Moho
Chef
I use Magical Manufacturing enchantments throughout the event and it seems that other players do the same...
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Your Elvenar Team
Feedback Fellowship Adventures - 2023
- Thread starter 66nblakley
- Start date
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- discussion
BrinDarby
Well-Known Member
Solution, have 1 token CH3 player.
My (2) Ch 3 cities make 30++ per day.
( yes I have Pilgrims Manor there )
Katwick
Cartographer
Only Mages+ can pull the flag, so designate a couple of flag-pullers while you're waiting for stragglers, and temporarily down rank everybody else.
Enevhar Aldarion
Oh Wise One
Wrong. Ambassadors can also collect the flag.
Laochra
Well-Known Member
We've had a couple of instances where a non-reading eager beaver grabbed the flag without warning. The policy I have now is that the offender loses their rank & it is given to the next eligible member. This way, we keep an otherwise good member, but they learn that they have to communicate with everyone before taking the flag. Those that have earned their position back later on have not been repeat offenders. The only stage that we've had someone miss the reward was in Stage 1, only because it seems to have fewer badges, but we all try to check to see if everyone got in a badge somewhere. I personally have missed the Stage 1 badge frequently, but since the prizes suck, I don't even care if I miss the Stage 1s anymore-as long as my FS mates get one.
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wen724
Member
I feel your pain. I'm AM for one and have been struggling with this during every FA. I have in the past busted everyone down to fellow to prevent early flag pulling, but that doesn't solve the problem of some of them placing badges all over the place when we have a path we are focusing on. We never have enough participation to go for points, so the goal is simply to complete one path on each level and get the prizes.
I have explained over and over that they should only place a badge on a different path if they are not going to be able to place one on the chosen path, and then to only place one. Every time, there are at least 2 or 3 placing multiple badges on other paths, sometimes the hard to make ones. That's really frustrating. I put out messages about not doing this because we might need those badly on level 3.
I'm about ready to sit the next one out.
Huor
Guest
The best thing about the fa is, that when it's over you can tell your friends that you know what "it's like herding cats" is really like. lol
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defiantoneks
Well-Known Member
if you're otherwise very happy in your FS, i would make every effort to make sure they KNOW what they did bothers you and how you feel. Do not let it fester. Make sure you're clear. You will find out who cares, who made honest mistakes, and who could give a rat's knackers. If the majority is the latter, then maybe it's time to move on regardless of how happy you may have been.
Deleted User - 281932
Guest
Does anyone know if the Pit consists of all the badges and not just the first 9 like before?
Enevhar Aldarion
Oh Wise One
It has been all the badges for years now. You need all 16.
Deleted User - 281932
Guest
Thank you! Because it has been a long time since I’ve been in the Pit. We stopped trying to place in the top long ago. Have a great day!
Lelanya
Scroll-Keeper, Keys to the Gems
You know. If folks are playing on 3 realms, and the plan is Blue all the way in 2 of them but Green in the 3rd, chances are pretty good that the player in question is just going to fill Blue in all of them. It's best to stick with the same strategy in all the realms, it's less confusing.
Folks please remember to be kind to one another. This event comes with lots of stress, and seeing as we're past 4.5 days (and it should be over but isn't) ... grrr ...let it go.
Folks please remember to be kind to one another. This event comes with lots of stress, and seeing as we're past 4.5 days (and it should be over but isn't) ... grrr ...let it go.
Darielle
Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
Truer words were never spoken.
MagicPagan
Well-Known Member
Does anyone have the badge requirements for the pit rotation?
MagicPagan
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
Dominionofgod
Thinker of Ideas
(broken into two replies since the message was to long...)
we still have 2days left, but its not looking good.. Im hoping these badge adjustments and redistribution are just step 1 in a phase of redoing the the fa's some. If its just step 1 then i can understand it. If its the final adjustment... oh boy..
Iv ran every fa in my fs for the last.. iv long since lost count amount of years. Back when we had those two quest windows and had to cycle through all 10 badges to collect each individual badge... so.. a while.. (surprisingly, not one other person has ever want to run it... what a shock -_- )
And i can say with absolute certainty that this is the lowest amount of interest and participation i have ever seen in my fs. And we once hit #8 on the server rankings for fa points. Now, ppl barley care at all.. And thats not a good sign.
I do like the badge adjustment that map map 1 very little amount of badges, map 2 a medium amount, and map 3 the most. (The actual amount is another issue). But that premise is a good one.
The only one downside of that is on map 1. The badge numbers are low enough that it would be easy for an active fs, or active player, to finish that map before everyone had a chance to add a badge for credit. - Unless you can think of a better way, id suggest making one single waypoint at the end (for example, the last waypoint of yellow only) take maybe 25 brewers, or what ever number works. Just a single waypoint to allow ppl that maybe got on later a chance to add a badge and get credit.
As for the actual amount of badges needed... this is where im wondering a lot; and a major part of my first comment about is this step 1 or the final. Because its no surprise that ppl have complained about the reward/effort and point/badge ratio for... ever. The badge to point raito was already really bad. It was more beneficial for fs's after points to skip many waypoints on map 3 and go to the pit. (Which shows a bad design if the pit is better value then the main map.) So during the adjustments... inno increases the badge requirements even more? Thats kind of an asinine response. - "To many badges needed for the points given?! Fine. Well raise the badges even higher! "... wtf?
If this is the final step then it is a failure in this area. IF it is the first step (or just A step), and a points reballancing is up next for the increased badges... then it would be better. (tho it should have been done at the same time.)
But you shouldnt have waypoints on map 3 that take 150-200 badges each and gives 300 points, and then a pit round of 10-15 badges for 50 points (80 badges = 300 points). There is jsut no point in doing that waypoint then. And the pit is more rounded out since it takes all 16 badges. Where as the waypoint might ask for 70 coins, or 90 ghosts all at once. - So the points per waypoint/ points per badge need serious re-balancing to make sense, and to be more fair.
Then there is of course the final issue. Over all reward vs effort. Iv never heard anyone mention that the current reward/effort ratio is perfectly fine. And this is the internet... you know how impossible it is to get a group to agree on something?! If the vast majority to all of your players feel this is bad... then thats an issue.
However... I do understand not wanting to give out mass rewards that unbalance everything. Kinda like how the fire phoenix was and is the best evolving building ever. (All Hail the fire phoenix!). But despite a million buildings since then, none have come close to matching its awesomeness. And i get it. Cant have something THAT awesome coming out all the time.
So you need some lesser ways to give better rewards. And on the other side of that, reduce the effort side of the equation. Doing both would help balance that out better then just working on one side. (And i do acknowledge the massive UI improvements that have been made in the FA. I will get to that shortly.)
So up first; better rewards that dont get to outrageous. Now everyone will have a different idea on this. Everyone values different rewards more then others. There probably isnt a one solution fits all method here. But you do have three maps to work with. So thats three separate patches of rewards to work with. You could even add a bonus 4th reward set for those that finish all waypoints/crossroads on all three maps. That along with point re-balancing would increase the desire to actually do all the waypoints. - I wont go to deep into what i think rewards should be because as i said, everyone will see that differently. And the rewards in my mind would be tied into the idea of all the other suggestions being implemented. So some basic first thoughts... petfoods are always nice. Maybe a round of the 6 military expirable buildings. The artifacts are nice for sure. (But you need to stop with the events being 100% completed and ppl still not getting 9 artifacts crap. FA artifacts should be extra for the top teir player, and a back up for those unable to finish the full quest line. It should ot be completing 100% quest and only getting 7-8 and then FA to get the rest.)
On the other side of that equation is the effort portion. And to be clear, when i suggest reducing effort, im not talking about 'easy mode'. Im talking about UI and system adjustments that make thing less tedious or wasteful to do. For example, the UI adjustment that changed the 'two quest window' of old to the current one where all 16 badges are active at once. Adjustments like allowing us to collect everything at once and then collect badges instead of the old version of collecting a single badge worth and collecting that badge, and then collecting a 2nd badge worth and then collecting that badge, etc etc, and if you collected over the amount you needed or an extra production, you lost it. Adjustments like the ability to 'start all' for workshops and factories. Adjustments like these have made a HUGE difference to the FA and in part, the game as a whole.
So this is one area, inno has put a good bit of work into, and i give them a lot of credit there. Enough work that options are limited for improvment. We can now start things easily. collect them all at once, collect badges all at once with no loss. So there are only a few options left. - Two of those options, go together. But im not sure if it can actually be done; programing wise. Those of us that put the msot into FAs have to go through the tedious task of building tons of t1 factories and workshops. (In my case, tons of t1s to make statues/necklaces, then switching over to ws's.) It is highly tediouse and quite time consuming making 50-100-150-200 t1 factories one by one by one and waiting for them to finish to make the next one. Then selling them off one by one by one. Just i can build new ws's.. one by one by one... A crap ton of clicking. Hand starts hurting by the end of it level of clicking. - A way to do that on mass would be nice. But im not sure if that can be programmed; which leaves options limited on that one. Maybe reduce the construction time of level 1 workshops and factories. (Lvl 1 only). Its annoying setting 5 t1's to build and waiting for them to finish so you can set the next 5. Especially if you have hundreds to do. That time adds up. So reducing the contrustion time might not be the best option, but i think the easiest to implement.
Or maybe something more... both extreme and basic at the same time. Like adding a tech in the tech tree around the end of chapter 5 that makes level 1 factories and workshops (level 1 only) not require a builder to make. So we could jsut set them all to build at once. Again, level 1 only! Lvl 2 and up would be back to needing a builder!
Im not sure how selling them all on mass would work without some kind of 'sell all' button. But ppl could get in trouble with that. So if we are thinking that route, then i would say limit that option to level 1 factories and workshops ONLY. You dont want some mistake where someone accidentally sold all there level up residences or something like that. - It could be a little bit of an issue with the t1 factories since a lot of ppl will use those in the small dead spaces around the city. But honestly, even with a 'sell all'.. id rather build 5-10-20 new t1s then sit there selling 10--150-200 of them off one by one by one. And building back the t1s will be easy and fast if the building suggestions are implemented.
we still have 2days left, but its not looking good.. Im hoping these badge adjustments and redistribution are just step 1 in a phase of redoing the the fa's some. If its just step 1 then i can understand it. If its the final adjustment... oh boy..
Iv ran every fa in my fs for the last.. iv long since lost count amount of years. Back when we had those two quest windows and had to cycle through all 10 badges to collect each individual badge... so.. a while.. (surprisingly, not one other person has ever want to run it... what a shock -_- )
And i can say with absolute certainty that this is the lowest amount of interest and participation i have ever seen in my fs. And we once hit #8 on the server rankings for fa points. Now, ppl barley care at all.. And thats not a good sign.
I do like the badge adjustment that map map 1 very little amount of badges, map 2 a medium amount, and map 3 the most. (The actual amount is another issue). But that premise is a good one.
The only one downside of that is on map 1. The badge numbers are low enough that it would be easy for an active fs, or active player, to finish that map before everyone had a chance to add a badge for credit. - Unless you can think of a better way, id suggest making one single waypoint at the end (for example, the last waypoint of yellow only) take maybe 25 brewers, or what ever number works. Just a single waypoint to allow ppl that maybe got on later a chance to add a badge and get credit.
As for the actual amount of badges needed... this is where im wondering a lot; and a major part of my first comment about is this step 1 or the final. Because its no surprise that ppl have complained about the reward/effort and point/badge ratio for... ever. The badge to point raito was already really bad. It was more beneficial for fs's after points to skip many waypoints on map 3 and go to the pit. (Which shows a bad design if the pit is better value then the main map.) So during the adjustments... inno increases the badge requirements even more? Thats kind of an asinine response. - "To many badges needed for the points given?! Fine. Well raise the badges even higher! "... wtf?
If this is the final step then it is a failure in this area. IF it is the first step (or just A step), and a points reballancing is up next for the increased badges... then it would be better. (tho it should have been done at the same time.)
But you shouldnt have waypoints on map 3 that take 150-200 badges each and gives 300 points, and then a pit round of 10-15 badges for 50 points (80 badges = 300 points). There is jsut no point in doing that waypoint then. And the pit is more rounded out since it takes all 16 badges. Where as the waypoint might ask for 70 coins, or 90 ghosts all at once. - So the points per waypoint/ points per badge need serious re-balancing to make sense, and to be more fair.
Then there is of course the final issue. Over all reward vs effort. Iv never heard anyone mention that the current reward/effort ratio is perfectly fine. And this is the internet... you know how impossible it is to get a group to agree on something?! If the vast majority to all of your players feel this is bad... then thats an issue.
However... I do understand not wanting to give out mass rewards that unbalance everything. Kinda like how the fire phoenix was and is the best evolving building ever. (All Hail the fire phoenix!). But despite a million buildings since then, none have come close to matching its awesomeness. And i get it. Cant have something THAT awesome coming out all the time.
So you need some lesser ways to give better rewards. And on the other side of that, reduce the effort side of the equation. Doing both would help balance that out better then just working on one side. (And i do acknowledge the massive UI improvements that have been made in the FA. I will get to that shortly.)
So up first; better rewards that dont get to outrageous. Now everyone will have a different idea on this. Everyone values different rewards more then others. There probably isnt a one solution fits all method here. But you do have three maps to work with. So thats three separate patches of rewards to work with. You could even add a bonus 4th reward set for those that finish all waypoints/crossroads on all three maps. That along with point re-balancing would increase the desire to actually do all the waypoints. - I wont go to deep into what i think rewards should be because as i said, everyone will see that differently. And the rewards in my mind would be tied into the idea of all the other suggestions being implemented. So some basic first thoughts... petfoods are always nice. Maybe a round of the 6 military expirable buildings. The artifacts are nice for sure. (But you need to stop with the events being 100% completed and ppl still not getting 9 artifacts crap. FA artifacts should be extra for the top teir player, and a back up for those unable to finish the full quest line. It should ot be completing 100% quest and only getting 7-8 and then FA to get the rest.)
On the other side of that equation is the effort portion. And to be clear, when i suggest reducing effort, im not talking about 'easy mode'. Im talking about UI and system adjustments that make thing less tedious or wasteful to do. For example, the UI adjustment that changed the 'two quest window' of old to the current one where all 16 badges are active at once. Adjustments like allowing us to collect everything at once and then collect badges instead of the old version of collecting a single badge worth and collecting that badge, and then collecting a 2nd badge worth and then collecting that badge, etc etc, and if you collected over the amount you needed or an extra production, you lost it. Adjustments like the ability to 'start all' for workshops and factories. Adjustments like these have made a HUGE difference to the FA and in part, the game as a whole.
So this is one area, inno has put a good bit of work into, and i give them a lot of credit there. Enough work that options are limited for improvment. We can now start things easily. collect them all at once, collect badges all at once with no loss. So there are only a few options left. - Two of those options, go together. But im not sure if it can actually be done; programing wise. Those of us that put the msot into FAs have to go through the tedious task of building tons of t1 factories and workshops. (In my case, tons of t1s to make statues/necklaces, then switching over to ws's.) It is highly tediouse and quite time consuming making 50-100-150-200 t1 factories one by one by one and waiting for them to finish to make the next one. Then selling them off one by one by one. Just i can build new ws's.. one by one by one... A crap ton of clicking. Hand starts hurting by the end of it level of clicking. - A way to do that on mass would be nice. But im not sure if that can be programmed; which leaves options limited on that one. Maybe reduce the construction time of level 1 workshops and factories. (Lvl 1 only). Its annoying setting 5 t1's to build and waiting for them to finish so you can set the next 5. Especially if you have hundreds to do. That time adds up. So reducing the contrustion time might not be the best option, but i think the easiest to implement.
Or maybe something more... both extreme and basic at the same time. Like adding a tech in the tech tree around the end of chapter 5 that makes level 1 factories and workshops (level 1 only) not require a builder to make. So we could jsut set them all to build at once. Again, level 1 only! Lvl 2 and up would be back to needing a builder!
Im not sure how selling them all on mass would work without some kind of 'sell all' button. But ppl could get in trouble with that. So if we are thinking that route, then i would say limit that option to level 1 factories and workshops ONLY. You dont want some mistake where someone accidentally sold all there level up residences or something like that. - It could be a little bit of an issue with the t1 factories since a lot of ppl will use those in the small dead spaces around the city. But honestly, even with a 'sell all'.. id rather build 5-10-20 new t1s then sit there selling 10--150-200 of them off one by one by one. And building back the t1s will be easy and fast if the building suggestions are implemented.
Dominionofgod
Thinker of Ideas
(post continued...)
So.. with those suggestions in place and the ones inno already made.. we now would have an more efficient way to build and prepare for the fa. We have an easier way to start all productions, an easier way to collect all productions, and an easier way to collect all badges. This would leave the last two steps (depending on how your fs operates). 1. Reporting badges. So the fs knows what it has made and what still needs to be made. And 2. The using of the badges themselves. - Both of these are a bit tied together.
Right now this game has no way internally to keep track of badges made. And since this last fa, with its increases badge requirements, has a total of 4,008 badges needed for to complete all waypoints/crossroads on the main 3 maps. Not counting anything in the pit.) So keeping things straight is often needed. Many fs's have some form of spreadsheet trying to keep track of everything. Each fs's may have there own style for how theirs works., but many use them. Other fs's simply dont want to deal with the stress of it anymore and say screw it. And just let everyone make things on there own. Much less efficient in most cases, but a whooooole lot easier. - And as someone thats 'kept the count' in our fs for more years then i can remember... I can testify that the desire to say screw it and not bother with recording all that is soooooooooooooo tempting. I cant express adaqutly how tempting it is. Its a lot of time, effort, and numbers. I basically have a part time job as an accountant; running numbers and sheets; trying to keep the books in order.
So i would love to have some kind of internal method that would keep track of this. Im refraining from listing possible ideas on this one, because my main idea for it is tied in with the second part of this, the collecting and spending of the badges.
I left the collecting and spending of badges for last. I did that because this is the one that will get the most push back from players. Ill try to keep it shorter (shocking, and probably pointless, statement at this point..). But i could do a whole thread on this one alone. And i have. Thats why i know about the internet push back on it. Tho iv talked to and seen waaaay more ppl that support the idea. They just dont post on these forums regularly. So it seems much more one sided.
And that idea is the controversial 'Fs badge pool'. The idea makes perfect sense to me from a design standpoint and a practical standpoint. It would also take care of that 'reporting' issue i just mentioned. (if it were implemented in the way i envision it.)
From a practical standpoint: The Fa is supposed to be this big group activity. We make plans for it as a fs. We organize as a fs. The rewards are distributed as a fs (for those that participate). But the badge collecting/spending is done as individuals. Thats a cog in the logic machine for a group activity. And i think it should be made more group based like everything else is.
Having all the badges we make go into a 'fs badge pool' helps and solves several issues all at once. The fs badge pool would have an active count of all the badges the fs has. And you could even add a counter next to it for all that badge made during the event. For example: Brewery Badge 140/350. Great! I now know in an instant that my fs has 140 brewers badges on hand, ready to use. And that we have made a total of 350 of them. So i look at how many we need in total, minus total we made and see if we need more of that or not. Not only is that single action a lot more simple.. but that just eliminated the vast majority of the badge reporting and counting that so many fs's do. We no longer need to keep track of every badge made by every player in the fs's. The fs badge pool would do that for us! All that benefit right there is enough to make me want this system.
But wait!!! Theirs more!! Call right now and you'll receive a FA system that the fs's will all be able to progress further in!! Well even cover the shipping!! I know! Your wondering 'how is this deal even possible!!?' 0.0
Its a well known fact how many ppl do not participate in FA's. Its also a well known fact that many players stop making badges/stop participating in the last day or two of an FA. Many ppl have things called.. lives.. and are often not able to get on the last day or so of an FA to use any badges they made. Not only is it a waste of any badges they have, but it also means zero incentive to make more. Whats the point of making them if you know you wont even be able to log on to use them? And its a valid point. Other ppl might have a busy week, or busy life, or jsut not cage much.. and arnt able to get on when the badges they made are needed. So they go to waste anyway. So why bother making them at all? - There is a surprising number of valid reasons iv heard over the year for why ppl do not make badges or do not participate much/at all. And most of the time.. they have a point.
A 'fs badge pool' would allow all badges from all players to have a legit chance to be used. Not only used eventually.. but used right when they are needed. No having to wait a day for a person to log on to spend the badges. - A real life(ish?) example; i dedicate my two cities to filling every space with as many t1's as i can. I try to cover all the 48h statues at once, that way we dont have to worry about them later. No worrying about them, no having to organize 20 ppl on them. I got it! Its quite efficient. .. Downside... if im personally not logged on when they are needed, the whole fa progress comes to a a halt. The whole fs has to wait for me to get on to use my statue badges. Its a massive waste of time. And personally, i made these badges to help my group succeed in the group event. Now im the one holding them up. If they could take my badges and spend them when needed, thus helping the group, id be all for it. - A 'fs badge pool' helps solve this issue. Badges we make have a legit chance of being used, and being used when the are needed. And since players know they have an increased chance of being used, that increases the desire to participate and make badges, both all around, and on that last day or two. They can collect there badges, it goes to the fa badge pool, then they can go to work or family or wherever, knowing there badges can likely make a big difference. - Increased participation means increased badges made, means increase fa progress. Whether its a small group that decides to do an extra path, or a big group that wants to try for a full run of all waypoints, up to the top fs's competing for points. It increases participation and progress all around.
So the 'fs badge pool' solves the majority of the badge reporting/keeping count issue and would increase player participation in the FA. It sounds like an all around win to me.
(Now we can debate the specific details of how to implement the system. Such as would it be an automatic system of badges collected going right to the pool, or could players keep there own inventory if they wished AND have an option to send them to the pool; so everyone's happy. Questions like who would be the ones to spend the badges in the pool. And other such details. And those can be worked out. This part of the post is mainly for illustrating how useful that system could be.
I know ppl have a hard time accepting change, no matter how much they ask for it. We see it all the time here. Complaining about wanting more chapters then whining about the new chapter. Wanting more combat/cater then just tourney and then whining about spire. Demanding new features, then whining about the caldron the moment it comes out. etc etc etc.. - And i do highly acknowledge the difference between ppl whining and ppl offering legit constructive criticizem. I always try to keep mine on the side of constructive criticizem. The logical and mathematical side of my brain has always enjoyed the FA. But has fully acknowledges its flaws. - So i want to see the FA succeed. I want to see it get better. I want to see it get to a point where ppl actually want to participate. I want to get to a day where when the FA is announced its no longer a collective sigh of disappointment. I want to get to a day where we are actually happy about the FA coming. Or at the very least, not utterly upset that there is another one coming. - I want to see FA's get better and so i offer my constructive critizem in hopes that it will help the programmers make the FA better. Which is why i make suggestions from each point of the event, from preparation, to making badges, to collecting badges, to spending badges, to UI improvements, to new features, to balancing badges and points... and anything else i can think of. - I honestly wish those programmers could read this report personally. (Because at this point its basically a book report... so scratch that earlier idea of 'ill try to keep it short'... i should have known better). I honestly believe that most of these suggestions, if implemented in some way or variation, would be a massive improvement to the FA as a whole.
Now! I meant to take a 10 min break and then go clean cages in my chinchilla room... clearly the 10 min part went awry. But now its time to go back! - Back where doc? - Back.. to the chinchillas!!!
So.. with those suggestions in place and the ones inno already made.. we now would have an more efficient way to build and prepare for the fa. We have an easier way to start all productions, an easier way to collect all productions, and an easier way to collect all badges. This would leave the last two steps (depending on how your fs operates). 1. Reporting badges. So the fs knows what it has made and what still needs to be made. And 2. The using of the badges themselves. - Both of these are a bit tied together.
Right now this game has no way internally to keep track of badges made. And since this last fa, with its increases badge requirements, has a total of 4,008 badges needed for to complete all waypoints/crossroads on the main 3 maps. Not counting anything in the pit.) So keeping things straight is often needed. Many fs's have some form of spreadsheet trying to keep track of everything. Each fs's may have there own style for how theirs works., but many use them. Other fs's simply dont want to deal with the stress of it anymore and say screw it. And just let everyone make things on there own. Much less efficient in most cases, but a whooooole lot easier. - And as someone thats 'kept the count' in our fs for more years then i can remember... I can testify that the desire to say screw it and not bother with recording all that is soooooooooooooo tempting. I cant express adaqutly how tempting it is. Its a lot of time, effort, and numbers. I basically have a part time job as an accountant; running numbers and sheets; trying to keep the books in order.
So i would love to have some kind of internal method that would keep track of this. Im refraining from listing possible ideas on this one, because my main idea for it is tied in with the second part of this, the collecting and spending of the badges.
I left the collecting and spending of badges for last. I did that because this is the one that will get the most push back from players. Ill try to keep it shorter (shocking, and probably pointless, statement at this point..). But i could do a whole thread on this one alone. And i have. Thats why i know about the internet push back on it. Tho iv talked to and seen waaaay more ppl that support the idea. They just dont post on these forums regularly. So it seems much more one sided.
And that idea is the controversial 'Fs badge pool'. The idea makes perfect sense to me from a design standpoint and a practical standpoint. It would also take care of that 'reporting' issue i just mentioned. (if it were implemented in the way i envision it.)
From a practical standpoint: The Fa is supposed to be this big group activity. We make plans for it as a fs. We organize as a fs. The rewards are distributed as a fs (for those that participate). But the badge collecting/spending is done as individuals. Thats a cog in the logic machine for a group activity. And i think it should be made more group based like everything else is.
Having all the badges we make go into a 'fs badge pool' helps and solves several issues all at once. The fs badge pool would have an active count of all the badges the fs has. And you could even add a counter next to it for all that badge made during the event. For example: Brewery Badge 140/350. Great! I now know in an instant that my fs has 140 brewers badges on hand, ready to use. And that we have made a total of 350 of them. So i look at how many we need in total, minus total we made and see if we need more of that or not. Not only is that single action a lot more simple.. but that just eliminated the vast majority of the badge reporting and counting that so many fs's do. We no longer need to keep track of every badge made by every player in the fs's. The fs badge pool would do that for us! All that benefit right there is enough to make me want this system.
But wait!!! Theirs more!! Call right now and you'll receive a FA system that the fs's will all be able to progress further in!! Well even cover the shipping!! I know! Your wondering 'how is this deal even possible!!?' 0.0
Its a well known fact how many ppl do not participate in FA's. Its also a well known fact that many players stop making badges/stop participating in the last day or two of an FA. Many ppl have things called.. lives.. and are often not able to get on the last day or so of an FA to use any badges they made. Not only is it a waste of any badges they have, but it also means zero incentive to make more. Whats the point of making them if you know you wont even be able to log on to use them? And its a valid point. Other ppl might have a busy week, or busy life, or jsut not cage much.. and arnt able to get on when the badges they made are needed. So they go to waste anyway. So why bother making them at all? - There is a surprising number of valid reasons iv heard over the year for why ppl do not make badges or do not participate much/at all. And most of the time.. they have a point.
A 'fs badge pool' would allow all badges from all players to have a legit chance to be used. Not only used eventually.. but used right when they are needed. No having to wait a day for a person to log on to spend the badges. - A real life(ish?) example; i dedicate my two cities to filling every space with as many t1's as i can. I try to cover all the 48h statues at once, that way we dont have to worry about them later. No worrying about them, no having to organize 20 ppl on them. I got it! Its quite efficient. .. Downside... if im personally not logged on when they are needed, the whole fa progress comes to a a halt. The whole fs has to wait for me to get on to use my statue badges. Its a massive waste of time. And personally, i made these badges to help my group succeed in the group event. Now im the one holding them up. If they could take my badges and spend them when needed, thus helping the group, id be all for it. - A 'fs badge pool' helps solve this issue. Badges we make have a legit chance of being used, and being used when the are needed. And since players know they have an increased chance of being used, that increases the desire to participate and make badges, both all around, and on that last day or two. They can collect there badges, it goes to the fa badge pool, then they can go to work or family or wherever, knowing there badges can likely make a big difference. - Increased participation means increased badges made, means increase fa progress. Whether its a small group that decides to do an extra path, or a big group that wants to try for a full run of all waypoints, up to the top fs's competing for points. It increases participation and progress all around.
So the 'fs badge pool' solves the majority of the badge reporting/keeping count issue and would increase player participation in the FA. It sounds like an all around win to me.
(Now we can debate the specific details of how to implement the system. Such as would it be an automatic system of badges collected going right to the pool, or could players keep there own inventory if they wished AND have an option to send them to the pool; so everyone's happy. Questions like who would be the ones to spend the badges in the pool. And other such details. And those can be worked out. This part of the post is mainly for illustrating how useful that system could be.
I know ppl have a hard time accepting change, no matter how much they ask for it. We see it all the time here. Complaining about wanting more chapters then whining about the new chapter. Wanting more combat/cater then just tourney and then whining about spire. Demanding new features, then whining about the caldron the moment it comes out. etc etc etc.. - And i do highly acknowledge the difference between ppl whining and ppl offering legit constructive criticizem. I always try to keep mine on the side of constructive criticizem. The logical and mathematical side of my brain has always enjoyed the FA. But has fully acknowledges its flaws. - So i want to see the FA succeed. I want to see it get better. I want to see it get to a point where ppl actually want to participate. I want to get to a day where when the FA is announced its no longer a collective sigh of disappointment. I want to get to a day where we are actually happy about the FA coming. Or at the very least, not utterly upset that there is another one coming. - I want to see FA's get better and so i offer my constructive critizem in hopes that it will help the programmers make the FA better. Which is why i make suggestions from each point of the event, from preparation, to making badges, to collecting badges, to spending badges, to UI improvements, to new features, to balancing badges and points... and anything else i can think of. - I honestly wish those programmers could read this report personally. (Because at this point its basically a book report... so scratch that earlier idea of 'ill try to keep it short'... i should have known better). I honestly believe that most of these suggestions, if implemented in some way or variation, would be a massive improvement to the FA as a whole.
Now! I meant to take a 10 min break and then go clean cages in my chinchilla room... clearly the 10 min part went awry. But now its time to go back! - Back where doc? - Back.. to the chinchillas!!!
elvenbee
Well-Known Member
I would consider that bad management. If you have Mages & Ambassadors that you need to temporarily change to a fellow, why are they a Mage or Ambassador anyway? These are supposed to be your support staff, so they should be trustworthy and not get temporarily docked.
I love this policy! Thanks for sharing it!!
Darielle
Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
I would be happy if Inno replaced even 10 percent of the time instant badges I am throwing away just to maintain our 4th place. By the time this ends, I will have almost zero time instants, zero pet food, zero combined catalysts, zero ensorcelments, etc, etc ... you get the picture.