Winter 2023 Event Survey Report [Public]

Sushikraver · Feb 8, 2024

Howdy folks,

Over the past week, I have been working diligently to organize the Winter 2023 Event Survey data y'all completed last month. Sorry for the late update, I became distracted by some tournament you might've heard of. Anyway, I edited the Staff version for public consumption (i.e. removing the actual word-for-word responses) since y'all have the right to be informed. I read all 275 responses from the 211 respondents and have created visual aids to assist with comprehension. I summarized the data and the points made, while also offering my overall thoughts on the different sections (QUESTS, SPAWNS, MAPS, REWARDS, STAFF). An additional post under this one will have the DEMOGRAPHIC & Miscellaneous section.

Staff will do their best to use this information and the responses collected to make improvements to your PWO experience. While I cannot guarantee that every single one of these ideas will be implemented, I can assure you every single one will be given thoughtful consideration (at least from me). Furthermore, I hope this turns out to be interesting, informational, and something you wish to continue seeing in the future. Also perhaps, demonstrating that I haven't just been twiddling my thumbs as CG. Feel free to express your (professional and well-mannered) opinions. I'm all for hearing the Community's thoughts about the survey results. Enjoy!

SK~

QUESTS Section

1) How satisfied were you with the QUESTS? (1-7)

1: 11% Extremely dissatisfied
2: 4% Moderately dissatisfied
3: 7% Slightly dissatisfied
4: 10% Neutral
5: 21% Slightly satisfied
6: 21% Moderately satisfied
7: 26% Extremely satisfied

Mean: 4.92 (70.28%) | Median: 5 | Mode: 7 | Satisfaction: 78%

2) Regarding your enjoyment, how important are QUESTS? (1-5)

1: 13% Not important at all
2: 4% Somewhat unimportant
3: 14% Neutral
4: 24% Somewhat important
5: 45% Very important

Mean: 3.85 (77.16%) | Median: 4 | Mode: 5 | Importance: 83%

3) How would you like QUESTS to be improved? 36 total responses, 9 removed. Thus, 27 were considered.

Summarized points: Some responses applied to multiple points. Ranked by responses, and then alphabetical order.

Less grinding, and more unique quests. (6 responses)
Daily goals/objectives and more missions. (5)
Hard effort options, more difficult quests. (5)
Better rewards are attached to quests. (4)
Want a good story and easier quests. (4)
Competitions and individual benchmarks. Keep the community engaged. (3)
Proofread and quest comprehension. (3)
Referred to Fossilween and its complexities. (2)
Dislike “fake choices” of catching legendary. (1)
Prefer quests in any order, or NPCs that hint at what is to be done next. (1)

Based on the responses, it seems players wish to be challenged and engage with more complex quests. Something that can maintain their interests and efforts for more than a day. May want to consider daily objectives, individual benchmarks, and friendly competitions to encourage more active gameplay past the normal quest (e.g. Pyro/Cryo). Maybe add secret "easter eggs" for players to discover and attach rewards to individual efforts. Offer real choices that aren't always linear and reduce confusion with ample testing/clear dialogue.

SPAWNS Section

1) How satisfied were you with the SPAWNS? (1-7)

1: 15% Extremely dissatisfied
2: 4% Moderately dissatisfied
3: 9% Slightly dissatisfied
4: 15% Neutral
5: 19% Slightly satisfied
6: 21% Moderately satisfied
7: 18% Extremely satisfied

Mean: 4.51 (64.38%) | Median: 5 | Mode: 6 | Satisfaction: 72%

2) Regarding your enjoyment, how important are SPAWNS? (1-5)

1: 10% Not important at all
2: 1% Somewhat unimportant
3: 7% Neutral
4: 17% Somewhat important
5: 64% Very important

Mean: 4.25 (84.92%) | Median: 5 | Mode: 5 | Importance: 89%

3) How would you like SPAWNS to be improved? 86 total responses, 8 removed. Thus, 78 were considered.

Summarized points: Some responses applied to multiple points. Ranked by responses, and then alphabetical order.

Easier spawn rates (mainly T4/T5s) and Tier system revision. (41 responses)
More thematic, useful, unique Pokémon selections. (21)
Improve shiny chance. (13)
Be mindful of (older, busy) player base that has less time. (8)
Better T1 options. (7)
Protect the economy and keep certain things rare, like permanent spawns. (5)
Better chances/guarantee IVs for hard work. (4)
MS changes. Temporary event MS for everyone. (4)
Announce grace period for previous event/swarm spawns. (1)
Legendaries. (1)
Show tiers. (1)
Spawn rotations. (1)

We hear you loud and clear. Spawns are too difficult given the short amount of time they're available. For an older and especially busy player base, T4s/T5s will be hard to come by without immense personal sacrifice. While the Tier system works for permanent spawns, it puts a lot of pressure on the players to hunt vigorously for the rare event-exclusive spawns which are often disappointing. Spawns are something that can/should be improved upon since it is the number one factor that influences enjoyment.

Aim to offer the best, on-theme selection of Pokémon without making post-event hunting obsolete. Protecting the economy means preserving the value of certain permanent spawns so hunting outside of events feels meaningful. Select a good, reasonable mix of spawns in both land and water. Could look into ways to liven up the hunting experience, e.g. temporary MS for all, increased shiny rates, one-time guarantee encounters.

That said, Spawn-related decisions are highly influential and will require Staff consensus before major changes are implemented. Legendaries when? Honestly, would be fine with legendaries as long as they were locked into accounts, untradeable, and everyone gets one, plus a million other restrictions.

MAPS Section

1) How satisfied were you with the MAPS? (1-7)

1: 10% Extremely dissatisfied
2: 2% Moderately dissatisfied
3: 3% Slightly dissatisfied
4: 16% Neutral
5: 12% Slightly satisfied
6: 22% Moderately satisfied
7: 34% Extremely satisfied

Mean: 5.19 (74.13%) | Median: 6 | Mode: 7 | Satisfaction: 84%

2) Regarding your enjoyment, how important are MAPS? (1-5)

1: 14% Not important at all
2: 5% Somewhat unimportant
3: 10% Neutral
4: 22% Somewhat important
5: 49% Very important

Mean: 3.87 (77.35%) | Median: 4 | Mode: 5 | Importance: 81%

3) How would you like MAPS to be improved? 27 total responses, 7 removed. Thus, 20 were considered.

Summarized points: Some responses applied to multiple points. Ranked by responses, and then alphabetical order.

New maps. (6 responses)
More complex, larger maps and multiple areas. (5)
Improve graphics. (2)
Fix bugs. (1)
Higher-levels. (1)
More engaging NPC/environment interactions. (1)
Players' choice between several maps. (1)
Secret, hidden quests/interactions. (1)
Surf/Fish options are equally convenient. (1)
Travel via Pokémon. (1)

This one is pretty short and sweet. Although ranking the lowest in importance, it was the highest rated in satisfaction. (Great job as always Luna!) If time permits, we can always aim to have larger, more complex maps with numerous interactions to keep players occupied. I find players' choice to be an interesting concept or having player input influence the direction of maps. Perhaps the map changes every so often (as in Blueshell Bay) which could change up spawns. Not as knowledgeable about map capabilities, but it's something that can be entertained for the future.

REWARDS Section

1) How satisfied were you with the EXCLUSIVE REWARDS? (1-7)

1: 11% Extremely dissatisfied
2: 2% Moderately dissatisfied
3: 3% Slightly dissatisfied
4: 17% Neutral
5: 18% Slightly satisfied
6: 17% Moderately satisfied
7: 32% Extremely satisfied

Mean: 5.08 (72.58%) | Median: 5 | Mode: 7 | Satisfaction: 84%

2) Regarding your enjoyment, how important are EXCLUSIVE REWARDS? (1-5)

1: 11% Not important at all
2: 2% Somewhat unimportant
3: 10% Neutral
4: 18% Somewhat important
5: 58% Very important

Mean: 4.11 (82.18%) | Median: 5 | Mode: 5 | Importance: 86%

3) How would you like EXCLUSIVE REWARDS to be improved? 51 total responses, 19 removed. Thus, 32 were considered.

Summarized points: Some responses applied to multiple points. Ranked by responses, and then alphabetical order.

More variety, non-repetitive unless scarce. (7 responses)
Shinies. (5)
(Shiny) Eggs. (4)
Greater quantity. (4)
Update Prize Corner. (4)
Vouchers. (4)
Battle/held items. (2)
Pokédollars, exchange Coins for Pd. (2)
Tutors/TMs. (2)
Evolution items. (1)
Fossils. (1)
Lower Coin costs. (1)
New player rewards. (1)
Presents. (1)
Repeatable exchange where certain IVs grant reward. (1)
Tokens. (1)
UC/UO Pokémon. (1)

The exclusive rewards were an interesting area to look at because while satisfaction was fairly high (84%), the mean score was much lower (73%). Based on the graph, not as many players were extremely satisfied and leaned more toward neutral. I do believe that there are many options for better exclusive rewards being made available instead of the usual Vouchers and repetitive items, Tutors, TMs, etc. A guaranteed Egg or shiny would be an interesting concept that could be discussed as well as exchanging Coins for Pokédollars. Prize Corner could use some renovations. All in all, any of these should be achievable once the Staff can make it "balanced" and not game-breaking. Infinite Pd glitch? Probably the easiest area to implement ideas. More rewards = more good. Got it.

STAFF & Anything Else Section

1) How would you like STAFF COMMUNICATION to be improved? 11 total responses, 3 removed. Thus, 8 were considered.

Summarized points: Some responses applied to multiple points.

Clarity on future projects and keep playerbase informed; offer hints. (2 responses)
Keep new players engaged and daily/weekly login rewards. (2)
Set clear, defined goals and dates. (2)
Donations are not being processed promptly. (1)

While the shortest section, it did offer many quality points I wish to address. I do believe we as Staff can be better at keeping the populace informed about the ongoing projects. Generally, we prefer to keep things on the "down low" for surprises and also so there isn't as much pressure to rush our work. Maybe I could do a State of the Union address and say "Hey, gonna make PWO great again!" and set goals we wish to achieve.

I'm sure you've heard ad nauseam about how we are a bunch of volunteers and short-staffed, etc, etc. Well, I'm a big proponent of personal accountability, so while I cannot speak on behalf of other Staff, I will speak to myself and my commitment to growing this Pokémon Community and setting it up for continued success. Login rewards? I think we can cook something up.

2) Is there anything else you'd like to share with the event organizers? 64 total responses, 14 removed. Thus, 50 responses were considered.

Summarized points: Some responses applied to multiple points. Ranked by responses, and then alphabetical order.

Kind words and other praises. (30 responses)
Shinies were hard to find; increased chances. (7)
More exciting, difficult quests. (5)
Tier reduction or system revision. (5)
Reward for time spent in the event. (3)
Unique rewards to the individual player. Top hunters leaderboard. (3)
Add different Event Voucher-exchanges. (2)
Catch legendaries. (1)
Daily logins. (1)
Disliked Rudolf-carving quest. (1)
Eggs to help pass time. (1)
Fix old maps. (1)
Notified ahead of time of the event. (1)
New items. (1)
Official way to put Tokens on sale and exchange with Pd. (1)
Other official methods of engagement, e.g. tournaments, quizzes, Hide-N-Seek. (1)
Pokémon from Mart registered in Pokédex. (1)
PvP improvements. (1)
Show/indicate IVs before capturing; automated message when shiny is found. (1)
Support multiple forms, Megas, etc. (1)
Uneven spawns. (Port Terminal). (1)

"Anything else" had a hodgepodge of stuff being talked about. Most of them had rather kind and encouraging messages which we as Staff greatly appreciate. Our goal is to make your PWO experience as enjoyable as possible. Are we perfect and get it right every time? No, of course not, but we do spend many hours typing away and pulling at our hair to achieve the best results. Hopefully, we will be able to implement your numerous ideas someday.

Sushikraver · Feb 8, 2024

DEMOGRAPHICS & Miscellaneous Section

Importance Ranking (High to low):

SPAWNS - 89%; Mean: 85%
REWARDS - 86%; Mean: 82%
QUESTS - 83%; Mean: 77%
MAPS - 81%; Mean: 77%

Satisfaction Ranking (High to low):

MAPS - 84%; Mean: 74%
REWARDS - 84%; Mean: 73%
QUESTS - 78%; Mean: 70%
SPAWNS - 72%; Mean: 64%

To clarify, the first percentage represents any response that was Neutral or above (4-7 or 3-5) on the scale.
The second ("Mean") percentage represents the percentage from the average score.

In the pie chart above, we observe that SPAWNS (78) was the most emphasized area of improvement by the player base. Followed by REWARDS (32), QUESTS (27), and MAPS (20). STAFF COMMUNICATION (8) was the least emphasized area. The large number of SPAWNS-related responses made perfect sense considering it was rated the highest in importance (89%), yet the lowest in satisfaction (72%).

While positively skewed by new players, the average PWO player spends over 3 hours (3.26) daily during events. If we remove all the 1-hour averages, the hours spent per day would rise to 4.7. With these averages in mind, we can understand why the player base may be dissatisfied with the current tier difficulties of certain event-exclusive Pokémon, especially T4s and T5s. It may take several days/weeks to find a particular Pokémon. Coupled with the high probability of "less-than-ideal" IVs, it will lead to disappointment, and thus, greater dissatisfaction.

We observe large chunks between the new players and the older players. May indicate struggles to retain the new player base for more than a year. The higher quantities in the later years may indicate a more loyal, nostalgic, "veteran" player base that has established itself; perhaps unwilling to let their many years of collecting and experience go to waste. Enjoying the benefits of being longtime players and eager to see the future. "What's another year of waiting, right?" Permanent content has been touted as a way to grow and retain a larger player base, that said, other options should also be explored.

The graph of total playtime shows how a large portion of the player base consists of extremely experienced players. Of the 211 respondents, 81 reported a playtime of over 1,000 hours. There is a steep fall off of players who played past 100 hours which highlights the issue of retention. There seems to be a lack of "middle class" in PWO where new players stop after the initial story and lose interest in the "late-game" content, e.g. PvP, Battle Tower, and hunting. We should look into the multitude of barriers that dissuade players from engaging with late-game material or cause a lack of interest. A complete PvP system and other reliable sources of Pokédollars could be a starting point.

There seems to be a fairly even distribution of players within the different levels of described activity. It appears that nearly a quarter of the player base primarily plays when there is an event going on. From my observations over past events, I believe this portion to be higher due to the fatigue that comes from hunting intensely in an event. The drop-off in concurrent players after a large event is immense - I would guess 90% and 80% after a week or two. While events are great at bringing a large portion of the player base together, it is only temporary and it conditions them to only participate during event periods. The difficulty of some event spawns also causes more burn-out and longer "recovery" periods before the players wish to return to non-event gameplay. Events should serve to help attract and retain players' interest, instead of burning them out. May consider softening spawn difficulties and introducing other engagements post-event.

Winter 2023 Event Survey Report [Public]

Sushikraver

The Good Samaritan

Sushikraver

The Good Samaritan