the most important part is designing something people love to download and have it printed, not the boost
I designed most of my models for my self or something keep my wife happy , so I don’t feel too bad about only few people willing to download it
yeah it doesn’t look good on something took me three days and only had one download, but thats the way how it works
I disagree with the new focus on more elaborate models and penalizing more simple designs that people find useful. I do see value in rewarding people who put a lot of effort into designing fancy beautiful things, but not by discouraging more simple designs that are appreciated.
One of the things I like about 3D printing is that it allows me to solve problems, recently a bumper from a toilet seat fell out and was lost and it seems that this particular brand has this issue often enough that someone designed a replacement. Not a huge elaborate project, but the ability to solve my problem by printing one piece, snapping it into place and go on with the rest of my life was highly appreciated and if that design had been on Makerworld I’d have given it a boost, but under the new rules Makerworld would give me fewer tokens to give in the future because the stuff I liked wasn’t complicated enough - ugh.
And while elaborate designs are cool, they are often more complicated for the person who wants to print and use them, so we should encourage all skill levels of both designer and users of those designs.
I think we can be happy that Bambu Lab doesn’t just give points to designers based on the grams of filament used, and even then, only if a Bambu Lab RFID spool was detected and a Bambu Lab printer was used.
I don’t understand why Bambu Lab updated the boost rules like this. It doesn’t make sense if they value all creators.
With the new rules, they only seem to value creators who make complex models. This still needs to be clarified - what are the specific conditions for a complex model? And if I boost a model, how do I know if I’m currently boosting a complex model… will I get fewer or up to three boosts the next week…?
This is a new rule that is not well thought out. It could have been so simple, Bambu Lab could have made it like this:
…simple and easy AND the creators of simple models remain valued…
And that would cost Bambu much more. The whole point of this is so people who put in more work make more then people who spend 5 minutes designing a filament clip.
what is “make more”? That’s a nice term. At the end Bambu is interesting in selling printeres, filament and maker supply parts. So a filament clip, designed only for Bambu Lab spools is something people are printing a lot (at least I have tons of clips here) and maybe are only buying Bambu Lab spools for the best fit. A complex model will be printed quite rarer, so which model has the better benefit for Bambu?
We still do not have an official definition of “complex”. As nobody can measure how many effort you spend to design your model, it can only be measured by filament usage, printing time and count of parts. So maybe we will see in increase in wall count, infill percentage and splitting up models in future…
That really depends. There’s always a direct and an indirect effect. I might add a strategic client to my portfolio and even lose money on the rates I negotiate with them, just to be able to show them as one of my clients in front of other potential customers. I will then be able to convert those into real customers, which I otherwise wouldn’t be able to. With them I’ll have the rates that make me money, thus regaining the loss I have with my “strategic” customer and whatever is on top of that.
So, in terms of price x volume = turnover these “complex models” don’t add much, because v is too low even though p is likely to be higher due to additional parts on the BOM. However, being able to show off this model on your page (contest headers, etc.) you’ll attract more people and v on on your entire portfolio will go up.
So, any model gains complexity if upscaled to 200% you mean? Material and time will certainly go up this way. I just don’t think it adds complexity, so maybe not the best way to measure it either.
I totally agree, but do you have a better idea? MW itself does not say anything about the definition of “complex”. It might be manually picked, like the featured model ones, but this will not work for the crowd.
In your view Bambu Lab already “pays” more cause they give up to three boost tokens.
And they gain more than they give, thats for sure. No company pays more than it gets out of it. This can be data, more consumers, more people buying more on top of the coupon, etc.
According to the blog, there isn’t an increase in boost tokens, as some users only receive one boost token.
Yes, maybe. But I think there are many who will from now on only boost complex models to get the full 3 boost tokens.
But my answer was more a more vague reply to BambuBanker. Dunno how to insert a quote 
And when Bambu Lab doesn´t predict an increase of boost tokens, they just have to spend a little more points, if they only increase the points for “complex” models. But thats out of the way, they will not change it.
I think they might recognize a “complex” model based on the mesh body, or doesn´t this say anything about a model?
Mark the text you want to quote and click on reply or use the appearing hover menu.
As I said before, I have created a webcam monitor holder which has some twists in it, which makes the mesh quite complicated. Indeed, it was created very fast.
Bambu should come up with strict rules what they like and what not and also definewhat is complex. Sometimes it is complex to make a easy/simple solution. Much more than a multi part waste of filament.But every user than likes or dislike a model decides on their own, not with the eyes of Bambu Labs.
As a content creator I have foreseen a drop from the new distribution system but i wouldn’t ever expected that it would have been so deep.
I went from 10 boost per day to 10 boost per week and this is as simple to explain as it looks:
If I receive a bost after printing a model and I like it, I boost it.
If I receive a boost after 1 week I will probably boost another model, not the one that I liked and received the boost for.
If bambulab expected that the average user wrote down a ‘boost distribution queue’…they were terribly wrong.
This new method simply penalises small creators and potentially BOOOOOST models that are displayed on Monday in “featured” section or the homepage…totally forgetting about other designs the potentially toke the boost for t
I would like to quote from the blog post if I may…
Quality of Boosted Models
The models you choose to boost will now directly impact how many Boost Tokens you receive. Our system will evaluate boosted models based on:
- The effort creators put into the designs, reflected by its structural complexity and precision.
- Thoughtful color schemes and high-quality photos
- Detailed and accurate descriptions and assembly guide.
The more ambitious the models you boost, the more Boost Tokens you’ll likely receive in return.
I think a lot of people here get very hung up on the term “complexity” when really it reads “structural complexity” which does indeed narrow it down a little. Is it still and intangible term? Well, yeah… but at the same time, have a look at all the other criteria they mention (I’ve highlighted them “bold”). It’s probably save to say…
…that an increase in wall count will not make a model “complex”… besides, wall count and infill is a matter of print profiles, not the model itself. But really, what they are looking for if you look at the end of the blog post quote above… “The more ambitious the models you boost, the more Boost Tokens you’ll likely receive in return.”
So, really… what you want is a definition of “ambitious” not “complex”… and they’re kind of hinting at what that means. At the same time, we know what the -1 instead of +1 looks like, because it’s safe to assume it’s all the models that are disqualified from the Exclusive Program… let me quote that as well…
- Models that are flat/plane/2D, or those which aren’t structurally sophisticated, usually including:
- Hueforges & Lithophanes
- Keychains
- Bookmarks
- Coasters
- Fridge Magnets
- Cake Toppers
- Badges & Coins
- Filament Clips
- Box Openers
Note: Adding a simple stand or increasing the thickness of these models to make it vertically stand doesn’t qualify them into the program.
- Models that involve using existing pictures/logos/signs and converting them into 3mf/stl files using certain tools such as Lithophane and Lightboxes generators.
- Models made with these MakerLab Tools
- Christmas Ornament Maker
- Make My Statue
- PrintMon Maker
- Make My Lithophane
- Image to Keychain
- Pixel Puzzle Maker
- Make My Sign
- Variations of existing models. For example, V2/V3 of the same filament clip or orange peeler. If it’s an entirely new design, rename it as a new model but not using the same name and adding a V2. Only enter one version into the program. Other versions of the same model will be removed for not meeting the requirement for originality.
So, any of the above are certainly not “ambitious” (previously “complex”)… I mean, how exact do you want their definition of what they’d like boosts to go to be… they even say in the very beginning…
When we created the Boost System, we wanted to recognize designers who push the boundaries of what’s possible with 3D printing. However, as we watched the system in action, we’ve realized two key challenges:
- Some users found ways to game the system – We’ve detected instances of mutual boosting and even buying/selling of Boost Tokens, which undermines what we’re trying to achieve.
- Boosts often go to simpler models – A significant portion of Boost Tokens have been awarded to less complex designs, which doesn’t align with our goal of incentivizing sophisticated creations and outstanding efforts.
…and it seems you all read past their first point… which is the same thing YouTube has to deal with when it comes to “organized” sub4sub… people were simply exchanging boosts. Now, I for one will assume, that they got good people in marketing and strategic communication and the order these things are listed in DOES matter. Lastly, as far as how many boosts you’ll receive (to give out), they also mention this…
Active Engagement
Your participation in the MakerWorld community now plays a bigger role in your eligibility for Boost Tokens. Key factors include:
- Time spent printing models from the platform
- Commenting on creators’ 3D models and rating print profiles
- Thoughtfully giving Boost Tokens to ambitious 3D models
…so really, do we actually need a definition of their understanding of the term “complex” when “structural complexity” is just one of the things they mention?
I’m not sure I follow… what does printing have to do with boosting? Right under the header of their blog post it says…
How we’re refining our Boost system to better reward ambitious projects and reduce manipulation
Printing will not stop the boost4boost people gaming the system… they’ll just print each others 2g model and then boost each other. Then immediately in the first paragraph it says…
When we launched the Boost System last year, our goal was clear: encourage and reward designers who dedicate much effort to create intricate, technically advanced 3D models that push the boundaries of what’s possible .
Hand in hand with the first quote that’s more or less a… we know, it’s nothing you’d wanna print for yourself; however, if you design models yourself and you can appreciate the effort put into it… here’s a way to do so.
I’m not sure that you and BL are on the same page… it’s a bit like saying, you can only be a fan of that football team if you also own the team. Or you can only appreciate a van Gogh if you bought one at an auction before.
But maybe I’m missing something here… why exactly do you think it’s necessary to print something before you can boost it? Keeping in mind what BL is saying what their boost system is supposed to be good for, ie… " Boosting What Matters: Rewarding Engineering and Design Effort" (which is literally the title of the blog post.)
Thank you for your long quality post. However, it’s still something you can not really measure automatically, which left users in a term of uncertainty.
I got for example 2x3 Boosts tokens, but did not boosted any featured or very popular model in the last weeks. I am still given my boost token to models, which are great in my point of view. I remember at least two models last week, which did not have any boost yet. This leads me to the consumption, that at least for receiving boost tokens, there definition is either overrated or overwritten by other things.
And that is why I want a definition of “complex” or call it “ambitious”. At the end I am searching for criterias what makes a model reaching this level. But - and this is quite more important for me - I am still thinking, it is the wrong way to force boosts to a specific type of model. The small and “simple” models pushed MW to the leading platform. For sure, the high complex model are a nice showcase, but nothing for all the newbies in 3D printing and mosts viral videos are dealing with easy prints - easy wins for fun or solution helper.
So I want to go back from “how do they determine…?” to “why are they trying to do it this way…?”.
That’s it.
Why didn’t they change the boosts to be paid by the users themself and let them do what they like. In fact it is just to promote the platform and give it a boost to pull “designers” to their platform. Most people would share their design even without incentive. Then cheating … would make no sense. Or is somebody make their living from makerworld. I can hardly believe.
I don’t know … I would doubt that 
Apart from that, I hope you don’t call yourself a small creator, do you? ^^
You didn’t get a token directly after EVERY print until now. I (and I’m pretty sure others too) award them according to other criteria, not just because I just printed this piece and got a token for it.
Every time I have tokens, I go through my download list or the ratings and decide which piece I liked best or made my life easier. I’m so happy about some prints that I even give 2 or 3 boosts.
It might be worse in the feeling of the user. For now, if a user is boosting a “cheater” without knowing it is a cheater (e.g. using stolen models), MW is paying for this. If the users have to buy the boosts, MW will get a bad image soon…
Btw. the “buy me a coffee” thing is something you can see a lot, moreover the paid memberships are doing the same thing.