Winter Magic Event Feedback

[DeletedUser2870]

Please remember to maintain a cordial tone towards each other. You may disagree without attacking each other.

Thanks for that. But please remember tempers here can run hot and frankly, especially in this topic (but not only so) that's thanks to your own Dev team that pretty much constantly disregards any and all negative feedback, even when it is delivered in a neutral way, even when it comes from your beta forum.
I for one sure hope that at the very least it will be communicated to them that this was an experiment with horrible results.
And yes, I understand devs are people and don't like criticism on something they spent a lot of time on, but when your event results in 90+% negative feedback that really is something to think about.

All in all
- the shuffle is a disaster the way it is now. Perhaps it would work as an option where, apart from the once per day reset, one can spend 20 ribbons without getting a hammer for it, that would be nice as it gives players a choice AND a reasonable chance of actually winning the daily prize.
- players often (want to) go for a specific daily prize and get that multiple times. With the reshuffle option the chances of getting that prize has been significantly lowered, again leaving players with less strategy and choice.
- the random number of bricks/hammer is frustrating. At least with the chests one could choose about the progress along the path to the next prize
- having all prizes at a random chance makes it more like a casino. I'm sure some players like that, but this mostly is a game of planning and there's not much to plan this way. Again, with the chests we could at least make a choice based on reason. Maximize the chance on certain prizes and at least minimize the chance on stuff we didn't really care for.
- the cutback in ribbons after the regular questline is done is way too strong. "bonus" usually means getting substantially extra, not getting less for more effort. If you do want to keep an open questline and at the same time avoid multiple of the same endbuildings like the mansion, make the prizes after that 9th evolving artifact something else. There are more than enough possible prizes to do so.
- especially for the bonusquests, but even with the regular line, the idea of getting a random set of quests is nice, but the amount of ribbons can be tied to the effort. I don't quite see why a quest that requires 24 hours (or 90+) should be rewarded the same as one that requires only 3 hours (or less).

 

[DeletedUser4194]

Criticism is fine, we expect that.
Forum rules still apply, such as not permitting the use of swear words, for example.

However player attacks on each other will not be tolerated.

 

[shimmerfly]

Just want to leave a comment for @blackbudahfly and others who may feel similarly, being upset over using things like time boosters for events. Don't things like this exist to be used, rather than hoarded? I don't understand why someone would be upset over using something that exists to be used.

Yes the time intants are made to be used. I've worked for mine. Some of them come from the Spire. They don't come free.
I'm not upset using timers for events or anything else if I feel it's worthwhile, and have many times in the past. For this event ...no. I personally won't place the Gingerbread house in my city. That is a whole other subject so I hope this helped answer your inquiry and curiousity. I find it curious you care about my decision or any one elses..... and I don't mean that in a mean way. I find the word "bias" curious!



"Bias is disproportionate weight in favor of or against an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, or a belief. In science and engineering, a bias is a systematic error. "Wikipedia

 

[Ashrem]

Events are generally designed to create a feeling of pressure. Even when we are ware of the pressure, it affects us on a subconscious level. I resent feeling artifically pressured into states or actions where I am making decisions differently than I would in the absence of manipulation. Events are a good example of that manipulation. One that bothers me even more than events is the use of timbre (in particular with stringed instruments) in the background of movie or television programme to manipulate us into feeling emotions when the material doesn't elicit them honestly.

 

[Hextapul IX]

All in all
- the shuffle is a disaster the way it is now. Perhaps it would work as an option where, apart from the once per day reset, one can spend 20 ribbons without getting a hammer for it, that would be nice as it gives players a choice AND a reasonable chance of actually winning the daily prize.
- players often (want to) go for a specific daily prize and get that multiple times. With the reshuffle option the chances of getting that prize has been significantly lowered, again leaving players with less strategy and choice.

However, the flip side allowed me to get too many of a specific building type. I was able to get 16 of a single building one time with the old system. How am l going to place those 16 buildings? I have a whole inventory of unused buildings, playing the game over the last 3 years.

The simple fact is that this is a free game. I fully understand and accept that the developers have to make money, so l can accept the reality that quests can and should be difficult. l have not contributed a dime to this game through this account, yet my inventory is full of buildings, 1200 hours of time boosts, 300+ MM and PP spells, and a host of other stuff. I am +100 provinces, and can cater multiple provinces in one shot.

The reshuffle is bad, but in one sense, l get why it was put into place. To prevent a glut of free buildings. Many players feel that they are entitled to complete the quests without spending a dime, which is not in the interest of Inno. It is a business after all, and if everything is achievable without spending money, then why should l spend any.

Same with the end round quests only being worth 20 ribbons. It is done to prevent free players like myself from getting all the artifacts without dropping some actual cash. I can choose to either continue or not. Either way, l will be doing the same tasks anyhow. Creating goods, supplies, coin, etc.

And l know that l will be able to get all my artifacts when the next FQ starts.

If not, so what???? Just move on until the next quest starts.

I play the game because l enjoy the dynamics. If l cannot get to the end of a quest, so be it. Most likely, with everything else that goes on in this game, especially in regards to FQs, if l cannot get the full requirements of artifacts, building sets or whatever else, l can accept that from a game that has been free for me.

I will give props to Inno for at least tweaking the formulas from the previous quest, which was much more broken. At least l can feel like l am making headway.

 

[Crystal01]

I do not like this, New quest to trade with the whole-seller. at least lower to 1 or 3, not forcing us to Buy 7 then 9/12! or just stick to accept trading or post trades. I have gotten this one several times in the same day. its wiping me out!! for no good reason
if you do another event offering 1kp or 1 ee spell as pizes again ill quiet and I'm sure others feel the same. I worked hard to earn those 50 ribbons and just getting 1kp is a slap in face! And no 2x, if you wanted double prizes put in 2 separate daily prizes. but getting the 2x and the 1kp repeatedly is BS! (100 ribbons for 2kp??) I have not gotten 2x dailies and hate this new layout. I really don't care for throwing in the small culture, but I know some lower chapter may like that. I appreciate you trying something new. However, this was bad. I truly hope last year's event layout is brought back!

 

[Hextapul IX]

I do not like this, New quest to trade with the whole-seller. at least lower to 1 or 3, not forcing us to Buy 7 then 9/12! or just stick to accept trading or post trades. I have gotten this one several times in the same day. its wiping me out!! for no good reason
if you do another event offering 1kp or 1 ee spell as pizes again ill quiet and I'm sure others feel the same. I worked hard to earn those 50 ribbons and just getting 1kp is a slap in face! And no 2x, if you wanted double prizes put in 2 separate daily prizes. but getting the 2x and the 1kp repeatedly is BS! (100 ribbons for 2kp??) I have not gotten 2x dailies and hate this new layout. I really don't care for throwing in the small culture, but I know some lower chapter may like that. I appreciate you trying something new. However, this was bad. I truly hope last year's event layout is brought back!

Then you wait until you have the resources to pay off the wholesaler. Use your gold and supply boosts to get the resources to pay the wholesaler. Save the boosts and use them only during quest times. Do not automatically collect gold or supplies every time you log in. Same with neighborly helps, save them until they can help you out. It is really simple....

Or buy diamonds if you lack the patience.

 

[Hextapul IX]

Almost near the end of the event so it is time for feedback.

I saved all of my ribbons that I had accumulated from the very beginning of the event and spent them all on one day for a daily prize that I wanted. I managed to get 12 of the daily prize.

So l will ask...what is the purpose of getting 12 of the same building??? Obviously you wanted them for something. Do you have room to place them all?

In the three chest format, l got more than that on one day and not using 20+ days worth of currency, and playing the lowest cost option. Which is why the previous format was just as broken, or even more so. Too much free and cheap stuff that players do not have to spend actual money to obtain. Not a good way for a company to actually make money. Furthermore, players who do spend money raise the bar of expectation because it then becomes harder to strike a balance between paying and non-paying customers. Give too much free stuff out and the paying customer feels cheated as the system becomes more broken.

I have no problem with quest lines being slanted towards payers. Even if l am not a payer. Too many players expect freebies. That is human nature...

 

[Ashrem]

So l will ask...what is the purpose of getting 12 of the same building??? Obviously you wanted them for something. Do you have room to place them all?

At the top end, getting things like population, mana and seeds is far easier from a row of event buildings than from other options. I'm getting over half of my population (about 92,000) from event buildings.

 

[DeletedUser24571]

Having a problem with some of the Winter Magic tasks. Every time I get a task that says “Produce a good amount of Basic, Crafted, or Magical goods of your choice “ the game doesn’t give me credit for goods I choose, or give me any options.
Example: I just got this task again, and I collected all my Marble; I checked the task and I had 374/3000 required.
I then went on to gather the rest of my manufacturing goods, and when I checked the task again I only had credit for 235/3000 goods required. What’s going on? Does the game randomly choose fro me. I’ve seen the numbers go up then down repeatedly every time I have this task .

 

[Risen Malchiah]

The game tracks everything you collect and simply shows the highest number. In theory, if you collect 200 planks, it should say 200. If you collect some other good, the number shouldnt change at all until that good surpasses the 200. If you see the number go down, that is definitely not right and I'd advise filing a support ticket where someone can help you out.

These quests definitely need to be more obvious about what it's tracking. This is confusing way too many people.

 

[DeletedUser2870]

However, the flip side allowed me to get too many of a specific building type. I was able to get 16 of a single building one time with the old system. How am l going to place those 16 buildings? I have a whole inventory of unused buildings, playing the game over the last 3 years.

Well, during those events you did not HAVE to spend so many chances on chests while the daily prize was something you didn't want. You could have stopped after getting 1-3. I tended to save up my currency until I saw a daily prize I wanted and then go for it. If I wanted a specific building 2x, I stopped after getting it 2x and waited for the next prize I wanted to come along

The simple fact is that this is a free game. I fully understand and accept that the developers have to make money, so l can accept the reality that quests can and should be difficult. l have not contributed a dime to this game through this account, yet my inventory is full of buildings, 1200 hours of time boosts, 300+ MM and PP spells, and a host of other stuff. I am +100 provinces, and can cater multiple provinces in one shot.

Some people do pay, but whether one does or not has nothing to do with this system.
I too have tons of buildings and spells in my inventory, though right now I'm heavily using my timeboosters to get more factories upgraded to sentient-level.

The reshuffle is bad, but in one sense, l get why it was put into place. To prevent a glut of free buildings. Many players feel that they are entitled to complete the quests without spending a dime, which is not in the interest of Inno. It is a business after all, and if everything is achievable without spending money, then why should l spend any.

Again, it is not about it being a free game or not. And again, in the old system players at least could CHOOSE and PLAN and have a STRATEGY on the prizes they wanted instead of it being a Las Vegas slotmachine.[/QUOTE]

Same with the end round quests only being worth 20 ribbons. It is done to prevent free players like myself from getting all the artifacts without dropping some actual cash. I can choose to either continue or not. Either way, l will be doing the same tasks anyhow. Creating goods, supplies, coin, etc.

And l know that l will be able to get all my artifacts when the next FQ starts.

Nope. Even without dropping cash there was a reasonable chance of getting to the fully evolved buildings. It all depended on what type of quests one got and how lucky one was with the bricks.
My main city JUST got there after being well into the bonus quests despite having that eventbuilding up to get extra ribbons from collecting them from the ground. My brothers city got there without that building just with the regular quests (but he can collect more often from the ground). Again, it depends on luck with the hammers, not strategy or planning.

If not, so what???? Just move on until the next quest starts.

I play the game because l enjoy the dynamics. If l cannot get to the end of a quest, so be it. Most likely, with everything else that goes on in this game, especially in regards to FQs, if l cannot get the full requirements of artifacts, building sets or whatever else, l can accept that from a game that has been free for me.

I will give props to Inno for at least tweaking the formulas from the previous quest, which was much more broken. At least l can feel like l am making headway.

I -and many people with me- play this game because we like the non-pvp aspect, enjoy the graphics and the interaction with our FS. But a lot of us also like to have some control over our choices and be able to plan. Turning everything into a slotmachine and having only luck being the deciding factor takes a huge chunk out of that.

 

[DeletedUser24571]

The game tracks everything you collect and simply shows the highest number. In theory, if you collect 200 planks, it should say 200. If you collect some other good, the number shouldnt change at all until that good surpasses the 200. If you see the number go down, that is definitely not right and I'd advise filing a support ticket where someone can help you out.

These quests definitely need to be more obvious about what it's tracking. This is confusing way too many people.

Ok so I submitted a ticket like you said, then went back into game. About 20 minutes later I check my tasks again , and suddenly the requirements for the task changed from Collect 3000 goods to Collect 4500 goods! Everything else was exactly the same, but the requirements increased by 50% . This is definitely NOT fair.

 

[Altruis]

I think this is quite possibly the worst event I've participated in in the year and a half I've been playing. I keep getting the same "random" quests over and over again to gain supplies meaning there is no way I can do more than one or two quests a day for ribbons. Then just about the time I clear much of the board of presents I get that craptastic reshuffle item and I have to start all over pretty much assuring i can no longer get even one of the daily building. Then, the other day I get shit on again when I finish a quest for 57 ribbons and the new ones I get only award 20. There is pretty much no way I can even fully evolve one gingerbread mansion which I can usually get done by the last couple days of the event. I'm done with this crap. I get that they are a business and want to make money but they have taken this game to the point that unless you re willing to invest a lot of money in diamonds there is almost no point in playing. For 15 bucks a month I can play an MMORPG as much as I want with people from all over the world with unlimited progression and they never nickel and dime me to death. I have no problem paying for something but I expect value for my money which I don't feel I get by constantly having to buy diamonds. I understand there was a problem with people getting several of the event buildings leveled all the way up to ten which they feel was cheating but there was a much easier solution that screwing everyone else.... make the item only obtainable once.... see how easy that was. Judging by the comments I've seen on the forums I'm far from the only person unhappy with these changes. I would have been perfectly happy with being given a fair chance to get one of each daily building ( more for the looks than the functionality) but there have been at least 5 or 6 days when I couldn't get the daily no matter how hard I tired because of a combination of the terrible mechanics of opening those stupid gift boxes (reshuffle anyone?) and getting the same quests over and over making it impossible to get enough ribbons.

 

[Hextapul IX]

The system has everything to do with whether you are a paying customer. You said yourself Dhurrin, that even without spending cash, you should have a reasonable chance of completing a set, getting all artifacts, and getting as many daily buildings as you want. If you can do that WITHOUT paying cash, then why would you pay cash?

It is specifically set up as a Vegas style system to get players to drop cash to get more of the desired buildings, BECAUSE in the past, players could more easily get those buildings. That is the way Vegas works. Get customers to spend more money. They understand human nature and the way it operates. Players want it all...

Inno is a business. This current system is a business decision, nothing more.

 

[Ashrem]

Ok so I submitted a ticket like you said, then went back into game. About 20 minutes later I check my tasks again , and suddenly the requirements for the task changed from Collect 3000 goods to Collect 4500 goods! Everything else was exactly the same, but the requirements increased by 50% . This is definitely NOT fair.

In quests where it calls for any of your boosted goods (as opposed to just one of (marble, steel, planks), the number of goods required to complete a quest is based on what tier the goods are. I'd expect that your options (even though the quest doesn't communicate it well) are 3000 T2 goods, or 4500 T1 goods. At any given time, it's going to show which one you are closer to finishing. (percentage wise). If you collect some more of your T2 goods, it will probably go back to 3000 again, unless the T2 production isn't enough to shift the ratio of which is closer to finishing.

 

[Hextapul IX]

At the top end, getting things like population, mana and seeds is far easier from a row of event buildings than from other options. I'm getting over half of my population (about 92,000) from event buildings.

And that is why Inno wants to change this dynamic.

Creating a glut of powerful buildings that bypass the larger footprint requirements of normal population and culture buildings means that players do NOT have to purchase diamonds to get more land. Traders and manna sawmills work the same way. The footprint requirement is steeper for the normal buildings.

If you can make do with less land, then you do NOT need to purchase diamonds to buy land.

Simple business economics...

 

[ThePhoenixRider]

Honestly, the event wasn't bad. The GingerBread mansion is good, because everyone Is still tading for crystals. LOL

 

[Ashrem]

And that is why Inno wants to change this dynamic.

None of which I argued against. I simply answered the question of why I would want multiples of a building.

That said, we don't know exactly what Inno is trying to accomplish. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't buy more land. I spend my budget. If I can't have fun in the game within my budget, I would stop playing it. Higher chapters are pretty much impossible to do without event buildings or spending a lot. Elvenar is not hte kind of game where people spend a lot unless they want to. If all the free-players left around chapter 10-12 because they couldn't possibly succeeed without spending (or spending more) then the upper chapters would be a ghost town, and the players who are spending would not enjoy it as much.

They are not taking up a lot less space than a few higher-culture-value buildings and 15 or 20 more residences. I'm trading away coin production. 20 more residences would get me an additional 8.5 million coins a day.

Inno will do what Inno does, and players will do what we do (mostly complain). I doubt anyone on the forums knows what they are really up to in the long run.

 

[DeletedUser24571]

In quests where it calls for any of your boosted goods (as opposed to just one of (marble, steel, planks), the number of goods required to complete a quest is based on what tier the goods are. I'd expect that your options (even though the quest doesn't communicate it well) are 3000 T2 goods, or 4500 T1 goods. At any given time, it's going to show which one you are closer to finishing. (percentage wise). If you collect some more of your T2 goods, it will probably go back to 3000 again, unless the T2 production isn't enough to shift the ratio of which is closer to finishing.

Well the method the game uses is totally confusing. The requirements keep changing constantly. In the last 10 minutes it’s gone from : 1150/4500 to 1305/3600 to 1090/4500. As you can see the final credit is LOWER then the first, which means I lost production credit by collecting all my goods. It seems to be totally random . A few hours ago I got 30 production credit by collecting 30 steel from the merchant, but none from collecting steel from manufacturing...... nor credit from collecting anything else. It truly sucks.