New PVE Slice Time

Bowgentle

BearVenger said:

I know y'all are doing this for love, and not even snacks, so I wanna make sure you know I appreciate it. I certainly don't wanna shut down your opinion as a player.

Well, they _are_ getting a free 5* cover every month.

@Topic

Yeah, more slices = fewer flips.
It's bad enough as it is.

NMANOZ

You are planning to leave England 

Jrlrma

Bowgentle said:

DaSal said:

8 slices 3 hours apart would provide plenty of flexibility to the player base. So what if more rewards are available? More rewards means happy players. Happy players should translate to a successful, healthy game

Happy players don't spend money.

Neither do players who leave the game out of frustration. 

capi121

I would appreciate them working on D3 to include a new slice that will start 3 or 4 hours before slice 1 on pve. I think that schedule is good for many players. I have always thought that there is a lack of a schedule

Quebbster

I'd love a timeslice that ended at 10PM, though 9PM would be even better. I don't quite get why the OP wants one ending at midnight, doing the grind until 1AM doesn't seem fun to me. To each their own though.

Bulls

Something similar to what broll has sugested: 24h to join event in sub1 since it started, your personal timer starts at the time you've joined. Bracket fills until 1k ppl, then next one start. It would reduce number of sniped brackers with just few hundred players or less competing, therefore number of top rewards is reduced (demiurge is happy) and players play event staring at the time that suits them best (happy customers). Only losers of that change would be bracket snipers

Daiches

Bulls said:

Something similar to what broll has sugested: 24h to join event in sub1 since it started, your personal timer starts at the time you've joined. Bracket fills until 1k ppl, then next one start. It would reduce number of sniped brackers with just few hundred players or less competing, therefore number of top rewards is reduced (demiurge is happy) and players play event staring at the time that suits them best (happy customers). Only losers of that change would be bracket snipers

That would shift the end time of each event by up to a full 24h. Meaning that you would have to wait until everyone finished before getting rewards. Even longer for alliance.
Since the essentials are the rewards from the previous event this means you can't start the next event until rewards are in, which could be even after sub 1 ended since start time for event is fixed. Or you would have a time period with no events running which they won't do.
This problem is especially noticeable on release event characters. 

So no, it won't work. 

Quebbster

Daiches said:

Bulls said:

Something similar to what broll has sugested: 24h to join event in sub1 since it started, your personal timer starts at the time you've joined. Bracket fills until 1k ppl, then next one start. It would reduce number of sniped brackers with just few hundred players or less competing, therefore number of top rewards is reduced (demiurge is happy) and players play event staring at the time that suits them best (happy customers). Only losers of that change would be bracket snipers

That would shift the end time of each event by up to a full 24h. Meaning that you would have to wait until everyone finished before getting rewards. Even longer for alliance.
Since the essentials are the rewards from the previous event this means you can't start the next event until rewards are in, which could be even after sub 1 ended since start time for event is fixed. Or you would have a time period with no events running which they won't do.
This problem is especially noticeable on release event characters. 

So no, it won't work. 

Why?

If people join whenever they feel like, the bracket should consist of people who started at a similar time. Once time is up for the entire bracket placement rewards can be distributed. Sure, Alliance rewards would need to wait until all brackets are done, but I don't see why personal rewards couldn't be distributed early.

And it's perfectly possible to start a new event Before you got the rewards from the previous one. Leaving one essential node unplayed for a Little while may not be a big deal as long as you aren't going for top placement.

Andre_Leca_89

Quebbster said:

I'd love a timeslice that ended at 10PM, though 9PM would be even better. I don't quite get why the OP wants one ending at midnight, doing the grind until 1AM doesn't seem fun to me. To each their own though.

From 10pm to midnight or even to 1am is when I have time to do my clears so with a slice that starts at midnight I could be competitive and I know there are people that would like a midnight slice 

Daiches

Quebbster said:

Daiches said:

Bulls said:

Something similar to what broll has sugested: 24h to join event in sub1 since it started, your personal timer starts at the time you've joined. Bracket fills until 1k ppl, then next one start. It would reduce number of sniped brackers with just few hundred players or less competing, therefore number of top rewards is reduced (demiurge is happy) and players play event staring at the time that suits them best (happy customers). Only losers of that change would be bracket snipers

That would shift the end time of each event by up to a full 24h. Meaning that you would have to wait until everyone finished before getting rewards. Even longer for alliance.
Since the essentials are the rewards from the previous event this means you can't start the next event until rewards are in, which could be even after sub 1 ended since start time for event is fixed. Or you would have a time period with no events running which they won't do.
This problem is especially noticeable on release event characters. 

So no, it won't work. 

Why?

If people join whenever they feel like, the bracket should consist of people who started at a similar time. Once time is up for the entire bracket placement rewards can be distributed. Sure, Alliance rewards would need to wait until all brackets are done, but I don't see why personal rewards couldn't be distributed early.

And it's perfectly possible to start a new event Before you got the rewards from the previous one. Leaving one essential node unplayed for a Little while may not be a big deal as long as you aren't going for top placement.

Quebbster said:

Daiches said:

Bulls said:

Something similar to what broll has sugested: 24h to join event in sub1 since it started, your personal timer starts at the time you've joined. Bracket fills until 1k ppl, then next one start. It would reduce number of sniped brackers with just few hundred players or less competing, therefore number of top rewards is reduced (demiurge is happy) and players play event staring at the time that suits them best (happy customers). Only losers of that change would be bracket snipers

That would shift the end time of each event by up to a full 24h. Meaning that you would have to wait until everyone finished before getting rewards. Even longer for alliance.
Since the essentials are the rewards from the previous event this means you can't start the next event until rewards are in, which could be even after sub 1 ended since start time for event is fixed. Or you would have a time period with no events running which they won't do.
This problem is especially noticeable on release event characters. 

So no, it won't work. 

Why?

If people join whenever they feel like, the bracket should consist of people who started at a similar time. Once time is up for the entire bracket placement rewards can be distributed. Sure, Alliance rewards would need to wait until all brackets are done, but I don't see why personal rewards couldn't be distributed early.

And it's perfectly possible to start a new event Before you got the rewards from the previous one. Leaving one essential node unplayed for a Little while may not be a big deal as long as you aren't going for top placement.

Besides the prejoin bracket and the first flip, people join very far apart. The third or fourth bracket often only flips 2 days later for most slices. Meaning those players would have to wait much much longer on their rewards. Even the players in the non-prejoin bracket being forced to wait 8-10 hours and missing out on their preferred start time (for instance right at start, but bracket is fresh and takes half a day to fill) would be inconvenienced.
It would impact far more players negatively than you assume. You are looking at it from a much too casual standpoint. 

animaniactoo

Ducky said:

And fracture the playerbase even more? No thanks. 

Fracture or increase? One of the consistent issues I had playing was the lack of a time slot that was even remotely close to working for me. For awhile I could work around that because: 

1) I had not yet progressed to the point where personal scaling meant it took me 3 hours around the slice to be competitive/keep up.

2) I was still capable of waking up early enough to play sub 1 on a 4/1/1 schedule and losing some points but not enough to matter significantly by doing my 5th clear in the evening and leaving myself only the 6th for the morning.

3) Right around the point where I had gotten to the point of 4 hours a day just to be able to do all 6 clears and ready to quit over that, SCL scaling went in to place and made me a happy camper again.

4) Work was dry so I *could* play slices that meant interfering with work hours. 

I was hooked and a fan of the game, and as work picked up it increasingly became an issue for my life. So I modified and modified and managed and played less and less optimally but still "good enough" to keep up and stay T50. It was by far not the happiest I have been playing and I'd been pretty frustrated for awhile. I knew there was going to be a give up point in my future but I figured it was months down the line, I wasn't at it yet, and all that it would have taken to keep me relatively happy was a time slice that landed somewhere in the middle of the hours that I actually have FREE to play. Literally, that was all it would have taken. Or alternatively fewer clears which would have meant not feeling as repetitive and being able to compete at the higher level my roster could handle but my life couldn't in terms of the amount of time required.

Others... are not nearly as ridiculous as I am when it comes to giving up stuff, and I imagine more people have walked away from the game than tried to continue to make it work with the giant hole between sub 3 and sub 4. I really really really want to know the logic behind the 5/5/6/3/5 setup. But that's beside the point.

To address someone else's point about happy players don't spend money? I put VIP money in to the game because I liked the rewards, but outside of a few initial small purchases I never put more in over 2 years. Because I do not like the feeling of being *forced* to pay for a f2p game in order to play it well. If it's an attractive add-on and I have the money, I absolutely believe in rewarding games that are well structured with my dollars. If I feel too pressured to pay in order to be able to play successfully, I give up and go elsewhere. My money wallet is stingier than my time and energy one.

Addaran

The biggest problem in my mind is the brackets. It's stupid that the top 15 of the first bracket might have more points then the top 5 of the later bracket, but those top 5 lucked into a less competitive bracket.

If fracturing the player base is a problem, remove brackets. Instead of having 5 slices x 3-4 brackets each, you could have only 6 slices x 1 brackets. Player base less fractured and more choice of when to start your clear.

The 5/5/6/3/5 set-up is also very biased. Should be 5/5/5/4/5. Better spread around all day. Or one every 4 hours for 6 slices.

Arphaxad

If adding a new time slice would "fracture the playerbase" and harm the game, then MPQ is in worse shape than we thought. IF the game is growing, it should be able to handle a new slice.

Besides, it wouldn't increase the number of top prizes as it would still be the same number of players and same number of brackets. It doesn't matter what time a bracket is played, if people move from one time slice to another MPQ ends up with the same number of brackets and the same number of rewards earned.

Daiches

Arphaxad said:

If adding a new time slice would "fracture the playerbase" and harm the game, then MPQ is in worse shape than we thought. IF the game is growing, it should be able to handle a new slice.

Besides, it wouldn't increase the number of top prizes as it would still be the same number of players and same number of brackets. It doesn't matter what time a bracket is played, if people move from one time slice to another MPQ ends up with the same number of brackets and the same number of rewards earned.

You do realize that there is very thorough tracking of PVE brackets? This isn't an unfounded claim.

Bulls

@Daiches
You're right, but that would be an issue mostly for really competitive players, right? Then they could add next 1-2 progression rewards after current final reward (cp) that would require 7 full clears and that would be 3* and 4* cover of character for placement (and required in next event). I know it would mean more rewards given to ppl but still I guess it would outweight rewards for several more brackets that are filled by just few hundred ppl.

animaniactoo

Daiches said:

Arphaxad said:

If adding a new time slice would "fracture the playerbase" and harm the game, then MPQ is in worse shape than we thought. IF the game is growing, it should be able to handle a new slice.

Besides, it wouldn't increase the number of top prizes as it would still be the same number of players and same number of brackets. It doesn't matter what time a bracket is played, if people move from one time slice to another MPQ ends up with the same number of brackets and the same number of rewards earned.

You do realize that there is very thorough tracking of PVE brackets? This isn't an unfounded claim.

But the conclusions drawn may be incorrect. Whether due to personal bias or otherwise.

Straycat

This is one of those "learn to deal with it" rather than "petition for a change" things in my mind. Obviously everyone can voice their opinions, but why would they make this change? Have they ever changed slices before? What are the most played slices, and how would adding a slice 2 hours after slice 3 change things?

bluewolf

Some time ago - probably about a year or so - the devs actually had a survey asking about preferred slice times. It suggests that they are looking at possible shifts at some point.

However:  Once you are playing the game for a while, and are inclined to complete a survey about it, you probably have already either adjusted to the schedule to be competitive or you just didn’t bother continuing with the game once you realize an. optimal schedule doesn’t fit your life.  So an in game survey would mostly capture the desire for change among people with life changes who were sticking with it but wished for a change.

A quick review of brackets suggests the top SCL’s contain about 35-50k players in a non new-release.  Some slices get played more than others.  It seems to me that adding another slice wouldn’t be that dramatic of an increase in rewards given out and could offer more players the chance to engage more, and that’s good for the game.  It could also shake up brackets and change who plays where.

All that said, the devs are a small team and this issue seems much more of a “nice to have” than “must implement” feature for most of the existing players.

Quebbster

Daiches said:

Quebbster said:

Daiches said:

Bulls said:

Something similar to what broll has sugested: 24h to join event in sub1 since it started, your personal timer starts at the time you've joined. Bracket fills until 1k ppl, then next one start. It would reduce number of sniped brackers with just few hundred players or less competing, therefore number of top rewards is reduced (demiurge is happy) and players play event staring at the time that suits them best (happy customers). Only losers of that change would be bracket snipers

That would shift the end time of each event by up to a full 24h. Meaning that you would have to wait until everyone finished before getting rewards. Even longer for alliance.
Since the essentials are the rewards from the previous event this means you can't start the next event until rewards are in, which could be even after sub 1 ended since start time for event is fixed. Or you would have a time period with no events running which they won't do.
This problem is especially noticeable on release event characters. 

So no, it won't work. 

Why?

If people join whenever they feel like, the bracket should consist of people who started at a similar time. Once time is up for the entire bracket placement rewards can be distributed. Sure, Alliance rewards would need to wait until all brackets are done, but I don't see why personal rewards couldn't be distributed early.

And it's perfectly possible to start a new event Before you got the rewards from the previous one. Leaving one essential node unplayed for a Little while may not be a big deal as long as you aren't going for top placement.

Quebbster said:

Daiches said:

Bulls said:

Something similar to what broll has sugested: 24h to join event in sub1 since it started, your personal timer starts at the time you've joined. Bracket fills until 1k ppl, then next one start. It would reduce number of sniped brackers with just few hundred players or less competing, therefore number of top rewards is reduced (demiurge is happy) and players play event staring at the time that suits them best (happy customers). Only losers of that change would be bracket snipers

That would shift the end time of each event by up to a full 24h. Meaning that you would have to wait until everyone finished before getting rewards. Even longer for alliance.
Since the essentials are the rewards from the previous event this means you can't start the next event until rewards are in, which could be even after sub 1 ended since start time for event is fixed. Or you would have a time period with no events running which they won't do.
This problem is especially noticeable on release event characters. 

So no, it won't work. 

Why?

If people join whenever they feel like, the bracket should consist of people who started at a similar time. Once time is up for the entire bracket placement rewards can be distributed. Sure, Alliance rewards would need to wait until all brackets are done, but I don't see why personal rewards couldn't be distributed early.

And it's perfectly possible to start a new event Before you got the rewards from the previous one. Leaving one essential node unplayed for a Little while may not be a big deal as long as you aren't going for top placement.

Besides the prejoin bracket and the first flip, people join very far apart. The third or fourth bracket often only flips 2 days later for most slices. Meaning those players would have to wait much much longer on their rewards. Even the players in the non-prejoin bracket being forced to wait 8-10 hours and missing out on their preferred start time (for instance right at start, but bracket is fresh and takes half a day to fill) would be inconvenienced.
It would impact far more players negatively than you assume. You are looking at it from a much too casual standpoint. 

You are thinking of this in terms of time slices. The system as I understand it is meant to abolish the time slices, so I don't think it would be as bad as you think.
Example: I joined slice 2 of Fight for Wakanda yesterday, and my bracket still hasn't filled. I joined before slice 3 started though, so under the proposed system the first players that joined around the start of slice 3 would end up in my bracket, once it was full it would start a new one. And everyone has 3/4/7 24-hour periods to get as many points as they can, so it's not necessarily a drawback to join a bracket with 900+ players - it might be an advantage even since you would know how hard you would need to play to pass the leaders of the bracket.
The main problem is transparency, since the optimal scoring method is not necessarily known to all players. Might be frustrating to be in a good position and then suddenly drop because people who joined after you played better.

Starfury

I'd suggest dropping brackets altogether. Transform all placement rewards into percentile ranks and you're done. (i.e. T50 => top 5%)

It would be a simple change and quite simply more fair than the current system.