2022-07-03 - July Dragon Release

[Sunfeathers]

Ooh I love the coloration on the volcano two-headeds! Glad that was one of the two variants that I managed to grab haha. I really like the pygmies too. I like the lightning pattern on their wings!

[HeatherMarie]

1 hour ago, kztory said:

Anyway, how do you think breeding will work? Something like Xenos, where you can get any random variation from any given pair? That seems to be most likely, but wouldn't it be interesting if some different mechanics was implemented here? 🙂

 

Please no special mechanics on these! We have had way too many newer 'special/unique mechanics' breeds in the past couple years, sometimes it's nice to keep a little simplicity.

 

I somehow misclicked a Dark Green earlier... No, I have no idea how, the descriptions are nothing alike. 

 

Still absolutely in awe of the Hydra adults, absolutely stunning work there! 

[High Lord November]

3 hours ago, Rally Vincent said:

 

A market for a collectables game is nothing more than an admission that the game no longer works as intended.

I disagree. The intended way to play the game is to hunt the biomes for the egg you want. This still works as intended. The people in here who couldn't get the eggs on flood can still refresh at the 5 minute mark and will get the eggs over time, or they can trade (also always a part of the game).

 

The market makes the rare/harder-to-get/more desirable eggs more accessible for players with slow internet, or not a lot of time, or dyslexia, or poor reaction skills. It also offers some assurance for people who aren't so into the hunting that they can get their eggs and participate in breeding lineages with CBs. It also can take months of playing the game as normal to build up enough shards for a very rare egg (Stat, Gold), so it doesn't interfere with the game 'working as intended'. 

 

This game has always been about building and collecting over time. That doesn't mean I don't think new drops shouldn't be longer to make things more fair - even with some people complaining they didn't check DC that day and the drops should be 2-3 days instead etc, I think a 1 day flood would be more accessible to players across the globe and would support it.

Edited July 6, 2022 by High Lord November

[Fuzzbucket]

1 hour ago, Rally Vincent said:

 

Exactly - people cannot get all the eggs reliable by playing the game - else, there would be no need for a store.

 

You're missing the point - I think. If you have catastrophic arthritis and can barely click; if you are partially sighted - NOTHING TJ can do to the game will ever make you able to hunt like you and I can. The same goes for crap dial-up internet, which I used to try and play with - I almost never caught new releases when I started out. By the time the page loaded, all the eggs on it had gone. If the connection didn't drop first. The store means people with issues that TJ can never fix can play along with those of us who can hunt in the "normal" way. I think it's great. Its existence doesn't mean the fundamental mechanic is wrong.

[Myoukin]

1 hour ago, Darth Krande said:

Talking of misclicks,  I recently picked up five cb guardian eggs from the AP. Someone must have been rather disappointed catching them. 

 

 

Anyone else? Which head is the tail? (Are the throat scales pointing upwards to confuse the predators?)

Guardians were one tripping me up the most since I've been focusing on that 'others' bit at the end of the description; luckily, it's only in the volcano, so I'm able to more or less go ham everywhere else.

[Fuzzbucket]

11 minutes ago, High Lord November said:

 

This game has always been about building and collecting over time. That doesn't mean I don't think new drops shouldn't be longer to make things more fair - even with some people complaining they didn't check DC that day and the drops should be 2-3 days instead etc, I think a 1 day flood would be more accessible to players across the globe and would support it.

 

If you don't check DC on a day there's a release, that is not TJ's fault. I remember when they were completely random. One coped.

[High Lord November]

2 minutes ago, Fuzzbucket said:

 

If you don't check DC on a day there's a release, that is not TJ's fault. I remember when they were completely random. One coped.

 

Yeah I know, I'm just saying even with a subset of people who will bring up this complaint (I don't know how valid that slippery slope complaint is in the first place) I think it's valid to go for longer floods. Speaking as someone who's usually awake for the drops and is almost always egg-locked with new eggs on the first day.

[purplehaze]

1 hour ago, Quinney said:

I did three misclicks yesterday, and was so fed-up that I bit them all, figuring I was having to wait anyway.  All three were repulsed and tossed from my scroll.  I did wonder if 'getting a dead egg' had been turned off.  Can't get one usually, let alone three!

No such luck for me. My Vampires are killers and this was no exception.

[Lagie]

6 hours ago, Hawaiianbabidoll said:

 

These guys were originally inspired by the shingleback skink with a dash more biting power in their butt. Their patterning are snake inspired, as many of you have guessed already.
Their hunting styles depend on their native biome, and can include burrowing, swimming, or climbing depending on the environment.
The forest variant is the only one known to sit in the distinctive tree boa/tree python pose.
The coastal variant can hold its breath longer than any other variant.
The jungle variant strikes faster than any other variant and will follow injured prey for miles.
The desert and volcano variants both like to dig, but the desert version will pull prey down into the ground while the volcanic version will spring up in surprise and surround its target.
The alpine variant will switch between ambush hunting and pursuit hunting depending on how much snow is on the ground. More snow, more active hydra.

Great info! Thank you!

[DragonNeko]

I still haven't snagged a dang Hydra 😭

Oh how I wish the drop lasted longer

[Shokomon]

The Adults are very lovely!

 

I really need to update my breeding thread.

 

Now if I could just get one egg for ALL THE ALTS, DANGIT!

 

They go so fast!

[Darth Krande]

Even people with arthritis and a slow computer can get Halloweens and Xmases at the end of their release day, because those 24 and 72 hour release drops are designed to last long enough for everybody. The question is, should it be the same for a permanent breed? I think it would be fair. 

[Banyanpan]

I really like the False-Headed Hydras! Probably my favorite concept for a dragon in awhile, they're unique without looking like they're trying to be super special. I'm having trouble picking a color I like best, but they all look wonderful, and I particularly like the female pose.

I'm a bit sad I missed the day of the release, since it seems they became difficult to find fast.

[StormBirdRising]

The new dragons are fabulous.  Thank you @Hawaiianbabidoll and @Mewtie for the most beautiful dragons.  😍💖 

[ACDragonMaster]

1 hour ago, Darth Krande said:

Even people with arthritis and a slow computer can get Halloweens and Xmases at the end of their release day, because those 24 and 72 hour release drops are designed to last long enough for everybody. The question is, should it be the same for a permanent breed? I think it would be fair. 

It should be noted that on the non-Halloween releases, people are limited in two only grabbing 2, which also helps in those specific instances.

 

But I think the problem here isn't necessarily just how quickly the breed became a rare drop, but how many different eggs there are to collect.  Making a breed with so many variants rare is basically just begging  the 'power users' to hoard and would make it extremely difficult for a casual to get CBs, even players who only want, say, a single matched pair of each breed.  Having multiple variants is kind of neat but also kind of overused, and it already wore out its welcome after the second generation of xenowyrms debuted...

[boscodelta]

41 minutes ago, ACDragonMaster said:

But I think the problem here isn't necessarily just how quickly the breed became a rare drop, but how many different eggs there are to collect.  Making a breed with so many variants rare is basically just begging  the 'power users' to hoard and would make it extremely difficult for a casual to get CBs, even players who only want, say, a single matched pair of each breed.  Having multiple variants is kind of neat but also kind of overused, and it already wore out its welcome after the second generation of xenowyrms debuted...

 

I disagree, I love all the variants. Even if this is an unpopular opinion, if I had it my way I'd encourage variants of every breed. I'm glad TJ lets us all play this for free and that artists put so much time into giving us more variety.

 

Just my opinion again here but I think that if a game doesn't explore all of its options and push boundaries, it's doomed to fail. I'm thankful they go so out of their way to give us all of these fantastic colours.

[HeatherMarie]

39 minutes ago, ACDragonMaster said:

But I think the problem here isn't necessarily just how quickly the breed became a rare drop, but how many different eggs there are to collect. 

 

I always say it, usually when a new release is an issue for many people it's not *just* any one thing, it's multiple things combined. The new releases becoming abruptly hard to get when the flood stopped, that was an issue. Another issue is how many variants the hydra has, which just in general makes it harder and take longer to collect them all. Yet another issue is the pygmy that highly dominated the flood and made it that much harder to get the hydras even when the flood was happening.  This is why I'm a big fan of simpler releases in between the bigger/complicated ones, because all those different issues combine to just make the experience not as fun sometimes. 

 

That said, I'm currently kicking myself because I *finally* saw another hydra in the biomes and dumbly sat there staring at the description for too long before clicking it. Of course I didn't get it. (I'm curious if the drop rates are the same for all the biome variants or if some are more rare than others, I currently have 3 Coasts and only 1 Alpine/Forest/Jungle...)

[Darth Krande]

I think a large number of variants (with 8 egg slots maximum) means that nobody can hoard more of each on the first day - which is welcome, I think. In a case of six variants and two eggs of each, one would need 12 eggslots, so even the greediest can only take less than what'd be default for a Holiday. You can take one of each, plus one more of your favourites each. 

 

The problem is that there weren't enough eggs so that all users could have their own first set. And yes, the gorgeous pygmy getting in the way and being viewed as an obstacle on the day of its release is saaaad. 

Edited July 7, 2022 by Darth Krande

[ciey]

Love this release! Luckily I have 7 slots so I was able to get one set of all the new drags and then the pairs once they hatched. Was kind of shocked seeing the huge clutch of eggs the first day .

The adults are all amazing. I think my favorite Hydra is the Desert one and I love the pygmy's poses and round beak. I also love the female Volcano Hydra's red heart noses .

[Seriva Senkalora]

Between all this arguing why this game is soooo unfair, here is some love for those amazing sprites:

 

❤🧡💛💚💙💜

 

And I love it, to not have everything "served on a silver tablet" (as we germans say). Now I have a reason to hunt again in the caves. 

[Mewtie]

Lightning Pygmies are an aggressive breed, attacking not just prey but also others they don't welcome. Due to their small size, the fact that they hunt inmidst of storms and their immense speed, it is very difficult to spot them. One probably rather wouldn't, too; encounters tend to feel like lightning striking right next to you.
I only made the art for them. The concept and descriptions are by the same person who was also behind the Dragon Request of the Pipio Pygmies.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Mewtie

[Fuzzbucket]

That's beautiful, mewtie. I do love pygmies ! I was delighted to see them.

 

 

12 hours ago, High Lord November said:

 

Yeah I know, I'm just saying even with a subset of people who will bring up this complaint (I don't know how valid that slippery slope complaint is in the first place) I think it's valid to go for longer floods. Speaking as someone who's usually awake for the drops and is almost always egg-locked with new eggs on the first day.

 

TJ has said many times that the slippery slope theory doesn't hold up in practice - not for anything.

Edited July 7, 2022 by Fuzzbucket

[LadyMadonna]

With the help of some lovely and very generous friends, I've got potential pairs of all but the Jungle - need a handsome young man to woo my pretty lady and I'll be content.  Other than the ones that I managed to get myself on the release day when the flood was on, it seems my internet connection/reaction is just that split-second too slow to pick them up from the biomes.  But with pairings (provided that they don't all hate the sight of each other) I should be able to help others with 2nd generations.  

 

And that's what I love about this game and the community that plays it.  There is amazing generosity and desire to help each other.  Of course, there are also dragons, and what's not to like with those 😉?

 

Hawaiianbabydoll and Mewtie, your dragons are beautiful.  Their concepts are great and their descriptions are fascinating and entertaining.

 

As a relative newbie to this wonderful game (back end of March), a massive thank you to TJ and to everyone who makes it the fun and welcoming place that it is.

 

Now, I'm itching for my brood to grow up #drumsfingers

 

 

[D-wing]

I finally catch 2 pair of False-Headed Hydra for me and my brother. I must say it's a hell and I've say over 100 dirty words in the process... They're really cool but I just hope that they are not a new type dragon otherwise it will become another hell.(They're Wyrm right?) About their rarity, I think they should be uncommon to dino like rare, depending on biome, maybe same as xenos. I catch 3 in an hour and got the next one I need an hour later.

 

9 hours ago, boscodelta said:

I disagree, I love all the variants. Even if this is an unpopular opinion, if I had it my way I'd encourage variants of every breed.

 

+1. More variants are cool! I really love the colour/variants swap Lineage, they provide more variety to the game.

 

---------
For me, I just saw a CB gold and never a stat since I've join. Of course never catch one. My gold, ND, stat are come from some Halloween NR and one code trade. For silver I've seen around 3-4 and caught 1-2, I totally forget  my silver was caught by me or they came from a trade or a gift. I don't think I'm good at catching and have a good device, but I'm in a good time zone and my city has a relatively fast network and thanks my brother willing to trade his release day hatchlings to my 2nd round eggs. I think the best possible way is the game can satisfy most people's playing style, so I recommend that add more egg slots, if someone want to collect all NR in release day they can be satisfy, also extend their dropping time to let more people have a change to get them. I know the despair that after tried hard but still got nothing.

 

In the next few days, I might start to catch some hydra for someone who still struggling. You can try to ask an egg but I have some request:

1. I can't promise for anything, you may still get nothing so don't keep expectations.        2. Have Gold/Platinum Trophy      3. less than 2 CB (the biome you ask) hydra, deemed to give up when you exceed the limit        4. asked for yourself, don't trade it.

If you still interested, send me a PM.

Edited July 7, 2022 by D-wing

[random_dragon_collector]

5 hours ago, ACDragonMaster said:

It should be noted that on the non-Halloween releases, people are limited in two only grabbing 2, which also helps in those specific instances.

 

But I think the problem here isn't necessarily just how quickly the breed became a rare drop, but how many different eggs there are to collect.  Making a breed with so many variants rare is basically just begging  the 'power users' to hoard and would make it extremely difficult for a casual to get CBs, even players who only want, say, a single matched pair of each breed.  Having multiple variants is kind of neat but also kind of overused, and it already wore out its welcome after the second generation of xenowyrms debuted...

 

I disagree with this--there's no way to hoard eggs the first day--If someone wanted all 7 breeds, they'd need 1 of each with 1 slot left over.  That's not hoarding.  I do think, though, that a limit on the number of the breeds is wise--perhaps the hydras should have been a drop all on their own--it's the pygmy block that was the problem, not hoarding by anyone.