Send Biome Blockers to the AP

[Syphoneira]

Actually, if the untaken eggs were flushed to the AP after every shuffle, they'd be layered in with the others continually arriving, so that a mix of bred and CB would still be arriving in the AP, rather than a larger quantity of CBs arriving in a block disappointing to those hunting for breds.

[Tehya Faye]

Yeah, but there would be a wave of CB and then a wave of bred eggs, making things more neatly organized so people looking for one or the other can simply wait rather than constantly picking through eggs they don't want. That wave of CB eggs would be more likely to contain CB rares, too, making it more worthwhile to hunt in. If we only sent the eggs who sat there for 5 minutes off to the AP then it'd be strictly commons. Some CB Rares might be a really cool surprise to people, especially if a few Silvers, Coppers, or Golds were included in the batch. It'll help people who hunt better in the AP than in the biomes.

 

Biomes are less hunted during the holidays, so while this suggestion would result in a massive amount of egg death behind the holiday blockers as the cave stands now, that wall of CB eggs will probably contain a surprising number of CB Silvers and CB Golds for people to look forward to attempting to get once the holiday wall dies down.

Edited May 16, 2015 by Tehya Faye

[Fiona]

I'd rather have the eggs shuffle off to the AP at the end of the hour rather than taking away the 5 minute shuffle. I rely on that 5 minute shuffle to hunt. Without it I wouldn't be able to multitask hunting with watching Let's Plays or reading forums. >_< It would also punt a few CB Metals and quite a few rares into the AP for those hunters to catch. Right now we have a fast, unpredictable AP and a predictable set of biomes. People can flock to the style they prefer.

That was actually a suggestion I made a few pages back. My reason was more that the code may not keep track of when an egg hits the biome but it certainly knows which eggs it deletes at the top of the hour. Plus, yes, it keeps the 5 minute shuffles. That way, the whole hour shuffles the eggs so they get picked through, then at the end of the hour whatever is left is kicked.

 

That would also result in an influx of cb eggs at the top of each hour but then the breds rising to the top in between.

[Syphoneira]

I've just been on Alpine, watching literally some of the same eggs being recycled, certainly recognized the codes of two different Speckles both recurring during different intervals, since I was only looking at the codes of a few types, something I don't normally do much while waiting (and waiting and waiting, sometimes,) for the Refresh to come through, in case I miss something when it finally does.

 

One advantage of doing the Biome-to-AP dumping at the 5-minute shuffle would be that at least different codes of the same types of eggs would be more likely to appear during the hour, lol, and some of them might be interesting enough to make it worth-while for someone to want them.

 

In any event, we wouldn't keep seeing already untaken eggs again blocking a slot which would be otherwise filled by something which at least hadn't already appeared.

 

Another issue is that some people have voiced concerns about being unable to adequately access bred eggs if too many more CBs were to be added to the AP - the 5-minute untaken egg idea might be a more reasonable compromise than a single, much larger addition of CBs every hour, which would cause people looking specifically and only for breds to look through all of these fruitlessly, since they wouldn't be able to tell which are which without looking.

 

I would guess (have to, since I've no real idea, lol) that the number of specifically untaken biome eggs, (at least some of which would likely simply replace eggs taken by members to clear a spot for a different one, expressly to be APed,) would likely not make an extreme difference to an AP in which eggs are continually dropped by however many members generally, but might increase the trend toward Incuhatchable so devoutly to be desired by so many of us.

 

But I have no idea how many eggs might be required to keep a steady supply in each of every biome without repeats of specific eggs throughout the hour and with the biomes potentially ultimately moving much more quickly than they currently do.

 

And that greater amount being added every hourly to the AP might well prove excessive, especially as some biomes, at least currently and variably, often don't move much at all.

 

I've obviously no idea of what would be entailed in having the entire remaining contents of 6 biomes dumped hourly into the AP or how that would relate to the average number of eggs dropped by members, but those of us who can recall running out of eggs in the Cave would doubtless prefer that not happen, especially regarding those with limited hunting time who might then miss out entirely.

 

So I'd personally be rather cautious in advocating for a complete hourly AP dump of all biomes.

[Tehya Faye]

My understanding of things is that every 5 minutes a small pool of eggs is generated in each biome, regardless of whether that biome is empty or not. The exact number of eggs generated is dependent on how many users are online at the given time. Some of those eggs deleted on the hour might have only been in that biome for literally 5 minutes, not nearly enough time to show up. I could be wrong, of course, but that's just what makes sense to me.

 

Sending all the eggs to the AP will result in neatly organized waves - CB Bred/Abandoned CB Bred/Abandoned CB Bred/Abandoned. Given these circumstances people would just need to look at about 5 or 10 eggs to determine what the current wave is. If it's not what they're looking for they can just wait half an hour to see if that particular wave has been gathered up to reveal the eggs they're really after. It won't take very long, since picking up those incuhatchable eggs could reveal CB Rares that were dropped into the AP by the system. It'll reward users for picking up and hatching blockers in a much faster and effective way than we have now.

 

If we only sent untouched eggs to the AP every 5 minutes we'd get a very mixed AP, leaning way more towards CB than it is currently. There wouldn't be this exciting wall of various sorts of CBs, some being rares and metals, it would just be commons bloating the AP and separating out the bred eggs some people are hunting for. I also think the ratios would fix themselves much more quickly if every egg the cave generated was brought into the system.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Tehya Faye

[shoucchi]

I think this is an amazing idea, but I can see how biome predictability would be a problem. The way player responsiveness would influence the biomes would be great, however. My biggest worry would be too many eggs getting sent to the AP and thus blocking the biomes all together-- while the AP moves considerably faster because you see the actual egg rather than the description, when commons bunch up in the AP it can take quite a lot of time for them to cycle out. I once came upon a page filled entirely with purple dorsals that didn't go away for about 12 seconds, and even then it was only one or two eggs being taken. The AP is pretty stuffed as it is, I feel like this may just shift the problem.

[Syphoneira]

I think this is an amazing idea, but I can see how biome predictability would be a problem. The way player responsiveness would influence the biomes would be great, however. My biggest worry would be too many eggs getting sent to the AP and thus blocking the biomes all together-- while the AP moves considerably faster because you see the actual egg rather than the description, when commons bunch up in the AP it can take quite a lot of time for them to cycle out. I once came upon a page filled entirely with purple dorsals that didn't go away for about 12 seconds, and even then it was only one or two eggs being taken. The AP is pretty stuffed as it is, I feel like this may just shift the problem.

 

 

 

 

Hi, shoucchi,

 

just wanted to mention that the biomes are not blocked by the AP, but by the excessive numbers of the same repeated ultra-Common eggs that many people already have enough of and won't take unless they can get them as Incuhatchables/ERs in the AP, because of lacking egg space for eggs they don't currently need or particularly want.

 

If these went to the AP to surface as low-time eggs, they'd be taken by many people.

 

The Purple Dorsals you saw in the AP would have been the result of a mass-breeding, or of someone breeding a scroll-full - at a low enough time, though, anything will wind up getting taken, even if it's messy-lineaged but perhaps wanted as a Frozen hatchy.

 

So you see, the eggs blocking the biomes, spoiling the hunt and preventing even existing variety from appearing would, if in the AP at a low time, be desirable and snapped up to be raised to figure into the ratios, so that we would gradually have less-excessive numbers of those breeds being endlessly and repeatedly pumped out for us not to take in unmoving biomes, which reduction would enable more of other, less-common breeds to be generated by the Cave, rather than the Cave endlessly regenerating the same egg sprites over and over and endlessly over to block the biomes because people won't take them unless at low-time, except to drop into the AP 5 hours later. .

 

(Edit: sentences still under reconstruction... missing word supplied and redundancy removed from initial partial sentence change in the wee earlies )

Edited May 17, 2015 by Syphoneira

[olympe]

I don't know if this particular suggestion has come up in this very thread for this very purpose yet but I don't feel like going through the entire 15 pages of it, either, so bear with me.

 

What if eggs that got sent to the AP got stuck with the cave biome as biome of origin? Would that maybe help?

[Syphoneira]

I don't know if this particular suggestion has come up in this very thread for this very purpose yet but I don't feel like going through the entire 15 pages of it, either, so bear with me.

 

What if eggs that got sent to the AP got stuck with the cave biome as biome of origin? Would that maybe help?

 

 

 

If you mean what I think you mean, don't they anyway?

 

Any Cave egg transferred anywhere retains its biome designation.

 

But I'm still caffeinating so my brain may not be seeing well, so to speak.

[olympe]

What I mean is that a CB egg that gets punted to the AP gets "Cave" as its biome of origin. Right now, eggs keep their respective biome. I just caught a CB from the AP to test it, too. The little Tangar is still from the Jungle.

[Syphoneira]

What I mean is that a CB egg that gets punted to the AP gets "Cave" as its biome of origin. Right now, eggs keep their respective biome. I just caught a CB from the AP to test it, too. The little Tangar is still from the Jungle.

 

 

 

That's an interesting suggestion!

 

On the other hand, a lot of people do want eggs from specific biomes... dunno...

[olympe]

Then they can hunt them in the biome they want them from. Or can't they?

[dragongrrl]

Then they can hunt them in the biome they want them from. Or can't they?

It is often easier to get specific common CBs from the AP than it is from a Biome, so having the Biome location on the AP'ed egg is something I appreciate. I would not like to see that removed.

[Syphoneira]

Then they can hunt them in the biome they want them from. Or can't they?

 

 

 

Lol, I know I'll snag low-time Commons from the AP that I'd never tie up an egg-slot with at full-time, as will many others.

 

And with Coppers (and potentially other dragons in future) producing results in accordance with a mate's biome source, this matters to a number of people.

 

I'm also not sure what altering the biome designation to Cave would help with, despite several cups of coffee - brain no good, lol.

 

Please, help the head-ache challenged!?

[Tehya Faye]

I've heard that Cave biome individuals breed the Copper color of their mate, so they might be more desirable than the regular eggs from the biomes.

[Syphoneira]

I've heard that Cave biome individuals breed the Copper color of their mate, so they might be more desirable than the regular eggs from the biomes.

 

 

Good point, depending on the lineage you may be matching.

 

 

[olympe]

I've heard that Cave biome individuals breed the Copper color of their mate, so they might be more desirable than the regular eggs from the biomes.

That was exactly the idea. This will allow you to create lineages you couldn't ordinarily create - like verdigris x frostbite or rainbow copper x spessartine perfect checkers.

[MaskedDeath]

This is very interesting. I agree totally with the OP's post. I think it would be pretty helpful to renew the Biome eggs every 5 mins. or so.

[NotBambi]

That was exactly the idea. This will allow you to create lineages you couldn't ordinarily create - like verdigris x frostbite or rainbow copper x spessartine perfect checkers.

I like that, would give more options and I can't see any disadvantage. And, as you said, if people want eggs from specific biomes, they can hunt in the biomes.

 

Edited for forgetfulness. I understood that the OP's suggestion existed before the 5 min shuffle was implemented. I realize that probably nobody but TJ knows why he made that choice. Since I would like seeing the OP's suggestion implemented, what changed since then?

Edited June 2, 2015 by NotBambi

[The Flash]

I agree with OP's idea. Also, coding it wouldn't be that difficult... it could be done with an if/else statement. I think.

[AnanoKimi]

I'd really like to see some kind of consideration from TJ about this because this would really help. It would make hunting fun again. :3

[Syphoneira]

I like that, would give more options and I can't see any disadvantage. And, as you said, if people want eggs from specific biomes, they can hunt in the biomes.

 

Edited for forgetfulness. I understood that the OP's suggestion existed before the 5 min shuffle was implemented. I realize that probably nobody but TJ knows why he made that choice. Since I would like seeing the  OP's suggestion implemented, what changed since then?

 

 

Lol, as you've probably gathered, not enough has changed!

 

Certainly, TJ has done some major (and wonderful) things regarding improving the site, and for all we know, the biome-shuffle-to-AP-boot could be on a priority list somewhere.

 

There may be reasons, (including lack of time/simply wanting to consider the idea longer/waiting to see if something else pop ups/having something already in mind - even having already implemented this or something like it on a lower level to see how it goes without our being able to notice, as it likely would make a very subtle difference,) including many that I've no idea of, for TJ not having implemented something like this long since, although I have to admit that I wish he'd (tactfully, lol,) voice any objections, so that we could then perhaps work out something which would help that *might* be acceptable to him.

 

 

But the biome shuffle AP idea would:

 

retain the function of the Cave as a place to hunt CBs people want AND the function of the AP as a repository for eggs which somebody doesn't want but others hunting through very well might, so stays within the concept (as I think I understand it) in that regard;

 

however gradually, improve Cave hunting;

 

help to address the ratios as low-time CB Commons were raised to help fill them;

 

increase Cave movement as more variety appeared, so that more (and less boring/discouraging) Cave hunting occurred, in a positive cycle;

 

increase both the appearance and production of unCommons and rares;

 

likely encourage more players to spend more time here/bring back players from hiatus as the game became less boring and discouraging and word got out/cause more new players to stay on as there would be more for people to do and a better chance of seeing/catching less common dragons they might need for whatever purposes;

 

do this on a player-responsive basis without making any more dragons inaccessible to anyone wanting them at any season for whatever reason.

 

 

And if the untaken eggs were folded in with the usual mix at the 5-minute shuffles, the character of the AP as a mix of bred and CBs should not much alter, as I fear it might with a full hourly burden arriving all in one go - although this might not be much of an issue if the eggs surface at a low-enough time, especially if we were to get that Time-based Egg slot along with it, so as to have room for more hatchies.

 

 

I have no idea how many eggs arrive in the AP as it stands, a good number already being manual CB transfers from the biome by players, (something which might be reasonably expected to reduce over time, with this implemented) but the numbers already have to be fairly high so that the proportions added by this CB egg dump to the AP, (especially if more gradually introduced at the 5-minute shuffles,) should, I believe, not be actually disruptive.

 

 

And while the numbers of various over-common eggs auto-transferred might be initially at a steady and higher level, over time, if the ratios were thereby more balanced according to what their environment (us) could support, more of the appearing biome eggs should then be wanted and taken directly by players, assuming that the worst burden of the artificial support system necessary to balance the ratios would be in part addressed by game mechanisms, rather than resting entirely on players required to sacrifice precious egg spots for days for numerous unwanted excess dragon-types in order to do so - something which has never, and is not going to ever happen, at sufficient levels, as past experience has shown - so that the numbers booted to the AP should become considerably reduced over time.

 

 

While obviously not privy to the behind-the-scenes facts, I totally cannot see a down-side to this and also hope that TJ will consider this Suggestion for implementation in the very near future, even if on an experimental basis for a sufficient period to establish what would likely be gradual effects.

 

(And my apologies to those having trouble reading space-separated points, but possibly due to a very poor light where my computer sits, combined with a vitamin-related issue affecting my sight on a variable basis, I do fairly often find it much easier reading this way myself.)

[blockEdragon]

i like this idea sure,everything would be slightly easier to get but it still would be about the same plus no one likes biome blockers and the ap is already known to be better because you always can tell what you get and you can abandon it when ever you like so you dont have to wait for such a long time

[Zeditha]

The point of this is simple: People like low-time eggs (instahatchies) no matter the breed. In the AP, eggs lose time and become instahatchies.

The eggs will be taken. I'm just hoping I can get CB Terraes more easily

 

 

 

I just had a thought: If you have your page open through one of the eggs being punted and then you click on the egg, do you get it or does it still get AP'd?

 

I figured it would still be AP'd but it would be a good place to add an extra line of text:

 

"You put your hand on the egg to take it, but a dragon moves towards you and you back away. Well, you touched it, so it's probably going to be abandoned anyway."

 

Accompanied by a "Sorry, this egg is gone", it might add an extra touch of realism to DC.

 

Basically I just think "Sorry, this egg has been taken by someone else" makes no sense if the egg was booted to the AP. This text is just a suggestion, but if TJ sees this, maybe he'll use it. (Or modify it and use it, or whatever.)

[blockEdragon]

this would make hunting better for everyone

and a lot of people would love them for this

 

i also think that five hour wait should be gotten rid of