>#3 there is now a delay on handing in
This should have always been there. It's not unique to these NPCs; all TASK NPCs should be using it. The fact that it wasn't, initially, was a bug.
>#4 no assistance u must do them all your self.
Absolutely. Last year was a ridiculous mess of script-o-bots that makes sweatshops look like some kind of tropical paradise. Sadly, people are going to abuse these things when we make them, and we have to have payouts account for it. This, at least, gave us some reassurance that the person requesting the task was the one doing the work, not the army of mules. We didn't have support for it last year, otherwise it would have been there then.
>#5 frequency of rare drop has been reduced
True. Last year there was a 5% chance at an ultra rare material, 15% at ultra rare and everything else was common or uncommon. 20% chance to have a rare was too high. As was said in other threads -- last year's payouts were too much. This year we probably are erring too far on the side of caution, but that gives us a buffer to look at with other events and to re-balance next year. And we ARE still monitoring rates this year -- tweaks aren't off the table.
>#6 all "real rares" like tyrium and diamond hide are completely gone
Not true! It is absolutely possible still to get the ultra rare materials, unless I missed Kodius yanking them from the crafting system entirely.
>Please... how many tweekdowns do u need.
Having multiple dials to tune is a good thing. Eventually, we zero in on exactly what we want to be going out.
>the fest is 2 weeks instead of 3
I don't know where people are getting this from, and throwing it around the echo chamber doesn't make it true. I looked at our event calendar when planning the dates this year. Please feel free to check back and correct me if I'm wrong.
Last Year:
Plat: Friday 25th - Sunday 17th (24 days)
Prime: Thursday 31st - Sunday 17th (18 days)
TF: Friday 8th - Wednesday 27th (20 days)
This Year:
Plat: Friday Oct 24th - Sunday Nov 16th (24 days)
Prime: Friday Oct 31st - Sunday Nov 16th (17 days)
TF: Friday Nov 7th - Sunday Nov 23rd (17 days)
TF's was bumped a few days last year because we had major problems earlier on over there with things sync'ing properly and scheduling. Otherwise they'd have closed on a Sunday evening as well. Prime started on a Thursday because it was Halloween, and that's where we aim HE to open for Prime. The schedules are pretty much the same. Barring some drastic re-design of the event, those same timelines are probably what we'll aim for next year as well.
>the alteration people are not near as often as previous years
More alterations have already been done this year than by the end of the event last year. And we're in the phase where more appearances start to happen. We haven't scheduled in advance as well as last year, and I'll apologize for that. 2014 has been an incredibly rough year outside of DR for a lot of GMs, and losing Socharis hurt on the oversight and admin side of things. Considering the setbacks we've had in the real world, I'm thrilled with what we've managed to pull off so far and what still lies ahead.
>I thank all those that have tried hard, I really do and I hate being critical, but how will you know unless someone tells you?
I'm sorry if you're not having a good time. Most of your points are comparing the TASK NPCs and their payouts to last year -- and that's not a good comparison. Last year was broken and had too much going out. We were clear about that then and since then that this year would be different. We may have over-nerfed. The event isn't over and further tweaks aren't off the table. Today's change was related to cloth only -- none of the other amounts or rates changed. We're still monitoring, and when we're comfortable with the sample size, we may make changes. It feels good to get special items; we know that. But we do have to avoid a repeat of last year where so much was released.
Other ideas mentioned in this thread involving timers for drops are worth considering. I don't know that we could get something like that together in time this year, but it's certainly something we'll keep in mind when making updates next year. Kodius and I are going to be looking at numbers soon. Don't write things off as done yet.
>Its no damn wonder nothing can get resolved. Always some butt kissrer. kissin butts.
>Would be nice if people would use it and be contructive and not try to tear down everytime someone posts legitimate issues.
Sorry, but your idea of resolution here seems to be "give me things I want, I don't care about balance, I just want more power for me". Other people pointing out that your perceptions are inaccurate and giving examples of why isn't "irrelevant dumb crap". Nor is it holding up your desired "resolution". I'd also hardly categorize calling others names as being level headed. To each their own.
>Are there plans for anything other than the auction for tickets this year?
Yes. We did the special item raffles last year as well as sold some things flat out for tickets. Those are still in the works -- they were late additions to last year's festival too. Ideally you spend the first part of the fest earning tickets so that you can spend them on the nice stuff at the end.
I'll say it again, and we did this last year too -- the fest isn't over, folks. There are still alterers, raffles, games, the auction, special items and more on the horizon. If you're done with it, that's fine, that's your decision to make. It doesn't reflect the reality that the event is still going on with more coming.
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