Different kind of "item drop system" poll (in General)

It's a multiple section poll :p
_____

SECTION 1
Regardless of what the reality is, do you PERSONALLY feel that the current item drop system is a "zero sum" one (overall, nobody loses nor wins) ?

1a) people actually gain income overall
1b) it's perfectly balanced overall
1c) people actually lose income overall
___

SECTION 2
If the current item drop system remains unaltered, would you prefer to

2a) keep it in place as it is
2b) I really don't care
2c) kill it and go back to how it was before it
___

SECTION 3
If the item drop system has to remain in place no matter what, how would you alter it ?

3a) less cash, more drops
3b) it's just fine the way it is
3c) more cash, less drops

___

Please select one answer from each section.

from the other thread:

"it will be impossible to design a poll that will show all of the needed options.

my vote would be for the keep it if it affects retention after six months or so, but keep a very close eye on liquid asset to non-liquid ratio and adjust money rewards aggressively.

polls are actually pretty useless in cb land though unless jon creates them. those are really the only polls that matter as we are only a democracy by the grace of jon!"

My personal opinion : 1c, 2c, 3c

1B -- Definition of Zero Sum event.

2C

3C

I would really hate to keep a flawed system in place for 6 months.

1C ( I would pick 1b but its not "perfect")
2A
3A

Ranger : I didn't ask for the definition of a zero-sum event :)
I simply asked if in _your_ opinion the system SEEMS to really be a zero-sum one or not, and if it doesn't feel like a zero-sum one, is it a positive or a negative sum one ?

1C
2C
3C

"I would really hate to keep a flawed system in place for 6 months."

if it was designed to increase player retention, you do not know if it is flawed until enough time has passed to see if it helps in retaining players.

if we go with too small of a sample then we could be wrong. in effect, numbers have held steady since the change which is an improvement over the last two years where they have fallen steadily. this isn't really accurate though as the declines seem to be more over months rather than a two week period.

Sry, I misread the first question.

I go with

1C - with all the crappy rares in play, I feel this 20% is too high.
2C
3C

dude,

Not to belabor the point, but we have 50% give or take people who like and dislike this system.

Therefore it appears to be equal parts love/hate, equal parts staying due to it and leave due to it.

It adds nothing to the game to make people want to stay. But people are losing guaranteed income and in a strategy game, that is an essential part of the playing experience.

I will make a bet with you, 10M CB, that our numbers will not be increased by more than 10% (given a statistical variation) due to this new drop system. I would be more if you want so strongly I feel about it.

And if we have more players in 6 months, it will be due to other factors, such as fixing the tutorial, adding new items/spells/skill or by simply fixing obviously broken/unbalanced items. Not due to this random forced lottery.

1c
2c
3c

just make the rates adjustable have a little slider where you can adjust your $ rate and let the player determine his drop chance if a player wants less money and a higher % of drop then he can adjust to it or vice versa

1c
2c
3c

-- Bob

As an aside,

Something is certainly wrong when LB and I agree 100% on something.

All cs

"Something is certainly wrong when LB and I agree 100% on something."

When was the last time we DIDN'T agree on something CB related?

There we go. Now he doesn't agree with you anymore, Ranger! You've fixed it.

Also, I don't agree with you guys, either.

That is true LB, your right.

We do see very closely the same on CB issues. RL issues are different and that is a good thing sometimes. Debate in a civil manner is always productive.

1b - if the "value" associated with the drops is the true value of the item

2a - perhaps this system will break people out of their mundane routine to try something different

3b - keep the system in place as a new foundation for fight rewards - later on you can make things even more interesting by introducing items that aren't spawned? perhaps these non-spawned items can only be forged since the standard blacksmith has never seen them before and is too busy to figure it out :) that could give both fighting and forging each a new strength

My Opinion : 1c, 2c, 3c

1 c
2 c
3 c

I see a lot of "c"s and not that much of anything else :P

1c
2c
3c

I like drops. I've said it before. Make the reward hit 5%, and adjust drops accordingly, the you'll have my approval. (For what it's worth!)

1c
2c
3c
Hmm we are getting this answer a lot at the moment.

Yup, seems like the official poll was too "inconclusive" since it tried to shove it all in a single answer, but this makes it so much clearer :)

1c
2c
3c

any poll that starts like this:

"Regardless of what the reality is"

must be scientific and a very good representation of the facts. especially when it doesn't ask leading questions or work from too small of a sample size. ; )

I would have to say

1c
2c
3c

as well.

1c
2c
3c

Easy poll, and quite evident how we feel about this change.

1c
2b
3c

FYI, I agree with dudemus - if this were a courtroom, I would shout "OBJECTION! LEADING THE WITNESS!" and then be hauled out for impersonating an attorney.

1c

2c

3c

'nough said.

"any poll that starts like this: "Regardless of what the reality is" must be scientific and a very good representation of the facts. especially when it doesn't ask leading questions or work from too small of a sample size. ; ) "

It's simply asking how satisfied you are personally with the system, what your opinion of it is. The fact the system is mathematically fair or not has no relevance whatsoever over how much you PERCEIVE it to be fair, and perception is the only thing that matters in encouraging retention, not the cold, hard, mathematical facts.

Also, in which way would any of those questions be leading ?
How would you formulate them so they are NOT leading anymore ?

we know that it is not a popular change, we also know that those unhappy with it are very vocal about their unhappiness. thus, you have proven what we already know and done a damn fine job of that.

the first post i made in this thread sums up very well how i feel about polls regarding this change.

Me? I'd do it like this:



SECTION 1
Do you feel that the current item drop system is a "zero sum" one (overall, nobody loses nor wins) ?

1a) people actually gain income overall
1b) it's perfectly balanced overall
1c) people actually lose income overall
___

SECTION 2
If the current item drop system remains unaltered, would you prefer to

2a) keep it in place as it is
2b) I really don't care
2c) revert to the former system
___

SECTION 3
If the item drop system continues, how would you alter it?

3a) less cash, more drops
3b) it's just fine the way it is
3c) more cash, less drops
3d) just lower the cash penalty
3e) just increase the drop rate

If this were the case my vote would be:

1) C people actually lose income overall
2) C kill it and go back to how it was before it
3) D just lower the cash penalty

same as zen

that is definitely more neutral, about the only thing that i would add is in the section for keeping it or killing it, would be if it increased our user base or reversed the trend of population shrinkage would you keep it, kill it or don't care as well.

To be honest, I doubt this system would have any noticeable effect on NEW player retention either way.