I'm hoping to start some discussion on improvements to the house rating system. Here are some thoughts and ideas I've had recently.
I see two big problems: Not enough people actually rate houses, and people aren't using the rating feature as it was intended to work. Instead, one large chunk of players ignores house tours altogether, and another large chunk is downrating everything to improve their standing in the leaderboards, as well as getting their friends/2nd accounts/3rd accounts find the house they're looking for. Not exactly how a housing tour is supposed to work.
To encourage players to participate and give real ratings, it might be good to provide more incentives.
Create a "winner's bundle" if a house performs well on tour. I don't care how winners are defined, make up any definition that works, the point is people will participate if they see an opportunity to improve their status. Examples of rewards could include 50,000 gold, or rare cards, or gardening cards, or rare reagents, or badges. I don't care how rewards are defined, the point, again, is to encourage participation.
If rewards are offered, then there should be an entry fee. Perhaps gold, perhaps energy. I don't care what. The point is making it a prestigious competition based on risk. (If players don't want to pay entry, they can still enter for free, but they can't win rewards. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.)
Eliminate the current housing categories. Aside from "Maze," where you actually have to confirm that a maze is present, the category names are arbitrary and no two players can agree on what they really mean. Instead, players should be able to describe their houses using a scrolling wheel, as with pet, deck, and player names. Then, expand the Tour Leaderboard to cover 1000 houses.
There should be a cooldown period after rating a house. Unlike many elements of the game (PvP matches, mini games, pet training games, and Derby races) where it actually takes some time to complete, reload, and try again, it's very easy to spam rate houses on tour without giving any real attention to what was in them. Think about it: if players can use that to get an edge, they will. (And they do.) It cheapens the whole system the longer this isn't patched somehow.
Improving house rating is possible with some modifications to the rating system.
Creating Additional House Categories Some houses don't fit into any of the existing categories; yet its obvious, thought and imagination and gone into its design. Instead of attempting to force a house into a category it's obviously not in, have a better category to place the house in; or simply have a category labeled "Other"
Provide Touring Incentives Reward players who tour and rate homes with a regent or housing item drop
Allow Friends to Rate Houses Let everyone rate houses, friends and non-friends; just identify if a friend or non-friend rated the house. I.e., 100 visitors, 56 friends and 44 non-friends visited Dirk Danger's house. 56 friends gave a 4 rating; 20 non-friends gave a 4 rating, 15 non-friends gave a 3 rating, 5 non-friends gave a 2 rating, etc...
I like to decorate houses and loved the idea of tours however I stopped going to house tours and rating them because you go to lots of non decorated houses that just have gauntlets and these get high ratings?
If you want to give decorating and the tours back to those that enjoy it then maybe gauntlets should be removed from display houses.
If people think that's not fair then create a "Gauntlet Category" if you have any gauntlet in your house then that house can only be displayed in the gauntlet houses category. If a gauntlet is about to be added to a house after its registered in a different category then a warning should come up stating "placing this object will remove you from your current decor category and you will have to re register your house to the Gauntlet Category". Then if its place the house is removed from that category and has to be registered in the Gauntlet Category if they still wish to show there house for tours.
This is a way to return the great idea of decorating and tours back to those that enjoy it.
I like to decorate houses and loved the idea of tours however I stopped going to house tours and rating them because you go to lots of non decorated houses that just have gauntlets and these get high ratings?
If you want to give decorating and the tours back to those that enjoy it then maybe gauntlets should be removed from display houses.
If people think that's not fair then create a "Gauntlet Category" if you have any gauntlet in your house then that house can only be displayed in the gauntlet houses category. If a gauntlet is about to be added to a house after its registered in a different category then a warning should come up stating "placing this object will remove you from your current decor category and you will have to re register your house to the Gauntlet Category". Then if its place the house is removed from that category and has to be registered in the Gauntlet Category if they still wish to show there house for tours.
This is a way to return the great idea of decorating and tours back to those that enjoy it.
It's unfair how throw gauntlet houses do get the tops. People who actually decorate their houses for the fun like you and me deserve higher ratings. I know I have the Spiral Cup Gauntlet in my house but it's friends only and it's for me it's time fighting with friends in a dungeon and having an indoor fountain decoration that goes along with my Wysteria Villa. Some of those house loiters are seriously annoying. It's lead me to give out multiple reports multiple times.
I like to decorate houses and loved the idea of tours however I stopped going to house tours and rating them because you go to lots of non decorated houses that just have gauntlets and these get high ratings?
If you want to give decorating and the tours back to those that enjoy it then maybe gauntlets should be removed from display houses.
If people think that's not fair then create a "Gauntlet Category" if you have any gauntlet in your house then that house can only be displayed in the gauntlet houses category. If a gauntlet is about to be added to a house after its registered in a different category then a warning should come up stating "placing this object will remove you from your current decor category and you will have to re register your house to the Gauntlet Category". Then if its place the house is removed from that category and has to be registered in the Gauntlet Category if they still wish to show there house for tours.
This is a way to return the great idea of decorating and tours back to those that enjoy it.
crafter, lvl 74