2011-10-31 - Happy Halloween

[Varionius]

Yes, my one of my eggs has almost hatched!

[BlueIce]

3 more hours and mine will hatch too

[miladyz]

One of my eggs hatched and the others are in ERs. I'm excited to have my egg slots back and to see cute little Ghost hatchies on my scroll. :3

[WraithZephyr]

Hmm...Okay.  Although it sounds an awful lot like semantics to me.  "limited edition" dragons breed prolifically once per year, producing from 1 to 3 eggs per year.  "Rare" dragons can breed weekly, producing theoretically as many as 52 clutches, each containing from 1 to 3 eggs.  Of course, rare breeding attempts aren't going to be successful every time, but is it really so farfetched that a regularly bred rare might produce not only as many eggs as a "limited edition" but even MORE eggs in some cases?

 

Seems pretty equitable to me.

 

What you say MIGHT be true.  IF we knew for certain that 6 times the number of eggs were actually dropped, as opposed to, say, the same number of eggs being dropped, but split among the 6 biomes!  I haven't heard anything definitive on this question.  Have you?

 

Yes, I'll agree that people hunting at the wrong times probably was a contributing factor.  But that's a separate issue, and it's nothing new.  Certainly it is not THE major factor in the inability of many long-time DC members  to get the new eggs.  Presumably after one or two events, most people would figure out how it works.  So why are people who have been around for years, and have lots of rares (excuse me, "limited editions") on their scrolls finding that this year is suddenly more difficult?

Semantics I think not.

 

Rare dragons (metallic gold/silver) can breed 52 times a year.. but you will NOT get multi-clutches - only holiday limited edition dragons produce multi-clutches. Rare dragons give you 1 egg IF you are very lucky and the majority of the time that egg will be the same as the common parent - not the rare parent!

 

For example... I breed 30+ gold dragons each week. It took me 20 WEEKS to get ONE gold egg. That's 600+ breeding attempts over a 20 week period - just to get 1 egg. 0.16% success rate

 

I have 8 marrows. I got 23 eggs. I have 13 pumpkins. I got 21 eggs. 21 limited edition dragons bred ONE time this year for a total of 44 eggs. That's a 47.73% success rate.

 

I COULD have gotten MORE eggs, but 4 breeding attempts were for pure-bred lineages. Theoretically had I bred those 8 dragons to other dragons I could have gotten another 8-32 eggs.

 

As for the cave. Normal cave operation is to generate a set number of eggs and then divide them up between the biomes based on the breed. For holiday's the number of eggs generated for a drop is significantly INCREASED due to the demand caused by the holiday.. so you can safely assume that full drops were occurring in each biome rather than divided up drops. I estimated from my time hunting in the cave during the holiday and how fast the codes were flying that probably 300-500 eggs were dropping in each biome each hour... whereas during a normal drop you might get about 300 eggs divided up between all 6 biomes.

[Twyro]

Can these dragons breed?

[ksew]

one of my 4 Ghost eggs is ER now

on the whole I enjoyed the Halloween holiday. I am still missing one Ghost egg but it's my fault as I went celebrating at night instead of sitting at my laptop well, maybe I'll still trade for it, who knows. or I'll get it next year, it's not a big deal. I need it for frezing. I also need 2 more Marrows and 2 mor Pumpkins, for freezing also. but I managed to get adults from the pairings I wanted, made 4 Zombies, snagged a lot of good stuff from the AP and enjoyed it all. I hope the new Ghost dragon will be beautiful

[Sir Barton]

New hatchies are kind've cute, I hope their colouring permits me to breed some epic 2nd gen silvers :]

Sounds like we are hoping for the same thing.

[majors]

well we should get to sees some awesome adults tomorrow I cant wait.

All my egg hatched and I just renamed me zombies, and the rest of my marrows just grew up.

[dragongrrl]

Hmm...Okay.  Although it sounds an awful lot like semantics to me.  "limited edition" dragons breed prolifically once per year, producing from 1 to 3 eggs per year.  "Rare" dragons can breed weekly, producing theoretically as many as 52 clutches, each containing from 1 to 3 eggs.  Of course, rare breeding attempts aren't going to be successful every time, but is it really so far-fetched that a regularly bred rare might produce not only as many eggs as a "limited edition" but even MORE eggs in some cases?

 

Seems pretty equitable to me.

 

 

 

What you say MIGHT be true.  IF we knew for certain that 6 times the number of eggs were actually dropped, as opposed to, say, the same number of eggs being dropped, but split among the 6 biomes!  I haven't heard anything definitive on this question.  Have you?

 

Yes, I'll agree that people hunting at the wrong times probably was a contributing factor.  But that's a separate issue, and it's nothing new.  Certainly it is not THE major factor in the inability of many long-time DC members  to get the new eggs.  Presumably after one or two events, most people would figure out how it works.  So why are people who have been around for years, and have lots of rares (excuse me, "limited editions") on their scrolls finding that this year is suddenly more difficult?

For me, this has a much easier event, despite my increasingly lousy internet connection and very slow reflexes. Last year I got one 2nd gen Pumpkin. That was it. No Marrows, no Vamps, just one lonely Pumpkin.

 

I finally got my first Vamp in January, and collected a number before they started killing EVERYTHING in June.

 

I have no Silvers and two Gold Dragons, the first one from March, who has yet to produce a single egg, and the second from August, who finally gave me the first egg a few days ago.

 

As for this Halloween, I caught 4 Pumpkins, and kept one of the three from last years Pumpkin. I caught 7 Marrows, 6 of those 2nd gens, and traded the Gold egg for 2 more 2nd gens. I also caught 6 Ghosts in the Biomes, and another from the AP.

 

Looking at my numbers alone, based on productivity and the fact that the rares don't multiclutch, it looks like I should have gotten at least 3 eggs or hatchlings for my little Gold egg.

[FCOL]

Does anyone know why my clicks might not be registering on my scroll? One of my Halloween eggs has died because of it!!

[Amazon_warrior]

Does anyone know why my clicks might not be registering on my scroll? One of my Halloween eggs has died because of it!!

Your egg didn't die from lack of clicks, but from far, far too many unique views, which gave it soft-shell and killed it. Dragons don't actually *need* clicks at all, though they do help speed up things like cracking and gendering. Sorry for your loss.

[Vhale]

Huge shout-out to those that helped run, donate and guide people to the Halloween Gifting Thread. I can't think of any Halloween where I ended up candyless, so I'd hate to see people go eggless. And we totally got offers to everyone on the list

 

Awesome job all!

 

There are 5 or so people with trades pending. If you are on the list in that thread, make sure you check your inbox here for your trade with your ghosty. And clicky the link. Or check your transfer to see your offer. Magi teleports don't give a confirmation message when you've an offer, so you may not realize you've got one.

[FCOL]

Your egg didn't die from lack of clicks, but from far, far too many unique views, which gave it soft-shell and killed it. Dragons don't actually *need* clicks at all, though they do help speed up things like cracking and gendering. Sorry for your loss.

Thanks. It seems strange though that the egg with the least amount of views as compared to the others was the one that died. I suppose I should just be glad I caught the rest in time. *sigh*

[Fuzzbucket]

So why are people who have been around for years, and have lots of rares (excuse me, "limited editions") on their scrolls finding that this year is suddenly more difficult?

Are they ? I found it MUCH easier than last year.

[Drag]

Are they ? I found it MUCH easier than last year.

me, too

 

i had my seven in one drop oO

[Irys]

Are they ? I found it MUCH easier than last year.

Agreed. I usually have a lot of trouble even with common new releases. But in three years this was the easiest hunt for me.

[Sir Barton]

Are they ? I found it MUCH easier than last year.

Same and considering that one of my friends managed to catch hers with a Wii.... well that speaks volumes as to how much better and easier this release has been.

[mihali62]

I wasn't able to catch any eggs in the drop !! I had to get them from waiting lists etc

[Maiden]

I see some posts about experienced DC'ers having trouble catching Marrows and Pumpkins this year, and Ghosts from the Cave as well. I'd like to throw in my two cents.

 

I experienced none of this. There are certainly techniques to AP catching: for instance, I hover my mouse over the egg spot two ahead of where the current last egg appears. Since holidays usually breed multi-clutches, and freshly bred eggs generally come in at the end of the line, two or even three spots ahead of where the last egg appears are your best bet. Don't just F5, use CTRL+F5. Many times eggs continue to appear after they've gone because it takes DC a moment to decide who clicked first. I don't chase eggs, I wait for one to appear under my mouse and then click. It also takes patience: I probably had one catch for every ten (or more) misses.

 

This year, like last year, I had a fortuitous catch. Last year I mis-clicked a mint and got a 3rd Gen even Thuwed. This year I got a 10th Gen bronze with a sort of messed helix lineage out of the Alcoholic line. I caught enough Pumpkins and Marrows to give away quite a few eggs (I think the final count was 7 Marrow and 6 Pumpkin gifted), traded away several for some very nice Tinsels, and caught several purebred Marrows to keep for myself. (3rd Gen Purebreds next year!!)

 

The Cave catch for the Ghosts was hands-down the easiest time I've ever had with a holiday drop. Last year I had to fight all day on Halloween to get my three little Marrows, and this year I had five egg slots filled by the second hourly drop. I had a Marrow egg that held up the process, but I got my sixth ghost egg with no problem just as soon as the little bugger hatched. There's a technique for Cave catching too: turn off all images and disable Java, then hold CTRL while you F5 and Click. I'd open thirty or forty tabs this way, and go back to find my catches. (Got four at the first hourly drop.) I will say that the mini-drops seemed even more mini than usual, in many cases the eggs being totally gone before I even saw them, but I think that's because they were spread throughout the biomes.

 

So there's my (long winded) two cents.

 

On another note, just wanted to say thanks again to TJ, the Spriters, and the Mods, who make the holiday events enjoyable every year. The Haunted House was awesomesauce, even though I'm sad I can't put the little two-headed pygmy on my scroll. The new dragons are gorgeous and I can't wait to see the adults. I don't have any CB Silvers, but I have some CB Whites and CB Storms and I'm looking at for their mates. I didn't have enough influences left to gender all of them, but I should have 2M, 2F, and 2 random.

 

If there are people who didn't catch any Ghosts or Marrows, y'all can feel free to hit me up next year. (A long wait, I know.) I always give away eggies at the holidays... Christmas is coming up soon enough, and I should have 2nd gen babies from my Angels and Ribbons that I will not be able to keep!!

[AlternateMew]

Same and considering that one of my friends managed to catch hers with a Wii.... well that speaks volumes as to how much better and easier this release has been.

As someone who also has an internet-enabled Wii, I can back up that getting them there says quite a lot as to how easy they were to get.

 

Also got my seven in one drop... really, really easily.

[WraithZephyr]

Are they ? I found it MUCH easier than last year.

I found it to be shockingly easy this year. I fully expected to spend 4-5 hours minimum to catch for 3 people I agreed to help out plus get a load of eggs for myself. I was done in about 15 minutes.

 

[Rockin' On]

I see some posts about experienced DC'ers having trouble catching Marrows and Pumpkins this year, and Ghosts from the Cave as well. I'd like to throw in my two cents.

 

I experienced none of this. There are certainly techniques to AP catching: for instance, I hover my mouse over the egg spot two ahead of where the current last egg appears. Since holidays usually breed multi-clutches, and freshly bred eggs generally come in at the end of the line, two or even three spots ahead of where the last egg appears are your best bet. Don't just F5, use CTRL+F5. Many times eggs continue to appear after they've gone because it takes DC a moment to decide who clicked first. I don't chase eggs, I wait for one to appear under my mouse and then click. It also takes patience: I probably had one catch for every ten (or more) misses.

 

This year, like last year, I had a fortuitous catch. Last year I mis-clicked a mint and got a 3rd Gen even Thuwed. This year I got a 10th Gen bronze with a sort of messed helix lineage out of the Alcoholic line. I caught enough Pumpkins and Marrows to give away quite a few eggs (I think the final count was 7 Marrow and 6 Pumpkin gifted), traded away several for some very nice Tinsels, and caught several purebred Marrows to keep for myself. (3rd Gen Purebreds next year!!)

 

The Cave catch for the Ghosts was hands-down the easiest time I've ever had with a holiday drop. Last year I had to fight all day on Halloween to get my three little Marrows, and this year I had five egg slots filled by the second hourly drop. I had a Marrow egg that held up the process, but I got my sixth ghost egg with no problem just as soon as the little bugger hatched. There's a technique for Cave catching too: turn off all images and disable Java, then hold CTRL while you F5 and Click. I'd open thirty or forty tabs this way, and go back to find my catches. (Got four at the first hourly drop.) I will say that the mini-drops seemed even more mini than usual, in many cases the eggs being totally gone before I even saw them, but I think that's because they were spread throughout the biomes.

 

So there's my (long winded) two cents.

 

On another note, just wanted to say thanks again to TJ, the Spriters, and the Mods, who make the holiday events enjoyable every year. The Haunted House was awesomesauce, even though I'm sad I can't put the little two-headed pygmy on my scroll. The new dragons are gorgeous and I can't wait to see the adults. I don't have any CB Silvers, but I have some CB Whites and CB Storms and I'm looking at for their mates. I didn't have enough influences left to gender all of them, but I should have 2M, 2F, and 2 random.

 

If there are people who didn't catch any Ghosts or Marrows, y'all can feel free to hit me up next year. (A long wait, I know.) I always give away eggies at the holidays... Christmas is coming up soon enough, and I should have 2nd gen babies from my Angels and Ribbons that I will not be able to keep!!

 

 

--------------------

On the same subject..my luck with event release is iffy at best..but with this years drops having a total of 18 eggs to click on instead of usual 3, it was my best & fastest catching of any events release so far...thus giving me time to gift EXTRA eggs to people,help in guiding folks through HH event,etc;etc;

People new to DC dont have any idea how stressful old releases used to be...& Ive NEVER gone to bed before HOURS of frustrating clicking with little or no luck...this year I had 6 ,went to bed after 2 drops,and got my last egg in the AM!! AND I helped other people!! So..my say on this event was "GOOD SHOW"...to ALL who had a hand in making it happen!! Thx again!!

Rockin' On

[Vhale]

Whether or not one person found things easy is subjective. In previous years, I found the drops usually lasted 7-8 minutes. This year, I found they lasted 2. So if you weren't there on the drop, no egg. And either way, as every single drop emptied of eggs that quickly, I think it should be obvious that some people went eggless. If that wasn't the case, the biomes would have been blocked. And as it's logical we were short eggs for people, it should also be logical that it wouldn't matter if everyone used the exact same method for clicking eggs. We'd still be as short as we were before.

[SolarCat]

I found Halloween easy this year, and usually it takes awhile.

I was almost locked with the new eggs during the first hourly drop. One last egg hatched, and then I finished the collection shortly afterwards.

For pumpkins and marrows, I picked up some very nice lineages, and was constantly locked with eggs, aside from Sunday (since I wanted to keep those spots open for Monday).

 

Last year I dropped all my bred eggs to the AP.

This year I decided I wanted to catch as many as I could, and I was surprised at how easy it was.

Next year I'll be back to gifting again, although I'd like to pick up some more purebred even-gens.

[Khallayne]

We're always short, it seems. However, when we have more than one day catching events, people get annoyed and start asking when the regular drops are going to start...

 

o.0; You win some, you lose some?