Holiday Gifts

[tjekan]

Every year, many of us hopefully ask for the CB limit on holiday eggs to be raised. There are SO many CB eggs flying around during the holiday event, after all--the drop is 3 times as long as Halloween's--and there is no way that allowing people to take more eggs would make them inaccessible to anyone. It would make the event more interesting.

 

The concern is usually brought up, however, that doing this might discourage the "holiday spirit" by causing people to hoard eggs or charge high prices for them. So I have a new idea: what if we were able to randomly gift CB eggs beyond the limit?

 

Like, say you could pick up a third CB egg of any breed, but only as a held egg (like when you breed a multiclutch.) If you don't gift it to anyone, it disappears after an hour or whatever--it's impossible to keep it for yourself. But there's a link on the held egg page to GIFT it to a random user (it has to be random to discourage it from becoming a black market.) You can choose a prefab message to go with it, like "Merry Christmas!" "Happy Hanukkah!" "Enjoy this gift!" "Happy Holidays!" or "Long live DC!" And then it gets sent to a random user the way Valentine cards do. The recipient can either claim it or decline it--if they decline it, it just gets sent to a different random user. And gifted eggs would NOT count against the holiday CB limit. If the game can distinguish between CB and bred eggs for limit purposes, it ought to be easy enough to set it up to distinguish between gift eggs and regular eggs for the same purpose.

 

This would both ease the CB restriction (allowing more interesting breeding and more to do during the holiday season,) and enable the users to display more holiday spirit and generosity. Plus the fun of receiving random presents throughout the week!

 

Just an idea. 😄  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jazeki]

This sounds cute. I'd suggest a biome of cave or gift so they could be distinguished from the other CB dragons. 

 

I also think they should be non-tradeable once they are on a giftee's scroll. 

[Fiona]

Problem: some people like to code hunt. If they're still hunting and a cb egg randomly shows up that they're unable to get rid of they won't be happy. Especially if it lands on their scroll just seconds before they spot the perfect code in the biome.

 

How about if these gift eggs appear as a link somewhere that people can choose to accept or not? Then it won't interfere with people's own choices for hunting.

[tjekan]

Yeah, I was thinking that the recipient would have to click to accept or decline. That would give them the option to keep hunting without interruption if they want, or if they're locked, to drop an egg to take the new one if they want, or just decline. 

 

A separate Gift biome would work, but then we couldn't gift the new eggs... also, it would be fun to be able to gift extra CB eggs we found in the AP.

 

But honestly, ANY form of this kind of idea would be great for me. Right now, players have too few CBs to be able to make as many cool lineages as at Halloween, nor to breed as many 2nd gens (nor, ironically, to give as many gifts.) It would be more interesting and fun if that changed, and any kind of random gifting mechanic would be a way to do that so that it benefited everyone equally and brought some holiday cheer to all. 🙂

Edited November 9, 2019 by tjekan

[HeatherMarie]

This sounds like an interesting idea and I sort of like it, but possible things to consider: If the gift is sent to a random user, there will definitely be users who get sent multiple gift-eggs *and* users who don't get sent any at all. I'm curious if it would be possible to even that out somehow, while still maintaining the randomness. I can very easily see frustration and complaining when people post about getting multiple gifts while others aren't getting any, plus it means that random users are able to collect 'extra' CB eggs while other users aren't allowed more than the 2, simply because of random RNG. 

[Fiona]

I don't think she meant this as a way to get to keep more than the regular limit. It would just be a help to those who for whatever reason are having trouble getting their quota. Being able to pick up an extra to gift wouldn't allow them to keep the extra and the recipients would still only be able to have the two.

 

Maybe it could be set up in such as way that it will only send them to people who haven't reached the cb limit yet. That wouldn't allow people to code pick, but would make sure they spread out more evenly.

[tjekan]

13 minutes ago, HeatherMarie said:

This sounds like an interesting idea and I sort of like it, but possible things to consider: If the gift is sent to a random user, there will definitely be users who get sent multiple gift-eggs *and* users who don't get sent any at all. I'm curious if it would be possible to even that out somehow, while still maintaining the randomness. I can very easily see frustration and complaining when people post about getting multiple gifts while others aren't getting any, plus it means that random users are able to collect 'extra' CB eggs while other users aren't allowed more than the 2, simply because of random RNG. 

 

That's a possible concern, but we do have a precedent in the form of the Valentine card and flower events, and I did not hear of anyone who failed to receive random Valentine's gifts. I think it's likely that everyone would end up receiving random holiday eggs too. But if there's any concern that might not be the case, perhaps TJ's account could automatically send each user one egg, that way everyone would be guaranteed of at least one random unexpected gift from such an event. 🙂

Edited November 9, 2019 by tjekan

[olympe]

While this idea sounds cute and lovely at first - we're all humans, we're all able to feel jealousy, and RNG is a witch. So I have my reservations about this. Just like about the raffle, where some people win again and again and again and others just don't win at all.

[tjekan]

4 minutes ago, Fiona said:

I don't think she meant this as a way to get to keep more than the regular limit. It would just be a help to those who for whatever reason are having trouble getting their quota.

 

No, I did mean it as a way to increase the regular limit. People could have more than two CBs of a Holiday breed as long as the additional ones were gifts.

 

No one has any trouble getting their quota of holiday CBs. They drop for three full days. It's very easy to get them.

 

This suggestion is an alternative to simply raising the holiday limit, which I'd also be in favor of, but some people always worry would be contrary to the spirit of the holiday. My suggestion is to raise the holiday limit in a way that would be MORE in keeping with the spirit of the holiday than what we currently have-- that people could have more than two, but only if the extras are given as gifts.

 

I think it would be fun to have an event where we were giving and receiving eggs as gifts rather than just grabbing them... and it would be a way of increasing the number of CBs each person could have, thus increasing the number of lineages and bred eggs we can all play with. Win-win...

 

[tjekan]

2 minutes ago, olympe said:

While this idea sounds cute and lovely at first - we're all humans, we're all able to feel jealousy, and RNG is a witch. So I have my reservations about this. Just like about the raffle, where some people win again and again and again and others just don't win at all.

 

Well... I guess it could be. From my perspective, if I ordinarily get 0 extra CB holidays, and this year I got 2, I would be overjoyed, not jealous that somebody else got 4.

 

But I guess I can understand that someone else may not see it that way, especially as there are many children who play the game...

[Soulsborne]

The idea sounds cute at first but, personally, being able to have more CBs of a limited breed shouldn't be so based on rng. I'd prefer raising the limit OR keeping it like it is but not some people ending up lucky with e. g. 3 more Starsingers and 1 more Garland while others maybe only got 1 more Solstice or nothing at all. Olympe is right, that's pretty close to the raffle thingy.

[olympe]

4 minutes ago, tjekan said:

 

Well... I guess it could be. From my perspective, if I ordinarily get 0 extra CB holidays, and this year I got 2, I would be overjoyed, not jealous that somebody else got 4.

 

But I guess I can understand that someone else may not see it that way, especially as there are many children who play the game...

Actually, I was thinking of some players getting *no* gifts at all, and others receiving multiple CB hollies... That kind of scenario. Because it's going to happen.

 

I'd much rather be able to buy extra CB holidays for 100 shards apiece - and I say that as someone who's pretty much depleted their shards for just another CB gold.

[tjekan]

1 minute ago, olympe said:

Actually, I was thinking of some players getting *no* gifts at all, and others receiving multiple CB hollies... That kind of scenario. Because it's going to happen.

 

I'd much rather be able to buy extra CB holidays for 100 shards apiece - and I say that as someone who's pretty much depleted their shards for just another CB gold.

 

From my experience with the Valentine's Day events, I don't think that would happen. Everybody received multiple random cards and flowers in that event; no one was left out.

 

But the possibility could be eliminated by having the system automatically sent one egg to everyone, so there would be a minimum of one egg sent to each scroll and no one could be shut out.

 

Still, though... there may be some people who would rather get nothing at all than get an amount that was less than another person's. I don't know, I'd be happy with just raising the limits in the first place--I really don't think they encourage generosity in any way, just the opposite--but I thought this might be a nice alternative. If it would create pettiness and jealousy, maybe not so much.

[HeatherMarie]

4 minutes ago, olympe said:

Actually, I was thinking of some players getting *no* gifts at all, and others receiving multiple CB hollies... That kind of scenario. Because it's going to happen.

 

I'd much rather be able to buy extra CB holidays for 100 shards apiece - and I say that as someone who's pretty much depleted their shards for just another CB gold.

 

Exactly. If the site uses RNG to hand out 'extra' CBs, but only if people specifically 'gift' those extras, there *will* be users who receive none at all. That's simply the nature of RNG. 

 

Just now, tjekan said:

 

From my experience with the Valentine's Day events, I don't think that would happen. Everybody received multiple random cards and flowers in that event; no one was left out.

 

But the possibility could be eliminated by having the system automatically sent one egg to everyone, so there would be a minimum of one egg sent to each scroll and no one could be shut out.

 

Still, though... there may be some people who would rather get nothing at all than get an amount that was less than another person's. I don't know, I'd be happy with just raising the limits in the first place--I really don't think they encourage generosity in any way, just the opposite--but I thought this might be a nice alternative. If it would create pettiness and jealousy, maybe not so much.

 

This suggestion is really not comparable to the Valentine's Day events. You are talking about people first having to decide to *catch* extra CB holidays, and then *gift* them to a random user... That's very very different then just clicking something to send an already-there Valentine card. Users would have to put in *work*, in order to benefit some other random user. It would definitely not be anything like the Valentine cards. 

 

Having the system automatically send every user one CB could theoretically help in that area, but I'm not sure how that would work? How does the system decide *which* holiday breed to send to who? There are a *lot* of past holiday breeds at this point, how would the system hand out thousands of eggs to random users while taking into account all the different breeds, and ratios, etc?

[Jazeki]

15 hours ago, tjekan said:

 

 

A separate Gift biome would work, but then we couldn't gift the new eggs... also, it would be fun to be able to gift extra CB eggs we found in the AP.

 

Oh! I didn't mean an actual biome. I meant to put gift or cave where it says where the dragon came from on its page. Sorry about that.

[Fiona]

I wasn't actually thinking of this as a way to get extra cb holiday or valentines dragons. Not too sure about that idea. If we're going to be allowed to  have more than two in any way I think it makes more sense for TJ to just raise the limit.

[The Dragoness]

No support from me. I love gifting and the cheery spirit of the holidays, but there are too many what-ifs surrounding this idea for it to work. What if the egg goes to someone who isn't even active rather than someone who is struggling? What if one person receives multiple offers and just never declines the extras? What about the people who still struggle despite there being a random gift system in place? CB Holidays are already gifted and abandoned (just look at the walls each year), so I don't see how this would increase the holiday spirit. It's a nice idea in theory but not so much in practice. If anything, I think the random factor of RNG would just lead to hurt feelings. I would rather see a CB holiday catching assistance thread created.

Edited November 10, 2019 by The Dragoness

[Sazandora]

I do not support this as a method for obtaining more than just 2 CBs. It's too much like a raffle, where one person could get like a dozen new CBs and another person gets nothing. Everyone should be given a fair and equal chance instead of having it rely on RNG.

[Aqub]

I think this is a really fun idea- Support from me! I understand the concerns around the randomness, but I don't think this would turn out like the raffle. Everybody has to end up with something with the amount of gifts that would be sent out. If this was added, wouldn't a lot of players who like using this mechanic potentially send out hundreds of gifts? I know I would. 

[JavaTigress]

This SOUNDS like a cute idea... though I do understand the concerns with it, as well, and am not sure it could work.

 

PERSONALLY, I'd be more in favor of removing the limits for Vals and Christmases entirely. If the point of the limits was to encourage a spirit of giving... I am with others in observing that I am not sure that it does. For example... I have my limit of CB holidays, Therefor, IF I were so inclined to gift anything further I took, I can't because I can't pick UP anything more of any of those breeds. Just a thought. Admittedly removing limits would also enable 'hoarding for self' as well... I confess, there are a few breeds I'd be sorely tempted to hoard. ( You can sort of tell which of the halloweens I am particularly fond of because I hoard them! Arcanae, Graves and Caligenes I am looking at ALL of YOU! XD)

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by JavaTigress

[tjekan]

36 minutes ago, The Dragoness said:

I would rather see a CB holiday catching assistance thread created.

 

Well, the idea of the suggestion was a way for people to catch MORE than 2 CB's as long as they gifted them to others. So it was intended as a way of raising the limit of how many CBs each of us could have without causing hoarding (since you'd have to give extras you caught away rather than keep it yourself, and since people wouldn't be able to sell the extra CB's.)

 

I don't think people being unable to catch holiday eggs in December is ever a problem in need of a solution. They drop for 3 entire days, you could pick them up on dial-up from the wilderness.   It's the problem of everyone having too few CBs that I was hoping to address, by suggesting a way that we could have more CBs without raising the limit (since many people object to raising the limit as "too greedy.")

 

However, it seems there are enough people who don't want to get extra CBs if it means someone else might get MORE extra CBs than they would, that maybe raising the limit would be the less greedy of the two options after all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JavaTigress]

17 minutes ago, tjekan said:

 

Well, the idea of the suggestion was a way for people to catch MORE than 2 CB's as long as they gifted them to others. So it was intended as a way of raising the limit of how many CBs each of us could have without causing hoarding (since you'd have to give extras you caught away rather than keep it yourself, and since people wouldn't be able to sell the extra CB's.)

 

I don't think people being unable to catch holiday eggs in December is ever a problem in need of a solution. They drop for 3 entire days, you could pick them up on dial-up from the wilderness.   It's the problem of everyone having too few CBs that I was hoping to address, by suggesting a way that we could have more CBs without raising the limit (since many people object to raising the limit as "too greedy.")

 

However, it seems there are enough people who don't want to get extra CBs if it means someone else might get MORE extra CBs than they would, that maybe raising the limit would be the less greedy of the two options after all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greed is a THING regretably. Not a good thing, mind, but it is human nature, UNFORTUNATELY.

[Fuzzbucket]

I must be a bit thick, but I had understood the suggestion to mean that we could catch over the limit - as long as we then gifted that extra one away. i did not see it as meaning people - gifters or recipients - could end up with more than the current limit.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Fuzzbucket

[Shadowdrake]

^Agreed.

 

I don't support this if it means people potentially get several of one kind and none of another,  or someone due to rng gets a dozen and someone else only gets one or two. Also, if it's to *anybody* there's a big chance of it being gifted to someone who hasn't been active for months or even years, wasting them by letting them die.

 

I would support this if there was a further limit on rng-gifted eggs, perhaps one or two of each breed while there are still active players who haven't hit their "gift limit", *and* it only goes to people who have at least been recently active. And the question of egg limits would still need to be hashed out: if a person gifts, does the egg take up their eggspace until the giftee picks up? What if the giftee isn't going to be unlocked for 2 or even 3 days? Or would gifts only go to people currently unlocked and be rerolled once they get locked? Or does said gift egg not take up a slot but you're only limited to being able to gift one at a time? Can the gifter cancel the gift after it's been offered? That would end up confusing or hurting someone's feelings if they don't pick it up right away.

 

Frankly this seems more complicated than it's worth.

[tjekan]

1 hour ago, JavaTigress said:

Greed is a THING regretably. Not a good thing, mind, but it is human nature, UNFORTUNATELY.

 

Yeah, it's hard to argue with that. Maybe it'd be better just to go ahead and raise the CB limit to 3 or 4. That would both enable more traditional style gifting this year and let people have more CBs to breed things for everyone next year.

 

I still really like the concept of only being able to catch two yourself and having to get any additional ones through holiday gifts. I think the details like what to do if somebody doesn't claim their gift within 24 hours and so on could be sorted out in coding, and personally, I would be happy enough to get any such gifts that I can't imagine being angry about other people getting more or better gifts than I did. But I think folks are right that it could make some users salty, which is just what we don't need any more of. Alas. I'll just go back to hoping for raised limits, I guess...