16 replies to this topic

[20886432]

I am wondering because I really want the decorations but don't want to waste my time collecting the sensual room sents if the decorations rarely come, so what (in your estimation) is the ratio of decorations to items you guys are getting with your sensual room sents (Deco boxes)?

[Kitekat]

äähhm a randomizer maybe random but allways have a theoretical ratio Dparadise

in this case maybe the number of possible decos to the number of possible items

[mountbara]

It's looking to be in the 75% range, from what I have seen personally and the information gleaned from here and there.

[CaptC]

A single person's data will be very unreliable in estimating percentages, unless you have a LOT of trials.

[Jenny37]

with me, 24 decor boxes opened ..15 new decorations

24 -15 = 9 ..... ie 9 items

[INK]

Unfortunately, I didn't kept any track on this, but I will also open 24 deco-boxes and will post the result here.    

[Kitekat]

maybe you can see it in success informations

[Jenny37]

yes, "your successes" you will find the number of deco boxes opened, and in the "decorations" the number of improvements, your room

[INK]

If I got the information from "your successes"  right:

 

9 decorations out of 15 deco boxes @ nutaku server

7 decorations out of  of 12 deco boxes @ int server

[CaptC]

There was a breakthrough in thinking about this on the UK forums.

 

https://forum.uk.big...rating/?p=18061

 

To summarize:  You never get duplicate decorations. If a duplicate decoration is generated, you get an epic item instead. It is not merely random chance, and as you get more decorations, your odds get lower that a new box will have a decoration you don't have.

[Lizbeth]

The last 2 decoration boxes I opened had items, and overall, I am averaging 50/50 at best, perhaps 45% decorations and 55% items.

 

It's kind of dejecting. If this feature had been in place from the start, and we all had 3 years to progress on it so far, I probably wouldn't be phased. However, it feels like this is a kind of game component that will take years of investment, after I've already invested years into the game.

 

It's like driving 90 miles round trip to a store to get something that cannot be purchased from any merchant nearby, and when you're 5 minutes away from pulling back in your driveway with the item you were sent forth to get, THAT'S when your wife calls on your cell to say that they also need you to pick up two bottles of Flaxinator5K from the same store. Ya know, the one you left almost an hour ago.

 

It's that kind of feeling for me. Only here, there ain't gonna be no thank you nookie later.

[Lizbeth]

In all of December, with the holidays soon to be over and gone, I have gotten zero - ZERO - holiday decorations so far, despite being one of the oldest, most dedicated players of this game. Despite using all my base energy each day + 4 refills + bonus energy from completed sets + bonus energy from successful conventions + bonus energy from successes + bonus energy from dickstarter tasks + bonus energy from diamonds.

 

Do I really need to explain just how much this affirms how poorly the decoration loot system, as currently implemented, is? Must I draw a line and connect the dots to make it anymore obvious<G>

[Tabithia]

I undersatnd you frustration at this mechanic.  It's a dleicate balance between rewarding loyalty and enticing new players.  But given all you disappointment in the decorations and how long you feel you will need to invest to get them, at least that is all you need to focus on.  Us newbies need to do that AND all the stuff you did already. 

[Lizbeth]

Okay, but, there are few - if any - players on this server who grind this game as much as I do. Full Stop! One of my studio mates, who is level 500+, only just got their first Christmas decoration this morning. The morning of December 30th. They are one of THE best free players this game has or will ever know. Between us, that's almost 1100 levels of experience, and that's ONE Christmas decoration between the two of us.

Now, let's examine your chances as a new player, shall we? You say you're new to the game. Are you going to be able to afford to continue running the 99 diamond a week mission booster? The game makes it rain diamonds at the beginning, but that dries up soon, just an FYI. Does your studio have 2-3 energy trophies to start each day with more energy? Have you done a lot of successful conventions to earn bonus energy, finished a bunch of successes or clothing collections to get more energy? Can you afford - via notes or time - all 4 refills per day in a studio that isn't fully upgraded? If your answer to any or all of those questions  is "No"...well, that puts you at a further disadvantage.

So let's think about this my new friend:

If they were giving a substantially higher drop rate of decorations inside deco boxes, and reducing how many you need per box, on a sliding scale that made it substantially easier for lower level or newer players, I could relate to your position about balancing between rewarding loyal players vs enticing new players more.

Otherwise, if the darn things are this hard to find for us veteran grinders, using as much energy each day as we have, how much of a chance do you think you have of collecting them, never mind getting any of the various holiday themed ones available for a limited time? About as much as a snowball inside a microwaved hot pocket up Satan's Anus, that's how much!

LOL

How is that kind of drop rate going to be enticing to new players?

As I explained earlier, I understand that they need to put barriers in place that artificially impede the rate at which the player base can progress on a feature such as this, otherwise some grinders will finish it too quickly and then complain about a lack of new content. I sympathize 100% with the developers on that, but if they're THIS hard and this frustrating for us 1 percenters, it's going to be even more difficult for the rest of the 99 percent.

So yeah, I'm voicing complaint partly out of personal frustration, I've made no secret of that, but I'm also advocating on this issue out of concern for the entire player base.

Liz

Edited by Lizbeth, 30 December 2018 - 12:51 PM.

[CaptC]

I play on three servers, and as far as Christmas decorations go, I am a free player. (I stopped buying decoration boxes before the Christmas event started.) On one server, I have gotten two Christmas decos. On the other two servers, I have gotten one Christmas deco each. I am happy enough. There is no game reason to care about decorations other than skills from collections, so I don't... any more than I care about the 40ish clothing collections I will never finish.

 

If you are a collector, there is a strong incentive to buy. That's by design. Freemium games use artificial scarcity to drive microsales. "But I want them for free!" kind of defeats the business model.

 

If you want them to be more generous with deco boxes, what will actually work is... not buying them. Then, like any retailer faced with a surplus inventory, deco boxes will go on sale.

 

In the meantime, the whales ARE buying deco boxes to complete their indoor snowstorms. Thus, the game will be subsidized for the rest of us, and ... life will go on.