Bp ? Alerts Should Be Scheduled, Once-Per-Day On A 24 Hr. Timer.

[Bonemiser]

I am not a particularly busy man, but I am still human -- I sleep, I go outside, I take care of others. Yet, for Warframe players, that is already too much to ask for.

 

-I go to sleep. I miss an Orokin Reactor.

-I wake up, go to a doctor's appointment. I miss a Glaive blueprint.

-I buy groceries, or get a haircut, or watch a movie. I miss Trinity, or Loki, or Banshee Helmet.

-I get home with several hours free for Lotus... but there's no point. It's all 2000cr alerts by then.

 

 

I can't sleep, I can't work, I can't leave the house and visit family -- because the only way to acquire end-game progression items is to live my entire life near a computer on the Uberman sleep schedule, waiting for the off-chance that the random alert system offers the few rare items I need. It is a double jeopardy scenario, luck within luck, where having free time is not enough.

 

The current alert system puts unnecessary stress on players beyond what is reasonable by F2P standards. Free players are more than willing to put extra time in for items paying players can get instantly, but to treat these players as sub-human and rob them of basic living functions such as sleep is a step too far. Is Pay2Sleep or Pay2LiveANormalLife really the best way to go about monetizing a PvE game?

 

 

 

 

My suggestion is this:

-Blueprint Alerts should only occur once per day, when daily login rewards refresh.

-New Blueprint Alerts should last 24 hours.

-Artifact and Credit Alerts can proceed as normal.

 

The problem with the alert system isn't the fact that it keeps these items rare. The problem is that the current system was not made with players in mind. Please revamp this system in a way that provides some amount of consistency to players.

 

[Gregio]

The system is completely random. It takes no one's anything into consideration. It's based on luck. (or RNG, rather)
And it's fine that way.

There will probably be another 24hour orokin bp alert after the livestream on Wednesday, just wait for that.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Gregio

[DarthRevan84]

The Alert system is fine as it is.

[Venarge]

So you want the alert system fit your way of life, sorry to say that, but thats not gonna happen....

[se05239]

Nope.

[nobucketrequired]

Banshee Reverb helmet has not been given as a ? alert yet.

 

Also I believe it's designed the way it is so that eveyone doesn't get the alerts to persuade people to spend money. If this was not a F2P I would have an issue, but it is what it is.

[Bonemiser]

The system is completely random. It takes no one's anything into consideration. It's based on luck. (or RNG, rather)

And it's fine that way.

 

 

So you want the alert system fit your way of life, sorry to say that, but thats not gonna happen....

 

Really? So you feel a system that does not take into consideration basic human necessities is superior to one that does? I am not asking for the system to be built around my way of life -- I am asking for it to be built around inherent properties of life itself. People should not be punished for eating, or sleeping, or working. How can you defend such absurd practices without noticing the madness in these ideas?

 

For F2P games, the decision is either to pay with your money or to pay with your time. I would be more than happy to grind thrice as hard as a paying player for an item they could get for less than an hour's pay -- but at the very least, give free players the courtesy to take a break and do other things with their lives.

 

The current system is egregious in the way it punishes its players. The problem isn't that the rewards are random -- it's that the timeframe is. The timeframe does not need to be random for there to be incentive for players to pay.

[PeggyBundy]

The Alert system is fine as it is.

 

I agree. What's the point to make it totally predictable?

And besides, NONE of us have the same schedule. People work night shifts, live in different timezones etc.

There's no way to please everyone. I like it random, and even if you miss something, it will probably happen again, or just spend those few dollars and buy it.

[Gregio]

Really? So you feel a system that does not take into consideration basic human necessities is superior to one that does? I am not asking for the system to be built around my way of life -- I am asking for it to be built around inherent properties of life itself. People should not be punished for eating, or sleeping, or working. How can you defend such absurd practices without noticing the madness in these ideas?

Because if the game was set in a way that alerts happened at night for you, I would never get any good rewards. Timezones, you know.

The alerts are random, it does not punish anyone, the alerts happen at random, if I happen to have the day off, whoo, I'll get a lot of alerts. If not, there's always as many alerts on the weekend and 24 hour alerts after livestreams.

Yes, your point is that alerts should happen once a day, for 24 hours, that way I would be able to get the same alert as you. However, there are usually 3-4 bp alerts a day with the current system. Your idea would harm the players that DO have time for them.

Funny thing. Those players are usually kids and teenagers, who have time, but not money.

Whereas you and me are working people. We don't have as much time, but we do have our own money.

Do you see where that's getting at?

The system is built in a way that, if you have time to dedicate to it, you can have everything for free. If you don't have time for the game, you'll have to invest some money to get the same rewards as a kid who spends 24/7 on Warframe.

Makes sense to me.

[DarthRevan84]

I fall asleep with Twitter up...alert goes off and i read it...if its nothing i need i go back to sleep. if i need it i wake up for 10 mins do the alert and back to sleep.

[liavalenth]

I think that alerts with extremely rare things, such as Orokin Reactors, should last longer than others, say twice as long (so 1-2 hours). The current system is completely random, making certain items have a little longer to do would be nice. But there is a reason the alerts are designed the way they are, to make money, and I do not see that as a bad thing considering they need to pay for the game somehow.

[Bonemiser]

I fall asleep with Twitter up...alert goes off and i read it...if its nothing i need i go back to sleep. if i need it i wake up for 10 mins do the alert and back to sleep.

For your health, I would like to remind you that the average REM cycle lasts 90 minutes. If you really are checking your Twitter feed every 25 minutes, you should drop the habit before your health takes a hit due to lack of sleep.

 

If the game was set in a way that alerts happened at night for you, I would never get any good rewards. Timezones, you know.

I agree. What's the point to make it totally predictable?

And besides, NONE of us have the same schedule. People work night shifts, live in different timezones etc.

There's no way to please everyone.

A 24 hour timer allows all players -- no matter where they live, or when they work -- one chance at accessing the alert. Even if you worked a double night shift in South Africa, a 24 hour window would allow you the chance to grab a blueprint without taking on a near-suicidal lifestyle. Time Zones have no influence on the equation.

 

 

Putting blueprint alerts on a longer timer would not make them non-random. The blueprint itself would still be random; the planet and area would still be random; the mission objective would still be random; the credit payout would still be random -- every aspect would still be random outside of the timing and the size of the window.

 

As for other alerts, they could stay the same as well! So free players with extra time would have more chances at high credit alerts and more chances at Artifacts, not to mention more time to farm credits and level their weapons.

 

Finally, regarding for the number of accessible blueprints per day, two points:

1) Teenagers, for the most part, go to school. They are hit just as hard as those in the 9-to-5 work force.

2) Making BPs rarer (by lowering their spawn rate from ~4 per day to 1) would increase the benefit of paying.

 

 

The benefits of keeping the alert system as-is are far outweighed by what a semi-consistent alert system has to offer. There's no need to stick with this abusive method of frustrating the player base for cash.

[liavalenth]

...

The benefits of keeping the alert system as-is are far outweighed by what a semi-consistent alert system has to offer. There's no need to stick with this abusive method of frustrating the player base for cash.

As a point of note, most of the community seems to disagree on this one. If they were frustrating the player base it would be different, but it does not seem to be (and I don't think anyone has posted an agreement to you, only a few up votes).

[Gregio]

Quoting just half a post to make your post sound smarter. Cute.

Teenagers, for the most part don't have a 10 hour commute-work-commute routine, so they're not hit as hard.
Yes, perhaps they could make more money by making blueprints more rare, but there IS the point that they like that free players have equal opportunities if they dedicate more time, that's part of Warframe's charm.

As for your last point, this abusive method of frustrating the player base only seems to be affecting you, at least in this thread.
Yes, people cry when they miss an orokin artifact or rare weapon blueprint, but most don't want to rework the alert system.

I might be slightly upset when a new law is approved by public vote that I do not entirely agree with (different matter if I don't agree to it at all), but that's not a reason to abolish democracy.

[Tazurin]

One of the worst things about this game is the alert system, imo. Too short, too infrequent, no way to predict or plan around them at all.

 

12 ~ 24 hours would be ideal.

 

Too easy to miss things as it is, and then you're left waiting who knows how long for the next one.

 

Definitely does not seem like it was designed in players' interests. I feel like the majority begrudgingly tolerate the current system rather than actually enjoy it.

[DarthRevan84]

For your health, I would like to remind you that the average REM cycle lasts 90 minutes. If you really are checking your Twitter feed every 25 minutes, you should drop the habit before your health takes a hit due to lack of sleep.

 

 

I seem to be doing just fine ive been doing it since the twitter alert thing started. Havent missed an Orokin Cata/Reactor BP yet nor have i missed either of the 2 glaive BPs or any of the Alternate helm bps that have shown up in alerts. (Well thats not completely true i skip the ones i already have dont really need credits)

 

Mastering the Alert System comes down to 1 simple thing. Dedication.

Edited May 6, 2013 by DarthRevan84

[Argoms]

I haven't seen a genuinely good reason why not to change the alert system yet. Everyone supporting it seems to either call the suggester selfish, say that it's a good way to make money (which it isn't, wouldn't you be less likely to buy a potato if you knew you could get one eventually for free? Plus, dark sword etc. aren't even available for plat), or we should be grateful for having it at all. 

 

I feel like the majority begrudgingly tolerate the current system rather than actually enjoy it.

Same, it's the reason I haven't bought plat yet. 

 

If this is how they want to make money, I'm not giving any. I hope I'm not the only one.

[RogueDarkJedi]

Honestly, the RNG is kinda lame, because the glave has appeared at 5-7am PST and most of us are either going to work or still sleeping. I actually like the idea that it lasts all day or maybe longer (like 3-4 hours for a bp alert at the cost of mission difficulty)

[Gekker]

Like I stated a few times before. I believe the current implementatin of the alert system is flawed.
 

But first lets talk about what the alert system is actually good for!

I see it like this: Its a motivator for new players to keep playing the game.

 

- Keeping players playing a free to play game is the first step of gaining money out of the project. If you don't motivate players to play, they won't buy stuff for the game.

Potential paying players don't play free to play games because it costs money. They play it to check it out and eventually get attached to it before they decide to pay. 

 

In what way does the Alert system motivate players to play you ask? Because its the only way to get items that are otherwise only available through platin. If a new player joins a free to play game he will notice fast whether or not he is able to keep up with players that pay. If the system proves fair he will keep on playing, if not he stops and will never pay.

 

So the question is whether or not the current implementation of the Alert system is good enough to keep players motivated to play the game by rewarding them those rare BP's that are not available otherwise.

 

So to answer this question from my perspective. Here I agree with the OP. The current way is way to frustating because you can see what you actually missout out on the Twitter page. Also the chance to get the BP of your desire is already low and it is decreasing with almost every patch.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Gekker

[liavalenth]

...

So to answer this question from my perspective. Here I agree with the OP. The current way is way to frustating because you can see what you actually missout out on the Twitter page. Also the chance to get the BP of your desire is already low and it is decreasing with almost every patch.

I agree with this. The current system does need some work, and a better one would be a great idea. However the way presented on this topic does not seem like a good idea. It cannot be made too easy to get anything specific or there would be no reason to pay for anything. The system should be changed, but I cannot think of a way to do it, and I don't think the current suggestion is a good one.

[Ryanshow]

OK op so whose schedule should warframe follow? because I live on the other side of the planet so if it follows when you have free time then I am disenfranchised and vice versa.

 

Random was one of the only fair ways to do this.

 

Might be able to cook something else up though.

[MotherCorpus]

I will repeat myself. No from the peanut gallery, on scheduled alerts.

[cidiantoby]

Ill keep this a simple answer.

NO

I have a life. I go to sleep and go to work. I go out sometimes and guess what? I live and work on a farm in central US. Hell i am sitting in a tractor right now typing this reply up on my phone. So I work more than you do during the summer and here I am saying no to this. Why? Because that is not how the system should be. There would be no point to the alerts if they were 24 hours long. Second, they like others have said, are to be random. You want it this way to benfit your lifestyle but not what would benfit the game.

[Argoms]

I have a life. I go to sleep and go to work. I go out sometimes and guess what? I live and work on a farm in central US. Hell i am sitting in a tractor right now typing this reply up on my phone. So I work more than you do during the summer and here I am saying no to this. Why? Because that is not how the system should be. There would be no point to the alerts if they were 24 hours long. Second, they like others have said, are to be random. You want it this way to benfit your lifestyle but not what would benfit the game.

I'm not going to dress this up or be polite about it: Your reasoning is terrible.

 

"Why? Because that is not how the system should be"

Why should it be like this? Because it should. That's definitely convincing.

 

"There would be no point to the alerts if they were 24 hours long."

Why not? They wouldn't pop up as often as now, but when they did, they'd be available to everyone, and not just the people who live in a certain country.

 

"Second, they like others have said, are to be random"

Is this a good thing? 

 

"You want it this way to benfit your lifestyle but not what would benfit the game."

And then you attack the person instead of the suggestion. This doesn't discriminate against any time zone. Tell me, why is this system good for the game?

[Argoms]

OK op so whose schedule should warframe follow? because I live on the other side of the planet so if it follows when you have free time then I am disenfranchised and vice versa.

 

Random was one of the only fair ways to do this.

 

Might be able to cook something else up though.

The entire suggestion means that it follows nobody's schedule- every time zone will have equal access if an alert lasts 24 hours...

Edited May 6, 2013 by Argoms