Egg Cave Quests Beta: Suggestions & Feedback

Deleted • 11 September 2018 at 10:18 PM

Hi guys I just got in and so far I am already addicted! It's a little heart-wrenching to part with my EC though, especially since I haven't been feeding my cove lately (Leaf of Vaka makin' me lazy and studies dragging me away from the site haha) and I'm not much of an item hoarder (except travels).

After reading the comments prior here are my thoughts:

*I do like the idea of having a different prize pool per type of quest (a travels prize pool for the global quests, etc.). I'm cool with the 50 tokens thing if we are talking about the prize pools changing per month as well as the 1 hour waiting time for fails/cancels, but collecting around 200 tokens just to vend is too much (hence, the separate prize pools suggestion).

* I'm thinking the 12-hour deadline is a bit too long though, maybe make it 6 hours to spice things up if you do want to complete it (or not wait half a day to get another quest if you don't feel like cancelling).

*I think it wouldn't hurt to have a certain level of difficulty for each type of quest (like gourmand ones being generally more difficult compared to the toy shop ones, etc.). Of course, a better prize pool would be justifiable.

*A "double token per completed quest" day?

*Perks for milestones like completing your 100th quest or something. Might encourage people to quest nonstop. Also I wonder what will be the perks if you get on the questing leaderboards?

*Lastly, wouldn't it be nice to have prizes that you can only obtain via quests (well not everything has to be quest-only obtainable but maybe just a select few)? Time to get those creative juices flowing for artsy EggCavers out there who frequent the creature/travel/item suggestions.

Those are my two cents for now. 😊 I'll get back here when I find something.

mintyminny98 • 11 September 2018 at 10:40 PM

I wish there was a system so that we could see the worth of each item, like an archive for items (*and eggs!) that changed according to inflation/demand. Some quests are pretty hard to get because people don't stock their shops (because it lacks incentive I think, but these quests will definitely boost it!). I do feel like 50 of one type of token seems a little arbitrary if you're going to get a random egg. I feel to remedy this maybe each category of token could give you a random limited edition from a random year (or something like that). For example gourmand tokens will give you an egg from 2014. Another option is that there is just one type of token and you can get the same token from each vendor. (Maybe also CC creatures will require a large amount of tokens as well!).

smartie2742 • 11 September 2018 at 10:53 PM

I just got picked to beta today. I've been really happy with this idea. Aside from travels, I never felt like there was a purpose in buying items (unless I've been missing something) so I've had a lot of EC saved up over the years. Now I have a reason to spend it all, and go out of my way to earn more. 😃

I've done a few quests and have completed all of them successfully. I've found all of the items in user shops except for one (blue alkub plushie). I ended up keeping a tab on the Toy Shop open and refreshed every ten minutes or so. After about an hour, the item came up and I was able to buy it. Part of me likes that this happened, because quests get too easy if all you have to do is search the shops. But I can see this getting extremely annoying if it's a rare item that no one has in their shop, and the regular shops rarely stock it. And some people don't have that kind of time.

There was also an item that only one user had for sale, and it was 51K. I didn't like that I had to pay that much just to complete a quest. (Not really a big deal for me since I have the EC, but I can see it being a problem for newer players.) Though after reading what sprite said, it makes sense to have some quests cost you more in the end. So I've changed my view on that.

I might have more to say later on, but that's my feedback so far.

thaliel • 11 September 2018 at 11:52 PM

just a tiny bit of feedback: maybe give an item we already have a green background or something to indicate we already have it.

applegranny • 12 September 2018 at 12:04 AM

Been playing from the start and haven't hit any bugs!
A comment: I'm concerned that the overall cost of finishing enough quests to earn an egg will be over the value of the egg. So I'm hoping that they cost either relatively few tokens or are better eggs that last years CRWs.
It's been fun, I like scavenger hunts! I, too, think that some dedicated quest eggs would be great!

ashe • 12 September 2018 at 12:52 AM

@Ian - No bugs, everything has been great so far! I also wanted to say, that I can notice a big difference in the quests since removing the retired items, etc. I'm actually finishing them now. 😊

Maybe I overlooked, but will the percentage of success/fail on the leaderboards have any actual effect on us/quests in the future?

Also, for the quests that have 2 items, maybe if we can only find one of the 2 items we can still turn it in but only get part of the prize? Like just the token and no extra item? (Especially if the token cap is raised again.)

@poptarts - I like the idea of there being only vending machine eggs. That would give more incentive to do quests, especially for older players who may already have the older pets that are being offered. Though, (being a new player myself) I do like the idea of having the chance of getting older eggs as well. Maybe a combination of both to please older and new players?

Your idea of the link to direct us to said player shop though, I don't agree with. Because, if I'm understanding you correctly, then that takes practically the whole search out of it. If there was a link to where to buy the item from the get-go, then that makes it too easy.

@thaliel - I like the idea of having some sort of marker signifying that we already have an item in our strongbox/inventory. But, again, is that too much help? The quests aren't supposed to be handing us eggs after all. If we have the item but don't check and instead buy said item, that's our fault. Hopefully, we'll learn from our mistake and look next time 😊


Just a question for curiosity's sake. But, has anyone been putting in their winning items into their shops/auctions/trades? Or have you been stashing them away for whenever/if the item comes up again?

ambivalent • 12 September 2018 at 4:40 AM

Got picked into the beta, just wanted to say that there's been no bugs thus far! It has been pretty smooth sailing, so good job to the team! Just wanted to ask if the gourmand quests are specifically the only ones that require 1 item to complete, since the others require 2 items.

Glanced through a couple of earlier posts and I like the idea of vending-only eggs! I think it can also be super random where there's a very small chance of dropping retired cave or endangered creatures.

One thought that I had was the possibility of converting some of the coins into other coins. Like maybe every 5-10 coins of one kind can be converted into 1 other coin of the other kind. I guess that can save up time and resources for players and get them to spend the coin into getting a creature more efficiently. It would also allow unused coins to be used up more effectively rather than leaving it there unused.

One other idea I had was the possibility of a donation drive day where a portion of coin proceeds go to SARC research? This sounds kinda whacky, and I am not sure what would be a good percentage of coins that should be converted into SARC donation, but I guess it can be a good monthly thing just like the lottery and double feed day for players to be engaged on a regular basis.

poptarts • 12 September 2018 at 8:46 AM

@ashe

Yeah a combination of older and newer eggs works. At least then it'll make it worthwhile for older and newer players then. 😊

And I guess it'll make the search section pointless, but either way don't see how it makes it any easier than bookmarking the item search and finding the item that way. Just saves a few seconds.

I kept my item just in case it was asked for again. No sense in putting them for sale when there is potential of the item being requested again. Just saves me time and possible ec. Got a Haunted Covered Bridge Travel.
!!!!!
@ambivalent

Don't really see the sense of the donation drive, but it could possibly work. But do you mean people sell their tokens which convert into EC which goes towards the SARC?

Or do you mean the EC spent that is used to obtain the Quest item? Because no profit goes towards the Machine or NPC stores if someone purchased from a usershop.

I feel like if it were implemented then probably about 100-500 ec per token should go towards the SARC. I probably wouldn't take part in the donation thing since I would be too fixated on finishing on reaching 50 tokens and saving my ec to purchase the items since sometimes the items are priced highly in usershops.

@thaliel

That's a wonderful idea. Especially for those who have tons of items in their Storage. 😊 Hope this is implemented would save time and ec if you already had the item hidden somewhere and didn't know.


@^#&@*$&$&@&
Is there a timer bar that tells you how much time you have left on a quest? I think it would be useful to implement one similar to the Halloween Events which show you on a yellow bar how much time you have until you can play again. If I can't find the item in a NPC shop or user shop and I decide to check back a few hours later because I either get busy or just hoped I'd see it later. I might forget about the Quest.

Also if new eggs do get implemented why not separate them into different themes depending on the token used? Just don't see the point of having separate tokens depending on the Quest taken. It makes sense to continue choosing the Quest which I have the most tokens in. It saves me time.

lunacharm1037 • 12 September 2018 at 10:07 AM

Well I'm disappointed to find that a toy I'm looking for is not in any user shop nor is it showing up in the toy shop. I think if the quest asks for an item, it should be available somewhere.

chihiro_sang • 12 September 2018 at 11:01 AM

I agree with many of the points made today of how items that are in trades or auctions only can be rather unworthy of the effort to get them for a quest, and while I've been having fun doing the quests, I can concede to the point that I've probably spent far more doing the quests than the creatures currently offered are likely worth. I know this will likely not be the case once more creatures are added or cycled through the vend machine, but I still agree that 200 tokens, with quests that vary extensively in the difficulty to complete seems rather high for the random chance.

If the pool stays around 5-7 creatures or travels per month, personally I can't see how anyone could hope to obtain a chance at each. I've been part of the beta from the start and most of my quest tokens are just getting over the 30 mark. I like the idea of splitting it into categories to try with each type of token, or just having other prizes that could be earned with one type rather than the full 200 tokens.

prairie • 12 September 2018 at 11:12 AM

@chihirp_sang
I agree. 😱 The amount of EC I spent on getting the needed Items has exceeded the value by now. xD
And if I think I'm spending alot of EC now, I can only expect item prices in user shops to go higher when quests become public.
I'm also slow overall, as I don't have a huge item hoard or a ton of EC sitting around (lol, don't feed a ton. 😋) and currently, I only just passes 10 tokens on one of the quests. :l
I sit at this:
10 / 50
11 / 50
3 / 50
8 / 50
IDK why, but I find the Speed Reading much harder. (for me anyways.)

I like your idea of tokens being for different categories. Because at the rate I'm going now..... I'll not only be broke, but I'd likely run out of time on the availability of whatever prize pool I want. 😋 I'd probobly be lucky to just get one creature at this rate. xD And I'm on egg cave for what I'd call an average amount, I come on here on weekends and on weekdays before & after college classes.

thaliel • 12 September 2018 at 11:21 AM

I am also wondering if it wouldn't be helpful if we could do a npc shop search as well, instead of going to a certain shop and refresh in hopes of the required item showing up.

ambivalent • 12 September 2018 at 11:47 AM

@poptarts

"I feel like if it were implemented then probably about 100-500 ec per token should go towards the SARC."

^ Yep this is what I meant! It wouldn't be there all the time, but just once per month. Maybe the SARC could also research vending-exclusive creatures that require coins instead of EC.

"But do you mean people sell their tokens which convert into EC which goes towards the SARC?"

^ This could be interesting actually. I didn't really thought of that at the get-go since selling tokens for ec will remove the fun of questing and make redundant its intended purpose, but perhaps a dedicated token trade center with the proper restrictions and regulations could work. So in some way its like converting your unused tokens into EC that you may donate to the SARC, or to other tokens of another colour.

sungrave • 12 September 2018 at 1:15 PM

hanloooo I got chosen ayyeee~ Just wanted to wave in and say I haven't find any bugs so far, except the one that was already discussed, the prize critter/name page thing. I'm reading the forum posts and doing the quests and only had hard times with the toy one, I can't really find them and I gave up once to see what happens. I'm excited and curious to see how this will work out as it's very addictive so far 😊)

chihiro_sang • 12 September 2018 at 2:49 PM

Just to put a question on the mechanics out there, am I the only one that is mildly annoyed that all of the quests. but the food quest ask for 2 items, but just give you 1 item with your token?
I know I've seen a few people saying they've had the most trouble with the food quests, but the travel and food quests are so far what I've completed, and I know at least 10 of the food quests I just gave my prize back to him.

smartie2742 • 12 September 2018 at 11:25 PM

Is it just me, or does it seem like some quests types are more difficult than others? The travel and food quests I can do with no problems. But the book quests end up being real costly, and I have a hard time finding what I need for the toy quests. I only managed to complete one, and I had to sit on the Toy Shop to do it. Currently sitting on it again, but I have a feeling this will be another fail. Doing this is a pain. I wanna agree with others and say that they should only ask for items that are in user shops, but I also think the quests should occasionally be more challenging than a simple search. I'm not sure how though. Does anyone have any ideas?

I also think if we're going to be spending loads of EC on items, that the token requirements should go down a bit. Maybe 20 instead of 50? Or maybe instead of having to get a certain amount of each token, you could just have it be a set amount of tokens combined? (Like instead of 50 of each token, you'd need 200 tokens combined.)

ethereality • 13 September 2018 at 9:14 PM

Yay!! Super excited to part of Beta. Everything is working as of now.

spectaclenest • 13 September 2018 at 9:54 PM

@ian are the shops restocking more frequently?? it's awesome!!!

lucas • 13 September 2018 at 10:05 PM

Hi! Everythings going great so far. I do have to say, I really like @thaliel's suggestion. It doesn't really make questing easier, but it would make it more practical, imo 😊

(gosh I'll need some more EC for these quests! xD)

mairbear • 13 September 2018 at 10:35 PM

So I got into beta testing in the 2nd batch of people and so far I haven't found any bugs or anything, however, I do have some feedback.

LAYOUT
I find it very tiresome to look at each quest page to see what I'm currently looking for. Can we have some sort of "Overview" page where you can see what you're currently questing for for all NPCs. I picture it as rows - where each row shows the NPC's image, along with the 1-2 items that you need for that NPC. This would be useful to keep open in a tab while you're looking for said items.

TOKEN REQUIREMENTS - QUANTITY
From what I understand, this was changed from 10 per NPC to 50 per NPC. I feel like this is excessive. Especially for Beta testing... if you want us to be able to test the actual VEND machine at some point, then I feel like this number needs to drop. I read somewhere that there will be different pools of prizes. Perhaps you can make the # of tokens needed different for each prize pool. For the moment, we see 2018 CRWs - these should cost 20 per NPC max.

TOKEN REQUIREMENTS - VARIETY
I see people discussing whether to change the requirement so that you can choose what type of token to insert to get a prize. I feel like that makes it too easy. While it has been difficult (I have yet to finish a toy quest... ), I think the challenge is part of the appeal. Plus, I think we need an economy where all items have some use. If we allowed prizes to be got using only 1 type of token, then everyone will likely go back to favouring travels again.

TIMING
I think 5 minutes between successful quests is too short. Right now there are 4 NPCs... if you rotate between them, then essentially all the time you're on eggcave will be spent on quests, especially when/if more of them are added (as suggested in the first post). I think something like 30 minutes would be more reasonable. Increasing time between quests would also support lowering the # of tokens required. I don't want my time on eggcave to feel like work, it should be more relaxing and slow-paced.

Of course, these are just my personal opinions ^^ I think I'm going to take a break from questing since I'll never actually reach 50 tokens for books or toys. And the cost of doing so isn't worth it. I'm excited to hear results from people that actually do get to 50 of each and can test the VEND machine itself ^^

rabbitwanter • 13 September 2018 at 10:53 PM

I agree with @mairbear on everything!!! 😃

50 tokens is so much.. I feel like with all the EC/time going towards gaining the tokens to have a chance of getting the egg i want, I might as well buy the creature i want from somebody with just straight up EC 😱

That said Im really glad theres a new gamechanger in play now! I felt like things were getting a liiittle slow but now theres a new daily activity which i live for 😊

I do have 1 question, though, which Im not sure has been answered... At the end of the month, if we dont make it to 50 tokens in each category, does the count reset? Or can we just stack up for months until 50 in each category is reached?

mairbear • 13 September 2018 at 11:05 PM

@rabbitwanter
Thanks for reading what I wrote! 😊
And I'm glad you said something positive about the game-changing aspect. I think I was too focused on critiquing that I missed doing so. I'm stoked that quests are being implemented! I think this will do wonders in terms of giving people purpose and motivation to play regularly 😊

As for your question... good question o-o I'd hope that you could keep them forever... right? @ian @_@

newlife • 13 September 2018 at 11:13 PM

@rabbitwanter @mairbear

All tokens will be deleted after beta ends.. so everyone gets a fresh start

rabbitwanter • 13 September 2018 at 11:14 PM

@newlife
oooh i see
dang lol

but after that they dont get deleted with each new pool of creatures, right? 😱

newlife • 13 September 2018 at 11:15 PM

@rabbitwanter

Nope, it doesn't look like it, seems we'll be able to carry over between pools after beta ends

I mean if you get to 50 of each and get a creature, you can keep the creature but the all tokens are out after the beta rip lol

mairbear • 13 September 2018 at 11:31 PM

@newlife @rabbitwanter

Okay good ^^ That's what I thought. I'd never be able to keep up if the tokens were wiped monthly... can you imagine lol xD

Orderedchaos • 13 September 2018 at 11:41 PM

@rabbitwanter @newlife @mairbear
After the wipe at the end of beta we won't be wiping tokens again. (not unless there's a widespread glitch that people abuse, anyway)

While 2018 CRWs don't seem "worth it" in terms of token amounts, remember that older creatures will eventually show up in the pools. This pool was just a way of testing the waters in terms of people's reactions to older creatures coming back in some form. One of the things we're doing in the beta is gathering data on how fast people gather tokens. Which is one the reasons the token amounts was uped, getting a VEND creature a day isn't the goal of quests, and there were people who were close to doing that day one of the beta.

mairbear • 14 September 2018 at 12:16 AM

@Orderedchaos
Awesome, that's a sigh of relief from me ^^

And hmmm I don't know... whether or not older creatures will show up has no bearing on what the cost is to us now. Imo, I think that the token cost should change depending on the prize pool, as I suggested in my previous post.

Or are we trying to find the "perfect number" of tokens needed to operate the machine? I don't think that makes sense cause a CRW prize pool vs. a valentines prize pool or even vs. a 2014 CRW prize pool just wouldn't be comparable.

newlife • 14 September 2018 at 12:19 AM

@mairbear

So like...

20 for 2018 CRW
30 for 2017 CRW
50 for 2014 creatures?

rayray • 14 September 2018 at 1:26 AM

I've been messing around with quests for a few days now after getting into the second wave of beta openings.

Overall, I'm liking the general concept of it as it gives another use to items other than item collections. I haven't encountered any bugs and everything seems to be running smoothly.

On the topic of token requirements needed to operate the VEND machine, I agree with what has been said above that it should be adjusted to the creatures in the pool - with older creatures requiring a larger number of tokens. Otherwise, it's possible that people could be dissuaded from using tokens on more recently retired creatures because 'what's the point in spending x number of tokens on a 2018 creature when I can spend the same number of tokens on a 2015 creature which is valued more'.

Because tokens in the beta will be wiped after the official release, I haven't really been too committed to collecting them. Maybe if there's an official announcement of when quests could officially launch, I can determine if I want to fully commit to continuing collecting because I'd hate to be so close to using them and then have the beta period suddenly end.