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Just a thought.
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Delvin
Delvin
Well-Connected

Oct-25-2004 11:41

Everyday, the treasure hunts seems to be a "top 10 agencys" contest. Both in terms of participation and winning. It is always the same agencys competiting. A few smaller and newer ones may compete but they always had this partern: they are newly formed, are eager to try the hunt but after awhile when they realised they can't win, they all just give up. The hunt may be based a large part on luck but a 12 members agency with more favors surely had a better chance than a 4 members agency. For these agencys, paying for the information is as good as a donation. I was told that only winner get the fame points. So i had a suggestion: how about awarding fame points to those who had gain percentage towards the hunt too. Eg. in a 500 fame pts hunt. winner gets the full points while agency that is 20%, gain 20% of 500 divided by 4. This way, the winner still win much more pts then agency who got 80%, they win only 0.8*500/4= 100 pts. I felt this could encourage the smaller agency to play the hunt as there is a reward for it. They may not win the hunt but with the potential fame pts gain, they will want to gain pts to compete against other smaller agency. Thanks.

Replies

Sleuth Admin
Sleuth Admin
Tale Spinner

Nov-18-2004 09:14

How about this:

I could change the rules so that the smallest hunts (the ones that only take 4 or 5 favors) can only be entered by newer and smaller agencies.

For example:

4 favor hunts could only be started by agencies that are less than a month old and have 5 or less agents.

5 favor hunts could only be started by agencies that are less than 2 months old and have 8 or less agents.

Do those numbers sound fair?

Sleuth Admin
Sleuth Admin
Tale Spinner

Nov-18-2004 09:15

It might also be a good idea to add high score lists based on agency age.

Delvin
Delvin
Well-Connected

Nov-18-2004 09:40

I was thinking of everyone playing the same hunt but seems a seperate hunt is a more popular idea. I will support this idea then :) Just one question, there are 2 rules u suggested: age and no. of members. Do agencys have to fulfil just one or both. because if agency have to fulful BOTH rules then those who are old but would like to maintain their small number of members will be stuck! They can't join the small hunt and no intention to join the big hunt. :)

jstkdn
jstkdn
Well-Connected

Nov-18-2004 09:50

There are a few cons:

1. A big agency can still be a small agency. I.e. one without a lot of active players. In that sense a small agency has just as much chance to win. I think many of the top 10 agencies don't have all active players.

2. It is not required to come in to the top 10 with all active players, or by winning treasure hunts. Look at Demons deed. It wasn't until last week we started to do better. But before that we won 2 treasure hunts since May.

3. I think it gives the small agencies an unfair advantage to increase money and fame points. That the bigger agencies never were had the opportunity for.

4. The more experienced players, play on rediculously. Takes a lot longer to do, to advance to a treasure hunt. Plus their treasure hunts are on incredibly hard.

5. Taking away the easier hunts. Takes away a lot of fun for the top 10 agencies. As they are all competing for the big hunts, and then automatically the agency with all active players win. And the big small, agencies don't stand a chance.

Consider the big agency that can still be small. Those that did months of work to build an agency, in order to win a treasure hunt. I think the new agencies should be a bit more patient, like the now big agencies also always had to be.
And being a top 10 agency, doesn't mean you win treasure hunts. We still need to do the same work required as for ANY agency. We don't have that unfair of an advantage. I don't think the old agencies, win treasure hunts because they are old. I think they win them, because they work hard! And have worked out, winning no hunts, to get to that point.





jstkdn
jstkdn
Well-Connected

Nov-18-2004 09:54

Give them treasure hunts that don't count for fame, or treasure hunt count, just some money to build their agency.

NONE of the top 10 agencies won treasure hunts, when they were building their agency, even when Swan and ERF started, they could not beat Chicago and Kitten at first. They eventually did, even without being in the top 10. I don't see why it should be made easier for new agencies now. TO progress easily in fame points, without having done the hard work and competing all other top agencies did. Look at the top 7, these were not the first generation agencies.

jstkdn
jstkdn
Well-Connected

Nov-18-2004 10:00

Look at Star, they are a fairly new agency and won 2 treasure hunts, and are a big agency. They just did a LOT of work, and a LOT of recruiting, and a LOT of good playing.

Moonshh
Moonshh
Well-Connected

Nov-18-2004 13:02

Well, treasure is certainly a topic that provokes strong response! I remember when The Underground had not won a single treasure yet, how hard we all worked. It was great to have a distant goal to strive for. So making it too easy for a new agency or a small agency might not actually be as much fun for them.

And jstkdn has a point. Although we are a large agency, only a few of us are actually playing at the moment, due to this strange malady some characters are suffering from called "real life."

I think we would be very disappointed if we were suddenly allowed to participate in fewer hunts. It would feel, I dunno, sort of like we were being punished for having gotten where we are?

And while I think a glut of treasure on the marketplace, or a glut of hunts, makes it less meaningful to win, we are certainly feeling the competition as things stand! We work HARD and LONG for the treasure we gain.

Still, I wonder if there might not be a new category of some kind, a new kind of task that isn't a treasure hunt, or a less valuable treasure, that could be closed to those agencies with too many fame points and/or treasures already won.

Just like we can't play the beginner cases anymore. It could even be a bit silly, like the names in the easier cases. "The Terrible Quandary of the Tailor's Lost Library Book," or, "I went to the Barbershop to ask if there was a favor I could do for Octavia. She told me that she had misplaced her car keys again, and she thought she might have left them on the counter at the Butcher's. Perhaps if I were to do a favor for him...." and so on.

I think those could be fun romps! They could even be long ones, just closed to some agencies who have already achieved too much.

Any takers?

jstkdn
jstkdn
Well-Connected

Nov-18-2004 13:47

I just went through a rampage on this on our agency message board. It took us SIX MONTHS to build TAFKADD, with the money, the equipment, the hiring and firing to get to a good group....to have a shot at the easy treasure hunts ourselves. For them to potentially be taken away for a potential SIX DAY old agency. To easily reap money, fame points, treasure hunt scores.

I am having my 200 day birthday in here. When TAFKADD and for instance Black Swan started at number 20 in line, we had to compete with Meyers, Thomkins, Fat Kitten, Chicago as top 5 agencies. When ERF and the Underground were created, they had to deal with ALL of them. We still have those long term agencies calling it quits, making room for others. In the past two weeks we saw ERF and Lone Woolf go off the board. And even other agencies (including top 10 ones) are almost inactive. There are few top 10 agencies that have all active agents. Actually, we have won our treasure hunts with less then 5 people playing, and even won them with only 3 on.

If people want to win treasure hunts. The best advise is to join an older agency. Or apply for jobs, with active treasure hunt players, or larger active agencies.

If you want to build your own agency, to a point of winning treasure hunts. Then BUILD it. We all had to.

Sure I can understand how frustrating it is, you want to have them NOW! I know few people that had return of investment on their new IRL business in 4 days, also know few people that got a college education in 4 days, or built Rome in 1 day. All these things take effort and patience. As they have done so, by all people before you. They did not have a better deal then you, when they started. They even did it without anyone advising them, a newbie thread, no Lucy, no super duper equipment, or hand outs from others.

Realistically, we had no worse disadvantage then you when most top 10 agencies started. Also then there were 30 agencies or so.



jstkdn
jstkdn
Well-Connected

Nov-18-2004 13:49

I am a taker on Moonssh idea. Good way to practice treasure hunts. Let it be for money, to build the agency, and pay for falses. But not for fame, treasure hunt numbers achieved.

Rivergallery
Rivergallery

Nov-18-2004 14:07

Maybe a small ribbon can go in the trophy case ;)

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