Published Makes rewards - what happened?
From what I understand the fewer makes on a model, the more likely you are to be able to get maximum Prusameters for it. However, I just published a Make for a model with no other Makes, and only got two Prusameters for it, versus another model with around 256 Makes which got me 7.
I couldn't find anything in the community about it, or the Announcements, or any forum post about it, so what's going on? I mostly care that I'm publishing them right to get more Prusameters, maybe I'm not understanding how the system works? Has the reward for Makes gone down so severely?
RE: Published Makes rewards - what happened?
Yeah it seems like a random number generator at times. When they changed the system, one of the Prusa reps here in the forum mentioned that two of the factors are the number of makes and the size of the model, but there are others. I have some theories of my own on what the algorithm is looking for, and lately I have gotten relatively consistent decent PMs for makes posted. But I looked at some of your makes, and I think I see which one you were talking about, and comparing what you posted with my theories, I have to admit that I have no clue why they gave you 7 PMs for that make. It makes no sense to me, unless there is indeed a randomization built into it. Or maybe if you post enough makes, even if they don't hit the criteria the scoring algorithm looks for, perhaps the system is programmed to occasionally throw you a bone to keep you interested in posting makes, or even to keep us all guessing.
For me I guess it comes down to why you are posting the make in the first place. I like getting "free" stuff as much as the next guy, and while the PMs towards said "free" stuff is appreciated, I would still be posting makes even if they discontinued the PM program entirely. I do it because I enjoy posting about stuff I have made, and to give feedback to other designers and makers. Having people download your models is one thing, but even with the PM reward, it's difficult to get them to bother posting makes or giving feedback. I post makes of other designers' models because I know I appreciate it on the rare occasions somebody posts a make of one of mine. So the distribution of PMs is just a nice plus and of course sometimes a source for puzzlement. 🤣
RE: Published Makes rewards - what happened?
I'm with you, I'd probably be posting makes even without the reward. It's more about, if there's a Make quality I should be hitting to get the max, I'd like to make sure I'm doing <whatever it is> that's required to get there. So my Makes are useful.
And sometimes I post a novel and get two points, sometimes a sentence or two and I get max points. I don't understand the system and that's what bothers me.
I don't haunt the forums so I was wondering if there was a post about it I couldn't find explaining things more clearly, or recent change announcements about it.
RE: Published Makes rewards - what happened?
Yeah, with the variable amounts, it would be nice to have more transparency--not to game the system, but so we can understand what is valued. I think it's great to encourage users to post makes for lower-profile models by rewarding them with extra meters, but the incentive only works if that actually happens. (Ideally we're all posting makes regardless, but humans being human, the little nudge helps.)