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Players exploiting Housing Tours

AuthorMessage
Astrologist
Aug 20, 2011
1077
I won't speak to how it's being done, but I do suggest the Wiz101 team take a good, hard look at the leaderboards in the Housing Tours. You will quickly notice that they are thoroughly dominated by a small handful of players who share the same names.

Thus, it is safe to assume that there are underhanded methods being used to secure all the leading spots. The houses are not that good; this is not an insult to the leaders' houses, this is simply stating that it is improbable that any collection of houses would receive utterly flawless evaluations from every visitor. Two houses? Possibly. Three? Maybe if no one else is trying. Eight or more? Shenanigans.

Please take action. What is happening isn't a "to the letter" violation of the Terms of Use, but is damaging to the game's reputation.

(see also http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/showthread.php?434966-Something-is-not-right)

Explorer
Jan 17, 2012
77
Hmmm.... looks like two or more people are in cahoots, each giving the others flawless evaluations. Not sure how you can stop that, though.

I personally tend to ignore that stuff. I don't train pets, I don't do PvP, I don't do anything that doesn't help my Wizard (or Pirate on P101) be stronger and have an easier time fighting for higher levels.

Champion
Jan 25, 2015
418
Some people have good rates sometimes based off of bundle dungeons like pagoda and winterbane and the wysteria one ( only for friends though ) which is bad because there are actually people who have awesome houses and timed spent decoration and ( sometimes ) have the lowest rating compared to a house with nothing in them but dungeons

Delver
Mar 29, 2012
237
You know, I worked really really hard on my balance house. It's definitely well decorated and unique. I have this one friend who is SuCh a glitch master (you know, crates and rugs), his houses are always super super impressive. Neither one of us is ever anywhere near the top. When I look at the houses that are, I never understand it. This explains a lot. Thanks.
Amber

Historian
Jun 19, 2010
657
I love checking out what the most creative players do with their houses; but after visiting one too many high ranking, but unimpressive houses; I stopped visiting houses on the Housing Tours.

Astrologist
Aug 20, 2011
1077
Tylerwildpants on Apr 12, 2015 wrote:
I love checking out what the most creative players do with their houses; but after visiting one too many high ranking, but unimpressive houses; I stopped visiting houses on the Housing Tours.
Exactly. I get that it is a popularity contest, but it needs not to be a contest of how many friends you can recruit to spam-vote.

I would propose that Housing Tours randomize when your house will appear on the tours. It might show up that minute, or it might show up 48 hours later. This would discourage exploit rating.

Explorer
Jan 17, 2012
77
A popularity contest is a popularity contest, and like any popularity contest is really meaningless.

Examples:

The film that wins the Oscar for Best Picture each year is almost never one of the blockbusters from the previous summer. It is usually some "artistic" film that the actors faun over and everyone else ignores.

The football team that is selected as #1 at the beginning of the year is almost never the team that eventually ends up on top at the end, since football is played on the field, not in the offices of sportswriters and coaches.

The winner of the Miss Whatever pageant is rarely heard from again.

When popularity hits reality, popularity loses.

Illuminator
Oct 22, 2011
1304
I too have been questioning how some people are always at the top of the housing leader boards. Not just one or two houses for a person, but at least 7-20 houses. This is not possible without some sort of nefarious assistance.

I have houses that have all the dungeons and other games, plus a lot of other rare cool items, AND my houses are thoroughly decorated with a little bit of glitching. None of my multitude of homes are on the top boards. So, how are these people (and one person in particular, who is very obvious) achieving this accomplishment?

A house coming up in the tour guide is totally random and that's the only way you can leave a rating. I have no clue as to how many homes are listed at any given time. Hundreds? Thousands? Millions?

Honestly, "popularity contest" does not come into play. There are houses out there that are beautifully decorated and not on the leader boards, and yet there are so many on the boards that are just storage places to barely decorated to mediocre at best with no special dungeons, or other special items.

I think KingsIsle should look into how these 'ratings' are accomplished, as there is definitely something going on (and not in a good way) to get the ratings these people do.