ANSWERED:bring back cb prizes

[Dianacat777]

That's the main reason why I want to see cb prizes obtainable again whatever the cost - the introduction of prizes has the trading system terribly borked and the only way to unbork it is to increase accessibility.

[Fuzzbucket]

OR - to simply decide that there are other dragons that are just as much fun.

[Dianacat777]

Collectively? I think that's an impossibility.

 

On an individual level - that's what I've done since everything started. I only started 'searching' for a prize now because I need a mate for a prizekin I found at Christmastime, and that 'search' consists of a siggy flag and defeatism. I don't want to pester people that have already been pestered to high heaven.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Dianacat777

[Jazeki]

I really don't think not having CBs any more ever is worse than the raffle was. It would make people weep and stuff - but it wouldn't create the FOUL atmosphere that the raffles brought to this forum. I would truly rather never see another CB prize dragon than see the raffles back.

I think that foul atmosphere is inherent to DC (think of the people who don't want past holidays or prizes re-released at all because it would ruin trade value/how special they are, the comments in one of these prize threads that claim that users are "undeserving of prizes", the comments with every release [especially with holidays] that users are hoarding dragons, the comments that prize owners are stingy or greedy, etc., etc.). But we really ever saw it en mass in the raffle threads.

 

As Dianacat777 and others have said, having this huge disparity between users who have prizes and users who do not is a problem. Having a really, really limited dragon species that less than 1% of the player population has in a collecting game has done that. We have new users who come in asking how they can get CB prizes. We have a ruined trading market. We have permeated the holiday celebrations with the looming ghost of raffles and CB prizes. Notice how these threads are really active during the holidays?

 

There needs to be something, anything in the raffle's place (a raffle or otherwise) or a definitive comment from TJ that puts an end to further speculation of the prizes' return.

[Guillotine]

And really, anything would work. While I (and likely most other players) would prefer the store or similar, even bringing back the raffles (my personal last resort) would be better than letting things as they stand continue.

 

The trading stock market around Prizes is awful, and not having new blood to infuse into the mix will only make things worse as prize owners stop playing/breeding/what-have-you, in addition to making EGs even more difficult than they already are.

[PewterEyes]

I changed my mind a few times but, at this point, I'm just accepting the situation. I think TJ made a big mistake when he started the raffles but, this is his site, he can do whatever he wants. Dragon Cave mirrors the wealth inequality in the USA, with a very low percentage of people that can get whatever they want. Quite an ugly situation. We can't leave real life but we can leave the site, if we choose to do so.

[Pokemonfan13]

I also fall into the "raffles aren't great, but they're better than nothing" stance. There is just too much of a problem with the dwindling number of active players with prizes. Things can only be helped by making them more common. Preferably significantly more common.

 

(although, as I've said before, there are some options that I feel are worse than raffles)

[Sazandora]

I could agree with bringing raffles back, but only if they'd be held more than just once a year, and/or that those who already have a CB Prize could not win another one, just to make things more fair for those of us who have none.

But ultimately I prefer the store.

[olympe]

I also fall into the "raffles aren't great, but they're better than nothing" stance. There is just too much of a problem with the dwindling number of active players with prizes. Things can only be helped by making them more common. Preferably significantly more common.

 

(although, as I've said before, there are some options that I feel are worse than raffles)

Which is exactly why I'm in favor of the store suggestion to make prizes available to everyone - should they decide they want one badly enough. Because every other system will only leave some people (with bad connection/reflexes, bad luck or a number of other issues) in the dust. The store, on the other hand, has been fleshed out to work for pretty much any playstyle (that isn't "let's join, get everything in a couple of weeks and vanish again"), which evens the playing field and, at the same time, makes prizes more available.

 

But raffles just don't cut it.

[aussieJJDude]

I know that the raffle was more of the "winter holiday" thing... But if it occured at each major event:

- winter holiday

- val

- DC birthday

- halloween

 

I would think it would help promote the events that take place - and for the DC birthday, celebrate another (successful) year that DC has been on the web - and also give many access to a highly requested dragon(s).

[Fuzzbucket]

I don't think the events NEED promoting - they slow the cave to a crawl at times as it is.

 

The shop is the only REAL option here; the only one that is perceived as totally fair to everyone - in the sense that on this forum, very many people who didn't get a prize seemed to feel it wasn't fair that they didn't and almost no-one seemed to grasp the idea of what a raffle is and how random it is.

[olympe]

Besides, the prices suggested in the thread about the store are just suggestions - if TJ feels that prizes, for instance, should be priced differently, he will make sure that they are. *shrugs*

[meowxmeow]

I would say the majority of players do not like the stock market feel of the trading system at the moment. That is a result of have such a small amount of exclusive dragons. But you can't deny that 2G prizes have a high value - you really can't trade for a CB gold effectively without one. Many players do learn to play around these differences, but it doesn't change the fact that there are some seemingly unobtainable dragons.

 

The store would be a great solution, but we have no idea if it's even in the cards at this point. Feel free to correct me here, but has TJ verbally accepted it, let alone started to code it? We do know that raffles could be implemented or releasing them in the cave could be implemented with much less effort.

[Fiona]

As far as I know TJ hasn't said anything pro or con about the store.

 

As for having the raffles at each event? No thanks. They're chaotic enough as it is. I'd much rather have them at some regular interval separate from events. Say, once a quarter, once a month or some such. Probably more than two per year but less than 365. (Before someone panics, no one has EVER suggested one per day. That would be nuts. I just put that as the maximum number possible.)

[Fuzzbucket]

I would say the majority of players do not like the stock market feel of the trading system at the moment. That is a result of have such a small amount of exclusive dragons. But you can't deny that 2G prizes have a high value - you really can't trade for a CB gold effectively without one. Many players do learn to play around these differences, but it doesn't change the fact that there are some seemingly unobtainable dragons.

 

The store would be a great solution, but we have no idea if it's even in the cards at this point. Feel free to correct me here, but has TJ verbally accepted it, let alone started to code it? We do know that raffles could be implemented or releasing them in the cave could be implemented with much less effort.

Well, yes and no. I traded for one of my CB golds - and I don't have a prize to use. Two others I was GIFTED.

 

We have no idea whether TJ is OK with the store, but the fact that he has let the thread run for so long suggests to me that he is paying attention. Some threads where he has not liked the idea he has shut down with a "no way"

 

But as I recall we aren't suppose to second guess how easy, or not, things are for TJ to code. I imagine the raffles were actually pretty much a pain.

 

.As for having the raffles at each event? No thanks. They're chaotic enough as it is. I'd much rather have them at some regular interval separate from events. Say, once a quarter, once a month or some such. Probably more than two per year but less than 365. (Before someone panics, no one has EVER suggested one per day. That would be nuts. I just put that as the maximum number possible.)

I'm with Fi. Though I'd rather not have them AT ALL, a monthly one would possibly be bearable. Less than that and the griping would start in no time flat,. And there would have to be a LOT of winners. The numbers we've had in the past are what has made it all so dreadful - and also led to some multiscrolling... .

[aussieJJDude]

I don't think the events NEED promoting - they slow the cave to a crawl at times as it is.

You do know that the raffle normally occurs a few weeks after... Or at least, the great "hand out" of the prizes. In that time, the event would die down quite a bit.

[Fuzzbucket]

To earn raffle tickets you have/had to take part in something. When the prizes are handed out is NOT the issue in terms of lag and the rest. The events in which tickets were earned caused the lag.

[aussieJJDude]

To earn raffle tickets you have/had to take part in something. When the prizes are handed out is NOT the issue in terms of lag and the rest. The events in which tickets were earned caused the lag.

Oh, now I gotta... Thats true. But in saying that, for the events that I participated that had a raffle, I really never noticed a lag. It could be my location - most of the players live in the US, while lucky me on the "other side of the world" might access the cave during a quieter period - but there was never a point that I had lag. At most, a bad internet connection - like now!

[olympe]

Well, lucky you. Even for me in Europe, there's some lag during events. The cave loads much more slowly than usual, and some events (like the last one) caused quite some extra lag for the first few days.

[Fuzzbucket]

Yeah. In Canada, too. The lag can be sheer hell.

[Shokomon]

{snip}

It seems like the current range of choices for getting CB Prizes back in the game are:

(from most liked in the thread to least liked in the thread)

 

1) The Store/Trader's Canyon

- Which may or may not happen, and if it does happen, it won't be anytime soon and possibly not in the same way that the request is currently designed.

- Loss of "Prize" association

- Places a price tag on dragons that may make it difficult for different players to afford the dragons due to differing play styles

- Current design allows you to buy as many prizes as you can if you have the points for it, but getting points is limited to a weekly cap

- Allows you to accumulate enough points to buy a Prize Dragon every 4-5 months if you stockpile all your points, consistently max out your weekly cap, and don't spend on anything else

 

2) A Prize for Completing [insert Holiday] Event

- 1 prize of the player's choice per event per year (so you can only get a single CB prize a year for completing any one of the holiday events that year)

- Relatively easy way to get CB's

- Number of CB obtainable is limited

- Unable to get CB Prize if miss the event

 

3) A Prize for a specific Mini-Game

- 1 prize of the player's choice per completion of mini-game

- May or may not be tied to specific Dragon Cave Events

- May or may not be able to play multiple times to get more CB Prizes

- May restrict access to CB Prizes for players who can't play [insert mini-game here] well

 

4) Earning a "Prize" for raising/breeding/catching [insert number] Dragons

- Prizes given from bronze to gold as ascending number of achievements are met

- May be unattainable for players with certain play styles

- Possibly tie getting CB Prizes to trophies?

---- (Will people who already have gold trophies get all the Prize dragons or just gold versions or no prizes at all?)

 

5) "Summon" a Prize Dragon via a BSA of a Dragon

- Can get Prize eggs via a similar mechanic to Summoning GoN's, with all the pros and cons of the "Summon" BSA

- May force players to collect a dragon they were never intending to collect to get the Prize dragons

- Relies on chance for summoning the Prize

- May take years to get prizes if not enough of [insert Dragon breed]

 

6) Release in the Cave

- Functions as essentially another shiny rare dragon breed, with all the pros and cons of another shiny rare breed

- Obtainable in the cave to all players

- May be all year round or limited to Holiday Seasons

- No limitations on number or color other than set rarity,

- Biggest influences are outside the game: internet quality, computer age, and the player's physical ability

- May lead to discrepency in scrolls seen in other CB shiny rares

- May affect trading market similar to other shiny rares

- Good luck finding one

- Good luck catching one

 

7) Raffles

- Relies solely on chance for players to receive Prize Dragons

- No Longer active at the moment

- Tied to the Winter Holiday Events

- Led to the current situation of a near minuscule amount of players with total control of CB Prize Dragons and low lineage offspring

- Pushed the trading market in the favor of the few players with the CB Dragons

- Loss of breeding CB Prizes from Scroll Burning (multi-scrollers), Frozen Dragons, Released Dragons, Unclaimed Prizes, In-active Players, etc. have an incredible effect on number of CB Prizes and Low gen offspring due to the low number of dragons handed out by this mechanism

- A Very disliked option

- VERY.

 

Honorable Mention

8) Any one of the above

- Players that just want CB Prizes in some way or form and don't care too much about the method.

 

--

 

Anything I am missing? Any suggestions on changing the order?

 

Note: This order is not my personal order, but just from what I got from following the thread.

- Numbers 1 and 2 look most liked to me, while Numbers 6 and 7 look most disliked.

- Numbers 3 through 5 are not nearly as clear as which one is more disliked than the other.

For current options. Any comments on this?

 

---

 

@Pokemonfan: As for the price thing, I just feel like by virtue of there being a price tag, some people will be able to afford Prize Dragons, and some people won't, at least not easily. I feel like with the history that Prize Dragons have, they would be rather expensive. I mean you are suppose the win them somehow, right, even if in this case, winning them is more saving up enough money for them through breeding/catching/raising and or daily gains.

 

- I don't follow the store thread, so I can't really say how it is arranged, and I trust that you guys will make it as fair as possible, but a cost is still a cost in the end. And people play with different priorities in mind. Some people are going to buy prizes easily because their game-play priorities align with it, and some people won't for their prorities don't align with it. That's why I put it there.

 

- It hardly matters though because we don't even know if we will get a store, and much less with the same design that everyone put so much work into in the thread.

 

- I think I will change it to reference "difficulty" instead of "limitation" though. That might be more accurate.

 

---

And and on the topic of how long the store thread has existed, you know a thread that TJ has left alive for a really long time that people made positive responses on? Ascension. You know what feature has been tossed around for years and still hasn't made into the cave? Ascension.

- As another example, there is the Hoarding thread, which has also been around longer than the store and tossed around for years.

 

I'm not counting on the store as an option until I see the "Coming Soon" thread in the News Sub-Forum.

 

Edit: typos.

Edit 2: Adding links to the referenced threads.

Edit 3: Updating due to more info on the store option.

Edited January 9, 2017 by Shokomon

[olympe]

Well, there are some additional problems with Ascension, like the fact that we have way over 100 different dragons by now that would all need to have an ascended sprite. When Ascension was first suggested, we had less than half the dragons we have now. (And I doubt that Ascension will be a thing for dinos or chickens, even drakes kind of stretches the limit of my ability to suppress my disbelief.)

Edited January 8, 2017 by olympe

[aussieJJDude]

Well, there are some additional problems with Ascension, like the fact that we have way over 100 different dragons by now that would all need to have an ascended sprite. When Ascension was first suggested, we had less than half the dragons we have now. (And I doubt that Ascension will be a thing for dinos or chickens, even drakes kind of stretches the limit of my ability to suppress my disbelief.)

I thought ascension was only for a couple of dragon species, but it wasn't intended for all?

[Fiona]

The original intent was all. It very quickly became apparent that there were too many breeds already for that to be practical. The undertaking would be enormous.

 

And some of the original artists for breeds had very definite opinions on some breeds and didn't care for others making the ascendant sprites for their dragons.

 

The point being you can't point to another topic that's been around a long time and apply the thinking that time not getting implemented has any bearing on whether an idea will be implemented. Ascension has problems beyond the coding or whether or not TJ likes the idea. The other examples may well also have other issues. We don't know. All we can do is try to eliminate whatever problems we can see from this suggestion.

Edited January 9, 2017 by Fiona BlueFire

[DragonLady86]

guys. ascension is offtopic. How long an idea has been requested has no relevance to it being implemented. TJ codes things in the order he decides. And sometimes, he may never do so. All we can do is suggest ways to do something we would like to see and hope.

 

Honestly, I have no idea what the best way to do more prizes is. /shrug just let Tinsels and Shimmerscales start dropping in cave. No extra coding needed. "but it's not fair to prize owners" well, they've had years of monopoly, I think that's plenty of time. "But they have to be prizes/their prize dragons" They are only called that because they were given out as prizes. They have real names. /end rant