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Stuff I'm still trying to find

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 8:43 pm
by Rick
Sugar Cookies and Candy Canes: A seasonal treat? A gift from the Creator? A random or unique drop? If the latter, is there a good place to look? Or something else entirely? Will I be rewarded by patience or should I make an offering to the Swap Shop Gods?

Thanks

Rick

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 8:48 pm
by Mad Merlin
Respectively, yes, yes, no.

There's a fair number of both in circulation, but barring any future additions, you'll have to trade for them if you want them.

Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:43 am
by Will
Mad Merlin wrote:There's a fair number of both in circulation, but barring any future additions, you'll have to trade for them if you want them.
Interesting. All this time, I've been trying to cook these items. Are you saying that there is no recipe to make a Sugar Cookie or a Candy Cane?

Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 5:29 pm
by Mad Merlin
Will wrote:
Mad Merlin wrote:There's a fair number of both in circulation, but barring any future additions, you'll have to trade for them if you want them.
Interesting. All this time, I've been trying to cook these items. Are you saying that there is no recipe to make a Sugar Cookie or a Candy Cane?
Yes. (Are you even more curious now what the Packrat Trainee knows that you don't?)

Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:13 pm
by keybounce
Mad Merlin wrote:Respectively, yes, yes, no.

There's a fair number of both in circulation, but barring any future additions, you'll have to trade for them if you want them.
But if these are food items, won't they be eaten and then gone?

Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:43 pm
by Mad Merlin
keybounce wrote:
Mad Merlin wrote:Respectively, yes, yes, no.

There's a fair number of both in circulation, but barring any future additions, you'll have to trade for them if you want them.
But if these are food items, won't they be eaten and then gone?
That's part of the fun, some people are bigger packrats than others.

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:14 am
by kariloy
I iz a HUGE packrat :D

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:00 am
by Will
Does the "Fun Sized" Candy fit into the same category as the Sugar Cookie and Candy Cane?

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 1:17 pm
by Mad Merlin
Will wrote:Does the "Fun Sized" Candy fit into the same category as the Sugar Cookie and Candy Cane?
Yes.

Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 4:22 pm
by technohat
Does the Tiny Horse Shaped Chocolate also fall under this category?

Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 9:32 pm
by Mad Merlin
technohat wrote:Does the Tiny Horse Shaped Chocolate also fall under this category?
Yes.

Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 11:30 pm
by technohat
While I like the idea of giving players gifts on holidays and such, without a way for players to acquire these items without having to buy them off other players it comes across as a penalty to new players of Game! Since there is a finite supply of them, many new players would be unable to "collect them all". For example, if there were 100 players when you give out a particular item and then you get a sudden influx of new players and the number of players jumps to 200, half your player base would be unable to get a complete set. Some suggestions on how to do this would be:

A) Have the player be able to trade with the Master Pack Rat for these items.

B) Have a prize vending machine like one of those with plastic eggs in them. You put a certain amount of money in and get some cheap prize, but every once in a while a gold egg pops out with a rare item.

C) Have a character called the Hidden Hermit hiding somewhere in Game!. When you find him he gives you one of the rare items and then hides himself somewhere else, forcing you to find him again.

D) Have an item called the fishing rod. Sometimes when you visit the Quest Master with the fishing rod in your inventory, he'll ask to borrow it. When you come back later, he'll give you back the fishing rod as well as all the junk he caught while trying to catch fish.

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 1:51 am
by PopeInnocent
The Pack Rat Trainee says, "Hey cool, you're only missing X items," implying that these seasonal gifts are among the items the Pack Rat Trainee expects you to have, which is an unreasonable expectation of new players.

Perhaps (s)he could have a fourth line of text, similar to "I've heard rumors of Y items that have appeared in backpacks when the stars aligned" or "Oho, you've accumulated an impressive array of X windfall items, of the rumored Y possible," depending on if the player has any of these windfall items at all.

In short, while I disagree with technohat that these items penalize new players and should be made available to everyone (since they're a useful measure of how long you've been around Game!), I agree that a "0 item missing" rating should be possible from the Pack Rat Trainee for new players.

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 2:59 pm
by Mad Merlin
While I can see both points of view, I've intentionally given the so called "windfall" items relatively low inherent value (most are food with fairly low nourishment). Certainly, it makes collecting a full set of items more difficult and in that way, harms those with OCD, but it shouldn't really inhibit gameplay otherwise.

I'm not opposed to making some of the windfall items available through regular (albeit, inconvenient and/or extraordinary) means, but I wouldn't do that for all of them.

I do agree that the Pack Rat Trainee's wording should be tweaked to consider the windfall items as a special category of item. Both to accentuate the accomplishment of getting them and to note for those without them that they're special.

Also worth noting is that some of the windfall items have been given out in multiples instead of just singles. Fun Sized Candy in particular springs to mind, some characters received as many as half a dozen of these.

Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 5:43 am
by technohat
I'm not opposed to making some of the windfall items available through regular (albeit, inconvenient and/or extraordinary) means, but I wouldn't do that for all of them.
I'm all for making them available via inconvenient and/or extraordinary means. The act of acquiring a squashed bug however should remain the same as that is a special case.

Giving players a goal (ie collect them all) and then after they've spent months maybe years playing the game and then they realize they can't complete said goal is a surefire way to get people to quit playing and not come back.

As long as the items are available in some way, the player won't feel like it's an unfair challenge. They don't even have to be easy to acquire and in fact probably shouldn't be. As long as the player can look at the challenge and go "If I put a bit of work into this I can complete it." they will rise to the challenge. But if they realize it's impossible or so hard that it's practically impossible they are going to lose interest and stop playing.
In short, while I disagree with technohat that these items penalize new players and should be made available to everyone (since they're a useful measure of how long you've been around Game!)
A more useful measure for how long you've been in game! would be a trophy room where everyone is listed on particular trophies. ie 1 year players, 2 year players, 5 year players, etc.