New Auto-Abandon System

[angelicdragonpuppy]

I've noticed a lot of confusion and misery and lost dragons over the current auto-abandon system, so I thought I'd propose a new system that should hopefully be less confusing and less harmful to everyone.

 

1. To start, make it a full 24 hour grace period before ANY extra Holidays begin to abandon. For example: you have two adult Snow Angels. You breed a third. You have 24 hours to get that egg off your scroll before anything starts being abandoned. Should you get rid of that egg and breed a second Snow Angel within that time, the timer will reset to 24 hours once again. You can only have ONE extra of a breed at a time (so you couldn't breed two Snow Angels at once and keep eggs from both breedings on your scroll at the same time, for example).

 

2. Change the priorities of what Holidays will abandon. From those with the highest 'keep' value to the lowest, the list should be as follows:

 

- Adults

- Frozen hatchlings

- Named, fogged hatchlings

- Named hatchlings

- Fogged, unnamed hatchlings/eggs

- Unfogged, unnamed hatchlings/eggs

- Hatchlings/eggs in two-way teleports

- Hatchlings/eggs in one-way teleports

 

With hatchlings always a higher 'keep' priority than eggs, and older things always a higher 'keep' priority than new ones. For example, if you had an Adult Yulebuck, and two Yulebuck eggs, after the 24 hours passed the most recently acquired of the two Yulebuck eggs would abandon.

 

3. Make these rules exceedingly clear both on the forums and off. Having things clearly defined on the forums is especially important; I had little clue where to go to find the current Holiday rules, but there's a big link to the event's forum post right on the front page of the cave. If that big link had led me to a post that also contained detailed information on how the Holiday limits worked, there would've been much less confusion. Especially when in the current case, the in-cave rules weren't entirely accurate (originally saying that only extra EGGS might be abandoned, rather than hatchlings being abandoned instead of eggs being held in teleport, for example) and not especially detailed.

Edited December 25, 2012 by angelicdragonpuppy

[Windnose]

I agree with this.

 

Especially number three. On the Breed Limits page, it says absolutely no where that you can lose a hatchling or an adult; it only says "egg."

 

I really think that even if just number three was done, it would solve a lot of problems, but numbers one and two are good ideas too.

 

To be honest, I don't have a clue as to what all the current limit-teleport rules are.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

I agree with this.

 

Especially number three. On the Breed Limits page, it says absolutely no where that you can lose a hatchling or an adult; it only says "egg."

 

I really think that even if just number three was done, it would solve a lot of problems, but numbers one and two are good ideas too.

 

To be honest, I don't have a clue as to what all the current limit-teleport rules are.

It was changed just today to read "holiday dragons" instead of "eggs," but the clarification came too late for some...

 

I also think the current wording is misleading. A grace period implies that you're allowed to hold onto something extra for a longer period of time. I assumed a day-long grace period for eggs being traded meant I'd have a day to trade those eggs before any of my Holidays were abandoned. If a half hour into that day-long grace period my other Holidays are dumped to keep that in-teleport egg within the breed limits, then that's not really giving me 24 hours to safely trade it, now is it?

Edited December 25, 2012 by angelicdragonpuppy

[Dolphinsong]

TJ has stated over in a help thread that valentines it will be a set half an hour. Basically returning to how teleporting event dragons was orginally.

 

Here is the post. http://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showt...dpost&p=6830110

Edited December 25, 2012 by Dolphinsong

[angelicdragonpuppy]

TJ has stated over in a help thread that valentines it will be a set half an hour. Basically returning to how teleporting event dragons was orginally.

 

Here is the post. http://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showt...dpost&p=6830110

I saw that, but I'm suggesting this as an alternative. I LIKE having 24 hours to move things around, I just want the rules of doing so to be clearer and simpler.

[DarkEternity]

In my opinion, if you want an 100% guarantee of gifting or trading, you can only have one of the dragon. Having 24 hours to trade off two bred holly eggs when the user already has two is exceedingly generous for a policy which is supposed to spread the joy, so to speak. And as for gifting, as harsh as it may sound, if the system was designed to allow multiple eggs to be gifted, TJ would have given us the ability to control the direction of every egg in the multiclutch.

 

I'm glad that the situation where adults may be autoabandoned is over and done with and won't come to haunt me in my nightmares everytime I feel the slightest inclination to gift.

Edited December 25, 2012 by DarkEternity

[Fuzzbucket]

I think one thing TJ said too (somewhere) was that eggs in a teleport CANNOT be abandoned, and I imagine it would be hell's difficult to code so that only HOLIDAY eggs in teleport could be autod.

 

I would hate to see all teleports end at the 24 hour mark just to fix the holiday issue. the number of times I have FINALLy bred an IOU JUST as the recipient had caught a CB special thing and didn't want to abandon - so I could hold the egg in teleport until they were ready - for 3 days even.... (Yes I could just keep it on my scroll - but it is handy for the other person to have it available to grab the minute they can, while I am in the supermarket...)

[BloomSara]

So when we breed some dragons and get eggs, some of our dragons will be abandoned?

Edited December 25, 2012 by BloomSara

[Fuzzbucket]

So when we breed some dragons and get eggs, some of our dragons will be abandoned?

If they are holiday dragons and you already have two of that breed - yes, after - at the moment 24 hours, in future, 30 minutes.

 

But many of us hope to manage to keep the 24 hours somehow....

[Dolphinsong]

I think one thing TJ said too (somewhere) was that eggs in a teleport CANNOT be abandoned, and I imagine it would be hell's difficult to code so that only HOLIDAY eggs in teleport could be autod.

 

I would hate to see all teleports end at the 24 hour mark just to fix the holiday issue. the number of times I have FINALLy bred an IOU JUST as the recipient had caught a CB special thing and didn't want to abandon - so I could hold the egg in teleport until they were ready - for 3 days even.... (Yes I could just keep it on my scroll - but it is handy for the other person to have it available to grab the minute they can, while I am in the supermarket...)

I did ask TJ over MSN about eggs being safe from teleport when he changes things back and he said that they will not be exempt from autoabondanding.

[TheGrox]

I support this. There is going to be a lot more anger and confusion if TJ goes ahead and changes it back to half an hour before eggs auto abandon than there ever was with the current system. I think it's fine the way it is, and these changes would make it a lot clearer.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

If they are holiday dragons and you already have two of that breed - yes, after - at the moment 24 hours, in future, 30 minutes.

 

But many of us hope to manage to keep the 24 hours somehow....

It's not 24 hours currently, though. That's the problem. Someone who had an adult Holly, a caught Holly for themselves, and then a third they bred to gift had the hatchling they wanted to keep abandon within ten minutes--despite the one they were gifting being in teleport. That is NOT a true 24 hour grace period. :/

[LaHaine]

Why not just put a clear warning when the time limit of 24 hours is almost passing like what happens with sick eggs? "WArning: The teleport will cancel in X hours. You risk losing one of your other dragons of the same breed when the time's up."

[brairtrainer]

I support this but think it would be hard to code, and no good way to test it out. If someone could figure out a way to run tests before the holidays and we were paitient and wait through a couple of 30 min holidays maybe TJ can come up with a way to code it

[Fuzzbucket]

It's not 24 hours currently, though. That's the problem. Someone who had an adult Holly, a caught Holly for themselves, and then a third they bred to gift had the hatchling they wanted to keep abandon within ten minutes--despite the one they were gifting being in teleport. That is NOT a true 24 hour grace period. :/

But that's the point - TJ said an egg in TP cannot be abandoned, so the next youngest goes. The one you mention - as I recall - hadn't in fact made it into a teleport in time.

 

@LaHaine - the issue is only one with holidays and I think few of us would want all teleports to cancel in 24 hours....

[James1011]

So you're putting gifts as the first to lose, then trades?!

 

I cannot support this idea.

 

I think a growing fogged egg not in a transfer/trade be the first to lose.

 

But a frozen should be kept over a teleport.

Edited December 25, 2012 by James1011

[bluebell_rose]

changing it to 30 minutes will make it even harder for breeders to find decent trades with ious being banned from the forums

[gistofeverything]

changing it to 30 minutes will make it even harder for breeders to find decent trades with ious being banned from the forums

There are places available to traders who wish to make IOUs (two of which are located in my signature).

 

On topic, though, I believe that I support ideas 2 and 3. TJ gave us our chance with a longer grace period, and it ended in confusion. maybe shortening it to 12 hours would help more, since 24 hours is no longer possible?

 

I adore the priority list that was suggested.

 

If there was some way to CLEARLY DISCERN the rules of the teleport somewhere on the site, such as inside the help page, maybe maybe? Most language of the Internet that users read is equivalent to a 3rd grade reading level. Complicated vocabulary and incorrect syntax makes for some very unhappy campers when they find out they lost their eggs.

 

Just my two cents~

Edited December 25, 2012 by gistofeverything

[Fuzzbucket]

So you're putting gifts as the first to lose, then trades?!

 

I cannot support this idea.

 

I think a growing fogged egg not in a transfer/trade be the first to lose.

 

But a frozen should be kept over a teleport.

People have been losing ADULTS. A newly bred egg should go before those. Anyone with a new egg and one in teleport - fair enough, I SUPPOSE - but not an adult falling off.

 

I think MOST people with eggs in teleport are holding them to GIFT, not to look for a trade - that's what I was doing when I bred....

Edited December 25, 2012 by fuzzbucket

[Dolphinsong]

The adults were lost because they were the 'youngest' dragon not in teleport of that breed on their scroll when it came time for the auto abandond to hit.

Edited December 25, 2012 by Dolphinsong

[angelicdragonpuppy]

So you're putting gifts as the first to lose, then trades?!

 

I cannot support this idea.

 

I think a growing fogged egg not in a transfer/trade be the first to lose.

 

But a frozen should be kept over a teleport.

I imagine most people would rather lose things they were going to gift than things they wanted to keep for themselves. Someone lost a 3rd gen named Holly hatchling they planned to keep while a messy Holly egg in a teleport that they were going to gift stayed. That should NOT happen. People trying to gift or trade shouldn't have to put their own dragons at risk to do so. :/

 

If I can't assure the safety of my own Hollies, I'm certainly not going to try to gift any next year. I want to gift, but if it means endangering my dragons, then forget it.

[Vhale]

As far as trading, plenty of people have been putting that they have a holly ready to breed in their trade post, rather than an egg. Given that they can trade one egg and it's practically a guaranteed breeding, that would seem to work fine.

 

Gifting, I get why it's not as nice. But I don't see how the game would tell the difference between a trade and a gift.

 

I don't think adults should be getting kicked off scrolls. And if they do, that should be clear. That seems like a nasty bug. After all, if an egg hatches the trade link just breaks, no? So it would seem to me the same thing would happen with auto-abandons. But apparently it doesn't.

[Dolphinsong]

It is because of the limit restriction that when it comes to gifting, i make sure the person receiving said gift is online and able to accept it within a few minutes of sending them the teleport link. I do no breed until that person is ready.

[Fuzzbucket]

The adults were lost because they were the 'youngest' dragon not in teleport of that breed on their scroll when it came time for the auto abandon to hit.

 

Yes. And there needs to be a way to make sure that doesn't happen to generous givers.

 

I'm not taking a risk with my Hollies either.... I think for now I have an idea to get around it - but I would rather see the 24 hour thing working as it was intended to....

 

Maybe - in the same way that refusals are knocked off over Christmas and Valentines - the long-term teleport can be as well - ALL teleports would only hold up for 23 hours, and any eggs over the limit could then be abandoned as soon as the teleport dropped. and before the 24 hour thing ?

[James1011]

People have been losing ADULTS. A newly bred egg should go before those. Anyone with a new egg and one in teleport - fair enough, I SUPPOSE - but not an adult falling off.

 

I think MOST people with eggs in teleport are holding them to GIFT, not to look for a trade - that's what I was doing when I bred....

An adult would obviously have the highest keep priority.

 

And I said a teleport egg should be dropped if one is a frozen even.

Edited December 25, 2012 by James1011