Ideas to Balance Serious vs Casual play

[JustKay]

Reading all these disgruntled comments in another thread, I thinking a few different things... It's possible to play this game ignoring all the new features (Bingo & LB & Tournaments), but that obviously still makes people unhappy since they can see what they can't have. I personally get over it pretty quickly, but it's clear plenty of people don't.

I wrote previously about the possibility of new features using a new premium currency to overcome the current funding crisis S8 face with too much free gold. It basically creates a new game within the current one, a walled garden so to speak. To access the "garden" involves using a new premium currency that is only available by paying real money to unlock the feature. Gold isn't devalued and prices stay the same, but the "wall" means that you don't have to see what you won't be able to get. So if this idea had been implemented before LB & Bingo, we simply would not get the notifications or the spin wheel or the points. Those that choose not to participate would be happily oblivious (at least until they visit other islands with dragons they never knew existed, which happens anyway if you visit a long time player's island) as if they were playing an older version of the game.

Another idea I'm thinking about is from an online game I played a long time ago. It was basically a gangster game that had two leaderboards, one for free to play with lesser prizes or recognition and a separate leaderboard you got moved into if you used real money. So in the case of dragon story, there are two leaderboards and you get moved to the next one up if you either pay cash for gold, or use gold during the event. The prizes for both leaderboards would have to be slightly different to differentiate the groups, but maybe the dragon prize could be the same since these days the trophy is the only real status symbol. This segregation would be harder to manage since how do you separate people who invested gold in the past to buy extra nests/evo temples, versus just paying gold to speed breed, versus using time boosts. However staying in the easier no-gold leaderboard would be a good incentive to buy these extra buildings, and play bingo to stock up on time boosts. It would also be easier to group similar players since these building are permanent so they are a more stable representation of a person's level of development in the game. You also know what boosts people have when an LB starts. I almost don't like this second option. From memory, that other online game may not have even provided prizes for the free to play leader board, just recognition/status.

Curious to see what people think.

[Hartoled]

I mostly spend my money on original habitats and speed breeding. I do that because if I didn't I'd probably get bored, find something fun to do, and forget to play at all.

The Adventure Leagues boosts help with the speed breeding. I mostly save the tickets I win, hoping that they'll get some interesting dragons in the Ticket Temple. Single color, non-breedable dragons don't hold that much attraction for me, in battles, or for breeding Virtue Dragon fails with a Neo Pink, for instance. Once I got the Gold Horizon and Stellar Aurora, I just bank the tickets and wait.

Would be nice if we got vouchers to buy the boosts that we need, instead of just being limited to Farming and Hatching, for top placement.

Not sure what you mean about too much gold in the game. I don't have a lot of gold producing dragons and I rarely install new games that I'm not interested in.

I do keep up my Social game to max, by the end of every day. I really hate it, also. You work hard to keep your dragons ready for people to play with, you visit them, you get them their maps and orchids, and what is the reward?....You can get more gold gifts than other people. So people give you gold. You try to pay them all back, but you can get twice as much as you can give. So after a while, you owe everybody. They all get mad that you don't pay them back immediately, so they stop giving you gold at all. So...you work your butt off just to be disliked by everybody. You should get to give as much as you receive, and not have to reject their gifts, wasting their generosity. It's a colossal joke on those who try to do what the game apparently wants you to do.

[jjblueyes]

I'm upset because I can't play. I can't buy any new habitats and I have no room to do anything. I suppose if that paints me disgruntled then I am. I've invested a lot of money to enjoy a game that I'm now stuck from enjoying.
The forums have been a place to come get help, help others and to vent. I think people who have issues and are upset should have this place to comment and feel supported. We can have all the ideas in the world on how to change the game but when the simple stuff isn't being dealt with (enough land and habitats to allow long time people to play) I wouldn't hold my breath on any new changes.
I think we should be kind to each other and if someone's upset then they are upset. Validation and compassion usually go a good ways and I try to use them often.

[njbhugjjgnj]

I'm upset because I can't play. I can't buy any new habitats and I have no room to do anything. I suppose if that paints me disgruntled then I am. I've invested a lot of money to enjoy a game that I'm now stuck from enjoying.
The forums have been a place to come get help, help others and to vent. I think people who have issues and are upset should have this place to comment and feel supported. We can have all the ideas in the world on how to change the game but when the simple stuff isn't being dealt with (enough land and habitats to allow long time people to play) I wouldn't hold my breath on any new changes.
I think we should be kind to each other and if someone's upset then they are upset. Validation and compassion usually go a good ways and I try to use them often.

Well said! I do think limiting the amount of gold as gifts is a big issue,especially when you have more than 3 neighbors......really!?!

[9krm]

#nobannowall

People will complain no matter what (and I'm including myself in that characterization, so it's not meant as an insult). I dont think a premium area is the answer to the issue...if they do that, dragon story will become even more of a tiered game than it already has become lately. Maybe that is what they are going for. The thing about DS is most goals - dragons etc., - seem attainable if you try hard enough or long enough to get them. A premium area takes that away. I don't know.

Personally, I just play what I like. I don't do the Tales because I don't like them. They are too regimented and you have to be on the game so often. I never have enough bombs to get the mining dragons, and it sucks, but I don't even remember what the last few were, so I guess it wasn't that big of a deal.

S8 changed their business plan regarding the game. No more gold in tournaments, higher number of mining pieces needed, community events changed a bit, etc. The older players notice this because it didn't used to be this way. New players don't know any different and that, IMO, is the group S8 seems to be focusing on.

I've been playing for a few years and have spent some money on it here and there. I don't expect them to make changes so players don't have to spend money -they want us to spend our $! I'm more likely to stop playing than to constantly ask them to change things, but maybe that's just me.

Good topic

[Hartoled]

Back to this Gold Gift issue. As predicted, as soon as I gave out my 3 gold yesterday, an additional piece of gold showed up from a long-time neighbor. I'd only gotten 2 that day, because everybody is pretty tired of me not being able to pay them back in a timely manner. So...I was up late and as soon as the new gold showed up this morning I gifted that person back. The game gave me the message that I had already given them gold or they had already received the max for today. I'm supposed to believe that 3 other people beat me to the punch, 2 minutes after the game updated? That had me peeved enough, but then, later on today, I gifted back one of my regulars, who I never have a problem sending gold to, and it gave me that same message.

I'm calling BS! The game stole that gold. I'm not paying these cheapskates to play their game so that I can stress out about stupid game currency and have to leave check's-in-the-mail messages to people that I don't even know, so that they don't think that I'm a deadbeat.

Besides allowing us to give as much gold as we receive, they should give us back failed gifts, so that we can try again later or send it to somebody else. That such insignificant matters even become issues is what really annoys the heck out of me.

This new bug of telling me that I'm too late to give a gift is doubly vexing, since the entire Gold Gifting and Receiving process has become something that I dread so much, that some days I put it off as long as I can. What should be fun and gratifying has become an ordeal. Thanks, S8.

[jjblueyes]

Well said! I do think limiting the amount of gold as gifts is a big issue,especially when you have more than 3 neighbors......really!?!

Yes it's another bothersome thing. I think you link enough of them together and you can get downright annoyed.
I just want to be able to play the way I want. Sitting out things because they don't interest you is different then
not able to due to no room, no storage and everything becomes a boring circle. Insert sad face here.