[urgent] this site really is actually dying

[DisneyLuv]

One of the first things I noticed when joining this site was how infrequently events happen. Maybe it's because I'm used to games that have events at least once a month, but it feels like there are so few that happen in a year. I think that having a reoccurring week-long event every month would be nice. It would have to be formatted a little differently, like an event-only currency that carries over and the items/pets cost a lot more so that a player couldn't get them all in one month. This would allow the event to have replayability and there wouldn't need to be new pets and items each time it comes out. A few times a year there would be new additions to the prize pool, or things could be swapped out to keep it feeling new.

Or an event with direct community involvement. Perhaps one that has players submit designs for pets/items, and the top whatever get input into the game via a vote. I've participated in a few of these, and it's always fun to see everyone's designs and ideas. Or, perhaps, even just having the community vote on the upcoming summer event theme could help generate excitement in advance as well as cater more accurately to what people want to see.

On a different note, I've always enjoyed games that have a raffle system over auctions. It can help give newer players the chance to get rarer things easier, thus giving them a helpful leg up when first starting. Furthermore, I find them to be more rewarding to the 'runner' of the raffle than auctions because you have multiple people contributing to a total rather than just a singular person.

In terms of player hostility, I have yet to experience it myself even though I've been doing my fair share of trading and have recently been getting into the forums more (though I don't doubt that it's there). It does, however, reassure me that the overall community is welcoming.

I really enjoy the raffle idea!
On Lioden, you can buy tickets into raffles for different lions or items, and prices are set by the user!
If we had something like that, we’d all have several opportunities to at least enter for pets we want. It’d give everyone more of a chance.

[DisneyLuv]

i personally would really like to see a mods take on this thread, or at least know if they’re understanding where we’re coming from. i think it would make a world of a difference to know whether or not they agree or if they have any input. even if they could let us know if any of these ideas are possibilities, or if they’ll be shared throughout the staff. i’ve always noticed that there isn’t very much transparency between the staff and the players and i really would like to see that change.

Fully agree. Maybe they’ll even post on the thread.

[winx]

Hi all.
Briefly went over every page and post to see the general discussion and suggested improvements. Thought I would add some input as well.

I definitely agree that a new user is automatically off to a late start. If my account suddenly disappeared one day, I would not create a new account. It is a daunting task in my mind to collect all the pets on the site. The completionist in me, however, pushes me towards that goal. I cannot even imagine how this must feel for a new user since there are literally thousands of pets on the site. There are great methods of getting mass amounts of older pets, such as from quitting users, adoption threads, giveaways, etc., but then one must know how valuable the pets they get are or they run the risk of getting scammed. A few months back there was a giveaway for a full store pet collection that went to a newly joined player. I wish I could have seen the trades they were getting for those pets not knowing how valuable all of them were. People are prone to take advantage of the ignorance of others for their own gain. It is a sad, but very real, thing when we are protected behind the anonymity a screen provides. I see it all the time since I frequent the "Is this a fair trade?" thread. I do my best to respond on that thread when I have some extra time since I know that sinking feeling of trading certain pets away for less than their worth.

To combat the issue of new users starting off way behind the rest of the community, my first thought would be to implement some sort of new user adoption. It could be similar to the Dec. 18th re-release box. The only problem I see with that though is the very real possibility of them getting scammed of it immediately. With that, I would probably suggest a pet trade lock that will prevent the pets from being traded away for at least a month (till full grown). That would at least enable people to hopefully learn the value of the pets they got and get decent returns for it if they decide to sell it. The same could possibly apply to the real Dec. 18th boxes, but that would probably frustrate older users who already know the value of the pet they have. I am also not sure how much code this would take to implement, so that is another factor to consider as well. In general, if CS wants more users, the site needs better retention of users. If a new user joins, immediately feels like there's no point due to how confusing trading is or the inflated value of pets or getting scammed, then they are not going to stay. Simple as that.

I also 100% feel that store pets need to be re-released. The values at this point have simply gotten way out of hand. 12+ nons for a Skelebun? C'mon now. There is the argument of: well, you should work towards your goals and then when you get the pet you'll feel so much accomplishment for all the effort you put in. That is a part of it, but there are always ways to increase difficulty on CS. One could simply go for certain species completion, a full monthly collection, a full event pet collection, a complete collection of re-released pets... the list goes on. It could be a fun extra Dec. 18th box that only gives one re-released store pet from any year. It would at least help to bring down values a little bit.

As for the general atmosphere of CS, I haven't really had many problems recently. I try to treat people how I would like to be treated. I go on here to unwind after a long day. It gives me peace of mind to go on CS and have good conversations with the friends I have made on here. I enjoy helping people learn the site, trade values, etc. It makes me feel like I can serve a purpose. Sometimes I'll just go to the online users and randomly click a few profiles to gift. I personally love the feeling of being randomly gifted, so I like to return that feeling to others in turn. Getting gifts, having good conversations, helping others, trades that benefit both me and the trade partner -- this all makes me feel good inside. However, I have definitely had situations where I get rude messages from declining a trade. I struggle with anxiety, so one little bad comment like that can completely ruin my night. I usually just go off of CS for the rest of the night and come back tomorrow with a fresh mindset. There's not much that can be done about rude people unless they are breaking the rules, harassing you, etc. You can, of course, block them, but usually there is a catalyst (like a rude message) before you get the idea to block them. That is just a fact of being online. People can say and do what they want within the confines of the rules. There is no consequence to them in real life to treat someone online poorly. As for solutions to this... all I can say is find your people. You'll find those one or two or more individuals that make playing on here super fun. If any of you need a friend on here, shoot me a message. I will be there for you!

Overall, this ended up being a bit longer than I intended. I really like the idea already suggested of a daily sign-in bonus of some kind. I think a way to earn C$ other than through buying or trading would be pretty beneficial to the inflation as well. Perhaps the sign-in bonus could potentially give C$ every now and then. Similar to how you can earn gems by keeping your dragons fed on FR.

I hope you all have a lovely day and thank you for reading.

[Bunnybee]

i personally would really like to see a mods take on this thread, or at least know if they’re understanding where we’re coming from. i think it would make a world of a difference to know whether or not they agree or if they have any input. even if they could let us know if any of these ideas are possibilities, or if they’ll be shared throughout the staff. i’ve always noticed that there isn’t very much transparency between the staff and the players and i really would like to see that change.

100% ive not noticed much or any communication with staff and players, theres not much of a connection and thats not great for the community

[TheWranglerDani!]

i miss the way this app was in 2016, nobody was demanding, everyone was nice and helped new players out and it just genuinely had a much better vibe, i never got many rares or anything back then but the ones i did get were traded fairly and people werent DEMANDING overpay for any rares even if you have something worth it. I wish the mods and devs would fix this game and change it up a bit or add another section for the older players to trade or talk amongst themselves, or like others were saying, a daily reward system or bday gifts or a tutorial for starting. I miss this game so much but honestly its not even fun anymore

[Infailia]

I also 100% feel that store pets need to be re-released. The values at this point have simply gotten way out of hand. 12+ nons for a Skelebun? C'mon now. There is the argument of: well, you should work towards your goals and then when you get the pet you'll feel so much accomplishment for all the effort you put in. That is a part of it, but there are always ways to increase difficulty on CS. One could simply go for certain species completion, a full monthly collection, a full event pet collection, a complete collection of re-released pets... the list goes on. It could be a fun extra Dec. 18th box that only gives one re-released store pet from any year. It would at least help to bring down values a little bit.

100% agree. It would be nice to have one in December, but even having them re-released in the store would help 'reset' the values so to speak.

[faerah]

I highly support putting store pets into december 18th, I am starting to lose hope on my bun collection all because of the skelebun but I wont give up

[~Bai~]

I highly support putting store pets into december 18th, I am starting to lose hope on my bun collection all because of the skelebun but I wont give up

yeah same here

[barbwirebrat]

in response to winx’s comment about store pet rereleases, this is something i would really like to see. i’ve seen a lot of people say that it wouldn’t be fair towards the people that spent real money, but considering that there’s zero way to obtain old store pets aside from trading, i really don’t see how it would make a difference. i’ve seen the skelebun go for upwards of 30,000 c$ (which is roughly a whopping $1,580 USD) and im just not sure how that doesn’t put a bad taste in peoples mouths. no virtual pet should ever be worth that much and i think it would save a lot of hassle (and money) to just rerelease store pets with december 18th.

[darkrune37]

I just thought of an idea, what if in our pet archive it marks pets we've already owned so people would only need to own a pet to check it off their personal completion list, instead of always having to keep pets in your collection forever.