I’m not sure if this is the correct thread to post a suggestion in, but I have a suggestion.
It would be nice if you could sort the modules by popularity on the VCV library page. There are currently only 3 options for sorting: Name, Created, and Random.
Does anyone else think this is a good idea?
I used to be an option, but it turned out popularity just meant how long a module had been in the library.
Yes, like the Reaktor User library, it has that problem too… Number of stars makes it easy for new ensembles that people are excited about, number of downloads makes it easy for old old old ensembles… I think that it does not work at all…
In the case of VCV it was (at least back then) the belief that many users subscribed to every single plugin.
As far as stars or other kinds of opinion ratings it’s a highly charged topic. For one thing it is against the rules to criticize free modules. I’m in the small minority of believing that some kind of “review” would be a good thing.
I could see that. Adding a limit to the popularity timeframe might fix this (eg. popularity by day, month, years). This way users can see the most downloaded modules overall, or just from this month.
On top of what has already been mentioned, one other issue with this that springs to mind is that the modules are delivered as plugin collections so there’s no way of knowing what the most popular individual modules are, only the most downloaded plugin collections. This coupled with the oldest plugins most likely having the most downloads and the fact that many people just download everything that is free, the figures will be skewed and therefor not very useful.
If you are interested, here is one of the two topics from last year where we discussed a “like” or “popularity” ranking addition:
It seems like there are a lot of different viewpoints on this subject. I can see how newer developers might get their feelings hurt if there is some sort of ranking system, especially given that their modules are free. The other side of it is that it may even encourage creators to strive for better modules. I can also see how no ranking encourages us to find out for ourselves, but we can also find hidden gems with a ranking system. As of now, there is not a ranking system, and I’m sure the developers have decided that for a reason. I just believe that it may help a newer user like myself differentiate between the plethora of modules as the library gets increasingly larger.
This is one of the reasons I stopped making modules (which were free). Really, really difficult to differentiate yourself from “the pack”.
I definitely do not parse the free and premium into 2 neat piles. Some free modules have most excellent and some premium have been less than I hoped for. Quality seems to be factor of the developers desire to code a great sound and function, not how much I pay.
Of course, but there is a little tension around that. Are free modules just as good as paid ones, and should be held to the same high standards? Or a free module a playground that new programmers may contribute to without fear of flame?
From the guidelines of this forum:
Your modules are some of my favorites, so f there were a like system, yours would probably me at the top 