Unacceptable mod being allowed through submissions.

[SP Moves Enjoyer]

At first, I thought the release system would allow for fun and enjoyable mods and mods that had actual effort put into them.
But, after this mod got through somehow (https://mb.srb2.org/addons/kirbys-dreamland.5260/), im starting to question how good the release system is, because not only is this one of the least enjoyable mods in 2.2 as of now, it CLEAR that the creator has put in 0 effort into this mod. From the bad level design to the enemy spam, to the short as all hell levels as well as COPY AND PASTED BOSS ARENA'S WITH SLIGHTY DIFFRENT LIGHTING. This level pack just seems like it was thrown into existence in 20 minutes. Not only does it have no level headers, it also lacks basic vanilla character support, as in most characters can't even beat the darn thing (sonic, amy, fang and metal sonic mostly) tricking you into a false sense of choice. The levels in play are just not fun to play on because they have horrid texturing and visuals as well as random ass enemy spam for no reason to compensate for their lack of depth of any kind. There's a level that's just 3 platforms, and another were all you need to do is hold right and tank a single hit of damage to win. Both with enemy spam. Alongside questionable design choices and SOFTLOCKS, this shouldn't have been accepted at all and im questioning who played this map-pack to accept it, if it was even played at all. I know this is his first mappack, but instead of accepting it onto the addon sections, they could have simply told him ways to improve his mappack so it would be better. Tell me your thoughts below, because I can't be the only one thinking this

 

[DylanDude]

You openly trash-talking their mod in the least constructive way possible is much worse than releasing something you didn’t like. If you didn’t like it, might I suggest leaving a constructive review on the mod? Why open a separate thread?

Also, no map pack was made with “no effort,” that’s just incredibly rude to the creator. Anyone who has actually made maps before can attest to that.

How would you feel if someone said this about your mod?

 

[SP Moves Enjoyer]

You openly trash-talking their mod in the least constructive way possible is much worse than releasing something you didn’t like. If you didn’t like it, might I suggest leaving a constructive review on the mod? Why open a separate thread?

Also, no map pack was made with “no effort,” that’s just incredibly rude to the creator. Anyone who has actually made maps before can attest to that.

How would you feel if someone said this about your mod?

If someone made an entire thread about how unpolished my mod was, then I would know that I messed up big time, or at least something was WRONG. This isn't trash talking, I'm just listing out the issues that made me think that they spent a short time on this mod and it not being fun to play. (that also leads into questioning why this map pack was allowed in in such a state)

 

[DylanDude]

If someone made an entire thread about how unpolished my mod was, then I would know that I messed up big time, or at least something was WRONG. This isn't trash talking, I'm just listing out the issues that made me think that they spent a short time on this mod and it not being fun to play. (that also leads into questioning why this map pack was allowed in in such a state)

This IS trash-talking. You are stating that their level pack was "unacceptable" and that it getting through Submissions means the system is broken. It's not constructive criticism at all, meaning it's not helpful to the person in question. Are you giving this negative feedback to help the novice modder improve or just for the sake of complaining?

Have you ever seen someone else make a whole thread about how bad a specific mod was? No? There's a reason for that.

 

[time gear]

My understanding of the release system, which could be wrong, is that it's not meant to function as a strict quality control. If a submission isn't breaking any rules, it will be accepted. Additionally, someone posting a low quality map pack as their introduction to map making is to be expected. Everyone has to start from somewhere, they're not going to be pumping out masterpieces of level design from day 1. I'm not psychic so I can't get into the head of the author and figure out what they were thinking, but I'd consider it a reasonable guess that they were probably aware of the fact it wasn't anything mind blowing or anything but posted it anyway hoping to get some tips and pointers they could use to do better in the future, or even just because they wanted to contribute to the community even if in a small way.

There's a difference between negative but fair criticism, and toxic criticism. While I am of the belief that any form of art that gets posted online or otherwise released to the public is subject to criticism, I am also of the belief that if you have negative things to say about someone's works it costs nothing to share those thoughts in a polite way instead of going on a long rant harshly dunking on it.

 

[SilicDev]

it also lacks basic vanilla character support, as in most characters can't even beat the darn thing (sonic, amy, fang and metal sonic mostly) tricking you into a false sense of choice.

From the mod page:

this map is only for kirby and meta knight

They clearly state that the map is not intended for Vanilla characters.
Additionally as the others have said ranting in a separate thread and telling the author to "Do better next time bro" doesn't help anyone. Friendly reminder that everyone is sharing their content for free here to contribute to the community and insulting them over it is just going to cause them to stop doing that instead of improving on their work while learning.

 

[SeventhSentinel]

All an addon has to do to pass the submissions process is work correctly, not contain stolen work, and have a correct file name (along with some other rules). Everyone deserves the chance to receive constructive criticism for their work. Stick to the Featured section if you only want to play the best of the best stuff. Don't have a fit when something doesn't turn out to be the next big thing, and certainly don't make a thread about it where the author probably won't even see it -- leave a polite and constructive review instead.