2014-04-05 - Monthly Release Notice

[Sitamun]

I don't like this. I'm from Europe and I have to wait till evening. 7pm for me.

And then the cave will be lagy, and I won't have a chance to grab.

Edited April 6, 2014 by Sitamun

[Dryadia]

Thanks for the head's up, TJ.

I got up early...now back to bed for me...

[AnariaZanyr]

In all the 14 pages of whining did it occur to anyone that maybe midnight is just not good for TJ anymore? He might just have a life away from DC too.

 

Also: Let's not forget, this is just a game. Your real life, friends, family, school, work should be more important and come first.

I don't understand people who are planning to put their families second to an egg release. So what if you get it a few hours later? The world won't stop.

[Moiken]

Oh well... Gues I have to figure out wich time it means for me. Think I'm 5 hours ahead, means 6 pm for me.. Damn.. Never ever have time on this time on Sundays..

 

My opinion: Midnight DC time is better. Usualy I grab some eggs without problem after I get up. Today, well I'll see how it works after I get back from training.

[Tawanda001]

I actually find it quite logic to do it after a maintenance.

At least you can be about sure that the server will be up and running during the drop if you just had maintenance (as it usually shows if there's problems on server or not, you see?) so doing it AFTER the maintenance, instead of before lets you 1. have a safe heart that the possibility of the server dying during the drop is LOW and 2. you won't have people complain about the fact that the cave is down during the drop as it has been down before the actual drop started...

is it just me who's happy that the maintenance happens first and then the drop or what? Oo

It won't be just after a maintenance, rather about 10 hours later. Doubt it will have much effect on the lag, etc. that people are worried about.

 

People aren't concerned they may have to wait a few hours to get an egg, people are worried that due to other commitments they may not be able to even get online for 10-12 hours or more. For those of us with slow connections that can mean not being able to get rare eggs for months, not just a few hours or days.

[Arwen17]

I have to work during the day. Midnight is so much better because time belongs to you and not your boss. I don't care about being awake at midnight because I can always catch extra sleep in the afternoons. So late afternoon or any time at night is better than work hours during the day!

[Confused Cat]

I really liked the old release time, but obviously the DC world doesn't revolve around me.

 

I'll just have to explain to my boyfriend that supper has been replaced by "waiting until girlfriend manages to click on some pixels faster than a few thousand other people".

[HeatherMarie]

For anyone who is convinced this change isn't that bad and we are all just whining:

 

I've come to "new releases" 2 hours after they started and seen commons already mixed into the drops. There are breeds from 4-6 *months* ago that I have yet to catch because I wasn't able to be online during the first hours of the New Release. I am *not* the only one.

 

The only way that a New Release can possibly be fair for EVERYONE is if there's a pure-drop for 24 hours. A full 24 hours of new release eggs only means that *everyone* would get a "pure-drop" chance. Since that's very very unlikely, users *will* be inconvinience by New Releases no matter when they start. With this change, it's really just the fact that *more* users will have a *harder* time fighting over eggs *because* so many people will be on at once.

[Belisar]

Oh nice. So far I don't mind the new time - but that is most thanks to having irregular fast internet access anyways and planning ahead does not work. hehe

 

Now all I have to do is to sit on my fingers and not catch even more Loons to fill up my scroll. :3

 

Looking forward to it - just hope it won't be too many breeds at once again. ^^"

[Mysthunter]

Let me inject some real life into this entire saga...I mean I started off angry, but as I thought about it and read the rest of the topic, it started to boil down to this:

 

I am an EMT and I ride for a squad, Sunday I am on call. If the worst that happens tomorrow is I miss out on some Pixels on a screen than I am happy. Because the last two times I was on call I had people die right in front of me, that makes for a crappy day. It puts a real downer on the entire mood of the day.

 

Yet, if I have to deal with a bad drop time...and nobody dies in front of me or in my arms tomorrow life is good. I think we all need to step back and take a deep breath and realize that this really is not a huge deal. Nobody lives or dies if they don't get an egg. Think of the stress on me and anybody else in my field, if I mess up or miss something somebody could die and it would be on me. I have had to make choices between two children, who to work on first and who to work on second. Sometimes that choice kills one. Thankfully I have NEVER had a child die on me, I have had others though.

 

Just be glad that all you are missing is dragon cave eggs instead of missing a family member in the Fort Hood Shootings or the Mudslides in Washington...or on that airliner that went down in the Indian Ocean...just take a second and think about that.

 

I hate the time move as much as most people on this site, I think that the time should be moved back to the original slot, b.c I think it works the best and if asked I would argue till my face turned blue that this is not a good idea. I won't be heartbroken either if I don't get my eggs.

 

Just remember when you are all screaming about lag, I might (and other DC members who are medics/EMTs) be in the field having to make a choice that could save or kill somebody. If I don't get my eggs, but nobody dies on me...it is a good day.

 

That is my two cents...TJ it is your site, we are just here for the ride. Do as you wish, if you ask me I would tell you to move it back to midnight, but I doubt you care what I (One random DC user cares) You do what works best for you/family/friends...and those who want will follow.

 

Sorry for the headache, I guess, for any other posts I have made in the past and future. Peace.

Edited April 6, 2014 by Mysthunter

[Niomedes]

Damnit, now they'll come out at around 3AM in Australia.

[skauble]

In all the 14 pages of whining did it occur to anyone that maybe midnight is just not good for TJ anymore? He might just have a life away from DC too.

 

Also: Let's not forget, this is just a game. Your real life, friends, family, school, work should be more important and come first.

I don't understand people who are planning to put their families second to an egg release. So what if you get it a few hours later? The world won't stop.

I think that people have raised some legitimate concerns - like the release bleeding over to Monday for some people. The whole point of moving it to the weekend in the first place was to avoid weekday releases, so that's not only an issue, it's one that was problematic enough to merit the initial change to midnight Sunday releases.

 

Also, while I do think that every business has to operate within the confines of what those running it can manage, the fact is that there's only so much that can cover. While I, personally, don't see this change as a disaster in the making, if it ended up that most players reacted negatively, then it would probably be far better to program the releases to happen automatically as opposed to making the majority of players unhappy about a feature that is meant to excite them just to suit a new schedule.

 

Having said that, I still think that we won't know much until tomorrow when we see A. what actually occurs during the release, and B. what the players who normally play at that time have to add. Current feedback is naturally negative because those of us here are the people who the midnight releases work for - hence our presence. While there's no guarantee, it's quite likely that we'll see more positive responses later today.

[Nyastara]

Okay after readinging through the COMPLETE topic I'm ready to reply.

Hello all,

 

The usual monthly release will be delayed a few hours. I'm going to try something new: doing a release during a time when the main audience of the site is actually awake (rather than, you know, at midnight).

 

Specifically, the new release will happen at 1 PM EST tomorrow (Apr. 06). Let's see how it goes.

Hello TJ,

thank you for your "Monthly Release Notice" even when I personally would have preferred to have gotten it at least one day earlier.

Serious question: If the cave already had lag problems with the midnight hunters being online at midnight, what will happen when not only all american users are awake but some from the rest of the world too?

If the goal is a time that works best for the most people, why don't we just have a poll?

THAT'S what I would call a good idea.

 

I can easily list the "cons" here:

 

1. Only 11 hours of eggs will drop with the date of the first day. (A valuable commodity).

 

2. This puts the first day eggs falling on SUNDAY afternoon and evening, for most of those in the United States.  A time when many have commitments to family and are getting ready for the week ahead.  Not exactly a time for an individual leisure activity. 

 

3. It puts the drop on Sunday evening for those in Europe.  And even more weirdly, it puts the drop on MONDAY for those further east (and yes, there are quite a few players in Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand).  Even worse, now people are using up time when they should be sleeping for the start of Monday's work. 

 

4. Zero improvement for those that originally wanted to hunt on Sunday afternoon. Now they will be competing with people that would (in the event of a MIdnight start) have already filled their slots by 1pm. 

 

5. There is definitely a LOSS to those that would rather hunt late Saturday night.  They will either skip the first day or EVERYONE will be competing in less than half the time (11/12 to be exact).

 

6. The game has become less accessible.

 

7. The people that cleared off their scrolls, getting ready for the egg drop, who were waiting for it to start, got told to wait 11 hours . . . instead of a nice pretty new egg.  People are disappointed, they prepared, anticipated, looked forward to feeling competent . . . and got fish slapped instead.

 

 

The "Pros" here:

1. A subset of the players that wanted to sleep from Midnight till 1pm will get to be in on the "beginning" of the drop.  If there is an actual advantage to this, someone please tell me, because I don't see it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*snip*

Thanks Gladtobemom, you've nailed it!

 

With the new (test) release time the release would take place at 7pm where I live. Erm... yeah... if I don't work on Sunday evenings I usually spend some quality time with my family. Sorry but my family and RL have priority.

 

 

[Pyrorazer]

3am on a monday morning.... /YAY/ ._. atleast make it the weekend.. move it forward, not backwards!

 

Hail from aussieland

[LorellaiLaLa]

I don't know, I quite like the time to be honest, since I don't have to be up at 6 am on Sunday then.

Although, poll would be a good idea after this release to see what people prefer in the end ^-^

[Inutsume]

Wow, there I was, standing up, ready to grab some eggs. (~11AM atm here) and get to know that the drop won't start before 7PM in the evening... with hundreds and thousands of people trying to get an egg and I have work tomorrow...

 

Wow, really great improvement. Not. Gladtobemom already pointed out, why.

And - as already has happened in the past - the announcement came way too late for people not in an more Western timezone...

[shovedtbh]

Yes!!! This is perfect because I am waking up at exactly 1PM or a little before this Got my drank on tonight too! TJ we love you! lol.

 

Edit: Posted this before reading any other comments. Sorry to those who do have work tomorrow that sucks and I feel for you Going to hit the hay soon as well, my life ain't peaches either don't think that ^.^ It just fit into my schedule well somehow.

Edited April 6, 2014 by shovedtbh

[dustpuppy]

I admit my first reaction was "aww please no, not a sunday evening/monday drop" too. But let's see what people say after the drop, no way of knowing how it'll work out without trying...

[MisunderstoodDreamer]

Just my personal feedback:

 

Sunday evening? I'm not at home at that time, since I use to spend it with my boyfriend (and we can't meet everyday but just 3 times for week, 2 of which are in the weekend).

A pair of hours before would have been better, but I was content with the older timing, since I used to grab eggs as soon as I woke up (3-4 hours after the start of new release)

 

If time should really be changed, I agree to a poll

[koryu111]

I'm in Europe so it's a very bad news for me too...

I'm not sure to be able to catch some eggs this time...

 

[Tecca]

I wish people would not characterize all the posts by those who are unhappy with the change as "whining." The posters are expressing their opinions, and telling how the change affects them. The vast majority are doing so in a respectful way. Everyone should have a right to say how they feel, even if those feelings are negative.

[Gladtobemom]

In all the 14 pages of whining did it occur to anyone that maybe midnight is just not good for TJ anymore? He might just have a life away from DC too.

 

Also: Let's not forget, this is just a game. Your real life, friends, family, school, work should be more important and come first.

I don't understand people who are planning to put their families second to an egg release. So what if you get it a few hours later? The world won't stop.

If midnight isn't good for TJ anymore, then he can tell us the truth.

 

And maybe, after a little discussion and thought . . . start the release on SATURDAY afternoon or morning.

 

And maybe a little (lot) more notice would be nice. People were already gathering on the forum and in chat getting ready.

 

And on the subject of family. The overwhelming sentiments so far are that people don't want to interfere with family time. That Sunday afternoon is "bad" and Saturday evening (midnigh) is more appropriate for a solitary endeavor like an egg release.

[DarkEternity]

I think it would be beneficial if we rotated the times throughout each release. Clearly it would benefit some people at midnight and others at another time.

[webcowgirl]

Here in the UK, I did actually spring out of bed hoping to get some hunting done while it wasn't super competitive. I only have luck with new releases BEFORE the east coast of the USA wakes up. And it means 24 hours of eggs with the new release date. I was sorry to see this posting first thing when I woke up.

 

On the other hand, I just popped into the cave and got a = paper dragon. At this rate, I'll have two green coppers before 1 PM EST.

 

I say stick with midnight to make this game work best for its around the world fanbase.

[Omen]

So instead of 3pm AEST, it'll be 4am AEST? Well there goes catching eggs at the release unless I get up really, really early.

 

However, I realise people from all over the globe play this game. Therefore, the release times are always going to be inconvenient for people from certain time zones. So if it stays this way, I guess I have one thing to be thankful for, that releases are always the day after a holiday instead of on the same day as I'm in a +GMT timezone, not a -GMT timezone.

 

All in all, I'm not happy about the change, but I think there are people out there that will be happy with the change. So I'll take a glass of whine with my breakfast and prepare to wake up at 3am tomorrow.