New release Feedback

[gollark9]

 

You see, THIS makes sense.

 

The ratios were altered following a Release where we were flooded with the same dragons for weeks, which was too much for most people - but then switched too far the other way.

 

 

While some people with fast systems may want more challenge, since they may regularly deal with little or none with regard to catching at speed, (although Blockers spoil it for virtually everyone, of course) it must be borne in mind that population levels in many countries now consist of a large number of out-right poor and a large number of steadily-poorer, as compared to a relatively small - and shrinking - group able to afford such non-survival issues as hot puters and fast connections.

 

Without correction to the forces affecting global economic conditions, this situation is likely to continue to worsen.

 

These are facts that affect virtually everything.

 

DC is played by people of all ages and income levels around the world, and it's evident that the great bulk of players (including those currently no longer playing regularly or at all, due to such discouragement issues, but who might otherwise come back) do not have access - except perhaps at university or college, or while visiting - to expensive, super-fast systems, and that many among the pool of DC players have older/slower systems and are challenged trying to catch even commons in particular demand.

 

If people are unable to catch even at New Releases, having missed sleep or rearranged their lives to try to be present for a Release, with the initial Flood regarded as being potentially their only opportunity to catch these dragons for possibly weeks, months, years or at all, they will continue to be discouraged - rather than having fun they came to DC specifically for - and more likely to give up on playing DC at all, having been effectively shut out of the game due to financial/physical circumstances beyond their control.

 

If the first 24 hours of each Release had extended Floods and heavy Drops on all dragons, without this counting into the ratios during this period, where necessary, and if opportunity remained high for even slower people to catch over the week following such Releases, at least slower people would have a chance to catch their own on these occasions.

 

 

Gifting is great and many kindly do this for others, but people usually really want to have the fun of catching their own.

 

 

The player base predominately consists of people without hot catching systems, who typically joined DC in great part because they could play this (typically very slow-moving in many respects) game without having to be able to afford/access expensive systems.

 

But you still need a variety of CB dragons necessary even to breed lines/lineages...

 

The player base typically does NOT have fun (even when they put a good face on it) when they can't catch dragons, especially when this occurs during New Releases - one has only to look at the pertinent threads to see this, although probably most of the discouraged tend to never post at all for fear of having their feelings dismissed or scorned.

 

They are more likely to express this in private PMs to those they feel likely to understand how they feel, whether hopelessly wasting time trying or why they feel like giving up in discouragement - usually on the Release, sometimes on the game itself - and perhaps to say good-by, to say they might not be on for a while, maybe never again...

 

 

We play DC to have fun - what would it actually hurt to make DC more fun for more people, often coming here to get a break from stressful RL, and unable to cope with yet more frustration and fail during their leisure 'fun time'?

I agree.I actually play it on an iPad,and through wifi,so my clicks don't get sent to the site fast enough.There should be 48 hours or so around the new release with just the new eggs dropping.And there could be a link in the corner for normal biomes?

[LibbyLishly]

November release - one new breed, found only in the Alpine biome.

 

Here we have the trouble with one-egg releases that are only offered in one biome: suddenly, EVERYONE is there trying to mass-click the one egg. And when commons start mixing in early on, the egg is virtually impossible to catch.

 

Ugh. Not happy, Bob. Not happy.

[rumor33]

I agree that One egg in one Biome seems to be to much pressure in one area. Last night I had terrible problems getting the page to load correctly, but never had those problems when things were a little more spread out.

[dragonpuck]

I can usually catch my fill, because I can get on at a decent time and be at the beginning

It took longer this time than ever before( perhaps my computer and/or me slowing down- not to mention the burgeoning number of new players) but I see NO REASON at all to mix regular eggs in this soon. 24 hours please even if they disappear after that time frame would allow MOST players to get some. You can't please everybody all the time but why not try to accommodate a large number of the player base with a simple 24 hour drop?

 

 

EDIT:

 

If not 24 hours , then a time frame that covers all time zones?-- this is an International game, not everyone can be up a "0" dark hundred or play at work or be on all day.

 

or , I even hate to mention this-- a limit of two each for 48-72 hours, which would force all the fast computer folk and people like me to hunt the mixed drops with the rest of the population OUCH

personally I'd rather have them disappear for 6 months -----

but that impacts new players*sighs*

Unfortunately there is no universally good answer, but it could be better---

Edited November 30, 2013 by dragonpuck

[Stromboli]

I will again state that I don't think 24 hour floods are necessary, given that they're permanent additions to the cave.

You have the rest of the site's existence to get them.

 

And I am entirely not in favor of flooding if it means that we won't see the breed in the cave for weeks or months following the release day. If you miss the first few hours the way it is now, you've still got a shot at getting them over the next few days.

[danegrrrl]

I can usually catch my fill, because I can get on at a decent time and be at the beginning

It took longer this time than ever before( perhaps my computer and/or me slowing down- not to mention the burgeoning number of new players) but I see NO REASON at all to mix regular eggs in this soon. 24 hours please even if they disappear after that time frame would allow MOST players to get some. You can't please everybody all the time but why not try to accommodate a large number of the player base with a simple 24 hour drop?

I have to agree with this. Staying up til midnight is just not feasible for me most nights..and even if I set my alarm to get up earlier than I normally do in the morning, I'm still met with 200 people AND commons already mixed in.

 

I'm old. I love DC, but I'm just not going to alter my sleeping schedule just so I can *maybe* catch new releases. I would hope TJ would consider making the new releases Time Zone Friendly for everyone.

 

 

[angelicdragonpuppy]

I wish the release would have happened on Saturday evening as per usual. It was an unusual enough release without moving the weekly date as well.

 

Not sure I like the idea of a 24 hour release. I mean, I get it, I don't have any of the new eggs right now and I'll probably be mildly frustrated until I get some. But on the other hand, if everyone has everything instantly, doesn't it kind of ruin the point of a collection game? Say a new type of rare is introduced and 80%+ of players can grab it within 24 hours... the worth of trading / gifting / doing whatever with those eggs would likely be severely decreased for quite some time after, making things rather boring.

[car340]

Let's say that the 5 minute drop pops up 20 eggs at a time.

 

200 people getting eggs

20 eggs per 5 minutes

5 minutes per spawn

 

Let's say everyone wants to get at least 2 eggs.

 

200x20= 4,000x5= 20,000

20,000 minutes = 333.33 hours

333.33 hours = about 13.5 days

 

And that's only for 2 eggs, full flood of new release, 13.5 days for everybody hunting in the biomes to have a pair. Hopefully this won't turn into those ultra-rare dragons, or disaster's going to erupt.

 

I'm guilty as charged.

[Oddsoxdi]

Meh. I don't mind that solid drops are shorter for regular releases. They're permanent additions to the cave, there'll be opportunity to get 'em.

I like the rate of releases, though.

Ooooh yeh, like the Coppers and Green Opals? Can you say CB Blusangs?

 

I'm in the flood drop for 24 hours camp meself. LOVE the new releases monthly, and 2 is great.

 

ETA: Sorry I don't agree with capping the number you can snag at the beginning - those of us who CAN stay up late, who CAN manage to snag their quota at the first of the drop shouldn't be penalized because people don't want to pay the price of late hours (Hey, I'm old too, but I stayed up). I'm not in the competition for eggs right now cuz I DID stay up, waded through the down time/lags/complaints to snag my clutch.

 

ETA2: Time Zone Friendly for EVERYone? How is THAT feasible other than a 24 hour flood drop? Which I still support by the way.

Edited November 30, 2013 by oddsoxdi

[Ashywolf]

The problem is there aren't enough eggs for the amount of users. In the past the numbers were fine, but now it isn't. The releases are going too fast and only having 3 egg spaces for them to appear in is not helping.

 

I haven't been able to get any releases since July. Why? I could only speculate, but not enough eggs may be a reason.

[LibbyLishly]

Ad I am entirely not in favor of flooding if it means that we won't see the breed in the cave for weeks or months following the release day. If you miss the first few hours the way it is now, you've still got a shot at getting them over the next few days.

This is exactly why those of us who really want 24-hour floods are very specific in that we want the first day to NOT apply to the ratios at all. It's super important that the appropriate rarity or commonness is applied to them by the end of the release. None of us want them to vanish for a few weeks or months! From my small amount of experience in coding, I really don't think it would be that hard to code it that way.

[Stromboli]

Ooooh yeh, like the Coppers and Green Opals? Can you say CB Blusangs?

Breeds which are now established to be rare, and therefore will of course be more difficult to acquire. That's what being rare means.

 

I would still consider the time period of "right now" until the "end of this site" to be ample time to get these dragons.

 

 

ETA:

@LibbyLishly - Well, there was at least one person who said they'd be happy to force breeds into extinction for the sake of a flood.

 

If the flood did not affect the appearance of the breed in the cave later on, I would not be violently against it. Still can't say I'd approve of it, though. I enjoy the system as it is now, frustrations and all. The times when I've actually met my scroll goals and was just waiting on a new release, this game became boring as heck.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Stromboli

[blah]

Not sure I like the idea of a 24 hour release. I mean, I get it, I don't have any of the new eggs right now and I'll probably be mildly frustrated until I get some. But on the other hand, if everyone has everything instantly, doesn't it kind of ruin the point of a collection game? Say a new type of rare is introduced and 80%+ of players can grab it within 24 hours... the worth of trading / gifting / doing whatever with those eggs would likely be severely decreased for quite some time after, making things rather boring.

I think the exact opposite is true. A collecting game is only fun if it's actually possible to collect something. The way how the biomes don't move makes that tedious and annoying enough as it is. At least on release days it would be nice not to have this constant burden.

 

I really like that it is just a one-egg release though. Not only because you don't have to worry over how to split up your egg slots, but because you have a chance to actually get to know the breed. Grow to like them and not just associate them with "oh yeah, it was that awful release when...". There are a couple of dragons I always have to look up the names for because I was scrambling madly through their release.

 

edit:

 

Breeds which are now established to be rare, and therefore will of course be more difficult to acquire. That's what being rare means.

As far as I understood, they were supposed to be uncommon, not non-existant. Also, it is no fun, no matter how much time there is. Because many, many people play for lineages. Making them is enough work without not being able to catch the eggs to start out with.

Edited November 30, 2013 by blah

[pinkgothic]

Staying up til midnight is just not feasible for me most nights..

Try 'staying up until or getting up at six in the morning'.

 

I was a bit nervous about the November release because it was never clear when it was happening, and indeed had to last-minute abandon a few eggs (and freeze a few hatchlings) to make space for the new eggs, but I'm happy there was one at all, honestly.

 

So, no complaints from my side, other than the general wish that things might be a bit more communicative in future, but that's a long-running hope of mine and not tied to this release (or any number of releases) in particular.

[danegrrrl]

(Hey, I'm old too, but I stayed up). I'm not in the competition for eggs right now cuz I DID stay up, waded through the down time/lags/complaints to snag my clutch.

 

ETA2: Time Zone Friendly for EVERYone? How is THAT feasible other than a 24 hour flood drop? Which I still support by the way.

I should also add I worked 55 hours this week. Staying up til midnight in anticipation of the "black friday release" was more than I could handle, since I have to be up at 4 am most days. I wasn't able to do it two nights in a row. But that's besides the point...I'm not crying because I wasn't able to stay up til Midnight - it was just part of the reasoning behind my agreeing with a 24 hour drop.

 

My point is that everyone should have the same "perk" as everyone else regardless of their time zone in that they can hunt without commons mixed in. "Time Zone Friendly" means exactly what you posted - a 24 hour flood drop so that everyone, regardless of their time zone, can participate in the new releases without having to deal with the commons mixed in already.. I'm pretty sure we're on the same page.

 

[Oasis]

I'm sorry, but a 24-hour release is just not possible. The holiday eggs drop for 24 straight hours, and they're only available ONCE. EVER. These are eggs that are going to be around for... well... forever. At least until the site gets closed, which hopefully won't happen anytime soon.

 

There are a lot of people around gifting eggs to people who didn't get any.

 

And if they end up being rare, so be it. I know that most of the site would be in an outrage if TJ decided to drop gold eggs in the cave for a 24-hour period. Okay, so that's never going to happen, but the point is, rare eggs aren't rare unless they're rare!

 

I don't mean to say that I don't care about the people who can't catch any, and I do feel bad for everyone with slower computers, but it is pixels. You'll get one eventually, trust meh.

[Oddsoxdi]

I should also add I worked 55 hours this week. Staying up til midnight in anticipation of the "black friday release" was more than I could handle, since I have to be up at 4 am most days. I wasn't able to do it two nights in a row. But that's besides the point...I'm not crying because I wasn't able to stay up til Midnight - it was just part of the reasoning behind my agreeing with a 24 hour drop. 

 

My point is that everyone should have the same "perk" as everyone else regardless of their time zone in that they can hunt without commons mixed in. "Time Zone Friendly" means exactly what you posted - a 24 hour flood drop so that everyone, regardless of their time zone, can participate in the new releases without having to deal with the commons mixed in already.. I'm pretty sure we're on the same page.

Heh, you'll have to forgive me danegrrrl - I stayed up really late!

 

I KNEW we agreed on the flood - just wanted to add my extra support to it - like it would do any good.

 

ETA: @Oasis, I still maintain that fair is fair and everybody everywhere should be given the same chances to snag new eggs - hence the flood-drop for an extended period (which is longer than two hours!).

Edited November 30, 2013 by oddsoxdi

[rumor33]

And if they end up being rare, so be it. I know that most of the site would be in an outrage if TJ decided to drop gold eggs in the cave for a 24-hour period. Okay, so that's never going to happen, but the point is, rare eggs aren't rare unless they're rare!

 

I agree, I mean, is it kinda lame that I'm just now getting my CB Blusangs and have yet to get my hands on CB Coppers? Yeah, a little, but it gives me something to work for, you know? If I had everything I wanted the site would be all about getting on for a few hours after a new release and I would probably stop playing. Can't just give eggs to everyone, as mean as that sounds. Besides, I know people like to point to Coppers and Blusangs as reasons for longer releases, but the grand majority turn out more like Tidals and Coastals, rare for like, a few days and then easy enough to trade for/catch.

[Siaka]

I completely agree with the solid release suggestion.

 

Yes, these eggs are being permanently added to the site, but there are no restrictions on how many eggs that a user may catch as there is for Holiday eggs. So people snatch every single on until they are egg locked. Granted, you would think that this would make these eggs available to everyone eventually, but it doesn't always work out like this.

 

I have never (and this might just be because of the times I get on DC) seen a CB Imperial Fleshcrowne Egg, Copper Egg, or Bloodscale egg and each of these was part of the huge week long release. They're soooo coveted right now, that people snatch 'em up for themselves rather than a thread such as Take an Egg Leave an Egg or other breeding thread.

No, I'm not just saying this because I haven't caught any of these. I do have a couple of coppers. Woo!

 

So bottom line, my two cents is this:

If an egg release is for an egg that is going to be common/not holiday/not a one day release special thing/etc, release it in every biome and in every egg slot so that everyone can have at least a chance at one!

If an egg release is for an egg that is going to be uncommon/rare then then make it only available in one biome or for a shorter time slot, etc.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Siaka

[Obscure_Trash]

I agree - I still want longer releases. Especially with only one egg, people aren't spread out trying to catch multiple eggs so people clicking is concentrated just on one egg and in this case in one place.

 

I just think this is a game and it should be fun for people to play. I think a lot of people aren't having much fun trying for an egg and not getting it hour after hour.

 

After five and some odd hours I've gotten three and a ridgewing - and I was here for the start of the release. I tried on most five minute drops. I've seen very little luck. I've been here long enough that I don't really care too much, but it's not the most fun experience for everyone. =o

[Genavelle]

Breeds which are now established to be rare, and therefore will of course be more difficult to acquire. That's what being rare means.

 

I would still consider the time period of "right now" until the "end of this site" to be ample time to get these dragons.

 

 

ETA:

@LibbyLishly - Well, there was at least one person who said they'd be happy to force breeds into extinction for the sake of a flood.

 

If the flood did not affect the appearance of the breed in the cave later on, I would not be violently against it. Still can't say I'd approve of it, though. I enjoy the system as it is now, frustrations and all. The times when I've actually met my scroll goals and was just waiting on a new release, this game became boring as heck.

I get that those breeds are supposed to be rare, and I don't have a problem with breeds being rare...but to be honest, I have not seen a copper in the cave SINCE they were released. I'm lucky I managed to catch one during that release, cause otherwise I doubt I'd ever see a cb copper on my scroll. And since I started playing this earlier this year, I've seen a blusang egg in the cave once...Over a period of about half a year, seeing an egg once in the cave is like...ridiculously rare. And with a release like this, where all the pressure is on one biome, and people have enough problems with slow computers, not being able to get on in the middle of the night, etc. Along with nobody even knew when these eggs would be released, so I'm sure a lot of people didn't think to plan to stay up last night in the first place...If these turn into blusang/copper rarity, it's just simply not fair to most of the playerbase. Not because everyone should be able to easily get every egg, but because most people never had a chance to catch them, and they might not see them cb again for 6, 7 months.

 

I think the release system needs to be rethought a little bit, no matter how they decide to do it, something should change. And I don't think any egg on release day should only be in one biome. It just causes way too much stress and lag on that one biome, with everyone in it trying to catch the new eggs. I don't see why, even if this dragon is alpine-only, on just release day the eggs couldn't be available in all biomes simply to spread the pressure out. And if releases are going to start in the middle of the night, maybe yeah have a longer time period where commons aren't mixed in. Or atleast give more communication on when players need to stay up all night- because nobody knew when the november release was even supposed to come out. A lot of people stayed up on earlier days hoping for a release, and it's just not fair to expect players to stay up every night waiting for some mystery release.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Genavelle

[DeathCry]

The problem is there aren't enough eggs for the amount of users. In the past the numbers were fine, but now it isn't. The releases are going too fast and only having 3 egg spaces for them to appear in is not helping.

 

I haven't been able to get any releases since July. Why? I could only speculate, but not enough eggs may be a reason.

I'm not aware of any of the inner working of this game, of course, but I really feel like that's what going on at this point.

 

This seems like some lottery where a select number are eligible up front and then everyone needs things "trickled down" to them gradually over the next few months. I can understand waiting months for a *truly* rare dragon, but not for just about every other release if we don't have a million hours to be refreshing in one particular biome (and by that time no one is interested, so the biome moves incredibly sluggish).

[Sarah864]

When I first hunted for a cb gold I kept a tally and ended up getting tons of other "rares" such as chickens but couldn't seem to even glimpse a cb gold. Green coppers have continued to be rare despite it listed as uncommon. I think its not the ratio of the rare eggs, but rather the ratio of the common. If no one wants them then the biomes remain stagnant and thereby makes it more difficult to get uncommons which increases their rarity. For this new release, it's not so much the trouble of getting a new egg (though I think if the release is only in one biome the flood should be longer or have less commons than that for releases of multiple biomes) but the fact that even if it's meant to be uncommon no one really knows how the ratio is going to skew out and the blusangs and coppers aren't very comforting reminders.

[Darkwing Duck]

I agree - I still want longer releases. Especially with only one egg, people aren't spread out trying to catch multiple eggs so people clicking is concentrated just on one egg and in this case in one place.

 

I just think this is a game and it should be fun for people to play. I think a lot of people aren't having much fun trying for an egg and not getting it hour after hour.

 

After five and some odd hours I've gotten three and a ridgewing - and I was here for the start of the release. I tried on most five minute drops. I've seen very little luck. I've been here long enough that I don't really care too much, but it's not the most fun experience for everyone. =o

You couldn't be more right. My friend had been trying all morning and gave up with no luck. I told her I wanted a turn to try and get some, but secretly, I'm hunting for her. My luck is no better then hers was. I wish these new releases were as easy as the Halloween one was. I had no problems getting an egg then. It also does not help when there are over 200 people in the Alpine and only three eggs to grab. The fastest internet signal and the fastest reflexes will always win. Sounds a bit unfair for others. :/

[car340]

You couldn't be more right. My friend had been trying all morning and gave up with no luck. I told her I wanted a turn to try and get some, but secretly, I'm hunting for her. My luck is no better then hers was. I wish these new releases were as easy as the Halloween one was. I had no problems getting an egg then. It also does not help when there are over 200 people in the Alpine and only three eggs to grab. The fastest internet signal and the fastest reflexes will always win. Sounds a bit unfair for others. :/

You can always just wait 5 more hours, hope that somebody sees your post, and might get glomp-gifted. That's how (a few) people got theirs.