Trader's Canyon

[Naruhina_94]

That's why I don't support in-cave dragons available in this store. If you want a CB stone it doesn't matter how many store points you have, you still have to catch it in cave.

I repeat, this would give you a really small number of dragons per year. Even if I only care about rares (which I don't) it would be extremely boring to do only the minigame itself... I would obviously play into the cave, too.

 

Plus, why are you interested to how others play the game? As long as you can choose among which way do yo prefer to play it I don't see why don't add other options. The eggs you "purchase" won't be trade-able anyway!

 

I would still play the game itself to have more slots, to earn more badges, to collect the dragons that are not available in store. I would still breed my dragons to create lineages and probably do trades (I wouldn't spend so much time and mana points for a CB shimmer if I don't care about lineages. I would just raise a messy one). Which will be the mates of the rares I've purchased into the store? They will be normal dragons of course, it would take a looooot of time to build lineages only with dragons purchased into the store.

 

However this suggestion doesn't exclude a way to earn points as you mentioned. We've already talked about it, it would be a nice way to earn points without playing the minigame, even if you would earn them slower. This to let people who would truly hate the minigame to do something else and still earn something.

I've played at Kingdom of Knuffel, another adoptable game. Every day I log in they give me 1 star. If I log in 2 days in a row they give me 2 stars per day, if I log in 3 days in a row they give me 3 stars per day and so on... If I don't log in for one day I loose the amount of points x day that the game give me and I have to start by 1 star again. This to encourage people to log in every day and I would like to see it added to DC.

I would support an hatchery in-site. If you click a growing thing you earn one point and other things already mentioned in the other trade. The reason I hadn't reply is because it's kind of a mess to calculate how much points every action gives to you.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Naruhina_94

[Syphoneira]

I think one of the reasons auctions and raffles and the like keep getting thrown out there is the "zero-sum" type of game base. That is, if there are winners, there must also be losers. One big reason for such a game philosophy is to prevent inflation. I think it keeps the number of rewards  under control so the player base isn't flooded with cb prizes and such. If everyone can just "earn X points, get shiny" the only way to control how many shinies are purchased is to limit how many points are gained. But a "so many shinies per week/month" method is better control over the numbers.

 

I'd been mulling over some ideas for this. Haven't concluded my mulling yet, but if the system was set up so that there were 12 cb prizes given out each week (1 gold shim, 1 gold tin, 2 silver shim, 2 silver tin, 3 bronze shim, 3 bronze tin) that would equal 624 cb prizes over the course of a year, which is roughly equal to this year's raffle. There are issues with this, as what happens if there's a new prize dragon released? What happens to the current raffle? Are dragons from the cave a good idea, and if so how many? Probably other questions too.

 

But the reason I was thinking in these terms was because it controlled the number of these dragons given out this way.

 

 

 

 

I absolutely agree that it would be better to simply limit the numbers of specific sprites available rather than have bidding for them.

 

That said, I'd also much rather have a limited number of dragons available to be magically obtained using mana points rather than to be purchased.

 

What's the point of having a magical world with magical dragons if you can't call them by magic on certain special occasions and have to use a commercial transaction?

[olympe]

The problem with "only X number of CB golds / CB prizes per day" is to determine who is supposed to get lucky if more people try to "buy" that kind of egg. First come, first serve? If so, when will the eggs be available? Only at midnight cave time? (This game is played from people all over the world...) Luck of the draw? (This would turn it into just another raffle.) The person who'd be willing to pay the most? (Inflation, anyone? Not to mention bidding.)

 

Which is why I support daily or weekly caps as well as high prices for rare-ish dragons. It's a system that has all the limits included without disadvantaging anyone.

[Fuzzbucket]

The thing is if something is implemented that veers you away from regular cave activity then there will be no point in playing DC. If you're just in it for the rares and will only concetrate on a game that is not DC itself then whats the point.

 

Allowing people to get rewarded for tasks they do normally in DC encourages activity on the site. It will encourage new players to catch more commons and raise more dragons if they want certain amounts of points or encourage people to click and view eggs not just for the encyclopedia but for some sort of point gain that can eventually lead them to access rare dragons. Things like this will encourage gameplay and require no extra strain on players to have to stop their normal DC routine to play some game to earn points when they could be clicking, hunting trading, etc.

 

I would prefer that if something to gain points to eventually earn rares is implemented, then it be implemented in a way that our usual DC activities award us these points. Personally, yes playing Mana Alchemy was fun for the event but as someone mentioned, playing the same game every day for an entry tests your patience. I got bored of it so fast, it felt like a bloody chore just to get that damn entry, I ended up missing on about 3-4 entries (Given for two of those entry days I was recovering from nearly going into Hypothermia).

 

It will eventually become a chore for many people to have to go play some game or assortment of games, every day, maybe 1-3 times a day to meet their daily cap to get a bloody dragon. On the other hand, if they go about their normal DC activities (Hatching, clicking, AP/Cave hunting, etc) they will be unwittingly gaining points for doing what they do every day.

 

Hell if I could get a paycheck for simply waking up and going about my daily activities I would be thrilled as opposed to having to get up, go to a place I'm not entirely fond with, deal with pople I dont entirely like, to earn a crap pay.

 

So yus.

I absolutely agree with you. Especially the bits I have bolded.

[Syphoneira]

The problem with "only X number of CB golds / CB prizes per day" is to determine who is supposed to get lucky if more people try to "buy" that kind of egg. First come, first serve? If so, when will the eggs be available? Only at midnight cave time? (This game is played from people all over the world...) Luck of the draw? (This would turn it into just another raffle.) The person who'd be willing to pay the most? (Inflation, anyone? Not to mention bidding.)

 

Which is why I support daily or weekly caps as well as high prices for rare-ish dragons. It's a system that has all the limits included without disadvantaging anyone.

 

 

 

That's what I thought.

 

 

I wonder, for limiting accessibility: suppose various dragons could randomly become available, waiting in a magical stasis until adopted, piling up over the first 6 months or however long for a good initial variety/supply until people began to accumulate enough to obtain them, but made available at some rate TJ worked out as being acceptable.

 

That way, people could choose what sprite to get, if they had whatever was required to get it, (this being marked, even if the amount varied, so people know,) and if it wasn't available, just keep checking back, much as they do for Thuweds?

 

(Re-edit: lol, I have enough trouble doing one thing at once, never mind two - I completely neglected to make the point that the above was suggested as a compromise to TJ's bidding idea, not as the method I'd prefer most.)

 

 

 

Edit: and - somewhat belatedly and thanks to Fuzzy's post - thank-you AnanoKimi for making the point that those only out for rares with no interest in the game are then not playing the actual game.

 

The long-term players typically have interests in multiple areas within the game, including that of the community, as well as an interest in the site's unique aspects, and it's things like this which have made DC into a multifaceted game enabling long-term engagement on more than one level, where a simple focus on rares and 'getting rich' can be done in many other places.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Syphoneira

[amthystfire]

People who are "only out for rares" are going to be limiting their play to cave hunting or AP hopping anyway. I doubt it is going to turn any "normal" player into a rabid, frothing rare hunter.

[Syphoneira]

People who are "only out for rares" are going to be limiting their play to cave hunting or AP hopping anyway. I doubt it is going to turn any "normal" player into a rabid, frothing rare hunter.

 

 

The point AnanoKimi was making, and to which I was referring, regarded that of people accumulating points through not only playing a separate game but engaging in regular DC activities, since we're here and DC exists for itself.

 

Taking attention and time away from the actual dragon activities here in order to earn rare dragons seems counter-intuitive if the point is to add fun to the game and encourage people to spend time here.

 

fuzzbucket quoted the following on the previous page, and it was a darned good post, although I'm shortening it considerably after the first, essential point is established:

 

QUOTE (AnanoKimi @ Jan 24 2015, 08:56 PM)

The thing is if something is implemented that veers you away from regular cave activity then there will be no point in playing DC. If you're just in it for the rares and will only concetrate on a game that is not DC itself then whats the point.

 

Allowing people to get rewarded for tasks they do normally in DC encourages activity on the site. It will encourage new players to catch more commons and raise more dragons if they want certain amounts of points or encourage people to click and view eggs not just for the encyclopedia but for some sort of point gain that can eventually lead them to access rare dragons. Things like this will encourage gameplay and require no extra strain on players to have to stop their normal DC routine to play some game to earn points when they could be clicking, hunting trading, etc. ...

 

 

[AnanoKimi]

That's why I don't support in-cave dragons available in this store. If you want a CB stone it doesn't matter how many store points you have, you still have to catch it in cave.

I repeat, this would give you a really small number of dragons per year. Even if I only care about rares (which I don't) it would be extremely boring to do only the minigame itself... I would obviously play into the cave, too.

 

Plus, why are you interested to how others play the game? As long as you can choose among which way do yo prefer to play it I don't see why don't add other options. The eggs you "purchase" won't be trade-able anyway!

 

I would still play the game itself to have more slots, to earn more badges, to collect the dragons that are not available in store. I would still breed my dragons to create lineages and probably do trades (I wouldn't spend so much time and mana points for a CB shimmer if I don't care about lineages. I would just raise a messy one). Which will be the mates of the rares I've purchased into the store? They will be normal dragons of course, it would take a looooot of time to build lineages only with dragons purchased into the store.

 

However this suggestion doesn't exclude a way to earn points as you mentioned. We've already talked about it, it would be a nice way to earn points without playing the minigame, even if you would earn them slower. This to let people who would truly hate the minigame to do something else and still earn something.

I've played at Kingdom of Knuffel, another adoptable game. Every day I log in they give me 1 star. If I log in 2 days in a row they give me 2 stars per day, if I log in 3 days in a row they give me 3 stars per day and so on... If I don't log in for one day I loose the amount of points x day that the game give me and I have to start by 1 star again. This to encourage people to log in every day and I would like to see it added to DC.

I would support an hatchery in-site. If you click a growing thing you earn one point and other things already mentioned in the other trade. The reason I hadn't reply is because it's kind of a mess to calculate how much points every action gives to you.

I'm a little confused then. You sounded against the thought of being rewarded for mundane DC activities with points which could be used in the store, thus my explanation about how having said system would instead benefit users.

 

Personally, I would like to leave mini games to events. Only. Not as a permanent site feature. Especially not if it is used as a way to collect points for the store. It feel counter productive.

 

On another personal level I don't like the idea of a store. In all honesty stores annoy me. I would rather see this as a sort of reward system for dedicated players of all kind. Maybe we can even have it like the global mana bar except at certain points in the bar after gaining x amount of points you are rewarded (like with trophies and the extra egg slot) with a rare egg. You reach x amount of points, you get this egg. You surpass that point and earn another x amount of points on top of the first, you get this other egg. Etc.

 

You've earned those eggs through your site activity and dedication and it might encourage more site use and log in. Give people incentive to play as dedicated they've always been. Those players who have been here since the Dawn of DC can finally feel like all their activity and loyalty finally means something and as such are being rewarded for it.

 

Just my thoughts. Don't know if this has been brought up as well. So yeah.

[Tawanda001]

I would rather see this as a sort of reward system for dedicated players of all kind.

You've earned those eggs through your site activity and dedication and it might encourage more site use and log in. Give people incentive to play as dedicated they've always been. Those players who have been here since the Dawn of DC can finally feel like all their activity and loyalty finally means something and as such are being rewarded for it.

Unless you mean for points to be retroactive I'm not sure how this rewards players who have been here since the dawn of DC?

 

And those long term/dedicated players whose scroll goals don't include a lot of breeding, etc? I have over 3000 dragons, my daughter joined DC before I did and still only has 451 dragons, but i don't consider her a less dedicated player, just that her goals are different than mine. Don't see why my play style should be worth more points than hers.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Tawanda001

[AnanoKimi]

breeding, catching, clicking, viewing, anything and almost everything that can be done on the site other than idling could potentially reward points. And people who have been here since the beginning and still actively play can accumulate these points and thus the time they spend as of implement will be for something.

 

Generally what I meant.

[olympe]

That way, people could choose what sprite to get, if they had whatever was required to get it, (this being marked, even if the amount varied, so people know,) and if it wasn't available, just keep checking back, much as they do for Thuweds?

You do know how hard it is to get on the Thuwed list, don't you? Besides, this would once again lead to competition between users. Worse, what if it took you two years to find golds in the store? You might have amassed enough points to buy four of them at once, only making matters worse for everyone else. In this case, you can just as well hunt the cave and hope to see an available gold - and hope to click it first. Same mechanism, really.

[Syphoneira]

You do know how hard it is to get on the Thuwed list, don't you? Besides, this would once again lead to competition between users. Worse, what if it took you two years to find golds in the store? You might have amassed enough points to buy four of them at once, only making matters worse for everyone else. In this case, you can just as well hunt the cave and hope to see an available gold - and hope to click it first. Same mechanism, really.

 

 

Yeah, good point - just looking for any alternative to bidding wars, with low bidders also losing 20% and the return to an (even stronger) emphasis on commercial value of dragons...

 

 

 

Edit: a lot of us come here in part to get a little magic in our lives with our dragons, not to fight to get into a stock-market-type situation for recreation, and I'd SO much rather that we go the other way, with accumulated mana/magical summoning of eggs...

 

 

Edited January 25, 2015 by Syphoneira

[Mondat]

Prize dragons are way more likely to happen than CB hybrids. I'd rather not have CBs of breeds that were never intended to be CB becoming anything close to the "norm."

Good for the people who won in the past and have CB hybrids/alts (or both, HM + prize) on their scroll, then.

 

If this gets implemented I can just hope there is also something for the people like me who do not care about CB Shimmers/Tinsels and past holidays. Considering the HM's are gone, I can most likely forget about ever getting a CB hybrid on my scroll - not that I had much hope of ever winning anyway.

After some thinking I am not sure why I should bother to get past CB holidays if we get this. It worked fine with getting 2G's from the AP for me.

 

So please, if you want to do this, make it so that's it's at least a bit attractive for everyone.

 

[lorimmel]

I would definitely prefer high prices as a way to regulate the ratios.

And if the other options are mini-raffles, or bidding wars, I'm ready to save up for 2-3 years in order to buy just ONE egg from the shop. Obviously, I assume a weekly (or daily) cap, so that it takes me 5 minutes a day, and not a few hours. But ultimately, I prefer to have the egg after two years to not having it at all.

[AnanoKimi]

Good for the people who won in the past and have CB hybrids/alts (or both, HM + prize) on their scroll, then.

 

If this gets implemented I can just hope there is also something for the people like me who do not care about CB Shimmers/Tinsels and past holidays. Considering the HM's are gone, I can most likely forget about ever getting a CB hybrid on my scroll - not that I had much hope of ever winning anyway.

After some thinking I am not sure why I should bother to get past CB holidays if we get this. It worked fine with getting 2G's from the AP for me.

 

So please, if you want to do this, make it so that's it's at least a bit attractive for everyone.

Well if it is something that is highly wanted then a random CB hybrid could be offered every once and a while as a special limited time purchase. Once every 6 months for example, one would get the option to obtain a CB hybrid. You would only be allowed one purchase of it for the time it is available to avoid people hoarding their points to splurge on the one chance to get this. The next time it is a available, even if it is the same hybrid, you would be able to purchase one more, but only one for the time it is available.

 

This will ensure that those intersted can obtain it but not hoard it so it does not become a norm. Either or it does make me just as uncomfortable as TJ in terms of the thought of having CB Hybrids as something that can be purchased this way. I am also one that does not like the thought of CB Hybrids becoming a normal thing that everyone will have a chance to just get whenever ever even if it is once in a while. I would rather see it continue be a sort of prize from the raffles.

[Jazeki]

Well if it is something that is highly wanted then a random CB hybrid could be offered every once and a while as a special limited time purchase. Once every 6 months for example, one would get the option to obtain a CB hybrid. You would only be allowed one purchase of it for the time it is available to avoid people hoarding their points to splurge on the one chance to get this. The next time it is a available, even if it is the same hybrid, you would be able to purchase one more, but only one for the time it is available.

 

This will ensure that those intersted can obtain it but not hoard it so it does not become a norm. Either or it does make me just as uncomfortable as TJ in terms of the thought of having CB Hybrids as something that can be purchased this way. I am also one that does not like the thought of CB Hybrids becoming a normal thing that everyone will have a chance to just get whenever ever even if it is once in a while. I would rather see it continue be a sort of prize from the raffles.

I'd rather there not be limited purchasing times for limited edition things. I'm more in favor of seeing CB hybrids either be in the store all the time for high prices if they do end up in the store. Otherwise, they shouldn't be there at all. The same goes for any other limited thing in the store, including the contested "store only"breeds. Just because they're in the store doesn't mean that everyone and their mom is going to start hoarding them to the point that they are a common sight on DC.

 

I am with Mondat and others who hope that access to CB hybrids are available by some other means (if not this one) and am sorely disappointed that they were even made available in the first place if they weren't meant to remain in (limited/ yearly)circulation.

[AnanoKimi]

I'd rather there not be limited purchasing times for limited edition things. I'm more in favor of seeing CB hybrids either be in the store all the time for high prices if they do end up in the store. Otherwise, they shouldn't be there at all. The same goes for any other limited thing in the store, including the contested "store only"breeds. Just because they're in the store doesn't mean that everyone and their mom is going to start hoarding them to the point that they are a common sight on DC.

 

I am with Mondat and others who hope that access to CB hybrids are available by some other means (if not this one) and am sorely disappointed that they were even made available in the first place if they weren't meant to remain in (limited/ yearly)circulation.

Well considerably having a limited window to buy it is no different than only being able to get it once a year through the raffle (which given no HMs this year). At least with this limited distribution, you are guaranteed to get it. Just because it only appears once every 6 months doesn't mean its only for a day. That's why I suggested a limit of only being able to purchase one regardless of the time its available for that time around

 

Lets say its available once a month every 6 months. For that month anyone able to buy one can, and those who barely cant can try and save up. You buy it once that month, that's it for that month, you have to wait another 6 months before you can try and buy another, if you want to at that point. Personally I wouldn't care, but meh.

 

I would preferably like to see HM come back next year even if its a small number compared to the amount of winners.

[Vhale]

I think part of the reason for the focus on rares is that commons have become much easier to raise. The AP no longer blocks the cave. The eggs rotate every 5 minutes. We have more egg/hatchie slots. We have incubate. When I first started lineage breeding I sought out other people with the same commons because it was so much faster to get bred eggs. Now, it is faster to get the CB commons as I can usually get them low time, hatch them in a day or two and avoid having to micro manage several trade posts.

 

It may be that we are at a break point. Some commons are becoming more rare as we get enough breeds in the cave that we can't easily go pick them up. I think as we get more releases it will help. But I think half the "problem" is that commons are too easy to get right now. So that funnels everyone towards the harder things at the same time.

[Fuzzbucket]

I'd rather there not be limited purchasing times for limited edition things. I'm more in favor of seeing CB hybrids either be in the store all the time for high prices if they do end up in the store. Otherwise, they shouldn't be there at all. The same goes for any other limited thing in the store, including the contested "store only"breeds. Just because they're in the store doesn't mean that everyone and their mom is going to start hoarding them to the point that they are a common sight on DC.

 

I am with Mondat and others who hope that access to CB hybrids are available by some other means (if not this one) and am sorely disappointed that they were even made available in the first place if they weren't meant to remain in (limited/ yearly)circulation.

I'm with you here. Either it can be purchased 24/7 - at a price - or it isn't there at all.

 

But NO store-only breeds. Just NO. People shouldn't have to join in this to get a particular sprite. Even CB hybrids being here only would be a slight stretch.

 

Raffles are quite different animals. Everyone can enter without changing their game-play, everyone has the same chances, and they are one-offs.

[Ruby Eyes]

Sprites of hybrids *are* available outside the store/raffle/whateverelsegetsimplemented. The CB version just opens up new lineage options.

 

As of now, most raffles *did* change playstyle for a while. You always had to join a game that had not been there before in order to get tickets, be it by "baking", with the Snow Forts or now with collecting "mana" in one way (checking the site every so-and-so-many minutes) or another (Mana Alchemy). Each of those required you to spend your game time (and your christmas time!) in a way that you didn't go before.

[Fuzzbucket]

Sprites of hybrids *are* available outside the store/raffle/whateverelsegetsimplemented. The CB version just opens up new lineage options.

 

As of now, most raffles *did* change playstyle for a while. You always had to join a game that had not been there before in order to get tickets, be it by "baking", with the Snow Forts or now with collecting "mana" in one way (checking the site every so-and-so-many minutes) or another (Mana Alchemy). Each of those required you to spend your game time (and your christmas time!) in a way that you didn't go before.

Oh yes, I know. That's why I think they are OK to "sell" - though TJ doesn't seem to agree !

 

And yes - the raffle does have you playing a game. BUT - when it's done it's done. And you can then get the sprites from bred dragons.

 

But having to play some special game all the time in order to buy special things not available elsewhere is rather different. Grinding, I believe it's called

[Ruby Eyes]

And you can then get the sprites from bred dragons.

Did I miss something? Would these "store-born" things not be breedable and thus bred dragons not be available?

(That seems like a waste of a perfectly fine dragon to me)

Edited January 28, 2015 by Ruby Eyes

[lorimmel]

Did I miss something? Would these "store-born" things not be breedable and thus bred dragons not be available?

(That seems like a waste of a perfectly fine dragon to me)

As far as I know, everything from the store is going to be breedable.

(Unless, of course, the so-far unbreedable dragons like papers, dinos etc. eventually do get in there). A store selling unbreedable (sterile) CBs of otherwise breedable dragons would be the lousiest idea I've ever heard of.

[Fuzzbucket]

Did I miss something? Would these "store-born" things not be breedable and thus bred dragons not be available?

(That seems like a waste of a perfectly fine dragon to me)

Yes I gather they would be breedable. And fair point as far as the HM ones go, which is why I - but not TJ - can live wit those.

 

But there are people suggesting new store-only breeds. I don't think we should be going down the path of CB new breeds only available in a store that you have to grind to use. I assume you disagree - and that's fine.

[Ruby Eyes]

I don't disagree, I have no actual opinion on that yet, as I don't have any experience with games that do this.