CE

[Allandrk]

Hello, thank you for reading. In this thread, I would like to talk about the CE not being fun. Every month I get lots of stress when I see the new dates for the CE's. I know there are a lot of CE's per month, but sadly most of them are in the evening for me and during dinnertime. Furthermore, the ones later in the evening are when I'm at work and I don't want to put off work to play in a CE. I only play CE's to get collectables and I think most players do, because I don't want to buy them from the marketplace for way too much gold. The activities can be fun sometimes, and the rewards too, but most of the time I get stressed because of the lack of time. RainTM and I have thought of something that would be way more engaging and fun, with less stress. Scrap the CE's and put more effort into the events, because I completed this month's valentines event in 2 days. There could be more quests, more minigames and more places to explore. What would also be a good idea is monthly events instead of monthly dates that are very specific. I hope this can help, and give players a better experience. (I am also happy to read other people's opinions about this topic.)

 

[Ivan_]

I think that totally scraping CEs is impossible at this point but I do believe they need a major rework asap.
It's became clear that a lot of people do CEs only to get collectables & sell them for unrealistic prices. Certain people even join with alts just so they can get even more items - which is a smart move - but i don't see a single reason why that should be possible for them.
CEs are becoming less and less about their core, which is literally community engaging. I've noticed the trend that CEs don't have much player to player interaction anymore, most of the puzzles you do alone and even asking others for help is sometimes hard.

 

[Kat Frost]

Hey Allan!

I think it was really cool of you to give honest feedback about the CE's and events, and also be willing to hear others' opinions! So I'm here to give mine.


Community Engagements
I have really been loving the Community Engagement events, especially the ones I attended today. I believe they're more for what they're named after, which is for everyone to hop in and play some games together. It's way more fun too when we're all in discord together, and we can all talk and laugh while doing the event. That being said Community Engagements are less for the collectibles or completing the tasks, but doing something fun as a community! And there is an enormous amount of effort our Inquisitors and all-around staff put into these events to make them short, sweet, and fun! So on the "Put more effort into events" part of your statement, I'll have to disagree. I see the time they take to make events not only fun, but they are always accepting feedback from students like ourselves, for topics and improvements. Now, are they usually very early in the morning (or late in the afternoon) for most people. Yes! But they still get a massive turnout and participation from most of the Potterworld community. I will be honest though and say that it is a bit early in the day for us PST people. But that is probably something out of the staff members' control or done purposefully to not get in the way of class schedules.

Valentines Event

Again, I'm will have to disagree on this point. I loved the Valentines Event, and while the quests did go by a bit quick, there was a reason they put in the house competitions at each temple. It still gives the community something to do and work on while the event goes on. And even though the map had the potential to be a bit bigger, it takes a lot of work to make all of Greece, for an event that is only lasting a couple of weeks.

End Thoughts
Overall, I agree with the times the CE events are at, but then again I understand the reasons staff did what they did. I would like to hear their feedback later! This is definitely something some students have been thinking about.

 

[Ivan_]

Hey Allan!

I think it was really cool of you to give honest feedback about the CE's and events, and also be willing to hear others' opinions! So I'm here to give mine.


Community Engagements
I have really been loving the Community Engagement events, especially the ones I attended today. I believe they're more for what they're named after, which is for everyone to hop in and play some games together. It's way more fun too when we're all in discord together, and we can all talk and laugh while doing the event. That being said Community Engagements are less for the collectibles or completing the tasks, but doing something fun as a community! And there is an enormous amount of effort our Inquisitors and all-around staff put into these events to make them short, sweet, and fun! So on the "Put more effort into events" part of your statement, I'll have to disagree. I see the time they take to make events not only fun, but they are always accepting feedback from students like ourselves, for topics and improvements. Now, are they usually very early in the morning (or late in the afternoon) for most people. Yes! But they still get a massive turnout and participation from most of the Potterworld community. I will be honest though and say that it is a bit early in the day for us PST people. But that is probably something out of the staff members' control or done purposefully to not get in the way of class schedules.

Valentines Event

Again, I'm will have to disagree on this point. I loved the Valentines Event, and while the quests did go by a bit quick, there was a reason they put in the house competitions at each temple. It still gives the community something to do and work on while the event goes on. And even though the map had the potential to be a bit bigger, it takes a lot of work to make all of Greece, for an event that is only lasting a couple of weeks.

End Thoughts
Overall, I agree with the times the CE events are at, but then again I understand the reasons staff did what they did. I would like to hear their feedback later! This is definitely something some students have been thinking about.

I don't really agree. 90% of the time in the most recent CEs, people are vanished, all of the tasks you ultimately do on you own. 90%+ of the people don't even talk in the vc.
Many many people join just for the collectables and staff know that. There was one CE in particular which happened in November or so, there were no rewards given out, and the amount of people that stayed dropped from the usual 80ish to less than 20.
I remember one of the early CEs i attended. It was very natural, we went to this housing and did tasks together, we wrote some notes and exchanged them with each other. That's what it's about, for me. I like CEs but the big reason I do them rn is for the collectables. The exclusive quests there are not that different from the ones that you do in events so why limit them to the CEs only if so much effort went in creating those as you say?

 

[Kat Frost]

I don't really agree. 90% of the time in the most recent CEs, people are vanished, all of the tasks you ultimately do on you own. 90%+ of the people don't even talk in the vc.
Many many people join just for the collectables and staff know that. There was one CE in particular which happened in November or so, there were no rewards given out, and the amount of people that stayed dropped from the usual 80ish to less than 20.
I remember one of the early CEs i attended. It was very natural, we went to this housing and did tasks together, we wrote some notes and exchanged them with each other. That's what it's about, for me. I like CEs but the big reason I do them rn is for the collectables. The exclusive quests there are not that different from the ones that you do in events so why limit them to the CEs only if so much effort went in creating those as you say?

Hey Ivan!
If some people want to go to CE's for only collectables, that is their choice entirely. But for me, that's not what it's about! I think it's totally fair to say the CE's should be more of a collaborative experience, and that's fair criticism that I agree with. But, that doesn't mean our Inquisitors and staff don't put effort into the events. I think it's unfair when you state it like that. Again, I'm awaiting the response of the staff to see if they can explain some of their choices, or plans for future events.

 

[Ivan_]

Hey Ivan!
If some people want to go to CE's for only collectables, that is their choice entirely. But for me, that's not what it's about! I think it's totally fair to say the CE's should be more of a collaborative experience, and that's fair criticism that I agree with. But, that doesn't mean our Inquisitors and staff don't put effort into the events. I think it's unfair when you state it like that. Again, I'm awaiting the response of the staff to see if they can explain some of their choices, or plans for future events.

Just to clarify something, I never said that effort isn't put in both CEs and events. My point was that CE gameplay is only limited to the CEs, therefore the effort goes into something that people can only do if they join the CE, and once the CE is over, that whole gameplay is gone, they don't recycle those quests and activities.
I believe Allan said how it's better to have those activities made for events (which are a part of long last gameplay, and everyone gets a chance to try it and spend as much time as they need) rather than having CEs that last for 1 hour and it's over + the activities in CEs are usually the standard quests that you do alone. Again, scraping CEs doesn't seem possible to me but I think they could be made with way less effort and be way more effective. And also the activities should actually involve player to player interaction in some way.

 

[Allandrk]

Just to clarify something, I never said that effort isn't put in both CEs and events. My point was that CE gameplay is only limited to the CEs, therefore the effort goes into something that people can only do if they join the CE, and once the CE is over, that whole gameplay is gone, they don't recycle those quests and activities.
I believe Allan said how it's better to have those activities made for events (which are a part of long last gameplay, and everyone gets a chance to try it and spend as much time as they need) rather than having CEs that last for 1 hour and it's over + the activities in CEs are usually the standard quests that you do alone. Again, scraping CEs doesn't seem possible to me but I think they could be made with way less effort and be way more effective. And also the activities should actually involve player to player interaction in some way.

Honestly don't know what else to say, this is really what my opinion is as well, and what I was trying to say. The CE's are very short and difficult for me and I'm sure for others to attend to. There is not much engaging. When I ask in chat where I can find a certain item, I have to ask 5 times. Everyone is in vanish and there is definetely not much going on in the VC. Also what MaiyaRae_ said about the inquisitors putting a lot of efford in, of course they do, that's their job and they love doing this. But that's the whole problem. I only see staff voting in the poll saying keep the CE's. Maybe make one of those feedback forms, to get the opinion of the players. And what I said about the event, the event is great, the map is cool, the quests are fun. But I finished it in 2 days. If there was a way to link CE's with the event that is going on and make the CE longer, wouldn't that be way more fun? Just like the hunt where you need like 5 people for one activity. That is way more engaging with the community than CE's. And to end my message I just want to say I am not saying staff don't put enough efford into the CE's or the events, I just think this can be improved a lot and can be way more fun.

 

[HektorTM]

Hi there @Allandrk,
I quickly wanted to give my thoughts on your post and wanted to clear up that the inquisitors are not the events team!
We work hard on coming up with idea for each months CE to hopefully create a fun experience for the players that decide to join the CEs.
I hope you can understand that we won't be able to scrap away a whole team to put "more work" into the events.
The events team also works super hard on their events and i really enjoyed the valentines day one. If you don't want to finish the event in 2 days you can do that. It's your own decision if you want to speed through the event or do one quest per day!

 

[EdenLovesMommy]

More skill based events like king of the egg was soooo fun bam bam I won like awesome prize and people actually liked that my only suggestion otherwise I think they are great for well community engagement

 

[Yellow_Flower]

I personally think the event this year was so creative and fun! I like that it's fast, bc it won't be stressing you out the whole month to complete it. So making the event smaller makes it more chill. It also gives an opportunity for busy players to get the most of the event.

I have to say that CE is very much fun! There's some awesome conversations in the chat while doing it. The quests are fun to do with each other too!

So something was said about the players being invisible. I find that near the end when most people are done the quests players are visible again. There's sometimes a fun photo that gets taken! I just love CE so much. I would be divested for it to be removed.

Some screenshots I got from the Christmas CE from 2021. I have to say that was my favorite one.

 

[Rain]

Alright so, I think the general idea I get from this thread is that people like the CE's. That's totally cool with Allan and me.
We made this thread to make 2 points, to change the CE's and to make more engaging events. Both Allan and I finish events very quickly, and I think most of the players do. I get that there are daily activities especially to have daily gameplay but I think they only help towards completing the main quests quicker.
Now why wouldn't there be more quests, and more engagement so the event would take longer?
I'm sorry if this is too much to ask but please have a talk about it?

 

[Ivan_]

I personally think the event this year was so creative and fun! I like that it's fast, bc it won't be stressing you out the whole month to complete it. So making the event smaller makes it more chill. It also gives an opportunity for busy players to get the most of the event.

I have to say that CE is very much fun! There's some awesome conversations in the chat while doing it. The quests are fun to do with each other too!

So something was said about the players being invisible. I find that near the end when most people are done the quests players are visible again. There's sometimes a fun photo that gets taken! I just love CE so much. I would be divested for it to be removed.

View attachment 2409
View attachment 2411

Some screenshots I got from the Christmas CE from 2021. I have to say that was my favorite one.

I mentioned players being invisible as a way to further showcase that the CE activities are not so based on the community as a whole. Some activities are purely done solo, and there are some that are somewhat community based (like the chocolate boxes from this February CE) but players are invisible and it doesn't really have much of a team work, everyone does things on their own and the only thing that is shared is the score.

 

[Allandrk]

Hi there @Allandrk,
I quickly wanted to give my thoughts on your post and wanted to clear up that the inquisitors are not the events team!
We work hard on coming up with idea for each months CE to hopefully create a fun experience for the players that decide to join the CEs.
I hope you can understand that we won't be able to scrap away a whole team to put "more work" into the events.
The events team also works super hard on their events and i really enjoyed the valentines day one. If you don't want to finish the event in 2 days you can do that. It's your own decision if you want to speed through the event or do one quest per day!

First of all, I think everyone misunderstood me. I am not saying it should be completely scrapped, and you're right they are not the event team. I also know they worked very hard for it, but I'm just giving my opinion. Yes, the event can be finished if you don't do it fast, but the amount of things you do in the event, stay the same. In pre-revelius events, lets say the dormunstrad event in 2019, you needed to put in quite a lot of time to get bluefire and unlock all the rooms, I completely loved that and I miss that kind of stuff. I just hope the events can be longer and time consuming. CE's are there but they are only for 1 hour and they start on difficult times. I hope everyone understands that I am not saying the staff team is not doing it right or not doing it good, I just hope that the events happening on the server can be a lot of fun, and that I can play it longer.

 

[Allandrk]

I personally think the event this year was so creative and fun! I like that it's fast, bc it won't be stressing you out the whole month to complete it. So making the event smaller makes it more chill. It also gives an opportunity for busy players to get the most of the event.

I have to say that CE is very much fun! There's some awesome conversations in the chat while doing it. The quests are fun to do with each other too!

So something was said about the players being invisible. I find that near the end when most people are done the quests players are visible again. There's sometimes a fun photo that gets taken! I just love CE so much. I would be divested for it to be removed.

View attachment 2409
View attachment 2411

Some screenshots I got from the Christmas CE from 2021. I have to say that was my favorite one.

No offence, but all you are basically saying is that it is so much fun and that it is creative, and I agree as I keep saying. Yes the activities are fun, but not very engaging. You also mention that there is nice conversations in chat... now I personally haven't really noticed those. I also understand you don't want to stress about the event all month, which I agree to, but isn't CE way more stressful to get to? I am a lot more stressed about getting to a CE and getting all rewards than I am finished an event that is lasting for a whole month.

 

[Poppydette]

The events can take as long as everyone wants it to to be honestly. The player has the option to pace themselves through it. While you and others were able to speedrun through it, that is not the case for everyone. I was able to get through it quickly because I am decent at elytra and was able to get the keys faster. Not everyone has the ability to do the parkours/elytra/mazes as easily to get the drachma needed to advance. I think the event is balanced to account for less experienced players and also players who have priorities outside of minecraft. Most of the players on this server are in school, many have jobs and other priorities, some are even parents. Like you mentioned above with not being able to attend the CEs because of your job, other players may not be able to dedicate the time they would like to complete the event quests as fast as they would like. If a players join the event a week after it has started then they still have the ability to complete it. I think that is why they should not add more quests the the events.
As for the CEs, I do agree that they have the potential to be more engaging. I also agree that the times can be very inconvenient to many players. Although I believe they are working on spreading the times out more.

 

[Poppydette]

First of all, I think everyone misunderstood me. I am not saying it should be completely scrapped,

Then you should change the option on your poll to "Improve the CE's" instead of "Keep the CE's" if you don't want them scrapped.

 

[Allandrk]

Then you should change the option on your poll to "Improve the CE's" instead of "Keep the CE's" if you don't want them scrapped.

yes, though I cannot change the already existing choices xD

 

[TallBlondeDude]

honestly as much hate as this thread has gotten, its got some good points. CE's are now about the collectibles. Every single one ive been to recently has had collectibles as the main thing, with engagement as the second. i think tokens are fine, but its gotten a bit out of hand. Im reminded of the time we all had to bake and the winner got a prize - we had no control over our teams, no method of team only communication, and all together it just felt like rng to get put on the winning team. we then went and did a scavenger hunt - which did have communication (sharing the answers so we could all get the collectible, our main goal). compare this to an early one, that we all stood around someone's house and played the "write one page of the story" game, which was pretty cool and i met new people. should ce's be removed and is that team responsible for events? No. does that invalidate this thread? IMO no.

 

[Allandrk]

The events can take as long as everyone wants it to to be honestly. The player has the option to pace themselves through it. While you and others were able to speedrun through it, that is not the case for everyone. I was able to get through it quickly because I am decent at elytra and was able to get the keys faster. Not everyone has the ability to do the parkours/elytra/mazes as easily to get the drachma needed to advance. I think the event is balanced to account for less experienced players and also players who have priorities outside of minecraft. Most of the players on this server are in school, many have jobs and other priorities, some are even parents. Like you mentioned above with not being able to attend the CEs because of your job, other players may not be able to dedicate the time they would like to complete the event quests as fast as they would like. If a players join the event a week after it has started then they still have the ability to complete it. I think that is why they should not add more quests the the events.
As for the CEs, I do agree that they have the potential to be more engaging. I also agree that the times can be very inconvenient to many players. Although I believe they are working on spreading the times out more.

I agree, those are some good points. Though, wouldn't it be great if there was some sort of balance? So players who don't have much time can finish it quickly but players who do have a lot of time have more to play? I'm not sure how this would be possible but we can always get new ideas.

 

[snotflower]

hii i like the discussion going on here and i'd just like to add a few points

i'd just like to remind everyone that the staff members are volunteers! they're taking time out of their own, personal busy schedules to create fun events for players. there's only so much they can do in preparation, and there's SOOOO much behind the scenes that we don't know about, from just coming up with the ideas, to actually creating the content and working on the gameplay, to making sure there aren't bugs. it takes a lot of time!!!

as for events, there are ALWAYS going to be people who can speedrun through an event in a day or so, unless there's an impassable cool-down on event quests, which players would also probably complain about if it was implemented. this is just because there are players who will spend hours getting through all the content, and that can't be changed no matter what.

more balance might seem good hypothetically, but it will never be enough to be satisfying. for players that can play it all in a day, they will need infinitely more things to do. for players that don't have that time, they will be losing out on more and more content, which i think is unfair. there's always going to have to be a line to draw, and there's always going to be players on either side of that line.

as for CEs, i think you said it yourself- collectibles seem to be the way to get the most people "engaged", even if it's not in the sense you want it. if only 20 people come when there are no collectibles, and it maxes out almost instantly when there ARE collectibles, i think it's obvious what the decision is going to be. while that means they may have had to sacrifice some of the "community" aspect of it, i still think it's really fun to gather with everyone and just spend some time with the largest crowd i've ever been in on PW.

all in all, there are some great points being made in this thread! but i'd just like to reiterate that there is and always will be a line that has to be drawn, and there will always be people on either side. what's satisfying for you is completely different for another player. i personally really enjoy the events and CEs, and while there can always be improvements, i think they are already pretty great as they are.