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 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.