New round of Fellowship Adventures

[foolfighter]

We don't hate it, just saying it is too frequent. Anyway you're playing devil's advocate now. Getting gold in the spire gives us extra diamonds that allow us to improve our game, getting to 10 chests in the tournament gives us a blueprint that also allows us to improve our game. If your approach is - well you don't have to do them it begs the question why would I bother to play the game in that case?
In an FA all my T2, T3, S1, S2 & S3 manus, and visiting race buildings if they are transportable, go into summonings just to make space to plant a shanty town of workshops to get through the huge demands for Blacksmiths and Farmers, I call that significant disruption. Are you arguing that you're just not competitive? I can't believe that, as you've stacked your city in Felyndral with workshops and level 1 T1 manus

 

[Laurelin]

Confucius (or if you prefer, Kung Fu-Tse), He Say : Actions speak louder than words.
Laurelin's Mum, She Say : Beware the almighty power of the website which calls itself the Stats of Elven.

Laurelin, She Say : I don't think Inno's concept of "you don't have to do it" means what WE think it means...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you FAs. The living epitome of Peer Pressure Incarnate and The Great F2P Earner that is Competition - combined!!

Wow, I bet you all wish I hadn't come back... assuming anyone noticed I'd gone?!... but boredom moves in mysterious ways, its wonders to perform!

 

[Silly Bubbles]

@foolfighter
I just feel sorry for players whose enjoyment suffers while it doesn't have to. Game suppose to be enjoyed not suffered through so I'm just trying to help them to get some enjoyment back.
I think that blaming it on the game will not fix the problem, the game gives us enough options to pick and choose what we like and not do things that we don't like. Let's not spoil it for ourselves. And of course, if there's a way to fix it without taking enjoyment from others, we can always make suggestions. Lately, a lot of improvements were done based on our feedback.
And yes, I started enjoying FA.
I'm not against anything that is enjoyable. If you enjoy competition, I completely have no problems with it, but, if you're competing and it doesn't make you happy then of course I'll wonder why are you doing it and why are you complaining about it.

 

[Laurelin]

Also, @foolfighter :

Only someone with too much time on their hands can do manual fighting in tournaments.

... I didn't realise we'd met! So true... but at least it's something TO DO, now that Ch.13 Amuni has landed on my City. Can't even imagine Ch.19 !! :/

 

[Jake65]

Confucius (or if you prefer, Kung Fu-Tse), He Say : Actions speak louder than words.
Laurelin's Mum, She Say : Beware the almighty power of the website which calls itself the Stats of Elven.

Laurelin, She Say : I don't think Inno's concept of "you don't have to do it" means what WE think it means...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you FAs. The living epitome of Peer Pressure Incarnate and The Great F2P Earner that is Competition - combined!!

Wow, I bet you all wish I hadn't come back... assuming anyone noticed I'd gone?!... but boredom moves in mysterious ways, its wonders to perform!

Welcome back

 

[Laurelin]

I did it! No words at all! Oh wait...

 

[Jackluyt]

Just out of curiosity I’m wondering why people hate FA. I understand that it was horrible when it started years back but it’s quite different now. I hope it’s not just carried over emotion from then that might not make sense any more. When we go only for prizes, it’s only matter of few badges per day per fellow to get to the pit. Of course, it’s much harder when the fellowship is not very active or doesn’t care about prizes but in this case everything is harder including tournaments and Spire and they repeat every week. Maybe it needs more relaxed approach not to make it horrible. Any ideas?

I have two very relaxed but high-performance groups; we take pride in showing the flag in all events - but only some of us want to do FA, and others don't want to do it at all, but join in because we work as a very good team and everyone does what is good for the group, rather than their own thing. As a result, we have only once failed to end in the top 10 in FA's, and have six first places to our credit.
In order to achieve this, I have to be active in the group about 8 hours total each day, every FA, just encouraging and guiding my players - because I believe in leading by example; that is what makes our groups so strong. We seem to be having one FA every six weeks, which is about 7 every year; double that number because one group is in Beta and one in Live Worlds - which means I have to make time for 14 FA's every year; about 7 days including prep work, posting help sheets etc = a total of 98 days out of every 365 that I lose out of real life.
I do not begrudge this at all, nor do I 'hate' FA's either! But it would be nicer if we had just 4 FA's every year with less demanding mini-events in between; that would free me up to take the dog for long walks in the hills every day.
On the rare occasions when they give us a long break from FA's, I find myself really looking forward to the next one - but when they pop up every 3 weeks (one in beta every 6 weeks, and one live every 6 weeks, interspersed) I just groan pathetically to myself and say oh no, not again...

I hope one of the Moderators will forward these comments to Hamburg!

 

[Laurelin]

@Jackluyt : Jack, I feel your pain - running any successful group (casual, hardcore, or in-between) in any online game is nigh-on a full-time job without adequate group management tools, and a part-time daily one even where the game provides extensive management tools, as is certainly not true of Elvenar. I think this is probably one of the core failures of the FA, which I very much doubt that Inno will reduce in frequency, sadly, unless it be to replace or alternate it with a similarly demanding type of Event - not a nice easy Challenge or the like! - for the sole but, for Inno, no doubt overriding reason that spreading out the game's large Main Events' most desirable prizes, usually Artifacts, across multiple recurring smaller Events of various types is a growing habit of the more revenue-driven F2P games (not only Elvenar), which means that it's obviously a good revenue-raiser... and I wish I could say otherwise, but I don't believe that player satisfaction, convenience, or indeed anything else is Inno's priority now.

The addition of a USEFUL suite of FA management tools would greatly reduce the workload carried by efficient AMs and/or FA Mages - thereby boosting their own enthusiasm and, by extension, that of the rest of many FSs (I mean, come on - needing to make/use external spreadsheets? Really? I know your own groups no longer use a sheet, Jack, but few FSs are as tight-knit/efficient as yours, and many can't do without their self-made sheets - and the game's chat client and Inbox messaging system - the only viable alternative for most groups - are woefully inadequate, short on features, and clunky to use even by mid-1990s standards...). For example : the new-ish near-invisible AND inflexible 'Path highlight' is terrible - and there's really little else to assist in what is, for many FSs, often a complex and sometimes also emotionally fraught endeavour, with the recent change to [finally!] show those FS Members who have/have not contributed to each Stage being, in my opinion, a pretty minimal effort.

Provide a good UI and you generate morale, engagement, and popularity of the game element concerned - that's part of Game Design 101, really.

ETA : Another obvious disaster-in-waiting is the inability to specify exactly which FS Members can pull the flag. Needing to demote/risk it is - awful.

Still. For what it's worth - as I say - I sympathise, and I can only say that your level of dedication to the game all-round is [near?]-unmatched!

 

[Silly Bubbles]

I’m not really sure whether people read my comments or not so this is it from me on this topic. What I’m trying to say is that it’s our choice to overdo something, it’s not the game’s fault. The game is giving us options to make as many players happy as possible, that we choose to play too much is not really their fault. I don’t think that the game should have less options for enjoyment to prevent us from overdoing it. I love that there’s always something to do when I feel like it and if I don’t feel like it then I don’t do it.

Just an example, not judgement. I’m not a big fan of tournament so I only do enough to get what I need but I understand that other people love it so I’m not trying to take tournament away from them. I love building and progressing through the chapters so I invest everything I have to do that, including spreadsheets, constant analysing etc but I understand that others like to take it slow. When I didn’t like FA, I just did the bare minimum now I like it more so I invest myself more in it. I love Spire rewards so I do my best to have it done as quickly as I can with the least resources etc, etc, etc.

Everyone loves different things, it might be tournament, Spire, FA, new chapters and it’s great that we have a choice to do more of things that we love and scale back on things that we don’t care about. Some players love FA and invest themselves a lot into it, some players don’t so they should do just the bare minimum to keep their enjoyment of the game. Other people love different things about the game so it’s only fair that they can spend more time on it. When you love something, you do want to spend more time on it. When you don’t like it, you want to do the least to not make yourself miserable. The game gives us that option.

It’s our responsibility to choose what we like and don’t like, it’s not the game’s responsibility to make a different version for each player’s preferences.

Also, if it’s peer pressure that creates problems then it’s time to talk to your peers. The game doesn’t create peer pressure, the peers do and we are the ones that make the decision to go by it or not.

 

[Laurelin]

Oh, and meanwhile, in other and very selfish news - if I may promote myself here?! (we'll see...!) - I'm unexpectedly available for the next FA, if anyone needs an extra hand on deck, temporarily or permanently and can put up with me ? Post now up in the 'Players Seeking FS' Section...

Hmm - cant strike-through emojis, it seems? Well, I tried... I'm no longer homeless in-game ^_^

 

[Laurelin]

I’m not really sure whether people read my comments or not [...]

I bet most of us do... I do, in respect of every post I may set eyes on, in every Forum, anywhere online, ever. Replying (relevantly or not) =/= reading

 

[Silly Bubbles]

Oh, and meanwhile, in other and very selfish news - if I may promote myself here?! (we'll see...!) - I'm unexpectedly available for the next FA, if anyone needs an extra hand on deck, temporarily or permanently and can put up with me ? Post now up in the 'Players Seeking FS' Section...

You surely got everyone's attention.

 

[Laurelin]

YAY !! Pending the Revenge of the Mods, that is...?! Watch this space! ^_^

 

[Silly Bubbles]

YAY !! Pending the Revenge of the Mods, that is...?! Watch this space! ^_^

Whatever is worth reading, I'm always happy to read.

 

[Sir Derf]

With all the commenting about the shift of FA start to prevent overlapping with two Tourneys, two thoughts...

1. Did I miss it, or is this a change that they made in Live that was not tested out first in Beta?
2. I don't think anyone has mentioned it, but shifting the start to avoid overlapping 2 Tourneys means that the FA now overlaps with 2 Spires.

 

[Laurelin]

True - but the Spire has far fewer Encounters available to all players, and of course no Relics on offer, either... and many find it expensive, too.

Beta has been a bit, well, chaotic lately - what with the CM, Marindor, and three (four?) Moderators leaving a couple of weeks ago, with new CM & Mods incoming - so maybe there are just generally fewer posts there at present? - but I don't remember this coming up there, as such.

Then again, I've been heavily stunted in my online activities for longer than that - hence all the quietness from my direction, these past weeks - due to having to rely solely on my dreaded mobile phone for all of my online access. In fact, I really can no longer bear its many inferiorities vs my ex-trusty old computer, so I'm [probably unwisely] re-trying my PC at the moment, its still un-repaired multiple failures notwithstanding!

Also : you don't need to join the Beta Server just to read the Forum, and it's not really busy... and for a maths-type player such as your good self, @Sir Derf, I'd have thought it would be an ideal place to read and/or share mathematical musings - you need only start one Beta City, after all?

 

[Herodite]

YAY !! Pending the Revenge of the Mods, that is...?! Watch this space! ^_^

I've got my eye on you!!

 

[owl76]

2. I don't think anyone has mentioned it, but shifting the start to avoid overlapping 2 Tourneys means that the FA now overlaps with 2 Spires.

With the Thursday start, the FA also overlapped with 2 Spires. A little less than a day and a half for the first (FA start to Spire closing) one and three and a bit days for the second (Spire opening to FA ending).

 

[Silly Bubbles]

I have two very relaxed but high-performance groups; we take pride in showing the flag in all events - but only some of us want to do FA, and others don't want to do it at all, but join in because we work as a very good team and everyone does what is good for the group, rather than their own thing. As a result, we have only once failed to end in the top 10 in FA's, and have six first places to our credit.
In order to achieve this, I have to be active in the group about 8 hours total each day, every FA, just encouraging and guiding my players - because I believe in leading by example; that is what makes our groups so strong. We seem to be having one FA every six weeks, which is about 7 every year; double that number because one group is in Beta and one in Live Worlds - which means I have to make time for 14 FA's every year; about 7 days including prep work, posting help sheets etc = a total of 98 days out of every 365 that I lose out of real life.
I do not begrudge this at all, nor do I 'hate' FA's either! But it would be nicer if we had just 4 FA's every year with less demanding mini-events in between; that would free me up to take the dog for long walks in the hills every day.
On the rare occasions when they give us a long break from FA's, I find myself really looking forward to the next one - but when they pop up every 3 weeks (one in beta every 6 weeks, and one live every 6 weeks, interspersed) I just groan pathetically to myself and say oh no, not again...

I hope one of the Moderators will forward these comments to Hamburg!

I'd be careful, we don't want you to burn out.

 

[OldHag]

I personally really enjoy the FAs, albeit I do find this one a bit too soon after the last one. I agree with a lot of the points made in the above posts (yes, I read them all - 3 long ones in a row is heavy on the ole head) but I think the game design makes it difficult to avoid doing spire, tourney or fas, if you are in a half decent fs, whether you love 'em or hate 'em.

Oh and when are the bear artefacts going to appear again?