I don't think it's difficult to link the blower on all channels, or even having a blower only on ch 1. Same about spawn snowman in many channels when blower is full.
We're already working hard behind the scenes to find out a way to make this event enjoyable for everyone, while at the same time we try to make it so players can't abuse it too much with mules. It's tough to get it right but we try really hard, I hope the community can be patient enough for us to look into this.
This is just a suggestion, but maybe you could somehow implement a cooldown for the players who leave the event map for that specific channel. Perhaps this could encourage players to work together to fill up the snowblower in other channels which might ultimately alleviate the lag / d/c problem for some.
I just want to say , I am just throwing ideas , no clue if it can fix / help . 1. The first suggestion is pretty simple , Maybe we could change the map the snowman spawns in to a bigger map (like amoria with the slime boss) , it might help somehow reducing the lag ? Maybe it's laggy because it's too crowded and there are a lot of people in a small map . 2. Give up on the "together" part of the event and make it individual . My idea is to make a new quest that has cool down (like thanksgiving event) , what you need to do is to donate an exact amount of snow to a npc , let's say every 1-2 hours an amount of like 200-400 snow , and you will get one present to your inventory . I don't know if it's possible but you could also code the Npc to warp you into a map with a "tiny" snowman which you need to kill by yourself ? Once again , I know it's not perfect and some of you would think it's stupid , but I'm just trying to find the best way to solve this issue , Hoping to see some feedback
major problem people not being able to participate in the event minor problems people receive multiple gifts via multiclienting (this may or may not actually be a problem depending on the admins' opinions) campers receive presents (if they add in snow, is this still a problem? depends on the admins' opinions) 100 players limit pros: less people DC/lag (DC/lag cannot be eliminated by the admins as it is not a server issue, but a limit makes it a little better) con1: camping prevents others from participating in the event con2: Discourages players to actively collect snow as a result from the camping/Players generally only donate to CH1. possible fix 1: add a timer to kick out campers problem with fix 1: doesn't actually get rid of campers since they will keep coming back. there is also a problem in determining the length of the timer possible fix 2: require people to add snow to participate problem with fix 2: campers will add snow and camp regardless (is this actually a problem?) no limit pros: no downside to camping for others cons: more people DC/lag possible fix: none. with no limit people will DC/lag regardless, even with skills/chat/drop/chairs/whatever disabled. there are simply too many people campers who don't lag/DC are the only ones who are able to participate in the event the most times in both alternatives. features without real downsides present added directly in inventory skills disabled dropping items disabled (is this possible?) reasonable timer (may not have a real benefit) PROPOSED FEATURES/ALTERNATIVES 1. require people to donate a minimum amount of snow (100?) BEFORE entering the map pros: less people participate naturally without a set limit, but in this case it is not a problem because it feels right that the people who add snow are the ones who get to receive a present. cons: the number of people who DC/lag may not be significantly reduced 2. allow people to receive presents even without hitting the snowman so long as they are in a party with somebody who has hit it (no players limit) pros: people who still DC/lag even with a players limit have a higher chance of getting a present because they can stand far from the snowman and let a friend in their party who will not DC/lag hit the snowman for you cons: multiclienting abuses this alternative, but is that really a problem? and if it is, does it outweigh the benefits of this alternative? depends on the admins' opinions. this is also not guaranteed to work every time as the snowman will sometimes move to the parts of the map that usually do not affect players the most (the far left side mostly) and they will still DC/lag. i am assuming that a change to the snowman map layout and/or movement of the snowman is impossible anything else? agree/disagree with the weight i've placed on each problem? share your thoughts, but any replies that are mostly complaining and whining will be flagged.
I'm for instance snowman. Perhaps it should be a sort of party quest which requires a set amount of people.
I agree with proposed alternative #1. It makes sense for people to have to donate a minimum of 100 snow in order to enter the map. It means that you actually contributed. It would also create more opportunities for other people to get into the map, as you'd have to get more snow (that is unless you hoarded 100s of snow). But at least then, it makes sense that you're camping in the map to get that present that you deserve.
I'm pretty content with the event as it is now, even though I disconnect from the server once in a while. The frequent snowman spawns outweigh the lag issues in my case, but I'm sure there are still those who experience constant DCs from GFX errors and using operating systems. Comment on Suggestion 1: A "buy-in" to get into the map would promote donating only the absolute minimum to enter and make players stay the duration of the timer so they don't have to pay the entry fee again. It would also encourage players to buy/sell snow rather than wanting to contribute on their own and while that's not a major issue, in a way it does make this event P2W. As for suggestion 2, I guess it really wouldn't make much of a difference if this were to be implemented since people have been multi-clienting and receiving gifts even with the attacking requirement added. Also, I'd suggest adding this con to the player limit section: "Discourages players to actively collect snow as a result from the camping/Players generally only donate to CH1."
I actually like the idea of getting rid of the snowman boss entirely. This event has lead to a lot of frustration from a lot of users. Perhaps an individual quest where you donate x snow to get a present that is completable every y hours would be the simplest solution.
Removing the player limit again, contributes to the fact that people still faces the problem of either dc-ing or experiencing screen freezes when the snowman spawns. It doesn't make sense too, to have the time limit set for an hour with the removal of the player limitations in the map. As people can just re-enter the map just as the timer is about to time-out. As what the above players mentioned ; 1. this is definitely the easiest method of choice 2. an individual event for present is also another solution to look into. 3. I would like to suggest the re-implementation of the player limitation of the map (100capacity) as well as having the timer limit activated, and to solve the problem of many people camping in the channel and not donating ; we can tweak the snowman capacity to a lower figure like for example say 6000 snow instead of the current 10000snow. This way people will feel more obliged to donate since it will be quicker to summon it. Also, I know many of us have alternates in the event (I do it myself too). In this case, with my suggestion in mind; we can have the snowman dropping e.g. 75 presents for the 100 players in the map so whoever that's multi clienting will not be guaranteed a present for all their characters while someone who opens only ONE client will definitely enjoy his/her present. 4. Another suggestion, also the re-implementation of the player limitation of the map (100capacity), with the capacity of the snowman to be at 10000snow. To allow access to the event map, renders a players to donate 100 snow upon entering the map. Thus once a map have 100 players, a snowman will be summoned. This way it kinds of force everyone who wants a present to donate instead of just leeching which some players are doing it right now. (Example, you have 2 clients that wants to join the event, you will have to donate 100 snow per character which adds up to 200snow) Cheers! Merry Christmas everyone
I merged all of the threads together so all ideas and examples and feedback can be collected in one area instead of filling up the feedback board with multiple threads
I like this idea too. It basically solves various problems: 1) Solves the amount of lag/DC the players are facing right now 2) Literally makes everyone contribute if they want a present 3) Perhaps will make players use other channels more often You then probably won't need a timer to kick campers out since everyone would have contributed to the snowblower to get in in the first place?
Yes, I also like this idea a lot as it sounds much fairer to me! It is basically the same as exchanging 100 snow for 1 christmas present, and people can argue that "why not set up an NPC to exchange snow for present directly", but at least when we get to fight snowman, we can still enjoy the excitement of fighting with 100 other players against a boss and it also gives a nostalgic feeling. It's also much better than the current situation where people with MAC or less powerful PC are completely disadvantaged. If people who buy better and more expensive computer can enjoy this christmas event more, isn't this the same as "pay-to-win"? GM, pls consider this idea. I really appreciate your willingness in hearing to the player and all your effort in making this event better. We are not too far away from a christmas event that will make almost everyone satisfied! Thanks!
I think the 4th idea is realy interesting , just one thing that bothers me is that you can't know how long it will take to get 100 people to contribute and spawn it . (As it has been almost 2hours without a snowman at the moment) , so people don't want to be "trapped" inside until it spawns , and just wait until it's 50/100 or so . Maybe you could make a npc that gives you a ticket for 100 snow , and there will be a notification once 100 people bought a ticket and you could go to the npc again and go in with your ticket .
First off , I personally do not like events that are luck based, as I think that it can be unfair, two different players may spent the same amount of time on a particular event but two of them may not achieve the same outcome. Hence, I am more attracted to grind based event which your result reflects the hardwork you have imputed. In this event , one could say that players can grind for stars which can be used to exchanged for items but the rewards from snowman seems to be much better and you are better off staying in snowman than grinding as presents can give a high amount of stars, which is quite disappointing and discouraging, at least for me. The current situation is at a disadvantage for players who have not so great computers , who can't multi client , have not more than one computers which lower the chances of them getting presents hence rewards. ( crashes , lags , dcs , the problem I have myself is my client froze when I go near snowman until it is dead) However , I do appreciate the event nonetheless and the only thing to be blamed is your client. I like the "4th suggestion" as stated above as it supports the idea of contributing and prevents crashes. However, crashes may still happen even with 100 players. I would rather have this snowman event to be sort of private, like a cap of 30 players in a zone which allows us to kill the snowman with our buddies and guilders while we contribute our snows, as this will truly provide a fun time and team work with you and your friends. Just my opinion tho...
I was personally never against the cap, I just wished 1-2 extra channels were synced so that it would promote healthy snow donations and less camping. Even with 2 channels that would be at least 200 people who could participate (with a 100 person per channel cap). As it is right now, I have joined many events since the SC, I want to say ~5 and I have yet to be able to receive a present despite hitting the snowman throughout the 1-2nd body. I dc or freeze by the third, so I even when I contribute, I don't get anything. I understand it's probably frustrating after working so hard on the event, but I truly believe that there needs to be a cap to how many people can be in a map. I am on a desktop, I don't have an Nvidia graphics card, and my internet is connected via an ethernet cable (not wireless). My computer is not a gaming computer, but it is also has decent stats. I am not dual clienting. I can usually stay logged in on most, if not all, clients during lag spikes too (when I do multi client) so I know it's not just me. It's not just me who is unable to participate in these events. I'm sure there are many people who are unable to enjoy the event, and are sad about that. Because it is fun when I do get to participate, it's just incredibly frustrating when we do try and continuously get disappointed. It feels like unless we have an incredibly good computer, no one will really be able to participate easily. As of right now, I'm pretty disappointed in the fact that I'll never be able to get a present box and never be able to get enough stars for rewards because the only way to get a good chunk is through the events. Grinding is not an option, nor is there any solution for those who are unable to participate in the events. At the very least, maybe we can change it to 10 hits total, not 10 hits of the last body, so that people who have lag issues can try and get their 10 hits in before the lag influx of everyone pouring into the map.
+1 Vote for the synced channel idea. Since presents are now placed directly into the inventory, I think this would be the best solution to reduce lag. Since theres no present limit, I don't see a reason not to simultaneously spawn 2-3 snowmen so that people can spread out.
Can you add an option to Opongos that lets us trade the gelts/grams we get from the snowman box. I hate getting untradable stuff my class cant use and hate throwing it out. Ex. Trade 3 gelt chocolates for 3 banana gram pies.
If you plan on keeping the way it is now, may I suggest that in order to get a present you must attack the first body? This way people who lag too much during the 2nd/3rd body will have a chance to get a present. It also prevents people from just coming at the end to attack and not donating any snow. Lastly, the people who have attacked the first body will still have incentive to keep on attacking in order to get the present. Thanks GMs, appreciate all the hard work you guys are putting in to make this event the best it can be
