[07.21.26] Canvas Clones and the Effect it has on the Leaderboard

Brainstorm with Kjun
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Canvas has a huge clone problem. No, not same face syndrome, but clones. Multiple creators simply post the same presets with some slight alterations over and over again.

Ok, so what? Why is this an issue?

It is an issue when top creators do this systematically. Top creators, most of whom joined the game at or near launch, and therefore benefitted a lot from that initial influx of players, accruing large follower counts as a result, will always have an advantage over creators who join later.

That in itself is not necessarily an issue, but when top creators ‘spam’ the same presets continuously, which only a fraction of their followers have to like or even download for them to show up in the daily ranking spots, preventing newer creators from even showing up there at all, thus precluding new creators from getting any exposure and therefore making it to the leaderboard themselves.

Not only is this an issue for newer creators, but it is also an issue for players. Players will constantly see the same presets in the daily top and the loading screens. The top zois of the day are all mostly occupied by the same people, sometimes with clones showing up twice in the leaderboards.

Sounds like you’re just jealous.

It’s not about jealousy, but creative integrity. I have a huge passion for character creation. Not just in inZOI, but in general. I spend many, many hours on each zoi, and I have done, and will continue to do so regardless of popularity. However, to say it is disheartening and frustrating to see the same people posting their clones again and again is putting it mildly.

To go a little further, many of these clones aren’t particularly high effort to begin with. Many are barely altered presets, which is concealed by overloading them with mods and make-up. That is a separate issue and not entirely relevant, so that is all I will say about that.

This is not about ‘’allowing people to have the freedom to express their creativity in whichever way they like (within reason)’’, there is no creativity involved when posting these clones. People are (and should be) free to post whatever they want, that is completely fine. The system however should not encourage people to spam the same presets they have already uploaded with minor edits.

What to do then?

Genuinely, I do not know. I am not a game designer, I am just a psychology student with too much free time on her hands.

  • One potential solution is to limit the amount of uploads that can show up in the daily leaderboard per day. Quite a few of these creators will upload multiple zois a day, rotating between a few presets they use. Simply making it so each creator can only have one creation on the leaderboard at any given time will already free up a lot of space.

    Yes, that would mean you cannot upload 3 zois a day and expect all of them to show up on the leaderboard. I do not know about you, but I am a literal bum. Despite me spending a whole day on the game some days I still do not upload daily. To make something good takes effort and time.

  • Group near-identical Zois as variants
    If two uploads from the same creator share almost identical facial and body morph values, Canvas could treat them as members of one variant family. Different hair, makeup, clothes, poses, skin textures or accessories would not automatically make them separate ranking entries.

  • Create a dedicated Rising Creators section

    Canvas needs a discovery space that established creators cannot dominate simply through their existing follower bases.

  • Reduce the influence of existing follower count

    Raw likes and downloads favour accounts that already have thousands of followers. Canvas should measure how unusually well a creation performs relative to the audience it was initially shown to.

Anyway, I do not have all the answers. I post this because it is actively turning me and other creators away from the game. On NexusMods I can upload something and have thousands of downloads, regardless of who I am or how many followers I have. On canvas, the system is extremely top heavy, disproportionately benefitting people who already have a large following, largely due to the aforementioned initial influx from launch.

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An Algorithmic Solution to Protect Original Creators (Builds & Zois) within Current Canvas Guidelines
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(post deleted by author)

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This is not really about people copying other people’s work, it’s about creators continuously posting the same preset, with perhaps a few superficial changes like hair or make-up.

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I absolutely agree. It’s so common, my brain just filters out the same face syndrome, so when something different comes along, it stands out immediately. And it’s so refreshing. And I loveee the solutions you came up with especially the Rising Creators section! That would be so dope!! You got my vote :two_hearts:

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Sorry, then I misunderstood. Might have been a little lost in translation

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@Minthyuyu no worries, that happens :pink_heart:

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I see that too, so many similar creations with very small changes - sometines just a colour change on some outfits for example. This happens with makeup, clothes, faces even entire Zoi’s.

I like your ideas too :custom_butterfly:

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Personally, I simply upload things that I like and want to share with others. Maybe someone will like them, maybe not. The ranking is not important to me.

However, as someone who also downloads content from Canvas, I find the flood of almost identical Zois and other only slightly altered uploads very tiring. You have to search through a lot of very similar content before you find something genuinely new.

I am particularly frustrated that the recommendations on the Canvas homepage also appear to be heavily influenced by the rankings. As a result, I keep seeing creations from the same already successful creators. I would much rather see new, lesser-known, or randomly selected content there as well. A dedicated section for new and currently undiscovered creators would be a welcome addition.

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To add some extra ideas and expand on the OP’s proposal:

Creators should be allowed to upload as much as they want, but each creator should be limited to one position in each major ranking at a time. Near-identical sculpt variants from the same creator could also be grouped for ranking purposes. Canvas could reduce the influence of existing follower counts, reserve part of its discovery system for rising creators, and rotate loading-screen selections using creator cooldowns.

1. One creator, one position per leaderboard

A creator could upload as many Zois as they want, but only their highest-performing creation would be eligible for the Daily Top at one time. If another upload overtakes it, the new upload would replace the previous one rather than taking a second position. This would immediately:

  1. Prevent one creator from occupying multiple daily slots
  2. Expose players to more creators
  3. Preserve everyone’s freedom to upload
  4. Encourage creators to decide which upload they want to promote most heavily

This could also apply to loading-screen selections within a certain rotation period. For example, the same creator should not appear more than once within a seven-day loading-screen cycle unless there are not enough eligible submissions.

2. Group near-identical Zois as variants

The developers would not necessarily need to judge whether something is “creative enough.” Where technically possible, they could compare the underlying CAZ sculpt data. Creators could still publish every variant, but:

  • Only one member of the group could enter the Daily Top
  • Likes and downloads could still be displayed separately
  • The variants could be grouped together on the creator’s page

This would be more objective than moderators visually deciding whether two characters look too similar. It would also distinguish repeated versions of the same sculpt from a creator simply having a recognizable artistic signature.

3. Reduce the influence of existing follower count

Rankings could consider:

  • The percentage of viewers who liked the creation
  • The percentage who downloaded it
  • Saves (Canvas should include saves for people who want to save and revisit), profile visits, and meaningful comments
  • Engagement from people who did not already follow the creator
  • How quickly engagement occurred after the creation was shown

A Zoi receiving 100 likes from 500 viewers may be generating stronger interest than one receiving 300 likes after being shown to 20,000 followers. Follower count should not be allowed to become a permanent multiplier.

4. Create a dedicated Rising Creators section

A Rising Creators feed could feature accounts that:

  • Have fewer than a certain number of followers
  • Joined Canvas recently
  • Have not appeared in the Daily Top recently
  • Are receiving unusually strong engagement relative to their reach

Creators could graduate from the section once they become established. This would be better than permanently labelling someone a “small creator.” A meaningful portion of daily discovery positions could also be reserved for these creators without excluding established creators.

5. Add a leaderboard cooldown

After a creator reaches the Daily Top, their next uploads could remain visible normally but be temporarily ineligible for another Daily Top placement for perhaps 24 or 48 hours.This would prevent someone from cycling repeated uploads through the leaderboard every few hours while still allowing regular posting.

I would not support a strict limit on how many creations someone may upload. That would unnecessarily restrict the platform. The limit should apply to promotional placement, not creation or publishing.

6. Separate “Popular” from “Discovery”

Canvas could add separate feeds such as:

  • Discover: broader creator diversity and personalized recommendations
  • Rising Creators: strong work from less-established accounts

The Discover feed should deliberately avoid showing the same creators and highly similar Zois repeatedly.

7. Introduce diversity rules within recommendations

When Canvas generates a page of recommendations, it could apply basic distribution rules:

  • No more than one or two creations from the same creator
  • No consecutive near-identical faces
  • Fewer repeated uploads derived from the same preset family
  • A mixture of newer and established creators
  • A mixture of creation categories and visual approaches

This would improve the player experience without declaring any aesthetic invalid.

8. Change loading-screen selection

Loading screens are especially valuable because every player may see them. They should not simply reproduce the Daily Top algorithm.

A better loading-screen pool could include:

  • Staff selections
  • Rotating community favorites
  • Rising creators
  • Randomly selected qualifying creations
  • Creations that demonstrate different game features or styles

A creator whose work has recently appeared could receive a temporary cooldown before being selected again. Loading screens should represent Canvas more broadly rather than acting as additional promotion for accounts that already dominate the rankings.

9. Add “Show me fewer like this”

Players should be able to hide:

  • A specific creation
  • Repeated recommendations from one creator
  • Visually similar Zois
  • A particular kind of content they no longer want recommended

This would not be punitive. It would give players more control and prevent the system from assuming that interacting with one Zoi means they want to see fifteen nearly identical ones.

10. Make ranking rules more transparent

The developers do not need to reveal every algorithmic weight, since that could invite manipulation. However, they should explain the broad principles more clearly than they currently do. The lack of transparency can make creators feel that success depends on invisible favouritism or entrenched popularity.

In conclusion:

The expected impact for players would be a more diverse and inspiring home feed without so many repetitive duplicates. For creators, it would create a fairer system where passion and effort have a better chance of being rewarded, regardless of when someone joined the game.T his is ready to post as written.

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I completely agree.

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Someone has posted a similar topic in the past with more suggestions and solutions that are relevant here.

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Hi @ellie_the_cat Thanks so much for bringing this up. As a builder who spends endless hours on every single lot, I totally agree with everything you said. This isn’t just happening with Zois; it’s a huge issue across all categories on Canvas.

A few things I’d love to add from my experience:

  1. Inactive Top Creators getting pushed: A lot of creators who gained tons of followers early on don’t even play anymore, yet Canvas keeps pushing them in “Recommended” sections. They’re already permanently on the Top 100 Leaderboard, so the algorithm should really focus on active creators who are actually contributing right now.

  2. Quantity over Quality: To be fair, many of these creators are genuinely talented and their Zois or builds look amazing. However, mass-uploading clones and minor variations has simply become the easiest and fastest way to gain followers and likes compared to any other type of creation. They take advantage of how the system works to stay permanently in the spotlight.

  3. Hashtag Spam: On top of that, people abuse popular hashtags just to get views. You’ll see creators using #myfirstzoi when they’ve already uploaded hundreds of Zois, or tagging Cahaya on builds and characters that have nothing to do with that world. It’s just another way to game the system.

  4. Grouping Variants: Your idea of grouping near-identical morphs under a single “variant folder” is spot on. It would instantly clean up the daily rankings and stop people from spamming the feed with zero effort.

Canvas really needs a full re-evaluation and redesign of its algorithm—one that actually values craftsmanship and active engagement over sheer spam volume.

Thanks again for starting this conversation! :psycat_thumbsup:

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I agree completely with all what you are saying. Especially that literally the majority of the top 100 creators have stopped playing the game or completely inactive for over a year, this applies for most of the inzoi partners as well. I believe its natural that if any creator is inactive with their account for certain period of time they should get de-ranked , this with also encourage creators who care to be active . Its dismaying that these dead accounts are the only creators that get put in the recommended section.

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I agree - this makes sense

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