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St.Patrick's Event 2021 Feedback

CDmark

Well-Known Member
I think the event mini game is fine. One thing that would be nice, if they told us the actual production times instead of me using a stopwatch...lol. Then a spreadsheet is easy to make and project timings. The surprise box, as mentioned previously makes this event much better than last year bcs you can be a bit more casual this year versus last year. Now game strategies, I break it down to 2, assuming you have the surprise box and finish questline (L4 DT)
1) 400 tasks (6 upgrades)
2) a mix of chests and tasks (I am doing 3 chests and 175 tasks)

Now, the only trick is managing pots of gold income. You only make 250 a day (rush quests aside) so you can spend pretty quick. I have chosen to not buy the chest in city 2 (NO CHEST - CITY 2) I will maximize the task, only skipping shipyard manager 4 (saves pots and not needed, task 35 easy to skip) and 200 B hats (task 38, not an issue to skip, a bit of a stretch with out spending pots).
City 3 I see a L4 festival manager but the problem becomes its task location. #23. Can I get to the 30's with just 2 vacant task slots...dont know yet.
City 1 repeat, L4 shipyard manager task #25, will see if 2 task slots are doable.

The above will net me, city 1, 37 tasks, city 2, 36 tasks...73 tasks. So, taking L4 manager costs, pots of gold income and game time into account, I need 102 tasks in 13 days (city 2 ends tomorrow morning), City 3 and city 1 repeat chests (I already have city 1 chest done..in hindsight, maybe waiting would have been better)

This event reminds me of my days in manufacturing, balancing 3 to 4 variables...good thing the factory workers cant call in sick and the managers dont have to go to meetings or I would probably still be in city 1 with 14 sombreros in inventory..LOLOL
 

Oswyn the noble

Well-Known Member
The most boring event out of the previous ones. For me, harder to get upgrades to druid bldg. Slow and monotonous. Excluding main world where any new event bldgs are immediately purged
 

Lady Rainna

Member
I am wondering why there are TWO grand prizes between the Druid prize. Most games have one. I will not be able to get a level 10 Druid without spending precious diamonds. I'm only doing this on one world, it drives me a bit batty. LOL
 

KeithOfTheForge

Active Member
stp.JPG

Doesn't seem fair to make the Upgrade 200 buildings one of the last quests in town. Look at the cost it will take to get there.
 

michelelyons

New Member
I have been playing this game for nearly 10 years now, and I always liked the Special Events. But in the last couple of years I think the designers are getting way to greedy. Sure, I get that they want people to buy diamonds because that is how they make their money. But part of the appeal of this game was that players could get the highest level grand prize even without diamonds. Diamonds would help a lot, but they were not a necessity. That has changed.

The current event, the St. Patrick's Day special event was unpopular last year, and I was hoping they would design something better for this year---but no such luck. The St. Patrick's Day event is not fun. It is way too convoluted, and way to work intensive to be part of any game played for fun and relaxation. I am sure that everyone has noticed that instead of getting an upgrade for every other quest line, they have changed it to being every third quest line. This makes it virtually impossible for most players to get the 9 upgrades needed to get the grand prize to it's highest level. And let's face it, if you cannot get the grand prize to it's highest level, there is little point to having it at all.

As an example, I have played the event regularly, every day, since it began, and I have collected only 4 upgrades. That, if I were to bother building the Druid Temple, would take it to only level 5-----not very impressive, or worth my while. And since there are only 5 days remaining in the event, it is impossible to obtain an additional 5 upgrades. Many of the people in my guild have complained of the same thing.

Now, I am sure that the designers would argue that it is not "impossible" to get the needed 9 upgrades, but that is just semantics. When you make a task so hard to accomplish that only one person, maybe, out of a thousand will be able to do it---that task is virtually impossible. Sure, you can do it, if you play five times a day, if you get everything perfect, if you can proceed to new towns regularly, if you get lucky in choosing chests, etc. etc. etc. Or, of course, if you spend lots and lots of diamonds. But putting these kinds of odds against your players is not good business----it discourages players from participating. When getting the highest level of the grand prize is nearly impossible---then why play the event at all? Why bother? All of the other prizes offered are poor to mediocre at best. Having a special event where there is nothing for the average player to gain by playing defeats the entire purpose.

I have watched as the special events have evolved over the length of time I have played FoE, and I have seen them become more and more difficult. And the prizes are stingy. Have you noticed that the larger "diamonds only premium" buildings are no longer offered as prizes? No, the only buildings offered as prizes now are the common buildings in everyone's menu. Not much of a prize to my way of thinking. In previous events, when you spun that wheel of fortune, or made a choice in the game, it was exciting and gratifying when you got a valuable diamonds only building as a prize. It gave the event an added pleasure and encouraged you to play the special events more. But not now. The vast majority of the "prize" buildings are already in your menu. So what is the point in winning them at all? Sure, it saves you the cost of the coins and supplies the building costs, but if you have been playing for any length of time, you have enough of both resources to build whatever is in your menu five times over.

So I find the St. Patrick's Day event very disappointing. It is not fun or enjoyable. I will not be bothering to build the Druid temple. At such a low level, it is not worth taking up space in my city. And I will be wasting no more time playing the event.

I honestly do not know if the designers look at these feedback comments. If they do, I have very little evidence that they pay attention to their customers. For many years, I used to play every special event regularly, and enjoyed them. Anyone looking at the special event buildings in my city could tell I have a long history of enjoying events. But not lately. Many of the events of late have not been fun anymore, and the prizes have been either unattractive or far too hard to get. So I will be playing the events less and less. Which is a shame, because I used to really enjoy them. The designers need to do better than this.
 

Johnny B. Goode

Well-Known Member
The St. Patrick's Day event is not fun. It is way too convoluted, and way to work intensive to be part of any game played for fun and relaxation.
Have you met the Arc? Or Recurring Quests? Two of the most popular parts of the game, and also the two most work intensive. There are those who like this event and its mini-game, you should not presume to talk for the entire player base.
 

RazorbackPirate

Well-Known Member
I am sure that everyone has noticed that instead of getting an upgrade for every other quest line, they have changed it to being every third quest line. This makes it virtually impossible for most players to get the 9 upgrades needed to get the grand prize to it's highest level.
It was every 3rd set of tasks last year as well. In that regard, nothing has changed. I'm following the same strategy as last year which was 10 pieces as well. Just as I got a fully upgraded Garden last year, I am on track to for a fully upgraded Temple in two cities. In fact, with the surprise box containing an extra upgrade, getting the Temple maxed out is even easier than last year.
As an example, I have played the event regularly, every day, since it began, and I have collected only 4 upgrades. That, if I were to bother building the Druid Temple, would take it to only level 5-----not very impressive, or worth my while. And since there are only 5 days remaining in the event, it is impossible to obtain an additional 5 upgrades. Many of the people in my guild have complained of the same thing.
Unfortunately, this just means you and your guildmates blew the strategy. There are two paths to success in this event. Complete 4 towns opening one set of 6 chests in between towns, obtaining the last chest in town #5, which won't need to be completed. OR Complete 13,75 towns completing an average of 35 task per town, buying no chests in between. Both methods also require buying and upgrading the Managers to just the levels required by the tasks.

Deviation from either path leads to your results. I know many who will get their full Temple using both methods. As last year, I'm following the first, less work than slogging through 14 towns.
Now, I am sure that the designers would argue that it is not "impossible" to get the needed 9 upgrades, but that is just semantics.
I'm also arguing it's not impossible to get the 9 needed upgrades and that's not semantics, its math. The math works on paper, execution of the math works in reality. Just like last year.
Sure, you can do it, if you get everything perfect.
True, but if you do a bit of research or crunch some numbers ahead of time, getting everything perfect isn't that hard to do. Having played the game for 10 years, you know by now of the many players on Beta who have this all figured out long before it hits live. I want to leave nothing to chance. it's worth my time to watch a 10 minute YouTube video to ensure success. You on the other hand...
I have watched as the special events have evolved over the length of time I have played FoE, and I have seen them become more and more difficult. And the prizes are stingy. Have you noticed that the larger "diamonds only premium" buildings are no longer offered as prizes? No, the only buildings offered as prizes now are the common buildings in everyone's menu. Not much of a prize to my way of thinking. In previous events, when you spun that wheel of fortune, or made a choice in the game, it was exciting and gratifying when you got a valuable diamonds only building as a prize. It gave the event an added pleasure and encouraged you to play the special events more. But not now. The vast majority of the "prize" buildings are already in your menu. So what is the point in winning them at all? Sure, it saves you the cost of the coins and supplies the building costs, but if you have been playing for any length of time, you have enough of both resources to build whatever is in your menu five times over.
That might be true about the diamond buildings, but so what. Just fodder for the AD like everything other than goods, units, and FPs. I never even look at what's in any of that stuff and neither should you. This is a great example of how many people fail with the simple mechanism used in Forge Bowl and the Spring Event. Event after event, year after year players come here to complain that they fell one touchdown/jump short of the final upgrade. The path to success is to get the player/animal that covers the most distance with the least amount of currency. That means often choosing players/animals that don't have the best prizes or the highest DS%.

Inno always gives a path to success. They also create tons of distractions to entice you away from the optimum path. Why? That deviation often results in diamond sales. This event is no different. Knowing most people won't do the math or the homework leaves plenty of opportunities to monetize the event. As it should be. They provide the path the get the prize for free. They then leave it to the players to do what they do. Some will research and get the prize for free, most won't. I'm okay with that. Others not doing their homework is why I can play for free.
So I find the St. Patrick's Day event very disappointing. It is not fun or enjoyable.
In this we can agree. This event, for many reasons, is my least favorite. Yes, I'll get a lvl 10 Temple for free, but the slog to get there I could do without. I don't like the town game mechanic, I don't like there being no daily specials. I don't like having to buy 4 full sets of chests only to have the contents in aggregate add up to a whole lot of nothing. I wish they would change it, but I expect we'll see it for a few more years. ROI after all. It's not cheap to develop a completely new game mechanic. It needs to run for a few years to recoup that investment. It is what it is.
I honestly do not know if the designers look at these feedback comments. If they do, I have very little evidence that they pay attention to their customers. For many years, I used to play every special event regularly, and enjoyed them. Anyone looking at the special event buildings in my city could tell I have a long history of enjoying events. But not lately. Many of the events of late have not been fun anymore, and the prizes have been either unattractive or far too hard to get. So I will be playing the events less and less. Which is a shame, because I used to really enjoy them. The designers need to do better than this.
I do believe Inno reads the comments, but I also know those comments are tempered by what actually happens in the game. And yes, one of those measurements is diamond sales.

I also think comments like yours are discounted by the fact that they gave you multiple paths to get a full Temple for free. That you chose not to follow one is kind of on you. It's unreasonable to expect you can show up to an event in a strategy game, employ no strategy, and end up with a full whatever. This game doesn't work that way. It never has.

My first event was the first Forge Bowl. I sucked at every event through the Spring Event,. Then I decided that in order to succeed in events, I needed to research each event. I've gotten a full whatever for free ever since. You can too.
 

icarusethan

Active Member
I have been playing this game for nearly 10 years now, and I always liked the Special Events.

As an example, I have played the event regularly, every day, since it began, and I have collected only 4 upgrades. That, if I were to bother building the Druid Temple, would take it to only level 5-----not very impressive, or worth my while. And since there are only 5 days remaining in the event, it is impossible to obtain an additional 5 upgrades. Many of the people in my guild have complained of the same thing.
we are talking bout you btw, "10 year veteran player" :)
 

Algona

Well-Known Member
I have been playing this game for nearly 10 years now, and I always liked the Special Events. But in the last couple of years I think the designers are getting way to greedy.

Thee first Event was Halloween 2012. Since there seems to be almost no records of that Event, can you tell us about it? What the Quests were like and such?

A note on the Prize for that Event. When I started in 2015, the Graveyard with upgrades was still considered a good prize. How things have changed...

----------

I can't rightly see as how the last couple years Events demonstrate an increase of greed on INNO's part. The last major change to Events was the cessation of Historical Events in 2018. Stopping Events hardly seems a cash grab.

The Feedback threads over the years show some patterns of note. There are always complaints Events are cash grabs. There are always players stating they are able to complete the Event and get the main prize for free. There are always some players who dislike and others who like specific Events.

There is one recent trend in Event Feedback threads, fewer players posting Feedback. This is not indicative of fewer players doing Events, casual review of active players show they have SBs from recent Events. Rather, the decline is in the number of players complaining and asking questions about the Events.

A note here. This forum abides the general rule of all forums, players are a lot more likely to complain then compliment. The number of complaints about Events dropping over time is a solid indication of the overall player Event experience improving.

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INNO has shown greed regarding Events over time in two significant ways:

Providing ever better prizes that players want to acquire and can buy multiples of.

Making Events longer.

I don't see either of these as egregious and both of these trends are more then a couple years old.

More importantly these two trends were offset years ago by improving Events so that reasonably optimal play assures players can get a free copy of the main prize in the Event.

Events. Greed? Or good business?
 

Joeyjojojo

Active Member
A note here. This forum abides the general rule of all forums, players are a lot more likely to complain then compliment. The number of complaints about Events dropping over time is a solid indication of the overall player Event experience improving.
It's also an indication that there are more mobile players. I know I never post to the forum from my phone.

I personally think this event is fine, but it is problematic in that it is less intuitive than other events. As has been stated there are 2 strategies to follow and you really must follow one to finish, but neither is really obvious without reading these (and beta) forums or getting advice from guildmates. If you just play without that guidance then you would be inclined to complete all tasks, and probably open 2-4 chests after a city is done (the cheaper ones), and that means you have no chance to get the final prize. Completing all tasks takes too long and you spend too many PoG to finish either strategy. Other events don't really have that issue.

Note that this is also something that you can't really figure out on your own from the start because you need to know what the tasks are in advance to know which to skip, and where to save building leveling so you can complete a level building task down the road.
 

Oswyn the noble

Well-Known Member
i shouldnt have been so harsh to my feedback of said event...i did get lots of amazing goodies opening chests in one of my cities where it fulfilled my dream of making city a production powerhouse. on scale of 1 thru 10 1 being really bad and 10 being super awesome i give it a 8
 

Mixedbye

New Member
FOE ends the St Pats Festival game on the 11th. St Pat's Day is the 17th. The did the same at Christmas. Why not end the event on the 17th or 25th. Goofy!
 

Algona

Well-Known Member
The same reason Christmas, err, I mean, year end holiday sales start before Halloween and 2022 model cars will soon be going on sale?

Why not mention this in the Community Sprint thread?
 

Just An Observer

Well-Known Member
Having the event finished, now seems like a good time to review it!

Rewards as Incidents seemed decent enough in frequency. Despite that, there is not enough Gold to do everything so one needs to spend their Diamonds in a judicious fashion to get the full monty from this event.

Prizes came in abundance though. The 25 steps part of the game were paying off like Level 1 in GE. Having the 6 boxes is where the best goodies were to be found. Having enough Gold to open all 6 is critical to getting the event's main building though.

As for the main building, it is decent enough. I would rate it below Governor's Villas, Abandoned Asylum and House Of The Wolf but on par with a Colossus and Fire Pagoda, both of which are in my city.

Playing the game has a learning curve but once figured out, Getting the first 30 or so parts completed goes fairly quick. Then comes the Quadrillion Point Grind to finish a city and get those 6 boxes for opening. Lucky for me I can sleep through a good part of that...LOL!

Daily Quest selection was on par with other events. For those who are experienced in seasonal events, we got no real curveballs thrown our way.

What I got for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was enough stuff to choke a horse pulling a cart to the AD, the amount of Sentinels at Level 2 I wanted with an extra upgrade and the Druid Temple. Had I really wanted to, a second one could have been picked up but since it is not top tier for me, I passed.

Color me satisfied with this event despite the high amount of Diamonds spent to figure the event out. I will count that as tuition and do better in their spending next year.
 
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