2014-10-22 - Dragon Encyclopedia

[purplehaze]

Encyclopedia clicks get strange on Allure of Neglected Dragons (I don't use Daily Dragon Fix to know about there). If you click on a dragon where it opens in the same window frame as normal at AoND it counts as being viewed for the egg/hatchling but encyclopedia doesn't "see" it. For clicks to count with encyclopedia on AoND I have to mouse wheel click where it opens a new tab, then the encyclopedia counts. If you opened the view page first within AoND's page then mouse wheel clicked to reach view page, the click doesn't count for encyclopedia as you have already viewed that dragon. Confusing, no?

 

Clicks at Valley Sherwood and Silvi's work fine as those sites open view page in a separate tab without any fancy stuff on your part.

I have had no trouble with the encyclopedia counting my clicks on AoND or Daily Dragon Fix. Those are the two sites I have used, clicking just as usual, and I have opened images on a lot of the dragons' pages.

[Jedi40]

If you go through the thread you should find more than enough frozen hatchlings to meet the requirement.

Thanks it was a lot of help to get them unlocked at last.

[bluesonic1]

First off let me say that I'm happy this is here, but I do have some complaints about it.

 

I am among the many who are not exactly pleased with the Encyclopedia's execution. I don't get why suddenly the years I've spent collecting sprites goes toward... well nothing. If this really was an accurate count of everything I've done in my time here, why doesn't it stay true to that? For the record I understand the numbers beforehand don't exist, and finding them would be a pain. But I think it then makes the concept of it being a collection of "Everything you ever have done in DC"... well moot for the older players here who now look to have no stats whatsoever minus that they've achieved over the time of this feature being implemented.

 

For those who say that we don't need auto-unlocks I get that. Its no fun to have everything unlocked at the start. Perhaps, if possible, to earn the picture or info leave it the same and make the older players have to raise/view those breeds to earn it? But still display the correct "Owned" amount? I want to at least please have it said that I've owned x amount of dragons... I mean it makes me kind of disheartened to see out of my armies I've raised over the course of years is just... non existent according to the encyclopedia.

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the issue, but if the issue with the owned count is because the number doesn't go down for the "killed" or "zombies" or "released" then I fail to see how it effects said statistic because its "Owned". Even if I release a Red I still at a point OWNED the Red. Even if I zombied the Red, it still was owned therefor the number doesn't decrease because I can't ever change the fact that in the past I owned that Red. If it was "Currently Owned" I could understand the issue, but if its past tense I don't really get the problem. Maybe its difficult finding those numbers for everyone's previous statistics--? Why not just ignore previously killed/released/zombied ones, so their effect remains null on the count? Perhaps instead we could just start with the current number on the scroll as of now? I think that would make the older players happy to just see their work counted. Because otherwise they probably feel like me, and are a bit soured to see every time they look at a breed especially their favorites, that they've owned 0 while on their scroll they have tons.

 

Again I appreciate the work and concept, its a lot of effort. I just wish its execution was a bit more accurate to the player's work was all. For now I wont be putting any work into filling it but I hope everyone enjoys it, it certainly is cool to see info about the breeds for those who are interested

^This. It's been bothering me as well since this feature was first released, and you basically said everything I feel and much of what I've said in the past. If it helps, there is a suggestion thread to get proper stats displayed once you unlock a dragon. Not quite the same but it's a compromise people from both sides are getting on board with, so it might be of interest

Edited November 10, 2014 by bluesonic1

[Thuban]

The dc stats page doesnt even track the numbers of a particular breed you own...so it doesnt bother me that the encyclopedia doesnt.

 

It makes sense that the encyclopedia wouldnt have all the information... you bought/made a blank book, and started filling it in the day you got it. You are filling it in with your notes on the particular breeds and information you are observing, in addition to what you knew from your own dragon collection.

 

I wouldnt mind seeing a script written at some point that acknowledges which dragons of the ones you've clicked are yours.. it shouldnt be that difficult really...but its not a make or break deal for me. The encyclopedia is just a side game thing for me. It will get unlocked when I get around to it, and I dont see it as a slap to the face not having my numbers already accounted for.

[Leidarendi]

If you go to my hubby's scroll, a few of his frills are messy - you'll find plenty of oldies in their lineages. Just remember - looking at the lineage itself doesn't count. You have to view each of the dragons' view pages in the lineages for it to count!

 

This is the hubby's scroll

Your husband's scroll is awesome! I love his Green Army!

[Library_gremlin]

Too bad I can't ever unlock the Frill eggs' pic. *sadness*

[Syphoneira]

Just to mention, an Encyclopedia is a general source of information, not a personal diary, and wouldn't be expected to have specific information about the number of possessions of everyone reading it.

 

It's hardly an insult negating all of our dragons, (which we collected because we wanted them, for our own personal amusement and plans,); dragon-counts for all viewing players is just not something it would have been intended to do.

 

That said, it WOULD be great to have a means of seeing how many of each type we have on our scrolls, it's just not an expected function of an encyclopedia.

[Fuzzbucket]

Just to mention, an Encyclopedia is a general source of information, not a personal diary, and wouldn't be expected to have specific information about the number of possessions of everyone reading it.

 

It's hardly an insult negating all of our dragons, (which we collected because we wanted them, for our own personal amusement and plans,); dragon-counts for all viewing players is just not something it would have been intended to do.

 

That said, it WOULD be great to have a means of seeing how many of each type we have on our scrolls, it's just not an expected function of an encyclopedia.

This. As I said somewhere - this thread or another. An encyclopaedia is where everyone can look things up. You wouldn't find your personal appointments diary in there. I'd like to have a way to look at my own scroll stats - but not in the encyclopaedia. It's not the place for it.

[Kosuzume]

It seems that clicking the same adult dragons multiple times still raises the number of observed adults. Did anyone else notice that?

[Laugh]

It seems that clicking the same adult dragons multiple times still raises the number of observed adults. Did anyone else notice that?

As far as I know it's either you're connected to a different IP address or you don't have a static IP address. For those that have static IP addresses they cannot click on the same dragon and have it count in total.

[Awdz]

Wow, almost done.

 

Just wondering: What about alt Sweetlings? They don't seem to count. At least I can't see theor sprites any where.

Alt Sweetlings are normal Sweetlings, but on scrolls where the owners encountered a very unsettling bug when the dragons were first released. TJ set those scrolls to display special sprites as an apology, but from the Encyclopedia's viewpoint, I think they are normal for their breed. That is why trades of those eggs/hatchlings take on the characteristics of the destination scroll Sweetlings.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Awdz Bodkins

[Leidarendi]

Instead of the encyclopedia only counting dragons on you're scroll you've raised since its inception (which many people have issues with), what about changing it to instead provide the number of that type of dragon in existance to date in DC. Could be plus/minus 10% or so, or a range. For example, "To date, there are 370,000+ white dragons in DC.". Maybe the numbers could then be coded to automatically update once a month or so.

 

This type of info is akin to what one finds in an encyclopedia anyway. Under the entry for California Condors is something usually like, "As of Nov 2014 there are 412 condors in existence."

[Kosuzume]

As far as I know it's either you're connected to a different IP address or you don't have a static IP address. For those that have static IP addresses they cannot click on the same dragon and have it count in total.

I see. Thank you for the explanation.

[Swissalo]

Instead of the encyclopedia only counting dragons on you're scroll you've raised since its inception (which many people have issues with), what about changing it to instead provide the number of that type of dragon in existance to date in DC. Could be plus/minus 10% or so, or a range. For example, "To date, there are 370,000+ white dragons in DC.". Maybe the numbers could then be coded to automatically update once a month or so.

 

This type of info is akin to what one finds in an encyclopedia anyway. Under the entry for California Condors is something usually like, "As of Nov 2014 there are 412 condors in existence."

I like this, being able to see how popular some dragons really are.

[Cygnis]

Instead of the encyclopedia only counting dragons on you're scroll you've raised since its inception (which many people have issues with), what about changing it to instead provide the number of that type of dragon in existance to date in DC. Could be plus/minus 10% or so, or a range. For example, "To date, there are 370,000+ white dragons in DC.". Maybe the numbers could then be coded to automatically update once a month or so.

 

This type of info is akin to what one finds in an encyclopedia anyway. Under the entry for California Condors is something usually like, "As of Nov 2014 there are 412 condors in existence."

This is something I'd love to see! I've always wondered how games like this work and this is part of that I've been pretty curious over... (Along with how dragon codes are generated... (I'm just another one of those people looking for specific codes.))

 

It's nonspecific to the players and I'd imagine this is easier to do than giving people lists of how many they own themselves.

 

[angelicdragonpuppy]

So I'm pretty close to unlocking everything I can until the Holidays / season changes (about 12 dragons remaining), and as before I have mixed feelings.

 

+ There were some cool new facts waiting to be unlocked

+ It's nice to see all the sprites in one place. I don't freeze S1s for a couple reasons, but I'm still happy to be able to see them, and the eggs as well.

- I would have preferred to see more info and more detailed info. A lot of the facts really didn't add much to the basic breed description. Seeing more about magic (or lack thereof), how they behave when domesticated, how and why they adapted for their environments, how they den, if they hoard... that would've been awesome. As is, though, the wiki STILL has more detailed info on some of the breeds than the encyclopedia does.

- I'm still bitter about my current dragons not working to count as hatchlings and adults owned and raised. Even if you had to leave out eggs because there's no proof you didn't just trade for hatchlings, even if the numbers weren't going to be accurate, they were still more accurate than pretending none of them ever existed, and would have saved a complete headache about clicking, clicking, and clicking again.

[Thuban]

ADP: While I can't say anything about the information for other breeds, the page i wrote up, I struggled a bit with adding new information. I actually don't know how well my vision for the breed matched up to the original artists concept, but I have seen some comments here and there giggling about some of the quirks they were given. There was a limited number of slots, and in the effort of maintaining some consistency, the way I wrote things was a bit... shorter than I had wanted. I had some trouble trying to get all of the information I had wanted to add, to fit within the space provided, which led to removing some tidbits of information, and combining others. One lulzy bit of information was left out, purely because there just wasnt room to add it, and because I couldnt settle on the exact term I was looking for.

 

 

Left to my own devices, it could have ended up being like a full fledged report, but the mechanics didnt quite support that. But, then again, knowing my annoying habit of leaving book length comments, it was probably a really good thing that I had limited space to work with

[lindsy95]

I really like the population count idea.

[RueRajaram]

I'm so, so sorry if this has already been asked before, but do the Desipis eventually show up in the Encyclopedia?

[Kith]

I'm so, so sorry if this has already been asked before, but do the Desipis eventually show up in the Encyclopedia?

They'll get added back at some point, they just haven't yet.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

ADP: While I can't say anything about the information for other breeds, the page i wrote up, I struggled a bit with adding new information. I actually don't know how well my vision for the breed matched up to the original artists concept, but I have seen some comments here and there giggling about some of the quirks they were given. There was a limited number of slots, and in the effort of maintaining some consistency, the way I wrote things was a bit... shorter than I had wanted. I had some trouble trying to get all of the information I had wanted to add, to fit within the space provided, which led to removing some tidbits of information, and combining others. One lulzy bit of information was left out, purely because there just wasnt room to add it, and because I couldnt settle on the exact term I was looking for.

 

 

Left to my own devices, it could have ended up being like a full fledged report, but the mechanics didnt quite support that. But, then again, knowing my annoying habit of leaving book length comments, it was probably a really good thing that I had limited space to work with

Ah well, if the creators aren't the ones writing everything, I can understand a lack of info. Still, for those breeds we do have the creators around for (assuming they're willing, of course!) more info would've been great; Pillows are one of my favorite breeds, and I KNOW Particlesoup is still around, so them not having a whole lot of elaboration was kind of a bummer. But I guess you can't make anyone write more than they want to.

 

Still, and with that being said--I would've preferred a report style format to the bullets. Right now it feels like we have a large number of random facts, when I was hoping for (forgive me, saying this is probably the DC version of blasphemy ) something more like Flight Rising's tidy, cohesive pages of information on the various breeds. Something more "encyclopedia," less "trivia bowl."

 

Granted, that would've made the unlocking format different, but I still think it would've been possible. Maybe instead of having small requirements to unlock small amounts of info, have a smaller amount of larger requirements that unlock larger chunks or even entire paragraphs of info. Like, a requirement of observing 200 dragons broken into 5 40 observation chunks, unlocking one paragraph each, versus the current system which is more along the lines of 200 observations broken into 20 10 observation each lines of text.

[edwardelricfreak]

ADP: While I can't say anything about the information for other breeds, the page i wrote up, I struggled a bit with adding new information. I actually don't know how well my vision for the breed matched up to the original artists concept, but I have seen some comments here and there giggling about some of the quirks they were given. There was a limited number of slots, and in the effort of maintaining some consistency, the way I wrote things was a bit... shorter than I had wanted. I had some trouble trying to get  all of the information I had wanted to add, to fit within the space provided, which led to removing some tidbits of information, and combining others. One lulzy bit of information was left out, purely because there just wasnt room to add it, and because I couldnt settle on the exact term I was looking for.

Is there a place to discuss the info on dragons and maybe come up with new info for them? Because if the original conceptor isn't around, I feel like at that point it should be up to the community to fill in the gaps and make the dragons interesting. If the original conceptor does come back, they can always change it. It might make it confusing but if they correct some things, then cool.

[Mystic_Solara]

It makes sense that the encyclopedia wouldnt have all the information... you bought/made a blank book, and started filling it in the day you got it. You are filling it in with your notes on the particular breeds and information you are observing, in addition to what you knew from your own dragon collection.

Yes, but after 6+ years of observing and raising dragons, our "magic avatars" on DC's world (however you call them!) wouldn't exactly have the need to go outside and observe and raise -- again -- the breeds they already know by heart.

 

For example (putting myself as my magic DC counterpart), I hoard Purples and Nebulas. I bought a blank book, and immediately started to write about those breeds because I've been familiar with them for more than 6 years. Why would I need to observe a ton of unknown dragons or raise new ones, when I already have a lot of them, which I cared for, named and bred through a lot of years? It makes no sense. It's like pretending those years of handling gigantic beasts left no knowledge behind.

[Lurhstaap]

I actually thought of starting a Suggestions thread with some ideas for Encyclopedia info tidbits, mainly based on what creator info I could find for each info-lacking species and the sprite, but it's better than nothing at least. If nothing else, if we as a community can invent and agree on the validity of some snippets it might save the DC staff some work.

[diaveborn]

if we as a community can invent and agree on the validity of some snippets

Having mostly kept up with the suggestions forum for a while, I feel like agreements wouldn't be reached, that people would just argue a whole bunch about everything :\