Song creators scores in scoreboard

[nejento]

Hello,
I have one small comment about scoreboards.
Shouldn't song creator of songs be NOT registered in song stats which HE/SHE created?

There's a lot of songs where creator of the song file is also on the first place of the scoreboard and that seems a bit unfair, because the timing, tone and other things are fitting to that person.
I don't mind seeing song file creators in other songs which they didn't make, because that doesn't fit, that means it's fair.

Thanks for reply and support.

[RD1042]

Actually, there is already a internal discussion about keeping the devscores out of the online highscores altogether. It is clear that there exists an unfair advantage for file creators. It might still take some time to work out a convenient solution. After all, this is a beta release and not the end product.

In the meanwhile, I want you to understand our point in singing these songs we created. We are creating files of songs we particularly like to sing and therefore also like to perform on these songs in MLK. This is even more true for community songs than official songs, I imagine. And we also like to see our scores listed on the scoreboard, at least I know that I do.

I ultimately believe that a decent enough singer can outperform the file creator, albeit it might take him/her several tries and practice runs. A file creator just has a little headstart.  :)

That aside, I still agree with you that the developer/file creator scores should be omitted from the normal scoreboard. Maybe just leave them as a benchmark for singers, a "beat the file creator"- challenge, if you will.

I still wish you luck in beating the scores. After all, that's the beauty of the online scoreboard. You'll never run out of competition.

[Renard]

Hello!

The timing, tone, and everything are specific to a given song, not to the file creator. It's true creators have a somewhat unfair advantage has they know the song very well (have to play it a lot), however the files are made according to the original song, not to fit their own voices. Heck, I created a lot of (hopefully accurate) files and yet suck at singing them, as you can see in the leaderboards :P

[Smilley]

I guess that one's mostly directed to me. Let's get a few things out of the way, first.
- First and foremost, I see myself as my own best customer. I make the notes files because I love the songs and the game - though sharing the experience with the world is a big plus.
- I agree that we creators have a headstart when it comes to singing these songs. I spend about 1-2 hours on average on a 2-3 minute song. By the end, I tend to know the ins and outs of any given song.
- That said, I like to imagine that I make the notes files based on what the original singers sing, not so I can get a top score. True, my personal benchmark for releasing new songs is that I can score at least 9500 on Easy for them (bit of insider info there), but that has a whole different reason from stoking my own ego: if I can't do it, it is not good enough. I can't expect others to enjoy it fully if I can't get a good enough score.
If you think that you have ever been given an unjustly low score because the files are wrong, post an error report. We are not infallable, and if we find your complaint valid, we will improve the files accordingly - for the good of all players.
- This might sound every bit as jerkish and egotistical as it probably is, but I am fairly competitive and really good at this game. I might not be star singer material, but I know what the game expects of me. Give me a song I like, whether Pony or not, give me a decent notes file, whether created by me or not, and I can probably get an excess of 9000 on Medium. It's what little claim to fame I have, and resent me for it or not, I want to show it off.
- This is the reason I play almost exclusively on Medium. I know I would trump pretty much anyone on Easy. The only exceptions are The Welcome Song and Hop Skip And Jump - because I managed 10000 on the former and 9990 on the latter before - both on casual plays at that. I know it's possible, and I want to legitimately grab them with ths version as well. I don't see it as a take that, but as an inspiration - that you can strive for perfection in this game.

With all that said, if you still want our scores gone from the competititve leaderboards, I am OK with RD's compromise - to have our scores separate, but still visible on the homepage; if others would want that too. Actually, I proposed just this on a closed discussion before the release of the Beta Channel, but was downvoted by the other staff members.

[QT Luna]

To provide another non-teammember opinion. (Nobody wants nejento to feel ganged upon.)

I love to play MLK and even before the online scoreboards I had a good glimpse of what a good score is and used it as an incentive. The reason, RD1042 lives near me and he wrecked all scores I ever achieved, no matter who created the file.

I can assure you, nejento, that the scores you see are not a result of forgery or "creator-advantage", but lots of practice. I can't even remember how often we sang "I am Octavia" in the past or played till we lost our voices. I've seen RD1042 perform songs with 8500-9500 points on medium with eyes closed, slightly drunk and half-sleeping. Not because he created the file, but because he knows the songs very well.

And I can confirm this with my own experience, when I first played MLK, I barely scratched 5000 points on any song, if I was lucky I managed to get 6500. Now, lots of hours in the game later, I expect to get 5000 points minimum, if I really try to get them, and usually aim for 8500+ on the songs I like. (And sometimes I even get to beat RD1042, though this is very rare and depends on luck.)

I think, creators should be included in the highscores, but they could be marked to pose as a challenge for others. (Similar to RD1042s idea.)

[Goliathe]

I guess everything has been said; you don't get a good score because you created the file, but because you know the songs very well. I want to do pretty much everything on Easy before attacking Normal and Hard (and fix some issues I personally get with the game), but I can get 9.500+ on first attempts, or usually my on my second, and this for most of the songs I know. Of course, for those I know a bit less, it will take more time, but it's all about practice... not making the file.

To be honest, I'm glad that the devscores are up in the leaderboards, because it shows they like what they do, and it can be a challenge for people ;)

[PsychicWalnut]

Other things to consider would be the quality of the equipment you are using.

A very slow computer or bad volume level settings can cause the game to sense 'sound gaps' in your singing, and give you a lower score.
A low quality sound card or microphone can cause the game to detect variance in your singing pitch, even if you are rock solid.
Least troublesome, but still worth mentioning is, a noisy power line.  This can really play games with the quality of internal sound cards.

I personally plug my microphone into an external USB audio device to bypass any sound card and line noise issues.

In any event, high scores aren't everything.  I prefer to give a great performance with feeling, instead of just following notes like a machine.  I get a much better crowd response that way.  After all, karaoke is all about having fun and building self esteem.