Summer Mermaids Event feedback

[DeletedUser16929]

i think there is far too much complaining about how horrible Elvenar has become and we all should just stop playing Elvenar and create a game that is fair and fun to play and we could call it Humanar!
do you find this humerus Inno?

 

[Mykan]

Now the event is "mostly" finished I am in a better place to review the event. Most things about the event are the same each major event and the formula mostly works. The random quests was new and while hesitant at first I believe I got a similar if not more event currency then prior events. That was without pushing hard so I am happy enough with the change. It was annoying not being able to plan but I do understand some of the reasons to change this. I do however think some quests need some alternate options as the random luck can really be prohibitive if your unlucky. Some of the 2-day quests and province ones stop a person dead in their tracks before the event is over. Tweak some of the quests but the random aspect works ok.

 

[Deleted User - 312108]

@The Unbeliever I did a very similar suggestion at the beginning of the event after having went through most of beta as well as the start here - https://us.forum.elvenar.com/index.php?threads/event-quest-calibration.20641/

 

[Deleted User - 3932582]

I believe I got a similar if not more event currency then prior events.

I know that I've got way more event currency than in the previous events. In previous evolving buildings events I would get barely enough for a single L10 (hit L10 with Fire Phoenix, only got L9 with Stonehenge). This event I easily got to 2x L10, and then just stopped as I've got everything I wanted from the event. I know that some people managed to get to 6x L10 with some commitment, and I really like the idea that if I really want something, I can push for it. Previously that was simply not possible.

Overall, really like the new format. More challenging to prepare, but more rewarding as well.

 

[DeletedUser20428]

When was it decided Elvenar should not fun for its players? I ask this because we had a Fellowship Adventure, which ate through our resources and pulverized our armies. It was followed almost immediately by the "Mermaid Quest", it further ate our resources and destroyed what was left of our armies. Then, with almost no time to recover, you ran basically the same quest again. I play 3 accounts and all three are basically in ruins. That means no tournament this week and maybe not next week oh and I'm still supposed to discover and win new provinces!

Somewhere along the line you have got to pay attention to the dynamics of your own game. Tasks repeatedly reward you for bigger buildings but your quests cater to those with a lot of little buildings – you're about producing it x times, instead of a total quantity of x.

On top of this you present the spire with two ways to reach the top. You can play the Slot Machine where you throw your resources at five people repeatedly until you figure out what each one wants to reap a dismal reward or you can fight. First fight or two is like most of the normal fights. Then, my survivors of the fight have to fight again against fresh troops; I was not surprised when they lost. Even with your Combat Pentagon there is no way to win when my best are 1 or 2 stars and they fight against 3 stars. I'm not stupid, well maybe a bit slow because I'm still playing.

I'll be honest, I've bought a lot of diamonds, many more than I should have (I'm on a fixed income) but that'll stop when I leave. People play games to have fun. I'm not a PKer, it's why I came here and now Players want to fight other Players? This isn't that game.

Yesterday, my efforts in the latest "Mermaid Quest" slammed to a stop. The task was raise 2 building to level 16 or above (my youngest city's buildings are all at level 10, my oldest at level 23(but they don't count because they are already higher) and both need research to grow so no chance there) or complete a research (I need 50 or more KP to complete it, that won't happen any time soon).

Speaking of KPs, in addition to all the other abuse we've taken, every time you buy a KP, the price goes up. "The Mermaid" quest started your trend for us to spend 15 KP followed by the need to buy 15 KPs. I'm uncertain how often it happens but I've used "coin refills" to get back into functioning range but to no avail, a few tasks later, you do it again. In my biggest city, 1 KP is over 1 million gold coins.

Somewhere along the way you appear to have decided the only way to play this game is to spend money. That in itself isn't too bad but change the way you get it, switch to membership accounts and get steady income. I play two accounts on RuneScape, one cost $9.99 (US$) every month; this account has been a member for 5 years. My main account has been a member for almost 15 years, I play $5.99 (US$) per month for that account. (Note the difference is because the rate is stuck at what the account cost when it joined.) Check out last year's earnings for Blizzard.com and I think you'll agree, I've made my point.

It doesn't have to be this way. The game should be fun instead of stressful!!!! I need calm and relaxing to take my mind off the stress of life but now you've piled the stress of Elvenar on top of all my other stress. For me, there's an easy solution and when I make it, you'll lose!

 

[qaccy]

@Humpin Turtle I just want to ask how a Fellowship Adventure 'pulverized your armies' when there is no troop usage in them. You might have to produce them, but there is absolutely no combat in this part of the game.

Regarding your comments on Summer Mermaids, because the quests are endless, a quest is going to stop you eventually no matter what. You're going to end up with a quest you don't have enough time left to complete. Even something like producing beverages could be your final quest if it shows up for you with 3 minutes remaining in the event, right? In addition, the Queen of the Seas event did not 'start the trend' of events asking you to spend KP followed by asking you to buy it. This is something that's been in events for quite a while, actually, and it does bother me as well. It's obviously done to inflate the quest list but in a way that's blatantly inconvenient. At least if the two tasks were spaced out it wouldn't be as obvious that they purposely ordered it that way to prevent the completion of one task feeding into another one. In any case, it's understandable that KP gets more expensive with each one purchased. It shouldn't be too hard to imagine what would happen to the game if it didn't and players were still able to produce millions of coins per day.

Finally, the game doesn't really have to be stressful if you don't want it to be, even if it seems like it's designed as such. Simply play the way you want to and ignore whatever you don't like. I used to ignore Fellowship Adventures because the feature was a hassle to deal with and it didn't appeal to me because of it. I ignore the scrolls tournament because it's too costly for me compared to the other tournaments. In a nutshell, if something's not fun for me, I won't do it. Games should be about fun, right? However, games like Elvenar have multiple ways to have fun so it's possible to still play them even if there are some aspects I don't like. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, does it?

 

[DeletedUser20951]

I'm not stupid, well maybe a bit slow because I'm still playing.

...Best... comment... EVER, and I admit to feeling very much the same. We really don't ask for a whole lot, this player base, with most requests being quite reasonable, but even after years of watching pleas for a more intuitive, polished design that doesn't break the virtual bank be ignored, I persist in howling into the abyss and- Yeah, I'm an idiot.

 

[DeletedUser20951]

It doesn't have to be all or nothing, does it?

...You don't have an obsessive neurological disorder, do you? Regardless, telling people what bothers them shouldn't bother 'em because it doesn't bother you isn't helpful.

 

[Risen Malchiah]

Personally, I'd like to see tasks related to other goods besides T1, but as I recall the last time an event included those there was a lot of backlash from players who couldn't produce them yet...and since these tasks have never been seen again, I'm guessing that the data Inno actually cares about (in-game metrics) reflected that they're better off pretending only T1 goods exist when it comes to events.

Precisely why quests need to scale to a player's chapter or main hall level. So far it seems limited to the gain goods/coins/supplies quests while the troops quest is based on squad size. If each quest did a chapter, squad size and main hall check before being presented, we could see a TON more variety in the quests.

A chapter 1 player might only have T1 quests, whereas a Constructs player might see quests for all 6 tiers. Players in early chapters might get more upgrade quests while later players might get more invest KP in AWs quests. Even the ubiquitous workshop quests could be scaled. Maybe chapter 1 needs to make less Beverages/Tools/Groceries etc than a player in a later chapter.

1. Weight the amount of event currency by the level of the task itself.
ie: "produce Beverages 7 times" = 10 corals/acorns/whatever, vs. "complete 1 province" = 65 corals/acorns/whatever

I'd be ok with this though opinions might differ on which quests should be valued less. A quest that is easy for one person might be difficult for another due to a variety of reasons. I think proper scaling and more "OR" options for problematic quests is the way to go. If you want to combine this with a system where some quests reward more than others, then it could work, but it starts with making sure a quest is appropriate to the city's progress in the game.

3. Remove. The. *insert copious swearing here*. Vision. Vapor. BS
Why? this is easily the most outright unfair quest type possible... Early game players are basically kicked out of the event altogether, since they will NOT have the stockpiles of both relics (to make CC's), nor the excess inventory to gain spell fragments.

For early chapter players, yes this is a MAJOR problem. And honestly the developers should have seen this. All the more reason why quests should scale. If the game automatically skipped this quest for players who are unable to do them (ie no Magic Academy), it would save countless headaches and support tickets. And then if someone in an early chapter only needed say 2-3 Vapor while me being in Constructs needed 15, I'd be cool with that. Sure, even 15 was sometimes an issue for me but it didn't stop me. Just merely slowed me down a little.

I feel bad that other players were stuck because they had the same level of difficulty as I did. A player in chapter 2 or 5 or Hallings or Constructs should not ALL be playing on the same level of difficulty.

 

[Heymrdiedier]

I feel bad that other players were stuck because they had the same level of difficulty as I did. A player in chapter 2 or 5 or Hallings or Constructs should not ALL be playing on the same level of difficulty.

knowing inno, i predict they will take this feedback and make it so its harder for everyone, while i dont think that was your point

They say they choose the quest deliberatly so that some are hard for end players (think scout province) and some are easy for end players ( vision vapor as you pointed out). While for early chapter players some are hard (think vision vapors), while others are easy for early chapters (think scout province).

Personally i think this whole game is still a lot easier in every aspect in the lower chapters, then it is at the higher chapters.
My personal experience tells me that stopping on research while you are still low player and then just doing events, spire, tournament, is also a lot more fun then being endtech....

 

[Deleted User - 3932582]

So there is a limit btw

that's 6th building done

was advised to relog and see if it was a glitch, nope.

Apparently, there is no real end to grand prizes either. They are just... hidden

You are right and you are also wrong. The list of automatically given Grand Prizes does have an end so is finite but if you contact Support, we will manually add any earned Grand Prizes at the end of the Event so the Grand Prizes are infinite!

 

[Deborah M]

This event was OK I guess except for the frustration of not being able to plan ahead. I did not feel like I was really participating and just did whatever when it came up and collected coral without buying the +1 building. I only really wanted the crab from the daily prizes and, of course, wishing wells. I did fine on both. Because of the gamble of not knowing what was coming in the quests, I spent $0.00 where I usually spend on events. I am just not big on gambling! AND, I just realized that I had enough artifacts to evolve the fish tank thing up to 10 Still lukewarm on this event but pleasantly surprised

 

[DeletedUser23108]

Hi @Attalissa, if you go onto elvengems.com they have a list of the current event quests. https://elvengems.com/mermaids/quests/
The quests repeat through a loop about twice at each currency level. You can choose to completely ignore the event. Looking you up, it looks like you are marble boosted, so you may want to participate a little as the evolving building is a marble boosted building. Some of the buildings that you may be able to acquire are also helpful. I do feel you on the 1-day builds. It helps if you have a little extra space (and with elven marble that is a bit easier than some other boosted) and can dedicate 4 factories to just producing the 1-day production and later the 2-day production.

I am also in chapter 6 so maybe my quest lists will be somewhat helpful or you may have already passed where I am at. Do as much of the event as you want or do not want to do. Take a look at elvengems at the daily prizes and see if anything interests you or would be helpful for your city in terms of culture/pop or like the trading outpost in providing portal profits.
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Thank you for a helpful response @Lyleth, but the evolving prize isn't as good for me as the cornucopia buildings set for the marble boost, and I get more helpful items from that set. The only thing worth going for in my opinion would be the big chests with the PP.

 

[Black watch]

Well, overall, haven't been thrilled with this event. On the fence with the prizes. The random quests really effected my city because I only had so much space to use for extra workshops/T-1 buildings and I work, so I cram in whatever time I can. The chests are as stingy as ever. These last few events have taken that "spinning drum of pain" into new realms of "why bother" for me.
Before, I worked the event, gained what I was supposed to earn the prize, then the chests started spinning and what I worked for, became a crap shoot. The prizes fell fewer and I had to work harder to get the nice prizes.
My carnival set is my greatest triumph and my wife was probably thinking of divorcing me. Fire bird was next and I barely managed to get it to ten.
Since then, people have said the odds shifted again. I see the prizes falling at an even more stingy rate. It makes me think I'm the most unlucky person on the earth. thousands of coral or whatever to make the chests spin and by far what I get the most is coins and some time boosts. Now I love the time boosts, but when you want to upgrade some buildings, it would be nice to get them... after 2000+ coral is spent on the chests and I didn't get even one of a building I wanted, well I threw up my hands and blurted out WTF?
What I can't figure out, is why... if you work for something and "planing, clicking and harvesting" are your life for a couple weeks, then you should be rewarded.
Why change the rate of drop even more for prizes that are not getting better.
Folks can debate that all they want.
For me, I looking at my Mermaid Paradise and regretting it more and more. I can make so much more trading for the goods than it can make. It's like a big ass glorified Traveling Merchant 1.
So my main complaint, (yeah, I know, bitching again...) is the chests... the whole casino thing is annoying to me. I don't go to casinos, because I want to be entertained and not fleeced.
After that, the random quests are just too hard on people that can't devote a ton of time to the game. One or two days where work or something unexpected comes up and your screwed.
Third thing would have to be what's been a hot spot of debate, the quests themselves... the variety of them that are the troublesome ones are too numerous to list and most would probably be fixed with a bloody "OR".
Fourth: my heart went out to folks affected by chapter situations. For heavens sake... how did THAT get past INNO and hit the "Streets"? To have to take the time to call attention to a problem and then wait for a fix seems silly to me. It should never have happened. For a company trying to make money, they have to spend money paying people to answer problems and fix them.
Fifth: never mind... INNO's management isn't going do anything and this will only wind up added the the already huge list of issues the players have.
I will say this... The folks working for INNO in dealing with those problems that never should have made it into the game have been great. As usual, the folks slogging it out in the trenches make things better (and the management above them will probably take the credit).
I understand another event is just around the corner... I'm not sure I'll participate... the prizes will have to be like the Fire Bird for me to want to jump on board and if it's another very nice 4x4 building, the Mermaid Paradise will be sold immediately to make space for it. Cute or not, its going.......

 

[rvtdragon1]

I may not have read all entries on this thread so if this has been mentioned prior I apologize.
Let me preface by saying I am in no way defending INNO/Elvenar for the many player battering (a polite way of saying what we are all really thinking and cannot write here) decisions that have come our way in the past several months. I have voiced my opinion on some of these things elsewhere and many many many players have listed the issues in coherent, incoherent, angry, logical, intelligent, incomprehensible ways on the hundreds of pages of feedback in other threads.

But, has INNO/Elvenar ever actually provided us with lists of quests, FA info, new event details in any previous event? I have been playing for at least 2 1/2 years and do not think it was actually them who ever told us what was coming.

All of our previous info on FA set up, event quest lists, events, mini events, challenges, "etcetera, etcetera, etcetera" all came to us in Live worlds from other players or nonINNO websites. The info is released in Beta, these players and others gather the info and provide it to us. AND WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. I think INNO has always wanted these "events" to be played - surprise - as it comes to us. The ability to plan ahead, prepare, have 5000 2 day productions ready, is because of the people who have done the work and provided that info to us. I think INNO has finally found a way (sort of) to do what was originally intended with their product and work around the advantages we have all been lucky enough to get. If someone had not done so would we know that the next FA is going to be set up 2 (13 badges)? (Which, of course, could change and maybe we will not get that setup. Maybe, maybe not.)

Maybe INNO is reading, taking what we are saying and moving forward with fixes, corrections, last minute changes to planned events and prizes. (Don't say it. I just read that back. I know. OK.)

(Don't hurt me.)

 

[DeletedUser20951]

I think INNO has always wanted these "events" to be played - surprise - as it comes to us.

I have been of this mind all along, and complained numerous times about the necessity of a quest list (which is from, technically, a third party) in order to have much success in the events, something that strikes me as extremely unfair. It was obvious to me how the quest requirements were gradually escalating out of control in an attempt to stop players from finishing on the opening day, but that was resulting in collateral damage to those who don't visit outside sites for advanced knowledge. Really wish Inno didn't botch the current quest demands so horrifically, as I do firmly believe that the randomish route of the new system is about the only way to make a go of delivering a more equitable experience for everybody.

(Don't hurt me.)

Wasn't expecting this tagline, but it resulted in surprised, delighted laughter.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

But, has INNO/Elvenar ever actually provided us with lists of quests, FA info, new event details in any previous event? I have been playing for at least 2 1/2 years and do not think it was actually them who ever told us what was coming.

No, Inno never releases any advance details for any event. That has always been done by the Beta players. And they are allowed by Inno to do that because it is an open Beta and not a closed Beta. And non-Beta players can also go and read the Beta forums. The only restrictions they seem to enforce is the forum mods will delete any threads talking about Beta events before the events start on the Live servers. That is why we have the Beta discussion thread.

 

[rvtdragon1]

Wasn't expecting this tagline, but it resulted in surprised, delighted laughter.

This is not my first rodeo here on the Forum.

I do not in any way disagree with what has been said about the quest list. I agree it needs to be more varied, less repetitive and fairer to ALL players. I have no idea how to make that happen, many suggestions have been made, but that is not really our job is it.

That is why we have the Beta discussion thread.

And I, for one, am always grateful for having that Beta thread. I have certainly used it many times myself. But (and this is not a criticism of you) they allow us to see the info. They do not provide it.

 

[DeletedUser20951]

but that is not really our job is it

I think I've witched about that before more than once, "not our jobs, people", but if Inno would simply take feedback seriously (or even into consideration, as the trend seems to be), their jobs would be much, much easier without all this... *waves hand around vaguely* pinning the awful ideas on half-baked, blind stabs in the dark. It's... such a simple game. I don't even fully understand how they manage to screw it up, unless another of my hypotheses is true, that they just want to try out different models of their already established and popular features with us as the lab mice.

 

[DeletedUser2959]

I wonder what events would look like if players had never developed the strategy of building dozens of level 1 buildings in order to get through them more quickly.

Once you get to sentients you need low level buildings to make 1 and 2 day builds.