Comments on: Introducing the TurboSquid 3D Modeling Series

By: Michele Bousquet

Michele Bousquet — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:35:53 +0000

Regarding ratings, we are actually finding that customers pay no attention to them whatsoever. This makes sense for a 3D marketplace, if you think about it. If you’re buying certain kinds of items online, like appliances, you might want to see ratings or reviews to see how well the appliance works. But with 3D models, if a customer can see a wireframe and other data like poly count, he/she can tell if the model will do the job. There’s no point in a review like “Great topology!” when the customer can see that from the wireframe, or a review like “Worked perfect for my project” when a second customer’s project is entirely different. The same goes for ratings. Where one customer might give one star because the model had too high a poly count to be useful to them, the next customer might want extreme detail, and for them it’s five stars all the way.

Because of the customers’ lack of interest in ratings/reviews, we aren’t planning to upgrade this system. In fact, we plan to replace it in the not-too-distant future with something more meaningful, something that will actually help customers make decisions on what to buy. The 3D modeling standards described here are part of that effort. At some point, 3D models in our catalog that meet basic standards, like real-world scale and clean topology, will be designated as such. This, more than stars or reviews, will help customers weed out the “good” stuff from the rest. Customers will be able to specify in our Search engine that they want to see only models that meet the standards. This will cut down on customer search time, as they won’t have to fish through such wide variations in quality. We also plan to allow customers to search on Poly Count, whether something has Unwrapped UVs, etc. to further narrow down the search for specific project needs.

By: bihoreanul

bihoreanul — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 19:11:53 +0000

Scale…I think is not very important.
Ex: Which dimension has a flower?
A tree?
Okay for characters but even here are the differents dimensions. 1.60m, 1.70m, 1.75m, 1.80m…:d
They want imperial dim. or meters? :d
The proportions are important!!!!!

By: 3Dgrafika

3Dgrafika — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:56:34 +0000

We agree. Models are not rated enough. Lots of models in TS has no rating at all. And waiting to be rated for years and years

It would be great to have:

- Turbosquid Staff rating
- Buyers rating
- Visitors rating

Also, uploading models Artist may have checkboxes, like the ones in table above. Like:

- Model has real world size
- Model is centered at 0,0,0
….

This would make them think and do models the right way.
Also buyers would be able to filter models that are done right.

By: Imagetek3D

Imagetek3D — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:58:08 +0000

I have sold many models on TS since 2007, and the ratings are usualy high, but only a few of my total products ever get rated even though they are selling every month.

By: Imagetek3D

Imagetek3D — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:55:06 +0000

Yes I agree, The Rating system is flawed. I think the customers, after they have downloaded a product, must be required to rate the previouse model before they can purchase a new model. It only takes a minute, a splash screen should come up when they purchase another model and let them rate the model(s) before committing to purchase the next one. This would make it better for everyone.

By: 3Dgrafika

3Dgrafika — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 06:47:13 +0000

Very good idea!

Separate ratings:
– one from the buyers who really downloaded model
– and separate ratings from the ones who was just looking at thumbnails (no download)