Follow up notes from the last 12 Hour Yog Event

[Zarnia Foxtrot]

Hello DME , Anny and Admin. DME had asked in the chat during the 12 Hour Yog Event if players would prefer items or ped (which was the award being given during this last event). Most of the players who responded said they would rather items. I just wanted to add my view since I was not sure it got seen and heard in the chat at that time. I would vote for both ped and items because it is fun to win something but it helps to keep playing if you have ped in addition to what a players starts with before an event. Just wanted to have my suggestion noted since I don’t recall a response to it at that time with all the chat activity going on then.

PZ

 

[hans]

I must have been asleep when this question came up.
Items are nice unless they are duplicated or unwanted. I know a few players who would rant badly at a pet for instance.
PED immediately pays for decay and ammo.

Nice items are remembered long after the event - I must for instance still tier my F-105 again from some Yog swats ago, and I am not even a serious miner.
PED is just a line on a spreadsheet after 6 months.

Items take more up-front planning for DME, so PED allows more sleep.
I'd suggest rotating them, both have merit, and possibly offering a buyback scheme for unwanted items just after the event to mitigate the negative marketing from unwanted items.
As always others will have their own opinions.

 

[DarkMoonEnigma]

I must have been asleep when this question came up.
Items are nice unless they are duplicated or unwanted. I know a few players who would rant badly at a pet for instance.
PED immediately pays for decay and ammo.

Nice items are remembered long after the event - I must for instance still tier my F-105 again from some Yog swats ago, and I am not even a serious miner.
PED is just a line on a spreadsheet after 6 months.

Items take more up-front planning for DME, so PED allows more sleep.
I'd suggest rotating them, both have merit, and possibly offering a buyback scheme for unwanted items just after the event to mitigate the negative marketing from unwanted items.
As always others will have their own opinions.

I think I love you hans ... a gazillion points to you for considering my sleep deprivation. :clap

I think it was sometime last year when I started doing the "next global prize giveaway" during our regular events as a bit of a side thing in addition to what prizes we offered from whatever criteria we set up. It was popular right out the gate. Just this last August is when I decided to do my own DME 12 Hr Global Prize Giveaway events, and not only did more people show up, the stats were quite impressive, so I made it a mid-month event every month.

I wanted to test the waters this time with the ped giveaway to see how the community would take to it, even if I had to make adjustments to future events. My goal is to keep the community and our visitors and allies engaged with fun, but also make it as rewarding as possible without breaking my ped bank (Ant's ped bank is much bigger than mine ).

Feedback is always welcome because it helps us to not only consider potential development suggestions, but also design our events for optimum experience enjoyment.

Here's why I wanted to test the ped giveaway this time:

• we already had 4 months of item giveaways with this particular mid-month event
• I took in the dynamics of how they were received, and watched comments on Monria chat
• certain items were more popular than others, but I agree with you that not so much the pets
• I tried to be practical and choose items that would be useful and/or used, but ...
• --- it became apparent that some of the items definitely were not suited for the skill levels of some players
• --- and the lower level items didn't seem to get to the players who could use them
• --- that's when we started dropping the lower level items and other things in the craters as a treasure hunt
• --- many community members donated some of the lower level items for us to add to our own efforts
• ---------- many community members also donated some really nice items as well during these events
• I think the challenge is, to design these events in some way where items get distributed more effectively

Here is my thinking about the ped giveaway:

• ped is universal and can definitely help to defray costs during an event, however ...
• I think it lessens the excitement and anticipation of what the next prize will be, and when it will happen
• the activity seems to be more frenetic during a prize giveaway event, and Monria chat more engaged
• while ped is quite useful, we found that people get more excited with item giveaways
• I also tried to have a really nice prize or two at the end of the event as a thank you for hanging out with us
• yes, using ped as the giveaway prize reduces preparation, and allows me more sleep ... but ...
• --- it removes a very special part of the process of me getting to support our Shop Owners
• --- I raid the shops for items before each of these events, and support the efforts of the Shop Owners
• what to do

I am currently working on a proposal in our private staff forum to present to Ant regarding ideas for restructuring all of our events. We haven't really hosted some of our bigger events because of being in the middle of reconstruction. We want to have all of the elements in place with our creatures and locations for the events to be more effective, but also present the best experience possible for those who attend. I've been filling in with the global prize giveaway events, but those as well need to be restructured for optimum delivery.

I can tell you this though ... Ant has already been working on elements for our next St Patrick's Day event in March because that is our biggest event of the year where we go all out. It's not too early to get your Irish-related ensemble put together because there's always a fashion show contest.

We said from the beginning when we took over the Moon on 11/26/15, that we want to work in tandem with the community, not for the community to ensure that what we do with development and otherwise, is something that will be inviting, but also provide the most enjoyable experience. This goes for events as well. Suggestions and feedback are always welcome, and we always do our best to act on those that we feel are viable (we have some in the works), but it's something that will unfold over time as well because timing is our most crucial challenge.

Let's keep this discussion going because you guys are the ones who live on the Moon and come to the Moon to join our craziness, and we want to make sure we're at least doing as much right as possible.

Thank you for your input, it's appreciated.

 

[BenderRT]

hello Colonists from the Moon

would like to give my opinion too, so here it goes :

in a way, items as prizes is more like " expect the unexpected" then random 30/60ped prize. We can never know what item(s) will be sorted next, and i like it tbh, plus i've won items that i simply wouldnt buy by myself and it did really really come in handy (H-DNA for example) and to finish there used to be prizes like vehicle+gas that i always wanted/want to win at least once . Altho it promotes shops on the Moon, and as i've read here, it does take time to an already busy staff.

Peds as rewards are good in a way that promotes equitity in all prizes, can be more profitable, but it sure is less exciting.

So my 2 cents say, do a mix of them, each hour u give half items and half peds as prizes for example. Try to manage this mix with the avaliable time you have, and after that, the following feedback and experiencies of how it goes can open room for even more improvement.

Regardless, either way, i have always had a lot of fun on Monria events, even when i fail to win prizes.

Would like to finish by complementing Monria Staff, this kind of events are an example of how to be pro-active and personalize the way you treat costumers (colonists). ++++++++++++++++ to all of you.

 

[DarkMoonEnigma]

I LOVE this feedback, this is awesome ... and thanks Bender for putting your worthy 2 cents in, it's appreciated. Having this discussion really gives us an idea of how our events are received by the community, because we always want to make sure that everyone is not only having a good time, but that there are sufficient rewards as well.

There's definitely a different vibe when we do items instead of ped, but I can see both sides. I'm going to go back to the drawing board and take all of this in while I sort out the next global prize giveaway that will most likely be on Jan 13th. I like the idea of incorporating both of them, and also like the idea of adding loot pills and H-DNA into the mix. Perhaps there's a way to design something that might work as a happy medium and then let you guys decide.

We will still continue to incorporate the other elements of our events that keep them interesting, like the treasure hunts, the spontaneous craziness that we're known for (ok, that Ant is known for), and as always, keep our signature Moon motto in play at all times with --> "Expect the Unexpected" <-- with us, you never know.

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. If anyone else would like to chime in, please do. :clap

 

[Gunner]

Alright, here is my 2 pec... I will openly admit that I have a dog in the fight and am biased on the subject. As one of Monria's active shop owners, I can tell you that the support that I receive from DME and Monria's support team is quite excellent. TBH every time DME schedules one of these events, my shop sales improve due to the increased player traffic to Monria. As DME points out, she raids the Monrian shops looking for items that would be good as give away prizes. Her raiding has an impact on my monthly sales and helps me turn over merchandise faster.

In addition, although I don't craft a lot of items to sell in my shop (my shop mainly provides raw materials to support Monrian crafters), I keep in mind what items that I think DME will consider good prizes when I do craft. I try to craft items that are usable by everyone, so that no matter who wins the prize, they can use it. For example, if I can find good prices on blueprints to make items such as space thrusters, portable repair units, RK-5s, welding wire, etc. I will buy them and make the items so they are on hand when she does her raids. I also try to find low level Mindforce chips, such as Regeneration I (and occasionally high level MF chips such as Regeneration Field chips,) that she could also use as prizes.

I agree with DME that prizes tend to generate more excitement than PED. Obvious examples are apartment give aways, and the full sets of armor that were donated by another Monrian shop owner in the past (thank you Legends!). These prizes keep the event exciting. Also, it should be noted that if a player really wants PED, or receives a prize that they cannot use, they can always TT it for the money (or, better yet sell it to another player).

So the bottom line is that I prefer prizes as opposed to PED.