Is there any hints you can give us on things to come?
It's not about looking the best, it's about being the best. But looking good might help too.
Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2019 5:10 pm
November 26th, 2019:
Lanzer
Neshira Namea Returns
Development What are some features you guys are looking forward to adding to Gaia in 2020? Updates, fixes, etc?
What are some features you fantasize about being able to add that may not be possible in the near future?
We actually have quite a few things lined up. Mobile chat and notifications will be ready by then, and we will expand on that. We have some features that mainly focus on letting Gaians contributing on either event, items, or features. I know it's very rough as we're just starting to work on the specs but there are some very cool ideas coming soon!
Both the Christmas Event and Fashion Fray has aspects that we wish to expand on, we have more mobile app updates coming up and we should be renewing some of our flash games also. Oh yeah the extension is late but should be ready soon.
Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 8:15 pm
January 7th, 2020:
Lanzer
Galphath
Misc.
Hello, Happy new year! What are the next priorities developing wise?
We're trying to finish the user submission aspect of the story telling game, which will involve image uploading, so while at it we will install an image uploader that should allow all Gaians to upload images for use in the forum also.
Will a more permanent link to the workshop be added? Maybe under Forums: Other Community Areas?
Yes we will be adding a link soon.
Quote:
Workshop: Refund Clarification/s
The FAQ description of refund situations is not clear enough. I tried to simplify what information I felt most lacking that might answer some other queries. Q: IF I CANCEL MY REQUEST, CAN I GET A REFUND? The first votes needed to estimate the job will not be refunded once the estimation has taken place. First Votes are all the votes that were placed to reach a net 40 positive votes? Including the downvotes? Or are all votes placed prior to the estimation occurring locked in? Q: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I SUBMIT A REQUEST? As soon as a Fix Request request reaches 40+ these votes are used to fund the estimation of the request. A Build Request does not need votes to fund the estimate, the funds to submit the request cover the estimate. As it states the Build Request does not need votes to fund the estimate; when does the Build estimate occur? Immediately? When it reaches net 40 positive votes?
Those are great questions and we will look into updating the FAQ with the answers!
Lanzer
Misfit Thunder
Events
What's with the scummy, scammy way you made the Workshop? You pay to request something, around $30 a pop in Gaia Cash, and the only way to vote is through MORE Gaia Cash, ~$1.50 to upvote, and 3-4 for a downvote! And then people need to pay for MORE Gaia Cash, just to "crowdfund" any ideas that get through voting. 36,000 Gaia Cash just to add an "edit" button on the workshop? That's so sleazy! That's around $150 JUST for crowdfunding! You could hit $400 on one idea alone, and that's not cool. People have been requesting, for free, ideas to make Gaia better, but in order to be heard, now we have to PAY to be heard? And even worse, be DENIED because people didn't upvote, or god forbid, spent the actual cash to downvote an idea? That's taking advantage of your users, for things you could, and SHOULD, have done for free.
I'm sorry that you're not happy with how the Workshop operate. Currently we have the core Gaia team who works on maintenance, upkeep, holiday event, as well as new features whenever possible. We do wish to do more, but resources are limited.
We do have the option of doing more, with an external team of contractors, but that would require resources outside of what we have today. The idea was to see if anyone would be behind getting more than what we're currently doing right now. At its core, the math are very different than the price of a virtual item, as the economics comes down to how much does it cost to have a contractor work for X number of hours. I can understand how it seems like too much, and there's no arguing against how you would feel.
In the perfect world, we would have all necessary coding done in time and for free, but unfortunately our time is a finite resource, no matter how late I stay up to get work done. Anything that can potentially tip the scale all comes down to resources in funding.
Lanzer
MoonCherryDoll
Misc./Not important!
Hello staff! Seeing as my request is now pending in the new-ly added Workshop, all I have to say is hi! And thank you for the hard work~
Has the start of the year been good for you guys? And also, if you've been looking at the Worshop already, any new ideas that you've taken a liking to? I'm excited to see some of them be implemented (If they get accepted and funded, at least!)
A big change for us starting this year is that we're starting to work with a new contracting team to potentially add more features and fixes to the site through the Workshop. Otherwise we're hard at work to make a great Valentine's event as well as finish wrapping up the storytelling feature.
Yuroppa
Vro
Gaia Workshop
In the future, would you consider reduced prices to submit/vote in the Workshop as an Angel Subscriber benefit? Although I don't agree with the prices, I understand why they're put in place (the shop would just be Site Feedback 2 if it was free, after all). However, as a subscriber, I'm a little frustrated that I have to pay extra for my input to be acknowledged when I'm already pouring money into this site on a regular basis.
Thank you for the suggestion! I'll run it by the team to see if this is possible or not!
Lanzer
Got it, we'll keep that in mind. I think the team had been talking about adding features to Angel sub pretty soon.
Lanzer
Hypnotic Dentist
Features
Have you guys ever considered virtual collectibles for the site similar to the virtual collectibles on Neopets? (Stamps, gourmet food, coins, cards, books, stickers, etc)
Can you guys see this being a feature implemented in the future?
That sounds like some pretty cool ideas. Being it coins or stickers, might be even better if they can be used in forum posts too.
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 3:07 pm
January 21st, 2020:
Lanzer
Newzpop Reporta Tyro Bong
Features Is Gaia willing to consider changing/updating The Workshop based upon user feedback? I've seen some community member suggestions that could encourage additional Workshop participation.
Examples: 1) Shifting around costs associated with different phases in The Workshop.
Example brainstorm here. I know using an example I contributed to may appear biased. xd I apologize.
2) Implementing incentives (Achievements, flairs and so forth)
This is also quoted in the above example but saving you a click:
Haruchoo
Newzpop Reporta Tyro Bong
Haruchoo
If they're not going to change the pricing, at least give use some kind reward for voting/submitting an idea that makes it through. Achievements, flairs, etc. Also, let users crowdfund the cost for submission of a build request as well. 6000gc is a lot for one user to shoulder the entire burden.
That's an interesting thought.... Can you give an example what sort of achievements/flairs/etc. you would think would be a good idea?
For me, some sort of proof that I helped Gaia out through the gaia workshop is more valuable to me than a new item in the cash shop. I'd actually spend the gc I do have left. For flairs, the gaia workshop hammer would be pretty cool. Having the flair soulbound would also make it more special, especially if the only way to get it is by coming up with and funding something to build that helps the site.
Same goes for achievements. Titles like benefactor, donator, supporter, charitable, sponsor, patron. A few of these might already be titles for previous achievements, but stuff like that would be that extra push needed to get people who do want to help, but won't without a little incentive.
Thank you for all time and effort you have invested in Gaia and it's community. Hope you're having a good week. emotion_yatta
Yes, the workshop features is brand new and still have a lot of room for improvements. The team is actively collecting feedback so feel free to bring them up during ATS or in site feedback.
Yuroppa
sup-qt
Gaia Workshops
I really enjoy the new feature/project that is the Workshop. I've submitted a few things already on this and a mule account!
I would only like to know a rough schedule of how often its checked so that way I don't have to refresh the page every few hours a day to see if theres been an update. I know this can change day to day, so I wouldn't need any guarantee, just a rough "oh yeah, we usually check it in the morning and look at like 5" or "once every other day sometime in the afternoon" or "After ATS finishes each week"
Also there are a few in voting stage that have welllll surpassed the 40 votes needed and Im just like, is it waiting for something specific to go onto the next stage? Does going from voting to crowdfunding take an aprox like week or more to get the time to estimate the costs?
Id just like to know what to expect is all <3 Pls and thank you
I can only answer part of this. Requests are checked in the morning to be approved or rejected. However, not everything can be immediately evaluated for several possible reasons. Sometimes a request has to be discussed between several teams, or sometimes there just isn't enough information and we have to PM the user. Things like that can cause delays.
I don't have any information about when a request gets an estimate or moves on to crowdfunding.
Lanzer
Currently we have a team of 3 staff that manages the list multiple times during a work day. I suggest checking daily for updates. Although sometimes projects are difficult to scope for the amount of work needed, so the staff would in turn talk to me and other engineers for design and input before making further decisions. I hope that the process will be smoother moving forward.
Any updates on the proposals that have gone beyond the voting status? They have been sitting in limbo for weeks now.
I've been told that generating an estimate is not a quick and easy task. The devs need to fully investigate and familiarize themselves with each feature. So this will take some time, especially for the more involved requests.
Lanzer
I think the team is going through all the requests and reviewing them at the moment. We should have an update soon.
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2020 5:37 pm
February 4th, 2020:
Lanzer
The Iron Magus
Features Would you consider giving The Workshop its own forum/subforum?
It would be useful to discuss projects in their various stages, or even a way to gauge support for a project before you commit to submitting it.
That's a good idea. I'll ask the mod team about setting up a new forum.
Jak Bauer
kawaii teto chan
Events
Hi!!
Sorry, in regards to the Gaia Workshop, a few weeks ago I initially intended on voting for a particular issue stated within the Workshop. Ultimately, I voted for a particular fix request however, was unaware of the large platinum amount and at the time was unaware of the existence of platinum and its conversion rate to Gaia gold, in a sense and paid through gold. Consequently, I lost approximately, 180 billion gold which took years to accumulate. Hence, I was wondering if and how am I possibly able to attain an immediate refund, in a sense?
Thankyou!!
Hi there,
I can talk to the people in charge of it. Please inbox me with the details (when you did, etc.) and when I get an answer I can forward it along to you.
Lanzer
Screaming Butter
Features Idk if this allowed so I wanted to ask first (and I love gaia's current arists btw) but is there anyway we can use the gaia workshop to help hire on more artists so the workload for project custom wasn't held back as much? and it could help bring more art onto the site
or maybe a different fundraiser, I know it was said they needed time to train people so maybe that might help
Not sure if that can be done as the feature and the team behind it works quite differently than the art team, but it's worth a discussion. Thank you for the suggestion.
How long does it take for a request in the Gaia Workshop to go from "Voting" to "Crowdfund" to "In Progress"?
I thought you only needed 40 votes for something to go from "a Voting Request" to a "Crowdfund Request", but some requests have well over 300 votes. Maybe I'm misunderstanding how this all works though.
There is no set time for it to move forward once it reaches the votes it needs. The process is that it will take a long as it takes for the Developers to investigate and familiarize themselves with the features to be able to generate an estimate.
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2020 3:54 pm
March 3rd, 2020:
Yuroppa
who is carol
i'm really liking the communication from staff when workshop projects that i'm interested in move on to their next stage of funding or development. the PMs make it easy to keep track of actual progress, so thanks heart
there's a couple that i may not vote for, but might be willing to help crowdfund if it makes it that far; can there be a way to subscribe to a submission to receive those same progress updates?
Thank YOU for participating in the Workshop!
I'll ask if this type of subscribing is possible!
Lanzer
We will probably need to add that as a feature since that would be outside of the expected workflow. Will share the suggestion with the dev team. Thanks!
Features Even though your initial plans to release the additional story branches for the Valentine's Day event didn't work out, it would be so exciting to see Gaia Stories being released as a feature for the site! Will the Easter event have a Gaia Story branch too?
Currently we are finishing the storytelling feature so anyone can help create stories and branches. Soon afterwards we will work on adding more stories. For Easter event we had some other games in mind, but regardless the storytelling feature should have a new release coming soon.
Lanzer
sup-qt
Workshop
Any chance some of the build requests that are in review can be moved into the voting stage?ninja (or rejected I guess lol)
Probably, I'll ask the team to do so.
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:50 pm
March 31st, 2020:
[NPC] Gaia Staff
Welcome Back! (With extra answered questions since we were out a couple of weeks!) smile
Quote:
Features - Workshop
I'm going to ask this here in case I don't make it to the actual ATS. If it doesn't get answered here I'll try there as well.
So far we've seen two crowdfunded requests get done. My problem is - can we get some sort of Staff Notifications when things actually get done? If it wasn't for me checking the workshop, I wouldn't have known that anything is being done. Or if Staff Notifications are too much, can we get a different system of alerts? Maybe a simple "!" on the workshop hammer icon (and next to the categories in the workshop) if there's something new that users can check out? It would really help and make users check out the workshop more, cause they would know that things are moving. Right now the workshop kind of died out because people don't bother to check it out all the time and the votes are stagnant. We need a system of alerts for the workshop.
While we can't promise it will be done, we can look into this.
It's great to see new features being worked on and being released semi regularly, but could we get finished and polished features before resources are split off to a new feature? As it stands we've got the the following features in beta: Rally 3 Mobile App Forums 2 Personas Stories (not released but from what you've said it's currently being worked on)
It would be great for the older stuff you've released to get worked on and get polished before moving on to something new. I know a small update was pushed for the mobile app recently so there are some resources there, but it feels like they're spread pretty thin between all these features.
I get where you are coming from, but realize that the same people are not working on all of these projects. Also sometimes circumstances dictate what needs to be done. Projects like Rally get interrupted by games for events, for example.
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