💸 EC to CC Conversion Terminal

pooh • 3 February 2022 at 1:31 PM

@iia Thanx for pinging!
@prairie I like this idea. As a person who always in need of CC (cuz I can't buy it) I am definitely vote yes! And a price 5 mil EC for 500 CC is enough reasonable.

prairie • 3 February 2022 at 1:32 PM

@structuresfromsilence
No unfortunately. Ian has yet to reply to this topic or reach out to me in regards to it so best we can do is spread the word by pinging other active members of the community to keep the topic in high talking point.
For all I know ian wants to try to put the sign in plan he had mentioned in a past EC to CC topic (that fell through since it had no limit and ian deemed it not suitable for the site) to spread CC to users *eventually* as they log in more - and that is why there hasn't been a response to this topic. To me, I'm far less interested in a sign in streak CC reward than a terminal. I think sign in streaks should award exclusive items, creatures and EC.
But yes, to push for feedback and action on this post people must ping other users and @ian to get it talked about and seen.

In all honesty I don't think any one person would be able to 'boycott CC' unless you have at very very least 12 people who all agree and go through with buying. But in all honesty I don't see that happening - at least not this month LOL, the art is very nice.
Overall we just need to continue to have this topic very active and having more people posting on it (and I mean more than the same users posting on it over and over - there needs to be a bigger span of users).

I do find it frustrating that I can see ian posting plenty on the blogs and all but not responding to this in any fashion of at least asking questions to those who posted on this topic like he did the last EC to CC conversion topic. While I do understand that one was shot down, I would like to hear discussion since I have brought up new points and referenced some stuff he brought up from that older topic.

mr-blue-bones • 3 February 2022 at 1:38 PM

@iia One of the first things I noticed when I joined was a distinct lack of updates from @ian about what was happening site side or just communication in general.
On all the other websites I use there are frequent updates from the creators and mods about what they're planning, updates on what they're working on, and constant communication with the community and it's ideas.
I'm sure it's not so, but I got the impression he has a lack of interest in improving the site further. Making suggestions in the forums for quality of life updates or talking about how broken the EC/CC/Click Exchange are feels like yelling into the void.
And when there are changes, there is no warning. I was surprised the Corunis was removed from the V.E.N.D because I didn't hear anything about it, and as a newer player I wouldn't have assumed a new pool would mean something would be removed.

I also felt like this place was on the decline, and I really do think an EC/CC terminal would be a good remedy. This site can be incredibly frustrating and most of it boils down to funds for me. 12k CC for a digital horse...I don't want to pay actually money for digital premium currency when I already spend so much time grinding here and it can only get me 1 creature. Plus I just can't afford 2 cave shop creatures and 2 unvaulted creatures every month, it's just too hard to gain and too expensive to buy.

iia • 3 February 2022 at 2:20 PM

@mr-blue-bones I get the same vibe that @ian really doesn’t seem to care for making eggcave any better (even though he probably still does)

@prairie lol It’s even hard as someone who never had bought cc to want to purchase some for the CSP creatures so definitely not this month but maybe someday ;-) ya know… if things really start spinning in the wrong direction.

brookie • 3 February 2022 at 2:38 PM

@prairie @mr-blue-bones @iia

There is definitely a lack of updates by the team compared to other websites.

I also have been finding it frustrating that there have been normal blog posts about new item releases, monthlies, travels, etc. despite this topic getting a lot of traffic. Unfortunately, it seems like this board is being ignored, with the exception of "bumps" being deleted.

Would be nice to have at least some feedback since there is so much input and there are so many supporters of this great idea.

iia • 3 February 2022 at 3:01 PM

@brookie
Agreed. It seems @ian spends more of his time responding to compliments of creatures he releases than shooting out his take and ideas for eggcavers to hash through.

stellalunagirl • 3 February 2022 at 3:27 PM

@brookie @iia @mr-blue-bones @prairie

I do agree that there should be more transparency on EC about big updates and changes. And I think this thread has had enough attention and input to warrant a response from @ian at this point.

I would say that there is little incentive to implement this change however, as I do feel that users will still pay for CC as more and more new creatures get released. Whether or not there is frustration at the inaccessibility of CC for most users.

I would say it's it's much reflective of the current state of capitalism in our world. Those that want to obtain "pretty" and/or "rare" creatures have to play the game (literally) and buy into the currency. I don't believe anyone would be willing to boycott purchasing CC, and I think that's probably the only real action that would put enough pressure on to consider making CC more accessible to others.

Again, I urge @ian to consider that the user base on EC have made reasonable and well thought out arguments for this. We have made considerations for exploitation of this mechanic as well as listed out the potential positive and negative outcomes from this change.

I stand by what I have stated before which is that increasing CC accessibility will not only increase interest in the use of CC for creatures, but also an increase in site activity overall.

Furthermore, I think the conversation rate of 5 mill ec is more than reasonable, given it takes quite of a lot of active effort to acquire that amount - which in turn would incentives activity on the site via feeding and trading etc.

Pings
@lexicon
@tryvegan4theanimals
@ida92
@nut

prairie • 3 February 2022 at 3:29 PM

I think you don't hear too much about updates because throughout this entire site there are only Ian, Meteoroid, Orderedchaos, jazzyliea and mastergemma. (Also the eggcaveteam bot just send out auto messages I think)
But I think for site development and coding it might just be Ian and Meteoroid???? I believe Ordered, Jazzy and Gemma mostly do descriptions, bug fixes and manage rules.

lucas • 3 February 2022 at 7:11 PM

I'm not really sure if this would actually work. Don't get me wrong, it would certainly improve the F2P experience and kinda make us grind to get CC, yes, but at the same time we must take into consideration that EggCave needs money for quite a lot of stuff, such as new creature arts (quality art isn't and should never be cheap!). Maybe the limit should be lowered to about 100 or 250CC max per month? That way we can save enough CC to get CSP creatures from time to time, improve the F2P experience a bit and not impact as much on the website's profit, I guess.

Deleted • 3 February 2022 at 7:33 PM

EggCave has been one of my favored sites ever since 2018, then I could spend afternoons just clicking and feeding for EC.. but overtime it took up too much of my time, not to say that I didn't have the creatures that I wanted by then..

If I couldn't get my hands on CC, a lot of the pretty creatures would just slip by my fingers.. When I fist started, it was a struggle. Want that monthly creature released two months ago? The price is >50k EC, which takes roughly 30 minutes to gather. After that, you set your eyes on a new goal, and it's 300kEC.. it's safe to say, not a majority of people are motivated to continuously click and feed to gain virtual currency. Playing on EggCave in its current state requires dedication to time spent on the site, unless you pay with real cash or am an old user who has spent a lot of time on here already..

I don't know about other's opinion, but a game should always be relaxing and destressing to me. An EC to CC terminal would greatly influence the decision to stick around here. I used to get mine by asking users who bought CC and traded with them, what's the difference with a terminal and that?

Well, the limitations for a terminal should be defined well. The site still wants to make money and we want to not be blocked by a wall to access and obtain nice creatures. I feel like 100-200CC per month would be nice for the terminal. My reasons why? Firstly, an active player would be able to get the more limited creatures, such as special April creatures for the Easter Egg Hunt.. and trade them for CC. Other than that, we have a few ways of getting CC on occasions such as EggCave's anniversary or the Top 100 contest during Gobbler season and all.

I'm not sure if I'm expressing myself well but, my intentions are that a terminal makes goals much easier to achieve, rather than just grasping at straws in an attempt to get CC. To say the least, activity would blossom should there be a terminal. Everyone would be more inclined to spend time and currency (virtual & real) when there's more in the pocket. With splurging comes the need for more, and so the cycle begins again. We spare more time for EC, and convert or ask a CC buyer in exchange for more. This option would be beneficial for all, those that can spend lots of time here, and those who can only spend some time here. Better to be able to get one or two of the amazing CC creatures than none, right? A second chance will also be available during the year-end December CC Creatures Sale.

That's all I have to say, thanks.

iia • 3 February 2022 at 9:02 PM

@Lucas @laylamocha
For reference: Eggcave releases a minimum of 3.2kcc worth of new (and rerelease) CSP every month. Say we can earn 200cc a month. That means that you could buy up to 7%(rounded up) of CSP as an ABSOLUTE minimum (if they add a 200cc csp or a 3rd or higher priced rerelease 200cc will buy an even smaller percentage).
200cc a month may sound good... until you see what it would actually buy you. You could only buy 2 cash shop creatures, 1 rerelease (at 1000cc each), and 4 travels every year.

I think having a way to get cc more regularly than yearly events would really get new players to stay on the site. Eggcave is about feeding creatures, saving up for the creatures you want, and having fun. I think CSPs should be available for new players (which are mainly kids) who are willing to work hard! 😊 I think there is an "activation" time where new players are active and if nothing rewarding happens they are just going to leave. For example: if they don't really connect with another player or get fun creatures within the first week or so then they probably aren't going to stay. If a kid can feed as much as they can for the 3 day account activation period and have 500kec saved up to buy 50cc to spend on a cc travel that is extremely motivating. Because of this boos in motivation they may stay around for a month more to feed, and now they have 5Mec = 500cc to buy a cc creature. That gives time for them to settle in the community and get connected with the great people on eggcave. They are now here to stay and become $ = cc buyers when they get a job and don't have as much time to dedicate to feeding.

Let me know what you think 😊 Does this change anything or do you still think 100-200cc is reasonable?

Deleted • 3 February 2022 at 9:30 PM

@iia Well, you make a good point. But, in my case I don't tend to buy CSP unless they are to my liking. I picked 200CC because, it is enough for one user to get in a month while feeding for EC (busy or not with irl situations). Then, other users come into play. Whether it is another free-to-play user or a CC buyer, you can make an exchange with them for more CC should you have more than 2M EC on hand.

This satisfies the need of the site for both the developers and the users. This is just my point of view.. it may be right, it may be wrong- it depends on how you feel and think about the situation.

200 x 12 = 2400CC a year, with additions :
Find the Gobblers (Top 100, November) 1000CC (requires feeding to obtain prize)
Anniversary (Happy Birthday, 20th July) 500CC (login on date to obtain, 1-day expiration)
Getting more from other free-to-play users or CC buyers through trading for EC or creatures.

structuresfromsilence • 3 February 2022 at 9:52 PM

Thanks for the info @prairie. I agree that sign in rewards don't sound very interesting. It's unfortunate that @ian seems to be greedy ☹️ Sorry, I hope that's not hurtful. I just feel very frustrated by this site's apparent commitment to being completely pay to win.

@mr-blue-bones it does feel like yelling into the void, I don't feel like our opinions are making any difference ☹️

@laylamocha @lucas I disagree with 200cc a month. I think that's too little and won't really help. I'm very certain that 500cc a month won't dry up the amount of financial support that the site gets. It's enough to get a good foot in the door but little enough that people will be interested in getting more. And letting everyone have a chance to get a steady source of the currency will also get people to think of the site in a more positive light instead of with bitterness. 200cc is a bit insulting.

And remember, this isn't giving people 500cc a month. People have to earn 5 million ec to do that, which takes a lot of time on the site. And that's the whole point: increasing the number of time spent here.

There are many examples of other pet sites that are much more generous with the premium currency and still are successful. And the art on this site is 90x90 pixel artworks. They can afford to pay the artists well and still be successful.

I appreciate you sharing your points though 😊

@iia I agree, the site should be about enjoying the community by helping each other and feeding each other's creatures. The site is currently about spending money or being frustrated by an inability to get all the content locked behind premium currency.

tryvegan4theanimals • 4 February 2022 at 8:02 PM

@stellalunagirl Thank you for the ping 😊 I would looooove to see this happen! Being able to acquire 500cc a month through gameplay and helping other players would be so great.

@prairie Just spitballing here: maybe instead of a boycott, we can do a pledge to buy CC if this idea is implemented? I for one would be more than happy to pledge to support the site if they added this feature 😊🤞

sonny • 5 February 2022 at 8:14 AM

this is a pretty good idea. ive been active on this site since 2014, and in that time there havent been any new ideas implemented to actually get cc to spend. staff has implemented ideas that open up ways to get cc creatures, but offered no ways to get cc itself. out of all the pet games i play egg cave definitely feels like its the hardest to gain currency on, even just ec i have a hard time getting because i dont think ill ever feed a bunch of creatures again- im for once not much excited for the valentines event, im really hoping the new creature isnt something i super want so i can kind of ignore the event because clicking and feeding creatures is pretty tedious and boring. i also play flight rising and dragoncave, goatlings and dragonvale, and those all have pretty good systems of gaining currency, including premium currency. i feel like a good comparison for gaining currency on this site would be neopets. you have to be pretty dedicated to the website to get a small fortune. i think if they were to implement this, staff should consider that a lot of the older players arent very interested in feeding a ton of creatures to get up to 5 mil ec, nor is every player on this site, and the only ppl who are gonna use the ec to cc terminal are very dedicated players who are actually able to spend 5 mil a month on cc. i think my only issue with this is that ive never had a problem finding someone to trade my ec for cc with. all you really have to do is post in forums or on the trading post that you have ec to spend on cc, every time ive done that ive been able to find someone to trade with pretty easily. thats not much different from this idea, the only difference i think is that if eggcave staff were to put this forward, itd actually affect the economy and possibly get more players to feed and be active on the site. which im sure staff knows this but its great for the website to get more active players- ad revenue and then eventually hopefully players will buy cc. i liked what @tryvegan4theanimals mentioned about a pledge to buy cc. i wouldnt pledge cuz im broke and will likely never be able to afford cc xD but im sure there are plenty of others who would be willing to pledge! ive read through this topic and a ton of active players have been talking here so it is curious why @ian hasnt responded to anyone. even if its just shooting us down dont ignore a whole bunch of people talking about the same thing 😅

edit:
another thing ill add on: this site seems really harsh to new players. i will say the only reason i stayed playing on here is because when i first started, a different player (@nytefury i think) was giving away rare creatures for free, and it gave me the extra push i needed to stay. even still i went long periods without playing, because it felt like a lot like my creatures were just dying and not evolving lol. i think the only reason ive been playing consecutively for a long time now is because i got a leaf of vaka in a giveaway- something a lot of players cant afford. creatures dying is very demotivating to me and im sure its even more so to new players. why should they stay if their creatures run the risk of just dying if they get too hungry? this idea would make it so any new player could afford a leaf of vaka in their first month of playing, so the risk goes away completely- and then their account and creatures will stay up forever, even if they go inactive they can come back and pick up where they left off, basically. itd probably motivate more new people to join, which is something i feel like has declined a lot. just another two cents to add.

aquafaba • 5 February 2022 at 3:53 PM

@prairie @iia @stellalunagirl @sonny @tryvegan4theanimals @laylamocha @lucas @brookie @pooh @dougprishpreed @ida92 @greengrassoftunnel @viltuvitrast @riceboysleeps @quinoafuntime @autumnal @ian @jirachiwishmaker @hinokazes @lobstertheremin @alastrarra @lunacharm1037 @lady_dreamwyn @sulvas @izziedragon @calenlass @nellymoose118 @castielkix @starlight4428 @cranberrycat1 @moonsmeadow @misscheyenneo @rosethorn

I also think that giving everyone a chance to get 500cc a month is very reasonable and will help the site in the long term. 200cc a month is not enough to make an impact. I don't buy the idea that the site needs to release more than $30 worth of creatures a month in order to be profitable, while free players only get two creatures. If that's true, then saying that the site is free to play is a trick. Only like 20 percent of the content is free. I'll be happy to boycott the site until they give some real indication that free players matter to them. Otherwise it's obvious that they're only catering to the very small number of people that keep shilling out lots of money for tiny pictures, and they couldn't care less about the majority of us that are frustrated ☹️

lucas • 5 February 2022 at 5:45 PM

umm lol

autumnal • 5 February 2022 at 9:32 PM

@aquafaba thank you for pinging me. It's true that it's so hard to find CC and so many features require it. I hope they will consider these ideas. Even just giving it a trial run would be great.

greengrassoftunnel • 6 February 2022 at 3:07 PM

I agree with you @sonny. It's quite the grind for someone starting off in 2021. And to make it harder, most players who trade only want cc. It would make eggcave a lot more accessible to be able to aquire it by spending time on here.

It's worrisome that @Ian said "EC can be converted into cash to be used at the cash shop... Egg Cave will ALWAYS BE FREE " and 12 years later this still isn't true. Please implement what you said you would, Ian. Maybe just try it for a year like with the rereleases and see how it goes?

@prairie's suggestion of imposing a monthly cap is a great idea. CC is not in danger of being devalued. If anything, it's inflated to an unhealthy degree. This terminal would help to allow more players into the game.

Regarding some ideas above about only doing 100-200 cc a month, I don't think that would make enough of an impact. 500 cc seems just right to me. @prairie laid it all out really well in her original post.

"With this terminal you can only obtain a maximum of 500cc a month. That is enough to afford 1 CSP monthly. Not a re-release or both monthlies for each month. This is enough to where someone can still get use of buying CC each month, but still has a drive for purchase/trade of more CC."

I think there would be even more of a drive to purchase cc, honestly. There's probably a marketing term name for it, but give customers a little bit of something and they're more likely to stick around and then pay. As it stands, I have little desire to spend money here honestly. But I would be more likely to if Ian listened to us 😋

prairie • 6 February 2022 at 4:55 PM

@greengrassoftunnel
I'm happy you think I wrote out this suggestion well!
I agree that if people are given a limit of 500cc max to buy each month, they'd be more likely to buy CC vs if the max was lower than 500cc. This is mostly because players get that good good dopamine from purchasing the CC creature/items of their choosing and want to have that feel good feeling again. VS if it was say 400cc, the player is just close enough to being able to get a creature of their choosing but cannot unless they wait or buy more - which in the end I think would lead to more frustration towards the site VS building good site to player relationships.
The term you might be looking for is the Endowed Progress Effect, which is when "people provided with artificial advancement toward a goal exhibit greater persistence toward reaching the goal".

viltuvitrast • 6 February 2022 at 7:28 PM

@prairie I didn't know that term, Endowed Progress Effect. Come on @ian get on iiiiiit 😋

I'm going to ping my friends list to see if any of them have any interest in this idea.

@emo_pattys
@thedarkarcher
@taud25
@cryptic_cryptic
@staticm
@mango91
@huffletinker

cryptic_cryptic • 7 February 2022 at 11:53 AM

I agree something needs to be done to make this game more worthwhile to play. Time is a precious commodity and the little rewards for spending the time needed to grow the creatures isn't enough.

quinoafuntime • 7 February 2022 at 5:16 PM

@cryptic_cryptic I agree, there's so much that's unavailable to most players.

I'd like to paste a forum post that I made a little while ago. Here is the link.

"I've been on the site for almost two months and I'm having fun. But here's my main criticism: the site is extremely pay to win.

CC is used to get valuable creatures and to freeze creatures, and selling CC can get you a lot of EC very quickly. Gobbler hunt and Egg Cave bday are the only opportunities for free players to get CC directly from the game. Devs have been talking about maybe adding a EC to CC converter for a while now, but I worry that it's never going to happen.

The only other way that poor players can get CC is to purchase it with EC from other players who spent real money, but opportunities to buy CC from other players are rare (I see many players asking to trade CC for EC all the time). Most of my favorite creatures are ones that I can't get because their owners either never log on or only want CC. And for most creatures, I like their earlier stages more than their adult stages (the cynic in me suspects that this is done intentionally, but I hope that's not true).

I don't like the pay to win nature of the site at all and to be honest it creeps me out and makes me less likely to spend real money here, as much as I like the site. I regularly feel frustrated and powerless to make the cove that I want to make. There are many creatures that I like that I can't get unless I spend money.

I see many people defending the current system by saying that CC is the only way for the site to make money. There are many pet sites that have premium currency, but most give it out more generously so that free players have a chance. On this site, if you pay you can get almost any creature you want. If you don't pay, it's very hard to get most creatures and impossible to get many others. I would also prefer more ads if that meant that free players can get the creatures we want to get.

Thank you for reading. I only feel so frustrated because there is so much here that I like. There is a lot of potential here, but currently it seems like there is too much greed here as well."

Converting 5 million EC to 500 CC a month would help so much to make the site less pay to win and thus more accessible.

Pinging some people to see if you have any thoughts about what I wrote.

@iia @prairie @ian @tryvegan4theanimals @viltuvitrast @greengrassoftunnel @autumnal @lucas @aquafaba @structuresfromsilence @laylamocha @mr-blue-bones @sonny

aquafaba • 7 February 2022 at 5:58 PM

@quinoafuntime Very well written 😊

My opinion of EggCave is so bittersweet. I've been here for a few months now and really like a lot of things, but I also feel very frustrated a lot of the time. I don't recommend the site to my friends even though a part of me wants to. The way the site tries to get your money all the time is so sleazy though. Games shouldn't be this focused on spending money. Especially ones aimed at children.

quinoafuntime • 7 February 2022 at 7:07 PM

@aquafaba Thank you 😊 I agree. @prairie's idea (convert EC to CC with a monthly cap) would do a lot to help though I'm sure of it 😃

lobstertheremin • 8 February 2022 at 1:28 PM

@renfri @jack68 @northpaw @catsruawe @raindrops Pinging my friends list too. Anyone have any thoughts about the ideas in this post? I'm really hoping that they will listen. Let us earn CC through gameplay. Just a little bit each month. It would really help.

@prairie mentioned that @ian talked about a sign-in reward that eventually includes a bit of CC. That doesn't sound interesting or helpful to me. It probably wouldn't be enough CC to make a meaningful difference for most players. I think that rewarding time spent on the site by being able to convert 5m EC to 500 CC (one CSP a month or one rerelease every two months) is a better idea.

Most older players that I've come across have little to no interest in feeding a lot because EggCoins are so useless to them, with the exception of expanding cove and shop size. Being able to get CC through gameplay would encourage those players to re-engage with the site as well as giving newer players an exciting goal to work towards.

iia • 8 February 2022 at 3:41 PM

I’m seeing a lot of good stuff but it is all getting to be repetitive. @ian, please take into account all of the good ideas that have been thrown around here and let us know your thoughts ASAP!

riceboysleeps • 8 February 2022 at 10:46 PM

@prairie @iia If @ian continues to not respond, do you think we should keep posting and listing reasons why this is a good idea? Or is there nothing we can do? ☹️

raindrops • 9 February 2022 at 7:38 AM

@lobstertheremin ty for the ping! ")
@prairie @ian
I LOVE this idea!! I think there is too many "sold out" creatures too fast that u can't get enough cc to buy them when they are available.
*This would be a great idea!!
@ian A thought. Think about putting @prairie on ur team! 😊
Pings:
@Fluffykitten
@Poptarts
@Sodabearjess
@thedarkarcher
@wigetspinner

sodabearjess • 9 February 2022 at 12:00 PM

@prairie I like this idea, especially because there would be a monthly cap to keep things in balance. I didn't get a chance to read all the responses before mine, but I also agree with the fact that this would also help give EC more of a use, and in turn, hopefully create more interaction on the site when events aren't happening. 😊

@raindrops thanks for the ping ❤️