New release Feedback

[Red2111]

back in March a topic came about discussing the potential for more and bigger new releases. to which TJ responded

 

For those wondering, my (new) current aim is for a release of two breeds on the first Monday of every month.

Thinking about it just now, I should probably move this to first Sunday, so that it doesn't interfere with work or school.

 

and so brought out a year full of monthly scheduled new releases, adding many wonderful and highly sought out dragons to our scrolls.

 

we've seen a great mix of new releases, all uniquely beautiful, with a handfull of very hard to find elusive babies *cough*coppers,opals,bloodmoons*cough*.

 

with September looming and the Holiday season on the horizon (as TJ has also stated he wouldn't do a Monthly release along with a Holiday release), i'm wondering how everyone feels about the releases we've had so far.

 

any suggestions for imporvements? any things you'd change? just give your 2 cents on the release and how its impacted your hunting and collecting style

 

 

the main complaints that i've seen in all the new release threads are these:

 

- longer solid release -> menaing a 24hr or 48 hr block where nothing but the new eggs drop

 

- possible hicup in the ratios -> meaning new release eggs become as hard or harder to find as rares (Golds/Silvers) when they are supposed to be uncommon. which has happened so far to Coppers, and Bloodscales (Opals also appear to be going this way as well).

Edited August 8, 2013 by Red2111

[Red2111]

for me, i think 2 a month is perfect. (3 if its a hybrid) however, 3 at once in the cave (like this release) is a bit too much to handle.

 

so far, i've been lucky enough to get atleast 1 breeding pair of each new breed per release.

 

that said, i think i agree with the main compaints posted in the OP, a longger solid release woudl make things go much more smoothly imo

[DigitalGarden]

very hard to find elusive babies *cough*coppers,opals,bloodmoons*cough*.

...Bloodmoons? O_o Personally I wouldn't count them to this, they aren't difficult to catch.

 

Hovewer I agree the release (mass-drops) should last longer than 24 hours. It's not like I had difficulties now, it just makes me sad that every month there are more and more people complaining because they were a few hours late D:

 

Oh and I'm totally okay with 2-3 breeds released each month.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Light Concorde

[TwilitProphet]

I'm in love with the two new breeds per month idea. Keeps the game from getting boring to me! I love seeing all the new species people bring into the caves! Plus now that we know when the new eggs are going to appear, we don't have to worry as much. I always hated when we got a surprise release when I was trying to collect certain breeds of dragon because I had to dump all the eggs I had if they weren't incu-hatchable.

 

I just wish that I didn't have to be here at exactly midnight on the day they release in order to get any of them. When the new dragons are released I have to stay up until I have two of each new egg to influence male and female. When I wake up in the morning the old eggs have already mixed in with the new eggs, and that's only 8 or so hours into the release! That just doesn't sit right with me that someone has to be lucky enough to be here the moment they come out to have a good shot at filling their goals. A more solid drop for 24 hours would be more fair for everyone around the world.

[senyi]

Well, I like the new system for releases, but I'd like a longer mass block of new eggs.

[cyradis4]

I think she means Bloodscales, they are about as rare as Trios at the moment. And the artist has said that Opals should end up being like Trios.

 

I agree with the longer initial drop idea, most of my friends had a ton of trouble catching them.

 

Having said that... Other than the Coppers (which I don't care what TJ says, are clearly glitched), two to three weeks after release I've been able to catch them, no problem. Actually, except for Coppers (which I never see), I see all of the releases from this year. When the Biomes move.

 

See, that's the kicker, that's making everything except blockers seem rare: The biomes almost never move.

 

So all most people ever see are the blockers. I've a suggestion in Suggestions that I think will help the ratios and get the biomes to move, basically if an egg sits in a biome for 5 minutes, dump it to the AP where people will be delighted to pick it up (when it hits 4 days, that is).

 

Cheers!

C4.

[Polar]

I think she means Bloodscales, they are about as rare as Trios at the moment. And the artist has said that Opals should end up being like Trios.

 

I agree with the longer initial drop idea, most of my friends had a ton of trouble catching them.

 

Having said that... Other than the Coppers (which I don't care what TJ says, are clearly glitched), two to three weeks after release I've been able to catch them, no problem. Actually, except for Coppers (which I never see), I see all of the releases from this year. When the Biomes move.

 

See, that's the kicker, that's making everything except blockers seem rare: The biomes almost never move.

 

So all most people ever see are the blockers. I've a suggestion in Suggestions that I think will help the ratios and get the biomes to move, basically if an egg sits in a biome for 5 minutes, dump it to the AP where people will be delighted to pick it up (when it hits 4 days, that is).

 

Cheers!

C4.

Actually, that's a fantastic idea. I love the idea of the caveblockers being dropped in the AP, then when they're at a short time being picked up. Why didn't I think of that?

[DigitalGarden]

I think she means Bloodscales, they are about as rare as Trios at the moment.

Oh, this makes sense now and I agree. c:

[PolarVortex]

I'm really happy with the new release schedule! I actually like that you can't just waltz in on any hour of the release day, catch your fill, and be done for the month. It has been a challenge for me to get my personal quota of these new releases (and I like that!). The coppers, I admit, are over-the-top frustrating but everything else I've been able to get over time with a little persistence.

 

I would love to see something done about the blocker problem, however. For me that's really the biggest deterent to the game right now. I really enjoy cave hunting, but only when things are actually moving. Which is not very often, sadly. I know this topic is about the new releases, but I agree with cyradis that the problem with catching the new eggs is the frozen biomes, not necessarily the lack of a 24-48 hour wall of eggs.

 

If the whole game was show up once a month, easily grab 2-4 of each new egg, then give up for the rest of the month because the biomes don't move, I'd be pretty bored, honestly. At least the way it is now there is the fun of hunting new releases (for a day or three while things are still moving...)

 

 

[LibbyLishly]

I'm loving the 2-a-month releases. I'm SO glad that for many of the spriters, their hard work is finally paying off and we've got some glorious variety for our lineages. (I'm also super excited to FINALLY be seeing releases pertaining to varieties where we have fewer breeding options. I can't wait to see more pygmies and drakes as well.)

 

I will say that don't like 3 a month, even when it is a hybrid; I prefer it to be 2. Anything more exhausts me. The 7-breed release, while awesome, was a bit rough for me.

 

I do really, really want to see 24-hour mass drops for the new eggs. I often can't get online until Sunday afternoon, and by that time, the breeds are often getting harder to find. I don't think they need to be full holiday-release mass where literally nothing else is in the cave that day, but perhaps a much, much, much higher ratio of these than the myriad of other breeds combined would do a lot to help those with slower internet and less-than-stellar reflexes.

[5icky]

I agree, 24 hour mass drops, cave blocked out. That way everyone had a chance!

 

2 per month is also great, for me as well

 

I'm curious on the dropping ratios too, will they be fixed?

[Herk]

I think 2 is a bit better than 3, because not everyone is a Gold player and if you ahve gender dimorphism 3 is stretching the limits.

 

And the colour variants drive me crazy (as I tend to treat them like different breeds) -so 2-3 is perfect, although I'm less stressed when it's 2

[skauble]

I posted about this in the release thread, but I'll add it here now that there's a specific place for it.

 

My scroll goals are pretty high and I have a number of lineage projects to breed for, but I have to admit that I'm enjoying the frequent releases (although I think 2 is the plenty of breeds to release each month).

 

I think the change makes a lot of sense because there were a lot of player complaints that there was nothing to do in between releases and so there was a cycle of - Release -> Grab all the eggs you need right away -> Wander off until ->New release. By increasing the frequency of the releases and also decreasing the number of eggs released during each one, the amount of time it takes to complete scroll goals expands and gameplay is extended. It's actually, IMO, a pretty good move, except for 3 things:

 

1. Cave blockers mean that a person can sometimes spend 10 or 15 minutes looking at the same three eggs. Until that problem is resolved, many players are always going to see the initial mass drops as the only real chance to get an egg because all too soon the biomes will freeze back up.

 

Theoretically new releases can speed up the biomes, but that doesn't really seem to be all that effective over time. The blocker issue simply needs to be resolved in a different way, IMO.

 

2. Because there's no alternative way to get CBs - only hunting - people with slower computers/connection speeds have tended to rely on new release floods to grab eggs. In that way, vigilance and making every effort to attend the new releases help to compensate for things like technical limitations. This new release format further shuts out those players without offering reasonable alternatives that could help them be competitive.

 

3. The user base is going to take a long time to let go of the idea that eggs should be available to everyone on release day. Because that's the way it's always been, it's difficult to shift gears from the idea that new releases are an event for everyone to get new eggs, to the idea of new releases simply being an event where a new breed is put into the cave.

 

If the other issues were resolved I think that people would get used to it faster. But it's going to take a lot more releases and enough time to bring in new players who never knew the old way to really shift the collective mindset, IMO. Even then, there will be those of us who are still at the new releases saying, "Ya know, back in my day, the eggs flowed out of that thar cave like a river...".

[Rally Vincent]

One per month would be enough, two are too many. All I do is trying to keep up, always having to do this and get that. There's no time to breathe, no time to relax. I already have that in my job, I don't need that in my spare time.

[auroshen]

I'm really getting crushed under the weight of these releases. Honestly I think we should lower it to 1 a month. I've only been able to get one each of last month's releases, one Duotone, and no Opals. It's getting kind of frustrating. New releases are pretty much the only time I can get these eggs, and tbh I kind of liked it better when you knew that you would be able to snag one or two new releases.

[Wahya]

I vote for bigger releases, and longer initial drops (at LEAST 48 hours).

[KrazyKarp]

I like it at 2 per. month. 1 is too small, 3 is too big. These variants are driving me nuts, though. Duotone and one opal variant, or both opal variants would've been better.

I also think maybe one dragon be released in holiday months except February. Halloween and Christmas are towards the end of October and December, which would give most of the users plenty of time to catch one dragon.

About how long the releases should be as in the new releases only... 24 hours at the most. 48 is way too much time, and less than 24 isn't enough.

[BlitzDrake]

The only problem I have is that the initial drop only lasts a couple hours before the blockers mix in. And since the forest biome is slower than the Alpine trying to get the Green Opals is hard, just add about 70+ people to the mix and chances of getting one are improbable. I can't, along with others for whatever reason, cannot stay up til midnight. And not everyone lives in the same timeframe so maybe a drop that only is the new releases for just a full day (24hrs) ensures everyone at least can get ONE.

[Amaterasu-sama]

I voted don't really care because that's how I feel. Compared to earlier draught of releases (and myself quitting DC for a long time because the game was too boring), now I always have something to do, because the first 10-15 days go away scrambling to get/raise/trade for new eggs and the rest 10-15 days I'm busy doing whatever planned agenda I had for breeding so I really quite like how the game is working now.

 

The only thing I dislike is how early the normal eggs gets mixed in, or how they get mixed in at ALL. I myself didn't have much bad luck with misclicking but that was because I was being extremely careful about descriptions, and the result of that was I took forever to click and barely managed to catch 2-3 eggs on my own. Good thing I had good stuff to trade for them at least. IMO it's cruel to expect players to be even paying attention to descriptions in the mad frenzy where more than 200 people are hunting together! Obviously everyone is under pressure to catch something, and if they misclick then spot is gone for good 5hrs which causes major damage to player at such a crucial time. I saw so many people complaining about it in this release and honestly felt really bad for all of them. So

1. More eggs per release, and

2. Irrespective of whether we've more eggs or not (point 1), at least don't mix in other breeds with the new eggs for first 24hrs.

 

That's what I'd really love to see improved. And yes ratios too. Coppers are officially "uncommon" by the forum statement we all know, yet rarer than cb metals in actuality. Bloodscales were supposed to be even more common than coppers from what I read so far, but they go straight in rare category too. And Opals are already raising hell even though they're two headed dragons. We can not have every new dragon becoming rare for months before it comes back to it original state, this makes people believe even more that yes, release is the ONLY time you can get lucky nabbing whatever you can, later on there is no guarantee what will happen because drops have been so unpredictable and cave stays stagnant on top of it. The rarity issue is beating players hard enough that everyone is paranoid about grabbing the releases on release day itself, thus making it even harder to catch something because so many people hunt cave during release. And seeing what happened to coppers, can you really blame them? I'm so glad I didn't listen to anyone when they said releases are permanent and grabbed whatever I could during bday release, or I'd be crying right now as well.

[olympe]

Personally, I think that 2 cave drops of new releases plus a hybrid or two is totally all right. I wouldn't mind getting more new releases, as long as they're common breeds. However, we do need to find a way to satisfactorily deal with new uncommons or new rares in the cave.

[Red2111]

yikes i meant Bloodscales! *headdesk*

 

skauble pretty much summed up my sentaments to the new release.

 

my scroll goal is 4 breeding pairs of each, the reason why i stated 2 (or 3 if a hybrid) becuase hybrids i can breed at my leasure. i dont have to wait for blockers to clear or even compete with other users to get them. if were talkign abtou releasing Hybrids, i'd be fine with 100 at once; because i can plan to breed them over the course of a long time.

 

but CB's OTOH, more than two is heck on me. i need 8 of each type, which with incubate is 1 and 1/2 weeks concentrating on just catching them and ignoring the other things i do in game (like lineages and breeding my prize babies) infact with the new release schedules, ive cut back to focusing on 1 lineage project at a time and only tend to hunt the first week of a release.

 

mainly because the first week of a release, thats the only time the cave really seems to move. and i twitch every time because i'll pass up eggs i'd normally gobble up (gold wyvrens for one) because i'm scared the egg i dont grab will turn into another Blusang or Copper.

 

and i also agree with treating the color vatiations of a dragon (like Coppers and Opals) as seperate dragons, because their eggs are in different areas. so for me, thsi current release has 3 breeds, not two (as far as collecting goes).

 

 

so i 100% agree that, especially given the recent changes in the AP, TJ needs to consider doing somethign to get the cave moving to keep up with the new releases, because as more get mixed in, a lot of the older disireable breeds are goign to become blockers in favor for the newer ones that people are still trying to catch up on.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Red2111

[Syphoneira]

I certainly do wish that we'd have solid Floods that last for some time, at least 24 hours, to allow faster/luckier people in all time zones/schedules to catch and clear the deck quickly, so the site doesn't become overburdened and laggy and the others trying have a chance.

 

And this allows slower people to do the hammer-click routine that allows them to get the dragons they've taken the trouble to miss sleep for, and to not miss more sleep (or whatever else they should be doing) than necessary.

 

And we do need heavier drops of New eggs following this, so people can actually collect them and it doesn't turn into something where only the fast can catch their own, which is so much more fun, as much as the generosity of gifters is appreciated.

 

It's hard with more than two breeds/variants ONLY because these are so hard to catch, especially after whatever Flood is provided is finished - impossible for too many players, in recent drops.

 

And this has to do with the short Flood period and the amounts Dropped in proportion to users, many of whom have given up/are giving up on something they're unlikely to achieve.

 

As pointed out by many before, many people can only catch in a Flood - quite apart from everyone wanting to immediately start loading up on new dragons and to share in the experience of raising the new eggs - and fear that they'll never get them otherwise, or not for a very long time.

 

 

 

Recreational activities are supposed to be fun, and if the first step in your list of breeding/gifting/trading goals is not possible except by fluke, you're pretty much done before you've started and can't play at all.

 

Too many people are losing/have lost interest in the game, between the Blockers and the impossibility of their catching any of the more desirable sprites.

 

Plus, what used to be trading for whatever dragons people need/want is turning into a stock exchange issue where collecting what people want is being crowded out for a state of mind where dragons of extreme rarity are valued for what they can bring, involving extreme 'prices'.

 

This isn't the psychology of the 'save the baby dragons from dying' crowd that's been lured in here over the years, but mainly seems to be that of a more recent influx of people having different priorities because they can catch the rarer dragons and profit from them.

 

And the more hard to obtain new dragons are, the more it feeds the latter psychological influence and subsumes that of those who value the dragons themselves into marginality, into dependency on gifters or the provision of vast numbers of raised common hatchies in getting what dragons they need, rather than catching for themselves - and effectively shuts out many of those here for the collecting/breeding/gifting part of the game.

 

Extreme rarity of dragons people still need, regardless, is changing a once-unique DC into something highly competitive and dependent on fast equipment/connections most DC players simply can't afford - something that can be found elsewhere, something that many of us would never bother with, even if we could compete, because we just want to collect/breed/gift/trade for the dragons we like/need...

 

 

Those who find that they catch too quickly and become bored can always down-grade their equipment/connection speed, if they'd like the sort of 'challenge' so many others face routinely, while the great masses of those who are already 'challenged' due to old puters and slower internet typically lack the option of doing the reverse.

 

Those who want only one sprite, or one pair and a frozen, and who tend to quickly fill up and get bored with 'nothing to do' will find this occurring anyway.

 

Why use these examples to further penalize the larger numbers of people who simply want to collect however many of the sprites they like, because they can't afford to upgrade in order to work toward and (where possible) complete their scroll goals and become bored as well?

[Luckyclaw]

I actually had no trouble before this release, I'm not sure why or how, but even the 7-day huge riverbarf of new breeds was simple and easy for me to keep up with. I got one of every copper, actually. This release though... my god. I got one blue opal, two undecideds and no greens. Undecideds, I noticed were becoming blockers on the second day of their release. That's a really, REALLY bad sign. If they are becoming blockers on the second day, what's that saying about the rest of the year? Nothing good, I assure you! Thankfully my misclicks were on two good breeds for trade, but even CB Stripes and CB Nebulae are blockers in this release. It's madness without the Sparta. Instead of refreshing and having your heart aflutter as you try to get a new egg, you're staring at a screen for 20 minutes waiting for the blockers to whither away. Look away for ten seconds and the blockers are gone just to see another blocker.

 

I'm not competitive. I like dragon cave because I can relax. My fun lies not in the catching and raising, but in writing descriptions and naming. I also like gifting, and the forums, and all that other stuff. I may have a... decent? Connection, it allows me to get eggs, but I don't care for it. Teleport was the best thing since sliced bread. This isn't a rush for the competitors anyway, it's mind-numbing. You know, if people really want competition for this stuff anyway... why don't you guys just hunt on the day after a big release? Have a 24-hour flood for people like me and those with slower connections, then change it to... this after that.

 

We also need something done about the blockers, though. I don't go in the cave because of them. Why would I? I can get CBs from the AP from misclickers or people who decided they didn't want them after all, almost incu-hatchable! If I don't like them or they turn up messy, I can abandon them right away with no wait. Then sometimes I get nice lineages on top of it. Dang, what's the downside?

 

I like new releases though. It's great to finally see the dragons getting off that 'completed requests' lists. I saw the Royal Blues and I got so excited because I'd been waiting years for them to come out. I also love them on this schedule. But what's the point if I can't even catch them? I've got some bronze tinsels whose lineages I can't continue... a messy silver... A decent Gold who doesn't like to breed (was gifted)... some Coppers... and one CB Thunder. What can I breed for Gold Shimmers and Green Opals when they go for stellar-lined Shimmers and CB metallics? Nothing, because no one wants anything less than an arm and a leg! So because I don't coalmine in a cave more blocked than Timmy Turner's boil friend's pores I can't get another decent Copper, Bloodscale, Tsunami, Blusang or what have you? Not even months after their releases?

 

I'm sorry if I sound mean, or spoiled or whatever. I'm just very unhappy. I've only missed a few releases in the past and my missing those releases has affected my scroll for a long time because I'm never able to get them after the release. Bad reflexes, generous nature. This new release is the pinnacle of that. How long will it take me now to get a Green Opal? A very long time, I'll guess, and I'm absolutely sure it won't be Cave Born. Can we just cut people who aren't very competitive or have bad connections a break by saying "You set time aside every release, and always are here when there's a new release because you're active. Here's the new release, and here's a chance."

Edited August 8, 2013 by Luckyclaw

[Rekha]

Personally, I absolutely LOVE the two new breeds a month thing. It has really spiced up the cave, it has made it easier to catch older stuff that I have really been wanting and with enough persistence I am able to nearly meet my scroll goals with the new releases so I honestly don't have a problem with it. I would be sad if I saw it go away because some of the players were having too hard a time getting eggs to be able to keep up. Honestly the way I look at it, there are still many breeds that I am trying to catch up to on my scroll goals and that goes for very common to very rare! There are some eggs that I still have NONE of.. such as the infamous Blusang and those bloody Coppers which seem to be very illusive.

 

Heck, I would be happy to see even more but at the same time... not really because now that I have my gold Trophy I have started taking on projects both breeding and gifting so if there were any more I think it would become overwhelming and I don't believe I would have time for anything OTHER than catching, hatching and growing!

[injenn]

I agree that the fist day should be nothing but new releases in their biome (or close to it). This mixed in thing is why Coppers are so insanely rare when they're supposed to be an uncommon! It's not helping the rarity stay up, it's making the AP clogged with everything else even more than normal.

 

I also prefer 1 breed per month. Less to go crazy catching. Two max. And I hate anything with an ALT when it's released with other breeds. Alts are hard enough to get already.