Handouts for European timezone players

Lyxx

Expert
Unfortunately that's the problem non North American players are going to face playing any shard based out of the US. With manpower limitations as they are you aren't going to see events held across all time zones. Just isn't feasible.

Even with manpower constrants, it shouldn't be too difficult to set up different times for the handouts. You can basically alter between US and European times every second time a handout happens.

Now I've only been speaking for the European timezone, but I believe also Asian and Australian players have the same problems, so maybe there should be an alternation of three timeslots? What do you think?

The reasoning would be fair based upon the fact that we are also supporting the server from the different timezones. For example, I have donated for 50k dono coins and will probably be donating more, and it doesn't seem that these donations are valued in the same manner as your US ones - at least it feels strange to be bypassed on an ongoing basis when it's time to celebrate the shard.
 

Kael

Master
Even with manpower constrants, it shouldn't be too difficult to set up different times for the handouts. You can basically alter between US and European times every second time a handout happens.

Now I've only been speaking for the European timezone, but I believe also Asian and Australian players have the same problems, so maybe there should be an alternation of three timeslots? What do you think?

The reasoning would be fair based upon the fact that we are also supporting the server from the different timezones. For example, I have donated for 50k dono coins and will probably be donating more, and it doesn't seem that these donations are valued in the same manner as your US ones - at least it feels strange to be bypassed on an ongoing basis when it's time to celebrate the shard.

It's a North American shard owned by a Canadian. Of course everything will be on North American time zones. If I played a European shard I would expect to miss a lot of the events as well. It sucks but them the breaks. I thought with @drinn you may see different events at different times but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
 

drinn

Grandmaster
When we go to date @Lyxx ? :rolleyes:

I thought with @drinn you may see different events at different times but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

I tried having more EU-timed events, but working from different timezones is pretty difficult. US prime time happens, when I am sleeping and EU prime time, when they are waking up, or at work. The Vesper invasion was good for all timezones as it was weeks-long, so every one were able to participate to it.

The best time for everyone could be around 22-00 EU time, which is 15-17 in EST time.

What comes to this topic I would say no, because Americans will set up their chars idle there as well, so they and everyone will get handouts twice. So, this idea wouldn't make any difference there.
 

Lyxx

Expert
When we go to date @Lyxx ? :rolleyes:

What comes to this topic I would say no, because Americans will set up their chars idle there as well, so they and everyone will get handouts twice. So, this idea wouldn't make any difference there.

We go on a date when you demonstrate some value, lol...

Yeah, but that was not the proposal I mentioned in my last post, which was that handout timeslots can alternate between US and EU.

@Kael

There is nothing "of course" with that. And maybe if this shard is actually promoted as a global game, the owner might have even more customers with donations. Your strategy is pretty shortsighted, and also it doesn't answer my suggestion of alternating timezones.
 

Mango

Grandmaster
They could always give the handouts to any account logged in within X amount of hours of the handout time.

Good thing though is that these handouts don't sell for much usually. Just nice pieces for house deco ^_^
 

drinn

Grandmaster
They could always give the handouts to any account logged in within X amount of hours of the handout time.

Good thing though is that these handouts don't sell for much usually. Just nice pieces for house deco ^_^

They will sell in the future though, if we look at for example Lord British torches. :)

But yup that should be somewhat easy to script. Nice idea. But then again they get the handout twice, if they happen to be online during the US prime time too... accounts should somehow be registered to different timezones maybe through checking IP address locations, but there we have the problem with VPNs lol.

Impossible to do it equally that way. The only way is to do the handout only once at some time, which staff should announce to everyone, so players know, when to be online. When to set chars idle to WBB
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Lyxx

Expert
I could understand the difficulty if these handouts were every day, but that's not the case. How often are these handouts? Not very often, once every third month? I don't understand the argument that some people can get it twice, because there's only one handout. And with alternating primetimes, then a handout in January could be scheduled in US primetime, and then if there is a handout in April, schedule it in European time, and then one in July could be US time again. Then no one gets two handouts. The issue of people receiving two handouts could only happen if two handouts take place in one day, but I have moved the discussion away from that approach since it seems that making sure an account only gets a handout once isn't easy to script.
 

drinn

Grandmaster
I could understand the difficulty if these handouts were every day, but that's not the case. How often are these handouts? Not very often, once every third month? I don't understand the argument that some people can get it twice, because there's only one handout. And with alternating primetimes, then a handout in January could be scheduled in US primetime, and then if there is a handout in April, schedule it in European time, and then one in July could be US time again. Then no one gets two handouts. The issue of people receiving two handouts could only happen if two handouts take place in one day, but I have moved the discussion away from that approach since it seems that making sure an account only gets a handout once isn't easy to script.

The problem is in that handout system how to give them out to players. Let's say we could make it in a way that players can claim their handout rewards, when ever they are online.

But then we would not get as many players as possible to idle at WBB and feel the nostalgia from OSI. UOF would be left without promo marketing material and UOF is the only shard keeping UO alive at the moment. That is a fact.

How would staff announce those separate dates? Would the handouts happen during those days random and hidden times? If they announced those times to everyone we had the same problem players getting two handouts. Then rewards should be different and handouts should be like according to European feasts. Not just US related.
 

Lyxx

Expert
I didn't suggest an approach of claiming the handout reward whenever a player is online. I suggested alternating between US and EU primetime.
 

MANKRIK

Grandmaster
On the day of a handout, or even several days prior, have a login message with gump where players can select whether they wish to receive it during US or EU primetime hours. So if you are a US player you would log in and see something like "tomorrow is our 3rd anniversary, please select your timezone for the handout", you select US and will be registered to receive the handout at 7pm server time (for example). If you select EU you will be registered to receive it during primetime EU hours. Of course this is provided you're online and you won't know the exact time of the handout.
 

Kael

Master
Where does the majority of the player base come from? If there is a significant European player base then there could be a case for a EU event coordinator. If there isn't then perhaps it just isn't that important for them. If I joined an Asian shard I would expect them to hold events to cater to the majority of their player base.
 

Lyxx

Expert
There's been some good suggestions in this thread, thanks for your contributions everyone, I guess it's up to the admins now. As for the tissue for issues suggestion, I like that as well. I certainly wouldn't mind getting tissues for my issues when I miss out on handouts cus of timezone discrimination. :p
 

Me so hungry!

Neophyte
Mmmm bacon....ops wrong thread...isnt it possible that when a handout is made there is a claiming bump for like 24 hours that will popup when you logg in, so when handouts are made there is a 24hours timer from when it first was given, and everyone would have the chance to get it during thier normal gametimes ? Tobad if you are gone away during those 24 hours, you wont get anything. Once claimed it will be registered on the account and you cant claim it again.
 
Top