I’ve thought some more about running a Last Call for surprise dragons and there are some things that I never thought of originally. (What a surprise 😉)
Not every surprise dragon will be suitable for a Last Call contest. I think if it is available for more than 1-2 weeks, it is too long. Jackpot wouldn’t have been suitable for a Last Call contest as it was available for 77 days. No-one wants to commit to having a cave tied up for 77 days!
It could be that only event surprise dragons will work as they will typically be 7-10 days. There will probably already be a Last Call contest happening – as there is with Virgonian currently. If the running Last Call is for a difficult dragon (like Efreet) there may be no interest in having another Last Call at the same time.
lisgie , I didn’t know that if two event dragons were released together, the Last Call one was chosen alphabetically. That makes perfect sense and much easier than what I suggested. We should stick with that, then everyone knows which dragon to choose. Thank you for mentioning it. 😊
Although OboeKade and I host the Last Calls, we are doing so on the players’ behalf, if there is something that we are doing wrong or have missed, please let us know. 😊
We could try the following for when a surprise dragon is released. I am happy to run a Last Call contest, that hasn't changed. 😊
Players that would like to play need to confirm that they’re playing (or post that they have the dragon already).
Players can confirm (or withdraw) up to 12 hours after the dragon’s release (daily reset). If they haven’t confirmed, it will be assumed that they don’t want to play and will be withdrawn.
Don’t pay out any gems until it is confirmed how many people are playing. If there aren’t enough players (3 or more), it will be called off and the thread will wait for the Thursday expected dragon.
If I haven’t covered something that should be mentioned, please let me know. There are several players that have been playing Last Call for a long time, so will know straight away if a dragon is suitable to have a Last Call thread.
Post by NinjaKiwi. on Aug 29, 2023 23:17:39 GMT -6
Good thoughts! One thing to mention is that the Last Call wouldn't trigger if there was one already on (ie only one active at any one time). So it was fortunate in this case that we all got Virgo so quickly!
GCID: NinjaKiwi. *remember the full stop!*
DVID: NinjaKiwi#3970
Currently breeding for whatever twins I can possibly get my hands on
Good thoughts! One thing to mention is that the Last Call wouldn't trigger if there was one already on (ie only one active at any one time). So it was fortunate in this case that we all got Virgo so quickly!
A small, but vital, point that I was unaware of. 🙃
That could be problematic then running a Last Call for a surprise dragon. It has turned out OK this time as Virgonian had finished and Shadowflash was easy to breed and is also complete. Hopefully any other surprise dragons also have uncomplicated breeding combos and are 'easy' to breed.
But, I was still anticipating hosting a Last Call contest this Thursday for the expected dragon whether or not Shadowflash had a winner. I don't think it would be fair to the players that didn't get to participate in Shadowflash to not have a Thursday Last Call contest.
It would have been possible that we had two Last Call contests overlapping and running at the same time.
I am very interested to hear any other thoughts on running a Last Call contest for surprise dragons. I'm still happy to hold a surprise Last Call, but NinjaKiwi. has raised an interesting point that there should only be one contest running at a time.
Good thoughts! One thing to mention is that the Last Call wouldn't trigger if there was one already on (ie only one active at any one time). So it was fortunate in this case that we all got Virgo so quickly!
A small, but vital, point that I was unaware of. 🙃
That could be problematic then running a Last Call for a surprise dragon. It has turned out OK this time as Virgonian had finished and Shadowflash was easy to breed and is also complete. Hopefully any other surprise dragons also have uncomplicated breeding combos and are 'easy' to breed.
But, I was still anticipating hosting a Last Call contest this Thursday for the expected dragon whether or not Shadowflash had a winner. I don't think it would be fair to the players that didn't get to participate in Shadowflash to not have a Thursday Last Call contest.
It would have been possible that we had two Last Call contests overlapping and running at the same time.
I am very interested to hear any other thoughts on running a Last Call contest for surprise dragons. I'm still happy to hold a surprise Last Call, but NinjaKiwi. has raised an interesting point that there should only be one contest running at a time.
Just because it's what we did in the past, doesn't mean we have to stick to it today! I may be wrong and it was capped at two Last Calls, one per breeding spot. It's just something to think about with surprise dragons and maximising enjoyment for players
GCID: NinjaKiwi. *remember the full stop!*
DVID: NinjaKiwi#3970
Currently breeding for whatever twins I can possibly get my hands on
I like not having last call running for more than two weeks. I do recall one with a dragon that was available for 3-6 weeks and it was too much.
I do remember having two last calls at once (anniversary and event?) but agree that we should limit it to one at a time. It’s fairer to newbs who might still be trying for parents and really only have cloning as an option to get the dragon (is that fairer to newbs or long term players because the newbs are more likely to “win”).
Post by NinjaKiwi. on Aug 30, 2023 12:56:29 GMT -6
I've paid Rys, Robin, and Crazyj for 1, 3, & 5 respectively, so I think that's all for me. I know I won so the competition is over, but I also found out I ninja'd, so I have two Shadowflash in my nursery, one from the cave and one from the island! This might be the first time I've ever ninja'd without the rift
GCID: NinjaKiwi. *remember the full stop!*
DVID: NinjaKiwi#3970
Currently breeding for whatever twins I can possibly get my hands on
Thank you lisgie and NinjaKiwi. for your very thoughtful comments about running a Last Call contest for surprise dragons. It has brought up some really good points and given lots of things for everyone to think about about whether or not they would want to participate in a surprise Last Call again. Shadowflash worked well as it was finished quickly, others may not work as well.
I think that the biggest hurdle is if players only want one Last Call to run at a time, a surprise Last Call is probably not going to work. It is possible that there will be an 'expected' Last Call for a weekly limited dragon on the horizon and the Last Calls may overlap.
Hopefully Deca aren't going to spring too many surprise dragons on us. I'm happy to do whatever the players would like with the understanding that if we're in the middle of an event, the 'expected' Last Call contest will also be running on the Thursday. 😊
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