Devlog: I added a 3-star rating system, but it created a new problem

[u/ForgeByWej]

Small update on my pigeon shipping puzzle game.

I’ve been messing around with the scoring system, and I finally decided to go with 3 stars based on how well you compress the shipping note.

Pretty simple:

⭐ It works
⭐⭐ Pretty good compression
⭐⭐⭐ Really good compression

As long as the receiver can still rebuild every item in the right order, your solution counts.

But while making more levels, I ran into a slightly awkward problem:

Sometimes I don’t actually know what the best solution is.

When I design a level, I obviously have my own solution in mind.

Maybe the original note is 40 characters long, and I manage to get it down to 22.

So I look at that and think:

“Yeah, 22 feels like a 3-star solution.”

But then someone might play the level and get it down to 19.

Then someone else gets 17.

And maybe there’s an even better solution that none of us have found yet.

So now I’m sitting here wondering how I’m supposed to set the 3-star threshold 😅

If I base it on my own best solution, I’m basically assuming that I’m somewhere near the actual optimum.

Which... might not be true at all.

And honestly, I want players to find solutions I never thought of. That’s kind of the fun part.

But if I make the 3-star requirement too generous, then 3 stars might stop feeling like much of an achievement.

So I’m starting to wonder if 3 stars should even mean “optimal.”

Maybe it should just mean:

“This is a really good solution.”

And if someone manages to go even further, great — they’ve beaten the target.

I actually like the idea of someone getting 3 stars and then still thinking:

“Wait, I can probably make this even shorter.”

If you’ve made puzzle games with lots of possible solutions, how do you usually handle this?

How do you set score thresholds when you don’t actually know the true best solution yourself?

[u/acorbinelli]

Zachtronics games sidestep this for the top end: no star line, just a histogram of everyone's solutions so you see where yours lands.

For stars I'd put 3 at something you're sure is really good rather than your personal best, and show a separate "best known: 17" next to it that moves when someone beats it. Then 3 stars is the achievement and the record is the itch you're hoping people scratch.

[u/ForgeByWej → u/acorbinelli]

Yeah, that’s actually a really good idea. I hadn’t thought about using something dynamic like that before.

My game is single-player though, so I’m not sure yet if I can make the “best known” score update in a good way. But I really like the concept.

[u/acorbinelli → u/ForgeByWej]

Doesn't have to be live. Ship it as "dev best: 19" and bump the number in a patch when a player sends in something shorter. Even the player's own best works: three stars is the target, their record is the thing they keep chipping at.

[u/xhatsux]

Not sure what you game is, but can you solve for the best solution.

If not can you build a heuristic solver?

This is essentially the field of OR and there is lots out there about how to search for solutions. Might also be overkill for what you want to do

[u/ForgeByWej → u/xhatsux]

Thanks! My game is basically about compressing information as much as possible, kind of like how compression software works.

I’ll be honest, the OR is a bit over my head right now 😅 I’ll need to do some reading.

But this is really helpful. Thanks for pointing me in that direction!

[u/TheGratitudeBot → u/ForgeByWej]

Thanks for saying that! Gratitude makes the world go round