Instead of handing out ratings to missions arbitrarily, I think we should have some loose standards which determine the difference between missions of one rating and missions of another. Mine look like this:
There are a few things one can do to warrant a one star rating. They all amount to messing up or publishing something which should not be considered a complete level. This rating is reserved for unplayable or incomplete missions.
-Objectives and waypoints not present, impossible to know how to progress.
-Logic broken, impossible to progress.
-Creator published a mission from a pre-made template and changed nothing.
-Creator published a "remixed" mission, and changed nothing.
-Creator did nothing but fill an area with enemies, player dies immediately upon spawning.
-Creator did something ***** worthy, such as set a mission to end in success the moment it starts, etc.
I consider two stars the lowest rating for real, playable missions. Creator put in minimal effort and messed up somewhere.
-Objectives or waypoints present, but unclear or fail to appear or disappear at proper time.
-Level is often accidentally broken.
-Mission is unrealistically difficult or tedious.
-Mission is long enough to require use of spawn points, but features none.
-No creativity.
-Music not used.
I give this rating to better missions that show noteworthy effort on the creator's part. They have a degree of creativity, are fun, and playable. There might be several obvious problems that show a lack of fine-tuning.
-Objectives or waypoints properly placed.
-Level can be unintentionally broken, but rarely is.
-Difficulty not consistent with normal inFamous mission, but acceptable.
-Too few spawn points.
-Mission features at least one brief that gives it a premise.
-Dialog not concise, detracts from experience.
-Music inappropriate.
-Some creativity.
I hand out this rating often. Four star missions are the ones that really impress with their creativity, playability, and effort on the creator's part. Their is some small problem that keeps them from getting that final star.
-Level is very hard to break.
-Difficulty nailed.
-Spawn points after every major event.
-Briefs and dialog are strong.
-Music well suited, different songs used for different sequences.
-Average degree of creativity, something that makes it unique.
There are only a few level creators who make missions deserving of this rating. This is for the few that have a very creative premise, and show exceptional effort from the creator. Missions that force you to send praise to the publisher over PSN. They have very trivial or no issues.
-Level is virtually or completely unbreakable.
-Difficulty nailed.
-Great briefs and dialog. Characters believable and story exciting.
-Best music choices made.
-Great degree of creativity. This mission is it's own.
What are your own standards for rating missions?
