Umioko
Playful Friend
Hello, hello again Site Feedback forum!
Before you say anything, yes I know this is another thread adding to the heaps of threads regarding the generators on Gaia. I'm sorry for posting another thread on the subject, but I wanted to give my feedback on the subject and also provide a list of the generators we've received, which is in the second post.
I won't go into the whole "these generators are destroying Gaia's economy" but they totally are. Wait, maybe I might just a bit. Sorry. Still, I want to focus on some other points that are brought up with these generators.
Annnnd, yes I realize the madness brought upon by the generators isn't only Gaia's fault, but also caused by the users who purchase and use these generators for gold. Team effort there. Even so, I want to share what Gaia can do about this and how changing their route can help them out more in the long-run. So yep, onto the points I want to discuss concerning the generators.
• They're Overwhelming
So I was wondering...can you name five generators on Gaia? How about ten? I can't. :'l
Well, we've had 85 different generators here on Gaia (until I've updated it anyway). Most of those are able to generate both gold and items, some with the choice to pick either gold or an item and some without, and we've been seeing some newer ones offering a chance to win a ticket for specific opportunities. Even so, that is a lot of generators! Much wow.
If you look at the list I compiled of Gaia's generators, their re-releases, and relating announcements, you'll find that the announcements are becoming more clustered and an increase of new generators are being released. These are overwhelming! They add to the amount of announcement spam and are difficult to keep track of in general. Nowadays there are at least three different generators in the cash shop daily, and those aren't including the bundles.
Suggestion
It would be nice to see a break from this sort of bombardment of generator updates. You bring back generators, leave them in the cash shop for a day or two, take them out and bring back other generators. You're switching the generators out too quickly and replacing them with different generators in the blink of an eye - so please slow down. Maybe give us more gaps in-between the generator releases, or leave generators in the cash shop for longer periods of time to cut back? There's just too much activity with them.
* Graph actually has all of May's data, I just forgot to edit the title
* I'll most likely add June once the month finishes
* Might have missed one or two
* Anyone is free to use
Based on Zandy's calendar:
• Avg. 3 - 4 new gold generators per week
• Avg. 5 - 6 days per week with at least one generator announcement
• New generators are most likely released on Mondays and Tuesdays
• In the 49 days we've had 41/49 (83.7%) contain some sort of gold generator
• All 49 days have had at least one generator in the CS present
• In the last 49 days, we've had 15 consecutive days having an announcement regarding a generator
• Making Gold Worthless
We know that you're releasing all of these generators for the purpose of making gold absolutely worthless that we would have to turn to the cash shop and spend real money in trying to get anywhere in this economy. Other sites have done it before, and it's a nifty tactic, but it's mostly short-termed.
Oh, and by worthless I mean that with the huge influx of gold into the system via the generators, prices on the marketplace skyrocket and items more than triple in gold price costing ridiculous amounts of gold. It doesn't just affect the marketplace of course (also affects art shop prices, charity expectancies, considering whether Booty Grab or zOMG are even worth the time, etc.).
Suggestion
So yeah, you depend quite a bit on selling these generators in the cash shop because people are pressured to turn to using them to get what they want. Still, if you were smart and wanted to be sure that this wouldn't be a short-term project (because it'll only be so long before people won't bother with this anymore and you jump ship), then you'd switch up what you're doing to ensure that you keep on making income.
Honestly, this massive inflation is frustrating a lot of users and causing them to give up on the marketplace, boycott the cash shop, and even quit Gaia altogether. You're losing your users and potential customers!
Now then, there have been many suggestions posed regarding the gold generators, but I'll put in my opinion.
1. Stop the gold generators and release solely item generators instead.
Because you won't do away with generators completely, a compromise would be nice. A good number of paying users make use of gold generators to get an item they want. They buy gold to get items. Well, with item generators they're might be an item offered in the generator that they want. They might buy bundles to try and win it, or sell off the won items they have no interest in.
This would bring down the inflation of the items offered in the generator and over time I wouldn't doubt it bringing down the overall marketplace inflation. It's a lot better than just dumping gold into the economy, that's for sure.
2. Find a balance and keep it controlled.
The marketplace inflation spikes to a new number almost daily. It frightens away new users and drives away older users. I suggest you start regulating your generators. Put in good, effective gold sinks (like continuing with the great recolors in Loyal's shop, keeping Flynn's Plunder updated, Nicolae's Marketplace going, entertaining gold sink events, etc.) and once the marketplace has more or less stabilized, and yes this will take quite a while, then you can release a generator or two again, but only for a limited time and with smaller gold grants.
That way the marketplace doesn't spike as much, and once you take out the generators from the cash shop, you repeat with the effective gold sinks. It's like a pendulum swinging back and forth, but controlled enough where users can still enjoy the economy while others can buy generators here and there.
With this, it would be much longer term than the way things are going now and it wouldn't drive away users. You would still be generating revenue too and keeping your userbase happy. It will take time though, since there is a heck of a ton of gold in the marketplace now. It will take effort too, to monitor the marketplace, keep track of the inflation, and such.
I realize that this opinion requires more work, and I'm not aware of all of the flaws with it, but I felt that it was worth sharing.
As I mentioned before, there have been many great solutions purposed already. Something really needs to be done about this, Gaia.
Thank you for your time in reading this. Now, onto the list of generators!
Edit 4/16/14: Eeeeeee, my first popular thread! Thank you so much everyone! <3
Edit 6/2/14: I personally no longer believe this economy will ever recuperate now. Seeing four different pure gold generators in the CS each giving out 25b is ridiculous, Gaia. That said, I will continue to do my best in keeping this thread updated until Gaia dies or I just give up.
Before you say anything, yes I know this is another thread adding to the heaps of threads regarding the generators on Gaia. I'm sorry for posting another thread on the subject, but I wanted to give my feedback on the subject and also provide a list of the generators we've received, which is in the second post.
I won't go into the whole "these generators are destroying Gaia's economy" but they totally are. Wait, maybe I might just a bit. Sorry. Still, I want to focus on some other points that are brought up with these generators.
Annnnd, yes I realize the madness brought upon by the generators isn't only Gaia's fault, but also caused by the users who purchase and use these generators for gold. Team effort there. Even so, I want to share what Gaia can do about this and how changing their route can help them out more in the long-run. So yep, onto the points I want to discuss concerning the generators.
• They're Overwhelming
So I was wondering...can you name five generators on Gaia? How about ten? I can't. :'l
Well, we've had 85 different generators here on Gaia (until I've updated it anyway). Most of those are able to generate both gold and items, some with the choice to pick either gold or an item and some without, and we've been seeing some newer ones offering a chance to win a ticket for specific opportunities. Even so, that is a lot of generators! Much wow.
If you look at the list I compiled of Gaia's generators, their re-releases, and relating announcements, you'll find that the announcements are becoming more clustered and an increase of new generators are being released. These are overwhelming! They add to the amount of announcement spam and are difficult to keep track of in general. Nowadays there are at least three different generators in the cash shop daily, and those aren't including the bundles.
Suggestion
It would be nice to see a break from this sort of bombardment of generator updates. You bring back generators, leave them in the cash shop for a day or two, take them out and bring back other generators. You're switching the generators out too quickly and replacing them with different generators in the blink of an eye - so please slow down. Maybe give us more gaps in-between the generator releases, or leave generators in the cash shop for longer periods of time to cut back? There's just too much activity with them.
Quote:
Sorry it's hard to see!
I'm bad with graphs.
I'm bad with graphs.
* Graph actually has all of May's data, I just forgot to edit the title
* I'll most likely add June once the month finishes
* Might have missed one or two
* Anyone is free to use
• • • • • • • • • •
Based on Zandy's calendar:
• Avg. 3 - 4 new gold generators per week
• Avg. 5 - 6 days per week with at least one generator announcement
• New generators are most likely released on Mondays and Tuesdays
• In the 49 days we've had 41/49 (83.7%) contain some sort of gold generator
• All 49 days have had at least one generator in the CS present
• In the last 49 days, we've had 15 consecutive days having an announcement regarding a generator
• Making Gold Worthless
We know that you're releasing all of these generators for the purpose of making gold absolutely worthless that we would have to turn to the cash shop and spend real money in trying to get anywhere in this economy. Other sites have done it before, and it's a nifty tactic, but it's mostly short-termed.
Oh, and by worthless I mean that with the huge influx of gold into the system via the generators, prices on the marketplace skyrocket and items more than triple in gold price costing ridiculous amounts of gold. It doesn't just affect the marketplace of course (also affects art shop prices, charity expectancies, considering whether Booty Grab or zOMG are even worth the time, etc.).
Suggestion
So yeah, you depend quite a bit on selling these generators in the cash shop because people are pressured to turn to using them to get what they want. Still, if you were smart and wanted to be sure that this wouldn't be a short-term project (because it'll only be so long before people won't bother with this anymore and you jump ship), then you'd switch up what you're doing to ensure that you keep on making income.
Honestly, this massive inflation is frustrating a lot of users and causing them to give up on the marketplace, boycott the cash shop, and even quit Gaia altogether. You're losing your users and potential customers!
Now then, there have been many suggestions posed regarding the gold generators, but I'll put in my opinion.
1. Stop the gold generators and release solely item generators instead.
Because you won't do away with generators completely, a compromise would be nice. A good number of paying users make use of gold generators to get an item they want. They buy gold to get items. Well, with item generators they're might be an item offered in the generator that they want. They might buy bundles to try and win it, or sell off the won items they have no interest in.
This would bring down the inflation of the items offered in the generator and over time I wouldn't doubt it bringing down the overall marketplace inflation. It's a lot better than just dumping gold into the economy, that's for sure.
2. Find a balance and keep it controlled.
The marketplace inflation spikes to a new number almost daily. It frightens away new users and drives away older users. I suggest you start regulating your generators. Put in good, effective gold sinks (like continuing with the great recolors in Loyal's shop, keeping Flynn's Plunder updated, Nicolae's Marketplace going, entertaining gold sink events, etc.) and once the marketplace has more or less stabilized, and yes this will take quite a while, then you can release a generator or two again, but only for a limited time and with smaller gold grants.
That way the marketplace doesn't spike as much, and once you take out the generators from the cash shop, you repeat with the effective gold sinks. It's like a pendulum swinging back and forth, but controlled enough where users can still enjoy the economy while others can buy generators here and there.
With this, it would be much longer term than the way things are going now and it wouldn't drive away users. You would still be generating revenue too and keeping your userbase happy. It will take time though, since there is a heck of a ton of gold in the marketplace now. It will take effort too, to monitor the marketplace, keep track of the inflation, and such.
I realize that this opinion requires more work, and I'm not aware of all of the flaws with it, but I felt that it was worth sharing.
As I mentioned before, there have been many great solutions purposed already. Something really needs to be done about this, Gaia.
Thank you for your time in reading this. Now, onto the list of generators!
Edit 4/16/14: Eeeeeee, my first popular thread! Thank you so much everyone! <3
Edit 6/2/14: I personally no longer believe this economy will ever recuperate now. Seeing four different pure gold generators in the CS each giving out 25b is ridiculous, Gaia. That said, I will continue to do my best in keeping this thread updated until Gaia dies or I just give up.
