Winter Event 2022 Feedback

[xivarmy]

And the talk about getting multiple event buildings is kind of ridiculous when you think about it. The combination of ongoing power creep, along with the limited space that we all have to deal with means that it's kind of shortsighted to spend much on multiples of one building, no matter how good it is. I do have duplicates of a few event buildings in one of my cities, but they were all gotten over multiple years' events and/or the Antiques Dealer, not by spending Diamonds in the events.

If every event building was better than the last you'd have a point. But there are some buildings that I'm glad to have gotten many of via event currency from diamonds. And usually those buildings when well picked last quite a few years before you get to the point where it's easy to match them. There's some buildings that are now 2+ years old I still consider ideal for certain purposes.

And then there's really old favorites that you might be holding onto but are really due for a replacement, like the Cherry set. So while your city may seem packed, there's likely more than enough stuff that could be notably upgraded if you won a bunch of stuff that you absolutely loved.

The chocolate factory and its spawn do have the potential to be one such building that may be worth getting several. The city that's doing so would want to be a city heading towards being a high-age attack monster city as the nutcracker guardhouse is at its most efficient in OF+. It's not notably better for this purpose than Eagle Mountain, House of Horrors, or Fall Fields. But if you don't have a city filled with those and do want to spend some diamonds on filling your city with something, it's a good pick.

I actually was really trying to convince myself to go after multiple in some city; I liked the idea of making a city full of nutcrackers. But it just doesn't jive with my goals sufficiently anywhere I'm already putting in effort. The one world that had goals that really would fit it already invested in some eagles earlier this year, so will be happy just to pick up the 1 (and honestly daily specials in wildlife event was a better deal anyways, so no regrets there).

Now is any of this *necessary*? Nah. But there's a whole lot of things that aren't necessary people do in the game these days to get stronger and meet more extreme goals than just playing the game.

 

[WiserOneFineDay]

The summary analysis from the beta 2022 Winter event was delivered last Thursday (11/24/22) to the beta community. Inno decided on ONLY 1 change. The message communicating this decision is directly below:

------------------------------------
Dear Kings and Queens,
We want to inform you about the changes done after the Event ended here on Beta.
There is only one change and that is, that the Winter Prizes will not be available for Diamonds anymore, but can instead be bought in the Shop.

Does this mean that the daily specials will remain unchanged from Beta?

 

[Just An Observer]

Knocked out all the rush quests in 2 hours. At least that part was easy! Now to see how the rest of the event goes...

 

[Oswyn the noble]

The only feedback i have for the event -for now is how artsy the event building looks at max lvl. Seeing it makes me smile.

 

[LoveNkind]

I hate fragments, so I am less excited about this event than some of you. I hear the Calendar is going to be impossible. If you want to try, you are going to have to be disciplined enough to STOP opening presents whenever you get the key; and to choose the master key every day in Daily Challenge.
Day One, I have been lucky: I got the key as my first present in one city. The other one, I got 14 stars, then View Two, one of which was the Calendar key.
So I am off to a good start.
Day two;Not as easy as day 1, but I got both keys with stars left over.
Day 3, one city easy, the other city hard, but I am still 100% and several master keys.
Day 4 No key all day, played very late and got a few stars in each city. First one, the last item was reveal two--one of which was the key. Too late to get another 10 stars, so I spent 120 diamonds and got the key. The other city, NEXT to last was reveal two, which included the key, but I had 10 stars left to claim it.
Days 5. Barely got each city after bedtime.
Day 6. My little city got key right away and never got it for big city. Have 14 Master keys for each city. Saving those for near the end in case I have to choose.
Day 7: Little city got master key first present (all calendar keys so far) and has 107 stars saved up. Big city out of stars.
Days 8 & 9: Little city got calendar key right away, has all 9 so far and 150 stars plus 18 master keys. Big city failed again. No extra stars, missing 4 keys; has 21 master keys. A large fraction of total stars played. Little city may well complete the calendar with no or few diamonds bcuz huge luck. Big city probably not.
Day 10: both cities got calendar keys. The lucky little city got it first try, has 180 stars. The big one has 10 stars for tomorrow.
Days 11 & 12: little city got both; 46 stars left. All keys so far and 21 master keys. Big city got no keys, 9 stars left and 25 master keys. Missing 6 keys now.
Day 13: Big city missed again, now missing 7 keys. Time to give up on that one. Little city won again, has all 13 so far.
Days 14 to 18: Got key days 14 and 18 in my little city, missed the other 3 days. Have 31 keys and 5 stars.
Days 19-23, small city: Spent 1050 diamonds for 100 stars and 120 for 10 stars and got one key for these 5 days. But I also got more candles for the tree and will get a complete chocolatery. My level 8 one made me a couple guardhouse fragments so far.
Day 32: My little city had very good luck for half the event and I spent 1070 diamonds. I still missed 3 days on the calendar, so the calendar really is only for spenders. I got an extra event selection kit, though. I Missed even more in my main, but spend just 280 diamonds on the last day to get a fully upgraded Ted building.

So--the calendar really is only for spenders. I had a lot of fun with this, tho.

 

[Ebeondi Asi]

==

Looks like the Elves' Workshop is replacing the Reindeer Sleigh, and you will have some say over what prizes will be part of it. That seems like a step forward that no one is mentioning.

I am retracting this as I was not understanding the game well enough. my bad

 

[xivarmy]

==

The Elves workshop every prize added costs diamonds. the big problem seems to be you have to pay for junk you do not want at all (if junk is all you are offered in the two options) as it seems the prizes get stuck if you do not choose one!
Being the first day I have to see if the (two terrible choices) Elves prizes change tomorrow. if not IMO the Elves thing is a total scam for Diamonds and not worth the bother.

Adding the prizes to the sleigh shouldn't normally cost diamonds. "Add Both" costs diamonds. "Switch Prize" costs diamonds. Add random piece of crap does not. I don't expect the elf options should change until you pick one.

Which isn't to say it's worthwhile But you can fill your sled of crap before deciding to not buy it and just get annoyed at the elf window that keeps popping up

 

[Ebeondi Asi]

You made me go look again MY bad. the shuffle of 20 Diamonds.
I'm getting senile I guess.

 

[UBERhelp1]

You made me go look again MY bad. the shuffle of 20 Diamonds.
I'm getting senile I guess.

The first shuffle is 20. It then keeps increasing (kind of like the medal attempts in GE) until you actually choose a prize, then it resets. So if you're going for a specific prize (especially for the last one that gets doubled) you could spend a lot more diamonds than you originally planned for.

 

[GreatOZ the Wizard]

Wish they would have put out a poll or some thing on the winter prize change up to the players.
I am opposed to the change.

 

[Dursland]

Does this mean that the daily specials will remain unchanged from Beta?

If winter spire kit is tomorrow's special then it would seem they are keeping the same list, yes. If it's different then we'll know the list is different.

 

[Sir Warrior Black69]

Ok, this is a winter event, w/ a heavy Christmas theme. Christmas is a time of giving, but for us to be just giving you our wallets, is insane. You have a 'key' calendar of 32 days, and a probability equation of zero hits. Ya all could give us 1 million stars and we have same chance as someone w/ 10 stars. GREAT GAME! Can ya tell, I am being facetious? Ok, 1 mil stars, and a board of 18 'presents. I could go for 16 picks and still not get a key, infinite times. Ok, I spell it out, I pick 16 times, no key, pick 17, "RESET", new set of 18, repeat... Ya all have made this game, at Christmas time, NO FUN!! Just sayin'...

 

[Emberguard]

Forget the emotion and minutia for a minute.

If you're trying to make a point BACK to INNO about THEIR new direction (and change in policy...) regarding spending cash vs diamonds for something, that's one thing.

But don't cut off your nose to spite your face - especially since this event is truly special.

Make a NON-EMOTIONAL decision.

That's just it though. Actions speak louder than words. People often contradict what they say with their actions. If we want InnoGames to take us seriously on not wanting a cash-only payment option, then our actions must back up that statement. It's meaningless to object and then still buy the cash-only event pass.

I want InnoGames to succeed as a company because that in turn means the game thrives. What I don't want is to lock myself into requiring additional payments each time I go to use something I already fully paid off at the time of purchase.

 

[Dursland]

That's just it though. Actions speak louder than words. People often contradict what they say with their actions. If we want InnoGames to take us seriously on not wanting a cash-only payment option, then our actions must back up that statement. It's meaningless to object and then still buy the cash-only event pass.

I want InnoGames to succeed as a company because that in turn means the game thrives. What I don't want is to lock myself into requiring additional payments each time I go to use something I already fully paid off at the time of purchase.

Very true but sadly it won't happen. People will want the nutcracker guardhouse fragments and the chocolatery selection kits.

Judging from the amount of snowmen avatars I'm seeing, plenty of people have purchased the event pass already.

At least there's one upside - Inno will have to make the premium prize line worthwhile from now on. Likely you'll end up saving diamonds when going for extra event buildings and the such. Take the good with the bad, I say.

 

[Dursland]

Someone in my guild just confirmed sleighbuilders are in this event, he got them on a swap.

 

[michelelyons]

I just saw the opening of the annual Winter Event, and I have to say that I am not impressed. Instead of coming up with something new and interesting, they have cobbled together bits and pieces of other Special Events into a big mess. My biggest disappointment is the two Grand Prize Special buildings. Both are ugly. I would not want either one in any of my cities. Would it have killed them to come up with Christmas/Holiday themed buildings, that are bright and decorated? But no. We get two dark factory buildings. Moreover, neither building has particularly good or impressive rewards, even at their highest levels. I have buildings in my cities right now that are as good or better. And look better. The point of a Special Event is to make it interesting and exciting, and to make it worth the player's while to devote time, effort and considerable resources, (and maybe event diamonds) in order to get some great, pretty, or interesting rewards. The Grand Prizes are not worthwhile. And all the other prizes are pretty tame---nothing that you could not get from doing the regular harvest of your city or from the regular building menu. Once upon a time, years ago, some of the prizes offered were some of the "Diamonds Only" buildings. Speaking from experience, it was a really exciting reward to win a Diamonds Only building as a prize. But now all they offer is standard buildings you can just build yourself from the general menu. What's the point? While these Events may be interesting to newer players, they are becoming less and less so to long time players.

I have played FoE for many years, (going on 12 years, I think) and I used to love the Special Events. My cities are filled with Special Event buildings which I enjoy having. I played every Special Event regularly. I looked forward to Special Events. I loved the Christmas Event, the Halloween Event and especially the "Wheel of Fortune" events, and many others. But in the last few years or so, I find myself not participating in most of the Special Events. They are no longer interesting, fun or worth the effort or resources. And that's kind of sad.

Yes, I understand that this is how the designers make their money. I got that. Heaven knows I have spent my share of money on this game. But I think the designers have gotten greedy. There are too many Special events, too close together, stepping on each other's heels. The Events have gotten more involved, and have been designed specifically to make it very difficult to get to the highest level of the Grand Prize. Sure, that's a way to entice people to buy Diamonds, but how many times are you going to fall for that before you start to look at the Events with a jaundiced eye? As a player, you have to put in a lot more effort, and spend a lot more in resources, to get the prizes. And the prizes are mediocre to poor. Even the Grand Prices are not especially impressive. So I would be surprised if many players are doing the same thing I am. I have no intention of quitting the game itself, but I am playing Special Events less and less. And I will not be spending any time at all on this year's Christmas event.

 

[Dursland]

There are too many Special events, too close together, stepping on each other's heels. The Events have gotten more involved, and have been designed specifically to make it very difficult to get to the highest level of the Grand Prize

I agree that it's bad when events put the grand prize out of reach for free players, like they did in Fall Event.

But I disagree with the rest of your points. I know many players who look forward to the events and completing them, myself included.

And it's not just because it's appealing to a newer player, I started FoE before they rolled out Oceanic Future. Not as old school as some but not new either.

 

[Oswyn the noble]

Event bldg and its upgrades will be sold as usual...meaning it isnt worth adding it. Looking forward to whatever next event building that will boost resources.
The only bright spot in the game is the artwork.

 

[Dursland]

It's sad the chocolatery doesn't give coin. Half my city is Stage of Ages so I don't have many houses and the ones that are there are disconnected. I'm hurting for coins so bad haha.

 

[Rex Maker X]

This event is simply as lame as the spinning ship's wheel from a couple of months ago. Can't earn diamonds, don't earn enough stars. So why play?