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SunStorm 
Postmaster
Joined: 01 Apr 2011
Location: "Look Up"
Status: Offline
Points: 979 |
 Topic: New Alliance Medals: Suggestions and Observations
Posted: 16 Jun 2012 at 23:39 |
Regarding the medal system: I am very interested in this and I have a suggestion as well.
I really like this new medal feature. It seems to be a fun way to appreciate alliance member and team mates. More than this, it offers a legitimate system for these rewards because players cannot "fake" having a medal by simply taking a screen-shot and posting the image. Being in the system offers validity. Likewise, it is neato to see the small mini medal appear in the friends list!!! (^_^) VERY COOL!!!!
More importantly, I love that these cannot simply be created and given out by the individual players, but are given out by an alliance to those who the alliance feels is worthy! Wonderful!
EDIT: Perhaps alliances should have a system where three to five leading alliance members must approve each person receiving a medal. This would prevent the leadership from simply awarding themselves while the players get nothing.
First suggestion - Mini medal:
For tournament medals issued by the system (and other medals issued by the system), I would love to see these appear before the player's name in all chat systems (global, alliance, forum, etc.) These should be proudly displayed and should add extra renown to players who go chat in global (much as they are all ooh'd and aah'd by the blue DEV chat names).
Observations - Medals:
If someone in an alliance is getting an award for the "BEST, MOST FANTASTIC, FABULOSO PLAYER" - and a medal is being designed once at a cost of 300+ prestige and being issued for 50 prestige, this is too high a cost. The cost of individuality is TOO HIGH. (~_~) Just because someone is your MVP and you wish to honor them, it does not merit spending this much game money. Thats about £7.50 GBP or close to $10.00 USD. WOAH! (0.0) For this reason, valuable players will have to settle for generic medals handed out to multiple players at a more affordable cost.
Now imagine you want to award alliance players a special "ASSET DURING TOURNAMENT X" medal - and you create a generic medal for 50 prestige - but now you give it out to 25 members who participated... Thats a whopping total of 1300 prestige!!!!! Thats about £22.00 GBP or close to $35.00 USD. WOAH!!!!! (0.0) For this reason, it is way too expensive to even reward the mediocre players. (~_~)
Suggestions - Medals:
I believe many will not want to contribute to the alliance for fear that they will never be selected for a medal. Just think about those players in your alliance who don't get on but once a week... you mail them and they reply 5 days later. They don't show up in chat, etc.... (some times that is even me when real life becomes hectic). What are the chances they will be given medals? How much would they contribute to the alliance pool? (my guess is not a lot) So I wonder if the alliances can set up an alliance tax on prestige? Keep it between 1-3 per week (and if they have none, then none is collected). When the tax collectors come to the city, they can take with them 1 prestige for the alliance pool (if one is selected). An alliance with 100 members could easily get 100 prestige a week (400 a month) in addition to what key players may donate.
As for the medals - Lower these prices please. I understand that this will be a feature to bring in revenue for the Dev team, but I cannot see any reason to spend such high amounts of money on something that does not enhance my gameplay in any way other than offering aesthetic value.
What if these medal's could be imbued with special properties? What if during the creation process the medal was enchanted with a "+3% speed boost to all units" or a "+3% food increase in all towns" or there were quests that could only be done by players with medals costing 200+ as well as others that could only be unlocked with medals costing 600+... then you would REALLY have something going for these medals... but as of right now, they offer very little incentive.
EDIT: This is what I would like to see more than anything else.
I hope to see this medal system developed. Truly, I see great potential and I am looking forward to the day when they provide something more than being a profile "paper-weight."
And to Cerberus, Luna, and Sormcrow - Great job on this upcoming update!!!
(Disclaimer: I am not an appointed representative and I do not speak for Harmless? - I speak only for myself)
Edited by SunStorm - 17 Jun 2012 at 00:49
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"Side? I am on nobody's side because nobody is on my side" ~LoTR
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SunStorm
Postmaster
Joined: 01 Apr 2011
Location: "Look Up"
Status: Offline
Points: 979 |
Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 00:44 |
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Seriously? This was not a treatise for people to read and then go on with life. LoL - There have been 20+ views. Feedback is appreciated to those who have something constructive to say. *holds breath in anticipation*
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"Side? I am on nobody's side because nobody is on my side" ~LoTR
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Quackers
Forum Warrior
Joined: 19 Nov 2011
Location: Jeff City
Status: Offline
Points: 435 |
Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 01:05 |
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Sorry I saw a wall of text and ran. :(
Since you asked nicely I went back and read it all. I do agree that the prices for the medals is ridiculous. I couldn't believe anyone would spend that kind of cash for a medal. Not only are you talking about 100-500 prestige, but that prestige can be used for many other things.
50 prestige a player is outlandish. Now, I understand they wish to keep it so not everyone gets one. Heck I get that they want them to be special, not something everyone has. But if you wish to talk in terms of money; they can make more selling for alot less.
50 prestige for just getting a medal, that means 100 medals given will get the developers team over $50. If you cut that price in half to 25 prestige each sounds a lot more reasonable and more people will buy. It just seems like the developers picked a random number that looked good without really looking into the players that have money but haven't seen a reasonable item to spend money on.
They can keep the medal at 50 prestige each, its their game. I cannot fault them for that. I just fully believe the developers would make a lot more money if the prices were cut in half. I know it took a lot of time and money to make this, but realistically speaking it doesn't sound like a true money maker at that price.
-Not saying all medals should be cheap. I think gold and silver should be high. People that have almost maxed out their towns have very little to spend prestige on. That means they can rack up a lot of free prestige. Keeping gold and silver high makes them special. While keep bronze lower then what they are set at now makes them more common. Not saying common is good, but it does mean more money in the developers pocket.
Edited by Quackers - 17 Jun 2012 at 06:36
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Rohk
Forum Warrior
Joined: 09 Aug 2011
Status: Offline
Points: 218 |
Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 03:36 |
I completely agree Quackers and SunStorm. I think the prices are ridiculous. An account name change is 300 Prestige and I would think that that is a far more significant undertaking than designing a medal. At these prices I just think that GM Cerberus' hard work may just go to waste.
When I first heard that the medals were coming out, I was genuinely excited. With all the alliance tournaments we have done and have planned for the future, I was going to make full use of them but at these prices, no thank you. With having the inscriptions being unique, things like changing the tournament number or title for a specific medal could depending on the designs cost hundreds of prestige.
Another way of doing this may be that the alliance could buy the parts of the various medal designs and be able to use parts they have bought over and over with designing new combinations with only having to spend additional prestige to buy a new item to use on the medals. This would allow alliances to have consistent medals with unique inscriptions for the costs of the design features once plus the distribution fee (which I think at 50 prestige is pretty steep).
For example, if the alliance has bought the gold background, a red gem, a green gem and an eagle, they could make medals with any combination of those without paying additional fees for the design unless they wanted to add an octopus item (which after buying it as a one-time fee they could use again later for no charge) plus the distribution fee.
Edited by Rohk - 17 Jun 2012 at 03:38
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Quackers
Forum Warrior
Joined: 19 Nov 2011
Location: Jeff City
Status: Offline
Points: 435 |
Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 03:44 |
 Rohk wrote:
Another way of doing this may be that the alliance could buy the parts of the various medal designs and be able to use parts they have bought over and over with designing new combinations with only having to spend additional prestige to buy a new item to use on the medals. This would allow alliances to have consistent medals with unique inscriptions for the costs of the design features once plus the distribution fee (which I think at 50 prestige is pretty steep).
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I like that idea but yes the 50 prestige is still to much. I think 25 is to much but prices wont ever get changed unless enough people complain. And I fear once they come out, it will already be to late. :/
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Rill
Postmaster General
Player Council - Geographer
Joined: 17 Jun 2011
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 6903 |
Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 05:06 |
I hope the devs make lots of money off the medals and use it to improve the game.
Alliance leaders have a variety of options to help their players feel valued and keep them engaged. Probably some alliance leaders will use medals successfully for that purpose. Others might not.
Maybe they should award medals for buying prestige (as GM Stormcrow used to do facetiously in global chat).
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SunStorm
Postmaster
Joined: 01 Apr 2011
Location: "Look Up"
Status: Offline
Points: 979 |
Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 06:00 |
Rohk wrote:
Another way of doing this may be that the alliance could buy the parts of the various medal designs and be able to use parts they have bought over and over with designing new combinations with only having to spend additional prestige to buy a new item to use on the medals. |
Good thought and great constructive advice! (^_^)
I also hope people use these medals. And I agree that the price should be high enough so that everyone wont have one in a weeks time... it seems to me that they are supposed to be only for the most valued players, not for the general population. So lets think of some more good ideas the Dev's might be able to implement without rehashing the cost.
Any more thoughts? all are welcome! (^_^)
Edit: Added color.
Edited by SunStorm - 17 Jun 2012 at 16:56
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"Side? I am on nobody's side because nobody is on my side" ~LoTR
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Quackers
Forum Warrior
Joined: 19 Nov 2011
Location: Jeff City
Status: Offline
Points: 435 |
Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 06:39 |
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Never had anyone make me change my mind this much. I like the idea bout buying a medal and having that part be unlocked for future medals. I feel that if parts became unlocked people wouldn't mind paying the 50 prestige. Though once an alliance unlocks all the parts, they wont be tempted to buy new parts. This would leave the developers less money wouldn't it?
Though the more I am thinking on it, the more I believe we should leave it as is. Maybe add ways to get free unlocked medals for certain alliances, but keep the whole "buy parts every time" for the medals as it is now. This would keep the alliance medals very special, while giving some achievements to be made in game. Maybe instead of trying to find ways to make medals seem more reasonable, we can come up with ways that medals could be unlocked in game through special events.
I'm sure some alliances will spend the cash for certain medals at the current prices.
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dunnoob
Postmaster
Joined: 10 Dec 2011
Location: Elijal
Status: Offline
Points: 800 |
Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 07:57 |
SunStorm wrote:
Any more thoughts? all are welcome! |
Watching Luna playing with the medal designer I guess there are at least 1M combinations of design elements and their positions. They could enforce unique designs, the first alliance buying a specific design combination is its sole "owner" forever. In other words, if a design must be very expensive it should be at least unique.
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Ander
Postmaster General
Joined: 24 Apr 2011
Status: Offline
Points: 1269 |
Posted: 17 Jun 2012 at 08:48 |
SunStorm wrote:
More importantly, I love that these cannot simply be created and given out by the individual players, but are given out by an alliance to those who the alliance feels is worthy! Wonderful!
EDIT: Perhaps alliances should have a system where three to five leading alliance members must approve each person receiving a medal. This would prevent the leadership from simply awarding themselves while the players get nothing
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I like it the current way. Some richie rich guy can start an alliance and award himself or the members of his alliance many costly medals. There should be something to rejoice if the son of an oil baron starts playing Illy no?
SunStorm wrote:
Observations - Medals:
If someone in an alliance is getting an award for the "BEST, MOST FANTASTIC, FABULOSO PLAYER" - and a medal is being designed once at a cost of 300+ prestige and being issued for 50 prestige, this is too high a cost. The cost of individuality is TOO HIGH. (~_~) Just because someone is your MVP and you wish to honor them, it does not merit spending this much game money. Thats about £7.50 GBP or close to $10.00 USD. WOAH! (0.0) For this reason, valuable players will have to settle for generic medals handed out to multiple players at a more affordable cost.
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I think the cost is okay (it's half prestige by 100 players in an alliance). If it were 3 prestige instead of 50, everyone in an alliance will be having multiple medals as soon as they are released. There will be no esteem in possessing a medal.
The current pricing is good, where most alliances will give badges carefully, making it a prestigious thing to have. Well, there is still the alliance of the son of the oil baron which gives out sparky medals to everyone, but then the alliance tag on the medal remains.
SunStorm wrote:
Now imagine you want to award alliance players a special "ASSET DURING TOURNAMENT X" medal - and you create a generic medal for 50 prestige - but now you give it out to 25 members who participated... Thats a whopping total of 1300 prestige!!!!! Thats about £22.00 GBP or close to $35.00 USD. WOAH!!!!! (0.0) For this reason, it is way too expensive to even reward the mediocre players. (~_~)
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Think of it the other way, a supercool medal made with 1000 prestige that is given for exceptional service. There is some real 'prestige' to it, than the 50 odd medals granted to everyone.
We could also expect a prestige reward to the alliance prestige pool, when the alliance wins a tournament. They can use this to grant medals to the players or spend it in whichever ways they see fit.
SunStorm wrote:
Suggestions - Medals:
I believe many will not want to contribute to the alliance for fear that they will never be selected for a medal. Just think about those players in your alliance who don't get on but once a week... you mail them and they reply 5 days later. They don't show up in chat, etc.... (some times that is even me when real life becomes hectic). What are the chances they will be given medals? How much would they contribute to the alliance pool? (my guess is not a lot) So I wonder if the alliances can set up an alliance tax on prestige? Keep it between 1-3 per week (and if they have none, then none is collected). When the tax collectors come to the city, they can take with them 1 prestige for the alliance pool (if one is selected). An alliance with 100 members could easily get 100 prestige a week (400 a month) in addition to what key players may donate.
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What's the point in having a medal from an alliance headed by yourself or
in giving out medals to members using the prestige collected from them?
I dont like the concept of a 'prestige tax'.
SunStorm wrote:
As for the medals - Lower these prices please. I understand that this will be a feature to bring in revenue for the Dev team, but I cannot see any reason to spend such high amounts of money on something that does not enhance my gameplay in any way other than offering aesthetic value.
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A high price is fair, because it doesnt make a difference in gameplay between a player who can buy prestige and a player who cannot. It is a vanity item you pay for.
SunStorm wrote:
What if these medal's could be imbued with special properties? What if during the creation process the medal was enchanted with a "+3% speed boost to all units" or a "+3% food increase in all towns" or there were quests that could only be done by players with medals costing 200+ as well as others that could only be unlocked with medals costing 600+... then you would REALLY have something going for these medals... but as of right now, they offer very little incentive.
EDIT: This is what I would like to see more than anything else.
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It is better when people cannot buy an upperhand in the game with more prestige. (pink balloons around your town walls for 3 prestige, merry Christmas banners for 5, Christmas tree for 15)
Vanity items should not have gameplay advantages associated with it. Not everyone will be interested in vanity and such people should not be forced to buy vanity items at high prices for the gameplay advantages it bring.
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New Alliance Medals: Suggestions and Observations