New release Feedback

[birdzgoboom]

I do think a 24-hour release would be nice for any future dragons, mostly because not everyone is in the same timezone and I feel for those who were sleeping at the time of releases! ;v; I don't think they should be released in all biomes, though, because then it would confuse people later on when the dragon is limited to the specific biome it was supposed to be found in. If releases were 24 hours straight, it would get rid of the need for multiple biome launches, anyways, since the eggs would be readily available for anyone in any timezone, and you could fill up your egg slots faster!

Edited November 30, 2013 by birdzgoboom

[Fuzzbucket]

I got up at 5 am GMT. I wouldn't recommend it. I'm lucky I am retired, as I have been pretty much a zombie all day. It does need to be made fairer for people outside EST somehow. There must be a way. But I don't think eggs should be released in biomes where they don't belong. If it is such an issue with everyone hanging out in one biome - we could perhaps revert to a single cave for 24 hours - would that help ?

[Thuban]

What if instead of a 24 hour straight flood, instead, every 2-3 hours drops /just/ the new breed, while the other drops are all mixed. That givers the first rush people the thrill of being able to catch them right off the bat.. then after the first two hours are up, and the other breeds start mixing in, every few hours after, just do a straight drop. If you do this for the first 12 hours, it gives everyone a fair shot at actually catching a flood drop, while also allowing for the mixed drops as well.

 

Lets say: (these times are in dc time)

12-2am straight drop

205-455am mixed drop

5am straight flood, ten minutes.

510-7:55 mixed drops

8am straight flood, 10 minutes

810-10:55 mixed drops

11am straight drop, ten minutes

 

 

That gives a little bit of leeway to everyone, and could easily be extended for another 12 hours if its /needed/.

[Syphoneira]

I'd forgotten about this thread, lol, and I must add that I agree with far too many people to quote them all here.

 

Personally, I was lucky enough to come in just both late and early enough to arrive in an area where I was able to catch - no way would I have got any had I not happened to check just when I did... and even if we do have many noble and generous gifters, too many people have spent fruitless hours slogging away, with few or no results to make the time and effort worthwhile.

 

 

Among the various points made that I've read so far:

 

people come here to have fun and collect dragons - some people enjoy the challenge, but others don't, have limited time or other issues, and I suspect that the latter groups far outnumber the former.

 

If the game's no fun for them, people will obviously lose interest, as so many already have.

 

 

There are not enough dragons available in New Releases for people to catch them in a reasonable time period, and many are limited in time/internet access.

 

The game, at least for a lot of us, is about collecting dragons, not maintaining or hiking trade prices for rares/new dragons which a relative few can catch, and, for many, breeding lineages, which take quite long enough to build without being unable to obtain the dragons required to even start breeding attempts.

 

 

If those able to be there for Releases are able to catch more quickly throughout the first day, virtually everyone has an enjoyable time, rather than a stressful experience: as mentioned, while many kindly people do gift, people like to be able to catch their own dragons, although for those with slower systems or physical issues, the challenge of what may be an easy catch for some may be extremely difficult.

 

Because this is a family site, there are many children and older players, including those with physical issues making play more difficult, and because it's played around the world and by all income levels, there are many in areas and circumstances where good connections/fast systems are not possible, and as I understand it, a signal relayed half-way around the world will tend to be slower that one nearby the original source, and such player-base issues as these need to be taken into consideration.

 

And, as yet another issue mentioned and of concern to many, a 24-hour Flood in New Releases which was independent of the ratios during that period would take differences - and players - in different time zones/on different shifts into consideration.

 

I would also think that implementing the suggestions of having Releases in all biomes for 24 hours to reduce lag, with a notice made in the initial Release post of which biome they were native to at the time to avoid confusion, would make sense, as lag can absolutely spoil such an event for all suffering it, something, I would assume, likely to be more exaggerated in those outside of the US, relative to distance from the main server.

 

New Releases ought to be fun and enjoyable for all sharing the occasion, not an additional source of stress, frustration and exhaustion for those playing DC to get away from a real life already overloaded with these.

 

Is there really any overriding reason as to why it shouldn't be?

[Genavelle]

Meh. Went to play guild wars for a couple hours, came back just in time for the 8:00 drop. I had a chance to click on my first viewing of the eggs, which I was too slow to catch any, but then my page didn't finish refreshing until around 8:04...

 

And this is why I'm suggesting that we spread the eggs out in multiple biomes. As the poster above me said, why not just state in the release forum where the egg's natural biome(s) is? And just make it a known, common thing that new releases will drop in every biome, that way people won't be confused. But when you have 200 people all trying to catch eggs at the same time in one biome, from 3 possible egg slots...It's either too hard for some people to click fast enough, or simply your computer can't deal with it and you spend the entire time of the drop loading the biome.

 

I don't want to sound whiny and complainy, but I think it's pretty clear there are some problems. It's okay to make it a challenge, but only if the challenge is fair. Not where people with the best reflexes and computers can fill their scrolls, while people without those advantages are clicking and refreshing all day, being lucky to catch maybe one egg.

[Oasis]

I like the challenge. It would be boring if you didn't have to put any effort into catching an egg..

[Genavelle]

I like the challenge. It would be boring if you didn't have to put any effort into catching an egg..

Not sure sitting watching your page load for 4 minutes is really all that "challenging" more than just straight up unfair. It's a challenge if everyone has a fair chance, but still has to actually put in effort. When some people can fill up their scrolls, gift some away, and refill their scroll, while others are dealing with lag and slow computers or physical disabilities, and with real-life stuff going on so they can't sit on DC all day to keep trying...It's just not fair. It's not a "challenge" for some people, it's just being at a disadvantage to other players.

 

Point is, for it seems like, the majority of the players, this isn't enjoyable anymore, and it's more frustrating than challenging. Because people aren't being challenged by their own abilities, they're being challenged by whose computer is better than whose, or who lives in the best time zone to start catching early. If DC were to make the release system more efficient for that majority of players, MAYBE catching releases will seem "too easy" to the minority that doesn't have to deal with these problems. But y'know what? If it's too easy, then you can always find ways to challenge yourself. Like, say wait until the release day is over and then try to catch them in the normal flow of eggs, or get creative. You can always find ways to make it more challenging for yourself, but for people struggling with slow computers, physical problems, incompatible schedules, etc, they don't have the option to create a more fair challenge for themselves.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Genavelle

[Obscure_Trash]

I like the challenge. It would be boring if you didn't have to put any effort into catching an egg..

Challenge is one thing, impossibility is another. If a mass drop wouldn't challenge you, challenge yourself by waiting until after a mass drop has finished and the eggs are more blended into the cave. If you're good at catching, you're more likely to catch one then than people are with the release now anyway. ;3

 

But when people try for hours and get nothing, that doesn't make the game very fun for them. I mean, if you're looking for something and just not seeing it in the cave that's completely different than a flood of eggs in the cave that you still can't catch.

 

And I do think an element of challenge to this game works perfectly fine. But there are ways to challenge yourself even if the game is made more accessible to other users. However, there's not really a way to make the game nicer for others if we don't change anything just so it continues to be a challenge for you.

 

~

 

I'm against the idea of having the new egg in extra biomes simply because I think that would make for confusing releases when they're later only in a few biomes. I'm not against having eggs allowed to drop in other biomes at the same time as a release, though - but I think that means TJ would have to change the way releases (new or not) are coded to work. Since the cave creates eggs then sorts it into biomes. =X

Edited December 1, 2013 by SockPuppet Strangler

[Genavelle]

Challenge is one thing, impossibility is another. If a mass drop wouldn't challenge you, challenge yourself by waiting until after a mass drop has finished and the eggs are more blended into the cave. If you're good at catching, you're more likely to catch one then than people are with the release now anyway. ;3

 

But when people try for hours and get nothing, that doesn't make the game very fun for them. I mean, if you're looking for something and just not seeing it in the cave that's completely different than a flood of eggs in the cave that you still can't catch.

 

And I do think an element of challenge to this game works perfectly fine. But there are ways to challenge yourself even if the game is made more accessible to other users. However, there's not really a way to make the game nicer for others if we don't change anything just so it continues to be a challenge for you.

 

~

 

I'm against the idea of having the new egg in extra biomes simply because I think that would make for confusing releases when they're later only in a few biomes. I'm not against having eggs allowed to drop in other biomes at the same time as a release, though - but I think that means TJ would have to change the way releases (new or not) are coded to work. Since the cave creates eggs then sorts it into biomes. =X

The only reason I've been suggesting releasing eggs in extra biomes is because it seems like releasing only one egg in only one biome, like the current one, just puts way too much pressure on that one biome. It's just creating more problems and lag on top of what people would normally deal with anyway. I've been seeing 200+ people in the alpine biome, and I just think the whole mess would function a little better if that was spread out. Maybe there's a way to relieve some of that pressure on the one biome without releasing in extra biomes, idk.

[Jazeki]

I don't think that TJ intended for this (or any other) release to be hard. The spriters decide what biomes the dragons go in, not TJ. He just decides what dragons are going to be released each month. Although it seems like it's a harder release, due to the sheer number of people hunting in the Alpine, it will be easier in the long run to stock up on the one breed if you can't catch what you want on the initial release day, rather than say two kinds of breeds (as are usually released) before Christmas breeding and other activities start.

 

Also, for those of you who are complaining about the one biome drop, consider that at one time there was one cave without any biomes and the 24 hour release only drops didn't always make it so that everyone could magically reach their scroll goals. For example, the Trio release was a 24 hour release and I only got one of each breed with the help of another player. On the contrary, there was another 2009 release that dropped for a few days, but the breeds were not as popular. As a result, they just sat there and people got angry. The more interesting the sprite, the more coveted the breeds are, and the faster they go. This is not a new development.

 

I don't think that 24 hour new release only drops will solve the problem, but I do like Thuban's suggestion.

[Guillotine]

99% of the release problems boil down to a combination of the current ratio system not working with the playerbase and lag. (With the former being a long-term issue and the latter being an immediate one)

 

A 24-hour release would help the latter, but the former needs to be rewritten so that there's a flat percentage chance of a dragon appearing rather than flooding the biomes with undesired eggs because people have stopped picking them up as much as the cave expects them to (and maybe lag will be alleviated slightly if the cave stops having to check every dragon less than a year old before producing eggs).

[Xythus]

How about, the amount of new release eggs dropping in a single drop depends on how much people are viewing the biome on the first 24 hours of the release?

 

Kind of like:

 

300 people -> A lot of eggs, 4-minute drop

200 people -> A good amount of eggs, 3-minute drop

100 people, or less -> A quicker drop, like 1-2 minutes

 

 

[car340]

How about, the amount of new release eggs dropping in a single drop depends on how much people are viewing the biome on the first 24 hours of the release?

 

Kind of like:

 

300 people -> A lot of eggs, 4-minute drop

200 people -> A good amount of eggs, 3-minute drop

100 people, or less -> A quicker drop, like 1-2 minutes

As in pure drop, or mixed drop?

[Tawanda001]

About 12 hour drops, I'd like to remind people that drops are NOT slanted in favor of EST.

Most of us are asleep at release time, so if we have work or school it can be 16 hours after a drop starts before we have a chance at some free time to play DC.

If it's going to be an extended drop I'd rather see it extended to 24 hours.

[Obscure_Trash]

Also, for those of you who are complaining about the one biome drop, consider that at one time there was one cave without any biomes and the 24 hour release only drops didn't always make it so that everyone could magically reach their scroll goals. For example, the Trio release was a 24 hour release and I only got one of each breed with the help of another player. On the contrary, there was another 2009 release that dropped for a few days, but the breeds were not as popular. As a result, they just sat there and people got angry. The more interesting the sprite, the more coveted the breeds are, and the faster they go. This is not a new development.

Yes, and a lot of us also had a lot less slots we were able to fill and by my reckoning many of our releases were mass dropped longer than they are now. We might have a stagnant number of users but maybe we also have more people now. Releases also used to not be announced until they happened so no one could really plan to have slots open right when it began unless they got a lucky guess in. A lot of things have happened and this doesn't have to be a particularly new issue anyway. I'm sure plenty were frustrated hunting when there was one biome, too. Yes, we have more biomes now and yes, we are plenty aware that there used to always be one cave where everything was concentrated, but I think you're neglecting other factors that have also changed. ;3

 

The only reason I've been suggesting releasing eggs in extra biomes is because it seems like releasing only one egg in only one biome, like the current one, just puts way too much pressure on that one biome. It's just creating more problems and lag on top of what people would normally deal with anyway. I've been seeing 200+ people in the alpine biome, and I just think the whole mess would function a little better if that was spread out. Maybe there's a way to relieve some of that pressure on the one biome without releasing in extra biomes, idk.

 

Oh no, I get it, I'm just not sure it's really feasible unless TJ is willing to completely re-code the way drops work. And I can't know if he's willing to or not, so I'm not saying we should or shouldn't make suggestions that involve this, but we should be aware it may not be the most feasible of options and we might want to come up with other options that work with our drop system as it is now as alternative solutions.

[Jazeki]

Releases also used to not be announced until they happened so no one could really plan to have slots open right when it began unless they got a lucky guess in. A lot of things have happened and this doesn't have to be a particularly new issue anyway.... yes, we are plenty aware that there used to always be one cave where everything was concentrated, but I think you're neglecting other factors that have also changed. ;3

 

 

 

I had a sentence about the unannounced releases, but deleted it. Haha. And the one cave comment was mostly directed at the newer players that hadn't experienced anything different. :3

 

Either way, thinking more on this, I think that the lag and finding a way to effectively extend the drop are issues of concern.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Jazeki

[purplehaze]

I think our experience with the blusangs, the opals and especially the coppers that virtually disappeared the day after the release has made us all really paronoid about needing to get the new dragons NOW!

 

In most cases if one just waits until a day after the release it gets much easier to catch them. The trouble is that those few dragons made us fearful to wait and so everyone feels they have to be there at the beginning or miss out entirely.

[olympe]

Unfortunately, purplehaze has hit the nail on the head. Besides, it gets obvious pretty quickly whether a release is more on the common or more on the rare side of DC, to be honest. The current one seems to be slightly uncommon, if my guess is correct. (Just look at the fansites. If nearly all eggs are new release eggs, they're common. If one breed from a new release is harder to catch than the others, it's the uncommon/rare breed of the set. If the fansites show only half of the eggs being new release eggs, they're uncommon. Simple as that. Hasn't failed me yet.)

[Syphoneira]

How about, the amount of new release eggs dropping in a single drop depends on how much people are viewing the biome on the first 24 hours of the release?

 

Kind of like:

 

300 people -> A lot of eggs, 4-minute drop

200 people -> A good amount of eggs, 3-minute drop

100 people, or less -> A quicker drop, like 1-2 minutes

 

 

Hi, Xythus,

 

would just like to mention that calculating the number of eggs to be Dropped by the time permitted for eggs to be picked up, rather than by numbers of eggs, reduces the numbers available far more drastically.

 

Even a 4-minute (let alone a 1-2 minute) New Release Drop for 100 people on at, or just prior to, the start isn't much, and many will repeatedly wind up with nothing, even apart from the fact that a 4-minute lag for at least some at the hourly is not uncommon, and in part because other hunters will show up during this period.

 

Many of these people will want 5, 6 or 7 eggs, depending on what room they have available, and others will be popping in throughout, having 'almost missed the Drop!'...

 

 

More generally:

 

even a continuous flood of New Release eggs (yeah, I know, not gonna happen, lol, and they'd have to not count in the ratios, as well) wouldn't pose a problem with unwanted eggs on that first day, because virtually everyone wants them NAOW in case they can't catch any later, and many people want at least 4 pairs to have breeding options, (and if they really like the dragons, will typically want at least two scroll-fulls, to enlarge upon breeding options,) as well as in case they're difficult/impossible to obtain at a later point for those who are not among the fastest and rely on the old 'hammer-click' method possible only in Floods.

 

After 24 hours, the regular rate of a New Release would be there for (if the Release was scheduled and long advertised, probably a smaller number of) people who didn't make it for the Release day, and who could then fill up far more easily, and the day after that, people (having Incubates) would have spaces coming open to go back for seconds, as would (those from the Release day not having Incubates and those having Incubates among) the second batch the day after, not to mention the others coming in who were unaware of/unable to make the Release, so that those wanting to hunt other dragons would still have similar choice in the biome(s) to that which they usually would find.

 

If (for the first time in DC history) the eggs somehow go over like lead balloons, (dunno nuffin' bout riggin' no coding) would it be very complicated to switch so that the first day's Flood then did count into the ratios, so that those wanting mass quantities of the eggs could pick up abandoned ones off the AP?

 

But the faster people can fill up on new eggs, the sooner they can participate in the New Release thread and speculation, free of stress over whether they'll be able to catch the new eggs, and the faster others can then fill up, and also relax to enjoy the Release and discussion.

 

For many of us, that's the definition of a good Release - and one where we aren't feeling badly about a multitude of people having the occasion spoilt for them by not being able to get any, especially when we're in that group ourselves, lol.

 

If you look back on the threads where easy Releases meant virtually everyone filling up on new eggs quite quickly, the conversation reflects the joy common to the overall group in frequent comments about that being the most enjoyable Release ever, etc..

 

But if you look at more recent threads of Releases with many having more difficulty in catching, you'll see that far fewer people seem to have been commenting - and the numbers showing of people even reading that thread during Releases are now typically far lower than they once were as well.

 

Many people have been getting increasingly discouraged over quite a long period of time and many are afraid to comment regarding that discouragement, even to the number of people reporting that they're simply giving up and going to bed/work/school, or on to something else less depressing/more amusing.

 

Relatively few people at DC have the time, energy and personality type to enjoy not catching new dragons and staying up all night (and multiple nights thereafter) fruitlessly trying, to possibly wait months or even years to get any New Release sprite... it's not fun and relaxing for most, just wearing and stressful, and without positive results within a reasonable period, a waste of time.

 

Having to 'rely on the kindness of strangers' or of friends is nothing like being able to catch your own, and, personally, I've hated it sometimes taking months to get new dragons, often by being gifted or trading for them, as has occurred in the past; probably most people would much rather catch their own, rather than being left out of the fun, and it's particularly discouraging for people with very old/slow computers/connections or disabilities they have to continually live with.

 

 

Trying to drag out the length of time required for people to obtain dragons they want on the theory that they'll stay and play longer can ultimately backfire in many cases.

 

If players aren't having fun, the ever-present discouragement merely builds over time.

[Cecona]

I missed the release and now it's practically impossible to get a new egg. How much time was there between the announcement and the release? Because I was completely clueless, and it's very frustrating!

[Syphoneira]

I kept looking and failed to see any announcement, and actually came in late myself...

[Cecona]

finally after several hours I was able to grab two of the new egg.

[FluffPandaKing]

I missed the release and now it's practically impossible to get a new egg. How much time was there between the announcement and the release? Because I was completely clueless, and it's very frustrating!

The egg would be released just a few second before the announcement.

 

[Oasis]

Alright, so this isn't the most realistic game, but we try to keep some element of possibility in the game. My point is, the dragons can't and won't just all decide to migrate to all the different biomes and lay their eggs in different places for a day. The all day release idea isn't bad, bug it just doesn't make much sense to drop eggs in every biome for the whole day. Plus, think of the people who would complain about there not being any other eggs to catch. People complain sometimes, and I know a lot of us think, about how the caves are blocked all day with holiday eggies on Valentine's day and Christmas.

 

So, I guess my opinion is, go ahead with the 24-hour idea even though I personally think it makes the game too easy for many, but stay away from multi-biome drops for eggs that shouldn't be in all of the places.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Oasis

[Fiona]

Rather than temporarily dropping eggs in biomes they don't belong in, I think it would make more sense for TJ to always release enough breeds to drop in at least 2 or 3 biomes. So a breed that drops in two or more biomes would be enough by itself, but if you have one that only drops in one biome, it wouldn't be released by itself, but with another breed that drops in a different (or more than one different) biome.

 

That would solve the problem of all the players congregating in one biome to catch the new dragons.