News

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 2:39am

Tokens were never supposed to be cheap easy way to get customs, it was supposed to be an alternative way to spening bp and gp on customs, the items are just too easy to get in order to trash. This change effects everyone equally, premium users have slight advantage, but in all honesty I don't trash every day, I trash maybe one a week and turn in around 300 items.



This change is not about money, it's about items and time, the goals you set for yourself are still attainable, it will only take longer to get there. Want some advice, be smart about what you trash and what items you hoard, I made a thread in the help forum giving a guide to adventure and item gathering, go read it, getting TP is not hard, it doesn't cost money, only time and effort.

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:14am

The problem is that at the end of the day people still are sol from their custom goals without the site even saying "sorry". Also the thing about customs not being easy to get? They are. Nearly everyone has customs on the site, partially because it previously was really easy to get them, which encourages people to put more time and money into the site for bigger goals. On top of that it means that all the new players won't snap up any cheap custom creation items (like the snowman capsules) unless they really want them, which means that people who really want that kind of pet are out of luck, because people are grasping at straws.





This change might make some people put more time into getting their trash custom, but for most who just want something? They're going to get enough to raid the shops and dry up some of the limited-run potions/exc just because that's what they can afford. It doesn't stem the tide of newbies getting customs, it just diverts them from an item which was not limited and thus had no competition, and right into the path of people who had their hearts set on that item. This means even more resentment towards newbies and people who aren't rich. Now not only are they "whiners and wanting everything handed to them", they're "parasites and thieves who don't value what they're buying". Fantastic, I'm sure they just need more animosity to make them feel welcome on the site. And what happens when those limited items run out? The new batch after them is back to struggling for customs while people who have been on longer show off all their fancy toys and talk about how easy it used to be.





And no, like people said, there will be resentment no matter what, and no amount of internet cuddles will help that, but you know what would? Giving something for those people who already have dumped points. What about that dress contest? why not put the BP winner in the TP shop? If it becomes monthly, well there you go! A nice thing for people to spend points on, even if they aren't even close to getting a token. Pets that would rotate every few months would do the trick too! Or if they'd done the price increase in stages, starting from the gold level, would have been perfectly acceptable.





But they didn't do any of this, on top of it there's not even an apology out of the people in charge. People who have just been set back by 400% not only get no note saying that the staff is sorry, but there's nobody coming in and telling the abusive supporters of this not to kick a player when they're down, rub salt in their wounds, and then tell them to shut up about it. It says to the community "It's okay to be an abusive jerk that doesn't respect the feelings of others, as long as you're on our side!" If there was a news post with "Please understand why we're doing this", an explanation why they're doing it, a comment saying that they understand the frustration, a request to please bear with it- sucky as it is, and a note to the people on the side of the site NOT to be a jerk and understand what these people are going through? That would be a good step towards dealing with things.





What you did with a guide is awesome and amazing, but it can't just be you trying to bridge the gap. It needs to be the combined work of staff and players making compromises... and not just the ones who already just had a lot of effort wiped away by this change. THEY'VE already had a compromise forced on them.

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:52am

The staff don't feel the need to apologise for fixing something that was broken, originally Tokens were supposed to around the same value of the equivalent orbs, obviously that was not the case, items are just too easy to get, which pushed their value right down, that was the reason for this change, not staff wanting to hurt users.



It's not ok for people to bully others or call names, but it's also not good if the site just went 'you know what that really upset the users, we'll reverse the change and who cares if it breaks the economy more'. In the forums Skitty has said that she's going to try and implement something to give new users a helping hand, not poor users, new users.



Someone said (can't remember if it was here or on the forums) that 'if you've been on aywas for more than 6 months and only submitted token customs, then you're playing the game wrong'. And this is true, in user shops an MCC is 2 GP or ~700k which isn't that hard to earn if you put in a little effort, little investments (like a high level adventure pet and a silver licence). Some users just got too used to being able to get customs quickly with little to no effort, this is true of established users too, not just poorer/newer players.



With every change there is going to be resentment, people don't like change, like with the CD's, removing them will be good for the site in the long term, but am I sad they're gone, yeah, I used the 7 day CD's to boost my BP. But the difference is that instead of crying or complaining, I realise that they were bad for the site, I understand the reason for the change and I accept it.



It's good to get OCCs, OCOs, CCCC's, CCCOs and other event custom makers out of the system so that when new events come along the custom items that come with them are desirable. I am one of those with a hoard of custom making items, I have over 60 custom making items hoarded away, now I could sell them, but I'm quite content to hold onto them until I can come up with a design for them, this is why I still have a Halloween Potion from the 2010 Halloween event.



What people are failing to see is that the goals they set are still there, still attainable, they just require more time and effort to get there.



All the well established and 'rich' players were once new players, poor players, I remember when 10GP seemed unobtainable to me, and that was back when GP was worth less than 100k, it was harder to get BP back then, there were fewer giveaways around and a lot less in the way of Custom making items, species and breeding items, BC's were new, and you didn't get edits with them, all LBC breedings were overlays and there was no such thing as predicts. I was glad to scrimp up a few MCC's, my first BCC was a miracle as far as I was concerned.



When I started, every custom was precious, because I worked so hard to get them, and although I like not having to work as hard for my customs now I miss that feeling. It would be nice if new players could know what if felt like to work for literally a month or more to be able to get their first custom, to feel that elation when you get the notification that your custom is finally here. But that's probably just me being nostalgic isn't it?

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:33am

If it was broken and it was fixed pretty quickly? Then yes, staff have nothing to apologize for. But if it has taken more than a few months to fix? Sorry, but then they need to say they're sorry. End of story, it's the most basic form of PR. The staff are saying sorry because it was broken, and because it took them so long to fix it that it became a basic part of gameplay.





I don't think people are asking for a complete reversal, just a change that came in steps. As for poor users, there's a number of reasons they're poor. From bad luck, to real life being horrible to them, to joining the site when one gameplay mechanic works one way, never being told that it's meant to work any different, and then having it abruptly changed. (And then Staff won't say they're sorry for the trouble it causes because... the player's supposed to be psychic? It's one thing if there's a notice saying that a feature isn't working as intended and it's going to be changed in the future, sometime. It's another if people knew nothing about how it was originally was supposed to work.)





I guess I'm playing the game wrong then, thanks for telling me? The only Customs I've submitted was a trash one, and three slashbot scc's. I've made a decent amount of money, but it's gone back into completing collections or buying up monthly pets. Correction. I have a Halloween item and a snowman capsule, but one I got from completing a collection, and the other I wanted to get because I eventually wanted a custom from one of those linearts. I don't regret my choices, but I don't think I was playing the game wrong either, and neither are the people who put their main focus into trash customs. That's the glory of the site, there's no right or wrong way to play it.





I'm all for moving on, but also for people being able to VENT about a bad situation, that in some cases they had no idea of how it was supposed to run differently, and they can do it without being insulted. I don't think that's an unreasonable expectation, especially if you're fond of a game. It'd be bad if they all silently move on, it means that they don't care about the site and they're less likely to part with their money, or put effort into good art that might draw in more paying customers.





I think it is you, to be honest. I felt the same elation getting my first custom on here as when the custom I saved up for two years for on another site. Why? Because I had complete control over what this custom would be like. The other customs too. It's why I'm saving those items: I get the ability to choose how it turns out, no matter what kind of custom I get and I want my pixels to be the pixels I'm happy with, darn it! But that's awesome though, that's why I'm on here. I have no clue if I'll save up for a breeding coin other than a platinum, and even then it's so I'll see what happens when I smush two pets together and tell the site artists to go wild. Hybrids? Eh, I'll just get the custom creation items for them eventually.





So for me and others? Customs aren't precious for how much you worked for them, it's because of how hard you worked ON them.

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:47am

I wanted to quote something Eve said on tumblr about the new math on the tokens:

"Boredom = random dodgy math by the Eve:

100 item trash limit.
1 to 11 points available - the latter easily gained during events with items of limited availability, and I know that a lot of people DO hoard them for the purpose of trashing.

100 - 1100 a day
700 - 7700 a week
2800 - 30800 a month

Estimating, based on my own trashing habits, that the majority of items trashed will be r40-50, or break even thereabouts:

400 - 500 a day
2800 - 3500 a week
11,200 - 14,000 a month


In the lowest possible case that is 1 metal token with 300 trash points remaining.
In the highest possible case that is 12 metal tokens OR 6 bronze tokens OR 4 blue tokens OR 2 gold tokens.

On average? 4-5 metal tokens OR 2 bronze tokens OR 1 blue token. It would take less than a week more of trashing to get a gold token.


I think that�s pretty reasonable =/ I honestly don�t get what is so outrageous."

I agree :S They are still very easy to get if you put a little hard work into it.

~Ryu

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:50am

A lot of users don't make their own designs, so they didn't work ON a custom, they worked FOR it. I make most of my own customs, there are few G1 in my lair that I didn't make.



If your only goal is Token customs then that's fine, but if you are only getting token customs because you don't think you can earn the currency to get Orbs or Crystals, that's when you're playing the game wrong. Because anyone can earn the currency, no matter what else is going on if you choose to put in the effort.

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 7:58am

@ryu I think that's going to be one of those wait and see deals, because it depends if the user can get a high-level pet so they don't throw those items into keeping it's energy up. I also wouldn't place my trust in event items just because I don't want to count on an event every single month. The guide says that usually there's an event, but if event petmaking cuts into those same site artists not working on breeding/customs (does it? I have no clue on this), then I can see events being set aside until the customs/breedings are resolved a little better. I'd put it on the lower end of the results just to play it safe. Not fun at all, but doable. I just hope the new player incentives in the works are good enough to keep the person interested enough to get them paying, or to string them along enough until they get their custom. (for the people who want gold, that's still... what? 3-4 months? it's late and my math is off.)





And if flightless is correct, even longer, since that means after they get the token they need to work on getting the money for the design. So still around the 4-5 month mark on the high end?

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 8:01am

I still don't see why a newer player needs a gold level custom, Metal - Blue level customs are actually a lot easier to make and easier to get the funds for, and normally nicer, it's damn hard to get to 50% let alone more than that.

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 8:05am

"The guide says that usually there's an event, but if event petmaking cuts into those same site artists not working on breeding/customs (does it? I have no clue on this), then I can see events being set aside until the customs/breedings are resolved a little better."

Actually site artists for events are completely separate for breedings and customs and things like that. For example, I am a site artist and I -only- do things for events and whatnot really.

~ryu

Posted on: Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:29pm

You know, there was a easier way to fix this then raising the prices 400% and screwing over the players. You know what it is?

LIMIT PREMIUM DUMPING. >_>' unlimited? Thats insane! Can someone please make skitty see this suggestion? If the tokens was put back to about what they were before, maybe a bit more (Like maybe 600 for metal, and so on... keeping gold expensive since that seems to be the main issue) Then have the dumping limit placed upon premium, like..maybe 250 to 500 Or something like that. >_>' I have premium, and I would not mind being limited if it meant we could have the tokens back at non insane prices.