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Thuban

"Pound" biome

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Edit #2:

 

Another suggestion that came up is that this biome should look like the AP, instead of being mystery eggs with the descriptions. I could support this.... (edit) or have the eggs change every refresh instead of being stuck on the same three eggs if we go classic biome route.

 

I support this. Having the blockers change and even lowering their time would definitely entice me to pick up more blockers. (End edit #2)

 

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How about community unlocks? Many games have "unlock" systems where the whole community has to band together towards a common goal ("Assassin's Creed Brotherhood" had a similar function). I'm not saying that new dragons are only released if the community hits a certain number, but having a progress bar on the homepage will draw much more attention to the blocker problem that some non-forum DC players are unaware of.

 

If we want badges to be implemented into this system, perhaps we could have a "xx many to qualify" function (the mobile game "Pocket Planes" has this feature) for people to earn badges while the event is continuing. To clarify some aspects of the "Pocket Planes" event system: there is a window of time (around 3 days) in which groups compete to complete tasks. You win rewards for being the top group with the most tasks completed; however, to qualify for the reward, you must have individually completed x amount of tasks. I'm not saying we should have competing groups, that's just how the "Pocket Planes" system works. It gets the community motivated enough to complete more tasks.

 

Like others stated, the reward shouldn't be tangible. Badges would be nice. I believe that having a limited window of time for the badge to be earned will motivate more players to join in on grabbing cave-blockers. (I have yet to summon a Guardian of Nature because I know I can summon one at any time, so I'll just do it later. This is a similar attitude if we make the badges available to earn at any given time.) Of course, one badge can be "recycled" so that if you did miss a community unlock event, you would have another opportunity to earn it.

 

I also want to point out this article regarding a community unlock. Yes, it's a different world of entertainment, but I still believe it speaks volumes about what the whole community can achieve, not just a subsection of a forum dedicated to unblocking the cave.

 

I know that this suggestion has many flaws, and that many users don't want to be hassled with continuous badges that they have to earn. After all, DC is an open-ended game. I also realize that this suggestion has probably been discussed and mentioned time and time again. But I thought I'd bring it up in this context of badges, so please discuss and evaluate.

 

Edit #1: I also realize this is off-topic from the original post, but in the direction the discussion was heading, I thought it appropriate to add my input regarding recent comments. Mods, please remove if you deem this too "off-topic" from OP.

Edited by VampireArmy

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Your suggestion is fine here Vamp. I dont mind when other people suggest twists to my ideas, I welcome it. When I get back home to a proper computer, I'll address your comment.

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^This.  I have been waiting for some badges you actually EARN, other than the magikarp badge.  Really, if you expect people to use a large portion of their slots to dragons they don't like to "better the cave" there does need to be some incentive to pick them up other than altruism or quite frankly there never will be any change unless the mechanic itself is changed.

 

I don't support tangible rewards, like eggs or any advantage.  But a badge is just a little image that doesn't really affect anything and chances are you won't miss it if you choose not to work towards that badge.

I don't get the community unlock thing xd.png Call me thick ! - but EARNED badges - someone here has suggested a "box" for badges as they are becoming unwieldy. What about a SPECIAL box where you get a badge representing the type of common for every 100 (or even 50) of that one you collect, or something... (I will have a grey badge at once, and as for Thuban's balloons...)

 

A lot of people here love to collect badges - but you'd HAVE to have them in a sort of storage area, like the punkin and the egg basket...

 

Visualises people now working to collect 100 badges for their fave breed... the mind boggles - but I bet they would too !

 

I'm not keen on anything that makes the game more complex, to be honest...

 

Just saw a typo - edited mad.gif

Edited by fuzzbucket

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How about community unlocks? Many games have "unlock" systems where the whole community has to band together towards a common goal.

I play Tale of Dragons, and they started having a "game" where members donate ToD Coins into a pot to unlock the next dragon release. We are not told how much is needed, and anyone can put into the pot, or refrain from doing it, if they choose not too. If they choose not to participate, nothing bad happens, except it will take just a little longer to unlock the new breed. They will still be able to collect the new breed also.

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How would you get the coins - we have no (and please let us never have) in cave currency....

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I'm sorry, i forgot to compare collecting certain breeds to gathering coins. I never want currency in this game.

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I play Tale of Dragons, and they started having a "game" where members donate ToD Coins into a pot to unlock the next dragon release. We are not told how much is needed, and anyone can put into the pot, or refrain from doing it, if they choose not too. If they choose not to participate, nothing bad happens, except it will take just a little longer to unlock the new breed. They will still be able to collect the new breed also.

Yes, that system sounds comparable to what I'm proposing. I like that there's no specific number to reach. But I definitely do not want in-game currency. What goes towards the unlock would be a specific cave blocker picked up.

 

Example: For one week, the cave has a goal of 2000 Stone dragons to pick up from the cave. To qualify for a badge, a member would have to pick up and hatch 5 stone dragons. If you did qualify, you would earn a generic badge. If you missed this "event," you could get the same badge later on in the year.

 

I hope that clarifies the concept a little better.

 

Furthermore, I think this will be an incentive for people to continuously pick up cave-blockers all year long. Once you reach 100 of a certain type of common, you won't pick anymore up after earning your badge, and eventually the blockers will return to being blockers. Having addition badges with a limited window of time to earn the badge would allow for more effective unblocking.

 

What about a SPECIAL box where you get a badge representing the type of common for every 100 (or even 50) of that one you collect, or something... (I will have a grey badge at once, and as for Thuban's balloons...)

 

A lot of people here love to collect badges - but you'd HAVE to have them in a sort of storage area, like the punkin and the egg basket...

 

I think a separate page for trophies or such would be nice.

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I'd just like to point out that we've had multiple groups earning rares and whatnot for picking up Blockers over years and never achieved balance, because there are always, quite simply, WAY too many of some types of dragons at all time for the environment to support, even with these incentives.

 

I suppose everything helps to some extent, but I do wish that we'd have the root of the problem addressed by having dragons Dropped in accordance with what people will willingly pick up, since we have, and are now continually adding to, more variety in common dragon types, so that we shouldn't be buried in certain breeds because virtually everyone already has enough of them...

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Yes, that system sounds comparable to what I'm proposing. I like that there's no specific number to reach. But I definitely do not want in-game currency. What goes towards the unlock would be a specific cave blocker picked up.

 

Example: For one week, the cave has a goal of 2000 Stone dragons to pick up from the cave. To qualify for a badge, a member would have to pick up and hatch 5 stone dragons. If you did qualify, you would earn a generic badge. If you missed this "event," you could get the same badge later on in the year.

 

I hope that clarifies the concept a little better.

 

Furthermore, I think this will be an incentive for people to continuously pick up cave-blockers all year long. Once you reach 100 of a certain type of common, you won't pick anymore up after earning your badge, and eventually the blockers will return to being blockers. Having addition badges with a limited window of time to earn the badge would allow for more effective unblocking.

 

What about a SPECIAL box where you get a badge representing the type of common for every 100 (or even 50) of that one you collect, or something... (I will have a grey badge at once, and as for Thuban's balloons...)

 

A lot of people here love to collect badges - but you'd HAVE to have them in a sort of storage area, like the punkin and the egg basket...

 

I think a separate page for trophies or such would be nice.

I really really like this idea. Looooooove this idea. I think it's a really fun and nice way to get people to pick up blockers, and instead of being rewarded with rares you get a cute badge. The only thing I'm worried about is the people who don't like to collect more than 2 of each dragon.

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I suppose everything helps to some extent, but I do wish that we'd have the root of the problem addressed by having dragons Dropped in accordance with what people will willingly pick up, since we have, and are now continually adding to, more variety in common dragon types, so that we shouldn't be buried in certain breeds because virtually everyone already has enough of them...

That's very true. We do have quite a lot of common dragon types, yet I only see the same few blocking the cave. I think lower-timed CB eggs in the pound biome would be picked up much more often, regardless of what breed they are.

 

To address your point about multiple groups: that's also true...yeah, the ratios don't seem to change despite those groups' efforts. In my opinion, those groups are just too much work for me. Having to check back to the thread, adhering to their guidelines, and recording which blockers I picked up is too time-consuming for me to consider joining any of those unblocking groups. This may be the case for many more DCers. Perhaps having a system like that on-site would require less work from my end (the site would just record everything). But then that would make DC seem goal-oriented, when many users would like it to be open-ended.

 

I've always thought that common dragons should have a shorter hatching time because they are common and go through many more generational breeding cycles. A pound biome would allow something along those lines.

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I've always thought that common dragons should have a shorter hatching time because they are common and go through many more generational breeding cycles. A pound biome would allow something along those lines.

Yay, finally some logic for why the pound should be low time tongue.gif Thank you!

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I was thinking. The chances that a ton of species are all going to be in the pound at once is pretty slim. Especially after a while when the pound is helping keep the ratios even. So why not just have one egg of each species that is in the pound shown? Doesn't matter if TJ wants AP-style or cave-style egg identification, although AP-style would work better if there are many different breeds.

 

And if it comes down to it, the eggs displayed for clicking don't have to be tied to an individual code. It could just be "take the next egg of this breed in line". That way people don't have to be bothered with people taking the egg before them, at least until it's out of that species.

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What if it was just called a 'Shelter'? I've been on a few sites with pages kind of like what's being described and they're called 'Shelters' there.

 

 

The problem with "community unlock" is that it just doesn't work. No, of course not everyone would participate, but there's the problem. Most people, especially people who don't know/care much about the ratios will have the mentality of "oh, someone else will do it, I don't need to, that's not my job" and then of course they'll sit and wait for the rares to pop up...

 

Good in theory. GREAT in theory. But in practice it just ends up not working.

 

I've been there. Community unlock is on a few sites I've been on. Had everyone participated, at least a little bit, we could have had the prizes within 1-3 days instead of who knows how long.

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The problem with "community unlock" is that it just doesn't work. No, of course not everyone would participate, but there's the problem. Most people, especially people who don't know/care much about the ratios will have the mentality of "oh, someone else will do it, I don't need to, that's not my job" and then of course they'll sit and wait for the rares to pop up...

While TJ can't do anything about player apathy, people not knowing about ratios could be easily fixed with a bit more transparency as to how the Cave generates dragons; right now the section on the Help page with it is vague and provides no real information on ratios besides "they exist", which... kind of defeats the point of having it there in the first place.

 

Part of me wondered if "safari" would work as a name, but that probably implies that you can get grown dragons/hatchlings there. Shelter also feels too modern to me, but I can't think of a better name.

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Part of me wondered if "safari" would work as a name, but that probably implies that you can get grown dragons/hatchlings there. Shelter also feels too modern to me, but I can't think of a better name.

Well then umm...

 

What about cote or pinfold/penfold? Also pound and shelter really aren't as modern as you might think. (Shelter, since wiktionary didn't have it: ORIGIN late 16th cent.: perhaps an alteration of obsolete sheltron [phalanx,] from Old English scieldtruma, literally [shield troop.])

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"Feels modern" doesn't mean it is modern (although I'm pretty sure that shelter in the context of an animal shelter (which is how it would be used in this case) is fairly recent). Jessica is not a modern name in the slightest, but you wouldn't use it as a name for a character in a medival-ish world because the average person would find it jarringly modern-sounding, even if it's technically accurate.

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A few of the dragons seem kind of modern for these medieval times...

 

Personally I don't think shelter seems "too modern" at all. I frown at pound because it sounds informal and almost bad (I watched too much Lady and the Tramp, I think).

 

(Personally I WOULD use Jessica for a medieval world, IF I found that it was a name that existed in that time period AND area I was talking about. But that's neither here nor there.)

 

I think maybe you're being a little too picky. o3o And that's not bad. I just can't think of a "better" name that's not "too modern" for something like this.

 

Unless it should be something related to a nest.

 

The OP mentioned it only being available at certain times and not all the time, so maybe the eggs are in care of a traveling caravan? Though I doubt caravan was a word in medieval times.

 

Ugh, I should be more focused on the idea itself and not the name...

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Abandoned Cave was the only one i could think of.. but i have a feeling that would confuse people.

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What about "Rejected Pile"? The description could be something like "You walk into a smallish cave and see a pile of eggs that have been abandoned by their parents. Several catch your eye. Which do you choose?" Then there would be however many eggs it showed.

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I really like the idea that the blockers in the pound biome completely change every refresh - I'd hate to sit there waiting for the current blockers to be picked up so that I could find the blocker breed I want. It's something that I do not support for the existing biomes - then all rares would be gone in the first minute of each hour drop, since people would refresh very quickly until they find a rare - but if the entire biome is blockers, no one should care that I refresh quickly and look through the blockers to find the mint I want rather than picking up a random blocker, I'll still be picking up and raising a caveblocker.

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^ this. THIS.

 

I can't tell you how many times I've been looking for a specific 'blocker' and have a wall of mints and pebbles to wade through first...

 

Totally support this idea. <3

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What about "Rejected Pile"? The description could be something like "You walk into a smallish cave and see a pile of eggs that have been abandoned by their parents. Several catch your eye. Which do you choose?" Then there would be however many eggs it showed.

Orphanage ? (Collected by taskmasters from the biomes and herded into the joint ?)

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you could give even more incentive by making them HATCHLINGS of underpopulated breeds

because most people don't want to lock themselves and hatchling limits are far more reasonable then egg limits and since its once a month it wouldn't be too OP and everyone likes a hatchling

tht would make the ratios even out really fast because everyone picking up the new hatchies once a month

and instead of the poud it could be called the orphanage to amp up the feels to a new level of OMG I GOTTA TAKE ONE!

 

and the quote for it could be something like

"You walk into a cave where hatchlings who lost or where abandoned by their parents await adoption all the hatchlings look at you with excitement at the thought of a parent,hoping you chose them which one do you take?"

 

Edited by blockEdragon

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you could give even more incentive by making them HATCHLINGS of underpopulated breeds

because most people don't want to lock themselves and hatchling limits are far more reasonable then egg limits and since its once a month it wouldn't be too OP and everyone likes a hatchling

tht would make the ratios even out really fast because everyone picking up the new hatchies once a month

and instead of the poud it could be called the orphanage to amp up the feels to a new level of OMG I GOTTA TAKE ONE!

 

and the quote for it could be something like

"You walk into a cave where hatchlings who lost or where abandoned by their parents await adoption all the hatchlings look at you with excitement at the thought of a parent,hoping you chose them which one do you take?"

 

 

 

Hi, blockEdragon, smile.gif

 

just to mention, while you're right about CB blocker hatchies being desirable, (although I actually kinda doubt TJ would go for giving us hatchies directly, unfortunately) this thread is a really old Suggestion predating many improvements and other Suggestions - if the untaken blocker eggs were sent to the AP after every 5-minute shuffle to come up as Incuhatchable, as in another current (and long-running) Suggestion, they'd be desirable and snapped up to be raised/Frozen to count in the ratios, whereas a biome full of Blockers only would attract nobody and the ratios would simply stall. sad.gif

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Hi, blockEdragon, smile.gif

 

just to mention, while you're right about CB blocker hatchies being desirable, (although I actually kinda doubt TJ would go for giving us hatchies directly, unfortunately) this thread is a really old Suggestion predating many improvements and other Suggestions - if the untaken blocker eggs were sent to the AP after every 5-minute shuffle to come up as Incuhatchable, as in another current (and long-running) Suggestion, they'd be desirable and snapped up to be raised/Frozen to count in the ratios, whereas a biome full of Blockers only would attract nobody and the ratios would simply stall. sad.gif

not the ones with the wings and it would only be once a month so it wouldn't be too OP since its only once a month

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