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Fixing the Trial System; Part Deux

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Welcome to the Fixing the Trial System, part two!

We had a lot of interesting discussion in the first thread and got to know a lot of your opinions and frustrations. We know what whatever is ultimately chosen is going to upset some people and make others happy. I do want to reassure everyone that changes are reversable. If we discover that whatever is changed isn't working the way it should or having a negative effect, we can always change it back and try something else.

As you can see by the new poll, we've narrowed down the options to three choices. These were the most supported options, but with a bit of a twist.

Option 1: Limit the number of dogs each person can enter into a trial to 2.
This will put a stop to "trial teams" which is the main way players create for themselves 3 sure wins in trials that run quickly, and therefore a massive influx of cash. Running trial teams is not realistic in the slightest and isn't very sporting. By forcing players to compete with each other, the game dynamic of trialing becomes more competitive and realigns Alacrity with its original vision.

Option 2: Increase the Energy Cost by trial tier.
This option will more effectively limit the number of times a dog can compete each day. The original suggestion put a hard cap on the number of trials dogs could run each day, but a player gave us this much more fair option. This will not render energy companions useless in terms of trialing, but will ultimately slow down how many trials run as dogs progress into higher trial tiers. Below is the suggested energy cost per tier:

Dogbert: 20 Energy
Scooby: 25 Energy
Odie: 30 Energy
Toto: 35 Energy
Marley: 40 Energy
Otis: 50 Energy
Gommit: 55 Energy
Snoopy: 60 Energy

Keep in mind that as you go up trial levels, prize payouts also increase.

Option 3: Both Option 1 and Option 2.
This option will both put a limit on the number of dogs a play can enter into individual trials, as well as increase energy costs per trial tier.

This will be the final round of voting before changes are implemented. We truly do value your opinions, so please don't be shy about posting them here :) Just remember to keep opinions and responses kind and courteous -- not everyone will agree with you!

06-8-2012 at 6:42 PM

they arn't gonna take there money outta the banks for trials now that they can't make it back they are only gonna horde it. Let me explain this simpler, that money is theirs. they have it. they earned it. what they decide to do with it is none of yours or my business. If you want to "hord" money (crazy me i call it saveing) fell free to. You have that option. If people dont want to pay to run a dog that wont win, thats just flat out smart commen sence. I dont see a problem with them not wanting to throw there money out the window.

05-30-2012 at 5:10 PM

i still wish it would go back to as it was people arn't gonna spend houres trialing and they arn't gonna take there money outta the banks for trials now that they can't make it back they are only gonna horde it more none of the prices have gone down and honestly that should have been a instant thing no so expensive that people can't or don't want to buy them

05-25-2012 at 5:42 PM

the higher ones (Otis, for example) are brutal. You can't enter a non-over-the-cap dog in one of those trials or you're guaranteed to lose. my Demi is in Otis hes not a caped dog, but he gets 3rd or 2nd same with Champ. So now I'm stuck with less money and the prices are still up, what means collecting items has become about impossible for me. Of course those who always hoarded the money could still get them. Well, I'll be money hoarding now, too ITS THEIR MONEY!!! what they do with THEIR money is really none of your consirn.

05-19-2012 at 10:05 AM

I agree. :3 Maybe not a lot, like half a point in a stat per entry, but something nonetheless. I have about ten dogs that I only use for breeding because their TPs would hardly get them past Dogbert, but if they could boost, it'd be easier to get them in. Dogberts seem to go fairly quickly, but not more than three or four at a time. Snoopy I haven't been in for awhile, but I'd guess it's similar. Otis however, is so slow, or it's mostly monster dogs. Still, with a halfway trained capped, 900 and 2100 TP dog team, I'm pulling in a good amount of money and places, mostly first or third, but I'm a bit afraid to get past otis. :C edit; I've got a 968 TP and a 2101 TP, and had an 1101 TP all maxed in Toto, and I haven't pulled in a win since they got there. :|

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2012-05-30 17:39:25 by #22419

05-18-2012 at 3:00 PM

That's a good idea, Metal. However, I have heard that the lower trials are working better but speaking from experience, the higher ones (Otis, for example) are brutal. You can't enter a non-over-the-cap dog in one of those trials or you're guaranteed to lose.

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2012-05-19 07:17:11 by #5484

05-18-2012 at 12:27 PM

I didn't really think the prices were going to be getting down immediately after the fix but I don't see that this fix is working in anyway. There are barely trials to enter. No one wants to be the one losing every time! No one wants to enter non-capped into a trial first, unless it's on the first two levels but it's quiet even there. This is starting to look less and less like an agility game. I think there should be some better bonus for losing; like far more TP added to the losing dogs so it would encourage people to trial their lower TP dogs despite not winning ala$.

05-10-2012 at 5:36 PM

"but everyone was under the impression that this would come into effect AS SOON AS the trial system changed. " I wasnt.

05-10-2012 at 4:23 PM

You know, this feels like we have been tricked. I hate it when people do that. It is like some vague promise that sometime something will happen but it never might. Just like parents do when they are sidestepping their children's wishes. No, you never set a date, but everyone was under the impression that this would come into effect AS SOON AS the trial system changed. So now I'm stuck with less money and the prices are still up, what means collecting items has become about impossible for me. Of course those who always hoarded the money could still get them. Well, I'll be money hoarding now, too. And it also takes me ages to enter because I need to wait for there to be at least 1 dog in the trials, usually 3 because my accounts don't have an equal amount of dogs in the levels, and ones mine can beat. I am trying for over 3 hrs now to find trials for my dogs that make sense but I get either crowded once I start entering or it is all monster dogs. So very frustrating. It makes me want to throw something against the wall. I'm beginning to wonder if the whole thing is worth it anymore and that's even more frustrating. Sometimes I am getting tired at the thought of logging in.

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2012-05-10 16:24:36 by #7039

05-4-2012 at 3:07 PM

If I don't check the other dogs, how in the world would I make any money? I was pointing out a reason as to why you may take as long as you do to trial. :) I don't check the TP of other trial dogs, and I lose money sometimes. The prices in the monthly shop are still the same, too, for the second month now, despite the promises that they would go down The promise was that the price in the monthly shop would go down as the cash in the economy went down. If you can find a post or a quote where a staff member states a specific date as to when the prices will go down, please link it, but as far as I know it has to do with the economy (which has $1,295,439,653 in circulation).

05-4-2012 at 1:49 PM

If I don't check the other dogs, how in the world would I make any money? I do not even make a quarter as much now and find I'm getting short on cash quick unless I never buy anything anymore. The prices in the monthly shop are still the same, too, for the second month now, despite the promises that they would go down, so I can't even afford them and I'm mainly a collector. Which is really a big disappointment.

05-2-2012 at 2:34 PM

not that i check the tp of other dogs but until recently i had 80 trial able dogs and have sold 10 and still takes me hours to trial them all you figure 2 dogs per trial at 25 energy each that means 2 dogs take 4 trials and i had 80 so that's 320 trials i had to enter it takes forever vs with the trial teams i could enter 5 dogs so it's 20 dogs for 4 trial's making it 16 total trials run ... 320 vs 16.... that's a BIG difference in time

04-26-2012 at 4:44 PM

That's because you check the TP of your dogs, the other trialers dogs and then calculate which dogs will best work in the trial. my way takes less than 5 mins (clicking trials with middle mouse button and enteringa vailable dogs)

04-26-2012 at 4:41 PM

Sorry but it DOES take too long. It is favoring people with few dogs which is unfair. I can sit for hours and hours... started trialing about 8 hrs ago and still not done. ;/ There are enough trials, just not with enough dogs to beat in them.

04-25-2012 at 4:06 PM

it takes too long to enter so many dogs into so many trials and then you have to wait for more trials or for the ones you have dogs in to run... I think this has more to do with having a million billion dogs. If you're like me and middle-click/open trials in new tabs, trialing is easy and fast. Also, the lack of trials doesn't have anything to do with this trial system. If anything, there would be less trials running because of less trialers and less trials being run/"removed" :)

04-15-2012 at 12:27 PM

i'm hoping the current trial setting don't work out and we go to energy tier... it takes too long to enter so many dogs into so many trials and then you have to wait for more trials or for the ones you have dogs in to run...

03-25-2012 at 4:01 PM

Why would money making be discouraged? It's the speed at which people are making money (profit)

03-23-2012 at 1:53 PM

Ok, but... isn't making money just discouraged now? LOL I guess I'm dense because I play totally different compared to most people. It seems to be obvious for everyone else. I think I'll better start to retire most my dogs now, as that will take me a while :)

03-19-2012 at 9:36 PM

3k TP might not be high for you, but it is for me, and for a lot of other people. 2k TP is high, actually. When you compare it to the fact that we currently have a 20k TP dog and dogs who are hitting around 12KTP, it's not high at all. I understand that the super monster breeders just seem to scoff at the work going into the non-capped dogs, but this is creating a two-class Ala community. I train 4K TP pits (for my capped line lol) so I do understand the work that goes into them. I still believe that 4K is not high but it's getting there. It kinda feels as if Ala is pushed into a "capped dogs, nothing else counts) direction. What is, really, the point of having lots of capped dogs who are all the same in trial value and then wait for good or bad luck to see if they win or not? To make money?

03-19-2012 at 9:50 AM

3k TP might not be high for you, but it is for me, and for a lot of other people. 2k TP is high, actually. I understand that the super monster breeders just seem to scoff at the work going into the non-capped dogs, but this is creating a two-class Ala community. Those who can afford and want the fast maxing of capped dogs and their training and those who can't (and those who probably could but have other priorities). And to me, entry fees over 1k I consider high. It kinda feels as if Ala is pushed into a "capped dogs, nothing else counts) direction. What is, really, the point of having lots of capped dogs who are all the same in trial value and then wait for good or bad luck to see if they win or not? A second trial system would be cool, where you don't pay much in entry fees and win only items not money, where you could push your lower TP dogs up by teams or any other ways you'd like. That way, no money flood into Ala and not taking the fun out of trialing either.

03-18-2012 at 2:41 PM

"Many of my high TP dogs (3k and up) are way over 100 (or used to be before I got more sessions lately). So they would get health issues and would have issues reaching Otis :) Mostly I grabbed them up cheap and speed trained them when they were already over 80 or so." 3KTP isn't really high-tp though.. and doesn't compare to trialing a capped dog up to Gromit. "I see now what you mean with the high TP dogs making less money. But wouldn't they win a lot more often than the lower TP dogs still?" Potentially, but I can see people not trialing them anymore. "But really, those super high entry fees make it ineffective to trial anything but capped dogs - but if everyone would trial capped dogs, it would also be pointless *scratching head*" What "super high entry fees"? The entry fees currently aren't extremely high. "Another big issue I noted since yesterday with the whole "just two dogs" problem - trials don't run for ages, including your own. Some people see it fit to throw their own monster in your trials, which you can't compete with, and then your trials are stuck." I have no problems with trials running for ages. I don't run into that problem.

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