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ANSWERED:[Suggestion] Bring back scheduled releases?

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Yes, please bring them back. Being caught with a scroll full of gifted full time eggs on a new release day is not fun T__T (and don't give me the "they'll always be around," so were coppers and blusangs and Almandines and we all know how that went!)

 

I do think a shorter head's up--like just three days warning--and having the releases done throughout the month instead of always a certain day would help keep a bit of randomness for those who like it, and ensure players do have to keep checking in instead of only logging in monthly. But pure cold turkey releases are no bueno!

Edited by angelicdragonpuppy

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I know a few people hate not being able to prepare for these unscheduled releases.

If they come late because they didn't check the news on the weekend they either miss it and scramble to get what they can/trade what they can, or be faced with a choice (if they're locked with other eggs) to abandon their lineage project or something or wait for their eggs to hatch.

 

I love the unscheduled. Face it, almost all of us are out for ourselves with these releases, to lock ourselves with the new eggs lest they turn out to be a Blusang, copper, or right now, a Xeno. If we weren't worried about not seeing them after the release people wouldn't be complaining as bad. Look at the Tri horned Wyvern incident, "oh its so pretty these will be rare for sure" etc. Then "oh...these are pretty common". Rarity goes either way. If you got a pair of all coppers or xenos, " lucky you" if they were common, you could still say "yup, I got em all at the release".

With the scheduled releases, it was fun the first few months but we also remember how hectic it was, everyone had their scrolls empty and ready to nab the new eggs. Which, from what I remember had 800-1000 people during those nights. Yeah, I would see that and just say "yep I'm going to bed". Because I would rather miss the initial flood, filled with about 100 people in a biome, fight to click one of three eggs with dozens of tabs open and just see a " sorry this egg was taken by someone else". I would rather at least wait til later then see what I can grab. Either way it wasn't really fun for me. It also got boring, always knowing when it was gonna happen.

 

I like the unscheduled because apparently from the news posts, not many people check the forums on the weekend at midnight. The only thing weird with this release was it was at 3am. Otherwise I probably would have been right there with others to snag them, then I would be able to snag a 2nd batch soon. It adds more "excitment" instead of expecting the same day at the same time. We have, usually, a release some weekend at midnight. Even after 7 hours, almost at the tail end of the flood, I came on locked myself after two hours, and still only about 680 people were on, and only 20-40 in the biomes. I guess I also hate scheduled releases for my own selfish reasons; everyone knows its coming and it makes it harder for me, personally to get new eggs when 100+ people are in each biome, vs the 40

So, imo I check with diligence every weekend, and people should know by now a release happens on the weekend sometimes two weeks after the last release, sometimes the last weekend of the month. I get you don't wanna drop your lineage eggs or rare Cb or 2nd gens, but I guess...always keep a slot or two open?

Edited by BlightWyvern

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Just a heads up would be nice. Like the day before something like, "There might be a new egg released sometime tomorrow."

 

 

I personally like fighting with a 600+ people to grab new eggs. I'm a stubborn and competitive person. So I'm usually able to grab what I need and then some. And then I help others out who can't get the new eggs.

 

Besides not everyone can check the forums every day.

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Besides not everyone can check the forums every day.

But why would you need to check the forums everyday to see if there's a release? Those only happen on the weekend.

 

It would be insane if there was a release during the week, definitely would put a strain on way more people then

 

It's not that I don't like a challenge, the Xeno thing was definitely one and I thought it was fun, but...I dunno. No warning for a release is challenging too, keeps you on your toes xd.png

Edited by BlightWyvern

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You don't have to check the forums at all to see if there's a new release. All you have to do is look at the front cave. The news sidebar will have any new release as the top story as long as you're using a skin that shows that.

 

I liked scheduled releases because I could plan more easily. This one was particularly frustrating for me personally for several reasons so I'd have liked to know it was coming. However, I can deal with unscheduled releases too.

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Yeah but I see people in the new release threads saying how they missed a release because they weren't able to check the forums.

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Yeah but I see people in the new release threads saying how they missed a release because they weren't able to check the forums.

Because they don't look at the front page of the cave; if they are like me - they go straight to their scrolls... xd.png

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Because they don't look at the front page of the cave; if they are like me - they go straight to their scrolls... xd.png

Either way, a heads up would be nice~

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I like the releases how they are Now, its exciting.

As long as we have a release every month, i'm good with either tho.

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I'd prefer a 3 day heads up, for myself. That gives you a chance to clear things out. This month, I had a pretty good idea of when it'd happen, but there's still that question mark...

 

Cheers!

C4.

 

 

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I'm kind of okay with the way things are right now. Even if there is no official schedule, the regular releases (birthday excluded) having been released on the weekends and monthly. If they were to be always on the last weekend of the month at whatever time, that would be a plus.

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Unscheduled Releases may not be so bad for those who are here a lot, although it results in a lot of people waiting to breed or catch dragons over various weekends when one might be possible, but it sucks for others who may now only check in for Releases, because biome hunting in typically slow/unmoving biomes is both boring and generally fruitless for them, while catching the Flood is fun, and leaves them something to show for their time and effort.

 

People already finding the cumulative effect of the Blockers, poor breeding and Refusals discouraging wind up missing New Releases and may find that they've become 'invisible' dragons only obtainable for the fastest, which can result in their last shred of interest vanishing so that they do as well, and even if long-running issues like the Blocker situation are someday improved, they may never come back in to find out.

 

It's typically the relative few with faster connections who don't so much mind coming late, as they're likely to be able to see and catch new/more desirable dragons, having faster refreshes, although some fast catchers have lost interest as well, even as regards New Releases, and I suspect that continuing scheduled Releases which people could plan and make time for would likely have increased the odds of their continuing to play at least monthly.

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TJ would know best whether players are leaving in droves due to unscheduled releases or not. If he sees a worrying decline in player activity and retention he'll endeavor to fix the problem. I really wouldn't worry about that aspect of this discussion because he's on the ball there. We don't know, and we don't have to know.

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Yeah, true; and some of those who've left do keep in touch with me from time to time, I just miss them, lol.

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Oh, definitely. It's good to voice the opinions of those who've left, too. They had their reasons for leaving, and while there's no guarantee the site will change in a way that better suits their circumstances there's no harm in providing that feedback. ^^

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TJ would know best whether players are leaving in droves due to unscheduled releases or not. If he sees a worrying decline in player activity and retention he'll endeavor to fix the problem. I really wouldn't worry about that aspect of this discussion because he's on the ball there. We don't know, and we don't have to know.

I really doubt that they are. We actually only had scheduled releases for a short while last year; if those players were here before that (people are referring to "long term players" leaving) - they were used to unscheduled releases before that, and didn't leave.

 

Now the perceived (I don't know if it is a fact or a perception) increased number of refusals might be having an effect...

Edited by fuzzbucket

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I really doubt that they are. We actually only had scheduled releases for a short while last year; if those players were here before that (people are referring to "long term players" leaving) - they were used to unscheduled releases before that, and didn't leave.

 

Now the perceived (I don't know if it is a fact or a perception) increased number of refusals might be having an effect...

The refusal thing is weird.... It does seem to have gone up but I suspect its a perception thing....

 

And I agree, I doubt the scheduled / unscheduled is having any real effect on the player base. Before we went to scheduled releases, the releases occurred what, once every 3 or 4 months? We'd have only 3 or 4 non-Holiday releases a year. They were bigger, granted, but I like the fewer but each month pattern.

 

So, while I'd love a heads up, I don't think that it'll have any effect on the long-term players.... Because they remember what it USED to be like, release wise.

 

Cheers!

C4.

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I really doubt that they are. We actually only had scheduled releases for a short while last year; if those players were here before that (people are referring to "long term players" leaving) - they were used to unscheduled releases before that, and didn't leave.

 

Now the perceived (I don't know if it is a fact or a perception) increased number of refusals might be having an effect...

 

 

Generally seems to be a cumulative thing, especially regarding the biomes not moving much, hunting being boring, inability to see/catch anything they don't already have enough of, just not having fun, really, so that some people would still come for Releases when they could catch and have fun but not much bother otherwise, then just got out of the habit when they started missing Releases, I guess.

 

Wasn't saying that it was just because of that, just that without knowing that there was a reason to check in at least that often, people might be more likely to not do so.

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I really doubt that they are. We actually only had scheduled releases for a short while last year; if those players were here before that (people are referring to "long term players" leaving) - they were used to unscheduled releases before that, and didn't leave.

 

Now the perceived (I don't know if it is a fact or a perception) increased number of refusals might be having an effect...

It's actually many things that cause players to leave. I'm fighting the urge right now, but what it comes down to for me is that it's just not fun anymore. The high rate of refusals was the start, but the random releases combined with that adds greatly to my frustration. Right now I do nothing. Absolutely nothing. I don't bred anymore in large part because I don't know when I need my scroll free for a release.

 

If I spend months working through refusals, no egg, and the wrong species egg to finally get the breeding that I need for a lineage it's almost guaranteed that we'll end up with a release. Then I have to decide whether I want to hold onto that long fought for egg, that has a strong possibility of growing up to refuse its mate, and forgo catching the new release, or do I dump it because there's a 50/50 chance that I may never be able to catch that new addition if I miss the first couple of days. *Looks to Coppers, Pyralspites, and Xenowyrms.*

 

At least if we were back to scheduled releases, I would be more incline to be active those other three weeks because I could make a plan.

 

I've gone from being on everyday to checking on Saturdays at noon and midnight to see if there's a release. No release. I go off and do something else. Release. I catch my eggs and spend a couple of days hatching them before beginning the cycle of waiting for the next release.

 

I've been playing since around the end of January 2008. I've met some great people and made some wonderful friends, but I'm just getting tired of feeling jerked around. I really do believe that going back to scheduled releases would be a step in the right direct if the site wishes to retain me and others like me, but only time will tell.

Edited by Sir Barton

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Just so I can state this - I really do like random releases. I like the option of surprise and I like the fun of it. I like it waaaay more than the scheduled one.

 

That being said, I think I totally see the reason for scheduled releases. Eventually I'm not gonna be able to log in once a day. And if something is coming up and I could know a day or two ahead of time, or even a few hours... might be helpful for people knowing if they need to try to make an effort to get online that day. So I think maybe a system that released rumors or some way to maybe spread the word something that is coming up at least some of the time might help others feel they aren't missing out so much and create frustration.

 

That being said, I still like impromptu stuff too and I think people should also be rewarded for being around at the right time or being willing to pop in and be active. So I think the best answer is a little bit of both.

 

It doesn't need to be scheduled a month or more in advance. But the heads up a bit in advance sometimes might help ruffle out some feathers. Especially people with busy schedules.

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Of course TJ could change things at any time, but tbh right now it's not very difficult to tell when he's going to do a release. It's the last weekend of the month, usually on a Saturday. This time he switched it up by having it very late in the day, admittedly!

 

I think TJ is trying to balance the 'chance' and 'randomness' of the game with the needs and desires of players. Realistically speaking, the only thing that would truly be fair would be if TJ announced ahead of time when the releases are going to happen - otherwise it's not fair to those from varying timezones, those going on holidays or with other commitments, etc.

 

Personally, I enjoy the randomness. I remember when we used to go months without releases and then suddenly, surprise! We're on a much better schedule now even if it's not set in stone and I like popping in every few days to see if anything new has gone on. Admittedly I am not one to do breeding projects, but tbh if I did I would just use three or four egg slots for eggs I simply couldn't drop, and have the others free if a release came along. And by 'free' I mean simply used for eggs that I don't care as much for, if that makes sense.

 

If we did go back to scheduled, then I'd hope that TJ would do them on a cycle (as much as possible given his time zone) to accommodate people with different schedules/time zones etc.

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I have found it much more enjoyable knowing roughly when a new release will probably fall (our current "eh, this weekend maybe?" system) than knowing exactly when to show up for a new egg. Scheduled releases had begun to feel like lining up for the monthly egg hand-out, a thing to get over and done with. Now I breed/catch early in the week, incubate, and I'm ready to lurk in the biome underbrush by Saturday.

 

I know it's DC heresy, but I am not really bothered by the prospect of a new release being super-rare. "But what if it turns out to be like the Coppers?" GREAT. I have enjoyed hunting for Xenowyrms more than I enjoyed most other recent releases because it was a challenge. I love playing Elmer Fudd stalking the elusive alpine Pyralspite, or spotting and pouncing (unsuccessfully) on an unexpected metal. I understand why other people don't love it, but for me, it makes the game more fun.

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I know a few people hate not being able to prepare for these unscheduled releases.

If they come late because they didn't check the news on the weekend they either miss it and scramble to get what they can/trade what they can, or be faced with a choice (if they're locked with other eggs) to abandon their lineage project or something or wait for their eggs to hatch.

 

I love the unscheduled. Face it, almost all of us are out for ourselves with these releases, to lock ourselves with the new eggs lest they turn out to be a Blusang, copper, or right now, a Xeno. If we weren't worried about not seeing them after the release people wouldn't be complaining as bad. Look at the Tri horned Wyvern incident, "oh its so pretty these will be rare for sure" etc. Then "oh...these are pretty common". Rarity goes either way. If you got a pair of all coppers or xenos, " lucky you" if they were common, you could still say "yup, I got em all at the release".

With the scheduled releases, it was fun the first few months but we also remember how hectic it was, everyone had their scrolls empty and ready to nab the new eggs. Which, from what I remember had 800-1000 people during those nights. Yeah, I would see that and just say "yep I'm going to bed". Because I would rather miss the initial flood, filled with about 100 people in a biome, fight to click one of three eggs with dozens of tabs open and just see a " sorry this egg was taken by someone else". I would rather at least wait til later then see what I can grab. Either way it wasn't really fun for me. It also got boring, always knowing when it was gonna happen.

 

I like the unscheduled because apparently from the news posts, not many people check the forums on the weekend at midnight. The only thing weird with this release was it was at 3am. Otherwise I probably would have been right there with others to snag them, then I would be able to snag a 2nd batch soon. It adds more "excitment" instead of expecting the same day at the same time. We have, usually, a release some weekend at midnight. Even after 7 hours, almost at the tail end of the flood, I came on locked myself after two hours, and still only about 680 people were on, and only 20-40 in the biomes. I guess I also hate scheduled releases for my own selfish reasons; everyone knows its coming and it makes it harder for me, personally to get new eggs when 100+ people are in each biome, vs the 40

So, imo I check with diligence every weekend, and people should know by now a release happens on the weekend sometimes two weeks after the last release, sometimes the last weekend of the month. I get you don't wanna drop your lineage eggs or rare Cb or 2nd gens, but I guess...always keep a slot or two open?

This put into words many of the things I think. I can see exactly what TJ meant when he mention scheduled releases were becoming a bit stale.

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Just so I can state this - I really do like random releases. I like the option of surprise and I like the fun of it. I like it waaaay more than the scheduled one.

 

That being said, I think I totally see the reason for scheduled releases. Eventually I'm not gonna be able to log in once a day. And if something is coming up and I could know a day or two ahead of time, or even a few hours... might be helpful for people knowing if they need to try to make an effort to get online that day. So I think maybe a system that released rumors or some way to maybe spread the word something that is coming up at least some of the time might help others feel they aren't missing out so much and create frustration.

 

That being said, I still like impromptu stuff too and I think people should also be rewarded for being around at the right time or being willing to pop in and be active. So I think the best answer is a little bit of both.

 

It doesn't need to be scheduled a month or more in advance. But the heads up a bit in advance sometimes might help ruffle out some feathers. Especially people with busy schedules.

 

For what it's worth, I'm on the site every day (except for internet-free vacations) and I don't feel rewarded by the unscheduled releases at all. I feel hindered by them. "Better make sure your scroll is open in case there's a release this weekend. Oh, there's no release and you could have used the time for something else? Oh well, sucks for you." I'm unsure if the joy of the new sprite balances out the stress. I think I've hit the point of neutrality on that, on a downward trend.

 

That being said, I'm genuinely glad it's working out for some people, at least, even if I'm not really one of them. Dragon Cave doesn't have to work for me personally as long as it's working for a large amount of people.

 

I used to be in the 'wait for the hype to die down and then nab the eggs then' camp, but if I see things like the xenowyrms where it strikes me as plainly obvious the CBs are going to be soul-crushingly rare later the moment I even see them announced in the news thread (a single breed with six variations, the only wyrm so far, super gorgeous sprites, spread across all biomes, artificially flooded for more than 24 hours), it makes it clear to me that the mindset behind this tactic is regrettably not actually supported by the way this site functions. Probably not even intentionally; I dunno.

 

I don't enjoy it when I catch my eggs 'on time' in these scenarios - the moment scarcity sets in, I feel sad for the people who didn't manage to nab any. I've sat at my computer a few times before, unsure if I should continue hunting or if I should be giving the ones I've caught away. I'm not a super catcher, I am "just" OK at it (and sometimes get lucky), so the question mostly boils down to whether I think I can catch enough for myself or whether I should give up on my caveborn sets for that type for a few years and make sure people who are more active with lineages at least get some, since I won't be able to finish my set.

 

*takes deep breath*

 

That being said, I don't think this would be a problem if the ratio system were reworked, but since I don't know exactly how it works now, it's difficult to give concrit in that direction.

 

I do like the idea of a heads-up of a few days, though.

Edited by pinkgothic

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For what it's worth, I'm on the site every day (except for internet-free vacations) and I don't feel rewarded by the unscheduled releases at all. I feel hindered by them. "Better make sure your scroll is open in case there's a release this weekend. Oh, there's no release and you could have used the time for something else? Oh well, sucks for you." I'm unsure if the joy of the new sprite balances out the stress. I think I've hit the point of neutrality on that, on a downward trend.

 

That being said, I'm genuinely glad it's working out for some people, at least, even if I'm not really one of them. Dragon Cave doesn't have to work for me personally as long as it's working for a large amount of people.

 

I used to be in the 'wait for the hype to die down and then nab the eggs then' camp, but if I see things like the xenowyrms where it strikes me as plainly obvious the CBs are going to be soul-crushingly rare later the moment I even see them announced in the news thread (a single breed with six variations, the only wyrm so far, super gorgeous sprites, spread across all biomes, artificially flooded for more than 24 hours), it makes it clear to me that the mindset behind this tactic is regrettably not actually supported by the way this site functions. Probably not even intentionally; I dunno.

 

I don't enjoy it when I catch my eggs 'on time' in these scenarios - the moment scarcity sets in, I feel sad for the people who didn't manage to nab any. I've sat at my computer a few times before, unsure if I should continue hunting or if I should be giving the ones I've caught away. I'm not a super catcher, I am "just" OK at it (and sometimes get lucky), so the question mostly boils down to whether I think I can catch enough for myself or whether I should give up on my caveborn sets for that type for a few years and make sure people who are more active with lineages at least get some, since I won't be able to finish my set.

 

*takes deep breath*

 

That being said, I don't think this would be a problem if the ratio system were reworked, but since I don't know exactly how it works now, it's difficult to give concrit in that direction.

 

I do like the idea of a heads-up of a few days, though.

That pretty much where I was going, but you put it much better.

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