopefully LBP2 will take care of that.

But, if they simply "balance out" the system so more creators can get their levels noticed, more people will have fun - and that's fine.		2010-07-05 22:25:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

This is good news but somehow i doubt lbp1 will be given an update to fix it.If they do not update it then i really do not want to hear about a solution until the sequel is out.2010-07-05 23:14:00

Author:
supremeoverlord1
Posts: 117

At this point and with LBP2 coming, I don't care much anymore.

They should fix the hearting. I even wonder if they noticed...

.		2010-07-06 01:51:00

Author:
RangerZero
Posts: 3901

Reading through this tread made me realize that I naively overreacted. At least, I guess they wont make cool pages worse. Making them worse would be harder than slightly fixing them up, so I have faith that they'll make the cool pages change from complete garbage to simply rubbish.
What worries me is that they said "we aware of the issue at the moment". Issue at the moment? Does that imply that the only issue they see with cool pages is the fact that 2 "creators" rule over them?
I really hope its not that way. They have to be aware, and Im sure they are, but I just cant understand why would they want to keep shut about the cool pages issue, as a whole.		2010-07-06 13:12:00

Author:
Keldur
Posts: 628

Because it's as designed. 2010-07-06 15:31:00

Author:
Rogar
Posts: 2284

This is good news, even if it does come up with new flaws. In fact, with LBP2 coming out, will people try and find ways around these flaws in the few months of life LBP1 has left?

Personally, even if all it did was make it so only one person could have a level on the Cool Pages at once, that would still be a great improvment, at least it would give a bit of room for the decent creators to shine through.

Having said that, I rarly play levels anymore, I just create, so I'm not that bothered.		2010-07-06 16:00:00

Author:
kirbyman62
Posts: 1893

When he said "we think we've worked out the best way of addressing it now."
Is it a shotgun? 		2010-07-07 17:10:00

Author:
jeperty
Posts: 486

I agree with kirbyman. Lbp2 will make creating awsome cuz the tools we have now are.... Well... A little ancient. Oops way off topic. Oh btw if teh kool payges r fixed then imma gonna make me a celebration level!2010-07-14 22:56:00

Author:
Screeno
Posts: 153

@ Screeno:
Yeah! then you could make it copyable so we can spam it all over the place to celebrate! woohooo! 		2010-07-15 22:54:00

Author:
swanbrown
Posts: 898

I seriously only used cool pages about 3-5 times. I don't care much about it. BUT I hope the fix it before LBP2.2010-07-16 00:04:00

Author:
Jord-bord
Posts: 153

I'm guessing that Mm's solution is releasing LBP.me. 2010-07-16 06:30:00

Author:
warlord_evil
Posts: 4193

I wonder if Steph_Ravens is looking at this thread laughing while in the bak of her mind saying: "Dear god! Please dont find a way to fix the cool pages! I didn't make 'Destroy a Capital City with a Grappling Hook' yet!"2010-07-17 07:27:00

Author:
acdramon
Posts: 332

Just send the little kiddiewinks some Justin Bieber CD's and they'll calm down (just kidding! )

Any 'fix' to the Cool pages is likely to be an improvement.
Personally, I'd prefer it to show new levels from your hearted creators..		2010-07-17 11:24:00

Author:
Matimoo
Posts: 1027

Good to know 2010-07-17 11:49:00

Author:
Voodeedoo
Posts: 724

I wonder if Steph_Ravens is looking at this thread laughing while in the bak of her mind saying: "Dear god! Please dont find a way to fix the cool pages! I didn't make 'Destroy a Capital City with a Grappling Hook' yet!"

She promised she wasn't gonna spam the cool pages any more		2010-07-17 12:13:00

Author:
Kern
Posts: 5078

She didn't give a reason though did she 2010-07-17 12:19:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

That's it! BINGO!

Media Molecule's "Way to fix the cool pages" is by persuading Stephanie_Ravens and that over spammer to stop spamming!

Maybe, they gave them LBP2 beta codes!!!1!!one

2010-07-17 12:48:00

Author:
Doopz
Posts: 5592

As if she is the only one spamming,
for all we know all mayor spammers are the same person on different psn. acc.

That said,
A friend of mine gave up lbp, his biggest complaint being that the levels he found online where mediocre or worse, with a random jewel maybe once every week.
So I let him play on my acc. for a while and he went through a lot of the levels I hearted.

He spend about 5 hours in total playing the levels (mostly made by lbpc people) and for the first time realized that creators in lbp can actually deliver.		2010-07-17 12:51:00

Author:
Luos_83
Posts: 2136

I think the best guide that anyone could ever pass on to others is to go through the hearted list of your favorite creators. 2010-07-17 13:41:00

Author:
jwwphotos
Posts: 11383

thats what I allways do jww,
The jewels I have found that way are now on my hearted list as well 		2010-07-19 11:56:00

Author:
Luos_83
Posts: 2136

I think they fixed it. I seen no ravens or x power levels in sight. Im scared :S2010-07-23 00:08:00

Author:
L1GhTmArE
Posts: 519

I think they fixed it. I seen no ravens or x power levels in sight. Im scared :S

I see new ones on the horizon. There is a HARDEST LEVEL EVER on page 1 and he has about 3 levels on cool pages now.		2010-07-23 00:34:00

Author:
AbstractFlesh
Posts: 837

I think they fixed it. I seen no ravens or x power levels in sight. Im scared :S
They didn't fix anything yet. Stephanie_Ravens and x3-power have just stopped republishing (for now...), so their levels have finally dropped off.
https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=30527-The-Cool-Pages		2010-07-23 01:13:00

Author:
Gilgamesh
Posts: 2536

Yep, today I saw a good level on the cool pages.

*Crowd gasp*		2010-07-23 01:18:00

Author:
Doopz
Posts: 5592

No level will ever be as good as Ramp.

Ever.		2010-07-23 02:26:00

Author:
Arkei
Posts: 1432

This seems to be good news!

I wonder what will happen though? Is the old re-publishing trick going to be patched, because (C'mon admit it guys!) im sure some legit creators are sad to see it go. It was a good way of getting your hard work to earn some recognition.

If I was suddenly made 'King Overlord' of the cool pages I would implement a system that works a little like this.

Creator Hearts determine the amount of time a newly published level stays on the front of the cool pages.
This way, popular creators could have their work easily climb up the ranks and would hopefully encourage people to try and earn more creator hearts.

Hmmmm, maybe im a H4H free world that would work; but I just thought it was a nice idea. 		2010-07-23 02:58:00

Author:
Mr_T-Shirt
Posts: 1477

im sure some legit creators are sad to see it go. It was a good way of getting your hard work to earn some recognition.



I'm sure ferrrch would.

Every 30 seconds: "ferrrch published level: Trapped 2 (LBW7)"



2010-07-23 03:40:00

Author:
GreatWhite000
Posts: 673

LOL i'm doing that because, well cool pages are getting lot more easy to get on. And that's a good thing for such good creators like the ones on LBPC.2010-07-23 05:10:00

Author:
ferrrch
Posts: 429

i didn't noticed the change in cool levels page until a few hours ago I hope it stays this way2010-07-23 06:43:00

Author:
Werewolf07
Posts: 34

No change has been made yet. That's just certain people that decided to stop publishing for now.2010-07-23 07:21:00

Author:
warlord_evil
Posts: 4193

lol, people don't like spammers?
But i know a certain non-enemy of mine who most people like and know, but he spams like crazy sometimes when publishing a new level.


lol, anywho, its been half a month since they said that, but no really anything more announce or done since then has there?
Maybe they just said that to calm people down.		2010-07-23 08:59:00

Author:
Silverleon
Posts: 6707

Maybe newly published levels should NEVER make the cool pages wall, only levels that have been promoted elsewhere first and earnt a certain amount of rep 1st. Does that make sense?2010-07-23 13:28:00

Author:
Strangepom
Posts: 445

I good grief'd Ravens. That's probably the reason.2010-07-23 16:16:00

Author:
BasketSnake
Posts: 2391

I good grief'd Ravens. That's probably the reason.

That would actually get you in more trouble Ravens has actually been in dude.
And by griefing someone who hasn't done anything worth griefing, you're no better than Ravens either...		2010-07-23 21:25:00

Author:
Silverleon
Posts: 6707

Alright, guys... enough with personally attacking anyone.

I chatted with Spaff this morning, and he mentioned that some changes were made with the determination of what goes onto the Cool Pages. I never got anything concrete as to what those changes are, but he mentioned something about the date of first publish vs. the date of republish. Who knows what that means, but the point is that something has changed. I don't have a level to publish as new currently, so I can't do any sort of testing, but if anyone is endeavoring to push out a new level, let us know if anything seems different.

In addition, take comfort in knowing that level promotion/ratings/exposure is going to be completely turned on its head in LBP2... for the better. Ratings are getting a big overhaul, and the way that levels are being promoted will get a facelift (with rumored integration with lbp.me). I can see only good things on the horizon.

Hang in there, people.

2010-07-23 21:50:00

Author:
comphermc
Posts: 5338

That original post by spaff is so very, very old now.

I can't believe that it's still relevant 0.o

Also, I will never consider cool pages 'fixed' until it's full of good levels with a fairly high turnover.		2010-07-23 22:22:00

Author:
Asbestos101
Posts: 1114

Well actually i have been republishing my new level and i haven't noticed anything new, the only thing is that cool pages are now easy to get on and by this i mean less hearts and plays than it required when stephanie_ravens and x3 where on 1st page.
Alright, guys... enough with personally attacking anyone.

I chatted with Spaff this morning, and he mentioned that some changes were made with the determination of what goes onto the Cool Pages. I never got anything concrete as to what those changes are, but he mentioned something about the date of first publish vs. the date of republish. Who knows what that means, but the point is that something has changed. I don't have a level to publish as new currently, so I can't do any sort of testing, but if anyone is endeavoring to push out a new level, let us know if anything seems different.

In addition, take comfort in knowing that level promotion/ratings/exposure is going to be completely turned on its head in LBP2... for the better. Ratings are getting a big overhaul, and the way that levels are being promoted will get a facelift (with rumored integration with lbp.me). I can see only good things on the horizon.

Hang in there, people.

2010-07-24 01:38:00

Author:
ferrrch
Posts: 429

I can see some kind of change, though.
The cool pages are finally turning back to normal.. Hopefully..		2010-07-24 04:57:00

Author:
Mastadom
Posts: 195

I can see some kind of change, though.
The changing has been made

We've changed a couple of things here and there, and the Sony Moderation teams have, i believe, had words with the offending players, or will be doing so if they haven't already.

Word of warning - don't try and do what they did, because it will be considered cheating by Sony, and you risk losing your PSN account!

now let normal service continue for a bit eh?

Also everyone else not the bolded text

Source: http://forums.littlebigworkshop.com/t5/General-Discussion/Cool-Levels-we-re-working-on-it/m-p/277211/highlight/true#M147697		2010-07-26 16:24:00

Author:
mnimmo1986
Posts: 552

I had to update something in Logic Island, and was thrown back a page because of it,
its the cool pages so I dont care, but that never hap pe ned with previous levels..
or.. I just never noticed.		2010-07-26 16:29:00

Author:
Luos_83
Posts: 2136

Word of warning - don't try and do what they did, because it will be considered cheating by Sony, and you risk losing your PSN account!
Hmmm... that post was very vague. Does that mean we can't republish anymore or we risk losing our PSN account? Or is it only if we republish enough to take over the Cool Levels?

I hope there will be some kind of official post explaining the new rule.		2010-07-26 16:37:00

Author:
Gilgamesh
Posts: 2536

Hmmm... that post was very vague. Does that mean we can't republish anymore or we risk losing our PSN account? Or is it only if we republish enough to take over the Cool Levels?

I hope there will be some kind of official post explaining the new rule.
I would think that their particular behaviour would be classed as spamming which of course is stated in the ToS.
But between their over the top abuse of the system to gain an unfair advantage (basically taking over those cool pages), and your merely republishing a level every now and again they went too far, which in effect ruined the game for a lot of people and that is what Sony would be looking at in the grand scheme of things.		2010-07-26 16:42:00

Author:
mnimmo1986
Posts: 552

hap pe ned

This is the second time you've done that, cmon, LBPC has good censors

'happened'		2010-07-26 16:50:00

Author:
Incinerator22
Posts: 3251

I just cant help myself,
just like pe de stal.. for some reason.. i just write censorpod instead.		2010-07-26 17:12:00

Author:
Luos_83
Posts: 2136

All I can say is, 'About time.'
I love Media Molecule, but this was going on for a while. At least they fixed it though. Unlike MNR...		2010-07-26 17:28:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

I've been republishing a little bit to try and garner a few more plays on my part 2 (my target is 1k, already half way there then i'll stop, don't hate me ), what i've noticed is that every even republish removes you from the cool pages and every odd one puts you a few pages down from where you were. It's very strange indeed.

Basically, doing it too much gets you not much farther than doing it a little now.		2010-07-26 17:32:00

Author:
Asbestos101
Posts: 1114

its true the cool pages are back to normal and mm says to not try and do the hack again because sony considers it cheating and your account may be banned. now the sackpeople can get the plays thet desevered 2010-07-26 17:41:00

Author:
claydude619
Posts: 12

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lONhOlKAU8g2010-07-26 17:42:00

Author:
BasketSnake
Posts: 2391

What is the hack???
its true the cool pages are back to normal and mm says to not try and do the hack again because sony considers it cheating and your account may be banned. now the sackpeople can get the plays thet desevered 		2010-07-26 17:46:00

Author:
ferrrch
Posts: 429

It never was hacked...2010-07-26 17:51:00

Author:
warlord_evil
Posts: 4193

So...what's the system? How have they fixed it?2010-07-26 17:56:00

Author:
trip090
Posts: 1562

*does some merging magic*2010-07-26 17:59:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

What is the hack???

its when you pretty much re publish your level several times. its not a hack but it always ends up on the cool pages		2010-07-26 18:07:00

Author:
claydude619
Posts: 12

So that isn't a hack and i know many people in LBPCentral including me does that.
its when you pretty much re publish your level several times. its not a hack but it always ends up on the cool pages		2010-07-26 18:09:00

Author:
ferrrch
Posts: 429

hey, i got good news!

The Cool Level Pages of LittleBigPlanet have apparently been fixed according to this post by Spaff_Molecule on LittleBigWorkshop:

''We've changed a couple of things here and there, and the Sony Moderation teams have, i believe, had words with the offending players, or will be doing so if they haven't already.

Word of warning - don't try and do what they did, because it will be considered cheating by Sony, and you risk losing your PSN account!

now let normal service continue for a bit eh? ''

Lets hope they stay that way for a while and give more people a chance to get some plays.

Source (http://www.littlebigland.com/cool-level-pages-back-to-normal/)		2010-07-26 18:17:00

Author:
Jonaolst
Posts: 935

Really?! Omg, brilliant if it is!
though I'm sorta confused what 'back to normal' is...		2010-07-26 18:20:00

Author:
Matimoo
Posts: 1027

Really?! Omg, brilliant if it is!
though I'm sorta confused what 'back to normal' is...

Here's hoping it's back to before the whole "7 days"

THAT would RAWK :kz:		2010-07-26 18:22:00

Author:
RockSauron
Posts: 10882

Well that's a step in the right directions. 2010-07-26 18:22:00

Author:
Morgana25
Posts: 5983

Aww. Tis' a shame, tis' a shame. Ah well, SR and the like will find other ways to troll you noobs into rage in no time.

*Grabs popcorn and waits.*		2010-07-26 18:22:00

Author:
Voltergeist
Posts: 1702

''don't try and do what they did, because it will be considered cheating by Sony, and you risk losing your PSN account!''
Thats some serious things! 		2010-07-26 18:25:00

Author:
Jonaolst
Posts: 935

There was another thread about this, but it was merged with the main thread:
https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=29829-Cool-Levels-Getting-Fixed-		2010-07-26 18:25:00

Author:
Gilgamesh
Posts: 2536

Aww. Tis' a shame, tis' a shame. Ah well, SR and the like will find other ways to troll you noobs into rage in no time.

*Grabs popcorn and waits.*

-------------------------		2010-07-26 18:26:00

Author:
Voltergeist
Posts: 1702

There was another thread about this, but it was merged with the main thread:
https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=29829-Cool-Levels-Getting-Fixed-

Yea but that was the old news.. ''cool pages GETTING fixed'' 		2010-07-26 18:27:00

Author:
Jonaolst
Posts: 935

Yea but that was the old news.. ''cool pages GETTING fixed''
Well, you could argue with rtm about it I guess, but he merged the other thread that announced this exact same thing in with the thread I linked to, about half an hour ago.

*does some merging magic*		2010-07-26 18:31:00

Author:
Gilgamesh
Posts: 2536

Yea but that was the old news.. ''cool pages GETTING fixed''
Not when the exact same news was also posted in there		2010-07-26 18:33:00

Author:
mnimmo1986
Posts: 552

Word of warning - don't try and do what they did, because it will be considered cheating by Sony, and you risk losing your PSN account!


Back on topic... MM should really define what is considered "cheating."

Is it copying and republishing?
Is it republishing over and over again?
If so, what is considered acceptable?
Is it republishing the same level week after week in a new location on your planet?
All of the above?

"What they did" is unfortunately vague.		2010-07-26 18:56:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

Back on topic... MM should really define what is considered "cheating."

Is it copying and republishing?
Is it republishing over and over again?
If so, what is considered acceptable?
Is it republishing the same level week after week in a new location on your planet?
All of the above?

"What they did" is unfortunately vague.

Agreed, people won't know what they shouldn't do.		2010-07-26 19:15:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

Personally, I think this thread is valid; If I Hadn't seen it here, I wouldn't have gotten this info. I would have assumed that the new posts in the old thread were just more speculation about what might happen.

I agree that the new rules are pretty vague. It seems a little silly to set rules, warn that you will be punished for not following them, then not spell them out.

Unless, you don't actually have new rules. Then you have to just bluff.		2010-07-26 19:17:00

Author:
swanbrown
Posts: 898

Agreed, people won't know what they shouldn't do.
Just like in the American legal system!

But yeah, I asked this myself in the other thread because the post is indeed much too vague. The assumption is that it's only if you take over the Cool Levels the way the others had, but hopefully Mm will make an official post explaining the new rule.		2010-07-26 19:19:00

Author:
Gilgamesh
Posts: 2536

Gravel sits waiting patiently, "any moment now, any moment now....".

Huh!? Oh well, back to obscurity.		2010-07-26 19:25:00

Author:
Gravel
Posts: 1308

Yea, that's a good point. "What they did" is incredibly vague. Could be a bunch of stuff.

- Stealing levels and publishing them as your own
- Getting 10+ levels parked on page one of cool pages for weeks on end
- Spam publishing to keep levels on top
- and any other stuff I'm unaware of that they were up to.

Wonder if MM will be more specific about what constitutes an abuse?		2010-07-26 19:34:00

Author:
Morgana25
Posts: 5983

Agreed, people won't know what they shouldn't do.

I'm sure the tweaks will be published so everyone will have an understanding of what is considered inappropriate behavior. There were definitely bots out there republishing levels over and over several times a minute for hours. Its pretty hard to do this if you are acting "normally". I've republished a few times in a few minutes in order to correct errors, but it would be pretty obvious from any logs Mm has, that the file was changed during each publication.

Mm isn't foolish, so I would think it's somewhat safe to say, if you do things a "normal creator" would do such as correct errors, make tweaks, move level location, then republish that you should be safe from banning. If you had gotten used to engaging in behavior that was meant solely to improve your chances to get on the Cool Levels page, than you should definitely re-think those behaviors for your next level.		2010-07-26 19:49:00

Author:
RoharDragontamer
Posts: 397

I really don't know what's been fixed really. One author can still get various levels on cool pages at the same time by linking them with keys. I still see a couple of creators using this method. I think it'll be interesting if Mm comes out an explicitly states a disapproval or banning of republishing, that's a very tricky problem.2010-07-26 20:19:00

Author:
antman
Posts: 84

Looks like this thread (https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=30527-The-Cool-Pages) was just an effort to make it look they had a choice. 2010-07-26 20:21:00

Author:
comphermc
Posts: 5338

Its about time!!! XD

Now I Dont have to go on LBPC to find cool levels... Um I mean LBPC is still good but um /runs		2010-07-26 20:32:00

Author:
Jovuto
Posts: 2345

Looks like this thread (https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=30527-The-Cool-Pages) was just an effort to make it look they had a choice.

I still think they have a choice. Unless they've been threatened with being banned, I don't know what would stop them from restarting what they were doing.		2010-07-26 20:35:00

Author:
antman
Posts: 84

I was wondering why certain levels stayed on Cool Pages for so long. Thanks Mm! Now Nobody's (Like me) will have their levels out to play... The good unknown levels. 2010-07-26 20:42:00

Author:
DaSackBoy
Posts: 606

I still think they have a choice. Unless they've been threatened with being banned, I don't know what would stop them from restarting what they were doing.
Explains a lot

We've changed a couple of things here and there, and the Sony Moderation teams have, i believe, had words with the offending players, or will be doing so if they haven't already.

Word of warning - don't try and do what they did, because it will be considered cheating by Sony, and you risk losing your PSN account!		2010-07-26 20:47:00

Author:
mnimmo1986
Posts: 552

Aww. Tis' a shame, tis' a shame. Ah well, SR and the like will find other ways to troll you noobs into rage in no time.

*Grabs popcorn and waits.*

Go back to your PSP, silly goose!

And if I had to guess which offense would be specifically ****able, it would probably be the spam publishing.		2010-07-26 20:48:00

Author:
monstahr
Posts: 1361

Personally, I hope they keep the rules a bit vague and self-correct the situations as they come up.

I think of cool pages kind of like a big playground for kids. If the teachers see bullies, they handle it. If they see kids hogging the swings, they take them off after a bit. I prefer to see things handled based on principle rather than hard-set rules. The "principle" here is being considerate and letting everyone play and have fun, instead of trying to hog everything for yourself.

I found it interesting that some of the discussions revolved around whether the cool pages would continue to have bad levels - of course it will, but the point is that everyone should have a chance to get their level seen and played.		2010-07-26 20:49:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

Explains a lot

I don't know, "had a few words" seems like asking nicely not a threat of banning. But that may well be what they did.		2010-07-26 20:54:00

Author:
antman
Posts: 84

Yup, it will still be full of bad levels, but now it will be DIFFERENT bad levels.2010-07-26 20:54:00

Author:
monstahr
Posts: 1361

I'm confused... terribly vague if we don't know what these rules are.2010-07-26 21:09:00

Author:
Pattington_Bear
Posts: 777

So stephanie_ravens could have lost her/he's account cause of stealing, or atleast the PSN account...2010-07-26 21:27:00

Author:
Jonaolst
Posts: 935

just to add to my point above how do we know what we are doing? how can we tell what is right and wrong? (apart from the obvious of course)2010-07-26 21:54:00

Author:
Pattington_Bear
Posts: 777

just to add to my point above how do we know what we are doing? how can we tell what is right and wrong? (apart from the obvious of course)

Common sense?

I would imagine everyone bar SR and her cronies, carry on just as they were. Unless you're planning on using every trick in the book to take over the cool pages with loads of stolen levels, you'll be absolutely fine.		2010-07-26 22:13:00

Author:
Kiminski
Posts: 545

Are there ways that players can take levels that previously weren't set to 'copyable' ?2010-07-26 22:21:00

Author:
Asbestos101
Posts: 1114

Maybe just republish when you actually make a change to the level....?

Or is that way too much like crazy talk?		2010-07-26 22:26:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

I don't know, "had a few words" seems like asking nicely not a threat of banning. But that may well be what they did.

Well I am Stephanie_Ravens and I'll tell you that they were quite polite when they asked me to stop spamming Cool Pages.		2010-07-26 22:44:00

Author:
qrtda235566
Posts: 3664

now wait, are SR & X3 OFF the cool pages?ive played all day and HAVENT noticed!


thank god!		2010-07-26 23:05:00

Author:
Unknown User

Maybe just republish when you actually make a change to the level....?

Or is that way too much like crazy talk?

But then the rubbish levels wouldn't get a chance and 'Cool Levels' would be filled with cool levels.

Hmmm. 		2010-07-26 23:08:00

Author:
Kiminski
Posts: 545

First look at the "fixed" pages, all that changed was no more offenders, a big change yet seemed to have little effect, still rubbish levels dominated the pages, but since these vague changes are new (and vague) I hope to see that they balance out as more quality levels are published.2010-07-26 23:36:00

Author:
Littlebigdude805
Posts: 1924

Maybe just republish when you actually make a change to the level....?

Or is that way too much like crazy talk?
Burn the heretic! He is possessed by Beelzebub!

But in all seriousness, I'll be checking out the "evolution" of the Cool Levels every few days. It seems to be going back to the bad old days of being nothing but survivals, prize levels, R1 races, etc.		2010-07-26 23:50:00

Author:
Gilgamesh
Posts: 2536

But in all seriousness, I'll be checking out the "evolution" of the Cool Levels every few days. It seems to be going back to the bad old days of being nothing but survivals, prize levels, R1 races, etc.

Still, better than before. Remember that it's a child-dominated market in the world of LBP. Kids like those things. It's that same group that didn't understand that these folks were cheating the system and putting out others' levels as their own.		2010-07-26 23:58:00

Author:
comphermc
Posts: 5338

Sorry guys but the fixed cool pages is a myth, a legend, like 3d physics and pourable water. It was fabricated in the community and was never promised by MM. Let me refer you to my previous post on the matter


OK, I just want to inject a little bit of rationality and pragmatism into this conversation, starting with one single fact:



NO ONE HAS PROMISED US THAT "COOL LEVELS WILL BE FIXED"



That is not an accurate interpretation of the source, which reads:


I just wanted to pop along to say that we are aware of the issue with Cool Levels at the moment, and are working to fix it!
Hold on to your hats, it might take a little while longer, but we think we've worked out the best way of addressing it now.

What we have been promised is a fix to address the "issue with the cool levels at the moment". i.e. the current situation where a handful of people have been dominating the pages. We have not been promised that MM have suddenly, in the last two weeks, realised there is a perfectly rational way to algorithmically determine level quality and ensure that every level on the cool pages is top notch stuff. So reality check - it's not gonna happen.

At best, the cool pages will return to being a mildly exploitable system based largely off of visibility and popularity. And remembering that the majority of the players of this game do not have very discerning tastes, a popularity contest will not yield a system that the majority of the members of this forum will consider "fixed". My previous post was made to be cynical and in jest, but seriously, I think that's all we can realistically expect the cool pages to go back to with a quick fix to what is effectively a calculation of level "coolness", based upon the habits of players who have bought into the fast-food culture that dominates this game.

So, to sum up: don't expect to much. And don't project your own desires on what the cool pages should be onto spaff's comment that the current issue will be fixed.


Side Note: The only way I see us getting around the cool pages issues (all of them) is if some of the community features from LBP2 are released to us to try out in LBP1, as we will then be able to actually personalise our feeds etc.


And indeed, we have again not been promised any such thing in the recent announcement,



''We've changed a couple of things here and there, and the Sony Moderation teams have, i believe, had words with the offending players, or will be doing so if they haven't already.

Word of warning - don't try and do what they did, because it will be considered cheating by Sony, and you risk losing your PSN account!

now let normal service continue for a bit eh?


All we've been told is that normal service will continue. Normal service for the cool pages is for it to be filled with crap. MM have delivered on everything they have promised us :-)		2010-07-27 00:06:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

First look at the "fixed" pages, all that changed was no more offenders, a big change yet seemed to have little effect, still rubbish levels dominated the pages, but since these vague changes are new (and vague) I hope to see that they balance out as more quality levels are published.


*nods head*
Oh so true.
Still bad levels out there, not too much of a "healing" really.:/		2010-07-27 00:07:00

Author:
JspOt
Posts: 3607

burn the heretic! He is possessed by beelzebub!

but in all seriousness, i'll be checking out the "evolution" of the cool levels every few days. It seems to be going back to the bad old days of being nothing but survivals, prize levels, r1 races, etc.

but i loooooove prizes!		2010-07-27 00:09:00

Author:
qrtda235566
Posts: 3664

I'm not sure what some of you guys were expecting lol.

If we look at this in statistical terms, it generally takes less time to make a simple survival level, prize level, or race than it does to make what would be considered a "quality" level (including quality survival levels, prize levels and races).

There are also probably many more creators who are still learning the ropes or just making simple levels for fun than there are creators spending the time to make "quality" levels.

If we consider both of these assumptions as true (which they likely are), then it is only natural for the Cool Levels to be filled with survival levels, prize levels and races, since they would just be a reflection of what the majority of levels in LBP actually are.

Obviously there are other factors to consider like level length, replay value, initial rating and H4H which probably also play a role in whether a level makes it to the Cool Levels naturally.

The criterion for what constitutes a "quality" level is also different for every player and generally changes with time and context.

All of this points to an irrefutable conclusion:

The Cool Levels are like blue cheese. Some people like it, some people don't. If you don't like it, trying to add sugar on top is not going to turn it into a delicious cake, so it's best to just move away from the cheese aisle and look for the cake elsewhere, like in the LBPCake aisle.

Hmmm, now I'm hungry.		2010-07-27 00:38:00

Author:
Gilgamesh
Posts: 2536

The Cool Levels are like blue cheese. Some people like it, some people don't. If you don't like it, trying to add sugar on top is not going to turn it into a delicious cake, so it's best to just move away from the cheese aisle and look for the cake elsewhere, like in the LBPCake aisle.

The cake is a lie.		2010-07-27 00:45:00

Author:
Doopz
Posts: 5592

Bad doopz!! Bad!!2010-07-27 00:48:00

Author:
Asbestos101
Posts: 1114

Mmmmm cake that's filled with terrible levels. Just like Moldy cake with spoiled icing. YUM!2010-07-27 05:43:00

Author:
koltonaugust
Posts: 1382

In my world, the cool levels are fixed.

I don't mind if the cool levels are filled with terrible bomb survivals and sharks, cause I won't play them. What was literally killing me was the fact that spammers, that copied levels and used them as their own, were getting so much praise from noobs. While there's a gem of a level out there with only 10-20 plays, it kills me to see the same level over and over again that has 20,000 plays and involves an angry shark. Good levels are showing up on the cool pages right now, and I couldn't be happier...		2010-07-27 11:52:00

Author:
talbot-trembler
Posts: 1114

I'd rather have a LOT of people posting their junkie survival levels, etc. then two or three people COMPLETELY filling up the first three pages with copied levels - so, I'm glad SR and X3 seemed to have actually kept their word and gone away (thanks) - of course, in their wake they have created a wave of immitators.

Perhaps that was what they were waiting for - so, mission complete?		2010-07-27 12:42:00

Author:
CYMBOL
Posts: 1230

Looks like this thread (https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=30527-The-Cool-Pages) was just an effort to make it look they had a choice.

Ya know as soon as I saw that I had immediately suspected that Sony and/or MM had had a little chat with the offending little buggers. Now I know I was right.


Personally, I hope they keep the rules a bit vague and self-correct the situations as they come up.

After what the community has seen with the system being abused, you would like the people breaking the rules to "self-correct?" The only reason they did is that they were threatened with a ban on their online account, pure and simple. Otherwise, we'd all be in the same dinghy.


I think of cool pages kind of like a big playground for kids. If the teachers see bullies, they handle it. If they see kids hogging the swings, they take them off after a bit. I prefer to see things handled based on principle rather than hard-set rules. The "principle" here is being considerate and letting everyone play and have fun, instead of trying to hog everything for yourself.I've yet to see a schoolground with 100,000 children and only a handful of teachers. Your analogy is fair, but I think it's a bit off from reality. If you asked me, what Media Molecule and Sony needs is a community reporting system that takes into account more than just naughty words and copyrighted content. They need a system where analysts can say, "We've got 1,323 reports of this user spamming levels. Let's take a look into this user's uploading history." Not to pick on you, CCub, I just don't trust a community that is comprised of a mix of children and adults (but mostly children) to all behave as adults in the first place.


I found it interesting that some of the discussions revolved around whether the cool pages would continue to have bad levels - of course it will, but the point is that everyone should have a chance to get their level seen and played.I'm interested to see how the lbp.me feature will affect this. I know I'll be pimpin' my levels like crazy once LBP2 comes out. My sig might be nothing more than blocks of black and white QR codes. I'm also looking forward to queueing up levels from all the creators here. I am very much interested in working with the Spotlight crew to implement an old idea of mine (https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=25132-The-LBPC-Network-Creating-a-place-to-share-the-levels-here-with-the-world%21).		2010-07-27 15:36:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

So, if republishing moves you back or off the cool pages now, how are you suppose to get noticed? Just Hope?2010-07-27 17:32:00

Author:
Jrange378
Posts: 573

So, if republishing moves you back or off the cool pages now, how are you suppose to get noticed? Just Hope?

The only reason you needed tonnes of republishing to get noticed was because so many people were spam publishing It was a vicious cycle anyway and the concept that "the more you spam, the more you are rewarded" is a terrible system!		2010-07-27 17:40:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

The only reason you needed tonnes of republishing to get noticed was because so many people were spam publishing It was a vicious cycle anyway and the concept that "the more you spam, the more you are rewarded" is a terrible system!

True, but still... How do we get noticed now?
Survivals will still be on there more because of the replays problem. Levels will become more ignored if republishing won't help them.		2010-07-27 17:47:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

Atleast we had a sure fire way of getting our monthes of work noticed with republishing. Now we just have to hope it gets more than 2 plays a day sitting at page 17 of cool pages

Edit-Well i stand corrected, new system working good for my new level. Im getting a healthy amount of plays without republishing at all! This is great, i hated republishing 		2010-07-27 18:14:00

Author:
Jrange378
Posts: 573

Exactly. Imagine it like a room with everyone shouting. You have to shout louder to be heard. Then make it so no one is shouting anymore.... You no longer need to shout to be heard.... Its really quite simple. This simply means that people can't muscle their way to the top by sitting at home all day republishing, The pages refresh more often. Levels oof higher quality / genuinely greater appeal will get rated higher in their visible time and so will rise.

I have been advocating a system where republishing is not rewarded for months, for that very reason.		2010-07-27 22:03:00

Author:
rtm223
Posts: 6497

yay! That is good news.

I hate all that shouting about!		2010-07-27 23:48:00

Author:
jwwphotos
Posts: 11383

yay! That is good news.

I hate all that shouting about!

WHAT?

Anyway, I really hope the new cool pages work out for the best!		2010-07-27 23:50:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

Finally.

So when i get my new copy of LBP, it's like getting it on a silver platter.

:SH:		2010-07-27 23:54:00

Author:
ThePineapplizer
Posts: 769

Finally.

So when i get my new copy of LBP, it's like getting it on a silver platter.

:SH:

Your levels, sir.		2010-07-28 00:12:00

Author:
SLS10
Posts: 1129

So is there a trick still to get your levels to get a considerable amount of plays for your hardowrk or do we just wait with our fngercrossed ? 2010-07-28 20:04:00

Author:
G-Hustla
Posts: 81

Word of warning - don't try and do what they did, because it will be considered cheating by Sony, and you risk losing your PSN account!

What did they do? I've never really followed cool pages 'cuz it was a joke. Was it just spam publishing or were they doing something else?


So is there a trick still to get your levels to get a considerable amount of plays for your hardowrk or do we just wait with our fngercrossed ?

I suppose your best bet is to get all your friends to agree to play your level and five star and heart it right after you publish. Then you just hope that it picks up enough momentum to keep going. Or you just don't worry about it, post a thread about it here and just let the community you actually care about play it. Personally, I don't care if 120,000 kids who can't stick with a level for more than a minute play any of my stuff. I make stuff that I like, and that anybody with similar tastes will like, and I don't care what all the bomb survival kiddies think of it. ....at least that's my philosophy. I have to admit, though, that I sometimes get a little jealous of the good levels with 10,000+ plays.		2010-07-28 20:22:00

Author:
Sehven
Posts: 2188

Well ive been messing around with republishing and im starting to think its just a bluff. After a while of not publishing my level fell into the abyss so i decided it wouldnt hurt me if my levels got pushed back some because im not even on page 30. So i started republishing and it went straight to page 1 and starting immediately getting a good amount of plays after just 3 republishes. Either they didnt implement the system yet or they be lieing yo.2010-07-28 20:30:00

Author:
Jrange378
Posts: 573

TBH, I think the Cool Pages had more variety when SR and X3-Power were spamming it, even if it was just the same levels over and over again. Look at the pages now. Now all there is is jump survivals and hardest level evers. It's so bad that I've only seen one bomb survival and 0 shark survivals.2010-07-28 20:52:00

Author:
GreatWhite000
Posts: 673

TBH, I think the Cool Pages had more variety when SR and X3-Power were spamming it, even if it was just the same levels over and over again. Look at the pages now. Now all there is is jump survivals and hardest level evers. It's so bad that I've only seen one bomb survival and 0 shark survivals.

I see no difference between "Big hard jump shark" to "Destroy a captial city". Im not going to play either one so it doesnt matter.		2010-07-28 21:02:00

Author:
Jrange378
Posts: 573

Has anyone noticed the republishing thing is still there? I noticed it in a few levels, and it was within a few hours from now.

I was generally shocked at it and was willing to throw out an empty level just to test how it works.

Has anyone else noticed this?		2010-07-28 21:22:00

Author:
talbot-trembler
Posts: 1114

After what the community has seen with the system being abused, you would like the people breaking the rules to "self-correct?" The only reason they did is that they were threatened with a ban on their online account, pure and simple. Otherwise, we'd all be in the same dinghy.

Actually, that wasn't what I was saying at all....

I was thinking the Sony moderators and MM should "self" correct the situations as they come up. In other words, as people find ways to cheat the system quickly take care of it. I think they should have gone to the offenders a LONG time ago and simply said "quit it or we're going to remove your PSN from the LBP servers". The same as a teacher telling a child to get off the swing and give someone else a chance.		2010-07-28 22:10:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

Very well spoken Ccubbage!2010-07-28 22:17:00

Author:
Luos_83
Posts: 2136

Actually, that wasn't what I was saying at all....

I was thinking the Sony moderators and MM should "self" correct the situations as they come up. In other words, as people find ways to cheat the system quickly take care of it. I think they should have gone to the offenders a LONG time ago and simply said "quit it or we're going to remove your PSN from the LBP servers". The same as a teacher telling a child to get off the swing and give someone else a chance.

Well, we're in complete agreement then...

I took "self" in the literal sense of the word... that the community should police itself, i.e. the spammers would/should just stop on their own.

I still think we need a better reporting feature.		2010-07-29 02:23:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

I suppose your best bet is to get all your friends to agree to play your level and five star and heart it right after you publish. Then you just hope that it picks up enough momentum to keep going. Or you just don't worry about it, post a thread about it here and just let the community you actually care about play it.

The problem is I've done both of those !!! And it still only has 33 plays last time I checked ( yesterday ) I must have around 70 psn friends and I asked each and every one of them . And about 20 or below actually cared to play it ! Well at least it's got 5 stars. 		2010-07-29 07:47:00

Author:
G-Hustla
Posts: 81

My part 2 went from 0-60 in the first 2 days of publishing, in the next 3 it only went to about 250 then in the last 2 days it jumped to 1k, so that musta' been the point I breached the cool pages.

The logic i'm going on with my series, is that the previous levels in the series will retroactively get more plays every time I release a new one and link it back so I'm getting plays on everything all at once.		2010-07-29 13:31:00

Author:
Asbestos101
Posts: 1114

What if they start again in LBP2!
I'm Gonna go mental if that happens........]

Also i never get on the cool pages
Is anyone interested in playing my levels?
Their not the best but their not the worst		2010-07-29 16:40:00

Author:
Unknown User

The problem is I've done both of those !!! And it still only has 33 plays last time I checked ( yesterday ) I must have around 70 psn friends and I asked each and every one of them . And about 20 or below actually cared to play it ! Well at least it's got 5 stars.

70 psn friends? Wow. Whenever I get to more than a dozen or so, I start deleting everybody that I never play with, and I always turn down friend requests from people I don't know. But that's not the point. I would say try to make your level look/sound like it's an exciting level. Use an exciting or provocative sounding title, and a flashy level icon. I mean the very first thing anybody sees of your level is the icon, so if it looks just like all the other generic icons out there, it's not going to grab anybody's attention. The next thing they see is the title, so it should reach out and grab them. By this point, most people will have decided whether or not they're going to play your level, but don't let up now: make sure you have a good description that makes your level sound good/exciting (you can change it to a story prologue or something after you've picked up some plays and built up momentum if you want).


Is anyone interested in playing my levels?
Their not the best but their not the worst

After a great sales pitch like that, how can I refuse? Would you buy a product from a salesman that used a spiel like that? Have you ever heard someone give a speech and the first words out of their mouth was something about not being prepared or being nervous or something? I don't know about you, but I tend to tune them out at that point. You've got to speak confidently. You say your levels aren't the worst, so you must think they're at least good enough to be worth playing, right? When you talk about them, talk like they're worth playing. Don't be afraid to toot your own horn. Sure, you might put off a few people who think you're being overconfident, but those people weren't going to play your "not the best" levels anyway. Also, I hate to be that guy who nitpicks grammar, but it should be "they're (they are) not the worst," not "their (possessive form of they) not the worst." I only point this out because if you mess up on something like that, people are going to assume you're not especially bright which will lead them to assume that you're not an especially good creator. An unfair assumption to be sure, but we're talking about winning people over: fair doesn't come into play.		2010-07-31 03:22:00

Author:
Sehven
Posts: 2188

So they are fixed now or no? : Nvm I just realized that they aren't. Stupid question. I wish you could delete your own post :2010-07-31 16:38:00

Author:
Amigps
Posts: 564

So they are fixed now or no? : Nvm I just realized that they aren't. Stupid question. I wish you could delete your own post :
No, they are "fixed". The levels from a certain few users are no longer on there, nor do they dominate those pages.

As rtm said sometime earlier, Mm never promised a true fix, only something to fix the current problem of those users basically abusing the system to keep their levels stuck at the front of those pages.
https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=29829-Cool-Levels-getting-fixed-updated-now-fixed&p=546134&viewfull=1#post546134		2010-07-31 20:17:00

Author:
mnimmo1986
Posts: 552

Someone should really test if republishing works or not with a blank level or something. Last time i tried it (Maybe 2 days after it was "Fixed") it worked for me and my level was on page 1.2010-07-31 21:01:00

Author:
Jrange378
Posts: 573

What makes you think they changed the Cool Level pages rules? NOTHING is pointing to it and even just common sense points towards "it did not change".

Why? Think about the players that are doing it right. The game lets you publish you level at the moment you want. If MM wouldn't want this, the option wouldn't be there. This means you can publish while you are building your level. Now, someone that is building / improving his level, you need to NOT punish him for doing so. Therefore publishing cannot be penalizing. If there is something that is like 99,9% sure of working is republishing. It's also the ONLY way to pop on the Cool level pages.

Also, some people aren't informed or have bad memory: You can't stay on the Cool level pages for long. This is already fixed and therefore they won't reverse that. A new level is in the pool for the Cool Level Pages for 7 days starting at first publication. If it's not the case of your level, you will pop and immediately getting pushed by other publications. At the rythm people are publishing levels, this means you stay in the fist pages for 2-3 minutes. You'd probably be in the first 10-15 pages for maybe 15 mins (seriously, this is even stretching a bit).

Also, MM didn't say anything about their fix. People are assuming alot of things. What are you cheering at? They only said they will check abusers more closely and they probably cleaned alot of them already. That doesn't means rules/behavior of the Cool Level Pages will change. It does sound more like a better organisation ON THEIR SIDE, not ours.

Here's some stuff that is realistic to expect (and wouldn't need a patch to pull off):

-They might detect that you republished after X amount of time. This time would be very short however. Probably like 2 mins or less. If it was 5 mins or more, they would probably advise users that publishing often like that could lead to moderation or ban. And why would they tell? Because the game let's you do so. Everything that is abuse anywhere is always described to user in a way or another. Media Molecule wouldn't moderate/ban without giving its users the parameters. (at least the important ones).

-They might have a way to check pictures attached to levels, those pics people are uploading in levels.

-They might be able to detect that level you publish at multiple spots, to prevent level spamming. But here again it's slippery grounds, if their rule would be severe, they would warn us because the game is designed to let you publish the same level at different spots. You can't prevent people having "versions" of their stuff. Or else they would change the game design to prevent it. So maybe they warn you if you publish the same level (same file) at more than 4 spots in X amount of time.

So yeah, instead of only moderating by the good grief, they probably determined that certain suites of actions = abuse. Rules they probably won't tell us if they are evident. If it was more severe, they would tell us because or it would touch too many people and either would work against the audience or give MM too much work.
I would say that just by common sense, you can gauge the type of changes they have made and this is probably on their side. They didn't change the design of the system that's for sure. So if you don't post sex pics in other people levels, if you don't full your account with the same level in a record amount of time and if you don't republishing every freaking minute, nothing will happen to you.

.		2010-08-02 04:01:00

Author:
RangerZero
Posts: 3901

So yeah, instead of only moderating by the good grief, they probably determined that certain suites of actions = abuse. Rules they probably won't tell us if they are evident.

Evident to whom? Republishing, etc. is not specifically covered in the ToA unless you consider it under one of the catch-all clauses citing "any behavior that they deem against the nature of the game" or other such legal jargon.

What I would like Sony and/or MM to declare is specifically what will get you in trouble and what will not as it pertains to Cool Levels abuse, so that they are clear to all. Then, add in features for the community to report violations of such behavior. Investigate the creators with the most reports, and viola, you have a system that works to prevent abuse.		2010-08-02 15:57:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

What makes you think they changed the Cool Level pages rules? NOTHING is pointing to it and even just common sense points towards "it did not change".

Why? Think about the players that are doing it right. The game lets you publish you level at the moment you want. If MM wouldn't want this, the option wouldn't be there. This means you can publish while you are building your level. Now, someone that is building / improving his level, you need to NOT punish him for doing so. Therefore publishing cannot be penalizing. If there is something that is like 99,9% sure of working is republishing. It's also the ONLY way to pop on the Cool level pages.

Also, some people aren't informed or have bad memory: You can't stay on the Cool level pages for long. This is already fixed and therefore they won't reverse that. A new level is in the pool for the Cool Level Pages for 7 days starting at first publication. If it's not the case of your level, you will pop and immediately getting pushed by other publications. At the rythm people are publishing levels, this means you stay in the fist pages for 2-3 minutes. You'd probably be in the first 10-15 pages for maybe 15 mins (seriously, this is even stretching a bit).

Also, MM didn't say anything about their fix. People are assuming alot of things. What are you cheering at? They only said they will check abusers more closely and they probably cleaned alot of them already. That doesn't means rules/behavior of the Cool Level Pages will change. It does sound more like a better organisation ON THEIR SIDE, not ours.

Here's some stuff that is realistic to expect (and wouldn't need a patch to pull off):

-They might detect that you republished after X amount of time. This time would be very short however. Probably like 2 mins or less. If it was 5 mins or more, they would probably advise users that publishing often like that could lead to moderation or ban. And why would they tell? Because the game let's you do so. Everything that is abuse anywhere is always described to user in a way or another. Media Molecule wouldn't moderate/ban without giving its users the parameters. (at least the important ones).

-They might have a way to check pictures attached to levels, those pics people are uploading in levels.

-They might be able to detect that level you publish at multiple spots, to prevent level spamming. But here again it's slippery grounds, if their rule would be severe, they would warn us because the game is designed to let you publish the same level at different spots. You can't prevent people having "versions" of their stuff. Or else they would change the game design to prevent it. So maybe they warn you if you publish the same level (same file) at more than 4 spots in X amount of time.

So yeah, instead of only moderating by the good grief, they probably determined that certain suites of actions = abuse. Rules they probably won't tell us if they are evident. If it was more severe, they would tell us because or it would touch too many people and either would work against the audience or give MM too much work.
I would say that just by common sense, you can gauge the type of changes they have made and this is probably on their side. They didn't change the design of the system that's for sure. So if you don't post sex pics in other people levels, if you don't full your account with the same level in a record amount of time and if you don't republishing every freaking minute, nothing will happen to you.

.

Your hunches dont discredit our hunches.		2010-08-02 16:21:00

Author:
Jrange378
Posts: 573

Evident to whom? Republishing, etc. is not specifically covered in the ToA unless you consider it under one of the catch-all clauses citing "any behavior that they deem against the nature of the game" or other such legal jargon.

What I would like Sony and/or MM to declare is specifically what will get you in trouble and what will not as it pertains to Cool Levels abuse, so that they are clear to all. Then, add in features for the community to report violations of such behavior. Investigate the creators with the most reports, and viola, you have a system that works to prevent abuse.

I mean that generally speaking, "abuse" of a system is evident to people. This is why everywhere you are told "don't spam" then they don't explain what is considered "spam" to them. It's evident. If there was something really "grey zone" and game changing that they would consider an abusive behavior, they would explain it to people. If they say nothing it means what they consider abuse should be quite evident.

EDIT: I sure wouldn't mind them explaining everything clearly but MM never had any good communication with its community so their ambiguous positions and posts are something I expect.		2010-08-02 17:40:00

Author:
RangerZero
Posts: 3901

I mean that generally speaking, "abuse" of a system is evident to people. This is why everywhere you are told "don't spam" then they don't explain what is considered "spam" to them. It's evident.

I've never seen any verbiage in game that relates to spam or spamming. Only if you venture into the crazy worlds of forums like these will you find mention of the phenomenon, and MM's recent words on the topic are the only ones I can find. And we here at LBPC are but a fraction of the general public that uses the game on a daily basis.


If there was something really "grey zone" and game changing that they would consider an abusive behavior, they would explain it to people. If they say nothing it means what they consider abuse should be quite evident.

It only became "evident" after they addressed the individual creators responsible for a large portion of the problem.

Again, I think you're speaking largely for yourself and some of our own community when you call this problem "evident." It's not evident to the 8 year olds playing the game who just go to the first page they see and play the level they think "looks cool." This was why spamming the Cool Levels was such a problem in the first place. Bad levels were getting thousands of plays because a large portion of the community didn't know better.

What's to prevent some creator from taking their place? A vague statement saying "don't do what they did?"

I wish they'd just come out and say, "Look, here's what we consider within the reasonable limits... here's what isn't and will get you banned."		2010-08-02 19:14:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

Your hunches dont discredit our hunches.

That's signature worthy, unfortunately mines full of levels 		2010-08-09 01:11:00

Author:
Asbestos101
Posts: 1114

Cool pages is back! no more boring visits to the cool page. lol 2010-08-09 22:11:00

Author:
LWBear2
Posts: 332

Ok I think with the recent server down time the republishing trick has been removed.2010-08-19 23:21:00

Author:
ladylyn1
Posts: 836

if the republishing trick has been removed i will be angry, how are we suppose to get our levels to be played now!
Anyway it might not maybe they just took away the cluttering comments from it		2010-08-19 23:31:00

Author:
Snrm
Posts: 6419

no im pretty sure its gone, check all the highlighted levels on the cool pages atm and they all have 0-5 plays. Once upon a time (about 15 hours ago) ud see loads of levels with hundreds or thousands of plays coming back to the cool pages with a highlighted logo, if only for a little bit.

And it just means we'll see less bomb survivals and rubbish levels... make a good one and post on here, im sure it would end up on the cool pages in no time 		2010-08-19 23:50:00

Author:
ladylyn1
Posts: 836

Eh i still miss the republish trick D:2010-08-20 00:46:00

Author:
Snrm
Posts: 6419

no im pretty sure its gone, check all the highlighted levels on the cool pages atm and they all have 0-5 plays. Once upon a time (about 15 hours ago) ud see loads of levels with hundreds or thousands of plays coming back to the cool pages with a highlighted logo, if only for a little bit.

And it just means we'll see less bomb survivals and rubbish levels... make a good one and post on here, im sure it would end up on the cool pages in no time

Are you saying its gone for all levels or just the levels that doesnt qualify for the 7 day rule anymore?

Edit: If you go to the lesser pages like pg 7 you can see levels between 1 and 50 plays...		2010-08-20 01:30:00

Author:
L1GhTmArE
Posts: 519

Yeah but I am only talking about the front 5 or so pages... all levels start off somewhere so the further u go back the more new levels u'll see. But I can assure u that at least now, the republishing trick does not work.2010-08-20 01:57:00

Author:
ladylyn1
Posts: 836

Hallelujah!
Hope this works out. 		2010-08-20 02:48:00

Author:
midnight_heist
Posts: 2513

How will new creators get noticed? 100 hours making a level and sure way to get level exposure. A big step backwards in my opinion. If new creators dont get back what they feel justifies the effort put into creating their levels, then they wont bother again. i hope this is temporary, or at least changed to the new system being tested at some point soon.2010-08-20 07:49:00

Author:
SteveBigGuns
Posts: 423

I think it's just a temporary fix to prevent cool pages being cluttered up overmuch. This means a new level is more likely to be played, though, which can increase exposure for levels - but if all the levels on the first page have only 1-10 plays, I don't understand how any of them can ever become "cool" - as in, reasonably popular.2010-08-20 08:33:00

Author:
Holguin86
Posts: 875

IF this is true, it will change nothing.
The crap you will is simply the levels from that republish constantly, just like before. Since nobody might stick , it's simply the one who republish the most that will have the most plays/hearts, etc. Therefore this will not stop the spam republishing.

.		2010-08-22 01:53:00

Author:
RangerZero
Posts: 3901

I am very happy with this change! Just one question...... how do we get our levels plays now?2010-08-22 21:41:00

Author:
Unknown User

I am very happy with this change! Just one question...... how do we get our levels plays now?

Exactly.

This is so ridiculous if true. Because the ONLY way now would be to spam publish!
But I'm still on the fence with this here. I am not able to believe that Media Molecule would be THAT offset from reality and their community's problems. Well, if ever it's the case, I fear that LBP.me will end up just as disconnected and badly designed as the community/sharing side of LBP. If they really don't get how to do it in the game, I don't see how they would suddendly understand how to do it on the web.

Anyways, let's not pull the bull by the horns, I am not even sure it's true that we can't stick on the Cool level pages anymore. (sorry Ladylyn -- I need the demonstration of a legit and detailed test)

.		2010-08-22 22:11:00

Author:
RangerZero
Posts: 3901

My suggestions for cool pages
Word filter that filters, shark survival, bomb survival, free prizes
whos in?		2010-08-22 22:43:00

Author:
Unknown User

There's already a word filter...2010-08-22 23:40:00

Author:
RangerZero
Posts: 3901

There's already a word filter...

I dont think there is.		2010-08-22 23:52:00

Author:
Jrange378
Posts: 573

I dont think there is.

Lol, I think he was joking.
xD		2010-08-23 05:16:00

Author:
Mastadom
Posts: 195

I don't know what is a word filter to you guys but I was serious. You can filter the levels by words already. You go in the search and then chose "text".

If you want a filter to REMOVE the survival challenge of any type of levels from your view, the game would need a "genre" field in the level info page and then you could search for a specific type of level instead of always seeing the crap you're not interested in.

.		2010-08-23 05:34:00

Author:
RangerZero
Posts: 3901

Has anyone figure out the new cool page system yet?2010-08-25 02:13:00

Author:
Unknown User

Has anyone figure out the new cool page system yet?

We will know soon what's going on. In the last few days, I've seen level still being stickied in the cool level pages therefore demonstrating the 7 days rule prolly didn't change. However, I will wait for some days again because that might be levels that sticked there BEFORE the update, who knows. Anyhow, we'll see pretty soon what happens.		2010-08-25 17:31:00

Author:
RangerZero
Posts: 3901

Okay its been a while (5 days). Now has anyone got anymore info on the cool levels pages. Im still seeing plenty of bad survival levels on the pages soooooo whats goin on?2010-08-31 04:29:00

Author:
Unknown User

Here's what I think...
People are got to the front cool page via a shark/bomb/jump level.
Then the cool pages were 'fixed' and those people were still there as part of their 7 days. However, they have put keys to their own, newly published levels getting those more plays & bumping them to the cool pages. Then, once the 7 days are up on the original level, they delete it and publish it again (not republish). They add a key to the other levels on the cool pages and the cycle continues.

If I didn't explain that very well I can try to rephrase it.

I have a plan. It as cunning as a fox what used to be Professor of Cunning at Oxford University but has moved on, and is now working for the UN at the High Commission of International Cunning Planning.
Now don't hate me for this guys but...
I will publish a shark & train bomb survival. (again, I'm sorry) If it gets to the cool pages I will republish over it with a level explaining what the situation is and the way of fixing it.
i.e. not playing the 'keyed' levels.
If anyone objects to this plan, I will back down. But I am only doing this to make the cool pages cool again.		2010-08-31 09:16:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

What needs to be done to fix this then is this:

Each level on your moon needs it's own unique identifying tag that gets written into the level and then stored in a library on the LBP servers so....

Even when it is deleted from the LBP sever and re-published, a program does a lookup in the lib database and if it sees a double up of ID tags then the rules that would bump it get ignored and the bad levels fade into obscurity.

So to avoid this bumpers would have to backup levels onto the HD import it into a new spot on their moon and then republish. This can be done only a finite amount of times.

or

You could assign and write the non-removable tag to the player's level and server lib when it is published. But if they have a non tagged backup prior to publishing they can get around this method. So the first suggestion is better.

Just a suggestion		2010-08-31 10:12:00

Author:
Strangepom
Posts: 445

What needs to be done to fix this then is this:

Each level on your moon needs it's own unique identifying tag that gets written into the level and then stored in a library on the LBP servers so....

Even when it is deleted from the LBP sever and re-published, a program does a lookup in the lib database and if it sees a double up of ID tags then the rules that would bump it get ignored and the bad levels fade into obscurity.

So to avoid this bumpers would have to backup levels onto the HD import it into a new spot on their moon and then republish. This can be done only a finite amount of times.

or

You could assign and write the non-removable tag to the player's level and server lib when it is published. But if they have a non tagged backup prior to publishing they can get around this method. So the first suggestion is better.

Just a suggestion

These are some good ideas. I'm not sure how easy it would be to implement them at such a late stage in the game though.		2010-08-31 12:22:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

We don't know how relevant any of these suggestions will be with LBP2. The new system might just do away with all of these problems, and theres no way Mm would commit time to any solutions if it was gonna' go away by itself anyway 2010-08-31 13:26:00

Author:
Asbestos101
Posts: 1114

I still cant believe how mm can be so stupid >.<

The Spammers have NOT even used the republishing trick, it was the only fair method to get noticed.
They just do keying.
(putting a key in a pg 1 lvl until the new level reaches pg 1 and repeat that)
They dont have to do anything... just putting a key and the republishers were working hard for getting noticed and mm just removes the fair way.
I bet mm will mess it up in lbp 2 too

SO JUST REMOVE LEVEL KEYS (because their normal use is also glitched and closed levels often just dont open...)
if this is done they can start making things like making hearts count more like plays and stuff...		2010-08-31 14:20:00

Author:
Chicoleunis
Posts: 123

I still cant believe how mm can be so stupid >.<

The Spammers have NOT even used the republishing trick, it was the only fair method to get noticed.
They just do keying.
(putting a key in a pg 1 lvl until the new level reaches pg 1 and repeat that)
They dont have to do anything... just putting a key and the republishers were working hard for getting noticed and mm just removes the fair way.
I bet mm will mess it up in lbp 2 too

SO JUST REMOVE LEVEL KEYS (because their normal use is also glitched and closed levels often just dont open...)
if this is done they can start making things like making hearts count more like plays and stuff...

I think a better solution would be:
After completing a level with keys in, the only ones that appear are ones that were previously locked.
But yes, the keys to new levels are the problem.		2010-08-31 14:22:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

I think a better solution would be:
After completing a level with keys in, the only ones that appear are ones that were previously locked.
But yes, the keys to new levels are the problem.

Or just open the levels, but dont show them the levels after completing that they are open.
edit: making it just dont work for levels on the cool pages would fix it also.

btw: i tried this too to stop spammers by using their names in a fake way (lemon and crappy, clay_21_november) but after a short time i figured out that its really pointless. and just ruins the game, but for gravy it worked XD		2010-08-31 14:26:00

Author:
Chicoleunis
Posts: 123

[...]
But yes, the keys to new levels are the problem.
The current problem, maybe. But has anyone considered that it's actually the root concept of the "Cool Levels" that is inherently bad?

Anyway, Cool Levels are just as bad as they've always been. This isn't really new or surprising.

The cool levels are not on Cool Levels. 		2010-08-31 14:46:00

Author:
Gilgamesh
Posts: 2536

It may be pointless, but just throwing it out there:

Keys are not the problem..... implementation of the keys are the problem. The fix is incredibly easy - after finishing a level, instead of automatically popping up all the linked levels, force the player to delibrately choose to "See Linked Levels". By default, have it go back to cool pages again.

It's the automatic way keys work at the exiting of a level that causes small children to get caught in an endless, recursive barrage of linked levels.		2010-08-31 15:11:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

Have you guys confirmed that the keys are the problem?

Or is that little kids like playing shark/bomb survival levels and always have?

Just sayin'.		2010-08-31 16:01:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

What needs to be done to fix this then is this:

Each level on your moon needs it's own unique identifying tag that gets written into the level and then stored in a library on the LBP servers so....

Even when it is deleted from the LBP sever and re-published, a program does a lookup in the lib database and if it sees a double up of ID tags then the rules that would bump it get ignored and the bad levels fade into obscurity.

So to avoid this bumpers would have to backup levels onto the HD import it into a new spot on their moon and then republish. This can be done only a finite amount of times.

or

You could assign and write the non-removable tag to the player's level and server lib when it is published. But if they have a non tagged backup prior to publishing they can get around this method. So the first suggestion is better.

Just a suggestion


That doesn't work. Republishing your stuff is part of the basic gameplay of the game, part of the fundamentals. You can't go and cut the grass under that. "Good" and "Bad" levels is a subjective matter. If you see "bad" levels on top of the Cool Level Pages, it's not because of republishing. "Good" levels needs republishing so they can be played, fixed, improve, etc. Putting barriers on republishing is going against the fact the game needs to encourage creators to make levels.

The real and only problem of LBP promoting the user content is this: The game fails to present your level to its intended audience.

.		2010-08-31 17:53:00

Author:
RangerZero
Posts: 3901

Have you guys confirmed that the keys are the problem?

Or is that little kids like playing shark/bomb survival levels and always have?

Just sayin'.

sry but this is garbage, they do not only play linked levels which are shark or bomb survivals, real levels also. the fact that the levels on pg 1 are mostly shark or bomb survivals is just that the spammers are to lazy to do something else		2010-08-31 17:59:00

Author:
Chicoleunis
Posts: 123

It may be pointless, but just throwing it out there:

Keys are not the problem..... implementation of the keys are the problem. The fix is incredibly easy - after finishing a level, instead of automatically popping up all the linked levels, force the player to delibrately choose to "See Linked Levels". By default, have it go back to cool pages again.

It's the automatic way keys work at the exiting of a level that causes small children to get caught in an endless, recursive barrage of linked levels.

Which is how it used to be at first if you remember well.
Then people started asking for what hapens now to happen, and it did.


Anywho, just call me when you guys decide what you're gonna use as an scapegoat to pin all the problems on, seems this debate will last a while, so I don't wanna stay that long.

(Why can't you simply understand the fact that many people simply like those levels, you may call them simple minded in your head, but as long qas they're having fun, then there's nothing to do about it, you can't just force all your lrevels down their throats and tell them to like it, everyone have different tastes, some like artistic well made levels like ourselfs, and many like simpleminded bomb survival/ shark survival fun, more people just seem to preffer them, that's all there is to it...)		2010-08-31 18:11:00

Author:
Silverleon
Posts: 6707

sry but this is garbage, they do not only play linked levels which are shark or bomb survivals, real levels also. the fact that the levels on pg 1 are mostly shark or bomb survivals is just that the spammers are to lazy to do something else

I don't understand how my opinion is garbage, as it's just on person's thoughts on the matter.

And lazy "spammers" don't explain 50,000 plays. There's a reason why these levels are being played over and over again, and I think it has a lot to do with the level of expectations from those players. They pop in the disc, go to the cool levels, find something they think "sounds cool" and click Play. They're simply not looking for quality, well-designed levels with excellent gameplay, visuals and creative use of the tools in LBP.

(sorta sniped by silverleon, but you get the point)		2010-08-31 18:30:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

I don't understand how my opinion is garbage, as it's just on person's thoughts on the matter.

And lazy "spammers" don't explain 50,000 plays. There's a reason why these levels are being played over and over again, and I think it has a lot to do with the level of expectations from those players. They pop in the disc, go to the cool levels, find something they think "sounds cool" and click Play. They're simply not looking for quality, well-designed levels with excellent gameplay, visuals and creative use of the tools in LBP.

(sorta sniped by silverleon, but you get the point)

Another reason they get so many plays is because when someone plays a Shark Survival/Bomb Survival, they don't just play it once; they play it probably 5 or 6 times.

And the time that it takes to play one of those probably 15 or 16 times is still less then the time it takes to get through something like Subterranean Setbacks. So right away, making longer levels has a disadvantage to creators. When someone sees that most of the levels on the front of the cool page are Shark Survivals or something else, they're instinctively going to make one quickly, publish it, and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, this all leads to tons of "bad" levels being on the front page.		2010-08-31 18:39:00

Author:
dr_murk
Posts: 239

once again: IT REALLY DOES NOT MATTER WHAT KIND OF LEVEL THEY PUBLISH!
they are getting their plays also with "real levels" like hawaii island by clay.
Trust me, i tested it.

And having a long level is better than a short one, because it holds more players at a time.

...		2010-08-31 19:20:00

Author:
Chicoleunis
Posts: 123

And having a long level is better than a short one, because it holds more players at a time.

...

4 people playing a 20 minute level vs. 1 person playing a 4 minute level x 5 = more plays for the shorter level.

Shorter levels, especially mini-games, tend to draw repeat plays in addition to multiplayer, thus drumming up statistics that a single player 20 minute level otherwise would not.		2010-09-01 04:24:00

Author:
schm0
Posts: 1239

4 people playing a 20 minute level vs. 1 person playing a 4 minute level x 5 = more plays for the shorter level.

Shorter levels, especially mini-games, tend to draw repeat plays in addition to multiplayer, thus drumming up statistics that a single player 20 minute level otherwise would not.

if it is a republishing level, yes, than its better to be short.
But having a long normal level is better than a short normal level to get plays, because it holds more players at a time (there is a search option for that, but i dont know the english word for that...)

theres only one thing to say:
wenn man keine Ahnung hat einfach mal die Fresse halten 		2010-09-01 14:04:00

Author:
Chicoleunis
Posts: 123

I myself no longer believe 'Cool Pages' to be broken... I may still not be there-- but the past three nights I have found interesting, unique, and quality levels. Even hearted a creator!2010-09-01 14:06:00

Author:
Gravel
Posts: 1308

I myself no longer believe 'Cool Pages' to be broken... I may still not be there-- but the past three nights I have found interesting, unique, and quality levels. Even hearted a creator!

Who was that? Was it the guy with the awesome cow/milk level?
Because he published the intro levels in most of his free slots over & over just to get the plays on the actual level. (Good that it worked though, the level was terrific.)		2010-09-01 15:48:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

Yeah ur right **** those spammers!
I can't find good levels online only levels like this: bombsurvival, shark attack, 200 prizes.
Jezus crist i getin sick of all those spammers should be get on a island without ps3 so i can finnaly play this game..

I have skils they don't they get 50000 plays i get 0 plays

**** them		2010-09-03 03:39:00

Author:
McRedFox
Posts: 56

Yeah, it's tough when ones tastes are superior to everyone else's.2010-09-09 15:29:00

Author:
snarkwise
Posts: 53

Even after the update, it will probably be the same. Some creators are all at the front (Atleast it will be good ones if MM fixes it correctly) and other creators will never get plays.2010-10-25 01:50:00

Author:
Schwem00
Posts: 255

Wow, bump!
I really don't think Cool Pages is worth much anymore... just visit the Level Showcase and you'll be fine 		2010-10-25 01:55:00

Author:
JspOt
Posts: 3607


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