Raffle or no raffle?

[Natayah]

It seems like there was a LOT of work put into this game. I get the feeling it took quite a bit of time. Not that prior holiday events didn't take time, I just get the feeling this one took a lot more time than others. I really enjoyed it and am ok if the time that would have been spent on prepping raffles was put into this instead. I was nice to have something new this year.

[Eos]

A store? An actual store where people pay real life money to buy eggs?

That would the absolute WORST thing to happen I can imagine.

No. No. Please not. Really, no. Just no.

Everyone has an equal chance at winning in a raffle, however small it might be. But paying? There are people out there that have not much. This would be beyond unfair.

So no. I can't stress this enough. No.

The store that we are referring to doesn't use real money. No worries. You can read about in the suggestions forum. I'd never pay with real money either.

 

 

@Sinion Kabe: I respect and understand your opinion. My main concern is that I'd rather not see prizes be distributed based on subjective things (ex: worthiness). I think randomness is the way to go.

 

ETA: Also agree with natayah.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Eos

[Thuban]

I knew somebody would select that snippet from my post and and comment on it lol! But think about it, Eos....people who don't use the forums much to trade etc, their Prize dragon goes to complete waste!

I dont use the forums much, definitely not for trading. Prizes would not go to waste with me, however, people who lurk in chat would have much higher chances of freebies and requesting pairings, than people messaging me on the forums, as many of those people I have known for years. Forums are highly impersonal to me, compared to actively chatting with people. *shrugs*

 

 

 

BTW, last years holiday posts did NOT mention raffles. The only mention of them happened after the events were over.

[Eos]

^ It wasn't mentioned on the forum, but I believe it was part of the description for the game. I looked it up on the Wiki (because I remember understanding that I needed to fill up the mana bar each day for the raffle).

 

(Snow Warning Wiki )

 

It's anybody's guess though as to whether we'll have a raffle or not.

[Clya]

But but but but - what would be the point of winning one if you hadn't joined to collect dragons ??>

 

*is baffled*

Well I saw the Silver Shimmerscale dragon and the custom codes people were giving them and I was like "I REALLY want a Golden one... plus the other dragons look really really cool. I'll join it and collect every Golden Prize and maybe one day... I could get one with it's own cool code!"

And of course I collect the dragons and know there is a lot more to the site than just the raffle, but at the time I was in love with the idea of having my own

 

I'm still hoping there's a raffle but I'm not going to get my hopes TOO up.

[Sinion Kabe]

I dont use the forums much, definitely not for trading.

Regardless of your exchange-trading done here on the forums, you would well deserve a Raffle win considering your contribution in other areas And I am sure you would gift to other gamers. You once kindly gifted me this 3G Spriter Alt yourself. You gave me that dragon because of a topic I created about obtaining Spriter Alt offspring in the Suggestions/Requests section. So, being an active member of the DC Forums can also get you gifts that you may not have the opportunity to get elsewhere.

 

Here's to hoping there is a Raffle this year! No matter who wins it would be fun!

Edited December 31, 2015 by Sinion Kabe

[pinkgothic]

I guess I'm the odd one out saying that I'd prefer a contest over a raffle. I have much greater issues coming to terms with a dice roll than I do with that my subjective opinions don't align with someone else's subjective opinions of quality.

 

I never felt bad about the tree decorating contest (except later noticing that a stray decoration was in my tree that I didn't want - that was frustrating, but unrelated to the prizes (it was barely visible and I doubt it made a difference in grading) ) at all, but I've had to battle mild frustration every single year since then.

 

Thankfully, it helps that I'm just really not into the prize sprites.

 

That said, I totally wouldn't mind another raffle! I'd be a little sad if there wasn't one, really. Having one will be frustrating, but stopping now will eventually make low-gen prizes as difficult to get as low-gen hollies. While that doesn't affect me (see above, re: prize sprites), I know that would be painful for quite a lot of people who are still trying to get the elusive 2G prize as part of their personal scroll goal.

 

(I was already really sad about the lack of honourable mentions last time, for similar reasons.)

 

I guess we'll find out, but I anticipate that no raffle will occur.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

I guess I'm the odd one out saying that I'd prefer a contest over a raffle. I have much greater issues coming to terms with a dice roll than I do with that my subjective opinions don't align with someone else's subjective opinions of quality.

 

I never felt bad about the tree decorating contest (except later noticing that a stray decoration was in my tree that I didn't want - that was frustrating, but unrelated to the prizes (it was barely visible and I doubt it made a difference in grading) ) at all, but I've had to battle mild frustration every single year since then.

 

Thankfully, it helps that I'm just really not into the prize sprites.

 

That said, I totally wouldn't mind another raffle! I'd be a little sad if there wasn't one, really. Having one will be frustrating, but stopping now will eventually make low-gen prizes as difficult to get as low-gen hollies. While that doesn't affect me (see above, re: prize sprites), I know that would be painful for quite a lot of people who are still trying to get the elusive 2G prize as part of their personal scroll goal.

 

(I was already really sad about the lack of honourable mentions last time, for similar reasons.)

 

I guess we'll find out, but I anticipate that no raffle will occur.

I would prefer an alternative to the raffle, but I'd favor something more along the lines of a way to earn a prize with a lot of time / effort than having to do another contest. I remember when the tree decorating contest happened, I spent a lot of time fiddling and fussing with very small details of ornament placement on my tree, but--I also tried to make it look like an actual, decorated Christmas tree. Then when the winners were announced, a lot of them had done really out-of-the-box dragon designs and stuff using the ornaments to make cool pictures. Which was awesome, yes, but certainly not what I'd expected going in. >___< Things like that make it really hard to judge things qualitatively, because obviously, mileage will vary based on viewer.

[pinkgothic]

I would prefer an alternative to the raffle, but I'd favor something more along the lines of a way to earn a prize with a lot of time / effort than having to do another contest. I remember when the tree decorating contest happened, I spent a lot of time fiddling and fussing with very small details of ornament placement on my tree, but--I also tried to make it look like an actual, decorated Christmas tree. Then when the winners were announced, a lot of them had done really out-of-the-box dragon designs and stuff using the ornaments to make cool pictures. Which was awesome, yes, but certainly not what I'd expected going in. >___< Things like that make it really hard to judge things qualitatively, because obviously, mileage will vary based on viewer.

Yeah, I agree. Just saying, that if the option is between a raffle and a contest, I definitely prefer a contest. (And if the option is between 'no raffle' and 'raffle', I prefer 'raffle'.)

 

I agree with you that I also found the decorations that didn't even try to look like a decorated tree tacky and it wasn't what I would have chosen, but it was still so much easier for me to accept that verdict than just being told "the computer did not pick you this year". I know most people are different in that regard, but it's the way my brain works.

Edited December 31, 2015 by pinkgothic

[Cinnamin Draconna]

I definitely do NOT want another contest; at least not one like the tree/wreath decorating. My tree was beautiful, but it looked like a real christmas tree and not some weird gravity defying monstosity. Due to the results of the tree decorating, I didn't even bother decorating my wreath.. and my gingerbread house was nothing special either, but at least it looked like a decorated house and not some abstract art looking thing.

 

If it has to be a contest, make it something like trivia or a scavenger hunt type thingy. Not art related which is unfair to the non-artistically inclined.

 

The raffle isn't much better IMO, but at least it is fair. Problem with that kind of fair tho, is that it creates a group of haves over the have-nots. We would have been much better off, if the first and subsequent raffles had NEVER HAPPENED.

 

That's why we need the ingame Store.. so the have-nots can become haves and eventually, that division will disappear.

[Obscure_Trash]

I guess I'm the odd one out saying that I'd prefer a contest over a raffle.

Nah, I found that more fun, too. I'd love to go back to that, even though we're in the clear minority. xP

[NotBambi]

I'm with ADP here, I would prefer a way to earn a prize with a lot of time and/or effort. Contests are quite subjective and could be influenced by networking etc. The randomness of the raffle (aka dumb luck) does not appeal to me either. I know that many go on outrage-mode as soon as the word "store" comes up (maybe because they did not really read the thread, so they associate real life currency with it) but that would be the only way to give everybody a fair chance.

About the raffle vs effort... someone that got an HM or a CB Prize via dumb luck would have less motivation to stick around than someone that got it via blood, sweat and tears.

[Naraku]

TJ is probably doing something different this year, so maybe no raffle? I don't care if nothing happens this year, really. Like pinkgothic, I'm not into prize dragons anyway. No offense to the spriters.

 

Honestly, the raffle (or contest/whatever is gonna happen soon) would be better if players can pick any dragons they want like honorary mention in the past, except certain dragons of course, instead of just prize dragons.

[Riannon]

It's beyond frustrating to play for years and never win, but quite frankly, Christmas on DC has become synonymous with that raffle for me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one - I hadn't even considered that there might not be one until I looked at this thread, that's how ingrained it is into my Yuletide experience here. While I would admittedly be happier with the store option being made into a reality, it's received such mixed reviews that I don't think it's ever going to happen so I don't think that's what's going on behind the scenes, and the lack of communication about the raffle thus far is just heartbreaking. I get that this is a busy time of year and everyone's got a million things to do right now, but if we as a playerbase can log in every day, the least we should be able to reasonably expect is an update about the status of the raffle - even if it's simply to say that there won't be one for this year and the explanation as to why. That really doesn't take long, a few minutes at most. It's been an incredibly hard Christmas season for me, but I've made time to be here. Many of us have. Quite frankly, the feeling I'm getting right now? Much worse than any past raffle I've lost.

[NotBambi]

I'm a bit conflicted about all this: I do not care about the raffle but I know that many do and expect it, drama included. Actually I'm under the impression that many order a lot of popcorn from Amazon, just to be ready.

Do I want CB Prizes to be distributed? Not particularly but I would be quite annoyed if the (relatively) few owners of current CB Prizes could dictate "market" forevah and evah. Do I want a CB Holly for myself and am I ready to work for it? YES.

I'm with others on the subject of communication: TJ, please let us know what is the plan. Raffle or no raffle. Raffle alternative or not. The 10th birthday is so far away that I do not want to consider it. Probably many of us will be unhappy about whatever is your decision but at least we would know.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

If it's a simple case of raffle vs no raffle I'll go raffle any day. I'm an avid 2g Prize collector and with every year that passes I've noticed far more ease in getting my hands on them. That effect might not trickle down to everyone yet, but it's a promising start--and one that'll die a quick death if the raffles suddenly stop.

 

As an ideal I think a combination of raffle AND way to earn prizes would be ideal. Release a new prize every four years or so, and make the previous prize available in some in-cave way at the same time. That still gives people a very strong incentive to log in and participate in the raffle, earning good traffic for the cave, while also not giving those people supreme trade power. Optionally you could also give winners some cute little badge, as an extra 'oomph' and proof that their prizes were original (which I do believe will give them some extra value--I've had people ask for eggs from my original release vampires before, even though vampires aren't high value to begin with, so between people like that and people who collect eggs from every prize released in year ____ the original prize owners should still enjoy extra benefits for a long time... just not as much as during the four year wait period).

 

 

[Kaini]

Maybe the raffle will be a .... new years event now ???

 

I hope there is one... all us losers still kinda hold onto hope for the next year. Knowing I will 100% never get a CB prize is kinda depressing. That little hope is a lot of the fun.

[Gealach]

I didn't even realize there was so much drama about the previous raffles. As a fairly new user, I participated only in the last year's raffle (didn't win) and wasn't even an active forum user at that time.

 

I mean, it's a pure randomness, a lottery - there's no one and nothing to blame if you don't win. And that's a plus, in my opinion.

 

A contest, on the other hand, is a highly subjective and competitive thing. I would definitely not want that. I'd prefer if my chances of winning depended on my efforts (be it getting entries for the raffle or collecting some in-game currency, though I'm still on the fence about the store) rather than on opinions of other users.

 

As an ideal I think a combination of raffle AND way to earn prizes would be ideal. Release a new prize every four years or so, and make the previous prize available in some in-cave way at the same time.

Actually, I like this idea.

[Stellaluna22]

The little game is gone now...I'm praying a raffle will happen tho ;_;

[Amazon_warrior]

<snip>... I'm under the impression that many order a lot of popcorn from Amazon, just to be ready. </snip>

Well, if you insist! *dons paper hat and frilly apron and prowls the aisles with a tray of sweet'n'salty*

 

 

More seriously, I personally don't feel comfortable with the idea of being a member of an ever-shrinking population of "prize owners" - I care less about trade value and rarity and much, much more about creating pretty lineages, with or without the aid of others, but that gets harder as the pool of CBs gets smaller (and consequently trade values go up even if you don't want them to). I also agree that a way to get more HMs into the player base (of all kinds) would be wonderful.

[The_Bucket]

Maybe the raffle will be a .... new years event now ???

 

I hope there is one... all us losers still kinda hold onto hope for the next year. Knowing I will 100% never get a CB prize is kinda depressing. That little hope is a lot of the fun.

My guess is that rather than retiring the prize breeds, if the raffle is discontinued then another method of obtaining them will be implemented.

[Natayah]

I am just baffled how much drama has left (as in, people constantly complaining about raffles themselves and never being happy with or without them) and how people are suddenly forced or willing to look at other options as they realize there really may be "no raffle" for this season or ever again. If it were this simple for these things to be fixed or changes to be rationally looked at, I would be happy for whatever may come.

 

 

[Fuzzbucket]

I definitely do NOT want another contest; at least not one like the tree/wreath decorating. My tree was beautiful, but it looked like a real christmas tree and not some weird gravity defying monstosity. Due to the results of the tree decorating, I didn't even bother decorating my wreath.. and my gingerbread house was nothing special either, but at least it looked like a decorated house and not some abstract art looking thing.

 

If it has to be a contest, make it something like trivia or a scavenger hunt type thingy. Not art related which is unfair to the non-artistically inclined.

 

The raffle isn't much better IMO, but at least it is fair. Problem with that kind of fair tho, is that it creates a group of haves over the have-nots. We would have been much better off, if the first and subsequent raffles had NEVER HAPPENED.

 

That's why we need the ingame Store.. so the have-nots can become haves and eventually, that division will disappear.

This. So VERY much this. Some of those winning trees were SO nothing to do with a tree that I gave them 1. Because I thought we were supposed to DECORATE a TREE, not make a huge screen-filling dragon out of everything we could find.

 

Any competition involving art, writing, whatever, will disadvantage people who are short on talent. For many players English isn't their first language. Many players are very young,. Many players can't draw to save their lives (I am one.) You can't go by age, as there is no way to prove anything. ANY skill contest of any kind falls, leaving aside the social media ways to rig the votes.

 

Also the player base grows every year, so any raffle would need increasingly more and more prizes, more and more of which might end up on dormant scrolls. I don't LIKE the store thing - but I think it's the only way to go from here.

 

As to "we expected a raffle so we "ought to" get one" side of this - why expect anything. Did we expect sendable messages this year too ? I liked those; I was looking forward to the POSSIBILITY - but we cannot go around "expecting" everything to happen the way it did last time, or even every time till now.

 

Never assume. That chocolate bar I loved disappeared from the market just after I got hooked. If I had known it would, I would have stocked up... I assumed that since it was selling well (it was) it would stay around. So when those new frozen burgers were so great, I bought loads as I "assumed" the same thing would happen... THEY are still on the market and my huge stock has freezer burn Life bites.

 

About the raffle vs effort... someone that got an HM or a CB Prize via dumb luck would have less motivation to stick around than someone that got it via blood, sweat and tears.

You know - that is VERY true.

Edited December 31, 2015 by fuzzbucket

[DangerDragon]

I hope we get a raffle.

[Isuzu]

At this point, regardless if there is a raffle or not all I want is some sort of announcement. I hate not knowing

 

It would be nice to get an alternative way of earning prizes, aside from random luck. Just not something purely subjective as the tree decorating since just like others above I remember going into that thinking it was a tree decorating contest and not a draw pretty shapes on this tree shaped canvas contest and clearly I was wrong.