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DrElmer
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DrElmer
552 posts
Shepherd

It came as quite a shock to me when I logged in several weeks ago for the first time in over a year and all of my points were missing, but the most shocking part to me now is that there still isn't really a point system in place. Yes, there are quests, but that's just one number among many that could be utilized, and it's limited by how many quests are available.

I'm wondering, essentially, if there will be a new point system at some point, or if what we see here now is all there is.

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CherryCoke360
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CherryCoke360
407 posts
Nomad

I dont know anything about the old point system, but if the admins have any plans for a new system they probably wont reveal anything until its finished.

DrElmer
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DrElmer
552 posts
Shepherd

Admins can be very secretive, no matter where you go. All I'm really wondering is if they have something in mind that they're working on or planning to work on in the future.

R2D21999
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R2D21999
18,319 posts
Treasurer

I don't know about anything about the future, but there is a quests leaderboard. Alot easier to get to the top now than it was with AP before.

gh0sts
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gh0sts
865 posts
Shepherd

It would be interesting to see a point system that included forum posts as well as quests. I've been to a few much smaller game sites that use this technique.

Ernie15
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Ernie15
13,344 posts
Bard

Judging by how long this site had a point system, by how popular it was and active the community was when there was a point system, and how well other game sites do with working point systems, I would doubt that AG would just give up on having some kind of point system. We're probably just still in the transition period.

Alot easier to get to the top now than it was with AP before.


On the contrary, it's impossibly hard to get to the top if you don't have any legacy quests. The Hero Board favors users who were active before the close of the AP system and successful in gaining AP. There is no way a user who joined in 2013 can top the Hero Board unless everyone with legacy quests stops earning game quests. Judging by how unfair this system is, I'm going to go out on a limb and say there will be more to this system as time goes on.

It would be interesting to see a point system that included forum posts as well as quests.


This was part of the old AP system.

For those of you who signed up after 2012, this is what the AP system looked like:

2 AP for every game rated.
2 AP for every comment, whether it be on a game or on someone's profile.
1 AP for every forum post.
20 AP for every game submitted.
25 AP for every merit earned.

It was a great system, except for the fact that it was incredibly easy to abuse. Personally, I would be most interested in seeing some kind of combination of the old system with the new quest system.

But we'll have to wait and see what the admins have in store for us.
Salvidian
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Salvidian
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Farmer

For those of you who signed up after 2012


I think you mean 2013, haha.

Anyhow, adding to what Ernie has said, there has been a lot of talk about adding some sort of point system in the community. Personally I'm not sure if there is an ideal system out there, but I'm partial to some sort of "x posts" Quests. While it may not increase overall forum quality, it would probably increase forum activity (more so than anything else, in my opinion). And one can hope that a few diamonds that venture in here decide to stay and contribute nice things instead of spamming 100 posts for the Quest. Or you could even argue that when one posts here for a while they begin to form an attachment.
DrElmer
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DrElmer
552 posts
Shepherd

Personally, I would be most interested in seeing some kind of combination of the old system with the new quest system.


If the old system were to be combined with quests, some things would have to go. Games rated would be removed as a means of points, as it is merely a way to earn free points without contributing anything. The people who do rate games will do it with or without a reward. Comments would also be removed from the point category, as it will only encourage people with nothing to say to say unnecessary things, as in leave comments on games that don't mean anything, or say hi to people for a few free points. There's no reason to award points for games submitted, either, because I've yet to see a developer who has earned more than a few quests and posts regularly in the forums.

A basic working point system would involve forum posts, merits, and quests. Obviously it would be more complex than that, but those three elements, possibly along with others depending on what features arise in the future, would be a reasonably good basis for a new point system. I can't begin to theorize how they would be divvied up since I'm only a chef, but these are my thoughts on what our new point system could ideally look like.
daleks
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daleks
3,766 posts
Chamberlain

Alot easier to get to the top now than it was with AP before.

Alot
Also, it was pretty easy to get to the top with AP. You just had to be active.
I think you mean 2013, haha.

My memory is bad but wasn't it at the very beginning of 2013 that quests came out? That means except for the first few days of 2013, if you made your account after 2012 you would have only seen quests.
Salvidian
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Salvidian
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Farmer

My memory is bad but wasn't it at the very beginning of 2013 that quests came out? That means except for the first few days of 2013, if you made your account after 2012 you would have only seen quests.


Mid-January, so yeah I guess.
Ernie15
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Ernie15
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Bard

Personally I'm not sure if there is an ideal system out there, but I'm partial to some sort of "x posts" Quests.


This could work, but it could also have a bit of an odd effect. If you had a quest for, say, 100 posts, 500 posts, 1,000 posts, 2,500 posts, 5,000 posts, and 10,000 posts, it would hardly make a difference on the leaderboard. The top two on the Hero Board, currently @Gantic and @MrDayCee, would only be higher up, while the other people up there who don't post often would only have a longer way to go. 500 posts is not something you can do in a couple weeks; at least, not anymore. You really have to commit to being an active member of the community, and the people who choose to do that will generally not be the same people who want to earn every quest they can.

There's no reason to award points for games submitted, either, because I've yet to see a developer who has earned more than a few quests and posts regularly in the forums.


That, and the fact that I'm sure no developer has ever created an entire game just to earn 20 points on one site.

A basic working point system would involve forum posts, merits, and quests.


This is an idea I can get behind, but of course the values would have to be changed so that neither the hardcore quest-ers nor the extreme forum-a-holics would have a significant advantage over the other group. If forum posts are set at one point, an easy quest could be set at, say, 100 points, while medium could be set at around 250 and hard could be around 500. The values may be a bit high, as they're only placeholders for an example, but something along those lines would work as a sufficient point system.

As for legacy quests, they would count for less than regular quests, but ideally they would increase in value as they got higher in rank (i.e. Wood Serf - 25 points, Iron Serf - 50 points, Gold Serf - 100 points, Wood Squire - 150, etc.).

My memory is bad but wasn't it at the very beginning of 2013 that quests came out?


January 17, 2013

There's no date on that page, unfortunately. You'll have to take my word for it.
xXxDAPRO89xXx
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xXxDAPRO89xXx
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Baron

But we welcome feedback!


I love that as I'm reading through... We've been giving tons of feedback yet nothing has come about.
gh0sts
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gh0sts
865 posts
Shepherd

This is an idea I can get behind, but of course the values would have to be changed so that neither the hardcore quest-ers nor the extreme forum-a-holics would have a significant advantage over the other group. If forum posts are set at one point, an easy quest could be set at, say, 100 points, while medium could be set at around 250 and hard could be around 500.


This would work for a while, but eventually there would be so many quests that the amount of points awarded for quests would completely overshadow the points awarded for posts, and quest-earners who are active in the community would have little to no advantage over quest-earners who don't post at all.
DrElmer
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DrElmer
552 posts
Shepherd

This is an idea I can get behind, but of course the values would have to be changed so that neither the hardcore quest-ers nor the extreme forum-a-holics would have a significant advantage over the other group. If forum posts are set at one point, an easy quest could be set at, say, 100 points, while medium could be set at around 250 and hard could be around 500.


Well of course. Setting quests and posts at the same values would defeat the purpose of having the quests in the first place. The entire system would be based off posts, and the games themselves would be left out of the whole thing.

I love that as I'm reading through... We've been giving tons of feedback yet nothing has come about.


Where in the hell did you find that quote about feedback?
Ernie15
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Ernie15
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Bard

This would work for a while, but eventually there would be so many quests that the amount of points awarded for quests would completely overshadow the points awarded for posts, and quest-earners who are active in the community would have little to no advantage over quest-earners who don't post at all.


It doesn't really matter how many quests there are. Yes, it's true that someone with 1,500 quests and 0 posts will have significantly more points than someone with 10,000 posts and no quests, but that would be just one case of two extremes. That user with 1,500 quests and 0 posts would be at a disadvantage compared to a user with the same amount of quests and a much higher post count.

The system would be fairly well balanced because it would favor users who not only perform well in games, but are also active in the community. Earning quests would rank you up more quickly, but you wouldn't be able to get to the top without being an active member of the community.
CherryCoke360
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CherryCoke360
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Nomad

If there is a system, will it be entirely based on quests including new types of quests or will there be other features?

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