Ask the admin (08/29/2011)

[Lanzer]

Hello everyone!

The summer vacation is too short isn't it? The days are getting shorter already..

The summer event is coming to a close, hope you enjoy both parts of the series. As the event come to a close, we're focused on tweaking the new alchemy feature as we've got much too many formulas to balance. Any comments and suggestions are appreciated.
.

[Existential Existence]

SNIPE
rofl

BOOOOYAAA!!!!

I posted this in the Alchemy Q&A earlier but I'm thinking this might be an issue you guys might want to go over in some meeting or something? It's about re-releasing items with the alchemy feature that users have been given the impression would not be re-released anywhere else, other than from their respective bundles or time frame from which they were released:

Existential Existence

pepper-tea

Lucky, Milk are both still obtainable in the current CI, and have been obtainable in the monthly CIs since their release. Sherbet, if he isn't available in the current CI (I don't work on them so I can't say for certain) then he will be in future CIs, and/or be craftable. I can be certain about that because that is required of all items used in alchemy.

I'm a little confused though about all items required in alchemy to be craftable, because the item North Kitten Star came with an announcement that said they were exclusive to a certain bundle. I think a lot of people were under the impression that this item wouldn't be re-released anywhere, unless the Super Prize itself got re-released wherein you could still get a NKS.

Here's the a screenshot and the NKS ad:


I was thinking this was really the only worry about 'item extinction' since, MCs aside, Gaia can re-release any item they want if it hasn't been advertised as limited edition or exclusive or "only found in [X]." Unless my understanding of what exclusive means is botched? Uhh...

tl;dr Question that might not have an answer(?): How does it work out that items advertised to users as limited edition or exclusive to a bundle, get put into the alchemy feature, where these items, we are told, are to be re-released?

Note: North Kitten Star is not the only alchemy item ingredient under this situation. There are two other cash shop items users were given the impression were exclusive or limited to their respective sales.




ANYWAY I still enjoy what's been shown to us so far with the alchemy thing. Can't wait to see how things work out.
As bad as it was received, and although it still needs some work, you guys still pushed out a really amazing feature and I hope users can have a lot of fun with it as the ball gets rollin'. Rollin' uphill. Rollin'

Oh yeah if anyone wants to watch something sad, this commercial had me in tears:

[armadillodreamer]

Hi Lanzer! Thanks for the long-running Ask the Admin threads. I think it's awesome that whenever I have a question, I can try to catch you here. And I've got three questions tonight!

1) What is the point of having [NPC] Stein be the go-to guy for EI issues if nobody ever reads the PMs sent to him?

Backstory: Earlier this month, the rapid EI "Le Carousel" finished up. The final evo included a lovely pair of small back wings. Unfortunately, these back wings layered behind long hair, so they didn't look very good on long-haired avatars. I was really disappointed, especially since Ethe also worked on Gogh Reed, and the back wings on Gogh layer in front of long hair and look fantastic! I sent Ethe a PM about it, and never heard back. It sat in my Outbox for a few days and then I realized that I'd made a mistake and should have PMed Stein! So I did. It sat in my Outbox for so long that it dropped from my Outbox. It also dropped from my Sent Items (if it ever reached the Sent Items box) so I have no idea if it was read!

2) Can we please, please have all backwings layer in front of long hair by default?

Backstory: Wings from Gogh Reed, Diapered Egg, and Great Old One look so good with long hair. Other adorable wings such as the Bonsai Wings and Gift Box, can hardly be seen at all. Yet other medium-sized wings (fairy wings, tiny pixie wings) look sort of okay (not God-awful anyway) but would be SO MUCH BETTER if they layered in front of long hair. Please, beg the artists. We have so many awesome wings, and awesome long hairstyles, why can't they go together?

3) Can we please have some easier "beginner" alchemy formulas?

Feedback: Unlike some other naysayers, I think the alchemy system looks great and shows a lot of promise. However, I'd love to see some easier beginner formulas. Considering the glacial pace with which components are trickling into the Market, the Alchemy system is like a big tease.

[Crystal Sparda]

_______Hello my ever-so-hard-working devs and admin. I'm here on serious business, as many other users will be as well. I know that there has been an Alchemy Q&A thread made, but some other questions are also deserving of some answers. My main questions have been underlined. Also, please don't BS the answers.

If you don't answer my questions in here, will you at least PM me a reply?

_______First of all, why don't the staff like to share important details about upcoming features? You guys pretty much left us in the dark about Alchemy. All we knew was that it was a feature very similar to other exchanges (bugs to ink, flowers to bouquets, zOMG! recipies). We had no idea that it would be a very large risk-taking feature that only few users could thoroughly enjoy. Giving us clues as to how the feature will work won't kill you or make you lose your job or even get you hated. Having a beta mode or having an announcement feedback thread in the GCD before a feature is released will eliminate most of the kind of bawwing and moaning you've been getting over the past week. I'm just surprised much of the information about alchemy was not explained or talked about before it was released.

_______Second, why wasn't proper math done before Alchemy was released? Many recipes call for just too many items to even be worth the hassle of collecting (yes, even for the richest of Gaians). Take this for example (original post found here):

Quote:

Did anyone making these formulas realize that it would take 26,460 pairs of Edwardian Children's Loafers ( 8,820 of Pink, Black and Gold, and Green respectively) to make just one pair of Black and Silver Edwardian Children's Loafers? I have the math to prove it, if anyone wants it.

Even with the current lowest MP price for the base pairs ( 2,500 gold for the Pink ), that's still 66,150,000 gold. Yes, more than 66 million gold for one pair of shoes. And even if you got one of each base pair a day, that's still over 24 years to get it just through the ad grants. And this is for a Lvl. 1 item.

_______Everyone I've talked with about this feature wants to know, is this the future of Gaia? Is there just going to be perk after perk after perk be given to paying and rich users, while the casual users basically get left out in the cold? Yes, I understand there was a gold potion released for zOMG! in the cash shop, but lots of users don't play zOMG!, as they don't like MMO gameplay. I am one of those users. A user who isn't successful at an art shop, uses what little gold I do get on buying items to WEAR them, not be a Nicolae clone and make a quick profit off of them. I can't play the marketplace. I can't even get items to sell for over 100k in the MP. I don't play zOMG! due to being gift-raped by flying giftboxes in Basskin Lake on a 4.9 CL.

_______I have begun to wonder if having an economy on this site is actually a good thing. I have only talked with a few of my fellow Gaian friends about this and they feel that it is kinda messed up. If people want an item, why not let them have it? Why does it have to be a wealth-based system? Don't we already suffer and deal with this s**t in real life? Why do we have to have it on a fun community game site? Why is it that Gaia is so money-hungry that they have to release items that only have a slim chance of getting good items and large chance at bland colorless fail items? Why can't it be the other way around? People pay for something, get what they want, and are happy. They shouldn't have to pay over $50 just to *maybe* get a rare item. I just find the situation like a parent that won't buy their kid a small new toy, but will waste hundreds of thousands of dollars blowing it on the slots or other ways that benefit themselves instead of letting the kid have a little fun.

_______A bit of a smaller question, but what do you think about the idea of having a mandatory short quiz for new/all users on how to identify password phishing? User takes the quiz, and if they get a question wrong, it shows them how they're wrong and what the correct answer is. It would be a smart feature, as it teaches and could show examples of what is and isn't legit Gaia PMs and pop-ups. Then, if users just try to quickly BS their way through it, it can say "Woah, hold your horses! I don't think you read the whole question! This stuff is important!". Honestly, I don't think that one announcement every year and a few stickies in random forums really help teach users the meaning of account security.

_______Sorry that this post is so long, but my list of reasons why I should leave Gaia is slowly growing. I came here to have fun dressing up my avatar, play a couple mini-games, make sure users are behaving themselves (I am trying to become a moderator), hang out with users I meet, and goof around during events. Not to buy $1,000 worth of CIs to get rich, be a manipulative marketplace/exchange big boss, or make other users miserable. Sure, I like to use some GCash, but I cannot afford it most of the time. It is very hard for plain users to succeed at having nice items. I'd really appreciate it if all of these questions got answered. Also, if quoting me to reply, please delete all my text to prevent page stretching.

[jellykans]

Known booty grab glitches and issues (updated 8/29/11):
(Complete list was sent to Pan a few minutes before 5 p.m.)

SUMMARY:
Glitches:
Game won't save - "playing another game"
Boundaries - fish and gold go out of tank
Zero Gold - 6 situations

Issues:
Fake full game or "clenching"
Glow notices - 3 issues
Glow-timer lag
500g to 1st 5 players - 2 issues
Fish Drops - 2 issues

[x Karurie x]

` When will the components for Alchemy become available outside of the Marketplace?

` Why were the artists in charge of the Alchemy feature instead of people who knew what they were doing?

` Any hints to the Halloween Event?

[IamAnimalz]

Can you please fix the problem with the multiple poses not equipping for ipod users?
it worked befors the last update that edy the developer made 2 weeks ago.
You guys should have the old poses system in gaia labs, please I cant change my avi.

Also when is Monster Galaxy coming out for ipod for united states? Thank You!!

[Darc Nightgale]

Wow! I'm finally here for an ATA. Usually I'm workin' Monday nights.

I enjoyed the summer event. 3nodding

I really like the achievements. (If you couldn't tell by the amount that I have so far.)
Anyways I was thinkin' you should have it where we can earn some from playin' the different games, and zOMG. Also was wonderin' when we will get to use the points that we have earned?

[b e a r y t o r t e]

Hi Lanzer, some questions for you:

1) This is something that's been bugging me for a while and the reason I finally got up the nerve to post in the AtA so here goes:

What's up with the changes the last several months in the CS bundles? Now of course I'm not referring to actual mini-RIGs like the Starseeds as I understand that is meant to be all chance based, but the actual themed item bundles themselves. Aside from rarely getting -new- items in favor of re-releases, it seems like they're all mini-Chance Items nowadays. Like the most recent bundle that contained re-releases of not so popular items and if you're really, super, insanely lucky, you'll get this recolor. What made you guys decide to go this route? Has it really increased the cash flow? Because it has personally discouraged my spending on the site. Now to be fair, my spending decrease also has a lot to do with the decline of true EIs, but I miss the days of new themed-item bundles where the extra was actually part of the bundle, not something you might get.

2)This one's about alchemy but I think my request is actually reasonable so please don't ignore it. >w>

What would you guys say to increasing the Daily Chance's drop rate for alchemy components? I understand the backwings shouldn't just be handed to us on a silver platter or anything, but it would be nice to actually be able to use the feature, at least so we can get our feet wet making something here and there.

3)How many artists are there in total and can you give us some idea of what they're working on? Maybe what their daily routine consists of? Do you pass their cubicles and they look like little engrossed zombies, eyes locked on their screen as they draw, mumbling incomprehensible nonsense about frills? For some reason that's how I imagine them. xD;

[SS2-SITH LORD]

Good evening all!
I'd like to ask a few questions that i hope can get answered easily.

1. What do the numbers that were posted in the dev notice regarding the standings for Pie Hard 2 represent?
I mean, were there really only 618 votes for carl, or is it more like 618,000? And how are these being calculated?

2. When are the witch doctor drops going to be assigned items?

3. Any more tricks up your sleeve regarding more games like Backyard Monsters and Resort World?
My Wife and I are both addicted to it along with a few friends on the site!

[gataka]

Ever considered having something along the lines of "I'll buy [item] for [x] gold" listings on the Marketplace?
It should increase the speed/amount of transactions and help the offer meet/match the actual demand.

I really think Gaia would benefit from something like this.

Anyway, I'm looking forward Alchem reaching its full potential. Rocky start °3°

[Leaden Disintegration]

I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,~

I was wonder what this is all about:
END GRID: REST IN PEACE, TOM, AND THANK YOU. IT REALLY WAS 'MORE THAN A FEELING'..
It's in the code at the end of every page on Gaia. (As far as I know.)

But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!~

[LabTech Kestin]

Hey there. I have a few questions for once...

-Will there ever be another chance to get the Pie Hard achievements? Or at least Pieversity? I missed one round of the first half because my parents were monopolizing my time, and I'll be kicking myself forever if it's gone for good. >_> I'm sure I'm not the only crazy completionist, either...

-A while back, I created an image derived from an official Gaia artwork, but later realized it violated the ToS and took it down from public display. Would I still be allowed to show it to people in private (e.g., send it as an attachment via email or upload it to Imageshack/TinyPic/etc. and send the link via PM)?

-I know it's probably been brought up already, but would you guys consider making alchemy components drop in zOMG? It would both make them decently easy to get and increase activity for the game.

[Sagebomb]

Hey Guys

For Alchemy will be a new game in the near future which will grant the majority of the currently unfound low level components (moonbeam, sunlight, succubus bone, cherub feather etc), or will these be linked into current games pinball, wordbump, jigsaw etc)

Also is the item fail meant to be a grant based on failed alchemy attempts? (which isnt granting), or just another random component?

thanks, psyched for figuring out more about alchemy

[Simply Angle]

1. Will we be seeing an update coming sometime this year or the next year on a Gaia Merchandise update like new T-shirts or plushies?

2.With the summer coming to an end what are you looking forward to this fall/winter?