Better ingame communication regarding event dates

[Safron]

The last 2 events there has been complications with the removal of the event of just unexpected dates.
The Easter event there was communication issues within the team, or so it seemed and not everything on the event forum post was correct (for example explorers that where sent off before the event would still find eggs, this did not happen and messed with quite a few peoples progress)

The latest event seemed a bit sudden. Usually there is some sort of notification on the homepage but the only date available was on the forums. To go to the forums each time to find such dates is not a very good system. For someone like me who was abroad working through most of the event to only have gems I spent on the tokens to be removed the next day, I just feel that these situations can easily be avoided by having more communication with the players in the game itself.

Possibly a small event countdown in the corner of the screen, or a message as you log into the game. There are plenty of other ways but my main suggestion is to bring better communication from the forums to the game itself so we the players don't have to run about looking for details.

Thank you.

[Dorotheus]

So over a months notice, information about it appearing on twitter and Facebook and it being talked about in global and help on Sandycove almost daily since the initial announcement. Short of the devs dancing outside your front window singing songs about it while wearing pink tutu's their is not much more they could do to keep you informed .

[LordBosse]

Lol, Dorotheus :D You summed up my thoughts perfectly well.

[Kit_]

ah, i prefer the old school system, I check the info then write it on my calendar. Takes me, oooh, all of 10 seconds to do. ;)

[Ozzymandeus]

The latest event seemed a bit sudden. Usually there is some sort of notification on the homepage but the only date available was on the forums. To go to the forums each time to find such dates is not a very good system.

So, clicking on a link on the front page of the website that takes you straight to the relevant forum entry is too much effort now... *SIGH*

[Xibor]

Playing and checking the forums frequently should be enough to stay informed. But it would help me a lot if the server date/time was easily available. Yes, there are plenty of world clock applications and I keep UDC on my desktop but with clock adjustments done at different times of the year in different places (or not done at all) being able to see what date/time the server is going to make decisions on might solve part of the problem that Safron mentioned.

In another game I used to play any current event had a small window and countdown timer showing. I have to admit that was kind of handy. Could be stuck in the collapsible menu on the game screen perhaps? Just a thought.

[Urd123]

Many players dont read forum. And as we were spammed with information about that the event /special what ever had started,- why not inform us the last say - 2- 3 days that now it is ending. Then it might become information and not just spamming.
And I cant really see it hurting you well informed but rather condescending players, that others got the information they need ingame

[Safron]

@Dorotheus A month is plenty of time to get distracted with other things. Facebook and twitter are off game, this suggestion of mainly for convenience for the player to be in the know without having to go on a search. There are a lot of players who either keep to themselves or just their guild. Not everyone joins in on the global chat.

@Ozzymandeus No it is not, you have a fair point just it's an old system that's not very effective from what I have seen through the years so I wanted to suggest a possible improvement. Lot's of players I know or knew used to be logged in continuously and their bookmark would log them in without having the need for the home page.

[Ozzymandeus]

And I cant really see it hurting you well informed but rather condescending players that others got the information they need ingame
Development man-hours are not infinite, so I'm afraid you'll just have to pardon me for having the opinion that there are better things that could be done with that time, such as producing new content, improving the interface and/or fixing bugs.


Lot's of players I know or knew used to be logged in continuously and their bookmark would log them in without having the need for the home page.
Sorry, but if someone makes a deliberate choice to bypass, or otherwise ignore, the news on the front page then they don't really have much of a leg to stand on, as far as I am concerned, if they then have issues that result from a lack of information. Past experience tells me that even relatively simple modifications to the basic functions of the game can lead to crippling lag for some users (Production Weeks anyone?). A countdown timer, such as Xibor mentioned, could conceivably have similar effect.

I would also point out that Midsummer was a little different to standard events, where there is usually a week of just the Merchant options being available after the abilities to earn further event resources are turned off. Therefore, normally, we do have a form of warning in game.


...why not inform us the last say - 2- 3 days that now it is ending.
I will concede, however, that I can think of no good reason why we couldn't have a post in the News feed at some point during the final few days to remind folks precisely when an event is due to end.

[Dorotheus]

@Dorotheus A month is plenty of time to get distracted with other things. Facebook and twitter are off game, this suggestion of mainly for convenience for the player to be in the know without having to go on a search. There are a lot of players who either keep to themselves or just their guild. Not everyone joins in on the global chat.

@Ozzymandeus No it is not, you have a fair point just it's an old system that's not very effective from what I have seen through the years so I wanted to suggest a possible improvement. Lot's of players I know or knew used to be logged in continuously and their bookmark would log them in without having the need for the home page.

Oh I am sorry, did I forget to mention the MODS spamming chat with that info for quite some time before event end. That you did not keep abreast with event's is your failure don't blame BB for it.

As for some on screen reminder there are plenty of alarm programs available.

Edited. Please try to express your opinions in a non-aggressive manner.

[Urd123]

Oh I am sorry, did I forget to mention the MODS spamming chat with that info for quite some time before event end. That you did not keep abreast with event's is your failure don't blame BB for it.

As for some on screen reminder there are plenty of alarm programs available.

Edited. Please try to express your opinions in a non-aggressive manner.

Sorry to say that your way of answering is both condensing and for me rather aggressive. And I fail to see you point.
It might be that you read the chat and forum and use your time in the game doing those things. We are different and play different, why cant you respect that and have an open mind.
Players dont write here to attack BB or annoy you. They just sees things different than you do.

Some players don use chat or forum,- it says not where in the game that you has to. We got that message every time we logged in- " the midsummer event has started" even on the last day. Cant see it hurting you or BB if that was changed when the event had moire than started but was ending soon, to be changed to something like " The midsummer event is ending on 21st of juli"

[Safron]

Sorry to say that your way of answering is both condensing and for me rather aggressive. And I fail to see you point.
It might be that you read the chat and forum and use your time in the game doing those things. We are different and play different, why cant you respect that and have an open mind.
Players dont write here to attack BB or annoy you. They just sees things different than you do.

Some players don use chat or forum,- it says not where in the game that you has to. We got that message every time we logged in- " the midsummer event has started" even on the last day. Cant see it hurting you or BB if that was changed when the event had moire than started but was ending soon, to be changed to something like " The midsummer event is ending on 21st of juli"

Thank you Urd123, it seems that most of the others who have replied to the thread have a misunderstanding on what it is about. Rather than accusing the players like you have previously said, each player has their own style and being informed in game would help everyone, not just those who do not check the forums, social media, etc.

I would like to remind some of the others that this is a suggestion on improving the game. I only posted this not because of my mistakes but from what I have seen, heard from those around me and thought it would be beneficial to those players.

[Ozzymandeus]

Thank you Urd123, it seems that most of the others who have replied to the thread have a misunderstanding on what it is about...

I understand perfectly and, upon further consideration, I must agree that having a pop-up window stating "The Midsummer Event has started" during the final days of the event was misleading and should have been altered to reflect that the event was coming to a close at some point during the final week. Such a change should be very quick and easy to perform and should have been enough to satisfy your suggestion. However, anything more elaborate than that, such as the countdown proposed by Xibor, then I would much prefer the development time to be used producing new content.

[SmurfAsH]

However, anything more elaborate than that, such as the countdown proposed by Xibor, then I would much prefer the development time to be used producing new content.
To be fair, BB is already using a countdown for their Happy Hour gem sales so one for this wouldn't effect development time.

[Aliccis]

So over a months notice, information about it appearing on twitter and Facebook and it being talked about in global and help on Sandycove almost daily since the initial announcement. Short of the devs dancing outside your front window singing songs about it while wearing pink tutu's their is not much more they could do to keep you informed .
My main server started like three years ago and in that time all info that is now passed in diaries was passed on to players also via ingame list you had to click off when logging in. You wouldnt believe how many would argue there was no info at all.
That also brings me to the fact that for some reason (be it hard to maintain multiple info spots or clutter when logging to game or other) this change list was removed from plain view and replaced by link to forum.
That alone is not bad solution (you want info, you go to read it up), problem is you dont know if there is any new info. Any new info requires active checking for. It would be nice if say tag "NEW INFO" was added for first five log-ins after update or until you click the link, whichever comes first.


So, clicking on a link on the front page of the website that takes you straight to the relevant forum entry is too much effort now... *SIGH*
Obviously its not. But it could be made much better which is what the OP requested i guess. Like a year ago (*estimated) new feature was added - called Event Window. That would be the place to post info like start/end dates and other stuff. If I remember correctly, this info was not present in there, it was only in forum at the end of the dev diary thread.

[Ozzymandeus]

There is an old proverb that states you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. So, to take Dorotheus' example, even if the devs did dance outside our front windows singing songs about it while wearing pink tutus, there would still be a chunk of players appearing in Global and/or Help tabs asking, "When does the event end?", because that is what happens during every event!

[Dorotheus]

We even have players coming into help asking when will events start days after the event has started despite the small pop-up telling then that it has during the log in when the game brings you back up to date with what's happened while you was off line. Clearly no amount of effort is enough to keep some players informed.

[SmurfAsH]

We even have players coming into help asking when will events start days after the event has started despite the small pop-up telling then that it has during the log in when the game brings you back up to date with what's happened while you was off line. Clearly no amount of effort is enough to keep some players informed.
True, but still I see "potentials" here in providing the right info. It's not like there's no typos et c in this game.

[Urd123]

We even have players coming into help asking when will events start days after the event has started despite the small pop-up telling then that it has during the log in when the game brings you back up to date with what's happened while you was off line. Clearly no amount of effort is enough to keep some players informed.

I cant see that the fact that some players dont read any info what so ever should be an excuse for BB not to give best info possible :p
And if it was in connection with the last "event/special" I cant really blame them. An event was announced - but there was no event - just a shop.
So if you dont follow forum discussion, I can understand why they search for an actual event :P

[Dorotheus]

I cant see that the fact that some players dont read any info what so ever should be an excuse for BB not to give best info possible :p
And if it was in connection with the last "event/special" I cant really blame them. An event was announced - but there was no event - just a shop.
So if you dont follow forum discussion, I can understand why they search for an actual event :P

I'm sorry but if they can not be bothered to read information which is right in front of their face then they are to blame not BB.

[Iolanthe]

I'm sorry but if they can not be bothered to read information which is right in front of their face then they are to blame not BB.

When did this "in front of your face" happen?

On the homepage?


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/2026938566MidSummer_PreMaint_Homepage.PNG

No, there is no mention there. There is a link to the changelog (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/31130-Change-Log-21-07-2015) but the changelog doesn't mention it.

On Twitter (https://twitter.com/TSO_UK/status/623087048883347456)? No, there is no mention there. There is a link to the Maint note (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/21689-Maintenance?p=282749&viewfull=1#post282749) but the Maint note doesn't mention it. The maint note links to the changelog (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/31130-Change-Log-21-07-2015) but the changelog doesn't mention it.

On Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheSettlersOnline)? No, there is no mention there. There is a link to the Maint note (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/21689-Maintenance?p=282749&viewfull=1#post282749) but the Maint note doesn't mention it. The maint note links to the changelog (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/31130-Change-Log-21-07-2015) but the changelog doesn't mention it.

The MOD_Pod did make a good effort, in chat, on The Day, but beyond that there is nothing even close to anyone dancing in tutus, pink or any other colour, and MODs are not BB.

This does come up every "Event", or Not-Event in this case. That in itself is a clear sign there is room for improvement in communication.

BB do seem to be aware there is some value in a countdown:


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/726122982HappyHour_Countdown.PNG

And in in-game notes:


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/1406986231Event_End_Mail_Football.PNG



http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/1500273746Event_EndDates_CrisisQuestMail_2.PNG

http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/381895834Event_EndDates_CrisisQuestMail.PNG

Other people have been known to do it too:


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/587129478Event_EndDates_Eample.PNG


BB are also able to add login pop-ups. There was one at the end of the first phase of, please excuse the language, Balloons.


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/1950321678Balloons_Phase1Ends_PopUp.PNG

There is one now on the Arabic server:


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/1650455986TSO_Arabic_ShuttingDown_PopUp.PNG

There is also this:


having a pop-up window stating "The Midsummer Event has started" during the final days of the event was misleading and should have been altered to reflect that the event was coming to a close at some point during the final week.

There will always be new players who don't know the drill, people will always have lives and distractions, that's perfectly normal. It could only be helpful if there was something more than a month/s old Dev Diary tucked in the forum, players in [plaintext], and players [in yellow] answering individual questions and posting vanishing reminders in chat to mark the end of something unique or unusual in-game.

It would also be nice if there was a lot less snark and questionable superiority from players who should really know better, this also happens at the end of every Event. (Or Not-Event in this case.)


~or~

Even [plaintext] players can make mistakes, even BB can stand to improve, and just because something will be never be Perfect does not mean things cannot be done better.

[Dorotheus]

When did this "in front of your face" happen?

On the homepage?


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/2026938566MidSummer_PreMaint_Homepage.PNG

No, there is no mention there. There is a link to the changelog (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/31130-Change-Log-21-07-2015) but the changelog doesn't mention it.

On Twitter (https://twitter.com/TSO_UK/status/623087048883347456)? No, there is no mention there. There is a link to the Maint note (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/21689-Maintenance?p=282749&viewfull=1#post282749) but the Maint note doesn't mention it. The maint note links to the changelog (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/31130-Change-Log-21-07-2015) but the changelog doesn't mention it.

On Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheSettlersOnline)? No, there is no mention there. There is a link to the Maint note (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/21689-Maintenance?p=282749&viewfull=1#post282749) but the Maint note doesn't mention it. The maint note links to the changelog (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/31130-Change-Log-21-07-2015) but the changelog doesn't mention it.

The MOD_Pod did make a good effort, in chat, on The Day, but beyond that there is nothing even close to anyone dancing in tutus, pink or any other colour, and MODs are not BB.

This does come up every "Event", or Not-Event in this case. That in itself is a clear sign there is room for improvement in communication.

BB do seem to be aware there is some value in a countdown:


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/726122982HappyHour_Countdown.PNG

And in in-game notes:


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/1406986231Event_End_Mail_Football.PNG



http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/1500273746Event_EndDates_CrisisQuestMail_2.PNG

http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/381895834Event_EndDates_CrisisQuestMail.PNG

Other people have been known to do it too:


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/587129478Event_EndDates_Eample.PNG


BB are also able to add login pop-ups. There was one at the end of the first phase of, please excuse the language, Balloons.


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/1950321678Balloons_Phase1Ends_PopUp.PNG

There is one now on the Arabic server:


http://thesettlersonlinewiki.com/uploads/1650455986TSO_Arabic_ShuttingDown_PopUp.PNG

There is also this:



There will always be new players who don't know the drill, people will always have lives and distractions, that's perfectly normal. It could only be helpful if there was something more than a month/s old Dev Diary and players [in yellow] posting in chat as a reminder something unique or unusual in-game is ending.

It would also be nice if there was a lot less snark and questionable superiority from players who should really know better, this also happens at the end of every Event. (Or Not-Event in this case.)


~or~

Even [plaintext] players can make mistakes, even BB can stand to improve, and just because something will be never be Perfect does not mean things cannot be done better.

At that point of this thread I was talking about the log in pop ups, pretty hard to get more in your face than those.

[Iolanthe]

At that point of this thread I was talking about the log in pop ups, pretty hard to get more in your face than those.

The one that said "The Midsummer Event has started"?


Edit: Also worth noting are the number of people who were predicting a Very Long Maint due to the resource:coin conversion and were surprised to find there was a week's gap between the removal of the Not-Event and that swap. One even spent a large number of posts thanking a MOD who mentioned the fact "in passing." This information had been in the Dev Diary since 19 June (http://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/31013-Dev-Diary-Midsummer-Night-Special?p=281353&viewfull=1#post281353), yet quite a lot of people overlooked or forgot it.

Several of those people were more than happy to take swings at others who'd been confused about the end date.

See also:


Even [plaintext] players can make mistakes, even BB can stand to improve, and just because something will be never be Perfect does not mean things cannot be done better.

[Safron]

I came back after receiving an email about the Halloween event and was very happy to see the new countdowns and times that have been added. So I wanted to pass my thanks to the developers and staff who listened :)

[BB_Ravel]

I came back after receiving an email about the Halloween event and was very happy to see the new countdowns and times that have been added. So I wanted to pass my thanks to the developers and staff who listened :)

Much appreciated and it has been passed on. Thank you! :)