FIREFLY EVENT - the Dust Settles

[Pixie]

Knowing there are still members waiting for their Twilight Towers and Gem awards, the dust has pretty much settled on the recent Firefly Event. What are your thoughts regarding this event? Feel free to leave your thoughts here on this thread, always keeping the Aloha spirit in mind.

[ElektronX]

As always, I like these kinds of events. The frequency in which they occur is a bit too often for my taste, but since this latest event, knowing that ALL the prizes could be earned without the use of money was very reassuring when collecting Fireflies in my park.

In the end, I did spend $5 to get the Twilight Tower because of being unable to collect the daily 20 fireflies from collecting party hats, but other than that, the new turn-in mechanics this event was so much nicer than the previous ones, as they were clearly explained and included a distinct countdown.

Thanks for another awesome event, BFS!

[Kiyoji21]

I'm really glad that BFS is learning from their mistakes and it shows in this latest event. I really wish they would do something different next time instead of the usual "collect x currency from doing stuff to turn in to y prizes".

[climo]

I enjoyed the event. BFS has been fair throughout the game. For the next event, I hope BFS makes the last prize with some real value. For example, the last prize can speed up the clock one hour forward every several days (something similar to Kairos) or give one more hachery. There can be many other possibilities.

[vonfirmath]

Aug 5, 2014 10:34:06 GMT -6 climo said:

I enjoyed the event. BFS has been fair throughout the game. For the next event, I hope BFS makes the last prize with some real value. For example, the last prize can speed up the clock one hour forward every several days (something similar to Kairos) or give one more hachery. There can be many other possibilities.

I think they have to be careful that the last prize isn't SO valuable that it makes people who don't get it upset. Not everyone can play as often as others.

I really enjoyed this event more than the Egg hunt. I decided to pay a little $ instead of playing obsessively to get every prize and felt that the effort I put into it was amply rewarded.

In my baby park, where I didn't start until the last week and didn't have any extra resources, nor put money into the event, I was able to earn enough gems to buy my Breeding Island! just doing what one needs to do to play the game Bonus!

I am getting a big fed up with the quantity of unsaleable decorations I now have though. I'm not a big decoration person but this stuff takes up a lot of precious real estate! And the knowledge that more events will just lead to more of these is sad I'd like some choice to NOT display them if I don't want to. I understand why we have to earn them to get the big prize.

[flutterbye]

My comment will be restricted to the event and my second park only at this stage.

I enjoyed this event overall. I went with the flow, and did not monitor exactly how many fireflies I was collecting. That did mean that I did a LOT of daisy snaps and dragon root growing.  zzzzz...

This meant that I was able to start saving up and summon the tenth island and get 4 days of clearance ffs.

I had roughly 250 gems at the start, not enough to be able to get all the fireflies from speed-ups. So I used them in the double ff weekends, collected from party hats, and bought a giant plant habitat to get those ffs. I bought 900 ffs in the first double weekend to make sure that I would get the end prize and some gems over. I ended up with 289 gems at the end, two new dragons, decorations and pedestals, an extra habitat,and a cool tower that switches time and background. A definite win on those points.

I did not like the diminishing algorithm. That made it very hard to get all the ffs from habitats and treats. As my reset was 7am BST, I would sometimes be waking early, and still collecting ffs just before the reset. Some days I just gave up trying.

I liked all the rewards except for the Celestial habitat, which looks like a Deco/Modernism/'50s American diner. I really like how the tower fades the change from day to dusk. (It's not night, that is darker with more prominent stars, and moonlight reflecting palely silver off clouds.)

The last thing that I do not like is the frequency of these events. I know that there is a fine balance between keeping longtime players with something to do, and having too much content so that newbies get put off the game once they realise what a long haul it is. If these events are too frequent, it means that I will not spend any real money on the game unless there is an event on, with a prize that I know I will not be able to get at any other time. So that may mean that I will spend less....

[pinkadot89]

I really liked this event! It was my first once since I only started playing three days prior, so I have nothing to compare it to. It was nice getting two pretty awesome dragons just for doing normal gameplay!

Things I thought were good:
1. Having a set amount of fireflies for each activity.
2. Indicator saying when enough fireflies were earned for the next prize.
3. Doubles!
4. Gems for leftovers!

Things that could be improved:
1. The diminishing returns on treats and dragoncash. It wasn't too bad, but it was still a bit annoying.
2. Having to get the prizes in order. It would be nice to pick and choose so you can get what you want.
3. The timing of doubles. Why didn't they start at reset?

Overall, I thought it was a lot of fun and can't wait for the next one!

[dragonmuse]

We recieved 2 beautiful dragons and habitat, i don't think that it was more work than usual. I wish more points were available with other things like the coliseum. I have no more islands to clear so didn't get those points. I do feel for those who didn't get the end reward if they put their time and money into the game, but I am sure patience will be rewarded!

I loved this event, but it did take some extra playing power growing treats. I think I liked the Easter Egg Event better because of the island. Being limited to 10 islands after level 55 it is hard to display all the beautiful decorations and habitats.

The game is still fun to play and looking forward to the next new dragon and future events.

[shewolf]

Ok so I participated in the firefly event the day it started and religiously played everyday (and if you are here reading this I'm sure you do to), I am at level 42 and have a substantial park and well, it seems like I got 80% if not more of all the fireflies that were possibly available to me.. Yet I was well under what I needed for the tower, something like 415ffs out of the 1650 or whatever, And after checking out many friends parks I notice most didn't even get the habitat. It seemed BFS made it near impossible to get that tower without spending any real money! I can imagine beginning players had a very difficult time. Man I reeeeally wanted that tower! Ive wished you could change the park to night ever since I started playing! Arg!... ::whew:: After my much needed venting, Did anyone else feel like they didn't give us enough time or am I just trippin?

[flutterbye]

Aug 5, 2014 15:35:48 GMT -6 shewolf said:

Ok so I participated in the firefly event the day it started and religiously played everyday (and if you are here reading this I'm sure you do to), I am at level 42 and have a substantial park and well, it seems like I got 80% if not more of all the fireflies that were possibly available to me.. Yet I was well under what I needed for the tower, something like 415ffs out of the 1650 or whatever, And after checking out many friends parks I notice most didn't even get the habitat. It seemed BFS made it near impossible to get that tower without spending any real money! I can imagine beginning players had a very difficult time. Man I reeeeally wanted that tower! Ive wished you could change the park to night ever since I started playing! Arg!... ::whew:: After my much needed venting, Did anyone else feel like they didn't give us enough time or am I just trippin?

Hello shewolf and welcome to the community!

I remember only too well the feeling I got when I missed breeding the first dragon that I really, really wanted, a Celtic dragon. Seeing it in other parks when I visited made me feel so jealous, thinking that I would never have one. I was fortunate in that there were the Bring 'Em Back events, and I was eventually able to get my Celtics (Mabiginion and Rhiannon). 

In one of my parks, I did not get the twilight tower or the extra gems (currently waiting patiently for BFS to get back to me on that one). I paid for some fireflies in both parks as I'd worked out that I couldn't get the tower without paying for it.

I do agree, having to pay real money for one-off prizes that will never be available again smacks of profiteering. One of the reasons I was attracted to this game in the first place was that you could breed all dragons with enough patience.

Now, my feelings are that as a hobby and stress reliever, I don't mind paying small amounts of cash occaisionally. If these events continue to be this often, I'll not be spending any cash outside of an event. I think a lot of other players will be feeling the same way.

[Kiyoji21]

Aug 5, 2014 15:35:48 GMT -6 shewolf said:

Ok so I participated in the firefly event the day it started and religiously played everyday (and if you are here reading this I'm sure you do to), I am at level 42 and have a substantial park and well, it seems like I got 80% if not more of all the fireflies that were possibly available to me.. Yet I was well under what I needed for the tower, something like 415ffs out of the 1650 or whatever, And after checking out many friends parks I notice most didn't even get the habitat. It seemed BFS made it near impossible to get that tower without spending any real money! I can imagine beginning players had a very difficult time. Man I reeeeally wanted that tower! Ive wished you could change the park to night ever since I started playing! Arg!... ::whew:: After my much needed venting, Did anyone else feel like they didn't give us enough time or am I just trippin?

I think one of the ways to get all the necessary fireflies without spending money was to spend 40 gems everyday for most of the event. I don't think it was possible to get all the rewards if you skipped that. Well, maybe if you had a lot of obstacles to clear as well, but I don't think it would've been enough.

[GregDarcy]

For me the rift event was the best because it was new and different. The subsequent events lacked that novelty. They were basically repeats with the details changed.

That said, the feel of each event was different. The egg left a very bad taste in my mouth. Almost to the point where I gave the game away completely. The latest firefly festival had the balance right in my opinion. It was possible to get all the prizes without spending real money. I did. But it was very difficult and required real commitment. I used up well over a thousand gems, but picked up quite a few game enhancements along the way, so I don't begrudge those. There were prizes for attendance, but there were also prizes for dedication.

I do feel for those who got the ffs for all the prizes but lost out because they were not turned in in time. I hope BFS sorts that out to your satisfaction n

[pinkadot89]

Aug 5, 2014 16:05:12 GMT -6 Kiyoji21 said:

Aug 5, 2014 15:35:48 GMT -6 shewolf said:

Ok so I participated in the firefly event the day it started and religiously played everyday (and if you are here reading this I'm sure you do to), I am at level 42 and have a substantial park and well, it seems like I got 80% if not more of all the fireflies that were possibly available to me.. Yet I was well under what I needed for the tower, something like 415ffs out of the 1650 or whatever, And after checking out many friends parks I notice most didn't even get the habitat. It seemed BFS made it near impossible to get that tower without spending any real money! I can imagine beginning players had a very difficult time. Man I reeeeally wanted that tower! Ive wished you could change the park to night ever since I started playing! Arg!... ::whew:: After my much needed venting, Did anyone else feel like they didn't give us enough time or am I just trippin?

I think one of the ways to get all the necessary fireflies without spending money was to spend 40 gems everyday for most of the event. I don't think it was possible to get all the rewards if you skipped that. Well, maybe if you had a lot of obstacles to clear as well, but I don't think it would've been enough.

I had obstacles to clear everyday and ended the festival with ~1400 toward the tower. I only spent gems on double days, so you definitely needed to spend gems on regular days too. But it looks like it was possible to get the tower without buying fireflies.

[homais]

Pros:
- Huge props to the artists, the dragons as usual were fantastic & the splash page artwork was beautiful
- Huge props to the animators, I really did love the firefly animations and I'm glad that the Firefly Dragon still breathes fireflies at dusk so I can continue to see this animation
- Ability to earn all the rewards without spending real money
- The Help Menu! The rules were clearly laid out this event
- The countdown timers!!! There was even a pop up with the countdown timer to warn me that the event was about to end. Five stars for this feature!
- The fact that you couldn't turn in fireflies till you had enough for a reward
- When you would click "Turn in fireflies" when you didn't have enough for a reward and a pop up would come up and tell you how many more fireflies you would need to get that reward

Cons:
- I mentioned this in the ATTN: BFS post as a guest: I am extremely grateful for the decorations. However, they are starting to accumulate and after paying for more slots in the storage tower with gems I would really not prefer to use one slot to put them away. *Expanding the current islands could solve this
- Diminishing Returns; whatever the reset values were set at this time really, really bothered me--to the point where I thought to myself that if future events continue this way I might stop playing. It was really frustrating some days to go through 3-5 habitat collections (I have 63 habitats) and still not get the remaining fireflies. The extent of the bookkeeping I had to do with this event was also ridiculous.
- The customer service response to players that had technical glitches that were not their fault. * Possible solution: Ending the event midweek, so that BFS has time to work out these issues instead of just rushing into a deadline Monday morning?

In comparison to other events:

Magic: Confusing. But taking into consideration that it was the first event for BFS and players, the confusion was understandable. However, when asked about clarification about the rewards (such as whether the dragons would be different and what the third egg was) clarification was not given.

Eggs: Frustrating. The value at which diminishing returns were set and the artwork were the only things that I appreciated from that event. What ruined the whole event for me was that even after being asked repeatedly whether the bonus island would have to be purchased for real money BFS was mum about it. This purposeful lack of communication left an extremely bad taste in my mouth. The fact that there were no countdown timers and that you had to buy the island with real money were also big cons.

Fireflies: Tedious. When it was all said and done, in comparison to the other events, I was SO glad this event was over. I think that says a lot about this event. With the other events I didn't really care when it would end or if they were going to go on longer. With this event, I could not wait for it to be over. For me, that is because of the crazy diminishing returns and the fact that this is the third event of this nature that has occurred in what I consider a short time span.

At this point, the idea of another event doesn't phase me. After a few more, I'm not sure what I'll feel :/

I understand that BFS has to make money. I am only voicing these opinions, because I still want to enjoy Dragonvale enough to play it and I want BFS to be successful. Hopefully they will take into account what their loyal players have to say and make changes that will ultimately benefit both parties.

[Susie Spieler]

My final results: I earned the Celestial Habit in both of my parks and was about 50% of the way to the Tower when the event ended. That's about where I predicted I would end up. I had decided early on that I would play at a slightly "above normal" pace but less than the frenzied pace of the light/dark magic endless bush planting. I was prepared to spend $5 if I got that far. I needed to spend $10 (during the "deal") so no Towers for me. I received all the prizes I earned, the G Stone and the correct number of gems for the unspent Fireflies

My feelings: Meh. Sure, I liked getting the prizes. The extra decorations are cool but my parks are pretty darned crowded and I think the habitat is tacky. We're going to be able to get the Dawn and Dusk dragons as regular dragons but this certainly was an easier way to get them given how much harder it seems to breed some of the new species. I haven't seen concrete evidence that the Tower function willbring an essential dimension to the game so I doubt that I"ll miss it. Bottom line - at this point I can take it or leave it. I'm suffering from event fatigue.

The event itself: BFS says to go about your normal park activities. I'm an active player. I routinely sweep my parks (Level 50 and 54) several times a day. I picked up the pace a bit, spent gems to finish upgrading my gemstone island, sped up breeding (which I almost never do), and fell short as predicted. While it might be technically true to say that one could earn the Tower without buying FFs, it wasn't actually possible without (a) obstacles (b) a sizable hoard of gems and (c) a substantial amount of extra park visits to collect those elusive final few flies - every single day of this vrry long event. To me, that doesn't equate to "possible" in any realistic sense.

[NinjaKiwi.]

I am a dedicated player even without and event, and managed to get the tower without paying real money. The art was lovely, and communication was a lot clearer than previous events.

However, I had to spend ~1000 gems, which I don't mind but would've been difficult for newer members or those who don't have a huge stockpile. Getting the last few ffs for treats and habitats was extremely tiresome (I'm saying 10 minutes of dragon snaps for 2 ffs). Finally (and this is a biggie), I'm getting pretty sick of these events. I understand the need for revenue, and to keep things interesting for old players, but three similar events in such a short space of time?!? I love dv, and I've poured more time than sensible into it, but another one of these events and I may go cold turkey. Try something new. Please.

[freitag]

I miss the Gloaming Gate. Couldn't we at least have got a small souvenir?

(Edited to add "smoke-puffing").

[reikiquilter]

Hopefully I'm not repeating others too much here...
I feel Backflip did a MUCH better job with this event! I also had a more reasonable approach. ..I didn't make it urget to get the gloaming tower...I only had about 550 fireflies towards it so I didn't get it. C'est la vie I'm happy with the gems...I used up nearly 400 with the event so I needed them!
At first I first it was very slow going which stressed me--afraid I might not get much...but it was a steady pace and in the end I felt it was just about right. I give it a 7 out of 10

(Way up from the negative infinity I give to the egg hunt, LOL!?!)

[reikiquilter]

Wow! How soo agree!

Once or twice a year is plenty for these events. In my opinion...its very distracting and frustrating to lower level players who are scrambling just to stay current with time-limited dragon breeding...

And over all I still like magic event best...

Aug 5, 2014 19:16:09 GMT -6 NinjaKiwi. said:

I am a dedicated player even without and event, and managed to get the tower without paying real money. The art was lovely, and communication was a lot clearer than previous events.

However, I had to spend ~1000 gems, which I don't mind but would've been difficult for newer members or those who don't have a huge stockpile. Getting the last few ffs for treats and habitats was extremely tiresome (I'm saying 10 minutes of dragon snaps for 2 ffs). Finally (and this is a biggie), I'm getting pretty sick of these events. I understand the need for revenue, and to keep things interesting for old players, but three similar events in such a short space of time?!? I love dv, and I've poured more time than sensible into it, but another one of these events and I may go cold turkey. Try something new. Please.

[flutterbye]

Hi there reikiquilter it's good to see you here again.

It looks like there is a good consensus on this event, mostly positive. There are always going to be parts that we don't like, as BFS will tweak the collection parameters to make sure they get plenty of panic purchases. They are here to make money, after all. And they have Hasbro to crack the whip........

[Brick]

I don't like having to grow tons of plants for no sensible reason. I don't like how frequent these events are now, I feel under stress during them and I play Dragonvale because it's anti-stress. I also echo sentiments around my park getting junky with decorations.

That said, the new dragons are beautiful.

[ginaluna928]

Thx for starting this thread! Overall, I found the event frustrating, but then I don't have party hat/gem friends ( I have asked for some -- feel free to contact me!).

I got plenty of gems at the end and the nice gloaming thingy, but really wanted the Dusk dragon. Hope it becomes available.

I think the Dawn dragon is one of the finest I've seen.

I play without the music and I really enjoyed the night sounds, especially the loon call, as I have heard that in the wild. I found the sounds very relaxing and hope they come back again.

I came close to buying fireflies, but $25 bucks was too much for all I needed and really just for virtual nothing.

Has Backflip thought about t-shirts and stuffed toys like World of Warcraft?