"Lucky Item" Shiny-Odds Bonus drop item, Shiny-Odds Pokemon Disposal NPC (using REP)

thunderclap

Youngster
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
462
Points
63
Events/swarms are great, but one thing I dislike about them is they basically hold a gun to your head and force you to play almost every waking minute when there's something you want, because often you will never have another chance. This burns people out, making the game a job rather than fun/casual (especially if you fail to find your target), and it also means many people only play during events. The only time when they perceive it's worth having a membership. This leads to horrible dead periods when it's not unheard of to log in and be the only player online at times. It's also just way too long a period of intense hunting if the event is like 3 weeks long.

The aggregate effect of an event is also like a nuclear bomb on the economy that has to be carefully planned. It can destroy the value of certain pokemons in the blink of an eye. It's usually been well-managed so far but we're running out of pokemon that nobody has whose values can safely be destroyed. So I have an additional suggestion: a second type of membership drop-item:

'Mystery Membership Cards' could give MS perks and trigger one of the Token Store pokemons to start spawning on a random map for that player for a limited time. It would give a player their own personal micro-event. I already think all pokemon should be removed from the token store, so this would be a great alternate way of making those pokemons available. At worst 1-2 of a given rare pokemon might be found, total, instead of 100 shiny Slugmas all at once. Nobody could spam real cash to get a shiny anymore. Logistically, a Mystery Event Transporter NPC would probably be needed.

Mystery maps could be previews of maps from new regions, closed sections of existing maps, player-made contest maps, etc, strictly for hunting, without a need for NPCs/scripting or flawless design.

Both types of membership drop-items should be stackable and findable at any time. They would activate instantly, and not be sellable. Otherwise people would just hoard them for events.

Mystery MS cards could be stackable by adding a 2nd rare spawn to your map, but perhaps each of them would be a bit less likely, like adding additional pizza toppings.

Lucky MS cards would be stackable (as discussed) by adding more luck points, according to the math in the first post, or less generously if necessary. Staff would have the power to control drop rates to control things as they wish.

Having 2 types of membership drop items reduces any crazy influx of shinies people are worried about in the case of having only Lucky-MS drops, and also gives something to people who don't care about shinies. Other additional types could even be added if staff want to run with the idea -- how about "Magic Trainer Cards" which make all wild pokes high level for more EXP/money? I know spawns/trainers can already scale to your highest level, thanks to LUA.

These membership drop items would be a passive way to encourage a steady number of players playing, just like the battle tower currently does, without much planning, without dropping nukes on the economy. It will reward those who actually are playing, rather than people who only return for events and might not deserve things as much. It improves the optics of the game (less P2W) with more activity. It removes the gambling controversy with TS shinies. It adds more things which cannot be bought/sold and must be earned by playing (merit) rather than spending tokens.

All this is more about giving people hope/reason to play more regularly, than it is about making things easier. But if people are very lucky it will do that too. Usually not very significantly - it should only be incorporated after careful calculation.

A new player is more likely to stay if they join and see a bunch of players playing and feeling lucky, than if they join and only see a few people. And when they ask "how do I get membership" or "how do I get Charizard" you won't have to tell them the only way is by spending real money, or spending an unimaginable wealth (to them) in Pd... which is easiest to get by spending money. We can hopefully get the activity snowball rolling, and keep it going and getting bigger, not stopping like it does after a big event.


Then, in addition, the trade-in NPC portion of this suggestion allows people to squash their disappointment in finding horrible IV rares, since they can cash them in for some more luck points. The buyback amounts or valid types can be varied by staff as a 2nd means of control over the economy. It's a very important part which I've discussed more in other posts. You'll probably want to fix the "/list pokemon" command first to easily report basic tier information, to make this trade-in NPC most intuitive to players.


All of this should be easy to program with minimal coding, using an already existing system (REP). So far it's just 2 NPCs and 2 items.
There are just so many ways that the Lucky/Mystery MS Cards and Trade-in NPC are amazing suggestions that will fix/improve so many things. I've probably forgotten some other benefits from earlier posts too.
 
Last edited:

Jobey

Jr. Trainer
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
1,214
Points
113
Events/swarms are great, but one thing I dislike about them is they basically hold a gun to your head and force you to play almost every waking minute when there's something you want, because often you will never have another chance. This burns people out, making the game a job rather than fun/casual (especially if you fail to find your target), and it also means many people only play during events. The only time when they perceive it's worth having a membership. This leads to horrible dead periods when it's not unheard of to log in and be the only player online at times. It's also just way too long a period of intense hunting if the event is like 3 weeks long.

The aggregate effect of an event is also like a nuclear bomb on the economy that has to be carefully planned. It can destroy the value of certain pokemons in the blink of an eye. It's usually been well-managed so far but we're running out of pokemon that nobody has whose values can safely be destroyed. So I have an additional suggestion: a second type of membership drop-item:

'Mystery Membership Cards' could give MS perks and trigger one of the Token Store pokemons to start spawning on a random map for that player for a limited time. It would give a player their own personal micro-event. I already think all pokemon should be removed from the token store, so this would be a great alternate way of making those pokemons available. At worst 1-2 of a given rare pokemon might be found, total, instead of 100 shiny Slugmas all at once. Nobody could spam real cash to get a shiny anymore. Logistically, a Mystery Event Transporter NPC would probably be needed.

Mystery maps could be previews of maps from new regions, closed sections of existing maps, player-made contest maps, etc, strictly for hunting, without a need for NPCs/scripting or flawless design.

Both types of membership drop-items could be found at any time. They would activate instantly, and not be sell-able. Otherwise people would just hoard them for events.

Mystery MS cards could be stackable by adding a 2nd rare spawn to your map, but perhaps each of them would be a bit less likely, like adding additional pizza toppings.

Lucky MS cards would be stackable (as discussed) by adding more luck points, according to the math in the first post, or less generously if necessary. Staff could have the power to control drop rates to control things as they wish.

Having 2 types of membership drop items reduces any crazy influx of shinies people are worried about, and also gives something to people who don't care about shinies. Other additional types could even be added if staff want to run with the idea -- how about "Magic Trainer Cards" which make all wild pokes high level for more EXP/money?

These membership drop items would be a passive way to encourage a steady number of players playing, just like the battle tower currently does, without much planning, without dropping nukes on the economy. It will reward those who actually are playing, rather than people who only return for events and might not deserve things as much. It improves the optics of the game (less P2W) with more activity. It removes the gambling controversy with TS shinies. And it's more about giving people hope/reason to play more regularly, than it is about making things easier. But if people are very lucky it will do that too. Usually not very significantly - it should only be incorporated after careful calculation.

A new player is more likely to stay if they join and see a bunch of players playing and feeling lucky, than if they join and only see a few people. And when they ask "how do I get membership" or "how do I get Charizard" you won't have to tell them the only way is by spending real money, or spending an unimaginable wealth (to them) in Pd... which is easiest to get by spending money. (There's those occasional free 3 day MS given by staff sometimes too but they don't really do much.) We can get the activity snowball rolling, and keep it going and getting bigger.


Then in addition the trade-in NPC allows people to squash their disappointment in finding horrible IV rares, since they can cash them in for some more luck points. The buyback amounts or valid types can be varied by staff as a 2nd means of control over the economy. It's a very important part which I've discussed more in other posts.


All this should be easy to program using an already existing system.
There are just so many ways that the Lucky/Mystery MS Cards and Trade-in NPC are amazing suggestions that will fix/improve so many things. I've probably forgotten some other benefits from earlier posts too.
Not a bad idea actually, just seems overly ambitious though, besides that, I see no major issues.
 

Prof.Rygar

Youngster
Joined
Jan 2, 2014
Messages
497
Points
63
It destroys the value of certain pokemons in the blink of an eye

Well, as long as all pokemon are destroyed equally, nothing bad happens. The only important part of the economy is pokemon vs pokemon values. Money is just a relative thing and people focus WAY TOO MUCH on it. Though, I'd like to be informed by staff long before an event if they plan to make Larvitar a T2 again. Just an announcement on the forums of such a thing would instantly trash the value.

all pokemon should be removed from the token store

Then how does the game make money to survive? *Ponders

There's those occasional free 3 day MS given by staff sometimes

I wish there were more of this, like in that event a couple years ago where you could pick a side and you had shiny bonus active there on that map.
 

thunderclap

Youngster
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
462
Points
63
Then how does the game make money to survive? *Ponders
Selling memberships and items. Token-Store Memberships can't themselves be stacked, but Lucky Membership Cards should still increase your shiny odds whether you have a membership or not. Not like the horrible "daily deals" for token store pokemon which only give like a 12-token (1 cent USD) discount if you already have a membership.

Considering the game ran with way more players on 2008-era servers, there's no good reason for the server to cost $333 a month. That's just mismanagement tbh - it should be 10% of that, even with region requirements. Selling memberships and items alone should cover the server costs no problem.

I wish there were more of this, like in that event a couple years ago where you could pick a side and you had shiny bonus active there on that map.
Yes! That was a great idea and a great event. Loved the split map and leaderboard on Pdex also. Not everyone can afford to pay for a membership, especially not at all times of the year during non-events.

Well, as long as all pokemon are destroyed equally, nothing bad happens. The only important part of the economy is pokemon vs pokemon values. Money is just a relative thing and people focus WAY TOO MUCH on it. Though, I'd like to be informed by staff long before an event if they plan to make Larvitar a T2 again. Just an announcement on the forums of such a thing would instantly trash the value.
It's rarely destroyed equally though, unless every event features previously unattainable pokemons. Shiny versions of most pokemon exist. Ohlssonpower probably wasn't very happy about hundreds of S Sneasels being found! She probably lost 200m Pd because of that.

Not a bad idea actually, just seems overly ambitious
Seems ambitious, but it's just 2 NPCs and 2 items. The whole suggestion is designed to be fast and easy to code, so it can be added before any major content additions. Lots of the code exists in other forms already, like the bird judging NPC from the bird event. Not that ambitious, the thread is only 6 pages long to list all the benefits :)
 
Last edited:

Prof.Rygar

Youngster
Joined
Jan 2, 2014
Messages
497
Points
63
Loved the split map and leaderboard on Pdex also

Split Map, yes, good idea. Leader board, Pretty sure I hate that so much I need to invent new cuss words.

She probably lost 200m Pd

Not a big problem for a couple reasons. #1: Ohlssonpower probably will never get rid of it, so it's a moot point. #2: This brings me back to the Pokemon vs Pokemon values, where, if S Sneasel were to be traded for my S Tyranitar, it would take a low more of them currently due to that event manifesting so many new S Sneasel. But if an event comes along that starts spawning copious amounts of S Larvitars, then the trade values would reset back to what they were before the event.

It's rarely destroyed equally

Which is a good point. Which would be countered with more events, thus destroying pokemon relatively equally over each year.


Events/swarms are great, but they basically force you to play almost every waking minute when there's something you want, because often you will never have another chance. This burns people out

Which, if there were an event every month, this^ issue would either get compounded, or cured. And might cure several other ailments PWO is having.
 

shodan21

Youngster
Joined
Aug 7, 2016
Messages
229
Points
43
Split Map, yes, good idea. Leader board, Pretty sure I hate that so much I need to invent new cuss words.
the leaderboard was great - for telling me how absolutely trash my rng was in that event. not that i didnt already know, but quantifiable metrics.
 

thunderclap

Youngster
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
462
Points
63
Back to the original suggestion: the shiny odds needed some revision (too easy before):

LUCK POINTSSHINY ODDS=SHINY RATEEXP MULTIPLIERCASH MULTIPLIERNotes
1001/81921/819211Normal odds
2002/81921/40961.051.331 Clover (Clover boosts are removed every Thursday night 11:59pm)
3003/81921/27311.101.662 Clovers
4004/81921/20481.152Current odds/perks with MS. (Purchased MS boosts do not reset.)
5005/81921/16381.22.334 Clovers (or MS + 1 Clover)
6006/81921/13651.252.665 Clovers (or MS + 2 Clovers)
7007/81921/11701.336 Clovers
8008/81921/10241.353.337 Clovers
9009/81921/9101.43.668 Clovers
999.9910/81921/8191.4549 Clovers (or MS + 6 Clovers)

New players don't usually have the stamina to find a hard T6 drop like I had proposed Clover being before. Now it can be slightly easier, but not so easy that anyone would actually be likely to find more than one in a week. Making clovers weaker devalues purchased memberships less than before. Most players would still opt to buy a memberhsip since they don't reset every week like the clover boosts do.
 
Last edited:

thunderclap

Youngster
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
462
Points
63
Trade-In NPC needs revision too. Biggest change: it will only accept pokemon caught in the past week, from their original trainer. Otherwise people could stockpile trade-ins and get the full shiny boost way too easily.

TIERBASE PAYOUT (LUCK Points)UC/Event MultiplierShiny Multiplier
10.051.5x150x
20.1''''
30.4''''
42.0''''
54''''

Using @shodan21 's event hunting data to tweak the numbers & as an example, if he traded in everything he caught during 1 week of hunting (44.5hrs), he would get up to ~1.8 clovers in LUCK points. Or during a non-event, up to ~1.2 clovers. Sorry it's a bit messy.

TIERPOKEMONBASE PAYOUT# Caught/WeekUC/Event? (x1.5)SHINY? (x150)Payout
1Scyther0.05501.513.75
1Murkrow0.05501.513.75
1Beedrill0.052.51.515028.125
2Mr. Mime0.1991.5114.85
2Gligar0.1821.5112.3
2Roselia0.141.51.516.225
3Cacnea0.4261.5115.6
3Mawile0.416.51.519.9
3Aron0.4141.518.4
4Trapinch26.51.5119.5
5Leafeon43.51.5121
5Deerling431.5118
5Beldum42.51.5115
Total Payout176.4 LUCK

This might seem high, but the actual payout would be lower. People would only trade in the bad ones. Furthermore shodan counted numbers of encounters, but catching everything would have taken longer. I assume he didn't catch every single T2. I've attached my excel file so others can continue tweaking it (zipped becuase .xls attachments aren't allowed).

On the other hand, this is the worst-case scenario: it would be hard to farm more points than this, it's during an event, and it's assuming 100% catch+trade. One saving grace is it would also be hard to find multiple Clovers to further stack up the luck. A key feature of this overall suggestion is that Clovers reset each Thursday - so even if you're extremely lucky and find more than one, it's probably almost Thursday.

To simplify the UC/Event bonus, all pokemon caught during an active event would get the 1.5x multiplier, whether they are normally catchable or not.
 

Attachments

  • luck.zip
    8.9 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:

thunderclap

Youngster
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
462
Points
63
I maintain these are 2 of the best damn suggestions ever suggested for PWO. This thread has gotten too complicated for anyone to follow now though. That just shows there's plenty of flexibility in the idea. Don't get too bogged down in details -- some type of action is infinitely better than none. They are meant to be simple, easily-implementable suggestions.

1. Memberships as a drop item. For simplicity, they don't need to be stackable if they can be sold/traded to other players, and sold to PokeMart merchant NPCs (~$1m Pd would be good - taking the quick cash always costs). Having them sellable to PokeMart would alleviate the need for Nuggets (suggested separately). Having MS buyable with event vouchers is a good idea too (in addition), but it perpetuates people only playing during events. Making MS-drop-item sellable/tradable maintains the incentive for people with paid memberships to grind as hard as non-membership players.

2. Pokemon Trade in NPC. Trade them for Pd / battle points / tokens if Luck points are too complicated. Payout depends on a formula based on tier/total rarity/level/event status. Some attempts at quantifying payout were made above. Must be OT, must be caught recently. We only have 36 boxes and nobody needs the 100s of pokemon they catch in search of usable IVs. There's a horrible cash shortage in PWO that needs to be addressed.

I am fine with it if all aspects of stacking & luck points for easier shiny odds are removed from this suggestion. I think that is what has held the suggestion back. Updating/rearranging the permanent everyday map spawns might be a better solution -- most locations are currently not worth hunting at even if they have unique pokemon. I'd be willing to help with map spawns if my work would be used.

The token store makes enough money. We can afford to cannibalize token sales (aka donations) a bit to allow hardworking players to earn memberships without paying real money. Many players can't spend real money. Still waiting for an update on the server costs but if it's still $300+ that is just wastefulness.
 
Last edited:
Top